Applesauce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to Walmart the other day here in Mexico City and to my surprise I found Mott's Applesauce with cinnamon!!!! I grabbed three of the six jars! I had to leave a few jars for the other Americans in the City!!! We haven't had applesauce in over a year and boy was it yummy!! We had it for lunch the day I bought it and then we turned around and had it on our French Toast the next morning. Yesterday I found an Applesauce Cake recipe on Food Network that was just fabulous!!!! I know to some of you this is a strange thing to get excited about such a simple everyday thing. Now if I could just get them to import Mt. Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Hubby!!

I just have to brag on my hubby!!! This month we celebrated 23 years of marriage!!! It has truly been the best 23 years of my life!! Sure, we've had our bumps along the way, but we've had a lot more smoothness the longer we've been married!

This past week Sam did something that I know most men would never do for their wives. He grilled in the rain. I mean it was a down pour. We got over an inch and a half of rain in an hour. This is normal for us during rainy season. Unfortunately, the down pour started right when we needed to grill. We had saved up space in our bellies for this meal of chicken, grilled onions and cactus. Yum, yum! We also had guests over; Jim, Ruth Hornbrook, their kids and Ruth's twin sister, Becky. Most husbands would tell their wives to use Plan B and not grill in the rain. But not Sam!! The funniest thing is that the rain stopped immediately after the grilling was done. I'm not kidding. The food was heavenly...including the cactus. If you haven't had grilled cactus then you are really missing out in life! Sam very often sacrifices his comforts for others. When he is dead beat tired, he takes Nicole for a bike ride. When he is exhausted from a day at Seminary because he started his day at 4:45; he will take us to the Mall. I'm so thankful for my husband and I hope the Lord gives us many more years together!!!

School Started!

Yep. That's right. We started school this week!! I know it's early but we are planning on taking a long Fall Break in October to go to Indiana for a counseling conference,to purchase a newer vehicle and most importantly, to visit family and friends. The laws down here keep changing and in September we won't be able to drive our van from 5:00-11:00 am during the week. We already can't drive on Thursdays and one Saturday a month we have to park the van. Basically we will have half a vehicle. We need to get a van that is about '05 or '06. Then we will be able to volunteer to be in the emissions program and we will qualify to drive everyday of the week!!! This will last until our vehicle is eight years old. Our van is '00 and therefore the limitations. Supposedly, these new regulations will cut down on the contamination in the air. We think it is to get folks to buy newer cars and the car dealers are padding their pockets.

Anyway, back to school. We are homeschooling the girls this year. We all have a new appreciation for this method. I'm doing more actual teaching with Natalie which makes her day more enjoyable. I'm back to learning all about Geography, Biology and my addition facts!! I didn't learn these things very well the first time around so hopefully by the third time I will get it!!

We also started piano lessons again!! Both girls are hitting the keys pretty hard!!! They will be hitting the court next week as basketball starts up again!!!! Yippee!!! We are looking forward to seeing all our friends from basketball again!!

Our girls!

I thought I'd take the time to tell you all about the girls. Both are doing extremely well. They have enjoyed a week at the Texas border the beginning of June. They had fun shopping, swimming and eating at their favorite places like Taco Bell!! We had two gals that I've mentioned in an earlier blog that came and visited us for two weeks. That was a lot of fun for my girls. All of us girls stayed up late several nights while Myranda and Lauren were here and we played Dutch Blitz. We had some pretty close games!! Monday the girls will begin piano!!! Natalie has been on a recess of sorts since we returned to Mexico a year ago. Nicole is starting piano classes this time around! She has really enjoyed practicing so far but it has only been a couple of days!!! In August the girls will start basketball again. Both girls have been missing their friends from basketball. It is good exercise and great opportunities! We have been doing Math all summer. Both girls are very good in Math so we are working ahead. Nicole picks things up pretty quickly. I think having two older sibblings helps. Speaking of sibs. Nathaniel (Nate) is doing great in the States. He is working for Purdue University this summer on a maintenance crew for one of the dorms. It is very physical work and no airconditioning! He has had great opportunities to share his testimony this summer. Nathaniel still has two years left in college. After he finishes his undergrad at Purdue he plans on attending Seminary. We really miss Nathaniel and can't wait for him to get here for his Christmas break!! We have already purchased his ticket!! My parents will also come for a visit over the holidays!! We are so thrilled to have family coming! Hopefully this brings you up to speed with our children. They are growing up so fast. Natalie will be a freshman in highschool this fall and Nicole will be in the second grade. It doesn't seem possible!

Sign Language Bible Studies

Our Thursday Afternoon Bible Studies continue to stretch us. Why? Sam does them via sign language. Natalie does most of the translation but Sam is picking up more and more signs all the time. I am picking them up at a much slower pace but it is slowly coming. This week we worked on a song that we hope to sign to the church and encourage our deaf folk to sign when we sing. We are singing in Spanish, The Glory of the Cross. Pray with us as we continue to minister to these special people that God has brought across our path. We never dreamed we'd be doing this type of ministry but we are learning it is a big need here in the City. There are so many deaf people around us that need befriending so that they too can hear the gospel. The Bible Studies helped the deaf folk understand more what typically goes over their heads on Sundays.

Fantastic Two Weeks!

For the past two weeks we have had the privilege of hosting two wonderful young ladies in our home. Myranda and Lauren Cady are from one of our supporting churches in Livonia, Michigan. These two gals came down to help us this summer in conducting English classes, paint the patio and office and other ministries. We had so much fun serving together. Below I have uploaded albums (thanks to my daugher Natalie!) of our time together. We love having guests and summer time is one of the most fruitful times for us to have English classes as an outreach to our community. We would love to have English classes every summer! Pray that we soon would be in a building so that we can develop this ministry even more!


Myranda and Lauren helped our family lead English classes in one of our church families homes as an outreach. Lazaro and Idalia were so kind to allow us to move in each afternoon to conduct the classes. We packed out the house with 25-30 kids each day. Myranda did a fabulous job of sharing the Hudson Taylor missionary story in Spanish at the end of each class. We so enjoyed our English classes and agreed that we could do this fun stuff all summer long! Not sure that Lazaro and Idalia could do it all summer!





One of the things we always do with our visitors is to take them to sites around the city. This past weekend we took Myranda and Lauren downtown. We got to see the Zocalo, Latin American Tower, plus many other old churches and buildings. One highlight was watching the lowering of the Mexican flag in the town square. It is amazing to get up above the city and see how many miles the city spreads itself.




Las Estacas is a natural spring water resort. We went there with our family, our two guests along with another missions team. The place is unbelieveable! This is where they filmed the first black and white Tarzan movie way back when. The water is crystal clear. They have places to snorkel, a high dive that lets you drop down into the "hole" where the spring water pushes you back to the top after you jump in! There are also swimming pools that are filled with this unbelieveably clear and fairly warm water! The landscaping is also impeccable! I enjoyed taking snap shots of the lily pads! If you come and visit us we will have to take you to this paradise!




Here are a few fun shots from the past two weeks! We also went to the Pyramids this past Monday! God was good and it began to rain as we got in the car to return back to Mexico City!

A Glimpse into our Weekend!

This sums up why we do what we do. It's because He first Loved Us!! Therefore...


This blog entry is a glimpse into what our lives are like on the weekend. Not every weekend is as busy as this past one was but usually two weekends a month are crammed packed with activities and opportunities!! You all know that we stay busy enough just hosting bible studies, counseling and a church in our home. Our lives also contain lots of other things. Of course our girls are busy in basketball most of the year as well as homeschooling. Plus we work hard to try and have friends over for the girls. This weekend we had a little bit of everything. Now it is Monday and I can sit back and say, "wow, we did a lot this past weekend". I'm feeling a little run down today but I have no time to sluff off as we have two gals coming on Wednesday, Lauren and Myranda Cady. They are from our supporting church in Livonia, Michigan. We plan to incorporate them into our crazy lives while they are here. Not only will they be doing "ministry" while they are here but we will also give them a "taste of Mexico". We plan to visit many of the famous tourist attractions. Below you will find what it's like on a weekend. Remember that somewhere in all of this crazyness I also have to clean the house to get it ready for Sundays as well as cook!

FRIDAY


Friday is usually the day that we save up for sleepovers for our girls. This past weekend Natalie had a friend come over (Karen Pao) for most of the night and Nicole had her cousin Claudia over. The older girls enjoyed running around taking pictures and then downloading them onto Hi5 and Facebook. The younger girls played dress-up while they also played Playstation. That takes talent. They were playing a driving game that allowed them to imagine they were going places. They would stop and play and then get back in the "car" and let their imagination run again!!


One thing we love to do is "phone dates". This is where we set up a time when we talk to our friends and family back in the States. Nicole had a phone date this past Friday with the Worrell girls. It was so neat to hear the voices of our loved ones back in Indiana. We have always worked hard to keep friendships growing with those back in the States. This helps our girls adjust better when we come home on furlough or visits. If you haven't gotten to know the Worrell family then you are really missing out in life. We love all of them to pieces and we miss them so much. But connecting up on the phone sure is fun!!!!!!! Skype has made talking on the phone so much more affordable! In '91 when we first came to the field we were paying a dollar a minute to call back to Indiana. Now with Skype we pay 2 cents a minute!!!





Karen Pao, a friend from when Natalie went to the Mexican school. Karen and Natalie have such a fun time when they are together!



SATURDAY


Saturday morning I got up early and made an apple pie for Sunday and cleaned all the bathrooms so that we could zip over to watch a basketball game of one of the teams that Faith Christian ministered to when they were here. We are working hard to keep building relationships with these families and one great way is to attend games and practices. After the game we then went to the Awards Ceremony for the basketball teams. Natalie's team was second place in the league and third place in the tourney. The sad thing is that only Natalie and her coach Norma showed up for the awards ceremony.






Saturday evening we enjoyed a very relaxing time with one of our church families in their home. It was so nice to just sit and fellowship for a couple of hours. We totally enjoyed their yard and trees. Nicole nicknamed their house "Narnia" for the lamps they have around the courtyard. Nicole was even brave enough to ask for a sleepover at their house sometime. That's feeling pretty comfortable and relaxed!! We also enjoyed delicious enchiladas verdes! We also tasted provolone cheese for the first time!





Here are Natalie and Nicole enjoying the yard at Armando and Suzy's house in Tepozotlán. (just about 25 minutes from our house=)




Here is Suzy's kitchen. It's a picture right out of Better Homes and Gardens.(in spanish of course)





Now these are some special pics of Sam with his kids!!! I used these pics on my Power Point presentation that I made for Father's Day!!









SUNDAY


We celebrated Father's Day a week late here at Nueva Vida. We did this so that our church folk could be with their father's last Sunday. After church we had a meal catered in for our guys. It was yummy flautas, rice, horchata, jamiaca and orange aid drinks. Plus us gals made a buffet of desserts to choose from! It was a lot of fun!! We had a cute program where the children sang a special song to their dads. I made a Power Point presentation where we had pictures of the dads with their kids! You just can't beat the eating meetings we have here in Mexico!!!!!!!










Here is the flower arrangement I made for the tables for Father's Day! We later played a game where we removed the arrangements and the fathers had to make a list of all the tools and things that were in the arrangement. We learned that not all men are as observant as others. Of course we already knew that!!





Sunday evening we went to Maranatha and celebrated the Seminary's 6th Graduation!! What a wonderful way to end a wonderful weekend!!




That about sums up our weekend. We got home from the Graduation around 11pm. Sam and I worked hard to clean up the house from our meal earlier in the day. We hit the hay around 1am!