Visiting friends during the rainy season

navigating muddy roads

 Rainy season, while a blessing in many ways, does make our Sunday evening visit more challenging.  Most Sundays after kids´ club we go to the home of the family that we have known the longest in Huejotzingo.  Abraham began visiting their home during the week more than a year before we moved to Huejotzingo, and we have continued ever since.

They do not attend any church, although they are confirmed and baptized Catholics and are devoted to Guadalupe.  They used to live a few streets away from us, but not very long ago, they bought property in a place surrounded by fields and unpaved roads, and they built a house and moved there.  Now, instead of a quick walk to their house, we go by bike.

exploring outside

bouncing on the bed

Abishael doesn´t always go with us, because his grandma Six is at our home Sunday through Wednesday, so he sometimes stays with her.  However, when conditions permit (it´s not pouring rain), we usually take him with us, because he absolutely loves playing there.  The family has sheep, turkeys, chickens, dogs, geese, and other livestock, and Abish is fascinated by the animals.  He also thoroughly enjoys playing with the other kids.  The youngest is more than three years older than Abish, but they still play loud, rowdy games together and have lots of fun.

While the kids play, I am either outside with them keeping an eye out to make sure the games don´t get too rough, or if it´s raining, inside but still watching.  Abraham chats with the adults for awhile about all kinds of different topics.  The father of the family spent several years in the States, as did various other relatives, so sometimes the conversation is about his times there.  Eventually, Abraham tells a story from the Bible, and then he and the father discuss the story.  Some time after that, we bike back home.

Please join us in praying for the family, that they could have a personal relationship with Jesus.  Right now they cling to tradition without knowing much about the Bible or about God.  We are thankful that they continue to be welcoming friends and willingly listen to the stories Abraham tells from the Bible.

Rain

As I write this, the rain is falling steadily and softly outside.  What a blessing to be able to see Huejotzingo and all of Puebla be beautiful and green again and to be able to be in this house, out of the cold.  Earlier this evening Abraham and I went to visit a family that lives about 10 minutes away from us by bike.  When we left home, there was a lull in the rain, but we still had to carefully skirt puddles and thread our bikes along the grassy side of the road on the last part where there is no pavement yet.  As we talked with the family, the rain began again.  We talked a bit more, and then Abraham said we were leaving.  The father of the family urged us to stay until the rain died down, but when we looked outside at the thick cloud cover, we saw no break.  We decided to head home through the chilly rain.  Sure enough, the rainfall has continued, even just now picking up to a downpour.

Even with its inconveniences, I prefer the months of rainy season over the months of dry, dry, dry.  With the almost daily rain, the sky is washed clean of dust, the vacant lots fill with wild flowers and grass, and the nearby volcanoes become covered in snow.  Farmers sow their fields with corn and beans, and everywhere there is refreshing green.  Huejo becomes a pretty place all over again.

Here in Huejo Abraham and I continue with almost the same ministry schedule as during the Puebla Christian School academic year.  The year ended with May, and so Abraham no longer teaches at PCS on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  This means that he is home in the afternoons when the children come for tutoring.  He works with them on the multiplication tables after I read with them, since we discovered that many of them - even the older ones - don´t know their multiplication facts hardly at all.

On Saturdays we have English class from 11 to 1, although the number of students has dropped off some.  The first hour we work on review of what we have taught before, and the second hour is dedicated to new material.  At 1, those who choose to can stay for a paragraph-long Bible story which I give in English, using pictures to help.  The students take home copies of the story.  I record it, and Abraham then puts it onto facebook for the students to hear and practice.

Please pray for us as we work in Huejotzingo.  Pray as the vacation Bible schools for the church and also here at Huejo fast approach.  The church´s is the third week in July, and the one here is the last week.

Single Parents´ Night

It had been more than two years since Abraham and I last set up a single parents´ night at church.  During the intermission, we moved from Puebla to Huejotzingo and had Abishael.  Both significant changes complicated planning for the event, but we decided to put together another single parents´ night.

cutting limes

The church board approved the date we had chosen, and we began rounding up volunteers. The other two single parents´ nights that we had hosted before were only for people from the church, but this time around, we opened up the invitation to others and capped the attendance at 30.  When the actual evening arrived, there were almost 30 single mothers and fathers.

preparing the dessert

This time we asked various people from the church to prepare and take specific special dishes for the parents´ meal rather than preparing the food at the church. Providing the dinner that way made the kitchen work much simpler, although we still needed the help of a number of volunteers to finish preparing and serving the food.

concentrating in the game of Spoons

As the parents began arriving, Abraham set up rousing games of Spoons and Uno. Once most of the parents were at church, he began other games as well, and the sanctuary rang with hilarity. Other volunteers set up their tables for manicures, facials, shoe polishing, and hair cuts. While some parents played games, waiting their turns for pampering, others moved to the tables with the volunteers.

Once the time of games and pampering ended, the kitchen crew entered into high gear to serve dinner. There was vegetable soup, salad, hand-made tortillas, and meat in sauce, followed by dessert of banana dolphins with strawberry roses and ice cream. To drink, the parents had sprite with craisins floating in the bubbles.

A friend from Puebla Christian School brought her team from T2T International to do a puppet play specifically for single parents.  Since several of the parents attending are not part of the church, we wanted to be sure to present the Gospel at the event.  When the T2T team finished their play, the event ended for the parents.  Church volunteers worked quickly with us to clean up, and we caught our bus home.

Next single parents´ event? Perhaps in another two years. Abraham and I are expecting our second baby end of October or beginning of November, so we may need to wait again for awhile.

Walk Thru the Bible

Sign for tabernacle

400 years

Two weeks ago in the Sunday afternoon kids´ club, we finished telling Bible stories from the Old Testament.  Now Abraham is teaching four weeks of Walk Thru the Bible.  Everyone is enjoying the energetic review, and we hope that they will take the stories home with them to tell to their families. 

 

After he finished teaching the signs for week two and reviewing from creation to Moses´ death, Abraham passed out a sheet with key words to
fill out so that everyone could practice at home.  We worked in groups to finish the sheet and then practiced the signs a few more times.

The Huejotzingo carnival has ended and various Lenten activities have begun.  There have been several processions of different images walked through the highly decorated streets, and some neighborhood homes have been converted into shrines to the images.  Starting late afternoon and on into the night, the sounds of ´Ave Maria´ and other classical songs float through the air, coming from the shrines where people gather to recite their rosaries and other scripted prayers.

Just as we have done other years, Abraham, Six, and I plan to have Holy Week services at our home, culminating in the celebration of Jesus´ resurrection on Easter Sunday.  We have observed in past years that the focus of the majority of the people here is on Jesus´ and Mary´s suffering and on Jesus´ death.  His resurrection is almost overlooked.  Our prayer is that we can clearly present the balance - yes, Jesus´ suffering and death were very real and necessary, but the story does not end there.  He rose again!  Please pray with us as we plan this year´s Holy Week activities.

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.

Welcome, 2014

Fast family photo before Kevin leaves for the airport

Abraham, Abishael, and I are spending a month with my family in Long Beach.  We've been enjoying seeing some areas around here, taking Abish to local parks, and being with family.  My brother just returned to Canada today, and Joy is only here until Monday.  We leave for home on the 18th.

What a blessing to be able to travel.  For the second year in a row, the whole immediate family was together for Christmas.  Abraham and I have been able to visit my sister's Orange County church (River 47) and my parent's and other sister's church (St. James).  I attended St. James for some time many years ago, and the church also supports Abraham and I in our work in Huejotzingo.  We are glad to get to know and see again members of the congregation.

 Before we left Huejotzingo, Abraham, Abishael, and I attended a family get-together with various Lechuga relatives.  We drew names for a simple gift exchange and each brought a main dish for the dinner.

Two Tuesdays before our trip, the pre-teen girls came together, along with two new ladies, to make stars/snowflakes out of old maps.  While we are away, my mother-in-law Six is continuing the craft nights and Bible reading with the girls, along with the tutoring classes during the week.  She is house-sitting for us as well.  For the Sunday kids' club, Abraham arranged for different people to give their testimonies or teach Bible stories.  We have kept in contact with Six via Skype, and she reports that all is going well.

Near the beginning of December, I contracted a UTI, but when we tried to visit the doctor, it was too late in the day.  We bought cranberry juice, and by the next morning, the symptoms had disappeared.  A few days later, however, I began to feel sluggish, and my lower back hurt.  Soon I had a fever.  We saw a doctor and get antibiotics, but for the next three days, I spent most of the time in bed.  A week later, a follow up lab test showed that, although I felt fine, there was still some infection.

We traveled to the States, and the day after I finished the antibiotics, my dad took me to a doctor he knows for another lab test.  Unfortunately, infection still showed.  Three days later, fever and achy back returned, but by that time the lab let us know which antibiotic I needed to take, so, after ten days of another antibiotic, I was finally cured.  Thank God for his provision of medical help when we need it and for overall excellent health. 

At the beginning of this year, we especially thank God for his blessing in 2013.  We have seen time and again how he provides for us and how he has opened doors of ministry in Huejotzingo and Puebla Christian School.  Thank you to those of you who pray for us, support us financially, and encourage us.  May God bless you in this new year.

It´s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

 Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  In the Lechuga Greenlee family, we will have a small, quiet celebration at home.  Mexico doesn´t recognize Thanksgiving, so most of our friends and family will be working or in school.  Only a few people will join Abraham, Abishael, and I for a moderately traditional feast in our home.

Visual overload in Chignahuapan

Recently we went with teachers from Puebla Christian School to Chignahuapan, a place known for its hot springs, for a church with an enormous statue of Maria which attracts thousands of pilgrims each year, and for handmade Christmas spheres.  We spent several hours among crowds of other sphere-seekers, amazed once again by the variety of beautiful decorations available for excellent prices.

Repurposed old jeans

old t-shirts make hats and scarves

Christmas has also arrived to the Tuesday evening craft time with the pre-teen girls at our house.  There are so many ideas on the internet for DIY Christmas decorations.  What did we ever do before the net was invented?  The three girls who first started coming when we started craft nights continue to come faithfully, and they have been joined by two more girls.  We have almost finished reading through Proverbs and have made a wide variety of desserts and decorations in the months we´ve met together.  The girls have opened up about difficult situations in their lives and have also deepened in their friendships with each other.

Speaking of Christmas, yesterday I pulled out our decorations from under the bed (amid dust and dust bunnies), and rinsed the plastic tree off.  We had intended to decorate the house today, but I didn´t find the Christmas lights.  As we looked for them, we got side-tracked.  No decorating today (and we still don´t know where the lights are), and tomorrow isn´t likely either, what with Thanksgiving preparations.  Maybe Friday?

We have the blessing of being able to visit my family for Christmas again this year.  Abraham found some really good tickets, and for the first time, we can fly out of the small local airport instead of having to travel to Mexico City to fly from there.  We look forward to seeing family and have already arranged to see several friends during the time we´re in the States.

Have a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving.  May you spend it with the people you love the most.

The Dead Shall Live

Marigold flowers are used in large quantities

Yesterday began el día de los muertos (day of the dead) in Mexico.  It is actually almost a full week when people remember their dead, cleaning their tombs and setting up altars.  I have read many opinions about how día de los muertos is a wonderful way for people to remember their loved ones and how children grow up without fear of death, because they learn to see it as a natural part of life.  To a casual observer, perhaps this looks true.  Pretty flowers, freshly painted graves, offerings and altars, families passing the day at graveyards, cleaning the tombs and picnicking there.

 But just as pretty wild flowers hide piles of trash and graffiti around Huejotzingo, so do these practices hide some ugly truths.
The altars are built in people´s homes with offerings of what the dead person used to favor in life.  The families who set up the altars invite the spirits of their dead to return for a visit during the día de los muertos.  People put crosses of marigold petals outside their doors so that the spirits can find their way.  However, the Bible is clear that we should  not call on the spirits of the dead;  in the Old Testament, those who consulted the dead were condemned to death.
Simply talking with people shows that the fear of death is just as strong in Mexicans as it is anywhere else.  Although children grow up visiting graveyards each year, the familiarity with death´s reality does not remove fear.&nbsp
This coming Sunday we will celebrate life in the children´s club.  We will tell the story of Ezequiel 37 in the valley of bones. "The Lord put his strong hand on me. His Spirit brought me away from my home. He put me down in the middle of a valley. It was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them. I saw a huge number of bones in the valley. The bones were very dry. The Lord asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Lord and King, you are the only one who knows.”
Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones. Tell them, ‘Dry bones, listen to the Lord’s message. The Lord and King speaks to you. He says, “I will put breath in you. Then you will come to life again. Then you will know that I am the LORD."  

What a beautiful message of LIFE!  Please pray with us that the children receive the light and life of Jesus within them, and that they share the message with others.   Pray that the fear of death can be swallowed up in the assurance of eternal life in Christ for those who believe in him as the only Lord and Savior.

A new ministry and others

After vacation Bible school ended, Abraham and a Christian neighbor who had helped us during the week discussed how they could continue following up with the pre teen and teen boys that had attended.  Dany, our neighbor, knows how to play guitar, so Abraham and he decided to start a guitar class and study time on Sunday evenings after kids´ club ends.  They now have a regular group of four who learn guitar chords and then read and discuss a chapter out of Josh McDowell´s book No Dejes tu Cerebro en la Puerta (Don´t Leave Your Brain at the Door).  Abraham says that the teens have many questions and enter into the talks with interest.  Two of the four teens do not attend any other activity that we have at our home, so it is especially encouraging that they come on Sunday evenings.

There are many Bible verses about idolatry

Recently two adults joined the kids on Sunday afternoons to hear the Bible story and participate in the activity after the story.  They are neighbors who live across the street from us.  The mother and two of the children are Christian, but the rest of the family is not.  The father has talked with Abraham several times, and he has many questions.  On Monday he asked for a list of Bible verses addressing idolatry.  Please pray for him and his family.  He struggles with alcoholism, just like many of the Huejotzingo residents do.

Practicing vocabulary in advanced class

Although we have few students in the English classes, the ones who come are consistent.  We have two levels of classes.  The more advanced students have class on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and the newer students attend on Saturday.  We hope to open a new group for some adults who already speak English - most of them lived in the States for quite a while - but they want to practice so that they don´t forget what they know.  We will read the book The Blood of Lambs by Kamal Saleem for an hour each Friday, if the time works out for the various adults.  If that class opens, it will start in the next few weeks.

Thank you for your continued prayers.  We are encouraged by the new ministry opportunities, but there is still so much need in the community.  Pray for safety and health and for wisdom as we live and work here.  Please also pray specifically for one of the young ladies we have known for a long time.  A few weeks ago, just a week after her fourteenth birthday, she asked during prayer time that we pray that she not be pregnant.  Shortly after that, she went away with her grandma to another state, supposedly to learn to be a beautician, but that seems strange since there are many places she could learn in Huejotzingo.

VBS

Abishael sleeping after a  busy day in VBS nursery

Abraham and two others setting up chairs

 Summer has come and gone.  Abraham and I helped in the VBS of our church during the third week of July.  The theme of the week was God Walks with Israel.  Abraham was games leader, while I worked in the nursery.  Each day there was a varying number of children and adults, but the final count of attenders was over 400.  

Two weeks later, we held VBS at our home in Huejotzingo.  It was a year of several firsts.  Due to lack of transportation, volunteer help from the church was at a minimum.  One young man from church helped us four out of the five days, and to do that, he stayed at our house.  Another lady also helped several days, and she had to leave home early to take two buses in order to arrive.  My mother-in-law also stayed the week with us, as did my dad who was our photographer.  Because of few helpers from church, it was the first year that all the children attending the VBS were only from Huejotzingo.  We had no worker's children in attendance except for our own son, Abishael.

Also a first was the help of a Huejotzingo couple, Christian neighbors of ours.  They came each day.  Because they came, neighbor children of theirs also attended for the first time.

Telling the story of Cain and Abel

Thomas can't stop telling about Jesus

Our theme was Dios con Nosotros, God with Us.  Starting with the creation story, narrated by an angel, we taught how God made everything perfect.  On the second day, Adam told about naming the animals and how God created Eve and also how the first couple enjoyed perfect communion with God in Eden.  Eve came the third day and sadly told how sin entered the world and ruined the perfect relationship that God intended for us to have with him.  She also narrated how God immediately promised a Savior.  On day four, a lady gave the story of Cain and Abel as an example of how sin exploded into the world, but there were still people who called on the name of the Lord.  Finally, day five, Thomas, Jesus' disciple, recounted how God kept his promise of a Savior by sending Jesus.

Adam and Eve figures and creation books

Abraham reviewing the story Adam told

We chose songs and crafts, developed games and worksheets, and practiced verses each day that reinforced the message.  God's desire is to be with us, to restore the perfect relationship that existed in the beginning.  A total of 31 children participated during the week.  We were encouraged to see their enthusiasm and their recall of all they learned as we reviewed with them.

The young group painting

The young man from church is also a professional clown

game time

Little ones coloring animal pairs

Take care of your brother

The same game with smaller kids

The sheep Abel sacrificed-a reminder that the Savior would die in our place

The closing day, Sunday, the young group recited three of their five memory verses and the older group did the same, although their verses were longer.  We sang the week's songs, and Abraham briefly went over the stories we'd heard, asking many questions as he reviewed.  The kids remembered very well.  They enjoyed the slide show, including various videos, that my dad put together.  After receiving their diplomas and small prizes, they dug into the cake that the church sent for us.  Three parents attended the finale.

Most of the VBS week at our home, I had some health problems, and some of the problem has continued.  We saw one doctor during the VBS week but there was no change in the situation.  A second doctor two weeks later did help some, and then we saw a third doctor today.  He also helped and assured us that soon there will be relief.  Please pray for health for all of us.  Pray also as we follow up with all the kids who attended the VBS and pray that they will share what they learned with their families.