¡Pura Vida!

Logistical Challenges!

Well here we are on our second day of our missions trip and we've only made it to Austin, TX.  We left Mexico yesterday morning, crossed into the U.S. smoothly, but unfortunately the water pump went out just as we got to San Antonio.  Thanks to a friend of Jon and Karen Benet who lives in San Antonio we were able to get a new one put on today.  So late this afternoon we got back on the interstate and low and behold ol' blue (a 1994 Ford van) has decided to still give us problems. So Jan and I have made the executive decision to park the van and rent a 15-passenger van here in Austin.  Our team money can cover that, thank God!  We're all in good spirits despite the "logistical challenges" but we're all eager to get to our destination! 

Thank you everybody for your prayers!  We're going to get up to the Carolinas eventually...we promise!!!

Windstorms & Wildfires

This week has been a tough one.  On Tuesday (as the last post said) we had what amounted to a Category I hurricane blow through here.  For several hours the sand and dust stirred up by the storm caused street lamps to come on.  The gritty sand got into everything - even into the clothes hanging in our closet!  Lots of trees were felled and almost every billboard around.   We lost power on Tuesday morning and, 4 days later, it's still not back on in our house.  Fortunately we have electricity here in our office - otherwise you wouldn't be reading this.

Then on Wednesday we had to fight wildfires which raged near Palmitos, the property where we live.  A UKANDU group of 30 teens from Texas helped out with a sand bucket brigade as there was no water because the electricity was knocked out.  It was tough (and HOT) work but we got it under control.   Wednesday night we formed a firewatch that stayed up in shifts to make sure the smoldering logs and branches didn't re-ignite.  On Friday morning, however, another wildfire raged by and we were called out yet again to fight it.  Somehow I think I deserve some kind of firefighting medal about now.

Hopefully we'll get some pics up when our internet signal is stronger.  I have some really cool ones of the windstorm and wildfires that I hope to soon get uploaded.

Tomorrow morning (Sunday) we'll be heading out with 15 Bible School students to the U.S. for our Spring Break Missions Trip.  We'll be driving to Sulphur, LA tomorrow; Sulphur, LA to Auburn, AL on Monday; and then Auburn, AL to Greenville, SC on Tuesday.  Please keep our travels in your prayers and we'll update the blog when we're stateside.

"Waterless Hurricane"

Read this story to see what we experienced on Tuesday.

It was quite a storm! Never want to see another one like it.

Semana Santa

Today is the beginning of Holy Week, and I was just serenaded by a parade passing by with firetrucks, ambulances, and all sorts of ruckus. I don't know if they had the palm branches and stuff, but it sure was loud! Easter isn't really a big deal to the evangelicals in Mexico, I think in reaction to the Catholic celebrations. I remember feeling sort of let down on my first Easter out of the US. The church service wasn't any different, they didn't wear special clothes, didn't sing special songs, nothing! I guess their idea is that we celebrate the Resurrection every day, so there shouldn't be anything exceptional.

Happy Palm Sunday everyone. I have always loved thinking of Jesus riding into Jerusalem and the people waving palm branches and singing Hosanna in the Highest!

This bears repeating...

We put this video on several years ago, but it definitely applies to our life right now. Organizing a group of Mexican Bible School students for a missions trip is like this:

VISAS APPROVED!!!

    HALLELUJAH! 

The visas have been approved for the whole group so North Carolina here we come!!! (and South Carolina, and Georgia, and Alabama, and Mississippi, and Louisiana, and Texas!).
 
Thanks everyone for your prayers!

Tomorrow's Visa Appointment

Tomorrow (Monday) at 8:30 am our second year students have their visa interview at the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey.  Please pray that our 13 students, 1 staff member, and the twelve year old son of two married students successfully get their visas in order to enter the U.S. legally for our missions trip from March 22 until April 4.  Thanks!!!  We'll keep you posted.

Visa Appointment

Yesterday we received the news that our students have an appointment at the Consulate in Monterrey on Monday morning. We are happy that they got the appointment so quickly, but there are a few things that are really nerve-racking about the process. First of all, each applicant has to deposit $131 American dollars in the bank to pay for their appointment. They have to bring the receipt to the appointment. If they don't get their visa, they lost that money. Secondly, they will be interviewed individually and questioned intensely. This makes all of them nervous - not because they are doing anything wrong, but because they want it so badly!

Please keep them in prayer as they go. I imagine it will be hard for them to rest well this weekend, as they are all a little fidgety about Monday.

Speaking of Xenophobia...

We had a meeting the other night with our Mexican Bible School students about the US, in preparation for our upcoming missions trip to NC. We invited a man from our church who just returned from Omaha, after living there for three years and helping pastor a Latino church (yes, he was legally there, by the way). He came to talk to the students about how the Latinos live there, what the students' expectations are, and the US culture. The students had some interesting perceptions and some of their questions kind of surprised me. What are they nervous about? It seems that they are nervous about not liking the food, about staying in peoples' homes and doing the right thing, and some seem to be a little nervous about black people. As I thought about it, we just don't seem many black people here, like none?! Their only perceptions are from videos on MTV, movies, and international news. They seemed to think that our cities are all like South-Central LA, and that there are gangs all over the place. They were afraid that they were going to be accosted by aggressive, angry black men. I'm glad that we were able to address that fear, but it made me wonder how many more misperceptions they have that we will encounter as we go along on our trip.

Xenophobia

Xenophobia:  is a fear or contempt of that which is foreign or unknown, especially of strangers or foreign people. It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "foreigner," "stranger," and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe fear or dislike of foreigners or in general of people different from oneself.

The other day I was at home and heard a commotion outside.  When I looked out the window I saw Jackson in a fight with three other boys - three against one!  Because I was a little afraid of my reaction, I quickly dispatched Zack, my 185-lb 15 year old, to break it up.   Zack ran outside and with one yell the three boys fled - leaving Jackson on the ground.  It turned out that one of the boys had called Jackson a "filthy gringo" and Jackson reacted by punching him.  Then the other two jumped in.  Our experiences in both Nicaragua and Mexico have been that the "nationals" will almost always stick together against the "foreigners."   Zack and Max had more than their share of abuse in Nicaragua - once Max responded to some of his classmates who were saying Americans were stupid by asking them how many Nicaraguans had been to the moon - the obvious answer being zero, Max then told them that until their country was able to build their own spaceship and send a man to the moon and back to SHUT UP!!  That response worked pretty well.

Xenophobia is not just something some Nicaraguans and Mexicans display, however.  It is part of our our sinful inheritance from our fallen ancestor Adam and all of us, in our fallen natures, have this infirmity.   I've seen and read political ads, newspaper opinion articles, etc during this U.S. presidential election cycle that points to rising measures of xenophobia in Americans.  Just how big the immigration issue will be remains to be seen but perhaps before making a political choice for or against this issue we must check our hearts to see just what's inside...