Back in Mexico

We can hardly believe that our twelve days in the States has come and gone. The time passed very quickly and we only wish we could have visited with each one of you. However, we are extremely thankful we were able to see many of you. Our speaking engagements went well, and Josh's brother's wedding was beautiful! We truly had a wonderful time and a safe trip!

During our first few days in the US we experienced a little bit of culture shock as we adjusted to a culture very different from the one we've lived in this year. But, we adjusted quickly and are now having to reacclimate to being back in Mexico. This week has not been easy for us because leaving behind friends and family in the States once again brought some heavy hearts and even a few tears. Still, we know we are supposed to be here and our friends in our small group affirmed that this past Monday night.

Thanks for standing by us as we serve cross-culturally!

Pictures:
Us celebrating six years of marriage at one of our favorite restaurants in Lexington, KY
Josh and friend Hazim
Jennifer with her mother and grandmother
Josh's brother, Andy and his new wife Faith

Heading to the States and Missing Mexico

Hello Friends and Family,

We can hardly believe we leave our apartment at 4:30am to head to the States. Jennifer's going to Wilmore and Josh to Hollow Rock Camp Meeting in Ohio. We will meet each other this Saturday the 25th in Kentucky to go on an anniversary date to celebrate 6 years of marriage. Hard to believe we've gone through so much and that we've been working together for the past two years! We are grateful for our marriage and the time we have together as a couple!

We'll be in Wilmore through Wednesday July 29th and then we head up to Canton, Ohio on Thursday for Andy, Josh's brother's wedding. We will fly out of Pittsburgh on August 2 to head back home to Leon. While we are thrilled to be in the States, see friends and family, and celebrate Andy's wedding, we realized this week that we will actually be missed here. That while Wilmore/Lexington will always be where we have family, friends, and memories, Leon is our new home. Please pray for us as we are out of Spanish for 12 days, as we leave behind our small group and many friends some of whom we hesitate leaving right now, and for us as we go through reverse culture shock. Being back in Kentucky and Ohio will be very different for us after all we've experience this year. We are not the same couple who left Kentucky a year ago on August 5th.


If you want to contact us while we're in the States please get ahold of Jennifer's parents or shoot us an e-mail: jandjmexico@gmail.com

Remember that Josh will be at Hollow Rock Camp Meeting Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th. And We will be sharing at the Wilmore FMC on Sunday morning the 26th. Jennifer will stop by Bluegrass Youth Ballet on Thursday the 23rd in the evening.

Our apologies if it is not possible to see you this time around. We plan on making a visit to everyone next summer or fall. Do not worry. We want to see you. This trip was something that came up unexpectedly, and due to the new ministries we've started here, we are unable to take more time to travel. Thanks for understanding!

English classes...
Were a success! They went smoothly and this weekend all the kids have been asking when we are going to offer them again. =)

Home Group...
We covered most of chapter 4 of Mark last night in our small group time. One of the couples was missing due to the wife being sick, but we were glad to have another friend and her boyfriend with us as well. A volunteer that was with us last weekend, Julie, came back to visit us yesterday and today just so she could attend our small group again. =) It was wonderful having her with us another time.

Ballet Classes...

Jennifer is in the proccess of getting things together for her ballet classes she will start in September. We have a friend who is making posters and flyers for her and she will have inscriptions in August as soon as we return from the wedding. If you have a heart for ballet and are interested in what Jennifer is going to be doing through teaching ballet classes please consider making a special donation to WGM with a note for "Josh and Jennifer Reynolds' ministry" attached to the check. One need we have is to buy ballet barres for the studio space we will be renting. Any donations of ballet attire would also be appreciate (dropped off at Jennifer's parents' house in Wilmore or given to us).

Thanks for your love, prayers, support, and encouragement! We've seen God moving over the past few weeks in ways we never have before!

Much love,
Josh and Jennifer

Pictures

A Beautiful Week!

"All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe." Unknown college professor


This week has been spectacular. The year has been full of its downs, but the past two weeks have been ups. We all need joyful times!

Our week was busy and productive. Saturday we spent the day in Irapuato to finish the planning of the theological education program that WGM Mexico is starting here in Central Mexico. Originally Josh was asked to come to help start this program. Another missionary with WGM arrived here at the same time we did and he has been the one that ended up starting the program this year. He and his wife are wonderful Honduran missionaries. While Josh was originally disappointed that he was not asked to be more involved in the program, he has realized this year that God is calling him to other things instead of full-time ministry in theological education. Both of us will however be teaching classes for the program in the Fall. Jennifer will teach World Religions and Josh will teach an overview of the New Testament. Being part of the theological education program will be challenging as our Spanish is stretched in ways it never has been before. We need lots of grace and strength in order to plan and teach these classes. =)

While we are learning that ministry, and life for that matter, is not all roses, we are also learning it can be very rewarding. Saturday evening a VIA (Volunteer in Action) from WGM who has been staying in Irapuato, came to our house for a few days in Leon. She was a huge help to us in planning our English classes for this week and an encouragement as well. We had a wonderful time with her. It isn't everyday we get to spend time with Americans. Sunday we showed her around Leon and then we spent the majority of the day with our small group. In order to get to know one another better we had an activity to create community among the men and women. The idea was to spend time together just having fun. And we did. We talked and talked for hours. Julie, the VIA, said to us afterwards that what we had been hoping to accomplish worked. All of the sudden I realized we had all become close friends. One of the people in our group during our chat at a cafe started to share her story with the other women, one that she rarely shares with anyone. Yesterday, this same person commented that she never knew that other people could really love her and care about her. She said that she feels something that she has never felt before, and she is giving thanks to God for what has been happening in her life. Another friend shared yesterday in group time that she's learned Jesus isn't as distant as she thought he was. And God is doing much, much more. He is drawing people toward him and teaching us more about him as well as we disciple others. We are overwhelmed by the things that are happening around us and excited that we are a part of this great city while we humbly share our lives and God's love with others.

English Classes...
Today we started 5 days of English classes we are holding for children. We are happy to report that our first day went smoothly and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves.

Special Visit...
Last week Jennifer's parents were with us and we had a wonderful time with them and even got to go away for the weekend to the beach, a much needed break. Then last Monday our group held a special dinner for them. Jennifer's parents commented that they know we have a family here now and are thankful for all the support we've found. It was a beautiful evening with some surprise guests that arrived to our group that night.

Big Plans...
This week we are trying to wrap up all that we have to do before we head to the States for 10 days. We leave next Wednesday the 22nd. More to come on our visit soon...

A Quiet Revolution

Where to start...

In our hearts is a quietly emerging revolution. One that began a long time ago and is giving birth to new ideas and prospects for future ministry. We've been doing lots of reading, soul searching, and growing lately. God has been placing new things on our hearts and we are pumped! First off we felt lead to start a small group in our home. One where EVERYONE is welcome, one where we grow and share together, learn from each other, and study the Bible, which can often be difficult to understand. We are learning what it means to be like Jesus, that often people who claim to be his followers fall terribly short, and we too feel convicted. Deep in our hearts we have a desire to live like Christ, to love and live with the poor, and to love all those we meet. Suddenly, life, our calling, and our faith are making sense in a way that they didn't before and we feel content. Not content in where we are, because we want to do so much more than what we are doing, we want to love deeper and go far beyond what we think imaginable, but what we have started is exciting.

There are many stories we could share with you, but let's start by saying that we see Jesus in the face of our friends. In the friend that stays at our house because he struggles with alcoholism and cannot go back to his broken home, our friend who doesn't know where she is going to get the money to pay for her children's schooling, our friend who is our Spanish tutor and has shown us love time and time again this year, or our friend from the local market who is searching for significance in his life and is going to start attending our group. Love transforms. When we live life to serve, we see Jesus. Thanks for contributing to our work so that we can be here and do full-time ministry. Thank you. God is beautiful and as Shane Claiborne says in his book The Irresistible Revolutionn "We are about spreading a way of life that exists organically and relationally and is marked by such a brilliant love and grace that no one could resist it." And as we spread that way of life we have seen some beautiful things and some remarkable changes in people. This week made us stand in awe of God, his grace, and love for us. We feel humbled to be living here and sharing life with wonderful people, though we are all broken, we can help one another on this journey that is life.

This week Jennifer had the chance to go to the doctor once again with her friend and little Vicente. Vicente is a 10 year old boy who cannot see well because he is almost blind in one eye due to a cornea problem and has severly damanged vision in the other eye. A friend of ours felt lead to use a connection she has with a doctor to help little Vicente and his vision. This precious child comes from one of the poorest neighborhoods of Leon and his family have no resources to help his situation. To give you perspective, his mother got married and had a baby at age 13. She is 30 with a 17 year old, 10 year old, and 8 year old. We met Vicente when we worked in his neighborhood on Saturdays. It is not that these people are bad, or stupid, they merely do not know any better because they've grown up in these conditions their whole life and have not been given opportunities to help them succeed. Well, come to find out, Vicente needs a cornea transplant and it costs about $4,000. Our mutual friend is looking for assistance, but so far she has not found any help. We would love to see God bring sight to Vicente so he can play and do his school work like normal. If you are interested in contributing to his surgery or know someone who would be, please send us an e-mail. In the meantime he is going to have some special lenses made that will help his vision a little. Thankfully, we have a friend from the States that donated some money that will be used to help Vicente with his lenses. We know many people like Vicente. Sadly, we cannot help everyone, but we can do little things with lots of love. That is all any of us can do. And we hope to watch this precious child open his eyes wider soon. =)

God is calling all of us to a revolution, to make a difference in the world, and do something big with our lives. Are we going to listen?

Pictures: Vicente and his house.

Challenged

The day before we left for our one week trip to Texas I was feeling tired and worn out after packing and running around that Saturday. Sunday we'd be leaving the house at 6am to drive to the States and it was now almost 8pm on Saturday evening. I was on the phone with our friend who is now part of the small group we started in our home, and I was trying to explain to her that I was too worn out to stop by and visit her. After just receiving the news 2 days prior about my miscarriage and preparing myself for the trip ahead, I felt as if I had nothing left in me for even one last visit. My friend was understanding, but sounded disappointed that I wouldn't be visiting her and I changed the subject to ask how her week had been. She explained how it had been extra hard to make ends meet and feed her children, but that thankfully they had not gone without food. A neighbor had brought some food over, and she also thanked me for giving her some leftovers from a dinner she had attended at our house earlier in the week. I never thought leftovers would be so meaningful. She asked for nothing. Then as I was on the phone with this dear friend, and I put myself, a single mom trying to feed my kids, in her shoes I thought "what can I do?" It dawned on me I might have some leftovers in the fridge and on the shelf that would go bad if they were not used soon. I couldn't leave that food in the house to go bad while we were out of town when a friend down the street did not have anything to eat. I told my her that I'd be over shortly to bring her some things I had in the fridge and say good-bye. Somehow, I found energy and I started clearing out my fridge. Josh and I have always tried to not be wasteful or buy more food than we eat, but I was stunned by the things that were going to go to waste if I didn't do something with the things in our fridge before our trip. Fruit, veggies, leftover salad, and pancake batter were some of the things I put in grocery bags to take to my friend. As I was walking down the stairs of my apartment building on my way to the car I felt convicted. How many times had I gone on a trip and not given away ALL of the good food in my house to someone who needed it? How many times had I thrown away leftovers instead of giving them to a person in need? I decided I would not do that again. I wouldn't let food go bad or forget to clear out the fridge, instead I share it. It was clear to me in that moment that to do otherwise would be to sin and to deny Christ. Mat 25:45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." And if we do not know anyone who is without food or needy, then maybe we should make some new friends. You would have loved to see the look on my friend's face when she and her children saw the grocery bags. They were grateful for my leftovers and they put them to use.

Something that so many of our Mexican friends here have taught us is generosity. To love and give even when you have little. This same friend in my above story and her family are always opening up their home to us. Even when they don't have much to eat at their house they share it with us and will hardly let us walk out the door without feeding us. I struggle with excepting things from people when I know I have enough to eat at home. Yet this is the beauty of generosity. And these people have taught me how to share and love. I could tell numerous stories of our friends endless giving, but I will pick one that happened just yesterday.

We were at a discipleship group that we are leading with some new people and I complemented the host on her very lovely ring. If you know me you know I enjoy jewelry very much. I was trying to complement her and thought the ring was nice. She told me to try it on and the next thing I knew she was giving it to me. I protested at first and then realized quickly I would be rude if I did not accept it. How ironic I thought. I didn't ask for the ring and the last thing I actually need is more jewelry. But this sweet woman made me think. How attached am I to my things? If someone said they liked my jewelry, I like my jewelry too, would I take it off and give it to them? It doesn't matter if I payed five dollars for it, twenty dollars or if I received it as a special gift. Am I willing to part with my things?

The truth is I have been challenged. Challenged in my reading, Bible study, and by living life with my new friends here. Am I willing to be like Jesus? To give all of me to others? To love and be willing to give even when I feel I have nothing to share?

Jennifer

"Awake O Lord! Why do you sleep?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
Why do you hide your face?"
Psalm 44:23-24

There are times in our lives when for a moment things don't make sense. Sometimes things happen that hurt us deeply. We look to God for answers, often we get silence in return, but still in the darkness he is with us, he reminds us that life is not fair, it was not fair to him when he came to earth, but in the middle of it all he is here and he holds us.

May 28th Jennifer had her second doctor's appointment to check on her pregnancy at 8 weeks. We braced ourselves as we saw on the monitor that the baby had no heartbeat and it had not grown from the week before. With all of our might we had tried to prepare ourselves for another miscarriage, but in that very moment we were once again struck with the sadness of losing our second pregnancy, and Jennifer's body not getting the signal that there was no longer a healthy baby growing.

God is good and we know that. He has been helping us deal with this even though it is not easy to walk down this road again. We are thankful that we are here in Mexico where we can get affordable and personal medical care. So far we've been impressed with the care we've received.

Last week we headed to Texas for field meetings and our annual field retreat. Please be in prayer for Taylor Christian School as they deal with transition and having to make many tough decisions. Thankfully, we were able to enjoy our retreat in San Antonio and our time in the States. It was a nice break from our schedule and it helped us take our minds off of what we had been dealing with in the days before our trip. We arrived home safely on Sunday and had a wonderful small group meeting last night!

As you think of us please pray for peace and understanding as Jennifer goes through some procedures and tests. Also, she is not sure whether or not she should start teaching ballet classes. Pleas pray for guidance.

Thanks for you love and support!

This song has spoken to us a lot. Check it out.
Held by Natalie Grant

A Community That is Christian

We are currently reading a book called Community That is Christian. It is by a professor from Fuller seminary and is about leading Christian small groups. It was a "recommended reading" for Jennifer in one of her classes at Asbury, and we are just now getting around to reading it, but have found it to be a very helpful read as we are in the process of starting a small group in our home.

Last week we had our first get-to-know you dinner at our house for the small group/Bible study that we are starting in our home. 10 people attended not including us or the children. It went well and we were very up front about the purpose of the group. The purpose is to form an authentic Christian community, one in which we are there for each other and we grow together as we study the Bible. (See Jennifer's notes on facebook for more details or e-mail us if you would like a copy of them). With the exception of 3 people all of those who came to the dinner are not attending a church and come from a catholic background. In our group it doesn't matter if you are catholic or not. All that matters is that you want to grow and know God better. There is one stipulation of our group. Each member has to take it seriously, meaning that no one misses unless they have to and that it is a commitment. Why? Because without commitment we will not grow as a group. We will not know each other well and we will be like every other small group. That is not our goal. Our goal is to be different!

Initially, we were super encouraged by the attendance and interest in the group. Lots of people asked us if they could come and expressed a desire to be a part of the group. We want so badly to do the right thing and make everyone feel welcome. While we were hoping for 15, 10 was a good turn out. Sadly, our neighbors approached us afterwards and said they didn't want to be a part of the group. This kind of hit us hard because we don't really understand why. One neighbor said she has had a bad experience with Christians (and she really has), and that made her weary, even though she knows we are different. Our other neighbor told us that she and her family just didn't want to make a commitment. This breaks our hearts because we think that if we do not sacrifice the time once a week to study and grow together, we will never really learn. Mmm....Please pray for our friends and us as we take this journey together. Still we are not sure if we will have 5, 10, or 12 to start with, but there is a hunger, an interest...The question is will the people respond or will they listen to the voices that are often stronger telling them that it is a waste of time, not worthwhile, or that Christians are weird. Aren't we all longing to be part of a community that is Christian? One where we can grow, be ourselves, be challenged, study, pray, and walk through life together?
Many people we've talked to here and in the States are. Are you part of one?

Everything Changes

Wow! Our apologies for going so long this time between posts. We are not sure where the time is going...

Much has changed over the past few weeks. Thank you for praying for the May 5th meeting between the church we've been working with here in Leon and the WGM Mexican national church. You all deserve an explanation. So here it goes...

On Tuesday May 5th, the church here in Leon met with the WGM national church and told them that they would be separating from the Organization. They no longer wanted to be part of WGM and therefore wanted to be an independent church. The consequences mean that the church here in Leon will no longer receive support, covering, or WGM missionaries. Thus, the decision affected us. We could no longer work in that church because it was no longer part of WGM. Therefore, last weekend was our last weekend there. Saturday we painfully said good-bye to the sweet kids of Canon de la India where we have been working on Saturdays. Sunday was a very awkward day as we told our friends at church good-bye. Some did not understand what was happening, and others did. What broke our hearts was to see how torn up many of the youth were when we told them it was our last Sunday at the church. Our intention is to continue with our friendships even though we will no longer be in the church. Please continue to pray for the Leon church as it goes through many changes, and that the congregation will follow God's voice.

What does all that mean for us?

Most of you received our newsletter, or will be getting it in your mail box soon. We explained that we would be leaving the Leon church and starting other things. One of those activities will be having a small group in our house. We plan on putting a lot of energy and work into this small group with the hope of reaching our neighbors and friends who do not have a deep relationship with Christ. The idea is to grow together in knowledge of God and as a community. We already have lots of people interested and will be having the first get-together this Thursday. Also, there is a church here in Leon that is looking for WGM's covering. We will be helping them with a Bible study there once a week and may get more involved. In addition we hope to work with a friend who has a music school where we will teach English and Ballet classes. So, no worries...We will be busy and we are grateful we will not have to move from Leon.

And the big news...

Josh's little brother, Andy, has been visiting us this week, and he announced that he will be getting married on August 1st of this year in Ohio. Josh will be his best man. All that to say that we got the fun surprise of finding out we can go back to Kentucky for a few days at the end of July. We will spend 10 days between Kentucky and Ohio. Our time will be busy, but we are looking forward to it. We didn't think we'd be back to Wilmore until the summer of 2010. We said we wouldn't go back unless a close family member died or got married. There you go!

As you pray, please pray for us as we try to come up with money for the unexpected expenses of going home for the wedding etc. We are so excited about being at Andy's wedding, but did not budget for two plane tickets back to the states. If you could please pray for God's provision in this area we'd be very grateful!!!!!

This weekend....


We had a wonderful weekend, and yesterday we are thankful for the opportunity we had to share a testimony at the main WGM church in the area in the city of Irapuato. We spoke about the MTI car wreck, the pain and sorrow we've faced over the past 2 years and how God is not safe. We had shared this testimony many times before in the states, but translating it into Spanish and making some changes to it was a little nerve racking. The good news is that yesterday in the Sunday morning service God really moved and people responded to our message. The service was amazing and we are thankful we could be used to change people's lives. God is not safe is not an easy message to share and is not always received well, but we have come to find out that it is so true. God never promises our safety and though he is with us, we are not safe from harm and danger.
In the evening last night we drove to a little town called Valle de Santiago where there is a new WGM church plant. We also shared our testimony there and enjoyed getting to know the people of that group. The day went beautifully until we got lost in Valle de Santiago on the way home. Thankfully, we finally found our way back to the main road. ;) One big yahoo is that we were able to give the testimony in Spanish and were understood. Yah!


Thanks for reading this very long update!!!! Thanks for praying, thanks for giving, and thanks for caring!

God is good, and we are super excited about what he is doing and our plans for this year! Yahoo!

Update

Hello all!
Mmmmm...So many things we could say, but we aren't sure where to start.

Let's start with this influenza epidemic again...

Okay, honestly, by now we have come to the conclusion that this flu ordeal is not as big of a problem as the media and even the Mexico government is making it. We have reason to believe that they might want to blow it out of proportion because they want to put fear in the people to distract them from other things. If you have questions about our theories and why let us know. Anyway, some of you have heard that more than 100 people, or even bigger numbers, have died in Mexico. This is NOT true. Check out the World Health Organization for official numbers (www.who.int). We have been keeping close tabs on this and many have died due to complications with pneumonia as well as the flu. As of today 16 people in all of Mexico, a country of over 200,000,000 people, have died. Please do not panic or be alarmed. You can however pray that all this disappears quickly. It is killing the already terrible economy here and I'm sure around the world as well.

Special Prayer...

This Tuesday the 5th of May there will be an important meeting between the church here in Leon and the national Mexican church of WGM. The meeting is an extremely crucial one. Would you please join us in prayer that God's will would be done? Thank you!

Newsletter...

Many of you have been asking us when you'll be getting our next newsletter. It will be coming your way soon. It is just waiting for approval. =) Thanks for your patience!

God is doing something BIG...

Last week we started writing about the local church and a church plant model that God has been developing in our hearts. Jennifer posted her thoughts on her facebook page under her notes if you are interested in reading them. We have received many positive comments in response to what she wrote and in several conversations we have had with others. Now, we are excited and looking forward to the future because we think we will be able to use this model and help national pastors use it as well. In addition, we got to visit some friends in a nearby city last week who are using the same type of church model. God has honored them and their obedience and has grown their church plant like crazy in a matter of a few months. It was a treat to spend the weekend with this special missionary couple, be a part of their worship service, and share our ideas and callings. Josh was thankful they gave him the opportunity to preach or rather share a Bible lesson with them at their worship service last Friday. Our missionary friends are Honduran and they arrived here in the country the same time we did to work with WGM in Irapuato. We are thankful for them and their friendship and for what God is doing through them!

More to come soon...

The swine flu

Hello All! We've received some notes of concern about the swine flu outbreak that started here in Mexico. You wonder how are things where we live? First off we are not making light of the situation because it is serious and spreading, however, the number of infected people and deaths is still small in comparison to the shear number of people that live here in Mexico. The main problem has been in Mexico City where 30 million people reside. We cannot explain to you just how many people live here and live close together in these cities. For example in the city of Leon, where we live, there are over 2 million people. That puts things into perspective. Also, 6,000 children die of hunger daily, that is one every five seconds (hunger facts international), unclean drinking water kills 4,000 people a day, and in 2007 2 million people died of Aids. Last we checked the swine flue has killed 149 people. Once again we are not trying to make light of the situation as we know it is a real concern, but what if the papers and news made a big deal about how many die daily from hunger, dirty water, or Aids? Aren't those things that could be stopped or prevented? How sad that they are ignored.

There have been two confirmed deaths from the swine flu in the state we live in called Guanajuato. So far none in our city. Schools are closed for at least a week and many public events and museums have been cancelled or closed. The ironic thing is we had a trip planned this coming weekend to Mexico City with a lady that we are discilping because she is from the city, but of course we aren't going now.

Thanks for your prayers and concern. Keep praying and pray for the epedemic of world hunger as well. =D

Much more to come soon...

Up and Down and All Around

Hello All! Whew so much has been going on and we have many pictures and stories to share that it is hard to pick a few.

Last week we traveled north to the city of Saltillo to the annual WGM conference in Mexico. There the pastors and missionaries met for a few days to share about their congregations and talk about important matters. Our time there was very informative for us as we got to know the national pastors and learn more about the history of the the Mexico field. Currently the field is small and struggling, but we hope God will use it for his glory as it moves forward into the future. One of the highlights of our trip was getting to know one of the northern pastor's and his family. One night he took us to a very poor part of Saltillo where his church has an outreach to the poor who live in houses made out of boxes. There we sat at a table of a kind lady's house and talked for hours as we watched the sunset behind the surrounding mountains. In that humble atmosphere this national pastor shared his heart with us that he has for this country, his struggles, and hopes. We shed some tears and came away with a burden for the pastors of Mexico who are struggling to get things done and make ends meet.

This past weekend we had the opportunity to share Christ's love with several people. On Saturday Jennifer went over to one of our neighbor's house to talk with her about our pregnant cat (that is another story) and our neighbor brought up the fact that Jennifer was a different kind of Christian than many Christians she knew. Our friend talked and talked with Jennifer for a long time about Christ and the church and what we believe. She was encouraged and mentioned that if we start a Bible study she'd be interested in it. God works in amazing ways and uses us when we least expect it. Praise God!

Sunday morning we were on our way out the door to church when a young Mexican man approached us and started speaking perfect English with us. He shared with us about his story and how he recently got back from the states and was looking for a job so he could eat. We talked with him for quite a while and were able to give him the job of washing our car. =) He looks for jobs in our neighborhood and we hope we can build a relationship with him and feed him if he is hungry.

Sunday afternoon we had a single mom and her daughters from the church over for lunch. They stayed and talked all afternoon and it turned into a very long and delightful Bible study. This friend of ours is hungry to know the Bible and God and has so many questions. We are thankful we can be here to support her!

This weekend we head to a nearby city where we will visit with some other missionaries and Josh will share at a new church plant.

Thanks for praying for us and our transitions.

Sending each of you a hug from Mexico.

Semana Santa

Greetings this Saturday before Easter. The thought sometimes crosses our minds that we have no idea how many people read our blog, but we hope you find it somewhat interesting and helpful to catch a glimpse of our world and be a part of what we are doing.

This week we said good-bye to the group from Michigan that spend 10 days here in Central Mexico with us. It was a sad parting at the airport because the group was a mature group that brought us many smiles and reminded of us home. We're thankful for their visit, their help, and there attitudes. =) We didn't realize how much energy it takes to work with a short-term team. It was a challenge, but a good one. Jennifer enjoyed working in the kitchen and Josh enjoyed helping with projects. Unfortunately Jennifer got sick and had to stay at home a few days, but overall it went rather smoothly.

Here in Mexico, and in Latin America in general, this week is called Semana Santa. It is a very big week here as all of the schools are out and many people are on vacation. The catholic churches celebrate in a big way and mainly they celebrate the death of Jesus on Good Friday or Viernes Santo. Since we love Latin America we have always wanted to see a famous procession on Good Friday. Many towns have processions were they reenact Jesus' walk to Golgatha and his crucifixion and processions where they take Jesus' body and reenact taking it from Golgatha to the tomb. Much like there are many passion plays in the states, there are many processions here in Mexico. Some of them are rather eery as there can be a lot of self flagellation etc. Yesterday we were thankful for the opportunity to travel to the nearby city of Dolores Hidalgo with one of our Mexican friends and see a procesion del silencio. One of the processions where they walk around the city with Christ's body after he died. For us it was an extremely eye opening experience as we stepped into a new world and culture. Much of it was very beautiful and reverent. However, we were struck by the homily in the middle of the procession about Mary the mother of Jesus. We knew that the catholic church here puts a huge emphasis on her, we'd studied it, seen the evidence in churches, but we where shocked when a priest in the middle of the procession spoke about her. He said nothing of Christ and his sacrifice for us, but rather he spoke of Mary's sacrifice and her example that we should all try to follow. We were saddened by the more or less worship of Mary and the lack of emphasis put on Christ and his example for us. Sadly, the catholic church doesn't give much attention to Christ's resurrection and that he is alive. We are glad that this Easter we can celebrate his sacrifice and death, as well as his miraculous resurrection!

HAPPY EASTER! FELICES PASCUAS.


Photos:
Chichimeca children in the mountains. Josh went with the team to visit a Chichimeca congregation.

Josh with the indigenious Chichimeca pastor

The group from Michigan, us and other missionaries

Suffering Christ in the cathedral in Dolores Hidalgo

Michigan in Mexico

Hello this Saturday! Jennifer here, I just wanted to check in quickly and give you and update.
Monday morning a group of high school kids from Michigan arrived to spend their Spring Break helping out at the church and sharing prepared skits etc. in some poor neighborhoods. We've had a very busy schedule as we've been co-hosting our first short-term team. Josh has been helping out lead projects and I've mostly been in the kitchen preparing meals for the team with a Mexican, Honduran, and sometimes a Brazilian. Quite an experience and very good for my Spanish. Last week we had a very full week preparing for the team and we are thankful we also had the opportunity to help one of our friends in need when her six year old daughter had to go to the hospital. Praise God she is just fine. All that to say we've had some long days the past few weeks and sadly, the lack of sleep caught up with me and I started getting sick this week. Last night and all day today I unfortunately had to step out of my role and stay home. Though I've had stomach problems over the past year and half, I have not had a fever and sore throat at all. This is the first time in so long. Please pray that I will recover quickly so I can jump back in to helping and go on a trip that is planned for the group on Monday. I have a hard time sitting at home when there are other things I could be doing ;).

Muchas Gracias!

We hope you have a wonderful week as you prepare to celebrate Easter!

Love,
Jennifer Rebecca