Knowing Your ABCDs

Great News!

2009-11-13T18:24:00.003-06:00

You might remember a couple we worked with for a couple years in the local church as we helped the youth ministry there. Juan and Carmen have been good friends and Beth tutored their two high school kids all of last year (in math) and some this year as needed.

They've been through some very tough times with Juan having lost his job at PPG (Pittsburgh Paint and Glass Co.) here in San Juan two years ago. He had high hopes for a couple of opportunities that fell through. One of them was in Mexico City with the electric company there. I recall him mentioning this over a year ago about how if he paid some money he could get in line for a job there because he has a relative or two working for this same company. At the time I thought that this sounded about right for Mexico. A month or so ago the president of Mexico (Calderon) abruptly and apparently without warning shut down this "company" that provides electrical service for much, if not all, of the Mexico City area. The organization had 55,000 employees but apparently over half of them didn't even work and yet all received nice salaries and benefits. It was a racket of Mexico City-sized proportions. Needless to say, he never did work there and even if he had, he'd be out on the street now anyway.

Carmen called today to tell us that Juan is now working at a plastics company in Silao, Guanajuato. The company makes plastic parts for vehicles and Juan is going to be a supervisor of an aspect of quality control. He was involved in QC work for PPG so has some applicable training and experience in this area.

Carmen was very excited about this and so are we. They've really struggled to make it and Juan has been struggling with a bit of depression or at least discouragement from the lack of progress in finding a job and not being able to care for his family as he would like. He's in a 4 month trial period and we're praying this will become a permanent job for him.

Silao is about 30 minutes from León where they will probably move to should this become permanent. We'll miss them if they move but knowing some of their struggles here with schooling and church and work...this might be just the ideal time and place for them over there. León is a drive of about 2 1/2 hours from here.

We hope to have them over for a nice dinner sometime in December when they're able to come on a weekend.

Birthday Gift for Jesus?

2009-11-11T06:38:00.001-06:00

Last year our family decided to save up so we could buy a "birthday gift for Jesus." At Christmas-time we used our boys' savings and our own to buy food baskets to share with some unsaved families we know who also don't have much money for themselves. It was a great experience and I'm sure we'll enjoy giving again this year.

If you and and/or your family would like some ideas for giving at this time of year, please consider the many projects sponsored through CAM International throughout Latin America. The gifts are monetary but funds are translated into very real and tangible items used in ministries of all kinds. There are dozens and dozens of projects, and you may find a particular need that touches your heart.

We were in the U.S. and traveling during the time that these projects were submitted. At the time we couldn't think of anything to submit even though we knew there must be items we could use in our ministry here. We do have some special needs in our ministry and we'd be happy to share those with you if you're interested. Send us an email if you'd like to know more. I may even post a list here on the blog.

Thanks...and we hope you'll take some time to visit the Christmas at CAM website for many opportunities that will "touch the world, one life at a time."

http://www.christmasatcam.org/

Homecoming

2009-11-10T13:05:00.002-06:00

Beth's mother who shares our home and has an apartment upstairs returned home late last night. She had been in the U.S. for two missions conferences and to visit the Allem family who have 9 of her 18 grandchildren. She was gone about a month.

Her plane leaving Greensboro, NC yesterday morning had mechanical problems so she she was delayed by about 7 hours. I picked her up from the bus station in Querétaro late and arrived home after 1 a.m. and got to bed a 2 a.m. I was dead to the world until about 10 a.m. I guess I need my 8 hours of sleep. Even so...coffee and eggs were a welcome breakfast to help me ease off the headache. I guess I'm getting too old for these late nights!

Kristin is here for Bible study and lunch. She did say that Jason is now working 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays thru Thursdays. What a tough schedule. Pray for them!

Routine is Happening

2009-11-09T13:04:00.003-06:00

I'm sorry the blog has been rather dead the past few weeks. Basically, I blame routine. That's not to say routine is unwelcome nor a bad thing. Routine just doesn't seem terribly interesting for blog posts.

So, I could report that we're still having Bible studies with Jason and Kristin, tutoring one or more math students each week, teaching our co-op classes science, literature, and physical education, and hosting Sunday morning worship and fellowship in our home. I just don't think it makes for an interesting blog to mention that every, single week!

However, there have been a few non-routine items I can mention, so here's one of the more interesting ones to share today.

Last week, Jason took on some overtime at work. For him this is a big deal because his American textile employer has not offered overtime all year until now. This was an optional opportunity, but he jumped at the chance to take it. Keep in mind that in Mexico, a legal work week is 48 hours (not 40 as in the U.S.). So, overtime means working more than 48 hours in a week.

He told me a week ago that he would be working 12 hours a day Monday-Thursday (7 a.m. to 7 p.m....that's a full 48 hours) and then his normal 8 hour shifts on Friday and Saturday for 64 hours total. Yesterday, he mentioned he wasn't getting home until 8:30 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. so I think he could be working 13 hours a day for a total of 68 hours. That's a pretty full week for a factory worker I would think.

What's hard to understand is that the last time he worked OT, his paycheck was about $20 less than during a normal week! Isn't that crazy?!? They told him it was to cover the increase in taxes. What in the world?!? I suspect that this wouldn't be the case every time but that's incomprehensible, especially for someone who makes just a few hundred dollars a month (in pesos of course).

Kristin mentioned to Beth recently that they want to buy a new mattress for Christmas. Their old mattress is killing their backs and the springs have been popping and poking through. They just snip them off to make it tolerable. Yikes!

I assumed that the OT work from now to their 2 week Christmas break would pay for their mattress, but yesterday they said that when the plant shuts down for those 2 weeks at Christmas, they don't pay the employees! So, by working all of this OT time over 6 weeks, Jason is basically trying to cover the loss of those 2 weeks of upcoming pay!

Welcome to the world of work in Mexico. Most people can never get ahead. And working full-time in a factory like this is considered a GOOD job by a lot of people here.

Unfortunately, due to all these hours, Jason has very little time with his family during the week, and while he's been able to keep up with our chapter a day Bible readings, he hasn't been able to write out our assignments. I told him the main thing was to stay consistent with the reading even if he couldn't get the writing done. No problem.

So we decided yesterday to just go over our Bible readings on Sundays when they're here for worship, fellowship, and lunch. We always have them join us for our Sunday meal which is a great way to deepen our fellowship and further our discipleship of them as a couple. It also helps them a little bit with their tight food budget. It's great to be able to share some with them.

There you have it...our little piece of news picked out of the middle of the routine. Hope it was worth your time to read it. Thanks for dropping by!

"A Few Thoughts From Fort Hood"

2009-11-05T22:45:00.002-06:00

We were blessed to visit our good friends and supporters at Fort Hood, TX for a night in both July and in September at both ends of our home assignment travel. I doubt anyone has not heard the news of the tragic fatal shooting that took place there today at Fort Hood.

Captain Mark Olson is a good friend from my high school and youth group and later from my alma mater, Bryan College. He is an active member of the U.S. Army serving both God and country as a chaplain. Captain Olson has served a term in Iraq and just this summer returned from a year of service there.

In the aftermath of the killings there today, he was responsible to make some of the notifications of death to families who suffered the loss of their beloved soldiers. With his permission, I'd like to share with you what he had to say in a note he posted tonight on Facebook:

Thanks everyone for your prayers and concern. Today, many American Heroes lost their lives in a place where their lives should have been the safest. We are all shocked, and in so many ways, our world is rocked. But.... we are America, and we will drive on. Let me be very clear... what happened here today was a tragedy, but the man who committed these crimes is a coward! What he did was not the result of "Combat Stress" or "Battle Fatigue" but a terrible act of cowardice. CNN is rambling on and on about this being the result of our military forces being tired and broken. WE ARE NOT BROKEN! NOR WILL WE BE BROKEN! Believe me when I tell you that the young men (and old ones too) and women who make up our armed forces are as committed as ever to finishing this fight and to keeping America safe from future acts of cowardice. Please keep us in your prayers tonight as we wrestle with the reality of what happened here today. Tomorrow, our Soldiers will take the day off to minister to the wounded and other survivors, but Monday, we will drive on once again. - Captain Mark Olson

A Birthday and a Pumpkin

2009-11-04T09:17:00.004-06:00

I turned 43 this past Monday. On Sunday after our morning home worship time with Jason, Kristin and Justin, we celebrated with an "imported" birthday cake. That's Justin on the left and Dayton on the right and Jason over Dayton.

On Monday we thought maybe we'd go out to lunch at a favorite place but remembered that since my birthday is a national and religious holiday here (Day of the Dead...ironic isn't it?!), that most places, including our favorite restaurant, were closed. Oh well...we had leftovers instead (ironic isn't it?!). That's OK...we'd already eaten at Applebee's the week before and I had gone out with a fellow missionary too so...I think I was treated enough already!

One of my favorite cakes that we learned how to make from one of my sister-in-laws years ago was our special treat for the day. About half the ingredients aren't available here so we brought them back with us from our recent home assignment.

It's a yellow cake, with vanilla pudding, crushed pineapple (Beth used the juice in the cake batter) and topped with a layer of Cool-Whip (ok...Wal-Mart brand). The whipped non-dairy topping is itself topped with pecan halves and shredded coconut. It's served cold from the fridge and is best after about 4 days to let the moisture permeate the cake. I think today is day four...and there's maybe one more bite left!

Since I downloaded Kristin's photos onto my computer so she could send some pictures to her family in the States, I figured I might as well share Justin's Halloween pictures. I'm not sure where they found this costume but he makes a cute pumpkin. He didn't want to wear the tights (he's only 3 years old and conscientious about wearing tights?!?), but if you want candy you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

Believe it or not, Mexican culture has discovered "Trick or Treating." I remember this being a highlight of the year as a kid...but I distinctly remember carrying a small brown paper bag. I see that in the spirit selflessness so as to make sure all the neighbors get some candy too, we're now using 1 gallon buckets! LOL! Oh well...it matched the costume so that was the point I'm sure.

What's really funny to us is that most kids here who do this don't know how to say "Trick or Treat!" They say, "Queremos Al-o-wean" (phonetic pronunciation)...or "We want Halloween!" It's worth giving out some candy to the neighbor kids just to hear them say that! We try hard to keep a straight face and not laugh too hard!

Of course, it isn't so much that they're embracing American culture but that it's a great opportunity to get free candy from neighbors who feel obligated to give it out. Seriously...they come around two straight nights since October 31 is Halloween and November 1/2 is Day of the Dead. The kids make out like bandits! Man...I should have grown up down here!

If you're wondering, Latin America usually puts the day of the month, then the month and then the year when posting the date. So, the above photos aren't stamped January 11, 2009 as we would normally view that, but November 1, 2009. Just in case someone wonders why these photos appear to be dated so many months ago!

October Update (pdf - email version)

2009-10-30T18:47:00.001-06:00

October 2009 Update

Health Update

2009-10-21T14:14:00.002-05:00

Thanks for so many who prayed and are likely still praying for Beth's health.

She had a coughing spell in the middle of the night, I don't think I even woke up. She took another dose of something and she said after that the cough began to break up the congestion in her chest for the first time. So, with this development and the advice we did finally get from our doctor in Austin, TX (he was not able to write until quite late b/c he had seen 39 patients that day and 3/4 with the flu!), we decided that she has something less than the swine flu or pneumonia, at least.

If her condition should worsen, I'll be sure to post. At this point we hope a few days rest will be just the treatment to get over this.

Appreciate your prayers and concern.

Your Prayers Appreciated

2009-10-20T10:23:00.002-05:00

Beth has not been feeling well for about a week now and had some minor flu-like symptoms for a number of days. Her health has taken a turn for the worse and she appears to have either bronchitis or pneumonia. We've struck out with every doctor we've ever tried here who might be able to see her due to misdiagnoses or suggestions that were so off-base medically that we have no trust in them. So she is not interested in seeing a doctor, but she really needs to see a doctor.

Appreciate your prayers for her health and for either a lead on a good doctor or perhaps good advice from a doctor in Texas that I emailed this morning. He has been very helpful in the past. Beth wanted to self-medicate (since we can get most medicines upon request at pharmacies) but I'd prefer to be sure we're on the right track with the right medication than to just guess out of the blue.

Thanks for praying.

Things We Leave Behind

2009-10-19T21:52:00.002-05:00

Only Pray in Closets

2009-10-19T21:06:00.004-05:00

I can't tell you how much joy it is to disciple a new believer, but do let me tell you...it's awesome!

Jason loves to read and will read most anything we throw his way. We started up our Monday night study time last week and I decided we'd just forget reading good books and go with THE BOOK. There's nothing better than reading the Bible. It's time to stop reading books about the Book and just get down to reading the Book.

So, we started tonight with a review of Matthew chapters 1 to 6. He hadn't gotten a chance to read today's reading so we didn't get to chapter 7 as planned. We're simply reading a chapter a day and doing the old "God's Message To Me Today" kind of thing...Promise From God, Command to Keep, Timeless Principle, Application, etc. Very simple.

The main thing is to begin developing the daily habit of reading the Word...the writing is just something to help think about what the Scripture means. Sometimes rigid questions like these don't really apply to every chapter so there isn't always an answer for each one without really forcing an unintended meaning. So, we're flexible, and I don't care at all if he can't answer each entry. As long as he's reading each chapter, we're in great shape.

I love just teaching extemporaneously about the Scripture...I don't know as much as a lot of others but compared to a baby believer...I know plenty. So, it's great to just hit each chapter and run with it. There's so much we can glean from the living Word.

One thing I discovered is that I can learn a lot too from the heart of a new believer who reads the Scripture for the first time. Sometimes that fresh perspective is quite...well...refreshing!

One thing I "learned" from Jason tonight was that in chapter 6 Jesus said that we should only pray in closets! Ha-ha...well...it does sound that way doesn't it? I had to stop and think for just a moment to be sure I didn't plaster over some great truth with my "professional lifelong Christianity"...but I assured him that while it's great to pray in a private place, it's fine to pray anywhere and everywhere. It's the heart that matters. Praying to be seen and heard was the point of that instruction from Jesus. The fact that even Jesus prayed in public tells us that praying in public wasn't the issue but pride in being seen and heard while praying in public. That was the point.

Nonetheless, it was refreshing to hear the misinterpretation. It was a little funny but at the same time...just trying to read the Scripture for what it says right on the surface...that's not so bad. Maybe when it says other things like, "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal," that on the surface it may just seem like that means...don't have so much stuff and use the resources that God makes me a steward of for His glory and His purpose and plan and not my own. And you know what? That's exactly what it means.

All this reminds me of the lyrics to a song written and sung by Michael Card. It blisters my heart to read them. I pray we'll leave behind everything except footprints in the direction of Jesus and the long, furrowed mark of the cross we're bearing up each day.

The Things We Leave Behind

There sits Simon,
so foolishly wise
proudly he's tending his nets
Then Jesus calls,
and the boats drift away
all that he owns he forgets

More than the nets
he abandoned that day,
he found that his pride was soon drifting away
It's hard to imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

Matthew was mindful
of taking the tax,
pressing the people to pay
Hearing the call,
he responded in faith
followed the Light and the Way

Leaving the people
so puzzled he found,
the greed in his heart
was no longer around and
it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind

Every heart needs to be set free,
from possessions
that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own,
It's the power
to do what is right
Jesus, our only possession,
giving becomes our delight
We can't imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

We show a love for the world in our lives
by worshiping goods we posses
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside
"love God above all the rest"

'Cause when we say 'no'
to the things of the world
we open our hearts
to the love of the Lord and
its hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

Oh, and it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind

-Michael Card from "Poeima"

Sundays, hymns and spiritual songs

2009-10-13T10:00:00.004-05:00

Sundays are a whole new routine for us here in late 2009. This past Sunday was our 2nd experience with this new event in our home. We're still learning and developing the format...albeit, it's all quite informal.

Jason and Kristin and Justin arrive around 10:30. Generally, they've been more ready than we have been. We're working on that. We have coffee and tea ready and there's nothing like some "Jesus Java" (to borrow a horrible phrase) to 'caffeinate' our fellowship and time of worship.

Justin is...well...I don't know how to describe him. To overuse a word or to use a word that is overused, Justin is truly a hyper boy. No, he's ultra-hyper. Maybe even super-ultra-hyper. Whatever redundant type of 'hyper' he is, man is he ever busy! He seems to delight in being sure that his arms, hands, mouth, and legs are in constant motion and that the floor never lacks for a gazillion pieces of puzzles, toys and anything else he can get his hands on. One moment the world is calm and at peace, the next moment, Cyclone Justin has entered the room. I don't think I've ever seen a little person quite as active as he is...and I've seen a bunch of 'em.

I mention that about Justin b/c his disposition defines part of what we do and what we don't do on our Sunday mornings with this family. He typically starts in the living room with us but since no one can focus or hear anything with him in the room, he doesn't stay in the room long. Beth has decided to take him outside for as long as possible to play in the grass with Peanut (our dog) and/or a ball or something. She knows that Jason and Kristin really need to hear the lesson and it's more important for them to be learning than for her to join us. I miss having her in the room with us for her presence and input, but with Justin in the room, no one would be learning anything (other than either patience or loss thereof!).

So with Justin taken care of, this past week we began with each of us offering a simple one item prayer of thanksgiving to God. I really want our times together to develop a "full-inclusion" of everyone in prayer. There's no sense saying we're believers and disciples of Jesus and then being an assembly of mutes when it comes to prayer in His name.

After our brief prayers, we moved into our lesson.

Each week the lesson starts with a kids devotional story book (that we've been going through with our kids and are simply continuing), and then transitions into a short Bible study relating to the topic of the devotional.

We concluded with our repertoire of one song (and growing! lol).

We've got no musicians here and though Jason told me months ago that he used to play the guitar pretty well, he doesn't know any Christian hymns/songs. Thus, at this point I'm handling the music to at least sing some praise, thanks, and worship to God. I can play the chords and pluck the strings and nearly keep some semblance of rhythm. As long as it's joyful, heart-felt, and heard, I think we've reached the pinnacle of what we're going to accomplish with my musical input, and that's all good.

So...the first week...we taught them an old hymn that we'd been learning as a family before home assignment: Trust and Obey. It's an oldie but a goodie, right? I must say it is rather exciting to teach Jason and Kristin to sing this song and to discuss the lyrics and meaning of it.

Before last week, they'd never, ever heard it before. In fact, apparently, they've never hear ANY hymns before. I was trying to imagine what it would be like to hear and sing a hymn for the first time. I'm sure there was a moment like that in my past when I first heard and sang this very hymn.

I grew up in traditional churches from the time I was a baby, so I have no idea what hymn I first heard and probably from some old Baptist hymnal. No doubt I heard Trust and Obey many times in my childhood. I don't remember what I thought 40 years ago when I heard a hymn sung for the first time. Since I was so young, I probably wasn't thinking too much about the words but more about the catchy tune, the piano playing, my dad's bellowing voice, or the piece of chewing gum wrapper someone left somewhere in the hymnal that had just fallen out onto the carpeted floor. I really don't remember at all, but all those experiences are somewhere trapped in a forgotten closet of my mind.

So, it was fun to watch them try to digest the meaning of the lyrics and they were intent on doing so. A good reminder perhaps when it seems all too easy to let the words of songs, hymns and spiritual songs fall from our lips as they dribble effortlessly from our spongy minds after years and years of knowledge and experience in singing them.

And so after one more prayer our church service ended. We're not doing "church" and we don't "go to church." We are the church, right?

I'll share some more of our "church experiences" as we discover them in Sundays ahead. The whole experience for me takes me back to the book of Acts. This is all so new...new believers in Jesus...learning from the very start what that means...dealing with the new experiences of walking in the Spirit, battling and sometimes failing in battle against the old nature. Confession anew. Reading Scripture and singing hymns, songs and spiritual songs for the very first time.

I like new stuff, don't you? And in Christ we're new creations...new...NEW! Wow! May we all walk aNew in the Spirit today and experience the joy that comes from living a life of trust and obey.

Excuse me...I need to go choose and learn our second song now. Pray for rhythm.

Co-op Week 2

2009-10-12T22:34:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday co-op was off and running for our 2nd week. It is going great and we're definitely at capacity or a little beyond capacity for science class. It's a great problem to have so we're not complaining!

Below are two pics of the grades 1 to 6 (or 7ish) enjoying their science class. Below that is a pic of the Jr/Sr high speech class and the last pic is of the community center. This is not the community center here in San Juan del Rio that I've mentioned so many times in the past. This is the new community center in Queretaro and is part of the outreach of the New Birth Bible Church. The graffiti is extra.

I was busy teaching my literature circle the first hour so I didn't get any photos of those. We have 1st and 2nd grades, 3rd and 4th grades, 5th and 6th grades, 7th and 8th grades and 9th to 12th grades each with their own literature circle. I also didn't get a photo of the PE class with all the science kids...but I was helping teach that as well and it was threatening to rain (and did rain). I didn't want to risk getting the camera wet since PE is at the park across the street.

Back to the Routine of the Unpredictable

2009-10-04T16:16:00.002-05:00

I think the longer we're in Mexico, the more we expect the unexpected. We can still be surprised and disappointed but I suppose that like a pier that makes a stand out in the surf, waves of all sizes and velocity come to be expected...even on calm days.

I suppose that's a little like what we've experienced in the week we've been back in Mexico. In fact, we had just crossed the border when we learned over our Mexican cell phone of a very serious situation back here in San Juan that was going to need our immediate attention. One thing we're learning about discipleship is we have to deal not only with the good times but the bad times too...and this was sounding about as bad as we could imagine.

I can't really even go into detail about what occurred. I can say that after arriving home we had some very critical conversations with some folks we know and even a deep conversation with a Mexican man we had never met and may never see again. The bottom line to all this is that we're trusting that through God's grace, mercy and strength, we'll see a true work of repentance and forgiveness...not just on the outside...but a very real change. It seems we're on the right path (and I mean "we're" as in the people directly involved...not us personally...but we're holding hands through this). I'm sorry I can't spell this out. It is very sensitive, very serious and very private. Please pray for God to be honored and glorified in the aftermath as it unfolds or rather as lives continue forward from this point.

Other than that situation, pretty much everything else has been much more of the type of routine that we like to share with you.

On Thursday we helped start up the educational co-op for this school year. What a GREAT day it was. We sincerely missed the Downs and Le'Ann's leadership and encouragement, but everyone pulled together and got it moving. Parents did their part in teaching their classes and the students all seemed to enjoy the classes and especially the social interactions with other MKs. It was very encouraging to watch it all happen! (sorry...we were so focused on the day we forgot to take photos!)

In all we had 3 students from San Juan del Rio (3 more were missing for the day), 3 from Amealco, 6 from Celaya, and 12 from Queretaro (3 more were missing for the day). That gave us a total of 24 students this first day and with the 6 that were missing, we'll end up with a full "enrollment" of 30 students! Wow! Praise God for making this such a great ministry to these families.

26 of the students are North American missionary kids, 2 are Mexican missionary kids and 2 are Mexican kids from a Christian family who are trying to homeschool their two girls in English. It is quite a challenge for them (using mostly aBeka), so we're happy to have them come for as long as we have room for them to join us.

Finally, today we began our new Sunday fellowship! Jason, Kristin and Justin joined Beth and the boys and me for a very "homemade" church service...in English! It was our first time ever doing this so we were curious and apprehensive about how this would look. I was struggling to even figure out how to put the "service" together. Finally, I got out of the way, the Lord took over, and it was an awesome time of worship and teaching.

Beth ended up taking Justin outside b/c as a rambunctious 3 year-old, he just couldn't sit still nor do anything quietly! I was prepared to just try and talk over him but Beth realized that J&K really needed to be able to listen and hear God's Word and the lesson on joy. It was a strange place to start but it turned out to be just what the Lord wanted for us all. It was really a kids' lesson but with digging into some Scripture and a little amplification of the theme, it was an excellent lesson for these young believers and the rest of us as well.

Afterward, we enjoyed a good meal of BBQ pork (compliments of some recently imported Sweet Baby Rays!) and some time for conversation and friendship.

We're looking forward to getting back into our weekly Bible study times with Jason and Kristin individually as well. We have a conference the next two days and this leaves the rest of the week filled with perhaps too much for me to fit in the study with Jason. Beth and Kristin have a plan though. Jason read all the books I left with him so I need to come up with a new study.

Pray that I'll understand what the Lord would have us study together next. Please also pray for Jason, Kristin, and Justin and our family as well as we continue these Sunday morning times of fellowship and worship.

August and September email update

2009-09-29T18:29:00.002-05:00

Apart from our quarterly snail mail newsletter, I also sent a monthly email out (in this case it was for the last two months since I missed August due to our extended travels). In case you don't receive our email updates and might like to read it, here it is (once again I don't know if this will show up properly in the automatic Facebook note):

August and September 2009 Update

October Snail Mail Update

2009-09-29T18:23:00.002-05:00

For those who don't receive our snail mail update and yet might want to read it (this will automatically post on Facebook but it may not show up in FB due to the format involved) :

McManus October 2009 PL

The Next Beginning (Home At Last!)

2009-09-25T16:34:00.003-05:00

Wouldn't want the last blog post entitled "The End" to be the last thing you think of when you think of us. So...we're beginning here in San Juan del Rio once again.

I have to admit...we're not really beginning much of anything today. We're mostly unpacking the mounds of clothes (we buy enough for the four of us for the next year or so...probably less for the boys since they seem to grow out of everything we buy them within hours of the purchase). Even with leaving 6 boxes of books in Dallas, we managed to bring about 100 books with us! Wow...the office is now a wreck once again. I've got mail, cords, cables, shoes, auto oil and filters, yarn (not mine!) all over the floor in piles and the table tops are indescribable. I'm working on it, ok?

Anyway, thanks very much for praying for our border crossing and trip. We needed your prayers! The crossing went awry on our part b/c we were up rather late...all week long...including Wednesday night. We planned to get a few hours sleep and wake up in time to get to Kohl's at 9 a.m. to spend our free Kohl's cash. We earned $60 worth and we wanted to use it up and unfortunately, the first day we could use it was yesterday.

Well, Beth set the alarm on her iPod but forgot to turn the sound up! We didn't hear a thing and we woke up at 9 a.m.! So, we hustled up and still went to Kohl's but not till about 10:30.

We finally reached the border at 11:30 and were greeted with a green light. They still waved us in to be checked but Beth is a miracle packer and can make a very organized and efficient packing look very disorganized and like something you wouldn't really want to touch or look into very much. So, after about 30 seconds the military customs guy with the predictable flabbergasted look on his face that says ("Why don't you people pack right?!?"), we were done with that potential complication.

Next, we went inside the building to get our car sticker and check our papers back into the country and there were no lines at all. Just some soldiers getting some photocopies of documents and the copy guy worked me in around them. No hurry there...those guys have real weapons all over them...rifles, pistols, knives...I can wait just fine!

We made it out of there in record time and were happy that it was only about 12 noon when we were heading into Reynosa. Despite being super careful about sticking to the speed limit and in the process being run over by ever semi, bus, car and even old ladies with walkers, we found ourselves being flagged by two cops on foot to pull over. They made a big deal about how I was speeding...I was not and was risking our lives just by driving the unbelievably slow limits...I realized that these guys probably weren't even real police! What a scam! So, I held my ground and finally protested that here we are as missionaries trying to help the Mexican people and we give free classes and....oh what's that? We can go now? OK. Adios! No way was I giving those two any money. Had I realized they weren't real cops, I wouldn't have stopped...however...they had picked their spot very well and had I not stopped, I would have had to run one of them over and that's not a good idea.

Anyway, other than that and my ensuing paranoia of speed limits and police cars all the way home, we had no other problems. We got home at 11 p.m. and I was up till about 3:30 a.m. unpacking stuff and mostly sorting it out. It's unbelievable how much stuff we cram into the truck when heading home. Of course, we get home and thing of stuff we should have bought...you know some people are never content! Ha-ha! No really, we're quite content with all that we were able to bring and that God graciously provide the funds to purchase all these things. Many of them inexpensive, but still, it was a great couple of months for us (as these trips go) and we're thankful that we survived and are home safely.

Well...time to get back to work. Lots to do!

The End

2009-09-23T19:31:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow (Thursday) should bring the end to our trip which began when we left San Juan del Rio on July 3. We're so happy to be heading home! However, there is the small matter of crossing the border, dealing with customs (as needed), getting the vehicle sticker, checking our missionary visas back in, 600+ miles of driving, an unknown number of military and police checkpoints, and only God knows what else we might face on our journey. So...we appreciate your prayers for us, our safety, a trouble-free car, smooth crossing and checkpoint passing. It can be a stressful day so we appreciate knowing friends are praying with us throughout the day. THANKS!

On the Road Again

2009-09-20T23:00:00.002-05:00

We've finally reached the end of our time here in Dallas. The past week we've just enjoyed some time here at the CAM Center apartment getting a LOT of shopping done, car maintenance and a few visits in as well. We rested a good bit and feel pretty good. The trip has topped 9,000 miles and we'll be over 10,000 trip miles by the time we reach home.

The Highlander is holding up well. The oil is changed now for the third time this trip (not including the one the day before we left home!). The timing belt, water pump and serpentine belt has all been replaced as routine maintenance so we hope we're in good shape for many more miles to come.

On Monday we're only going a couple hours so we can visit with supporters and good friends at Fort Hood. On Tuesday we'll be heading to McAllen on the border and we'll probably stay two nights there so we'll have time to pick up our Mexican auto insurance policy (which ironically we always buy in the U.S.) and to pick up any last minute things we may need to purchase before going back. There's so many things we can't get down in Mexico, we try to be sure to pick up as many of the most important things as possible. There's some optional goodies in there as well, of course!

We sure would appreciate your prayers as we drive the 1,000+ miles home and for our expected border crossing on Thursday morning. We're anxious to get home and settled and back to work and ministry. I hope to post more regularly on our blog here once we get back into routine.

Thanks for praying for our safety in travel and a smooth crossing.

We've Lassoed Ourselves Back To Dallas

2009-09-14T20:18:00.003-05:00

We left our home in San Juan del Rio on July 3rd and subsequently left Dallas, TX on July 17th for an 8,000 mile loop that took us up to northern Minnesota, over to Philadelphia, down to central Florida, across the Gulf Coast and back to Dallas on September 11th. We'll be here in Dallas for about a week as we take care of errands, shopping, meetings, car maintenance, and any other sort of thing that pops its head up and experience tells me that something will.

Aside from the expected road weariness...we've fared very well...had a great time and enjoyed so many memorable (and positively memorable!) visits with lots and lots of family, friends and church families. Praise God for keeping us safe, providing for our every need and blessing us with such great friends and family!

We got a few pics of one my sisters and her husband and one of my Indiana nephews who happened to come down while we were visiting my folks. We weren't really too good about taking photos on this trip but at least we got a few pics with my folks in them. We only see them for a few hours every couple of years so these are important memories for us and the boys. Also, there's another photo here of curious interest but I'm pretty sure this one wasn't related to any of my relatives. (I may have taken this one somewhere in Washington, D.C....ha-ha...but then again maybe it was just a rest area in Florida) :-)

Florida Fun

2009-09-04T09:10:00.002-05:00

As we wind down our home assignment we planned to be in FL to meet with a few supporters here and see my parents and two sisters who all live in central FL. We took advantage of the location to take the kids to EPCOT on Tuesday and to Disney Quest on Thursday. Had the weather been better yesterday we would have gone to a water park but we couldn't count out storms throughout the day so we opted for the indoor arcade park. If I never see another video game in my life, I'm sure I'll be grateful.

My dad will reach 82 in a couple months and my mom is closing in on 80. They can't really handle a week long visit but since we don't see them very often, we decided to break up our visit with them into a few hours on Monday and then take this break with the Disney attractions. We'll visit with them again today, tomorrow and Monday for a few hours. This will allow them to not get exhausted by our visit but also allow us to see them a few times.

The boys liked Epcot. Dayton was chosen by the Japanese candy artist to make whatever animal he wanted out of some sort of candy substance made with rice flour (?) and corn syrup. He chose a golden dragon and she did a great job. It was a little hard to get it home unscathed as we carried it through over 4 hours of rain at the end of the day, but the plastic cover kept it in pretty good shape. My sister took a photo of it for us and if I ever get that photo, I'll have to post it!

We were then chosen as the "First Family" in the American Adventure exhibition and it didn't really mean anything but we did get a privileged seating in the rotunda and then in the auditorium.

Disney Quest is a 5 story arcade with a number of virtual reality games which the boys enjoyed. Beth and I went on a few of them but generally once was enough for us. My head still is a bit woozy from all the noise and visual stimulation. Had the weather been better we definitely would have done a water park or done something outdoors somewhere. The boys had a good time though, of course.

We plan to leave my parents' home by about midday on Monday and head for the panhandle of FL and Metairie, LA and then Dallas by the 10th. We'll glad to see the end in sight for this trip. We left Mexico on July 3rd so yesterday marked 2 months on the road. Just about 3 weeks left before our arrival home. We have about a week's worth of important details to take care of in Dallas otherwise we'd be home even sooner.

I hope to have some photos soon but we need to pack it up here this morning and head back to DeLand where my parents live.

Deer #8 of 8 in Cades Cove

2009-08-26T22:10:00.000-05:00

Cades Cove - Flora and Fauna

2009-08-26T19:45:00.003-05:00

As we drove around the 11 mile loop at Cades Cove today we spotted a group of wild turkeys, 8 deer, 2 squirrels (ha-ha) and one authentic set of tracks in some mud near the visitor center. I have been punched on all afternoon by Cameron who was chagrined to discover that the "set of tracks" were from a vehicle. I never said they were animal tracks! lol

Cades Cove - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

2009-08-26T19:40:00.002-05:00

Up Close

2009-08-26T09:35:00.002-05:00

I took this video yesterday from the side of the road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I would not recommend getting this close but I figured from the looks of the older and larger folks standing around, I had a pretty good chance of getting back to the car ahead of the others and avoid being the closest morsel for dessert. :-)