May 2013 :: Review

So I'm finally getting around to my May review!  It was a busy, but good month.

We celebrated Mother's Day...

(I love my munchkins!)

...And at church, we gifted the mother's with a kitchen towel, a spatula, a packet of American taco seasoning, and a candy bar!

The middle of May brought us a wonderful team of people from Central PA.  They came primarily to help build a wall and some bathrooms at the church in Motozintla, but they also participated in our services here in Tapachula and Santo Domingo and were an encouragement to us as a family.

(The team in Motozintla)

Working, working...

The team was also kind and brought us a special fan for our truck so we could get our air conditioning working again!  What a blessing!  =)

Bro. Brandon and Jeremy trying some

"mentiras" - a thin, rice wafer that melts in your mouth.

 Torrey and Arlene sipping some coconut water.

We sang a special song at our church in Tapachula.

We enjoyed a special meal of mole con pollo (chicken) with rice after our morning service.

The team outside our Santo Domingo church in the mountains.

Bro. Brandon preached a good message there.

We also celebrated Taylor's 6th birthday at church on the Sunday that the team was with us (May 19th).  And if you've followed this blog for any length of time, I have another cake story!**  =)  With the busyness of having the team stay with us, I didn't have time to make a cake.  So we ordered one at our local Sam's Club bakery.  And this is what it looked like when we picked it up...

Crooked borders and "interesting" writing.  Really, it was quite unattractive and not the quality that was advertised!  We spoke to management and they offered their regrets and gave it to us for half off!  Oh well, at that point, we didn't have any other options but to use/serve it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Taylor!

**And if you need more entertaining reading, you can read the following blog posts about some of my cake stories!  (Taylor's 4th, Kyle's 6th, and/or Taylor's 1st)

Keep watching, the Summer 2013 review is coming up next...

Belated Post from 1-24-12

On the Tuesday that the Mason's were visiting, we decided to go on a "little" trip to visit a coffee plantation up in the mountains.  Now we had a brochure that said that la finca hamburgo was only 30 some miles away, but let me tell you, it took about 2 and 1/2 hours!  The road out of Tapachula was nice...and paved...  It's also where we stopped to take pictures of this natural arch of bamboo trees.

But then halfway into the trip when we really started to climb the mountain, the single lane road turned to dirt...and it became curvy and VERY bumpy.  The picture below doesn't really do the road justice.  And the bumps weren't helping those who had to use the umm, facilities either, but thankfully we were able to find some decent outhouses at a little school!

La finca hamburgo has a beautiful restaurant overlooking the mountains.  In the far distance, you could also see the Pacific Ocean on the horizon.

A classy restaurant in a relaxed atmosphere.  We chose to sit on the large veranda.

Beautiful flowers were sitting on each table.

La finca hamburgo - the coffee plantation.  We'd love to take a tour sometime.

Young coffee bushes.

Coffee being shelled at the plantation.

Even though the ride was seemingly long, we had a very fun day together (and the food at the restaurant was delicious)!

Guests, Earthquakes, and Seminars!

They've arrived!  Welcome Mason's! 

We have some happy little boys in our house right now!  =)

Last evening and this morning were spent running around for supplies for the Child Evangelism seminar.  We also had a 6.3 earthquake rock our world for about 30 seconds today!  (Check this link for the details.)  I was at Walmart when it happened, and the shelves were just swaying back and forth.  I heard some glass falling off of shelves and breaking, and then I saw where some food jars/bags had fallen off of shelves and broke.  But other than maybe a few minor things, it appeared that the rest of the city had no major damage.

Despite the excitement of the day, our seminars started this evening, and we had a decent turnout with our people and also some visitors from a local pentecostal church.

Some girls helping with the song, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus."

"Whisper a Prayer in the..."

Parker enjoying some cookies and drink during a break.

Father and son doing an excellent job teaching.

Gertie helping with the song, "Oh be careful little ears..."

The B-I-B-L-E

Tomorrow we're looking forward to a morning service for the children, and then more seminar sessions in the afternoon, complete with hands-on training!

La Campaña 2011 :: The Day After

It was such a pleasure to be able to have Bro. Rigo and his wife Ana stay in our home during the campmeeting. They were a big blessing to us and our church people.

Monday morning we dropped them off at the border of Guatemala so they could spend some more time there before they had to return to Florida. But before we dropped them off, Bro. Rigo was really wanting a shrimp cocktail. So upon invitation, we went and visited one of our church families. The man, Isaac, pedals around Tapachula in his tricicleta (photo example) and sells shrimp/seafood cocktails for a living.

Seafood cocktail for breakfast anyone?

They also showed us their beautiful little pet loro (parrot).

After dropping Bro. Rigo and Ana off at the border, we decided since we were already halfway there, we would drive up into the mountains to about as high as they have roads. We went up past Unión Juárez to a place called Talquián. On the way back down, we pulled in to this little place to check out the view. This is a hotel, restaurant, and lookout tower.

This is to the right of the above picture. You can see the restaurant that hangs out over the mountain and the beautiful view, although it was somewhat obstructed by clouds.

Michael, Kyle, and Taylor. Parker was sleeping in the truck. :-)

And this is one of those great self portraits - you know, the kind where you hold your arm way out in front of you and snap a picture (sight unseen) and then wonder why you look kind of goofy!! lol

So now, after an exciting weekend, things are getting back to "normal." Although, we have plans to start a youth Sunday School class, and Michael is just starting teaching/tutoring some men in their Bible School classes... You just never know what great things will come to pass around here, so keep checking back!

Welcome, Hno. José!

It was a privilege to welcome Hno. José Guadalupe Hernandez to our home and ministry this past Monday. He will be staying for a short time (a week or two) and then he will be returning to his home to do some studies and gather some more of his belongings to bring back to Tapachula.

He has spent 8 yrs. in the U.S. and has graduated from H.I.M.'s Bible Institute. Upon his return to Tapachula, he will be working with us in our churches and we will try to mentor him so he will be better prepared when he returns back to Comitán in a few months to plant a new church in his hometown.

Marriage Seminar and More

"Mommy, Our Friends Are Coming!"

Last evening we were privileged to have some of our church families over for a time of fellowship and food. We served "American" tacos and they really seemed to enjoy them! With 14 people total, we were a little crowded trying to fit everybody (and the food) at the table! We're still not sure why we did it that way...! But, we still had a good time!

As a side note: you'll notice I no longer have BRIGHT yellow walls downstairs...everything is a nice tan color. And there's no decorations up yet, but that's because I haven't decided where I really want the furniture, etc..., so there's no sense in putting more holes in the walls than necessary, right? =)

In Recent Days...

Many exciting things have happened here recently, sometimes it's hard to know where to start!

About two weeks ago, we were privileged to welcome Bryan Shields into our home to help us with some maintenance and handy-man type work in our new house. He helped us put in ceiling fans, air conditioners in the bedrooms, hang light fixtures, fix toilets and shower heads, paint, and a few other small jobs. For whatever reason, I took no pictures! I really should have, because all my readers would have enjoyed seeing him standing on a nightstand...on top of a dresser, just so he could reach our bedroom ceiling! You see, that's what one does when they don't have a ladder... Anyway, Bro. Bryan was such a blessing to us and we really enjoyed getting to know him.

Also while he was here, he spoke a few words for us in our Wednesday night and Sunday morning church service in Tapachula.

This picture makes me smile! Who knows what great words of wisdom these two were giving our people!

The Sunday night that Bro. Bryan was here, we were going to have him preach up in Santo Domingo. Plans changed slightly with the location, for we all headed back down the mountain to a little village called "Faja de oro." There was an interested group of people here who wanted to have church. The place where we had the service was run-down and the small clapboard shacks around us were barely held together. But, despite the surroundings, the Lord's presence came and met with us. Bro. Bryan did preach (a simple, gospel message about being a Son of God) and Michael translated a sermon for the first time! The Lord really helped him. Between our people from Tapachula and Santo Domingo, we had a total of approximately 50 people there.

Our temporary plans for now include picking up these people from "Faja de oro" and taking them to our Sunday night service in Santo Domingo. This past Sunday night, we crowded 20 people in our Toyota Sequoia for the trip!

The possibilities are endless when it comes to sharing the gospel with hungry people. Pray that the Lord would continue to guide our every step and direction.

A Good Evening

We were privileged to have a church family over this evening for supper. We introduced them to American tacos. There were no pictures taken while we were eating (because we were too busy eating!), but here's a pic of Michael showing Alejandro & Maria Carmen some pictures on our laptop.

Having fun playing...
(this couple also has a boy, but I didn't manage to get a picture of him).

Misc. Pictures

Here are a few other misc. pictures from when my sister and grandfather came to visit.

My grandfather trying on a sombrero in Mexico at a tourist shop. I can't believe he allowed me to take his picture...love it though...!

Brenda and Pap at the border between U.S. and MX...standing on a bridge over the Rio Grande.

She's Back!!

It's so good to have my sister here to visit again...and this time she brought our grandfather!!! The boys were very excited to see them both! We have lots of great things planned, including a mini trip to San Antonio and a super-mini trip to a tourist border town in MX. Continue to check the blog for updates and pictures.

(Don't you just love my grandfather's baby blue eyes?)
Also, you can keep up with our happenings on my sister's blog.

She's Here!

My little sister has come for a visit!! YEAH!!!

We are so excited to have her with us...and we've got lots of things planned! Stay tuned.