Annual Conference in Saltillo

Once a year the missionaries of the Mexico field with WGM get together to have a two-day annual conference in addition to several other meetings they hold during the year. The purpose of annual conference is to talk about the past year and plan for the upcoming one. Usually it is held on the border in McAllen where WGM has a private school and guest house, but this year it was held in Saltillo, Mexico. We started off on our 8 hour trip on Friday with our field directors and returned Monday afternoon.

In Saltillo we were joined by the few WGM missionaries of this field which include those who work on the border, and by some of our prayer partners who live in Kentucky, plus our missionary pastors who came down to visit with all of us one-on-one. We spent several hours in meetings and disscussing important matters pertaining to the field. On Saturday we talked about whether or not we would be returning to Mexico with WGM, and we announced that we have not yet made that descision. We of course are going to finish our term here, and we do feel called to live and work in Mexico. Currently, we have not decided whether God is leading us to return with WGM. Please pray for us as we seek God and make wise decisions for our future.

The highlight of our trip was making a visit to the Casa de Paz (House of Peace) in a very humble neighborhood in Saltillo. We had the priveledge of being there in April and meeting Annette at the annual pastoral conference, but this brief visit last weekend was extra special. Annette is a very dear woman who is part of on of WGM's congregations in Saltillo, and because she lost her house she had to move to a little neighborhood called Nueva Esperanza (New Hope). The name is ironic because when you look around you don't see many signs of hope, but Annette along with the help of a few other women, and now one of WGM's missionaries, is making that name a reality. In front of her little house made out of cardboard, scrap metal, and wood, Annette is teaching the kids in her neihgborhood about God and his love. The ministry has grown from merely giving the children a breakfast and a short lesson on Saturdays, to serving breakfast and offering lessons several times a week. The Casa de Paz also has a women's group now as well to reach the mothers and teach them about who God is and how he can change their lives. The last thing Annette said to our group after explaining her passion for the families of her neighborhood was ask all of us to pray. To pray that God would touch the lives of those they are working with, that God would give them strength to be good leaders, and that God would continue to provide what they need. Our hearts were full of joy as we saw the face of Jesus in the eyes of Annette, as we thought about the fact that she was turning her proverty into an oppertunity, and because whether she new it or not, we all left challenged. Shouldn't we all have a House of Peace?


Pictures:
Jennifer and Annette
Our prayer partners the Conleys
Sights of surrounding the Casa de la Paz in Nueva Esperanza
The sign in front of the house
Our current missionary team

Sowing Seeds

After lots of preparation, hours on Powerpoint, and lots of study, Josh drove to Irapuato last Saturday to give his first class for the new Theological Education by Extension program for present and future church leaders in Central Mexico. He went in to the class a bit nervous knowing he'd be teaching for a total of 12 hours in nothing but Spanish and he'd be communicating deep truths and information about the New Testament to a group of 20 students. The class went really well. They purpose of the class was to give the students an understanding of the historical context of the New Testament so that they would be able to read it, interpret it, and apply it to their lives in a more complete and deeper way. The class appeared to be a success! The students were very participative and thoroughly enjoyed the group projects which included comparing and contrasting different hermeneutics, interpreting and applying the parables of Jesus, and identifying the different parts of New Testament letters.


The most challenging thing for Josh was of course the Spanish. Spending 7 hours on Saturday and 5 hours on Sunday teaching in Spanish is a bit taxing but it was also a very good exercise for him. In the end, both the students and Josh learned from the class. The most rewarding thing was seeing the students being challenged to think in new ways about the New Testament and to read it in a more historically grounded manner. The section on parables was probably the most fun as the students discovered the utter importance of keeping a text in its original context both socio-cultural and literary. Some light bulbs really went on during the parable section. All in all, the class went very well and Josh was able to learn more about how to be a better teacher while the students learned more about being better disciples.
This month Jennifer is preparing her course over Sects and World Religions and is proving to be quite a challenge as she is having to develop the curriculum by herself. She's working very hard but can't help but feel stressed. Please keep her in your prayers as she works on her course and pray for peace and guidance as she does so.

Random Happenings

Hello Friends!

This weekend is a big weekend for Josh as he teaches a theological education class for those preparing to be in ministry in Central Mexico. It is part of WGM's new TEE program that we helped start here this year. He is teaching a Panoramic of the New Testament. Please pray for him this weekend as he teaches and for his Spanish. Would you also please pray for Jennifer as she prepares for her World Religions class that she will be teaching at the end of November? While Josh is out of town, Jennifer will be hosting a dessert in our apartment for her neighbors. Please pray that this will be a good time and pray that we can learn how to better reach our neighbors with God's love!

This week in our small group we talked honestly with our friends about our discouragement in ministry right now and the need for people to stick to their word. We are finding out that culturally it is not common to follow through with one's spoken work. Thankfully, our comments were accepted kindly and we feel encouraged.

We've been hosting a dinner in our homes on Thursdays to provide food and fellowship for people in and outside of our small group. To our surprise, this Thursday many people showed up for dinner and we had a great time of sharing. One person even invited several friends. Please join us in praying that our Thursday night dinners would be a time of growth and community!

We just sent out our newsletter via -mail and it will be going out this week to those of you who receive it by regular mail. If you are on our mailing list and are not receiving the newsletter, please e-mail us: jandjmexico@gmail.com and let us know. We do our best to stay in touch with you, but if you do not feel like you being informed we would like to be made aware! Remember our newsletter goes out 4 times a year and you will not receive updates otherwise unless you are on our prayer team or check our blog.

Thanks for serving with us here!

Seasons Change

God has embedded in creation the mystery of changing seasons. Spring turns to summer, summer turns, to fall, and fall to winter mimicking the cycle of life that we not only find ourselves in physically (birth, vitality, weakening, and death) but also the cycle we find ourselves in spiritually.
After having been here in Mexico for over a year we have passed through seasons of adapting to the culture. We have gone from the cultural adaptation honeymoon where everything Mexican is the best to wanting nothing more than to be home with family eating one of our favorite meals and enjoying the things we've enjoyed our whole lives. We find ourselves closer to the latter today. We are learning that when one ministers he longs for others to see what he sees, to know what he knows, and develop a life changing relationship with Jesus, but more often than not we as human beings have blurry vision, we're hard of hearing, and our weary legs don't often take us where we want to go as fast as we want to get there. We're learning that ministry is not always marked by great strides of success, by many lives being changed at once, nor by feeling successful. We're learning that ministry is often marked by great sacrifice, faithfulness in the midst of adversity, and heartache. Do we experience times where we will feel what we call "success?" Most definitely we will, but without growing stronger and more committed through the difficult times, how could we ever really be able to offer the depth of knowledge and wisdom required from us in times of success?

Dreams Do Come True

It is amazing how God answers prayer! The youth camp went wonderfully and we feel honored to have been part of it. We were put in charge of a group of 8 young women from the town of San Juan de los Lagos which is about an hour and half away from where we live. There were several towns represented at the camp in addition to Leon. To be completely honest, we were a little nervous at first because youth ministry is not our strength or something that we are very experienced at, but the majority of the girls in our small group were actually young adults and we felt quite at home with them. Somehow God used us and the activities at the camp to change these young ladies lives. We praise God that four of the ladies of our group made a commitment to follow Christ. At the end of the camp we stood amazed at how God worked in just 2 1/2 days. Our time was jam packed with games, activities, lessons, and sharing. Together we explored the life of Joseph and how Joseph remained faithful to God and did the right thing even when he was rejected by his brothers. We learned that our dreams should be God's dreams and that no matter what our situation we are loved by him. Though we were tired after little sleep and exerting a lot of energy, the reward was great in the end. To top it all off our team came in second place in the competition that took place over the weekend.

We are grateful and humbled that we were asked to be counselors at this camp, and are thankful to our young friend Rene who organized it and had the vision to show Christ's love to a bunch of youth.

Last week we followed up by taking a trip with some other missionaries to San Juan de los Lagos to visit our friends and encourage them. We got to see the virgin of San Juan and understand more about the culture that our new friends come from. Most of the town is supported by the tourists/pilgrims that go to see the small statue in the main church of the town. Here is a link if you are interested in reading more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_San_Juan_de_los_Lagos
Last year we posted something about this pilgrimage as well. Visiting this town was an eye-opening experience and a glimpse into the lives of those that live in Suan Juan. Please lift our friends up in prayer, that they will follow only Christ, and that they will have the strength to search for God's dreams for their lives. With him, their dreams can come true!

Camping for a Dream

Good afternoon this Fall day in Mexico. It actually feels a little bit like Fall and we are enjoying it. =)

This week has been a challenging one ministry wise, but is it coming to a good end. Tonight after Jennifer's ballet classes we are heading off to a youth camp to be counselors. Several small churches and missionaries in Leon are getting together to have a youth weekend to share a good time and teach youth who may not know Christ his love for the. The name of the camp is "CAMPING FOR A DREAM." We are going to talk about the dreams God has for us, the dreams we have, and the difference that a relationship with God makes in our lives. It will not look like a regular youth camp as it is geared toward youth who do not know God. We are excited about this opportunity to participate in an event with other churches and to work with youth. Please pray that God will use us to reach these youth, that we will be good listeners, and that our Spanish will be understandable.

Our Weekly Schedule and How You Can Pray:

Mondays: Our home group Bible Study and preparation for it

Tuesdays: Discipling of a couple in their home and home visits

Wednesday: Spanish study, English class in our home, (possible start of another Bible study in the near future)

Thursdays: Spanish study, theological class preparation, open supper in our home for whomever wants to have a free meal and fellowship.

Friday: Jennifer gives ballet classes, Bible study preparation, and marriage study with another small group here in Leon.

Saturday and Sunday: Devote time to have various people/families over for a meal and build relationships, Sunday we usually try to take as our sabbath.

(Every week is a little different and we try to be available for others and have a fairly flexible schedule)

Thanks for standing with us. Please continue to pray for those we are discipling, that God would give us wisdom in counseling, and that God would touch the lives of our friends!

Good Boxes and Bad Boxes

Over a surprise breakfast that our neighbors planned to celebrate Jennifer's birthday the conversation quickly turned to religion. One friend commented that she doesn't believe in many of the beliefs of the Catholic church and that is why not all of her children were baptized. Instead she wants them to choose their confirmation and baptism for themselves. Some of the other women around the table became very silent because this women was questioning the core traditions of their faith. We began to discuss faith, God, and tradition and soon it struck me that for many of these women what they call their religion, what I call a branch of the Christian church, represents no more than baptism, first communion, and confirmation. I knew that before, but I was in awe of the fact that some of the women were following their faith and belief system just for these traditions. They do not go to "misa" every Sunday nor do they confess, two very important parts of the catholic faith, but they call themselves catholic. What shocked me more than anything was that one of my dear friends started to make fun of her brother who is a very devote catholic. He does follow it teachings closely yet for her he was a fanatic. When the topic turned to my beliefs my friends started commenting on how weird the evangelical church is and told me some strange stories about their experiences with the evangelical church, and my heart sunk. I tried to explain that I didn't believe in the same things as those evangelical churches with which they had come into contact with. They suggested I come up with another name for myself than Christian in order to avoid being placed in the same box with these other Christians, which honestly are teaching things that are not true. And so I left my birthday breakfast thankful for a group of neighbors that have, time and time again, gone out of their way to make me feel at home here, who love and respect me deeply, but who are weary to get involved with our "religion" for fear of what it may mean. On one hand they are hesitant to study with people that are not from the catholic tradition, though most of these friends do not agree 100% with its teachings, and are not devote in anyway, on the other hand they are afraid of becoming fanatics and maybe what it would mean to truly follow the teaching of Jesus, or possibly of merely being associated with the evangelical church which honestly has a pretty bad reputation here. And we, continue to pray that our neighbors and others would be able to get past labels, and see God, and understand that to know him changes our lives radically. We are not as concerned what label you put on it...We have people from various traditions in our small group, the point is that our faith impacts the way we live. If not it does not hold much value.

And so, this year after celebrating my birthday and Mexico's independence day yesterday, I am more resolved to live out my faith whole heartedly, to continue to show love to my neighbors and those I work with, and seek to not only call myself a follower of Christ, but live as part of his kingdom. Doing such a thing, no matter where we live in the world will most likely not be popular, but if it is done correctly, it will change they way we live and the world around us.

Jennifer Rebecca



We like the subtitle to Brian McLaren's book "A Generous Orthodoxy"

"Why I am a missional+evangelical+post/protestant+liberal/conservative+mystical/poetic+biblical+charismatic/contemplative+fundamentalist/calvinist+anabaptist/anglican+methodist+catholic+green+incarnational+depresssed-yet-hopeful+emergent+unfishished CHRISTIAN"

PICTURES:
1) Jennifer's surprise birthday breakfast with her group of neighbors
2) Small luncheon in Leon for local pastors
3) The ballet barres in the gym where Jennifer is teaching ballet classes...We are thankful she has the barres and appreciate your donations making them possible.

God Can Do What We Cannot

Hello friends and family!

Our apologies for not writing a post sooner. One of our friends who is a missionary in Chile recently stated that it is super hard to take time out of ministry to take pictures. We agree that it not only seems intrusive at times to take pictures, but it is not an easy task, and sometimes we find it challenging to make the time to write a post. That is no excuse though for not keeping in touch with you all!

We have moments when we are frustrated in ministry, when we wonder why we are here, and when we still struggle to communicate fully in Spanish, but then there are moments like we had this week when we know that we are supposed to be here, we know we are here for a reason. One friend who has been coming to our group on and off, is struggling with his addiction to alcohol and is vacilating between going to rehab or not. This past week we almost had him convinced that he needed to go and that we were going to take him to a Christian rehab center in another city. However, after much prayer and several long conversations, he decided he wanted to give it another chance here at home, that he was going to concentrate on his work and going back to school. We remain very concerned for this friend, but know God can bring him to his knees and help him realize that he cannot get clean on his own.

Jennifer held inscriptions for her ballet classes last week and is slightly disappointed with how many students she will have to start with this week, but is not worried. We also attended the inauguration of the theological educational program by extension for WGM in Mexico. It was an exciting as we dedicated the program and look to the future of theological education in Mexico.

This weekend God answered our prayers in a big way. And we learned that he can do what we cannot! For months we've been praying for one of our friends in our small group who has helped us immensely with our Spanish and whom we've become very close to and that she would really know God, choose to accept him as savior of her life, that she would understand his love, and want to share that with others. Sadly, this weekend this friend passed through an extremely difficult situation. She called us to tell us what was happening and we prayed that God would give her strength, peace, and wisdom. And he did! The power of God moved in her life, and she told us yesterday after our small group that she met God, she wants to live for him, and never be the same. How prayer works is a mystery, but we are convinced it does! We have seen the hand of God move in this friend's life as he has revealed himself to her because she sought him with her whole heart. After spending lots of time with us, seeing the difference God makes in our lives, studying the Bible and feeling the love of God, she is a new person. And we are sure we have a purpose here in Leon, but that also we are merely empty vessels used by a loving and powerful God.


For those who pray for our ministry here:

*Would you continue to pray for our dear friends in our group and those whom we are discipling? That others too would understand who God is and want to change their lives completely, that they would sense the presence of God like our other friend did

*Jennifer's ballet classes, that they get off to a good start and would be a point of outreach

*Our Spanish, that we would find time to study and we would continually improve

*For our future as we plan for this year and the year that follows, for wisdom and guidance

PICTURES:
-With our Mexican parents celebrating Manuel's birthday
-Cutting the ribbon at the inauguration of the theological education program
-Josh and the kids of a friend in our group. We spent a day and night with them to try and help teach them and their mom some new discipline ideas. (They are standing by the miniature arc in the mini Leon playtown at a the main park in Leon.)

Mi Casa Es Su Casa

My House Is Your House...

That is a saying that you will here time and time again here in Mexico. When people tell you that their house is your house, they truly mean it! Often when we meet a new family they will tell us where they live and that at their address is where our house is. The beauty of this common phrase is that when people say it they mean it. Life starts in the home, revolves around the home, and is the center of everything. While in the States it is not as common to open up your home to a stranger or even to your friends anytime of day or any day of the week, here it is different. Here you always welcome people into your home and you always offer them a snack, drink, or a meal when they are at your house. It doesn't matter if you have little to offer, you offer it. And people congregate, celebrate, and talk and talk in each other's houses.

Therefore, we realized that the best place to minister was in the home. Bible studies in our apartment, meals, fellowship, counseling sessions all of this can be done out of our home. As we've opened our home more and more, we've found a great joy in doing so. And if most of life takes place in one's home, why not teach people how to live in a home rather than in a church building? So far this model is working, and God is teaching us how go beyond what we are used to and open our hearts and home even wider. We've learned that our possessions are not ours, and neither is our apartment. Rather they are all God's and they are belong to others as well. Our house is your house!

A pastor friend in Kentucky told us that once a week he had dinner at his house and invited people to come and fellowship together. Another friend in the States used to have community dinners in his inner city house. After realizing the need for more fellowship, discussion, and a safe place to learn and grow, (not to mention that many would be blessed by a free meal once a week), we have decided to hold an open-house dinner weekly. We will start this in September and many from our home group have already expressed interest and a desire to help with the dinner. Please be in prayer as we share a meal with neighbors, friends, and whomever wants to come.


Some people here in Mexico who have done an incredible job of opening their homes are our neighbors. Since we moved here they've made us feel at home and have gone out of their way for us numerous times. Without them we honestly don't know how we would have made it through the year. Jennifer starting having breakfast with the women neighbors this year and they will continue to meet this year as well.

Pictures:

-At a Ranch with our neighbors, eating and getting to know each other better

-Some of the women of the apartment building getting together for a birthday

-Celebration of new church in the nearby city of Irapuato. Dafne and her daughter dance as part of the celebration. Afterwards we all shared a meal together. Our fellow missionary friends Dany and Carminda helped this church get off the ground this year and it is a wonderful Christian community that is based on meeting in homes.

ONE YEAR IN MEXICO!

We can hardly believe that today we celebrate one year in Mexico! Time has gone by incredibly fast, but so much has happened in one short year. The truth is that we will never be the same after this year. Many wonderful things have happened in the past twelve months and many difficult things as well. We arrived here at midnight on the 8th of August with many hopes and dreams and as our professors said at Mission Training International with what "we thought we were going to be doing." God has given us a revised vision for future ministry at at this very moment we do not feel like we know exactly where we are headed, but we are different, we are stronger, and we will never look at life the same.

A look over the past year...
We have learned a lot of Spanish, we are not completely fluent like we wanted to be by this time, but considering we had many set backs with our language learning, we are doing okay and we've come a LONG way. Yahoo!

We are no longer scared to talk on the phone or take care of important matters in Spanish.

In one year we've made lots of friends and contacts in Mexico. We can fill our apartment with our new friends and that makes us smile.

We've learned once again that God is not safe, and that he does not promise us easy times. We've walked through some dark moments, moments when all we wanted to do was go back to the States, but we've made it through stronger and God has sustained us.

Most of the things we came here thinking we would do or would happen did not, but we are thankful for what we learned in the middle of the craziness.

We know that love changes everything, that if we love those around us they will see the true Lover of our souls. Loves costs all of us, but it is what God asks for...That we may love him and others!

We've discovered that people are hungry for God and a new way of doing church. God has placed it on our hearts to teach people how to know God and live in community.

More than anything, we've learned that we are human, and just because we are in God's will doesn't make us immune to anything and while we've been on this journey of discovering Mexico and our place here, we've fallen madly in love with a beautiful people and a beautiful country that we can now call home.

We look forward to another year in Central Mexico! Thanks for joining us. =)

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...