the Christmas season

Advent has begun. This year in my class, we're doing different Christmas-related activities each day and discussing the story of Jesus' birth. A few days ago, I asked my fifth and sixth graders to write down as much of the Christmas story as they knew. The results were surprising: these children of pastors and missionaries had many errors in their stories. I hope that by the time we leave for vacation on the 18th, the children will know the true story.

Meanwhile, we continue to work with the children in Huejotzingo. Abraham and I edited Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol and converted it into a reader's theater. We have started going on Saturday afternoons as well as on Sundays in order to practice two songs and the reader's theater. Last Saturday we also started making piñatas. Although many of the kids do not read well, they are starting to learn their parts.


Last Sunday a friend of Abraham's from the seminary invited him to speak at his church. This church is brand new and meets in a home. Abraham spoke from Luke chapter 2, emphasizing how the shepherds shared the news of Jesus' birth immediately. We too have the privilege and responsibility to share the Good News.

This season in Mexico is one when the focus leaves the birth of Jesus and turns to Guadalupe. Thousands of pilgrims walk, drive, or bike to the Basilica in Mexico City to adore the virgin on Dec. 12. We've been seeing pilgrims traveling, carrying their images and pictures. Please pray that the true message of God's Gift to humanity would break through the confusion of the traditions surrounding Guadalupe.

On Sunday evening, Abraham and I set up our first Christmas tree. We found a good artificial tree at a swap meet and bought lights and bulbs to decorate. After returning from Huejotzingo, we put the tree together and strung lights. The results are lovely! This will be our first Christmas as a married couple and my first Christmas away from my parents, brother, and sisters. We will be starting new traditions together.

"God bless us, every one!"

Thankful

It has been awhile since I´ve posted. For some time I was working on editing a copy of The Christmas Carol in Spanish so that the kids in Huejotzingo could do a readers´ theater presentation of it on Dec. 21. It will be a challenge to get the readers´ theater together since many of the children do not attend school and therefore don´t read very well. Today Abraham and I took the 1 1/2 hour bus ride out to Huejotzingo to begin rehearsals. Until the performance, we´ll continue going on Saturdays in addition to our normal Sunday afternoon visits.

Please join us in prayer. We believe God is calling us to work full time in Huejotzingo in the near future and are considering buying property there. At present a smallish lot with nothing on it costs anywhere from $6,000 to $8,000 USD to buy. That is a very good price, but we simply don´t have the money for it. However, if God would have us move there and own our property, he will provide.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Abraham and I joined the Puebla Christian School staff for a potluck feast a week before the actual Thanksgiving day, but we also invited my mother and brother-in-law to celebrate at our house the date of Thanksgiving. It was their first time eating a Thanksgiving meal, since Mexico does not celebrate this holiday (Abraham had to go to school that day, and Ken skipped his to join us). We enjoyed the traditional foods, although the "turkey" was actually chicken, and Ken bought tortillas to complete the meal. When we had finished eating the main meal, we were too full for apple pie just yet, so Abraham and I went to rent a movie. After the movie, it was too late for Ken, Six, and Chava to go home, so we set up makeshift beds, and they stayed the night.

There are so many things I thank God for during this season. My wonderful husband, my families, work that I enjoy, provision for all our needs, faithful supporters, health, a beautiful home, the children in Huejotzingo, and the list goes on... What are you thankful for?

Acapulco

A week ago, Abraham and I took an emergency trip to Acapulco. A friend of my brother-in-law had died unexpectedly, leaving some property in Acapulco to my brother-in-law who lives in the States. This friend who had died was someone Abraham and I met 11 months ago when we had chance for an expense-paid trip to Acapulco in January. Last week, my brother-in-law asked Abraham if he could go take care of the paperwork involved with the properties and also comfort the other friends who had lived with the man who died.

Abraham asked me if I could go too, so we found a substitute for the afternoon for my class and caught a bus for the seven hour trip. We arrived in the early evening, on time for the body to be brought to the house. What followed was, for me, an entirely new experience. People had gathered for the wake, and many had brought candles, pictures of saints, or flowers which they set around the coffin. One of the women began the velorio (wake) service which lasted about 20 minutes. After that, Abraham spoke about the story of the Prodigal Son from Jesus' parables.

Near midnight, after talking with the friends at the house, Abraham and I left for the restaurant where, 11 months before, we had eaten garlic shrimp prepared by the man whose life ended so suddenly in October. The restaurant had been closed for some time. We pushed two couches together and covered them with sheets, and that became our bed for the two nights we stayed.

Saturday morning, Abraham spent quite a long time sorting through legal papers and talking on the phone with my brother-in-law to find out what needed to be set aside and copied. We joined the friends to take the body to be cremated, and then we went downtown to make a huge bundle of copies. That took until evening, and then we returned to the house to talk again with the grieving friends until late night.

Sunday morning was our only chance to see the beach. We took the bus to a lovely beach called Caleta, and enjoyed the clear water, bright skies, and hot weather. We could only stay about an hour, however, because the bus leaving for Puebla pulled out at 12:30. Even though we hurried and the taxi ride to the station felt like Six Flags, we made the bus with only 5 minutes to spare.

Finally, at nine p.m. we entered our home in Puebla. It had been far from a vacation visit to the beach! I'm so glad we can sleep in tomorrow, since this week at school felt very long and tiring.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our health and safety. Your support is vital.

Alarm clocks

On Friday night PCS held the annual Fun Fall Fest, the school's alternative to Halloween and Day of the Dead. Like last year, this year I painted faces. Because my station was outside, I had more customers than the previous year when I was inside. The drawback was the mosquitoes. When the dark came, so did they - in great swarms.

Thank you for your prayers for Abraham and I. In the morning on Friday Abraham went with his seminary classmates to some ruins. On the way back they got lost, so the driver tried to make up time while returning to the seminary. As they sped along the road, they hit a dip and flew. The group in the car behind them said it looked as though the car would flip. Typical of Puebla, only the driver was wearing a seat belt, so had the car flipped, everyone would have been seriously injured or killed. Thank God for his hand on them.

On Sunday we visited Flor and baby Jeronimo. He is a very tranquil child and slept peacefully as Abraham and I took turns holding him. Someone from church had donated a crib and some food, so we gave those to the family. Abraham also passed by to see how Don Ezekiel was doing, but he was not home. Please keep praying.

On a quirky note: Abraham and I received the gift of a clock that takes the time from Colorado. Supposedly the clock is always exact. The problem is, Mexico changed time over the weekend and the US did not. I manually changed the clock, but sometime during Sunday night, the clock changed itself again. When the alarm rang at "6:15" this morning, I got up and got ready for the day, all the while with the nagging suspicion that something wasn't right. Why was it dark outside still? Why couldn't I hear the neighbors? When I went to the kitchen to begin breakfast, I saw the normal clock - it was still 5:35. This gave me time to make banana muffins and soup for tonight's dinner , read my Bible, and take the laundry down from the line. I still don't plan to get up an hour early every day. Until the US changes as well, we will put the alarm at 7:15.

Jeronimo!

I have not been to visit Flor since just after her baby was born, but Abraham had the chance to see them Wednesday of last week. The baby's name is Jeronimo, since he was named after the saint for Sept. 30. St. Jerome is not a bad person to be named after; he is called the 'Doctor of the church' for translating the Bible into Latin.

Sunday Dios es Amor celebrated eight years of life. Several people were baptized, and Abraham was the one who baptized three of them. This was his first time baptizing.

Mixed with the happiness and celebration of the anniversary was profound sorrow. Early that morning, one of the elders of the church received the news that his son had died in a car crash at midnight. His son was only 23. He and his friends had been drinking, and the driver drove the car off a bridge, killing all 5 people. Please pray for Andres and his family. This is the last in a series of tragedies that they have faced recently.

Yesterday, the fifth and sixth grade class moved back to the PCS campus. It was an extremely hectic day, since when we arrived we found that there were no chairs, and the desks that had been moved back into the room were the wrong ones (some of them were first and second grade size). Also, all the books that had been on the shelves were stacked on one table, the plants were in the hallway, the fish tank was filthy, and one of the high schoolers had put another spider in with the tarantula to see if they would fight (the tarantula was boarding in another room during our absence). Because the kids didn't have a place to sit or put their text books, I had them help me reorganize and shelve the books rather than try to conduct class. However, after they finished, the desks and chairs still hadn't arrived, so we had language arts and grammar class while seated on the floor. The students had math class in another room, and then it was lunch time, with music class following in yet another classroom. Only during last period did we finally have desks and chairs, and the kids were able to put away all their books. Now the room actually looks as it should.

Abraham continues to work hard with the multitude of seminary homework. There are many times when he goes to bed late and gets up early in order to finish all the reading. Please pray for energy and strength. Pray also for his eyes; the eye infection he had as a child makes it hard for him to see well and makes his eyes tire and sting quickly.

It's a boy (who doesn't have a name yet)

Finally Flor's baby is born. She had to have a cesarean on Wednesday, because he just didn't want to come out. Abraham and I went to visit today. Both baby and mom are healthy, although Flor is, understandably, still tired. Please continue to pray for her as she takes on the responsibility of being a mother at such a young age.

We also visited Don Ezequiel at his home, and he came to the Bible lesson for part of the afternoon. He is doing poorly and talked openly of being tired of life and of wanting to die. He said he would not make it to his next birthday which is this month. Pray for him and for his up-coming medical testing. So far he does not have a specific date for the testing, but it should be soon. He is very discouraged and is in a lot of pain.

Last week on Thursday my students joined the first and second graders for a field trip at a gigantic park in the city. We went to look for insects and composite flowers, since both classes had been studying them in science class. At first when we arrived, we reviewed the information that the children had learned, and then they explored for awhile. About half hour later, we called them back and gave them a list of items to find. Gradually as they were looking for the items, we moved toward the park's aviary, since some of the kids had brought the money to enter. Those who entered the aviary after lunch thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

My students are adjusting well to being at the seminary. It is more difficult, since we share the space and every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday the kids have to stack their books next to the teacher's desk, but on the other hand, the kids have a much bigger space to play in during recess. We'll be at the seminary for at least another month. It's very much a play-it-by-ear situation, and certainly never boring!

moving

When most of the classroom ceiling looks like this, it's time to move. Thankfully, the seminary where my husband attends has a room where the fifth and sixth grade can have class. We're sharing with other seminary classes, so it's a bit awkward, but at least we're not inhaling mold and paint flakes anymore. We don't know exactly how long this move will be, since the roof is currently under repair. The leak is so bad that the classroom under mine began to leak too!

As of Sunday, Flor still had not had her baby. Although they may be wrong in the count, her father claims she is now at ten months. I've never heard of anyone carrying a baby for that long, but even if she's not a full month overdue, she's definitely past the date the doctors gave her. Keep her in your prayers. Remember she is only fourteen, and her parents are planning for her to have the baby at home.

Abraham and I went to visit Don Ezekiel as well, but he was not home. His wife told us that he has some good moments and some bad. She referred obscurely to his "going out for distraction" when he feels bad. Drinking? She didn't say that, so hopefully not. He was supposed to undergo a medical study two weeks ago, but they forgot to go, so the doctors rescheduled Ezekiel's test for another week from now. He needs your prayers.

My husband Abraham has not been selling tamales for several weeks now. He and his mom decided, with the cost of ingredients increasing, it was not worth trying to continue. I'm glad to have him home every evening, and it is good that he has more time for the abundant homework from the seminary. Please pray that he is able to keep up with all the assignments - there is a load!

God isn't always the answer

...at least if you're answering on a Bible quiz, and the questions are ones like "Who were Adam and Eve?" or "Who was the first murderer?" One of my students is a native Spanish speaker, and he's really having a hard time with all this English. Last week when I gave the students a Bible quiz, he decided that answering "God" to everything would be a safe bet. Well, no.

Another student has terrible spelling, but at least I understand what he's trying to convey. On the same Bible quiz, I had the question "Who is our adversary (enemy)?" He replied, "Satin is our enemy." I guess if you're trying to sew a prom dress or something, satin can seem to be a formidable enemy! On a science test, he responded to one question by saying that honey bees die within a few hours after singing. I guess that's why I've never heard them sing. They want to keep living.

The atmosphere in our classroom is "interesting" at present. The rains recently picked up significantly, and it turns out this room has a gigantic leak. We have buckets strewn about everywhere trying to catch the drops raining down, but even so, the carpet is soaked. We have two fans going full blast and also a heater. The paint is flaking down from the ceiling, along with mold and mildew. Not healthy! Yesterday, someone began to repair the roof during school, so that on top of the noise of the fans, we have the sound of pounding. If the pounding fixes the roof, I don't mind!

Mexican Independence Day was Sept. 15, and we had the 16th off school. On that day Abraham and I visited Six and watched Kung Fu Panda. We all went over to church in the afternoon for the celebration there. Although it was raining almost all afternoon, quite a few people showed up to play the games and eat the potluck dinner.

The Sunday before, we had a small fiesta in Huejotzingo. We played hot potato in two different forms, and then served tostadas to the kids and the parents who came. When the kids had finished eating, Abraham and I went to visit Flor to see if her baby had been born. While there, we found out that her father was on bed rest for a back injury. Flor's baby hadn't been born yet, all though by this point, the child may have been born. Please pray for her, for her father, and for the rest of the family. With the father on bed rest, the two oldest boys are in charge of earning.

The school weeks are already flying by, and we only just started. I have a good, studious group of students. I can give them assignments, and they will work independently. What a difference from my students in 1st and 2nd grade last year! The little ones last year couldn't even read, so trying to find independent work for them was difficult.

On Saturday afternoon, Abraham and I went out to church at Dios es Amor to join the youth group for an afternoon of games and socializing. We arrived in time for the game of futbeis (kick ball) which the women lost soundly - although we might have come back for a win if it hadn't begun to rain (hah). When the rain chased us inside, we started a rousing game of four square that lasted until people began to go home at 8.

Like usual, we went to Huejotzingo on Sunday afternoon. Instead of starting with the Bible story immediately, we started out with four square, and then the kids ate their snacks before Abraham told Bible story. While the children wrote in their Bible booklets afterward, Abraham and I visited Flor to see if her baby had been born yet and to give her some donations from the church. Please continue to pray for her. The baby has not been born yet, although they expect it will arrive this week. She will have the child at home - risky considering that she is only 14 years old.

Also continue your prayers for Don Ezekiel. The medicine he was taking had helped with the pain, but it has returned now. He is angry at God for allowing this illness, although he is still willing to meet with Abraham and pray.

New beginnings

After a very active summer, school has resumed once more. This year, instead of the youngest students in the school, I have the younger middle ones. My class consists of four fifth graders and four sixth graders. On the first day, the students entered with the dazed look of "I haven't gotten up this early for months!" Don't worry kids, I hadn't either.

Most of the day we went over rules and procedures, so by the time school let out, I was really tired of the sound of my own voice. Happily, that is all over now, and on this second day, the kids are hard at work on their language arts assignments.

At first look, it seems that when I split the class, my sixth graders will be able to do most of their work independently. That is very helpful, because in fifth grade I have two boys who do not speak English very well and two other boys who need quite a bit of supervising to make sure they complete their work.

Along with his brother, mother, and alternating helpers from the church, Abraham and I continue to go every Sunday afternoon to the mission in Huejotzingo. One of the men, named Don Ezekiel, who has begun attending needs your prayers. He has been in pain for two years and until a few weeks ago, the doctors could not figure out what was wrong. Recently however, they took a scan that revealed nodules in his intestine. The doctors were able to prescribe medicine that helps with the pain, but the nodules cannot be removed without expensive surgery, and they are life-threatening. We do not know if Don Ezekiel has accepted Jesus as his savior, although he has some church background and is definitely interested in learning more.

Another person in Huejotzingo who needs your prayers is Flor. Although she is only fourteen years old, she is seven months pregnant. Her baby is due mid-September. She is living with her parents, two older brothers, and three younger siblings. Please pray for her health, wisdom, and future as she will soon be raising her own child.