Today, I preached at Capital City Baptist Church, an English speaking church here in Mexico City. It went well, I think, for my first time preaching in English for a few months. I preached on the promises for those who abide in Christ in John 15. The four promises we talked about were: An Abiding Savior, An Abundant Harvest, Answered Prayer, and Absolute Joy.
After church, we went out to Chilis with some friends from the church and some new missionary friends, too. There were 6 adults and 5 little boys in our party, so the people at the restaurant were thrilled to have us. We had a great time.
Tomorrow I’m going to Six Flags with Cole and Carson. We’re gonna get our annual passes and ride Superman a ton of times. There’s only a week left of public school, so we’re going before the school kids get out. It’s gonna be fun. I get to spend time with two of my favorite people in one of my favorite places. Hopefully, it won’t take us four hours to get home like it did before, because this time, I’m driving.
It’s here! Our luggage arrived in one piece (all of it). We are happy to have it, finally. Now, we can get back to real life.
We were on our way back to Mexico Tuesday, but we missed our connection. So, we stayed in Houston overnight and came home yesterday. Unfortunately, our bags still haven’t made it. We’re sitting here at home waiting for four suitcases and Nathan’s carseat. It’s frustrating because the luggage has lots of stuff in it, including clothes and the plug for my computer. So, that’s why we haven’t updated lately. I’ve only got about 42% of my battery left, so we’ll be waiting to update you on the site again. Hopefully, we’ll get our bags soon.
I was in Santiago to teach “Programming in Youth Ministry,” a class in administration for youth ministry. In the class, we talk about 3 kinds of planning. One is long term, one is more detailed, and the other is planning in the moment.
We went to church on Sunday and walked into the high school Sunday School class. Then they told me that I would be sharing in class that day…I had 40 minutes to share. My students then asked me what kind of planning that was. Of course, the answer was “Spur of the moment planning.” Well, this kind of planning is not that bad if you are in your culture and your language, but it is extremely difficult when you are in neither of those. Anyway, it went okay. I spoke on David and Goliath, but it was very difficult.
Meanwhile, upstairs with the middle school youth group, the Dream Team (the description of my class of youth ministry students) was teaching like a bunch of pros. They had broken the group down into different small groups, had learning activities, and even candy for the group. They were amazing. I guess I have a lot to learn from them, too. They did an incredible job. Afterward, they told me that they had never taught it like that before, either. Of course, that’s what happens when you’re in your own culture and language. They were impressive.
While I was out of town, I had some awesome coffee between sessions (and sometimes in sessions of class). My students and I enjoyed some strong espresso coffee, and one of the families I stayed with showed me how they made their coffee. So, for Father’s Day, I decided I wanted an espresso machine and the exact type of coffee. I found one in Target, but it was too expensive, so we looked for another in Ross. We found it, and the coffee I have been making tastes just like the coffee in Santiago. It’s great. I love how tastes can remind you of people and places. Everytime I drink it, I think about and pray for what God is doing in the lives of my students in that far off place. It’s a great Father’s Day gift.
We spent the day with Janell’s dad and family. Also, we went to Carvel with my mom and grandma, and we topped the night off with a date night to see the movie Cars. The movie was pretty good, and the day was perfect. Nathan was so good, and I got to go in the pool with him again. I’ll post a picture later of us on Father’s Day. I love being a dad.
