A miracle

Sunday we received a slightly frantic call from the director of the orphanage. She said "There has been an accident at the orphanage." Immediately we thought of the children and our hearts sank. Her voice wasn't convincing that everything was okay. She began to tell us that one of the house parent's had been in an accident. One of the other house parents was driving a truck while Candy, the one who got injured, got on the back of the truck and was standing up on the tailgate without the driver being aware of it. The driver hit a pot hole and Candy fell off and hit her head on a sharp rock. She was in pretty serious condition and had internal bleeding, but thank God she came through just fine without any brain damage or loss of eyesight or motor skills. The doctor said it was a miracle that she came out without any problems. Sadly, the driver was taken to jail and had to spend two nights there. Monday when we went to the orphanage the driver told Jennifer the whole story in detail while tears rolled down her face. We decided the kids needed cheering up after such an ordeal and so we took cake to share with all of them on Monday. They were grateful for the special treat and were still a little shaken up about everything that had happened. We praise God that the situation wasn't worse than it was. Everyone at the orphanage learned a hard lesson about truck safety.

Thanks for praying for the dear children of the orphanage, that their needs are met, that they recover from seeing this tragic accident, and that their house parents heal from this ordeal.

Sunday we had the wonderful opportunity to meet with our dear friend Rodrigo. His visit to León was a huge encouragement to us!!!!!

Humbled by some loving children...

The other day Jennifer was teaching ballet class when one of her girls stopped her in the middle of class to say that her mom and dad fight a lot and that her dad yelled at her mom. It was obvious that this litter girl doesn't have a good home life since she interrupted Jennifer just to tell her what was happening at her house. Sadly, this little girl acts up a lot in ballet class and is sort of a bully. Many of Jennifer's ballet students come from underprivileged, broken, and even abusive homes. Thankfully, Jennifer is able to hopefully make a difference in the lives of these beautiful children by listening to them before, after, and sometimes during class. Jennifer currently has tendonitis in both of her feet near her ankle and Achilles tendon from ballet, and one of her older students said on Friday that she was going to bring a special cream to help her feet feel better.  Jennifer had forgotten all about it today when class was getting ready to start and the sweet little girl handed Jennifer a Mexican anti-inflammatory cream. Knowing that this child doesn't have much money, but was willing to give Jennifer this cream, was humbling. She even said she would get more if it helped. Please keep praying that Jennifer can be a blessing to these sweet girls, and pray for her tendonitis as well and that it heals quickly so she can get back to her normal activities.

Classes are going well at the gym and several people have expressed to us how CrossFit has helped changed their lives together with the type of diet we recommend. Many people are feeling better and have lost weight. Josh enjoys giving the classes and Jennifer enjoys helping out around the gym and office. We desire for this to be an integral ministry that also reaches people with the love of Christ.

At the orphanage this week we did a craft with the kids. They LOVED it and were thrilled to glue tissue paper to a paper plate. They don't often get the opportunity to do creative activities with things like crayons and glue. It is just not a luxury that they have. We are thankful that we have several friends who are interested in helping us at the orphanage as well and who have been going with us to love on the kids.

Please continue to pray for all our ministries and the new Bible study group we started last week. We appreciate your prayers as we know they sustain us during the tough and the great times!

Here's a look over what has happened over the past few weeks...

 August 25th: We had the inauguration of the gym and it was a success! In the month of August Josh had lots of students. Having so many students in the first month of being open was a huge blessing. Please pray for continued growth and for more new students.

 September 3rd: Jennifer started another semester of classes with her ballet students at the non-profit organization near our house for underprivileged children. Thanks to the generosity of many of you, Jennifer has been working to get all her students ballet slippers so they don't have to wear socks to class. One of her classes now has the shoes and the other class has ordered them. A HUGE thank you if you helped donate shoes or money to this cause.

 September 8th: Josh gave a seminar on nutrition. His desire is to reach people holistically through exercise and diet as well as teaching the Bible.

 September 14th: Our church group celebrated Jennifer's birthday and the birthday of one of our dear friends in our group with an authentic Mexican dinner.

 September 15th: Mexico's Independence Day and Jennifer's 29th birthday!

 September 17th: We went to the orphanage and made hand puppets. The children loved it. 

September 19th: Jennifer's Mom arrived in Mexico to visit and help us out. Yippee!

 Coming up in October we will be starting another group and will be studying the Gospel of Mark together. Join us in praying for a good start to this second group and that those in the group will understand what it means to live by Christ's life.

Also, we were just featured in today's e-mail publication "On the GO" with GO InterNational. Check your e-mail to read the article. It is called "On the GO with the Reynolds."

To give or not to give and how much to give...That is the question?

Sometimes here in Mexico we watch many of our friends struggle to make ends meet and to have enough money to pay their bills. We have other friends who have more than sufficient resources and can afford to buy and live however they want. And then we have other friends that are in between. We can identify with them all, but just the mere fact that we are Americans means we have more than most. However, León is a huge modern city with lots of wealth as well as poverty. We have always tried to work with lower class as well as higher class people. Our desire has been to bring them together and have them help each other out. To some extent it has worked. This past week one of our friends in our group lent money to an other member in need and the one in need payed her back. Other times things are more messy and money gets in the way of friendships. Our constant struggle as we are living as the body of Christ, is to know when to give, and when not to give. We don't want to look like the rich Americans who are always giving money to our friends because we will and could get taken advantage of and cause other problems of dependency and alike. At the same time, we cannot sit there and watch our friends go without food when maybe we have some to share. Lately this has been a daily dilema for us as we have many friends who are not thriving financially. We continually ask God for guidance and discernment as to whom and when we should give. Should we give to the man that comes to our door saying he works as a trash collector and doesn't get payed enough? Do we give to the hundreds of beggars we see on the streets every time we are at a stoplight? Do we only give to our friends? How much? How often? We pray that God would guide us in this journey and that he would guide you too. Let us not be stingy with our resources, but be careful not to cause dependency as well. Only the Holy Spirit can give us the wisdom we need in order to make the right decisions concerning our money. Join us in praying for our friends' financial needs to be met and that we would have Christ's Spirit to make the correct decisions concerning money.

Ready, set, go!

Wow it is hard to believe that we haven't posted in such a long time. Our apologies. We have been super busy with preparations for the opening of the gym which happened today! Yep, ready, set, go..Josh started giving classes in the gym today! More news to come in our next newsletter which will be out shortly. Please pray that this endeavor will go smoothly and that God would be glorified through it! Over the past month 2 months much has happened. Jennifer traveled to the States because her brother flew her there to see him. He lives in Cambodia and was in Kentucky for a wedding. We are thankful for all our family that cares so deeply about us and are able to support us. Josh stayed in Mexico to hold the fort down and continue with our ministries. In June Jennifer's ballet class held a little recital for their parents. She had a blast working with them and the girls had a great time preparing for their presentation. It occurred to Jennifer to share a video of her students performing on facebook and mention that most of the girls didn't have ballet shoes due to lack of resources. One of Jennifer's friends decided to raise $200 in order to buy ballet shoes for the girls for the fall semester and several other friends donated used and new ballet shoes. God works in amazing ways, even on facebook. If you participated in this little fundraiser, thank you! Since it has been a while we are going to share lots of pictures and some prayer requests... Please pray for: -Good health -Safety -God's provision during these months -That the gym details would go smoothly -For wisdom and discernment in ministry

Pictured: Ballet performance, Bible study, surprise party for Josh after our small group meeting, a walk in the country, and some of the young boys at the orphanage.

Success?

"God is not looking for leaders who move multitudes, but rather SERVANTS who are ready to give their life for them." Rodrigo Aguilera Often when we think of change, transformation, or even church we tend to think bigger means better. The more obvious the change, the bigger the transformation, and the larger the church are proof that God is at work and that ministry is successful. However, many times that is not true. Recently we have been studying the gospel of John with our church group and last week we studied John 6. Toward the end of chapter 6 many of Jesus' disciples told Jesus that his teaching was too difficult and so they turned back and no longer followed him. What? Jesus' followers stopped following him? Later we see that Jesus' own family didn't believe him, Judas betrayed him, and Peter denied him. Do we think Jesus' ministry was successful? According to what standard? Our ministry is not large, it is not flashy, and to some it may not seem successful, but we aren't concerned about that because we believe that God has called us here to be faithful in our daily lives in Mexico and with what he has for us. Whether that be teaching a Bible study, working at the orphanage, having deep conversations with our neighbors, teaching ballet, or teaching someone about physical fitness, we pray that we will be the servants God desires. A very wise mentor of ours told us "Find a few families in Mexico and pour your lives into them and disciple them." That is exactly what we are doing! Some days the changes are big, the transformations great, and thus we feel successful. Other days we watch people turn their back on Jesus and walk away while they make destructive choices. That is the nature of ministry and Jesus must have encountered the same joys and sorrows that we do. "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'" Jn. 6:35 Today we are called to trust God whether we seem successful in the eyes of the world or not remembering in him we find all we need. Pictured: -Remodeling the space for the gym. Hooray! -Friday night group.

Exciting News!

We have some exciting news to share with all of you. We have payed the deposit for the locale for the gym and the remodeling of the space will start Saturday! Thank you for those of you who have been praying and for those of you who have contributed to this project! If everything goes smoothly we will be able to open in July. Stay tuned for more details. You might be wondering why it has been so long since our last post. One reason is that Jennifer went on a last minute trip to the US for several days in order to see her father who is recovering from surgery, her friend who is ill with cancer, and to help another friend. We are thankful for several people who gifted her with the funds needed to make the trip possible. She regrets not being able to see most of you while she was there, but she hopes to return in July to see her brother who will be in Kentucky visiting. He lives in Cambodia and is going to fly her home to see him. Josh will most likely be here getting things ready for the gym and continuing with the rest of our ministry responsibilities, but if you are in Kentucky maybe Jennifer will get to visit with you. Josh took a trip to Mexico City and is returning this weekend to visit with our ministry partner, Rodrigo, and to get CrossFit certified. Since the gym will be a Crossfit gym. This week we have been busy having some counseling sessions with our friends, spending time with our neighbors, and getting all of the paper work and funds in order for the gym. How can you pray? -That we will have all the funds we need for the equipment we need for the gym and for the first few months rent -That God would guide us as we balance all of our ministries and relationships -For our friends who are having family problems -For the spiritual maturity and growth of people in our church group -That Christ would be glorified in our marriage, our church group, the gym, and all we do! To Him be the glory!!!!!!!!! Pictures: -A Crossfit gym in Mexico City -Jennifer with our Mexican friends in Kentucky -Us at a quince años party. They are very special and elegante occasions here in Mexico. A quince años is when a girl turns 15 and becomes a woman.

Body, Mind, and Soul

One of our passions is health and wellness. Josh was an exercise science major for a while and used to want to be a strength and conditioning coach. Jennifer has been into ballet since before she was five. Our love for dance and sports has given us a love for a healthy lifestyle and for nutrition. Sometimes we get criticized here for watching what we eat. Nutrition and physical fitness are not as popular here as the are in the States and so sometimes we are misunderstood. However, when one of our friend's found out she had diabetes and that her thyroid was giving her problems again she came to us to look for help. Since we are embarking on this new endeavour of starting a gym the challenge was right up our alley. We helped our friend and her entire family, with a diet plan and Josh has been going to their house 3 times a week to give them workout routines. They already feel better and are loosing weight.

We have always seen ministry as being something integral, just as we humans are integral beings consisting of body, mind, and soul. God desires the best for all areas of our life including our health and wellbeing. After all, we are living temples and should honor our Lord with our bodies! We are excited to be able to use our passions to help people in many ways, getting healthy being one of them!!!! We are still looking for the right place to start the gym. Hopefully we will find one soon!!!

Speaking of health...We have quite a few prayer requests that have to do with health. Would you please lift these up to the Lord?

-Our friend Lety who was diagnosed with diabetes. That her tests would come back with positive news this week.

-For one of Jennifer's close friends back in Kentucky who is fighting for her life against leukemia. Her name is Jen.

-For Marty Seitz, Jennifer's dad who is recovering from colon surgery. He is okay, but still in pain.

-For Jennifer's health

-For Adriana, another friend in our church group. She is 48 and pregnant. Pray for her little baby that it will be healthy!

THANKS!!!!

Semana Santa

Here in Mexico Holy Week is called "Semana Santa" and is a big deal! Everyone is off of school and businesses close Thursday through Sunday. Good Friday is the most celebrated day. EVERYTHING is closed, even stores in the mall. Sadly Christ is viewed to still be on the cross and Easter Sunday is not as popular of a day as Good Friday.

We had a great week celebrating Christ's life, death, and most importantly his resurrection! This week a missionary friend, whom we met in 2008 at Mission Training International, came to stay with us. She is living in Pachuca which is about 6 hours away. It was such a blessing to have her here with us. The day she arrived we went to the orphanage and took the kids cake and played some special games with them.

Thursday was a highlight for sure as we had a seder meal in our home to celebrate Passover. In 2010 we also had one and our friends really enjoyed it. We ate the symbolic meal by candlelight and finished it by taking communion and talking about Christ.

Sunday our church group celebrated Easter together by eating lots of yummy waffles that Jennifer spent the day preparing and having an Easter reflection together.

This week everyone is still off of school as they get two full weeks off during the Easter season. We are currently working on renting a space for the gym. Please pray that it works out okay and we will have all the funds we need in order to buy the equipment needed.

God continues to work and we are blessed to be able to be his servants here. Thanks for your prayers and support. Without them our ministry would not be possible!

Expanding Ministry

Things are getting hectic here as the city prepares for the visit of the Pope. Yes, the Pope. We on the other hand are getting ready to go out of town to take a few days of rest and relaxation and to get away from the hundreds of thousands of people that are going to be invading the city just to get a glimpse of the Pope. Please keep the city and our neighborhood in your prayers. Pray for safety! The soccer fields next to our apartment building are going to be used for parking.

On another note, we have decided to open a gym here in León. You will hear more about this soon in our newsletter. Please also join us in praying for a good space to rent and the money we need in order to start it. We think this will help our ministry as not only will it be a great place to meet people, it will give us, and especially Josh, a job that will put him more on the level of the people we minister to. It is hard for them to see us as profesional Christians without a "job." They don't see our ministry as work in the same way. Now we will be able to be seen as people who "have a job" in addition to our other ministry. We have been looking for a way to expand our ministry for a while and had mentioned to many of you in the past about eventually wanting to open a gym or ballet school. Now is the time and we are excited!

Brief Update

Hello Friends and Family,

This past weekend we traveled to Mexico City once again. We went among other things to speak with the owner of a franchise of Crossfit gyms to talk with him about the possibility of opening one here in León. It has been Josh's dream for several years to open a gym as a way to meet new people and use his love for physical fitness to reach the community. So we are in the process of deciding whether or not we take the big step to open this franchise here in León. Please be in prayer for us that we would make the right decision and that if we do decide to open it that God would provide the finances we need in order to do it. More to come on this in our next newsletter.

God is at work here. We see Him in the faces of the children we work with at the orphanage. We see him in the lives of our friends in our church group and we see him in you through your faithful prayers and gifts.

Weekend Trips

We have been behind on posting and we apologize for that! Things get kind of crazy and it slips our mind to post something, but we shouldn't have any excuses.

Well the past two weekends have been full ones. First we traveled to Mexico City last weekend to be with our co-worker and friend Rodrigo and the church plant he is starting there. We had a wonderful time with the believers there and as always it was an encouragement to be with them and share life together.

This past weekend we had the privilege of going to Acapulco with Rodrigo to a conference about Organic Church. We had never been to Acapulco before so it was a treat to be able to get to go. We endured the 10 hour bus ride and arrived to rather hot and sticky weather. We were greeted by a lovely group of believers that is starting a church. They welcomed us with open arms and showed us the love of Christ from the first moment we arrived. To start off a family gave up their only two bedrooms so that the three of us had a bed to sleep in in their humble home. We were overwhelmed by these people's generosity and love. Most of the people in this church had been very hurt by another church that they ended up leaving. They were receptive to the conference and the challenge that was presented to them be the expression of Christ as the church. Many of the ideas in the conference were new to them and not all of them were easy for them to process, but overall they responded well. One of the highlights was the time of prayer for healing that we had at the end of the conference. Many wounds were healed as we prayed for release from the past.

God is doing big things among small groups of people seeking his face. We are glad to be a part of what He is doing even though we have days when we think we aren't making a difference. We are grateful for the bond we have formed with other groups of believers that are being an organic expression of the church here in Mexico. Join us in praying that more people catch a glimpse of what it means to be the church!

One of our dear friends has been telling us that she is experiencing the love of God like she never has before. She said she asked God to reveal himself to her in a way he never had before. His love is so alive to me she said. I know now that he is real and that he loves me more than anything else.

That is the message we want to send those around us. God is real and cares deeply about every person. His love is bigger than anything we could ever imagine. It has the power to transform and make us into new people. We long to see his love transform those around us. Would you join us in praying for that transformation?

This past week was a time for celebration as we celebrated the birthdays of several people in our church group. One of the youth turned fifteen which is a big deal in Mexico if you are a young lady. On Super Bowl Sunday we had a big get together and celebrated her birthday as well. This was a wonderful time of fellowship and getting to know some new people at the party.

Please pray for continued spiritual growth of our friends and that each day that would fall more in love with the one who loves them dearly!