VBS and more!
Hi Folks, We have had 2 wonderful weeks! Sunday we also had a baby dedication. The baby girl (Valeria) is the daughter of a young woman (Ana) in our church and her husband (Guillermo). Since the baby was born, he has started coming to church. Please pray that Guillermo will accept Christ and that baby Valeria will be raised to know and love Him too.
Ana, Guillermo, and baby Valeria
Gerza (Herza) praying for the baby and family
Our good times started March 31 when I went to the bus station to help transport 7 young people (middle school age) and 4 adults from Southland CC, Lexington KY. It was the first visit to Mexico for all but 1 adult–Jeri Dyer, who lived and worked here a couple of years ago. I must say I was very impressed with each of the young people. They were truly ambassadors for Christ. They worked very hard for our 3 day (Tues-Thurs) VBS for ages 6-10. We had 40 children at VBS with a number of youth from our church helping also. I helped make snacks, as usual. I love doing it because I learn so much from the women I work with and have made some good friends. Please pray that God will touch the hearts of each child and that they will pass that on to their families.
singing with motion
learning new things
learning Bible verses
learning English (Jeri Dyer)
doing crafts
making sopes
A couple of the kids got sick stomachs , but didn’t last long and everyone got to go to see King Jesus, the pyramids and other attractions near Pachuca.
King Jesus (about 20 minutes from Pachuca)
climbed up into the statue
Jesus among friends
in a shopping area at Real del Monte (about 35 minutes from Pachuca)
Human statue in Real D M
2 of our girls with the "statue"
another human statue with one of our girls
climbing the pyramid (about 1 hour from Pachuca)
pyramid from farther away
Saturday--time to go back home : (
The day those kids went home, David Giles, Mike and Don, (3 guys from Post Road CC in Indianapolis) came to help remodels the lower level of the church building into an apartment for people to stay when they come. They really worked hard, but did get some down time in the week to visit the pyramids and then on Thursday, I took them to see King Jesus, and Real del Monte. (Those places seem like my home away from home lately). We really got lucky at Real del Monte. There was a team of indigenous men who do acrobats swinging from ropes on a tall pole.
Then they came to my house for dinner. We had a great time and I am thanking God for people who will give their time to help out here.
David, Mike and Don at the statue of Cristo Rey (King Jesus)
men at the top of the pole
pretty high up there
amazing
back on the ground
Easter Sunday was a wonderful day to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord! In the afternoon, some of the middle school kids from our church went on an overnight retreat in El Chico National Park (about 12 hour from Pachuca). I transported 7 of them. I think there were about 25 including adults. It started out good, but started raining on the way. It was in kind of a remote area and the cabin they were staying in was pretty rustic. I was thanking God that I didn’t have to stay! We went back to bring them home then next day. It was a nice, clear day. They said they had a great time, but were pretty tired (probably didn’t sleep much).
I have started a program of visiting with our 4 CHE trainers during the week. For now, I am taking a translator with me in case I have problems understanding or they can’t understand me. My translator is Fabis, who used to live with me, but needed to move back home after 4 months. (No she isn’t the one who stole from me). Fabis has good English and she is not working right now, so she is going to come with me to translate whenever I need her. I enjoy being with her. She is also good at correcting my Spanish. Please pray for the time I spend with our trainers, so I can get to know them better and encourage them in their CHE work
Last Tuesday, Fabis and I went to visit Adriana at 8 in the morning. Adriana prepares and sells juice and fruit to people in LaRaza. I wanted to get to know more about what she does. She starts at 6 a.m. but we decided to go at 8 a.m. I was amazed at how hard Adriana works. It was very interesting. She puts together combinations that are very healthy. She has one for people who have colds. My favorite is Orange/Carrot. We helped her prepare some. We finished about 9:30 and then her daughter took the juice and fruit to sell in the neighborhood. We are going to go with Adriana next Saturday to the market and see how she buys the fruit. It was great to be with Adriana and learn more about her and her family. Fabis was a big help. She helped clarify some of the things I said to Adriana and some of the things she said to me. Adriana’s husband left the family quite a long time ago. She has a son in the US, a daughter, (who has a 3 year old daughter) and a teenage son. Her teenage son was baptized last month. Please pray for Adriana’s family to all come to the Lord. She has a heavy burden for all of them, including her husband.
Adriana preparing juices
Next week I am starting 1 1/2 hour tutoring classes 3 evenings a week. My teacher’s name is Adriana (not the same Adriana). She goes to our sister church, Jubileo CC (Hubelao, which means Jubilee). I am hoping it will help me do the work I am called here to do. Please pray for my language to improve so I can interact more with the people at church and in LaRaza and also that the Lord will provide the extra money I need for tutoring and translation.
Also next week I am going to start teaching English to some of the youth in our church. I also think it will help me with Spanish. They speak NO English. Dee Duggins, a fellow missionary here, teaches English at Jubileo CC. She has been very helpful with books and ideas. I am looking forward to developing some strong relationships during these times. Please pray that these times with the young people will be helpful for their language and that I can help them grow in Christ.
Thank you all again for your love and support. Your prayers mean so much to me.