Fall Happenings November 30, 2009

We have had a very busy, but good fall this year.  Time has just flown by!  Now we are just a few days away from finishing language school at UNAM.  In addition to taking Spanish class, I’ve been taking a literature class and a class about the city, which includes outings every weekend.  The outings were a great way to learn more about the city.  For our first outing we went downtown and saw floats for a parade which displayed a special type of Mexican art.  Then we headed to a Mexican market where they sell everything from “magic” potions to live animals.  The market was so packed that day, that we couldn’t get into certain parts with the stroller, so the 3 of us had to wait outside while the rest of the group looked around.

A glimpse of the crowd near the market

For the next outing we went to a “Lucha Libre.”  Anyone who has seen the movie “Nacho Libre” will know what that means.  It’s basically a scripted “fighting” performance, both humorous and impressive.  For the next outing, we went to the dump.  People are surprised when I tell them that our teacher took us to the dump.  The point of his class is to show people the unusual parts of the city.  The Mexican dump would indeed be an anomaly for most.  Here it is, in fact, its own colony where people construct their homes inside the dump and make their living by rummaging through and sorting out the trash.  We were unable to go into the inner part of the dump, but as we drove by we could see a row of single-room shacks constructed out of whatever could be salvaged from the dump – aluminum, cardboard, plastic.  We pulled our van over to the side of the road and climbed up the bank surrounding the dump.  Plastic bags were swirling around in a small tornado-like pattern.  We could see make-shift shelters of canvas and cardboard, barely big enough for a person to crawl inside to sleep.  As we moved in closer, the stench became increasingly more revolting and the flies more abundant.  At a stone’s toss away, a mother sat under a canvas, holding her small child.  Further away, trucks were dumping their loads.  People were sorting the trash.  There were huge barrels filled with plastic bottles.  In Mexico, the recycling is done at the dump rather than in the homes.  Although we didn’t see any, our teacher told us that even children work in the dump sorting the trash.  As I took everything in, a deep sadness gripped my heart as I thought about the people who called this repulsive-smelling place “home.”  I had a headache the rest of the day.  I’m pretty sure it was from the fumes I inhaled for the 15 minutes or so that we were at the dump.  I can’t imagine what it must do to the people, including small children, who live there.  The next week we went to a lake, the only one remaining of the once enormous lake that used to span this entire city and beyond.  Yesterday, for our final outing, we went to Xochimilco and road a boat through the canals to get an idea of what the city used to look like before the Spanish invasion.

I invited my friend and former classmate, Astrid, as well as her daughter Ana Lara to Xochimilco

Our boat was called "Titanic."

This man pushed our boat along using a long pole - it looked like a lot of work. He did this for 4 hours!

In November, Loren had the opportunity to participate in two medical clinics in two distinct areas.  The first was just outside of the city in an area called Chimalhuacan.  This area is home to over one million people and is very underdeveloped, classified as an urban slum.  The following weekend he went on a caravan to the mountains in the state of Guerrero.  This is the home of an indigenous group called the Tlapanecos.  Though many speak some Spanish, their first (and for some the only) language is Tlapaneco.  Loren served in the “clinica del alma” or “clinic of the soul” where he was able to share the Gospel one-on-one with over 25 individuals.  We praise the Lord that six of those individuals as well as over 100 others made commitments to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord!  Please be in prayer for these new believers as many do not have Bibles and cannot read in Spanish.  There is a small evangelical congregation in the community but no pastor.  The people in this region live in absolute poverty, many living on less than two dollars a day.

"The Clinic of the Soul"

The surrounding countryside

For Thanksgiving this year we were doubly blessed.  Instead of one turkey dinner, we got TWO!  On Thursday evening we went to the home of some newly acquired friends: Benny and Janice Yu and their two kids Charis and Micah, Heung Ki Youn, and Bobby Shin.  They are all missionaries here with New Song church.  Among other things, they are in the process of starting a ministry for victims of human trafficking here in Mexico.  We were astounded to learn how huge human trafficking is here in Mexico and impressed that they are taking action to stand up against it.  We are praying about what we can do to help.  To find out more, you can go to http://www.justicenow.tv/mexico.

Thanksgiving dinner at the Yu family's house (Bobby is on the right)

Liliana hanging out on the steps with Benny Yu and his son Micah

Sporting Thanksgiving garb

Our second Thanksgiving feast was on Friday evening with the Munoz family and friends from their church.  The Munoz family used to go to the church in Chicago where I was a member before marrying Loren.  We met them this summer, and are praying about helping them with a new church plant.

The food was delicious!

And the table was elegant.

We even got the Thanksgiving story complete with costumes, courtesy of Becky and Antonio Munoz and several of the kids who got dressed up and told the story.

Our last day of class is Thursday, Dec. 3.  We will fly up to Chicago on Dec. 5 and from there we will fly to Pennsylvania on Dec. 10 and then Oregon on Dec. 24 and back to Mexico City on Jan. 6.  We’re looking forward to the break and the time we will spend with our family and friends.  We are also praying about God’s next steps for us as we return to this city so full of need.

Beach Birthday Weekend October 19, 2009

For my birthday this year, we took a weekend trip to Zihuatanejo, a small fisherman’s town on the Pacific Coast.  We had so much fun!  It worked out great that we had the week off of school.  We left Thursday morning at 7:00, not really knowing how long it would take us to get there, but we calculated anywhere from 6 to 8 hours.  Map in hand, we headed off on what appeared to be the most direct route to our destination.  What we didn’t realize was the route we were taking would lead us on a small winding road through the mountains with random speed bumps (without warning signs) and animals (such as donkeys and cows) on the road.  Needless to say, it took much longer than we expected.  We finally pulled into our hotel parking spot 10 hours later.  We were very happy to get out of the Jeep!  Thursday evening we walked along the beach outside our hotel.  Friday we packed up all our beach gear and took a boat taxi to a beach that’s known for its snorkeling.  OH, how I love snorkeling!  A snorkel guide found me and showed me some things I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise, some of them I got to hold including brittle sea stars, a sea cucumber, and a crab.  I also saw an eel and got to feed the fish out of my hand.  Loren saw a manta ray within the first 10 minutes of going out.  We sat under a palapa – a restuarant on the beach with umbrellas and chairs you can use all day if you order from their menu.  Liliana had fun playing with the ladies who worked there.  Saturday, my birthday, we sat in on a timeshare presentation at a resort in Ixtapa.  We got a free breakfast buffet out of the deal and a tour of the resort.  The man who did the timeshare with us was actually a missionary there who does the timeshares as his “tentmaking” business.  He witnesses to Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons.  It was very interesting to talk to him.  After that we took another boat taxi to Ixtapa Island.  The water there was rough.  I tried to do some more snorkeling, but only saw 4 fish this time, including a puffer fish.  Liliana took a long nap and then went for a walk on the beach with Loren while I took my own little nap on the beach.  That evening we went to dinner at a restaurant on the hill in Zihuatanejo.  The view of the bay was breathtaking.  There was no electricity that night, so we ate by candlelight.  We were the only ones in the restaurant that evening.  We were surprised that such a beautiful restaurant had such slow business.  But, this time of year is much less crowded than in the summer or winter (which was nice for us!).  Sunday morning we walked along one other beach before heading home.  We took another route this time and made it back in 8 1/2 hours.  I’ll admit, it was a bit difficult to leave such a paradise.  So now it’s back to the big city and Spanish classes.

Beautiful view of the mountains we drove through

Some of the animals that obstructed our way.

Heading to the beach!

Liliana taking in the beauty of the ocean.

Birthday dinner with a spectacular view

Celebrating Finals October 12, 2009

Last Thursday, Loren and I took our finals for our Intermediate 2 Spanish class.  Each of our classes celebrated with an end-of-the class meal.  My Spanish class decided to have a party on Friday at one of the students’ house.  So we ate lots of good food last week.  Then Catalina, one of the students from my class, invited us to go with her and a group of friends to some hot springs a few hours north of the city.  We left on Saturday and came back Sunday.  It is a beautiful place.  The warm water is very relaxing and makes your skin feel so soft.  Even Liliana, who normally does not like swimming,  enjoyed being in the water.

Getting ready to head to the pools. Liliana enjoying her ride in the beach bag.

View of the hot springs

Enjoying the warm water

Catalina and her husband (in the purple shirt) and friends

September September 30, 2009

Well, September has just FLOWN by, as is evident by the lack of updates to the blog.  I really am going to try to be better at this.  I always think of things that I want to say on here and just never get around to typing it out.  Loren and I have been busy with language school.  We are both in Intermediate 2.  Classes started August 24 and finish next Thursday, October 8.  I have been going to class in the morning (leave at 8 and get back at 1:00 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and 2:30 the other days) and Loren goes to class in the afternoon/evening (he leaves at 2:30 and gets back at 7:30 Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and 9:00 the other days).  The split schedule works out really good so that we don’t have to take Liliana to a babysitter.  It just makes for long days!  In addition to the 13 hours of Spanish each week, Loren and I are both taking 5 hours of history (mine is the history of Mexican cooking and Loren’s is the history of slavery).  We’ve been enjoying our classes and getting to know our classmates.

For the weekend before Mexican independence (September 16), we drove up to Queretaro to see some friends, many of whom, Loren knows from when he did his internship here in 2004.  Our drive out of the city was quite eventful.  Within the time span of one hour we were stopped by four different police.  No, Loren was not speeding.  I think that would have been impossible in the Mexico City traffic.  We were stopped because in order to drive a car with a foreign license plate, you must have a special sticker on your car.  Well, we have that special sticker, but unfortunately the police cannot see it when they’re behind us because the sticker is on the front of the car.  Now, who decided that the front windshield would be a good place to put the sticker???  The last time we were stopped we were actually detained for about 40 minutes.  As we found out later, the police officer was lying to us by telling us that we were supposed to have a certain piece of paper with us and as a result of not having it, we would have to have our vehicle impounded and pay up to 4,000 pesos (around $300).  The police was telling us all of this with the hopes of getting a bribe.  But when Loren told the officer that he wanted to go to “turismo” to handle it, we were suddenly and mysteriously told to just go, after we had been waiting for about 15 minutes.  So with a sigh of relief and a word of thanks to the Lord, we were on our way again.  After that incident we had a very enjoyable weekend staying with a missionary family from Texas, the Lamberts.  We were able to go to 2 church parties as well as meet up with several people we know.

We had fun dressing up!

So much delicious food!

At the mall with our friend Ivete

Jenny Anderson, our friend who taught English classes at our church in Chicago, La Villita as her PCM

Excellent band!

We’ve been keeping busy on the weekends.  September 19 we went to a Korean birthday party.  It was the birthday of a classmate’s husband.  We ate delicious food and since there were guests from all over the world, we got to hear “Happy Birthday” sung in 7 different languages!  This past Saturday we attended a “couples’ night” at the church near us, Asiel, where we heard some good teaching and ate some good food.  The church plans to have one of these every month.  It’s a great outreach tool as many people from the church invite their unsaved family and friends.  This Saturday I will go to the monthly women’s Bible study at Asiel and then we are having a family of 3 generations from the church over for dinner.  I always get a little bit nervous about cooking for Mexicans.  I’m worried they won’t like my “American food.”

We have a couple of ministry opportunities for you to keep in your prayers:

1) I teach English to the neighbor girls 3 days a week.  I see it as a great way to get to know our neighbors.  I am also using stories from the Bible as part of the curriculum.

2) I have been talking with a Jehovah’s Witness at school about the differences between our beliefs.  He’s interested in continuing our discussions.  Please pray that he would be open to hear the truth and that I would have the right words to say at the right time.

Hope you are all enjoying the fall.  I must confess that right now I am missing the changing of the leaves, but I am also not dreading the long cold winter like I usually do!

More friends from the US and Operation Serve August 17, 2009

This past week brought us some friends from our home church in Chicago.  Zach and Sarah Massey and Amanda Babb were here August 16-20 (minus a day when they went to Puebla).  We had a lot of fun with them touring the city.  It’s always fun to have friends from home visit.  I enjoyed playing cards, something I haven’t gotten to do down here.

Standing with Amanda, Sarah and Zach with a view of the Basilica behind us

While we were touring downtown with them, we ran into some people that Loren knows from when he was in high school.  They were down here on a missions trip with an organization called “Operation Serve.”  They work in the squatter camps and at various church locations throughout Mexico City.  They offer free medical, dental, and eye care as well as haircuts, manicures, and activities for the kids.  We tagged along last week and were impressed with how many people from the community showed up.  Within the 3 days that they were at the church site, over 600 services were offered, and over 100 prayed to accept Christ.  We were thrilled to witness this ministry and meet the people involved with it.  We know that it was no coincidence that we ran into the Penrods downtown.

Getting set up for the day. People are waiting on the right.

The Penrod family. Kipp was the youth pastor of Loren's friend's church in high school, but since then they had been out of contact until last week.

Liliana with some of the girls from the church.

July August 7, 2009

July was a busy month for us.  The first week some friends from the states were here.  They left July 7.  July 8 we celebrated our 3 year anniversary.  It was such a blessing that a family we had recently met offered to watch Liliana for us so we could go out for our anniversary.  They have a 2 1/2 year old daughter.  So Liliana had a fun time playing with a new friend and we could enjoy time out alone for the first since we’ve been in Mexico.  We did some shopping at a mall, had a nice Italian lunch and caught a movie at a theater.  The next day, July 9, was Loren’s 26th birthday.  It was a bit lame, I am sorry to say.  We were busy all day trying to do laundry and pack for our trip to the states.  Sorry, hon, I’ll do better next year!  We did go out for dinner that evening, and I made him a blueberry cheesecake while we were in the states.  The next day, July 10, we flew out to Oregon.  My sister Jen picked us up at the airport and we stayed the night at her house.  The next day was my Dad’s 50th birthday, so he and mom were planning to go to Jen’s house to spend the day with her and the kids.  Dad had no idea we were in Oregon, so when he arrived and he saw us there, he was shocked to say the least.  It was so much fun anticipating his surprise.We had a great week and a half with my family in Oregon.  These were some of the highlights:

• lots of cookouts (oh, how I have missed those!)
• bike riding, hiking, horseback riding, swimming
• garage sales (I got a whole new wardrobe!)
• watching the cousins play together (My sister Jennifer has 2 kids: Angel is  2 1/2 and Jazmyn is 1)
  

  Loren, Liliana, Angel, and Jazmyn

• lots of relaxing.
  

  The whole family

On July 20, we flew to Pennsylvania to be with Loren’s family.  Highlights there include:

• A trip to the Pittsburg zoo with the grandparents, kids and grandkids.  Liliana loved it.
  

  Looking at the sea lions: Grandpa Kurtz, Loren, Aunt Mara, Liliana, Grandma, cousin Brooke, and Uncle Lee's arm

• Seeing a black bear up close and personal in the field across the street from where Loren’s parents live.
  

  The bear that we chased down in the vehicles

• Celebrating Laura’s 60th birthday
• Meeting with several churches who are supporting us financially.  One church is in eastern PA and had never met us before, so it was great to meet them.  We stayed with Loren’s cousin Eileen and her family, who connected us with their church.
• A picnic at Loren’s parents’ farm for family and friends to come see us and hear about what’s going on in our lives.  We are so blessed and encouraged to have such a loving network of family and friends who support us and pray for us.  Laura is an incredible woman for hosting a picnic in our honor for over 40 people at her home on her birthday!  She did a fantastic job.
  

  The picnic

We returned to Mexico on July 31.  It was difficult to say the goodbyes, but we are confident that God has us here for a purpose.  So we cherish the time we get to spend with our family and friends.

Friends from the US July 7, 2009

It’s been a busy and fun week for us this past week.  It started out with me finishing my class at UNAM on June 30.  It’s ALWAYS a good feeling to have finals over with!  Then our friends Jay and Abby Koontz and Ruth Ann Roney (Abby and Ruth Ann lived on my floor at Moody, and Abby and I were roomies for several years in Chicago) came on July 1.  Thursday we went to Coyoacan, a colonial neighborhood in Mexico City.  Friday we went to the Mexican market and then headed off to an overnight leadership retreat north of Mexico City by the pyramids.  We stayed at a very nice large home, that is owned by the parents of one of the team members.

All of us on the church planting team watched  the DVDs from a leadership summit at Willow Creek Church.  Jay, Abby, Ruth Ann, and Liliana got to visit the pyramids.  Sunday after church and Liliana’s nap, we headed to Chapultapec, a huge park in the middle of the city that has gardens, museums, a castle, and a zoo.  Unfortunately, everything was closed, but we had fun walking around and took shelter from the pouring rain in a Dunkin Donuts.  Monday we went on the touribus, as the name implies, a bus tour of the city. 

Abby and Jay, who had never been to Mexico City before, got the full effect yesterday when we had to smash into one of the metros during rush hour to come home and then got caught in a deluge, which are very common this time of year during the rainy season.  Ruth Ann, who lived here for 3 years was able to give us some helpful tips on living in the city.  They all left this morning and we were sad to see them go.  We had such a good time with them.

Life’s little happenings June 22, 2009

Liliana and I are very happy to have Loren back with us again.  He was able to bring back some things from the states that we’re unable to get here (like Smucker’s Simply Fruit jam and Andes mints).  It was a blessing to have the Colin family take care of Liliana while he was away and I was in class.  It just meant getting up earlier to get her ready and a 15 minute walk to their house each morning before walking to catch the bus.  Saturday morning we ran out of gas.  No, not car gas.  House gas.  For the hot water heater and the stove and oven, you know, non-essential items like that.  We were gone last month the day that the gas company came and forgot to call them to come out.  So, it was back to cold showers and eating sandwiches.  There are two things to be said for cold showers: they are MUCH shorter (thus conserving water and time), and they really have a way of waking you up in the morning!  Loren was able to have the gas company come out today, so we were only without it for 2 days (3 mornings).  Yesterday for Father’s Day, we spent the afternoon at Asiel Church for a time of eating and fellowship.  Liliana gave Loren a basketball and card with her handprints.  Today I finally got brave enough to go get my haircut.  It is something I have been a little nervous about, given I have had my share of hair disasters and that was when I was speaking my native language!  But after 5 months of not getting it cut, I thought I should probably bite the bullet.  So with  photo in hand, I walked off in search of a neighborhood salon.  Overall, I think it went fairly well.  I came out with hair much shorter than I was hoping for, but it is manageable.  It was only afterwards, as I was reflecting on our conversation, that I realized the language blunder I had made and wondered why the hair stylist didn’t even smirk when I told her that I wanted to “let my hair BELIEVE.”  Yeah, so I have this slight problem of getting the Spanish words for “grow” and “believe” confused.  Maybe that’s why I have shorter hair than I wanted.  We’ll never know.

Grandpa Dorsey’s Homecoming June 18, 2009

This week brought both sad and joyful news as Loren’s maternal grandpa went home to be with the Lord.  He suffered a stroke last week and then contracted pneumonia.  A godly man and a pastor for many years, we know he is rejoicing to be home with his Savior at last.  Loren flew up to the States Tuesday for the funeral which was in Arkansas yesterday and the burial which was in Mississippi today.  He will fly back to Mexico City on Saturday.  He said it’s been good to see a lot of family that he hasn’t seen in years.  We are glad that Liliana got to meet Grandpa Dorsey and that we got to take some pictures of her with him.  What a blessing to have such a godly heritage!

Our last time to see Grandpa Dorsey on this side of heaven. Taken Jan. 30, 2009.

Just another update… June 8, 2009

Whew!  That’s a virtual sigh of relief that midterms are over.  I had a written exam on Friday and an oral exam today.  Although the written exams are more difficult, the oral exams are much more nerve-wracking (who wants to get up and talk in front of a bunch of people in a foreign language anyway?).  The Lord was gracious in allowing me to do much better than I thought I would.  So now I can breathe a little easier, at least until 3 weeks from now when we have our finals.

I’ve been a little under the weather this weekend, some kind of nasty cold, so I was unable to go to OANSA on Saturday, but Loren said that several new children showed up who would like to start coming, so that is exciting news.  The service at the women’s home yesterday went well.  Liliana actually walked up to a few of the ladies and “chatted” with them, much to their delight.  Loren has started giving English classes on Monday nights at Asiel.  Tonight is his first night.  The students have English for an hour and then a Bible study in Spanish (given by the pastor) for an hour.

On the domestic side of things, we got our new refrigerator today, which was a very welcome sight!  We had been borrowing a very small freezer-inside-the-fridge unit.  The freezer could really fit nothing more than a few ice trays and a bag of frozen coffee and frozen corn.  Now we can actually buy ice cream and watermelon – both very appealing this time of year when it is so warm!  The weather here is very strange.  It fluctuates from very cold to very hot very quickly.  Last week I was shivering in class.  Now this week I constantly need a fan blowing on me.  It’s always pretty cool in the morning, but then quickly warms up during the day.  Loren and I started reading the biography of Amy Carmichael by Elizabeth Elliot together.  Actually, that is who I presented in class for my midterm.  I just love her story.  Reading her story, I realize how easy we have it compared to her life as a missionary.  I pray that we would be willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to build the kingdom of God.

Our little sunshine