Back Home

Abraham, Abishael, and I have been home for over a month now, and we´ve been encouraged.  The first week was rather slow, because some people still did not know we had returned, so they did not know that all the regular classes had started again.  In the English classes, we only had one student, and the girls´ craft class also had only one attender when we made tee-shirt scarves.  However, after that the regulars returned.

We soon had between 9 and 11 students in the Saturday morning English classes.  Each week we have a different class dynamic, because the same group of students never repeats.  Our youngest in the class is a shy 6-year-old, and the oldest is her mother, the wife of a local pastor.  Some students faithfully come every Saturday, and others are more relaxed, but each week we also have new students who take the place of the ones who are gone.

One Sunday, the bus drivers seemed to have reached an agreement to not pick up new passengers, so Abraham and I were not able to get to our regular church.  Instead, we decided to visit a Huejotzingo church, the church of several of our English students.  We enjoyed the service and the warm welcome of the congregation.  The pastor asked Abraham to announce the English class, and after service many people approached us for more information.  We shall see whether any of them actually decide to join.

On Sunday evening, my mother-in-law Six and I resumed the monthly women´s craft night after a long hiatus.  We made no-sew cloth necklaces and chatted with the three neighbor ladies who came.  I briefly told the story of King Solomon and Ecclesiastes, and one of the ladies asked me where to find the book in the Bible so that she could read it.  All three ladies agreed that they wanted more craft times, and we set up another one for Tuesdays at 7 p.m.  Six will teach ribbon embroidery this week.

We plan to finally start a conversation class for people who already know English but don´t have much chance to practice.  There are several neighbors who lived in the States, some of them for many years.  Hopefully that class will be on Fridays at 1.

The annual Huejotzingo carnival begins this Saturday.  I dread the four days of the constant noise of rifles,
unruly drunks, and crowds of costumed people.  The carnival is an international attraction, but many of us who live in Huejo would rather be away!  There are usually quite a number of injuries - some serious - and also some deaths.  We have heard that the convenient anonymity of the masks and costumes makes the carnival an opportune time for taking revenge.  Please pray that this year there will be no loss of life or serious injury.

Pray for us as we look for the doors God is opening here.  Pray that we would be wise as we seek to be Jesus´ hands and feet in a very needy area.  Thank you for your support.