Puerto Vallarta

Thank you for praying for my trip to Puerto Vallarta and for everything in the week leading up to my trip. I had a good time celebrating Thanksgiving with part of my IMB family, and I arrived here safely yesterday morning. Tonight I will get to spend a little time with some women who have been my friends since the first time I came to Vallarta on a mission trip.
Please pray for me as I speak to the church here tomorrow morning. I am excited for the opportunity but a bit nervous about the combination of public speaking and Spanish. Praying that God will have me say what He wants me to share about my work in Aguas.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to say how thankful I am for each of you! Hope that you are enjoying some time with family and/or friends and that you are taking time to express sincere gratitude to God for all that He has done!

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

No, that title is not a reflection of my grammar skills. If I remember correctly, it is a line from a song. It came to mind as I was thinking about my morning. Last Monday afternoon 3 girls had asked me to come teach them English and the Bible on Monday mornings because they have school in the afternoon and can't join that group. I wasn't sure if they would remember or would come out this morning.
I sat in the beautiful sunlight a few minutes before the appointed time of 10 am, and a curious woman from one of the apartments came and sat near me and asked about why I was there. After a few minutes, she said, "Oh. Here comes a girl who seems to know you. It looks like they did remember." Her words were music to my ears! Myrna approached, carrying the little notebook that I had given them to write their English vocab. Soon Daniela joined us, and we found a spot in the shade and began.
It was such a blessing to have this time with these girls. I pray that God will pour Himself into their lives through me and that they will begin to read the Bibles I gave them. Also praying that the fact that I will be out of town next week won't cause the group to end but that they will come the following week, as they agreed to do this morning.
Not only is 2 out of 3 not bad, I'd say it is fabulous! I am continuing to pray that the other girl, Yuritzi, will join us next time and that they will invite a few other friends as well.

Prayer for the Week

The week ahead is very full and also very exciting! Would love to know that you are praying for these specific requests throughout the week.

Monday:

• 10 am meeting with group of pre-teen girls for Bible study, English lesson, and just to be a part of their lives. Please pray that these girls will remember and be able to show up as this will be our first morning meeting. Also pray that God will speak through me.
• 5 pm meeting with the other group of pre-teen girls. Please pray that the girls will participate and will feel God's love for them specifically.

Tuesday:

• 4 pm Bible study with our group that normally meets on Wednesdays. Please pray for these women and kids to grow in understanding of God and for their husbands/dads to come to know Christ. Some have brought a sister or sister-in-law with them recently. Please pray that these women will return and will come to know Christ as well.
• During the day, please also pray for me as I finish preparing my house for company and prepare a couple of dishes for Thanksgiving dinner.

Wednesday:

• Please pray for safety for other missionaries who are driving here from 3 other cities to celebrate Thanksgiving with us at Robin and Charlie's house. Also pray that we will have a good time of fellowship and giving thanks to God. (The company I mentioned above is a family of 5 who are staying overnight with me. I LOVE VISITS, and I love this family!)

Thursday:

• Pray for continued good fellowship and safety as my visiting friends see a bit of the city and then drive back home.
• 4:30 pm Bible study: Pray that the women will be able to come study with Robin, and that the little boy who was hospitalized last Thursday is doing well. Pray for Angel and I to be the embodiment of God's love to these sweet kids.
• 10:20 pm bus departure: Pray for a safe trip as I ride an overnight bus to Puerto Vallarta, arriving at 7 am.

Prayer Need

Today when we arrived at our study, we quickly learned that one of our boys was in the hospital. Diego has a significant hearing impairment and has had a seizure in the past. Today he had another one and was rushed to the hospital. The grandma and youngest brother came to the study but were both clearly traumatized from what they had witnessed. They wanted to be with the sick boy and his mom at the hospital but needed to be around to pick up the older 2 boys from school. Please pray for Diego's health, and for the emotional and financial struggles that the entire family is experiencing. Pray that they will feel God's presence in this difficult time.
*Note: We stopped by the hospital on our way home from the hospital, and we were told that only one person could go in. Angel and I waited at the entrance while Robin was escorted in. She was told that she could only stay 2 minutes (which of course she stretched a bit). The mom was very surprised to have a visitor and clearly appreciated that Robin would take the time to stop by and pray for them.

It Went Well!!

Today was the day for my new group to start. As the kids gathered around Charlie, I went over and invited the older girls to come over to a table I had set up. I started with 3 girls aged 9-10. and 2 more girls that age joined us a little later. We introduced ourselves, had a little English lesson, had a brief Bible study, and then we made personalized ponytail holders and talked. It went really well!

An interesting thing happened, though. Schools here offer 2 different sessions, so some kids attend school in the morning and others in the afternoon. The afternoon session doesn't end until 6 pm, but we meet at 5 pm. However, today was a holiday and school was not in session. Of the 5 girls who came to my group, 3 are usually in school in the afternoons. They were upset that they wouldn't be able to keep meeting with me and immediately started conspiring to leave school early every Monday to be home in time for our group!

I was touched by this, and I didn't want to lose them from my group either. I asked them if they wanted to meet in the mornings before they go to school. I told them that I could come twice every Monday so that they would all be able to participate. We agreed to try 10 am next week for the girls who have school in the afternoon. It will be interesting to see if they come out that early. I told them several times that if I drive there I don't want to just sit outside by myself, and they assured me that it would not happen. I think it meant a lot to them to receive such undivided attention. They need to know how special they are as daughters of the king.

I feel like it was a good start, and my excitment about this group continues to grow. Praise God for this amazing blessing! Please continue to pray for these sweet girls.

Girls Group

On Mondays Robin and Charlie have a study at an apartment complex. Robin and 2 of our Mexican women have been teaching the women while Charlie and one of our Mexican teenagers have been working with the kids. While Robin and Charlie were gone, the 2 Mexican women agreed to teach the women, but they still wanted me to do a craft with the women. The teenage boy who had been helping with the kids joined a soccer team and could no longer come. This left me alone leading a big group of rough kids (rough neighborhood = rough kids). Then, each week one of the Mexican women would come relieve me of my duties with the kids long enough for me to go over and teach the women's craft. It was quite a circus!
This past Monday was the first time that Robin and Charlie would resume leadership of this group. I volunteered to go help Charlie with the kids because I understood very well that they are a lot for one person. The kids range in age from around 2 to around 13. This time we had a few more of the older "pre-teen" girls than usual. They were laying on their stomachs on the tarp working on a word search, and they asked me to help them. So, I got down on my stomach between them and began searching for words with them. They started talking to me VERY RAPIDLY, using a lot of slang that I don't know, and I was completely lost. I jokingly asked them to repeat what they had said in English. Their response? You speak English? Tell me how to say this word . . . and what about this word . . . . We had a great time, and I bonded with them very quickly. as we loaded up the van, one 11 year old girl in particular just kept giving me hugs, each one lasting longer than the one before. I was touched but a bit surprised at how quickly she had gotten so attached to me. She, as many of the kids in this neighborhood, clearly craves attention that is lacking in the home.

As I finally extracted myself from her to get in the van before Charlie drove off, my heart just couldn't let go. I felt like God was calling me to work specifically with this group of girls, separate from the rest. As I prayed about it over the next couple of days, I became more convinced that this is exactly what He is leading me to do. Please pray for me this coming Monday (Nov. 15) at around 5 pm as I attempt to begin this group. Pray that the girls will come, will be receptive, and that their lives will be changed as a result of what God desires to do. I am extremely excited about this and am praying that God will guide and direct me in every aspect of it.

Plumbing Saga

After this paragraph, I don't really want to talk about this plumbing saga any more. It has dragged on and on to the point of exhaustion. I've had days with plumbers here, with men repairing concrete, with tilers, and also days of waiting on a plumber who said he'd come and didn't. Even as I write this, the plumber is finally here for what should be his final visit. (He was just 35 minutes late today.) When he leaves today, the ordeal should finally be over. For that, I am grateful! While I know the situation could have been far worse, it has an interruption that I really don't care to deal with any longer. I am definitely grateful that my landlord has been the one contacting the workers and making sure the work happened eventually!

They're Back!

Robin and Charlie are both now back in town. After taking a few days to re-acclimate themselves, yesterday they started leading their own groups again. So, now I am able to start focusing on the groups I usually work with and on starting new ministries.

Robin's dad's health problems are still very serious. Please continue to pray for him, for Robin's mom as she cares for him in the home, and for Robin as it was hard to leave them to come back to Mexico.

I believe God is opening some very exciting doors for me right now, and I look forward to sharing more about them very soon. Please pray that His guidance will be clear and that He will work in the hearts of those to whom He is calling me to serve.

Plumbing . . . Fixed?

So this is how the bathroom looks AFTER the plumber is completely finished . . . ? From halfway down the stairs you can see directly into that bathroom. Apparently the landlord is now working on scheduling someone to come repair the hole in the wall/floor. This is progress, Mexcan style (aka slowly).

In spite of the headache inducing drilling sounds and the layer of conrete dust coating my lungs and my house, I am grateful that my landlord is taking care of the problem.