Hanging Out With Our Team

9:06 AM – We are pulling out from Italian Coffee Company on the way to Teotihuacan after Neil gives us some of its back ground history.

9:42 – Family time in the van – Diana is reading us a chapter from the life of Rachel Saint.

10:56 – Listening to Casting Crowns – “…reckless abandon wrapped in common sense – Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle – With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is..”

11:37 – Willie insists that I say that on our arrival Diana jumps out of the car to give out homemade cookie squares to everyone. Juan Carlos goes on record that they were delicious.

11:49 – The first stop upon arrival – bathrooms.

12:19 PM – Before I know what’s happening Cheryl and I encounter some new agers blindly “feeling” their way along the path to spiritual energy.

2:11 – With the sweltering heat we stop for a water break.

2:20 – The ascent to the top of the pyramid of the sun begins.

2:27 – 247 steps later and about 200 feet Daniel, Maria and I summit.

2:38 – With worshipers all around us we join together to pray a prayer of rejection of the gods and offer a prayer of worship to the Lord of lords and King of kings.

3:33 – I call “dibs” on the first shower tonight.

3:57 – Stopped at McCoy’s for dinner (sorry Hatfield’s) and were serenaded by the accordion and guitar as we eat enchiladas and tacos.

6:22 – We are embroiled in an intense game of Battleship on paper. Christina comes in the winner after sinking my battleship and Juan Carlos’s submarine on the same shot.

7:40 – We cap off the day with a family tradition, stopping for ice cream when we travel more than 3 hours.

It’s All Amy’s Fault

A few evenings ago we were on the way to Wal-mart. Dusk was coming on as we pulled up to the traffic light. There he was at the door. About five years old, plastic bank in hand with no mother in sight. His eyes looked in hopeful expectation. This was difficult to swallow. Worse however are the mothers sitting on the dirty sidewalks wrapped in a blanket, no shoes with a malnourished baby in arms. They look old and worn from difficult living.

Some of you probably get tired of hearing what seems to be the ugly side of life here and would prefer a focus on the sunny side instead. Let me just go on record as saying – It’s all Amy’s fault.

In her book, Things as They Are, Amy Carmichael exposed the reality of India and impacted our perspective in writing. She said, “It is more important that you should know about the reverses than about the successes of the war. We shall have all eternity to celebrate the victories, but we have only the few hours before sunset in which to win them. We are not winning them as we should, because the fact of the reverses is so little realized, and the needed reinforcements are not forthcoming, as they would be if the position were thoroughly understood….So we have tried to tell you the truth – the uninteresting, unromantic truth.”

For that reason we are compelled to tell you the “unromantic truth” about dirty-faced malnourished children, vows to the saint of death, abused women, superstition, corruption, misplaced devotion, monuments to gods, loneliness, darkness and hopelessness…

If you are tired of it all, we understand, we are too. What you must also understand is that – It’s all Amy’s fault.

Join Us For Family Devotions

We’re glad you can join us for breakfast and family devotions this Valentine’s Day. Christina has taken it upon herself to create a special atmosphere by making placemats out of Valentine napkins, hanging hearts, displaying cards, and putting a pink scarf on Chelsea. Hope you are hungry, too. Diana has prepared a delicious breakfast of grapefruit, eggs, bacon, fresh coffee cake and of course a cup of Irish breakfast tea. Sit back, eat slowly, listen to the fountain, enjoy the sun streaming into the room and relax.

While you finish your second cup, I’m going to read from 1 Corinthians 13. Let this description of pure love sink into your mind and heart as I read. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

It occurs to me that the only way to love in this way is as the Spirit transforms our hearts in humility. The Anonymous Prayer For Grace brings this into focus for us.

Deliver me Jesus
from the desire of being loved;
from the desire of being praised;
from the desire of being preferred to others;
from the desire of being consulted;
from the desire of being approved;

from the fear of being humiliated;
from the fear of being despised;
from the fear of being suffering rebuke;
from the fear of being forgotten;
from the fear of being wrong;
from the fear of being suspected.

And Jesus, grant me the grace to desire
that others might be loved more than I;
that others might be esteemed more than I;
that in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I decrease;
that others may be chosen and I set aside;
that others may be praised and I unnoticed;
that others may be preferred to me in everything;
that others may become holier than I, provided that I become as holy as I should.

African Safari – A Photo Journal

It’s a little bit crazy, but in a city of five million we live within a thirty minute drive of an African safari. We visited recently and wanted to share a few photos. Hope you enjoy them half as much as we enjoyed the actual visit. As an added bonus the names are in Spanish. (Jerafa pictured above)

León

Cebra

Avestruz

Flamencos

Cristina y el safari

Llamas

Rinoceront

Antílope

Mono Arañas

Maria y Hipopótamo

Have You Ever…?

Have you ever appreciated the artistry of archways and tile work in an old city?
Have you ever watched the sun rise over a volcano?
Have you ever known a kindness from one who does not speak your native language?
Have you ever enjoyed the tranquil atmosphere of an outdoor restaurant?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

Have you ever felt the sting of being stared at because you were the minority?
Have you ever listened to your children crying because they were homesick – and you were too?
Have you ever been on a bus that was so packed the driver was begging people to take the next bus?
Have you ever had to deal with someone urinating on a busy street in broad day light?

‘Whom shall I send?

Have you ever taken your children to feed the poor and destitute?
Have you ever been repulsed because the church grounds were a preferred place for couples to make out?
Have you ever seen adults carrying a baby doll Jesus in the streets and in the market?
Have you ever watched someone crawl on their knees to the church?

And who will go for us?’

Have you ever seen the gleam in the eye of someone who was just given a new Bible?
Have you ever helped out an elderly lady looking through the trash can and been given a kiss?
Have you ever crossed cultural boundaries to worship with brothers and sisters in the Lord?
Have you ever explored with excitement over one lost sheep that has come into the fold?

And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me’.”

(Jesus Christ for Lord of Mexico: So that things change)