We finally made it back to Monterrey, Mexico at the beginning of Feb. We left Costa Rica after graduating on Dec. 13, then flew with our luggage bulging to Minneapolis, MN to visit our families with temps. of -30 degrees, and no coats and Debbi already had bronchitis when we left Costa Rica!! We had a whirlwind tour of visiting 4 of Debbi's sisters/brother, Roger's brother and good friends along with Pastor Kim of Harvestime Church, E.C., WI!
On Dec. 16, we flew to Springfield, MO and our good friend Jim Wellborn picked us up at the aiport in our new Speed The Light Ford Explorer! How exciting for us (esp. Roger) to finally be able to put all of our luggage in it and drive again! We then drove to San Antonio, Tx, where we stayed with Josh & Albessa (son & daughter in law) and our little daschund Zacky! We spent Christmas with them and Jeremy & Charity arrived for the day too.
At the beginning of January, Roger & I flew out to Salt Lake City, UT to visit with Charity. While there, we went through a tough time as her roommate had just informed her she was moving back to her parents, which meant Charity was left without a roommate in a new apartment with a 6 mo. lease, and very hurt. But we know that God had us there for such a time as that.
We finally made it down to see Jeremy in McAllen after speaking in a couple churches in the Houston area (FLAG, Katy & Grace Chapel, Magnolia, TX), and even got to sort through some of our furniture and belongings in our storage area. Debbi ended up sick on her birthday (Jan. 21)...maybe it was just the thought of getting older:0
At the end of Jan. we finally crossed the Mexico border again after tooooo long...and immediately Roger got pulled over by the police! It was frustating to be asked for a bribe so soon, but we almost felt happy, as it was like being home again!! We stayed at the YWAM base while we looked for a home, and found one just 3 days after arriving...so then began the long process of moving in boxes from the border (just enough so that they don't get upset or hassle you too much).
While trying to move into our home, hook up the utilities, etc. we also had to prepare for 2 short-term missions teams that were arriving on Feb. 14 (Siren Assembly of God, Siren, WI) and on the 21st (Kingdom Expansion, Farmville, VA) We also had times of reconnecting with old friends, tacos out (YUM!!), meeting with pastors and setting up ministry and then the teams arrived. After working with the teams, up at 5am, out in the sun all day (and heavy construction the 2nd week...putting a roof on a missions church)....home super late for 14 days straight we were pretty exhausted, but loving being back and ministering to the people here (Debbi got sick with the stomach flu for a couple days too). We also had our good friend, Shauna Booth arrive to work with us from Canada for 3 weeks, and Abi Rodriquez came from Veracruz, MX (we met her in Costa Rica) come to translate for a couple months. God is so good, He always sends us those that we need in the right time. We also have felt so welcomed by the YWAM staff here. While ministering to the people, we also distributed 27 quilts to needy families that were beautifully hand made by people through the WWIB Radio Quilt Distribution...this is the 18th year of this wonderful ministry with them. Roger also had the honor of preciding over Clint & Lynnie's renewal of their wedding vows at Cola de Caballo falls while on our free day with the team.
A couple more incredible things happened recently: 1)Debbi got her prayer answered...she got a MacBook laptop, as a gift from the team from Virginia. What a blessing to have the right equipment to do your job with...thank you!! 2)Roger preached in a church here in Spanish (and Debbi translated into English for the team:)!!
On a prayer note: 1)Recently as many of you have heard, the violence in Mexico has increased and also on the border and in Monterrey a bit. Please pray for the city of Monterrey, our ministry and safety for all who come to minister and those who are concerned and decide to cancel their missions trips...
2)Zacky our 12-/12 year old daschund, is having trouble walking. His back legs aren't working at all, so he is on medication and wearing diapers. He needs prayer, as God loves the animals too, and we know he was sent to us by God. Anyone who knows our family, knows how much he means to us. Please pray for our little guy.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment