First VIsitors

I haven't had any American friends come visit me . . . until now! This week my amazing friend Courtney, who lives in Puerto Vallarta, made a spontaneous decision to come visit. Monday afternoon she and her precious baby girl Callie boarded a bus and rode a full NINE, yes NINE hours to get to my city. The first few hours of the trip were on roads so curvy that Courtney was miserably sick to her stomach. Thankfully, though, the sickness eventually subsided and allowed her to recover quite a bit by the end of the journey.
We had a couple of wonderful days to just spend time together and talk. They were even able to go with me to one of our Bible studies. Thursday morning I had to take them back to the bus station and watch them begin the journey back to Vallarta. It was a little sad to say goodbye because I cherish her friendship and our time together, but I am SO grateful that we were able to spend this time together. I am grateful to Preston for supporting/encouraging this trip even though he had to stay home alone. I am grateful to Courtney for always finding ways to be there for me when I need a friend. The fact that she put herself through such a miserable bus ride to come says so much about the kind of person she is. Most of all, I am grateful to God for bringing such precious friends into my life AND placing them in the same country as me!

Challenging Adventures

One of the bigger challenges in my life abroad is keeping up with all of the hoops that one must go through to continue to keep a vehicle street legal. To further complicate the situation, my van has plates from a neighboring state; therefore, everything must be done in that state. Since things are a little different, people in my state can't tell me where to go or what to do. I just have to figure it out.

First was the trip to Guadalajara to get something I needed in July. Fortunately, a Mexican friend was able to go with me, and we bumbled around the city until we found the right office. Then this month I had to take the van in for what they call verification. Only certain mechanics are authorized to do this. So, I needed to drive to a town in the other state and locate one of these shops. Last week I drove an hour to a town across the state line, spent over an hour driving around and asking people if they could direct me (receiving responses like "What's a verification center?" or "I think you have to go to Aguascalientes for that.") One man directed me to a place where there wasn't even a shop. Finally, I drove the hour back home without accomplishing the goal.

Yesterday I set out for a different town, over an hour and a half away. I had done my research in advance this time. I had gone online and managed to find the address of an alleged center. Once I finally reached the town, oriented myself, and found the address, I was a bit discouraged to discover that there was no longer a center at that address. More time driving, looking, and asking led me to someone who directed me to the driver's license office. The second person I talked to there managed to tell me that there was a center across from the bus station. Of course, I had to ask for better directions. At this point my stress and frustration levels had risen to the point that I decided that if I didn't find the place he was talking about, I would head home.

Finally, I found success! There was a very nice woman in the shop's office who not only helped me but sat and chatted with me while the guys checked the van. As is typical, she asked questions about where I was from and why I came to Mexico. That led to a conversation about our Bible studies, giving me the opportunity to ask if she read the Bible. She explained how busy she was (although I couldn't help but think that if she had time to sit and visit with me today, surely she could find time to read the Bible some days). As I was about to leave, I grabbed the Spanish Bible that I keep in my van and gave it to her. I also asked for her name and promised to pray for her.

The drive home gave me time to reflect on how God had worked through a very tough situation to bring a blessing. Although she lives too far away for me to do much follow-up, I am actually looking forward to the next time my van needs verified! I know exactly where to go, and it will give me an opportunity to check in with her. Please join me in praying for Grisela and for her family.

Granny Mac

My grandma passed away yesterday. Although it was not unexpected, I was not as prepared as I thought I was. Losing a loved one is never easy, but it is even harder when you are thousands of miles away from the rest of the family. God has blessed me a with a wonderful family, and I am grateful for the technology that allows us to stay in touch, but sometimes you just really want to hug your Daddy. So, as I face another rough part of this journey, I am so grateful that God has reminded me of His love in so many ways, including through the friendship of some very thoughtful people.

LORETA MCCULLY - Macon, MO - Macon Chronicle Herald

I've thought a lot today about the great memories I have of Granny. From her fabulous cooking to her strong faith, from waking up to the sound of her happily whistling hymns in the kitchen to the times when my brother Jerrod and I stayed at her house and she was always willing to play another game with us (and even invented a few memorable ones!). The memories are a blessing that I will always be able to cherish. Most of all, I am thankful for the heritage of faith that she and Grandpa passed down to my Dad, and thereby to me as well.

Second Baptist

So, this morning I drove across the city to visit a church called Second Baptist. When I first arrived there were 3 adults and 4 kids, even though it was time to start. I quickly befriended a couple of the kids sitting near me and staring at me like I was the first white person to ever enter the neighborhood. Before long, there were around thirty people there, half kids/teens and half adults. The pastor, whose wife I've known for months, introduced himself to me and then introduced me to the congregation several times throughout the service. We sang some hymns, accompanied by a piano recording. The teaching style in their morning service is one that encourages dialogue, questions, and interaction. (Apparently the evening service is more the traditional preaching style.) The pastor did an EXCELLENT job; he is clearly a very gifted pastor/teacher. However, he did not exactly let me off the hook in spite of all of the possible reasons to do so (first time visitor, not a native Spanish speaker, etc.). He paused a few minutes into the lesson to have one of the women drag me into a seat closer to the front with her. He called on me to read scripture (as he did with everyone else as well). Now, remember that all of this is taking place in Spanish, and the pastor is speaking rather rapidly. I worked so hard to focus and try to understand everything without falling behind. However, in reality I was always a few beats behind because I had to think through translations, etc. About an hour and a half in, I was exhausted from the work it took to focus and slipped. My mind wandered for just a few seconds. That was all the time it took for him to call on me with a question. I had to ask him to repeat the question, in front of everyone, and the woman next to me repeated it as well for me. He was asking me to share what I thought about the scripture that had just been read. Between needing to think fast and needing to answer in Spanish, I was doomed to give a response that lacked depth.

In spite of a few notable similarities such as the name, the church was quite different than the Second to which I am accustomed!

Reflecting on My Day

This morning was my first morning to return to my Thursday morning Bible study with women from one of the local Baptist churches after a 2 month break. This past Sunday, I finally had an opportunity to visit their church again, and I was so blessed by the love and friendship with which I was received. Several women from the study came to me with warm embraces and expressions of how much they had missed me. These are the same women who once told me that I am not alone here because they are here for me. This is the one study where I am not "on." I am merely participating, not leading or anything. It is a place where I can go and be filled and share life with sisters in Christ. What a blessing to be with them once again!

This morning, though, the leader was conspicuously absent as her little daughter has been in Mexico City fighting leukemia for about 6 weeks. While there, we received a text from her to make sure we remembered to pray for her little girl. Then there was a second text to pray for her marriage. This entire struggle has taken a toll on the whole family, as it often does. We wept as we prayed together on our knees for this precious family.

As we were walking toward our cars, Angelica shared with me that she wants me to help her start a Bible study in her house by offering English lessons in conjunction with the study. We are both praying about this possibility and talking to our respective leadership (in her church, it is absolutely crucial that any involvement from me have the pastor's approval).

This afternoon we headed out to the neighborhood where we have a study. As we parked, some of our kids ran to us. I received three greeting kisses before I ever stepped out of the van. We set up and still had a little time, so some of the girls brought some paper and started folding it into hearts. They taught me through step by step instructions, my favorite of which was the last step where you sit on the heart to make it super-flat.

This week's lesson was about Jesus walking on water, so I started with a demonstration. I had a bowl of water and several objects, and I had the kids guess whether or not each object would float before putting the object in the water to see what would happen. We had our story time, did a craft, played a concentration game, did word searches, and jumped rope.

As we were loading up the van, one of the girls commented that it wasn't the van we usually bring. (We usually go in Robin's but had mine today.) When I told her that it was mine, she responded with surprise, "You drive???" Funny!

Yes, a good day indeed.

Women Taking Action

Several Christian women here, some from each of the Baptist churches, have started their own Bible studies (most in their homes) to reach out to neighbors, etc. It is so encouraging to see them take this big step. Without this type of boldness and action, it is very unlikely that this city of 1 million will ever be reached for Christ. Tuesday I had the privilege of visiting Elizabeth's brand new study. She said she was nervous, but I never would have guessed as God spoke powerfully through her. My dear friend Elsa told me that she now has 4 new people coming to her study on Mondays, 2 who are believers and 2 who are not. These are only a couple of examples of what God is doing here. Please join me in praying for each of these sisters in Christ who are leading studies and for God to draw more women to join them.

The Rest of the Week

Friday while our team from Alabama was here, we went out to Robin's Friday group. This is a very new and rather tough group. There are a couple of Christians, but there are also some very staunch Catholics. One in particular always tries to reteach what Robin has taught by putting a spin on it that isn't Truth. As Cammie was leading the study, one of the women asked how you can recognize a false prophet. A good question born out of a desire to learn. However, this quickly disintegrated into an argument about praying to Mary, to Guadalupe, and to saints. When Robin asked the women to tell her where her point of view could be proven in the Bible, she said she couldn't remember offhand where it was but it was in there. With a lot of prayer, the session got pulled back together. Some of the ones seeking truth are getting angry with the one who keeps causing problems, but it is tricky since she is also the hostess. After the study and Cammie's painting we also had a potluck dinner with the group. This was their idea because they new Robin's birthday was a few days away.
Sunday morning we joined Robin and Charlie on the basketball court where they hold services every week. One family is very faithful to come, as well as a ton of kids from the neighborhood.

The 3 women from Alabama couldn't leave town without checking out the unique style of slides that are characteristic of our city.
Sunday night was house church, and we had a larger crowd than usual because we were having a cookout afterward in honor of 2 birthdays.
Tina and Robin's birthdays are just a day or two apart, so we celebrated both with everyone gathered at the house Sunday night. It turned out to be a wonderful fellowship time! I spent a large portion of the evening helping 12 year old Valeria practice her English and also practicing my Spanish with her mom Adriana.Monday morning I got up before 4 am so that I could drive my house guests to the airport for their flight home.