SEMANA SANTA (Holy Week)

We pray that your Easter was filled with blessing as you celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. This week and next are one of the major religious/vacation holidays in Mexico. We were told that virtually everyone heads for the beach. Two million visitors are predicted for Huatulco. All this week we have been seeing vehicles of every kind crammed beyond capacity with people and piled high with luggage coming into town. The town is crowded with people and the streets are clogged with vehicles. The beaches are packed. I am reminded of Taste of Chicago. Except for the shopkeepers we know, we have seen very few locals other than in church. Everyone is working long hours to serve the visitors.

We stopped by the house of Nelson and his mom, Dominga. We learned that they didn't come for the English class last week because Nedero (dad) was stricken suddenly with severe headaches and had to be taken to Oaxaca City for treatment. Nelson (18) is handling the fishing boat solo and working very long hours. Dominga allowed us to lay hands on her and pray for her husband. The people here are not accustomed to that. Please pray that God would work attesting miracles through us as we step out in this manner. We are careful to not offend cultural and religious tradition, but we are not afraid to move in faith when we see the opportunity.

Since next week will be more of the same tourist-wise, we will be making a lot of quick visits with people and circulating in the non-tourist areas. English classes are on hold until after next week except for Bernardo, the cab driver who comes to our house on Monday mornings. Otherwise, we look forward to the surprises we will experience.  

What Do You Expect?

     Have you ever expected something to happen or someone to do something and been disappointed? Since we arrived, we have experienced a number of unmet expectations. This week was no exception. Nelson and Dominga didn't show for their English lesson and Damian left early without us for the children's festival in spite of several confirmations. We could easily justify being discouraged. However, God has been teaching us to be flexible and to let Him lead. He is showing us that He is in control and that He has a much better plan that is beyond our ability to imagine or control. Realizing that fact puts huge holes in the stress bucket. Instead of expectations, we are learning to have excited anticipation for what God is going to do next. Instead of figuring out what we should be doing, we are looking at what He has done as we keep moving.               
Because we "missed" the festival, we got to spend the day building our relationship with a wonderful couple we have come to know. That led to our being invited to a quinceanera party with about 200 people. It is a 15 year old's coming out party, a very important event for a Mexican girl. They didn't have a photographer. I was able to offer my services. I would never have expected to do a photo shoot here. They were so thankful to have a record of the event. It remains to be seen how many doors that will open.     
I read a really good blog this week about all of the Jewish Messianic expectations that Jesus didn't meet. God certainly had a better plan. We have learned so much in seven short weeks that we are wondering if God brought us here just to reveal Himself more fully to us.    
This week we were able to speak to very many people. I even got to share my testimony with a couple from one of the cruise ships. We also got to share a clear presentation of the Gospel with a small group of young girls who are the private students of a Mexican English teacher. They were deeply touched (tears) and asked many good questions.
We are now into the major holiday Holy Week. The prediction is that as many as 2 million people will visit here over the next two weeks. Last night, the downtown was crammed with people. We saw only one person we knew. The locals advised us to "stock up on food and stay home". I doubt we will stay home.

EARTHQUAKE!!!!!

Last Thursday at about 8:15 AM, with a thunderous rumble, the house began to shake. For about 30 seconds the doors, windows and just about everything else rattled and shook. It was only a 6.5 centered in Veracruz hundreds of miles away, nothing compared to Japan and some other recent quakes. However, it was quite unsettling to realize that your whole world is shaking and there is nothing you can do about it.

The Bible tells us that someday everything that can be shaken will be shaken and there will be nowhere to hide. What a day that will be as God does His best to wake the world from sleep to turn to Him  Thankfully, God promises that the righteous will never be shaken. (Proverbs 10:30)  I thank Him that I am among the righteous because of His free gift through His payment for my unrighteousness on the cross.

We are continuing to meet new people and to grow relationships. We had our first English class in the home of Nedero the fisherman with his wife Dominga and son Nelson. We also  tutored Diego (16) and Beatie (17) in their home above the copy shop their mother runs.

Last Friday night we were on our usual street-side bench in the zocolo. We were feeling a bit low over what were were feeling is slow progress. We prayed and God answered us by sending past people we have connected to.  For a while we felt like celebrities as they honked and/or waved as they recognized us. We had to repent as we recounted the number of people we have come to know and love in six short weeks.

The majority of "gringos" have gone or will be leaving shortly to go home for the summer.  We had to adjust our strategy accordingly. We are seeing God's wisdom in this as we will be able to cultivate and solidify relationships with the locals as well as to get really familiar with the area and entrenched in the fabric. We are also getting to know more and more of the local pastors. Last Monday we attended the local pastors' accociation meeting.  We'll be spending a lot of time in church this summer. Pray for our language learning.

Deep Waters

Playa Chahue

     There is a very beautiful beach here named Playa Chahue (cha-way). It is not safe for swimming because there is a strong undertow. It is advisable to not even enter the water or you could quickly find yourself over your head. As we move into the water of ministry, we are finding ourselves being carried into deeper and deeper water way beyond our comfort zone. To say that we are over our heads would be a gross understatement. Our Spanish is still barely functional, yet we are inviting people to our place and being invited to theirs. We are spending a great deal of time cultivating relationships. God is being so faithful that we find ourselves looking for new ways to be stretched.
     Yesterday we attended two different churches for a total of about 5-1/2 hours. The norm for worship time is 1 hour or more and the typical sermon is about 1 hour 30 minutes. Add to that an altar call with lots of prayer time mixed throughout and you have the makings of a church service. Our poor Spanish ability makes it an even more interesting experience. We are attending regularly at 3 different churches. Although we aren't getting much personally out of it, it is important for relationship building. Today we attended the local pastors' association meeting. Again a stretch, but we are getting involved with their activities.           We are ministering to 3 different families through teaching English plus two additional men in need of discipleship. We are also teaching the English class which has grown to about 8 students. Needless to say, we are keeping very busy. We had to make a calendar so as not to double book our time. We did reserve a full day per week for a Sabbath rest, but we are enjoying what we are doing so very much, that we'll have to discipline ourselves to keep it.