Thanksgiving weekend

Hey all! We've had a really nice Thanksgiving weekend! Thursday night, we played games at some of our favorite friends' house after eating turkey with our mission family for lunch. On Friday, I took a friend to the hospital for her post-operation check-up, then we (the guys, myself and Kathryn, one of our two adopted daughters) went to see Denzel Washington's new movie, Dejavu. We had a good time.. watching the movie and eating caramel corn..... Carson and Rob finished it off! Today, I took Kathryn, Cole and our friend, Irmita, to Ciudadela, the artisan market downtown. Kathryn had never been, so I wanted to take her to buy some Christmas gifts. I bought a few myself!! We ate some quesadillas and some other Mexican food, then shopped some more.. we had a great time looking around! On the way, we saw some "sights"... there was a protest downtown of some campesinos.. a NUDE protest (a fairly common occurance!!)... undies only!! You'll see a picture of it.. I chose to take it of the men because the women looked REALLY naked and I missed them (whew!!!!!). Tonight, we went to Miguel's for our Bible Study together. We studied "The prodigal son" and had good discussion! Irma fed us a wonderful meal when we finished our study! Also, she sells scarves, gloves, hats, etc... at the market 3 days a week. I asked if I could see her products... we enjoyed buying some of her "wares" since it's so cold here right now.... lots of nice Christmas gifts for friends!!

Game night with good friends on Thanksgiving night!

Cole, Irmita, and Kathryn at Ciudadela

Irmita, Kathryn, and Tina... enjoying lunch at Ciudadela

Mexico City's "believe it or not" protest downtown.. yes, it happens frequently!!

Happy Thanksgiving 2006

Happy Thanksgiving, family and friends!

We have had a nice Thanksgiving day--- missing being with our families in Nashville, but enjoying our mission family and friends here in Mexico City. About 35 of us got together to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Sloan's home. It was a perfect day to eat outside-- enough sun to keep the cold down!! We all took 2 dishes to share.. with 2 of our missionaries providing the turkey and ham. I took my standard dish-- corn pudding, along with Mississippi Mud Cake! It was all eaten with not much left behind. I am adding some pictures from our Thanksgiving day with our mission family-- Enjoy!

Tina and Cheryl Collins-

Rob talkin' fish n' football

Cole with Paul and EunJee

good friends at MCCA

Cole and Carson

Celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary

NOVEMBER 22, 2006.....20 years ago today, Rob and I were getting married and were...... younger and not as wise...."poor", but in love..... happy and anxious about the future.... without children, but wanting them for our future.... ready to start a life together....and..... we never had any idea we'd be spending our 20th anniversary as foreign missionaries ..... WE WERE IN LOVE... and still are!!!

To celebrate our 20 years together, we decided to find a Japanese restaurant, like Kobe's in Nashville... After much internet surfing, Rob found several places, then one of them was confirmed by our friends, the Sassers. We ended up at Suntory's on Reforma downtown... It was DELICIOUS!! Yes, we "paid the price" but it was well-worth it.

The chef at work.... and the food up close and personal.... see the shrimp heads?? I tried to capture them in this pic....

FAITHFULNESS

Okay... it's Thanksgiving time... and around the holidays I get a bit more sentimental than at other times of the year-- probably because we are far away from our families and close friends. At this time of year, we are reminded of the faithfulness of our families and friends at home.. those who pray for us regularly, and those who call us to let us know they are close at heart. I would like to share something on faithfulness from my daily calendar....

How blessed are the lives of those who have a faithful friend, faithful parents, a faithful wife or husband, a faithful co-worker, or a faithful brother or sister in Christ. The faithful can be depended upon and their word can be trusted. The blessing of faithfulness is "being there" at the time of need..."standing there" at the time of uncertainty..."remaining there" at the time of adversity. It is being constant when things are changing.... firm when things are lax... true when things are dishonest... steady when things are shaking. Through faithfulness, words are never idle, trust is never lost, and loyalty is never forsaken.

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary. I am so very thankful for Rob and the love he always shows me. He has been faithful, and, for that, I am very thankful. I love you, Rob!!

We are counting down the days until we go home for Christmas. This will be our 2nd time home during our almost 8 years on the mission field, so we are more than ready. I think we are 22 days away... Rob has the countdown on his cell phone but it's counting down days, hours, and minutes.... It's beginning to FEEL a LOT like Christmas.. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr~

26 days and counting...

Yes! We are 26 days away from going home for Christmas! We are all 4 more than ready to get on that plane and head home for 3 weeks of vacation with our families and friends. Today, I am listening to Christmas music from home... 94 fm The Fish, is playing Christmas music all day long and I am lovin' it! Cole got me hooked up to that! He's always finding fun things on the internet! I've been baking cookies this morning to take to Bible Study and to Barb's house. Barb Carter, MCCA's director and our friend, has invited us over to "trim" her Christmas tree, so the boys and I are going over there later on to help, then we'll go to our Saturday night Bible Study with the Reyes family.

Rob has been in Honduras all week, since last Sunday, and he'll be coming home tomorrow! yeah! We've missed him a lot this week! I am sorta jealous today.. Rob's taking some of our precious friends, Francis and Adoni and their girls, to Pizza Hut, then, tonight, he's taking Oscar and Daniela Carcamo, some of our other dear friends, to our favorite Tegus restaurant, Palacio Real. We really love our friends and family in Honduras! They always make us feel so loved!

We've stayed busy this week.... the boys turned in their final drafts of their Research papers, Orthodontist appointment, ladies b-day celebration of November b-days, English Bible Study, Praise team practice, movie-going, Student council-sponsored Christmas movie at the school, Discipleship, and more..... Last night, Cole, Kathryn, and I watched our first Christmas movie for 2006---- Christmas with the Kranks, which was fun.. even though Kathryn slept through it.. hard week! ha!!

A few pics from the week's events...Monday night B-day celebration at Chili's with missionary ladies.. celebrating Janell and Cheryl!

Carson at work; Cole on the phone with Mimi.. talking about Christmas, Christopher and more....

Judith, Norma, Janell, Me, Marisol and Yelena (not pictured--Sarah and Maria)- My Thursday Bible Study table group

Off to Waldo's... our Mexican dollar store!!

Mi Esperanza update

Well, the Mi Esperanza event is over.... yet, for some, it's only the beginning of a new way of life. We had 3 successful nights of Mi Esperanza in the home of Miguel Reyes and family. On Thursday night, there were 8 people who had been invited plus 6 "regulars". Most of these were family members who haven't yet felt comfortable coming to our Saturday night Bible Study. Rob said they were very attentive and didn't rush off like we expected. Miguel gave his testimony at the end of the program, then they had some good discussion. We wanted to make it as non-threatening as possible so they'd be more open to coming to our studies. On Friday night, 6 of the same 8 showed up.. then there were 9 more "regulars". I gave my testimony, then Sori (Rob's secretary) shared, as well. On Saturday night, we had 4 guests, then our family, Miguel's family, and Kathryn. We watched the movie (1 1/2 hours), and talked about it when it was over. We had no voiced decisions shared, but we told Miguel and Irma that it was the work of the Holy Spirit to change lives! Miguel's sister asked me for a Bible, so we bought her one of her own. She didn't have any idea where to start with her new Bible. I suggested that she read the book of JOHN first. Pray for her heart to be open as she reads! This was a WONDERFUL outreach event for Miguel and his family, and a great chance for them to share Christ with their families. We have no idea of the results in all of Mexico, but will share them as we hear. Thanks for your prayers during these days!!

Kathryn (our teacher friend), and other "jovenes"/youth at the Mi Esperanza movie in Miguel's home

Week in Guadalajara

I have just returned from spending a short week in Guadalajara, Mexico at the MAC Region Homeschool Conference. I was called in at the last minute to "fill the shoes" of our dear friends, the Chafins, who were unable to go. I helped with communications/details with the hotel during the meeting, and with testing 1st graders in Achievement tests. I was also able to help out in the MK classes while parents were in workshops. I really enjoyed the week... being in a different place, doing a different type of work, and being around missionary friends all over the MAC Region. I got to help "judge" the Children and Youth Bible Drills (something I have missed doing for years!) They also had a showcase in Thursday night, in which the MKs shared their talents and some science projects/experiments.

It was a fulfilling week for me, although I REALLY missed my 3 guys. It looks as though they survived the week w/o me.. clothes are clean, dishes are put away (thanks to the Poulettes for feeding them several nights!!), and homework got done!! The weekend will be quite busy because Rob leaves on Sunday morning for a week of travel in Honduras.

We'll be heading out shortly to attend the 2nd night of MI ESPERANZA at Miguel's house. Rob said there were 7 new folks there last night... Pray for God's Spirit to move and that they will come to realize their need for Jesus in their hearts and lives. More to come on that...... stay tuned tomorrow!!Hotel Primavera where we had the Conference

Two of the sweet MKs with whom I had the privilege (and lots of laughs) to work/test

Enjoying the culture

Today, we took our missionary friends, Winston and Cheryl Collins, with us to introduce them to "hamburgesas al carbon" (a hamburger stand). They have the BEST hamburgers cooked on an open fire. Miguel and his family took us there after the TaekWondo tournament last Saturday, and we LOVED it! The hamburgers are "melt-in-your-mouth" and cheap-- less than $2.00 each and with your choice of toppings. When we went with Miguel, we fed 12 people (drinks included) for less than $30.00. Today's lunch was about $5.00 for both of us to eat! Dad, you'd LOVE these burgs! Anyone who comes to see us can look forward to this cultural event. Rob made fun of me for taking pictures, but this was truly a cultural event! Afterwards, the Collins and myself walked through the Tiangis (tents with vendors selling their wares). Rob had to get back to the office to do an interview, but we decided to take advantage of a beautiful day and ANOTHER cultural occasion. We took a taxi home (which was ANOTHER cultural experience!)

The Collins with Rob and myself

Hamburguesas al carbon (hamburgers on the grill)

Tiangis/Open Market.. where you can find just about anything.. from batteries, to makeup, to fruits and veggies, to clothes....... "cheaper by the dozen".

Halloween, the Day of the Dead, and beyond

Friendly "trick-or-treaters" to our house



Halloween.... that word brings back happy, childhood memories for me. I remember gathering with friends and family in our neighborhood, and going door to door "TRICK OR TREAT"-- we chanted, and just hoped for some good treats. For years and years, we followed this tradition, and never felt any evil in what we were doing. I remember sitting in the middle of our living room floor, seeing who got the best treats, and trying to trade off a bag of popcorn for a candy bar.... Any of you remember those times?
Things are quite different around Mexico. For 3 consecutive days, people are celebrating the "Dia de los Muertos" or "Day of the Dead". Stores are decorated, homes are decorated inside and out, and all types of things are being sold in the stores to celebrate this well-known "ritual".
A little bit of history from a Mexican website.... "More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death. It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years... It is celebrated differently depending on where you go. In the larger cities, families build altars in their houses and outside, dedicating them to the dead. They surround these altars with flowers, food and pictures of the deceased. They light candles and place them near the altars."

Last night, we had "trick or treaters", young and old. There were at least 30 who came and shouted "Queremos Halloween" or "We want Halloween (candy, to be exact). For the next 2 nights, we'll have more trick or treaters... it's a 3-day festivity! I wasn't prepared last night with candy, so I was scrounging around the pantry to find things to give out. I think I'll go out today to buy more candy so I'll be prepared. I am also going to pass out the Gospel of John and just PRAY that someone will read it and their life be changed. Pray for that, okay? Thanks!



A part of the "Dia de los Muertos" decoration.

Sawdust art made to celebrate the day.

Older "trick-or-treaters"

Hope we have lots of "visitors" tonight.. we went to Wal-Mart and loaded up!