everything in the world due at the same time

Did I mention that with V.B.S. going on in the morning from 8 until 2 and the soccer turnament going on from 3 until 9 I am going a little crazy. Oh, yah...I almost forgot, one of my biggest projects that I have due for this internship is due on the first so I have been writing every spare second I have. no more for now, I will write more later and put up a cool new picture! ok, to all of my faith full viewers (two, three, how many of you are there?) I say good night, sleep tight, and don't let the scorpions bite. What's that? you don't have those up there? oh, how about little lizards? my goodness, in the states I had to get rid of ants and flies, here we have both of those and giant insects and whats left of the dinosaurs. hay que pasado...

much love

Vacation Bible School and the Dark Knight!

Friends and Family,

Exciting happenings are…well…happening here in our little coroner of Mexico! This last Saturday Huberto and I went to the airport to pick up the work group from Apex Ministry in North Carolina. Eleven people in all, the pastor, his wife, a mother of one of the kids, which brings me to my favorite part, 9 high school teens! They are so much fun! Some of them speak a little Spanish, some of them speak more Spanish then me! All in all, we are off to a good start and excited about the week.

Today was the first day of Vacation Bible School and it was a HOOT! We had about thirty or forty little kiddies running around, singing songs, learning stories, and memorizing Bible verses. Today’s verse was Jeremiah 10:10: pero El Señor es el Dios verdadero (for the LORD is the true God). Today’s lessons were focusing on the truth that God is real, good, and interested in them. I had a good time helping out with the kids and going from activity to activity with them. I connected with two boys that I think were probably in the forth or fifth grade, David and Ricardo. Great kids! I also took a gazillian pictures and a few videos that would be on photo bucket (see my blog for the link) but I left the camera in a friends car…oy.

In the afternoons of this week Huberto and I have organized a soccer tournament. Today was the first day and largely, a success. We formed teams and played team building games in which they got to know each other and make new friends. Points were given to the teams that accomplished the games the quickest or with good team spirit. I am really excited about the next few days, excited to make new friends, build relationships, and see God work in the lives of these kids.

In other news, Nicolle’s classes start next week. I think that she is excited to finally have something to do, although if you knew the hassle she has had to get these classes started…it is enough to make some people want to run away to Alaska! However, we have recently found a few nice places for a hot date: a coffee shop, a few unexplored markets, and two very nice malls, at one of which we just saw the new Bat man movie. Incidentally, it was a FANTASTIC movie, Heath Ledger did a breath taken job playing the Joker, absolutely insane.

Please pray for: for all the details of Nicolle’s classes to get worked out, for strong relationships with the kids on the block, for the right opportunity and right words to lead them to Christ, for our friends from Apex. Praise God!

—Shalom.

Night at the movies

So we went to a mall about 20 minutes away to see a movie. three kids from the youth group came with us and a family from the church. It was so much fun! the mall was really cool, had a lot of stores in it and a HUGE food cort (Nicolle and I want to go back for a date some time). What movie you say? well, we were going to see Bat Man but it was all sold out so we saw Hancock! the new Will Smith movie. Every one really liked it, I thought it was great and would recommend it. It is a well done movie, with funny parts, sad parts, and a good plot. has anyone else seen it? what do you think?

Internet

I know, I know...I already mentioned that we have internet in our apartment, but c'mon, this is great! I can surf the web in my boxers!!!!!!!! From the comfort of my living room/bedroom/dining room I am writing this to you and I sincerely hope you have a wonderful day!

Jon

opps, I missed a week!

My dear friends,

I confess, I completely forgot about the news letter last week! As such, there is much to tell so I will try to be brief with the stories in order that they all fit.

First of all, I’ve been making some improvements to the apartment in the last few days. I have been putting to use the skills I learned for my first degree (in tool and die manufacturing) and what my Dad taught me with wood working by building some shelves for the kitchen. I have assembled one shelf so far and have wood for one more. Nicolle is really happy about it because up until this point half of our food storage was a suit case! Also note worthy of calibration, we have internet in our apartment now!!!!!!!!! This will make my school work much easier as I will not have to leave the house and go to the church to use the internet after hours. Yeah!!!!!

In other news, he Wednesday night at the movies saw significant growth last Wednesday, we started out with about 17 or 18 kids. Some had to leave early because they lived far away, others left early because of technical difficulties with the movie, but all in all, it was another fun night. I was most excited to see repeat visitors, and new kids that I did not invite; their friends brought them! Gloria a Dios!

The last big topic I will mention is V.B.S. This is our final week for preparing for Vacation Bible School and we have so much to do! We are planning for both the little kids in the morning, and then in the afternoon, Huberto and I have been putting together a soccer tournament for the kids 11-20ish years old in the neighborhood; the idea being to build relationships with the teens so that we can minister to them in the future. Next Saturday there is a group of teens and adults from Apex Church from Raleigh North Carolina to help us with V.B.S. and the afternoon games. The will be here for the entire week of V.B.S. helping us with the preparations, with the games, and everything else. I am glad that they are coming because there is so much to do, so much. It is going to be a very busy week with long hours for all of us. Please pray for endurance and strength.

Please pray for: Help to get all of the supplies and paper work gathered and finished. Strengthening our relationships with the kids on our block; that they would all come to the soccer tournament during V.B.S., hear the word of God, and be transformed by God’s love and truth; continuing Spanish improvement, and that all of the details for Nicolle’s semester at Iberoamericana would get worked out (don’t ask, it is a long and depressing story; but we need help).

—Shalom.

Movie night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Ok, so the church bought a new projector for the worship services and I helped put it up. It is pretty cool, and much brighter than the old projector. This has two, count em two benefits: one, the youth group gets the old projector in the youth room. Cool!!! And two, the new projector is bright enough to show movies!!!! Ok, ok, so there are probably more benefits than two, but those are the ones that directly affect me and my ministry with the kids! Selfish? Possibly. I am straining for a higher level of sanctification every day but I still get excited about such things as MOVIE NIGHTS WITH THE KIDS!!!

On Wednesday last, we invited a bunch of kids from the youth group and from around the block and told them to bring a pillow and a pop and we would bring the movie and popcorn. It worked beautifully!!!! Gloria a Dios! There were 14 kids there from age 17 all the way down to 4 (I’m not sure how the three little tikes made it, I think they were cousins of someone). Here is the best part, I believe for at least 7 or 8 of them it was their first time in the church! It was a great step in gaining relationships in the neighborhood, and I am really looking forward to the next movie night. Thank you for your prayers everyone, I covet them.

P.S. sorry, no pictures. I need to have my camera permanently attached to my face so I can capture all of these exciting moments for all yalls (I think that is vosotros in Spanish).

Cooking at 8,000 feet

friends,

So, if you didn’t know, one encounters many cooking obstacles when cooking and baking at high altitudes. Also, if you didn’t know, Mexico city is at 8,000ish feet. Add to this a crazy gas stove and you never know weather your food is going to be under cooked or resembling a charcoal briquette. Under normal circumstances (like gages that tell the actual temperature), I enjoy using gas for cooking, but we don’t have that either. I just kind of open the oven door and judge the temp by the heat wave that hits me in the face. Yes, I realize you can buy temperature gages…IN THE STATES! I looked; they didn’t even have one at Wal-Mart! We went to this really fancy, upscale kitchen store in this really fancy mall and found a temperature gage, a laser temperature gage that cost $80.00!. putting things bluntly, cooking in Mexico City is a royal pain in the neck. So far, we have not completely ruined anything, though some baked dishes were unfit for consumption around the outside of the pan…and the bottom… The close calls of date are: broccoli cheese casserole, bread sticks, boiled eggs, pizza, and cookies. Did I mention that rising time is different? Did I mention that all the ingredients are in Spanish, yah, finding baking soda was a gas. Ok, this rant is now officially over. Thank you for listening. I’m glad I have you to talk to, a shoulder to cry on.

I have the best job in the world!

Loved ones,

Mexican sayings for shopping. What men say: Yo lo quiero bueno, bonito, y barato! (I want it good, pretty, and cheep!). What women say: Yo lo quiero bueno, bonito, y El paga! (I want it good, pretty, and he pays!).

Earlier this week Huberto and I went to down town Mexico city to meet with a Rapper that we wanted to hire to sing for the closing day of Vacation Bible School. Yah, these Mexicans know how to party! Well, it was a fun experience to get down there; it always amazes me just how big Mexico City is. It took us over an hour to get there by car and subway (which, is quite fast). The city is so big that when we got on the subway it was sunny out, and 30 min later when we got off it was raining buckets in a different part of town! At the end of the day I was a little wet, more familiar with the public transportation system, and we have a rapper for V.B.S. Okay, okay. I’m sure many of you are wondering, what on earth do little kiddy-widdies want with a rap concert. Well, it’s not really for them. During V.B.S. week the little ones meet in the morning, and in the afternoon Jr. high, and high school kids are going to participating in a soccer tournament and other games. And the end of the week we are going to have large group games, award the soccer champs, the rapper, and PIZZA! (yes, pizza is the cross cultural church youth group food of choice!)

In other news, I put to use the machinist and roofing skills to use this week. Strange combination, I know, so here is how it played out. The church recently bought a new projector and Huberto and I decided we could put it up. This required drilling and tapping four holes in a steal beam…20 feet in the air! Yup, I machined the holes using the fearless insanity on ladders I learned while roofing last summer.

Coming up, the latest on my level of angst… I have Monday off. Tuesday through Friday I begin to wonder what on earth I am doing in Mexico doing office work and pencil pushing. I really don’t like office work. It is very difficult for me to sit there all day and plan, organize, take notes, brain storm, and search for stuff on the internet. Oy… And then Saturday and Sunday role around and it all becomes worth it. Hanging out with the kids is the best; I really get a bang out of it! So what have I learned from all this? I’ll tell you. When I get into my own ministry, I’m going higher a few secretaries and dump it all on them!!!!!!!!!

Please pray for: Strengthening our relationships with the kids on our block; that they would all come to the soccer tournament during V.B.S., hear the word of God, and be transformed by God’s love and truth; continuing Spanish improvement, and that all of the details for Nicolle’s semester at Iberoamericana would get worked out (don’t ask, it is a long and depressing story; but we need help).

—Shalom.

P.S. if you haven’t yet, check out the blog, it’s cool: http://jonnicolleinmexico.blogspot.com/

accidentle pina colada

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Funny thing, one of the girls in the neighborhood has a dog, a little dog (with a big heart and bark!) who’s name is “kitty!” I thought this was really funny and thought she did it on purpose, but she didn’t know what I was laughing about. So I asked her what the name meant, and she just said it was a name. When I told her that in English the name meant “little cat” she cried “Oh, no!´ and all of her friends started laughing! It was great!

In other news I ate at another little taco stand that I absolutely LOVE! I’m telling you, the little taco stands on the street corners are three things that Mexicans love: Bueno, Bonito, y barato! (good, pretty, and cheep!). This food was so greasy, I could feel my arteries clogging just from smelling it! And no, if your wondering, I am anything but regular. But I have a secret weapon if I don’t clear up soon. Two slices of six whole grain, whole wheat bread, with a half inch of peanut butter on each side, sandwiching a inch of Wheaties. Nicolle says that if I eat one of those I won’t be able to poop for a week! Heheheh

P.S. I think I may have possibly-maybe-slightly-a little bit-kind of bent the life style agreement. So Nicolle and I bought a pineapple. And guess what, it takes a long time for two people to eat through a pineapple. Possibly, I don’t really know, possibly long enough for it to ferment. Yah, tasted a little strong there toward the end. But no fear, I could still walk a straight line.

Sobering Thoughts (Nicolle)

Last night, Jon and I were returning from a very late night Wal-mart run and wanted nothing more than to go to bed when we got caught up in discussion with two wonderful women from the church. These women have been such a blessing to us and are so warm and welcoming we never suspected the secrets their pasts held. One had been raped around my age (a little older) and the other had been beaten by her father and married a man that beat her. She takes care of this father, he lives in her house and she changes his diapers, bathes him, cares for him. Her siblings not only do nothing to help, they steal from her and cheat her. I do not know how she makes it through the day with this as her existence. How much bigger she must allow God to be in her life than I allow him to be in mine if I cannot imagine how she goes on.
Today these histories played back in my head and made me think of her children and how much they knew about their father. Regardless of whether they know how their father beat their mother, they know that their father is angry and is unable to be a father to anyone. From an earlier conversation with Huberto, I know this to be the life of many in Mexico. Now having the details of one such story, my heart is torn. I realize that Huberto, who hasn't had a father since he was young, will be a father to many. I know he will do wonderfully and will break this pattern by being an amazing father to his own children someday...but wow how this nation who has no idea what a good father is like, need the Heavenly Father. It is easy for me to believe in a loving Heavenly Father, because I have a loving earthly father who means the world to me, but for these people who need to know God is a loving father, it is even harder for them to believe because so many of their earthly fathers have failed.


"Do not let your hearts be troubled. trust in god; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
John 14:1-3

Mexico city, week one

Friends,

Well, I have just completed my first week of ministry in Mexico City and imagine my surprise to find out “Mexico Time” is a real thing! REALLY! But, I get an hour for lunch so I shouldn’t complain. Here’s the break down: Monday—Huberto and I are off, I do homework and hang out with any kids that are near (speaking of homework, I have sooooooooooo much!). Tuesday—office work, worship band prep and practice. Wednesday—same thing, except we may go to the movies because it’s half price and the kids are on summer break! Thursday—more office work in the morning and visitation in the afternoon. Friday—more office stuff (blah) and worship band practice. Saturday—youth group in the afternoon! Sunday—church till 3ish and the rest is off for rest and relaxation. I’m working right around 40 hours a week and enjoying everything but the pencil pushing. My favorite part of the day is in the morning when Huberto and I pray, sometimes with the pastor. That truly is the best way to start a day!

Highlights! On Friday, Nicolle and I went to a prayer meeting and with our Spanglish and the help of Huberto translating for us we shared some experiences that we have had in Mexico and how God has been blessing us since we’ve been here. On Saturday, we went to the youth meeting which was a blast! We spent most of the time practicing a skit that they will be performing for V.B.S. in a month, and I played guitar for worship. Have any of you heard me play guitar? Well, I need more practice, and prayer! Yah… Sunday was exceptionally exciting because during the service we were invited up the front and introduced to the entire congregation, which was kind of funny because we had met most of them already between the Birthday party of one of the elders, the prayer meeting, small group, and youth group. After the service, there was a lunch in our honor and THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD! We really like the church; everyone is so warm and inviting. It is a very welcoming environment. Though it has been a very interesting and at times stressful trip to get here I am very happy with my placement, and I believe that God is going to do some amazing things here and am pumped to be a part of the action!

To those of you who have been praying for us THANK YOU! We have seen Gods rich mercy and generosity, providing for all of our needs, even the ones we haven’t prayed for! In case you haven’t heard, we have a new used car and furniture for our apartment when we return(yeah, no sleeping bags).

Much love, Jon and Nicolle.

Please pray for: Our ministry with the kids, that we would make the most of every opportunity to love in the name of Jesus, improved Spanish skills, building relationships with the kids, wisdom for the foundation of youth ministry we are setting at Renovation church, and traveling safety, and that God would soften the hearts of these kids. THANK YOU!