more pictures...

Thanksgiving Week Newsletter

To our dear friends,
Ladies and gentlemen we can hardly contain our excitement! God has answered our prayers and led us to a totally awesome apartment in the Huntington area! Here is the story. For the last month, Nicolle has been stalking the ads in the Huntington newspaper. She would go on everyday and keep track of which apartments had come and gone, and where the good deals were. All this time, some friends and I had been praying that God would provide us with an apartment that we could afford, one that would meet our needs. Well, the pickings were slim, and going quick, we held on to hope that God would provide. As November rolled around, I began to call a few of the landlords to ask some questions. A few of our choices got knocked off right away when we found out more information. However, we were left with about a dozen apartments to look at. This is where our dear friend Lynette Miller came into play. She is a friend and co-worker at Coffee D’Vine with Nicolle. Lynette was nice enough to drive to the apartments that we were interested in and take some pictures. We then used these pics to determine if these apartments would work out. Well, we stayed up to 2:00am last Saturday because she sent us a new batch. When we saw the large kitchen, the large living room, and all the storage nooks and crannies (Not to mention an attic that we can use!!!) we just had to jump on it. We called the next day and made a deal with the landlord, who is willing to hold it for us until we return. PRAISE GOD!!! We are just so excited to get back and move in! We are looking forward to setting up the place and making it a home.
In other news, Nicolle and I got to baby-sit for our friends the Poulettes this past Saturday night. It was a rather relaxing evening for us even though little Ben was very cranky and fussy. I got to play with Nathan and fly him around the house. He is fun because he weighs like 35 lb. wet, so I enjoy flipping him around and picking him up by the ankle and spinning him around my head, and other such shenanigans (just kidding about the spinning part Dennis haha). I gather from his squeals, giggles, laughter and big smile that he enjoys it too! Hahaha!!
This coming Thursday Nicolle and I are really pumped about going over to the Poulette’s for Thanksgiving dinner! I hear that Dennis has already bought the bird, and Janell is planning on making all the trimmings. Nicolle and I will be contributing deviled eggs and sweet potato fluff (thanks to my dearest, sweet, thoughtful, kind, wonderful, warm, gentle, loving, fantastic mother-in-law’s latest care package which included two cans of sweet potatoes!!!). Our social calendar has another date for this coming Sunday. Right after church Nicolle and I are going to a friend’s house where we will be having a MOVIE NIGHT with four or five friends from the church. We are both really excited about it. I am excited and looking forward to this as a good way to relax after preaching…in big church…in Spanish…possibly without help…
We can hardly believe how fast the weeks are slipping by. In a mere three weeks we will be headed for home to see our long lost friends and family. We are both really excited to be back and see everyone. 22 days!
The last newsworthy note has to do with my homework. It is all finished, and I sent it today. Over 70 some pages of papers, case studies, and journals, pictures, teaching sessions, and more. That is such a relief!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Please pray for: My preparation for preaching next week; for our ministry with our core kids, that their faith is strengthened; for our continued relationships and outreach with the youth of our colonia.
—Shalom.

Fun and Games

To my dearest friends and family,
Yes, this update is very, very late. Better late then never! There is a simple reason for this: HOMEWORK! This is the last time I will be able to use that excuse however, because I AM FINISHED WITH ALL OF MY ASSIGNMENTS!!!!! Thank you all so much for your prayers concerning this, and my health. It was tough coming into the last weeks with projects due and feeling under the weather. But, by God’s grace I am better, and the projects are done. Yesterday I printed 70 some pages of papers and projects that I have been working on over the course of my time here. All of this, plus pictures, and a DVD of me teaching must be sent no later then Saturday so that all of the materials make it to my teacher in time. It feels really good to put on the finishing touches, burn a few CD’s, and get all the stuff packaged up! Again, thank you for your prayers.
Not that it has been all work and no play. Last Sunday afternoon I was blessed with the opportunity to spend some time with friends and a few students from our youth group and a neighboring church. We gathered at the local seminary to play games. I got some really great shots of my friends playing soccer, and other games; I also got to play basket ball with them, but I don’t think there are any pictures of that. If you get a chance and want to see the new stuff, go to my blog and click on the photo link entitled “Fun and Games”.
Things to look forward to: Thanks giving dinner with our friends the Poulette’s. I am making sweet potato fluff, and I am trying to talk Nicolle into making chocolate cheese cake!!! Next, I am preaching in “big church” the Sunday after next; and for the youth group the following Sunday. Nicolle and I are really excited about the plans that are being hatched for a home-made-pizza-and-movie-night adventure with some friends of ours at the church. That should be going down in 2ish weeks. Lastly, WE ARE COMING HOME IN 27 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yah, just a little excited about that haha!



Please pray for: a change in the attitudes of the kids in our colonia regarding church (its not scary, boring, bad, un cool, etc.); rejoicing with me that my homework is done! Also, please pray for my preaching preparations; for our ministry with our core kids and strengthening their faith; for our continued relationships and opportunity to reach out to the youth in our colonia; and please pray that we would find a cheep apartment in Huntington that will meet our needs, and jobs to pay for it.
—Shalom.

Eggs

BIG eggs!!! Double yokes, wow!

Today is my brothers birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Chris, happy Birthday! What does it feel like to be 27 year old???

wow...

I would not have believed it if someone told me, but I saw them with you own eyes. These glorified paint sticks have verses written on them such as the proverb "spare the rod, spoil the child" and other such verses. Yes, these "biblical" spanking sticks are sold at my church. I'm taking orders if anyone wants one. hahaha

To my dearest friends and family,
Your prayers are greatly appreciated in the following areas. I am sick, again. I had a head cold, it almost went away, and then I got an infection in one of my saliva glands in my cheek. This in turn spread to my beloved tonsils, which brought back the head cold, which has recently moved to my chest…On top of that, I am going to be preaching three to four times before I go home and I need the Holy Spirit’s guidance on subjects and words, and help with Spanish. Lastly, for my homework load. I’m almost finished, but there is still much to be done.
Not much news to tell besides home work and preparing to preach. There is not really a lot of extra time for adventures. However, this last week, Nicolle and I had the opportunity to baby sit for my PRIME mentor’s two kids. We told Dennis and his wife that if they ever wanted to go out on a hot date, Nicolle and I would be HAPPY to come over, watch his kids, watch there cable TV, and eat all there food (haha). So, he and his wife went out for an evening with friends, I got to play with Nathan (about three or four years old I think) and his play-do, and Nicolle sat and read with Ben on her lap (a few months). It was a fun night!
If you have a chance to go check out our Blog you can see some of the shenanigans we have been up too in the kitchen!
Nicolle and I are looking forward to coming back to the Motherland in 35 days. We are currently looking for an apartment in the Huntington area, but finding this search to be a bit difficult. It seems that none of the landlords we talk to can hold an apartment for our return without rent, even if we put down the deposit. The problem is, we cannot afford to pay for a place that we are not staying in. This is also something we would like prayer on.
Speaking of renting apartments, our landlady actually showed our apartment tonight to some perspective renters for when we leave. It was kind of funny to have people walking through our house, which was a wreak because she just dropped by and said “I’m bring some people by to look at the place in about an hour and a half.” Ha, ha!


Please pray for: a change in the attitudes of the kids in our colonia regarding church (its not scary, boring, bad, un cool, etc.); my school load, for getting homework done; for our ministry with our core kids and strengthening their faith; for our continued relationships and out reach with the youth or our colonia; for my homework load; and for finding an apartment in the states.
—Shalom.

I LOVE PB+J!

Recently Nicolle and I received a care package from Michelle, Nicolle's mom. Why? Because we are spoiled rotten! In said care package there 3 jars of peanut butter, ALL FOR NICOLLE! Now, this can make for interesting debates between the two of us because we both LOVE peanut butter! Well, I love my wife, so I did the thing any dutiful husband would do and let her have all the jars uncontested. Then I gave my PRIME mentor 40 pesos to pick me up a jar from Costco the next time he goes. Unlike most places in Mexico, Costco has real peanut butter, and at a reasonable price. Now we're both happy, and loaded with peanut butter!!!

Cooking Madness!

Some of you might have heard how crazy spaghetti sauce is here. I'm not joking, sauce is upwards of $3.00 a jar! Because we love pasta, but can't stand to pay for it, we decided to can our own! After conferring with my mom for the How-To part, we bought some fresh produce and started cooking! We washed everything is soapy bleach water, chopped all the ingredients, boiled everything, and canned it. The next day we tried some, and it was fantastic! Not only that, the price is around to $1.20 a jar!

Day of the Dead (El Dia de los Muertos)

To my dearest friends and family,
I hope everyone got out there to vote!!! I received my absentee ballot this last week, and got it sent on Wednesday. I really hope it made it in time.
On to more exciting things! Nicolle and I really enjoy pasta; and I mean, REALLY REALLY! But, there is just one problem, spaghetti sauce is around $2.25 to $3.00 a jar. No Joke! So, in the spirit of American ingenuity, we are going to can our own spaghetti sauce this next week, and we are really excited about it!
In other news, today is not only the presidential election for the United States of America, it also marks the six week date for our return to the good old U.S.A.! We have enjoyed our time here, I have learned so much and know that I am much more prepared for my future ministry in both the U.S. and in a Latin country, but we are both really excited to come home. We cannot wait to see our friends and family, and celebrate Christmas at home. Speaking of celebrations, some have been wondering what we will be doing for thanksgiving. Well, my PRIME mentor and his wife, both of whom are from the U.S., always have a big dinner for thanksgiving, and they have invited us over to join them. I’m pretty pumped about it, especially because the last care package that we got from my mother in law had cans of sweet potato’s for making the best sweet potato fluff casserole that you have ever had! Mmmmmmm….I am drooling just thinking about it!
The locals just finished celebrating The Day of The Dead. This is more then just the Mexican version of Halloween, it is a combination of ancient native Mayan traditions and other traditions from the Catholic church. As I promised, I took a gazillion pictures when I went down town to see the festivities, over 170. So, if you want a taste of Mexican culture, please go to my Blog and take a look at the pictures! What is the day of the dead you ask? The idea is that one day a year spirits are allowed to travel back to earth and visit family. So, people build shrines for loved ones that have died. These shrines are decorated with bright yellow and purple flowers that are supposed to attract the spirits, and packed with food and drink. The aroma of the food is supposed to feed the spirits, and honor them, and the drink is supposed to quench their thirst from their long journey. After the celebration, the family members consume the food to the honor of their lost loved ones. While we were down town checking out the festivities I was interviewed three times by Mexican high school students who had to practice their English with native English speakers. It was really fun, and even Dennis got to do an interview! We also checked out the Mexico City post office. Dennis asked me if I had ever been to the post office, and sense I had not, we stopped by. It is a beautiful building, solid marble and brass on the inside, very old school, like the post office in Washington D.C. While we were there we were treated to a free concert by an authentic Mariachi band from Veracruz. They were so good! You can also see a video of them playing by going to my Blog.
I think some of the most exciting news I have to tell is from this last Sunday. I had the opportunity to teach for the youth group again. Huberto and I thought it would be a good idea to teach on ghosts, death, the after life, and spirits. The kids were so interested, and asked so many questions, that we ran out of time and are going to continue the teaching discussion next week! I am so excited about the kids and all of their interest and questions. We are talking about some pretty heavy stuff, and they are not only keeping up, they are asking for more. Who says teens don’t like theology?
Well, for the first time ever in my life, all of my Christmas shopping is finished before thanksgiving! I have never done that before. I accredit it to my super organized wife and her shopping skills at the local artesian market, and my mother in-law for giving me a really good idea. That’s all for now, thanks for reading.

Pease pray for: a change in the attitudes of the kids in our colonia regarding church (its not scary, boring, bad, uncool, etc.); my school load, for getting homework done; for our ministry with our core kids and strengthening their faith; for our continued relationships and out reach with the youth or our colonia.
—Shalom.