I went to a ladies retreat - THRIVE 2018

6 months ago, some fellow missionary women here in Guadalajara told me about an organization called Thrive.

Thrive is an organization that ministers to missionary women working in cross-cultural settings and they put on 4 day spiritual retreats all over the world. They have divided the globe into regions and they make sure they go to each region at least one time every two years, and now in April they were coming to Puerto Vallarta.

There are a few women that run the ministry and then volunteers sign up to come as well. The volunteers are made up of professional counselors, those that want to come to pray and encourage, a couple of hair stylists and massage therapists, and those that want to come and serve in any way.

And get this, they raise all of the funds for all of the missionary women! Meaning that in order to attend, we had to pay a minimal registration fee and get ourselves there. The rest of the stay was completely covered by donars.

I am so thankful for this opportunity to attend and that I got to go! We have had several months, half a year, of non stop busyness and I have been feeling that I haven't had the space to process life recently and spend that extended time resting in God. The speaker that came spoke on topics that we KNOW to be true, but that sometimes we forget to believe.

God is Sovereign

God is Good

God is Love

It was a timely retreat for me.

I also enjoyed so much the times of discussion. We were split into small groups that we spent much of the time with in discussion and prayer. This was my group, made up of 2 leaders and missionary women from all over Mexico. 

I also enjoyed spending time with fellow missionary from Guadalajara, Melissa, who I went there with and who I roomed with. We don't get together a lot with missionaries from other agencies here so it was nice to have a longer to visit as well.

I also enjoyed meeting women in other cities of Mexico and building friendships with them. Everyone there is working cross-culturally so we "get" each other. It was interesting too to play the "Mennonite game" and make connections! One knew my brother and sister-in-law from language school in Texas. One was the niece of my mom's friend in Canada. One knows some of our friends from the States.

Thrive also works in between retreats offering their services to missions agencies by offering mentoring, coaching, and counseling over Skype to women that work cross-culturally. They have such a good handle on the needs of missionary women and I would encourage missions agencies to take advantage of this ministry as another member care tool!

So, I wish I could go every year :) Recharges the batteries. 

Thankfully, God is here right with us where we all are and amidst the busyness of life we need to work hard at carving out time for him each day, week, month, year. Our circumstances can overtake our minds but I want God overtaking my thoughts before anything else.

Pizza pockets for days

The boys have 2 weeks off for Easter break and the days have been flyyyying by. 

Today they wanted something to do, as they said they were getting bored (as evidenced by their picture taking), so I got out a kid's cookbook that we have and they started looking through it to see what they wanted to make. 

They ended up cooking up some chocolate fudge popsicles and we came across a recipe for pizza pockets. Great idea for school lunches I thought! 

Since the dough in the recipe called for rolling out the dough from a tube of Pillsbury crescent rolls....which doesn't exist here....I went to look for a dough recipe and ended up using a meat perishky recipe (minus the instant potato flakes the recipe included as "optional"...which also doesn't exist here as far as I know and seems a little odd to include in dough in the first place). BUT it's such soft dough and worked great and tastes super. 

Little did I realize what 11 cups of flour looked like when making little pockets ;) my little impromptu project ended up taking up a few hours of the afternoon. 

For fillings we did some with pepperoni/bacon/onion/cheese and some with ground beef/bacon/onion/cheese. 

But at least that meant that lunch was made. And supper was made. And many were put into the freezer for future school lunches.

Yes they opened up in the oven...but that only allows the boys to see what kind they're choosing right?!

9 days with our home church youth group!

For the week leading up to Easter, we hosted our youth group from our home church in Canada - Kleefeld EMC.

There were 9 youth and 5 leaders and we looked forward to it a lot as we know all of the leaders and knew it would be a great week together! The leaders include those that mentor us (our pastor) and that we have mentored (our previous youth) and that we currently mentor (Paulina, from our church here in Gdl but who is studying at Steinbach Bible College in Canada and attending our home church there, and who Dallas will be performing the wedding ceremony for in July!). It's neat to see the way different generations and groups of people can work together.

Our house was the central command station for all things food and debrief related ;) Our house is small but thankfully, youth don't care about cramming! 

We are so thankful also for those that helped us in planning and running the week, including those in our cell groups, we couldn't have done it without them! They helped drive the youth around, inviting their friends and people they're reaching out to to the different outreach event, and hosting with us. We are excited when we see the local believers working together.

The day they arrived, we did a bit of orientation and then spent some time in prayer for the upcoming week. That evening we put on a youth event, where we and our cell groups invited contacts to come out for a Cultural Event. Youth events here often mean anyone is welcome, and we had from little kids up until parents of the youth.

We did a bit of a talent show, music, played hockey, and had pizza together. Our prayer is that those that were invited will have come away with a positive view of Christians and that this can prompt conversations with those that invited them.

 

The next day was Palm Sunday and we took the group out to Los Chorros de Tala, which is a natural park with a waterfall, a creek, and a swimming pool. Some from our cell group went as well and we had a service there at the park and then spent the day together. 

For Monday we planned a Kid's Club here in our gated community and had a few of our kid's school friends come out, plus some from here in our community. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures as I was in charge and it went by quickly :) We also had some down time that afternoon and then spent some time in prayer looking over the city of Guadalajara from 2 high places. 

Tuesday they headed to downtown Guadalajara for our traditional Picture Scavenger Hunt that we do with teams that come! They split into groups and were given a list of things to find and to take pictures of. This included touring the Catholic Cathedral, visiting some historical buildings, and touring a typical market. 

Later in the evening we had one of Paulina's friends come and share about the traditional Catholic pilgrimage that is happening right now, that he took part of. This is a path that people walk for two days in order to spend time in prayer to the Virgin of Talpa, the town they walk to. 

After the first number of days in the city and exposure to urban life and ministry, we took the group to the Orphanage Ranchito Con Eperanza (Little Ranch with Hope), where they spent the next 4 days. I know this was a big highlight for many of them, as they were able to do several types of ministry. Some worked on the farm feeding cows and harvesting honey, some worked in pouring a cement floor, some helped with peeling and cutting tons of fruits and veggies, and some read and did activities with the kids. This is the Orphanage that Dallas and I and our cell groups volunteer at regularly and where our little girl is from.

 The orphanage is in a small town an hour out of the city and as the only Christian influence there, they periodically put on Kids Clubs and invite the town kids. One afternoon we did this with them and they had 30 kids come out in addition to the 23 they have at the orphanage. 

 And, one of the days while they were at the orphanage, Dallas and I skipped out and attended a wedding! We did pre-marital counseling with a young couple last summer and now they were getting married. Their parents are good friends of ours from our kid's school, as their younger son is in Carter's grade, so we had a table full of friends from school there to hang out with!

This is Karla, a mom friend who was one of the first I ever met here in Gdl almost 7 years ago! How time flies.

So, that was our week!! There are many stories to tell and I know that each person on the team would have different perspectives and stories. For us, we see the ministry opportunities and ways the team helped us with our ministry and reaching out to people. We see the ways people worked together and advanced God's kingdom.

It was also a tiring week for Dallas and I as along with the planning and running of the week, we had our 4 kids with us plus had Brady visit the hospital twice while they were here (he has a knee effusion, which we are still working on solving). But, we are thankful for the week and to God for working despite our weakness' and for giving us joy. Our prayer is that the week will be something the youth will look back on and remember the ways they were impacted and have this change them even in small ways, and that makes it all worth it!

Birthday List (36)

Every year on my birthday I've been writing a list of things to complete the following year. The list has the number of items on it as years I've turned.

You'll notice that pretty much everything in my Birthday Lists is family or personal oriented, as our ministry goals and plans are something separate that Dallas and I do together. I have fun creating these goals here as it reminds me to take time for family life and growing personally outside of or as part of our ministry life! And I do love lists and reminders in general 😉

Items in bold are completed and items in italics are in process. 

1. Go on a holiday w/ just us and the kids. 
a. Completed March 9-11, 2018. Surprised Dallas for his 38th birthday with a family trip to a        cabin in Mazamitla.
b. Completed July 30-August 3, 2018. Went to Nuevo Vallarta as a family to celebrate our 16th      Wedding Anniversary. 

2. Go out on at least 6 dates with Dallas. Completed 5/6.
Chapultapec and Dinner//3 Fostering Classes (we were alone! and it was a good time together)//Walking, Shopping, Dinner//Coffee, Movie//Movie

3. Read at least 10 books (including reading with the kids, other than short story books). 
   Completed 12/10 
The Masterpiece//The Red Tent (wouldn't recommend this one)//On the Banks of Plum Creek//If I Live//Growing Down//Child of the Mist//Salvation//Redemption//On the Shores of Silver Lake//The Emotionally Healthy Woman//The Reckoning//Sacred Rhythms

4. Do a surprise activity for each of the kids and Dallas' birthdays.  
a. Dallas' 38th - we surprised him by taking him to a cabin in Mazamitla for the weekend. We only          told him where we were going after we packed up the van and were on the road.
b. Brady's 8th - surprised him with family mini-golf and lunch out together (the next day he did a            party with his friends as well)
c. Carter's 12th - we went to a new aquarium in downtown Guadalajara (and Grandpa and Grandma Zac showed up in Mexico 2 days before his birthday as a surprise for all of the kids!)
d. Logan's 10th - took him to Flyers Trampoline park with Angel and Blanca and kids, and Peter and Irene and kids who were visiting from Canada

5. Try a new activity. 
a. Completed March 25, 2018. Swam in and behind a waterfall, at Los Chorros de Tala with the Kleefeld EMC youth group and our Bible study group.

6. Take new family pictures. 
Completed June 2018 with 4 kids. Completed August 2018 with 5 kids.

7. Memorize two longer portions of the Bible. 
Completed 2/2. Job 38:1-11//Psalm 84

8. Learn to make at least 4 new dishes or drinks. Completed 3/4.
Red Pepper Bagels//Tuna and Avocado Salad//Bistec a la Mexicana

9. Visit a new place in Mexico. 
a. Completed March 11, 2018. We walked down to El Salto, a waterfall in Mazamitla
b. Completed March. 25, 2018. Went to Los Chorros de Tala, another waterfall!
c. Completed June 2-3, 2018. Went camping by Rio Salado.

10. Take time for a hobby.
Reading//Camping//Cake Decorating//Drawing

11. Learn something new. 
Completed March 30, 2018. Learned to dance the Cumbia at Mario and Brenda's wedding.

12. Go every Monday afternoon without screens as a family and spend this time doing something together. Completed 25/52.

13. Go 24 hours every month without screens (not counting phone calls or messaging). 
Completed 8/12.

14. Update the kid's baby and school record books.

15. Family bike at least once/month. Completed 12/12.

16. Record all of our blood types. Half way there! We need to get blood tests in order to do this.

17. Month of December - Advent as a family.

18. Bike/exercise as planned/week. Completed 26/52.

19. Bring home our 2 kiddos💛💚 
Sofía came to live with us on February 18, 2018 and Salomón came to live with us on July 23,2018!

20. Memorize all of the words to the Mexican National Anthem.

21. Renew the boy's visas. Completed January 2019.

22. Go camping. 
a. Completed June 2-3, 2018. Scouts family camping trip by Rio Salado in the Bosque Primavera.
b. Completed August, 2018. Dallas, Carter, Logan went hiking and camping one night with Juanca en Bosque Primavera.

23. Try 5 new foods. 5/5
Lettuce wraps with some kind of Asian chicken from PF Chang//Bistec a la Mexicana//Tostada de Tuna (raw)//Whole shrimp barbecued in chile sauce (I am not a seafood fan at all, but actually liked this!)//Octopus

24. Make homemade bread. 
Made homemade bagels for the first time.

25. Get all of the boy's extra holey and shredded knee jeans made into shorts and have their shoes and sandals repaired so they can be passed on to the next boy (cheap to do this here!).

26. Make homemade tiger tiger ice-cream for the boys.

27. Help the boys grow their hobbies.
Swimming Lessons//Drawing Exhibition at School for Carter//Mountain Biking//Cooking//Street Hockey//Camping//Basketball 

28. Go on a picnic. Completed May 27, 2018.

29. Visit the Orphanage Ranchito con Esperanza at least once/month. Completed 11/12.

30. Go on a road trip. 
Completed July 30-August 3, 2018. 5 hour road trip to Nuevo Vallarta as a family. This will have to count for this year ;)

31. Make family calendars for 2019.

32. Re-decorate the office and the guest/girl's room.

33. Learn a new skill. Working on mastering some little girl hair-do's. Now working on french braids.

34. Make chocolate covered coffee beans from scratch!

35. Blog at least 4 times/month. Completed 22/52.

36. Skype/call all of our family members on their birthdays.


See also:
Birthday List (35)
Birthday List (34)
Birthday List (33)
Birthday List (32)
Birthday List (31)

Carter interviews Logan & Brady

Carter saw me writing on the blog the other day and asked to come up with some questions to interview Logan and Brady with! So here they are:

What's your favorite color?
Logan: Blue, Red, Yellow
Brady: Red

What is your favorite animal?
Logan: Lion
Brady: Cat

What do you like about Mexico?
Logan: The food and the school
Brady: School

What do you like about Canada?
Logan: That it's cold and that we can eat perogies. And hopefully we never eat that snow with syrup again. 
Brady: Snow

Would you rather go to the beach or to Canada for a holiday? Why?
Logan: Canada, because it's bigger and you can see your cousins and your grandparents.
Brady: Canada for a holiday because I can visit my cousins.

Do you want to adopt S and S?
Logan: Yeah.
Brady: Yes.

Who are your best friends at school?
Logan: Matt, Mateo, Ian, Mariana, Diego, Diego J.
Brady: Mateo, Edgar, Santi, Enrique

What do you like about school?
Logan: Lunch and Recess 
Brady: Lunch and Recess

What don't you like about school?
Logan: The double Spanish class.
Brady: Classes.

What kind of food would you choose? For example, Italian, French, Japanese.
Logan: Sushi! Japanese.
Brady: Italian, for fettucine alfredo.

Parties, Studies, Visitors, Extra kiddos, Counseling...oh my

 We've been back in Mexico just over a month now, but...it feels like so much longer! Just looking at these pictures of this one birthday party from January seems like such a long time ago already.

Time doesn't stand still just because you've left, and life gets busy no matter where you are. Busy is not necessarily good or bad. I think it depends very much on why and what you're filling your time with. That said, we are working on being better at setting aside time (actually scheduling it in more) for us as a couple and for us as a family. Ministry and relationships are our life and it is very easy to feel that every spare minutes should be filled with people other than our own family, but let's not forget those that God has entrusted to us in that very special and intimate way - our spouse and kids!

As Carter said to me the other day after I was talking to the kids about something or other - "Good speech, mom, good speech".  As he clapped for me. (insert eye roll here).

Anyway, we have been spending time with those in our ministry circles and back into the Bible studies and ministries that we're a part of.

We also celebrated my (Tara's) birthday on February 5! We usually plan surprises for whoever's birthday it is and Dallas and the boys surprised me with taking me to an Escape Room! I love them. They found one here in Gdl and this was the first time the boys had done one, and they also loved it. Then we came home and they made me my favorite, fettucine alfredo.

I also had some birthday breakfasts with friends.

Then, this last week we had friend from Canada come to visit! Frank & Angelica were here with their 3 kids and we did lots of fun things and spent some time visiting and hanging out.

Making a favorite for Bible study at our house one evening - guacamole.

The kids didn't always like having to sit all squished in the back seat of the van ;)

Dallas' studies for his Masters in Counseling have also kept him quite busy this month. He's in his second semester of Practicum now, and he is having to counsel a client each week and do the homework that is involved with that throughout the week.

And last, but definitely not least, we have been doing respite for our little girl that we are working towards adopting! She has been in our home often since we've been back and we are loving it. She just fits right in! We are also having more regular visits with our little boy, her brother, and so things are moving forward in terms of bringing them home soon! Pray with us for their paperwork that is being worked on so that this process can go more quickly.

I have a ton of pictures of them...but this will have to do for now ;) We will likely not post any pictures here publicly until the adoption is completely finalized.