Christmas dinner, a little taste from home!

Thank you to the Mackinnon’s for allowing us to use their home on Christmas day! We had a lovely Christmas dinner, (thank you Jonny!) Gary joined is for the day bringing with him a game (Phase 10) that kept us busy most of the afternoon! We even watched some TV programmes in English! Laura got a camera for Christmas, so the photos are all by LJ!

Christmas Eve.....With A Difference!

We decided on Christmas Eve to have a BBQ! The weather was lovely and we thought it would be a good idea, though it was hard to be in the Christmas spirit as it was so warm, but we did try! Jonny as usual worked hard at the BBQ and we then enjoyed a film before it was time for bed, (before Santa came.)

Christmas Holidays.....

We came back to the city on Friday in time to rest and get sorted for Christmas. We had a wonderful time together. It was great to get away and have some time catching up on what has been happening at home. It was amazing to have the lovely weather, blue skies considering it's December. We have included a few photos of a Christmas tree (ha ha) and also the whole family out for dinner.

It's Christmas.....With The Irons'!!!

This Christmas is a bit different.....partly because it's like 35*C! However, finally we got a camera and you can log onto our blog again without the fear of falling asleep with the lack of images on the pages!

Tomorrow morning we drive to Acapulco to do some very Christmassy sunbathing with Julie's family, so expect loads of by the pool pictures! We will be back again in a few days and will update you all with how we've been getting on and how Julie's family are getting on since they've been here.

Christmas partying.....!

Ok first off, we totally nicked this picture from the Agnew's website, however, when you've lost your camera desperate times call for desperate measures!

Last Sunday we had our Christmas party and it was a really good time of fellowship with the other missionaries and three visiting ladies (friends of Margaret & Robin.) We played quiz games to guess Christmas carols, although, Gary had the unfortune draw of being paired with me (the only one I knew was "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth.") Enough said!

We then played a white elephant game with unwanted rubbish from the house, we brought a foot scraper thing and some soaps I had "procured" from a hotel (You can take the boy out of the Shankill........) I ended up with a cool sandwich box, and Gary nearly caused a war as he thought the present had to be good and brought a measuring jug. (Well done must go to Leroy & Kay who finally captured it, even though they involved us in their twisted little game! Ha Ha)

We had excellent snacks and exchanged Secret Santa gifts which were amazing! We finished off by singing some Christmas carols and then went home, laughed out and well stuffed!

Ahh I love Christmas!

Holiday fever.....!

With the arrival of Julie's family we are going to take them away for the weekend to Acapulco, which seems amazing to us - but it really like the equivalent of the Mexican Portrush - only with more sun and less Morelli's!

We will post when they arrive to update you on our plans and then will aim for a mega-post after Acapulco. Please pray that we have a really refreshing time with her family and it's hard to believe we will not have seen them for 4 months!! Crikey!

Family Arrivals.....!

On Thursday we will go to the airport to meet Julie's family as they arrive to spend Christmas with us here! We are so excited and counting the sleeps! (5 to go by the way!)

It's amazing that we have been living in a house reminiscent of a jail cell with nothing in it, and all of a sudden because people are coming we have went crazy with the preparations. Jonny has been DIY-ing to the max (which if anyone knows Jonny, it's pretty amazing!) and we now have curtains in all rooms, a few random made up beds, fancy seat covering things and Christmas decorations. Not to mention that our fridge and freezer have never been so full. Plus this week we made a mega investment of a toaster, and bacon butties have led us to question why we never bought this earlier. However with the lack of HP sauce it's never quite the same heart attack inducing snack!

Christmas Countdown.....

Yesterday we put up the Christmas tree (thanks to the MacKinnon family for their kind donation!) It means our little house is a little more Christmassy for the arrival of Julie's parents! It is always fun putting our tree up, and we were listening to Christmas music the whole way through. It's also alarming at how completely un-Christmas it is for us, as it is hard to take it seriously with 20*C heat and cloudless blue skies. Oh dear we're really missing the freezing cold, dull, wet, Northern Ireland weather!

(Spot the sarcasm for a prize!)

Wanted.....Our Camera!

This week we can't find our camera! We have looked high and low and can't find it anywhere!! It's so sad as we can't put up any pictures for you guys to see. So we're gonna go for a mega hunt tomorrow and try to get some pics on asap. Sorry for the bland posts!

School.....End Of Term!

On Friday we finished school for December and finished our Basic Level (Julie) & Level 1 (Jonny.) We have a lot to be thankful for especially in all the travelling to and from school. We also were really blessed with our exams as Julie (who thought she did really badly) got 92% and Jonny who got 100%.

We had good teachers and really nice classmates and we are going to study with a private teacher until January and then will return to full time language again.

So in the next couple of weeks we are going to be working in the drop in centre, doing a bit of medical work and anything that needs done!

Please pray for us these next weeks as we also prepare for the big Irons visit, that we would have an excellent time this Christmas and be able to relax and show them much of the wonderful sights that are here and also have a relaxing time also.

Opening Doors.....

This week we had a meeting with Dr. Joel Miller (with Free Methodist Missions) and Andrew & Carol. It was in relation to developing a medical ministry within our field ministries, possibly at the drop in centre. This is an exciting idea for us, as it is a great passion for us!

We had a chat today with Carmen (Lupita's Sister) who is a doctor and had a clinic in the La Loma church, and she seems really excited about being involved. So, we are going to pray and seek the Lord in the next few weeks for what He would have us to do.

We really feel that the Lord has guided us through our training in nursing, our experience in leading teams and working in clinics at home, and this seems to be an open door that the Lord is guiding us through. So we are seeking your prayers on this, and in particular that all the pieces will fall into place. There are sure to be pressures and barriers put in front of us, but praise the Lord that with Him nothing is impossible!

Thanksgiving.....

This week we celebrated Thanksgiving with all the missionaries. We're from N. Ireland and don't really have Thanksgiving, but any day that mean we get a day off and get to eat a big dinner is a day of giving thanks!

Big thanks have to go to Margaret & Robin, who hosted the day and having everyone together was class. As this was our first Thanksgiving, it was by far the best!

3 Weeks and Counting.....

Our parents (Julie’s) arrive in 3 weeks along with Ash and Laura, and we are so excited about our Christmas together, please pray for this time together that we will have a time of rest and fun together. Please pray for them as they travel here, it will be 4 months since we said goodbye at Dublin!

Friends.....

Just a big thank you to all our friends, who have taken time out to email and sent us packages! We have had a few laughs because of some of things we have received. We have had different forms of letters, some with pictures included. Also a big thank you for your personal gifts as one reminds us that friendship isn’t a big thing, but a million little things!

Weekend Away.....

We headed off on Friday afternoon, in order to miss traffic, however every other person in Mexico tried the same, but we were able to take some pictures along the way and although it was dark there was an amazing view over the whole of Mexico City at one point. It was breathtaking and reminded us how of Gods creation in its fullness.
By the time we arrived it was late in the evening so we went to bed early in order to get up early the next morning. We travelled a wee bit further and we came to a place called Las Estacas. To be honest words would fail to describe how beautiful this place was, it has a natural river that runs through it that you can swim in, (there were fishes in it too!)It was hard to believe that in the middle of November it was 30 degrees!

Each night we had a BBQ which was lovely and looked up at the stars, which sometimes can’t be seen in Mexico City. We have included a few photos.

Weekend Away.....

This weekend we are going to a place called Cuernavaca for the weekend. We have made friends with one of our teachers in college called David and he is letting us stay at his family home there. We can't wait for the break as our heads are about to explode with Espanol!

It is also a good birthday gift for Gary and we are going to visit a few cultural places nearby, especially a lagoon nearby for a bit of swimming etc. So please visit our site in a few days time to see probably the worst sunburn you have ever seen, as Jonny has the inability to tan, it's an amazing journey from freckly-burnt-peeling to white again!

We pray that this time will be a good rest for us, as it is getting close to the visit of Julie's parents and we are so excited. We are also getting our toes wet in some ministry and are looking for a few things to happen to determine our direction of ministry in Mexico.

Please also pray for David, our teacher, as he is an unbeliever, that this weekend he will see a difference in our lives and continue to question us on why we are here in Mexico. He has spoken to Andrew and Christian while they were at school and really listens when we talk about Godly things.

Birthday Boy.....

Today is a very special time for the field and indeed for Julie and I, as it is Gary's 40th Birthday!

Gary has been a great friend for the last few years and indeed we have all been together in this whole Mexico experience, from being on the team to now working together.

We had a small party for him at team meeting and he got a few gifts and cards from home which really gave him a smile! The hardest thing for us to get our head round is that he's 40 but still about a bajillion times fitter and younger looking than me! (Jonny) Treadmill and salads here I come!

The Big Match.....

Last week we had a football match between our church, Santa Monica, and the church of Gary, Andrew & Carol. It has always been a bit of a drubbing for Santa Monica - the last score was about 13-2!

However, the new look Santa Monica team (including an overheated, overweight Belfast boy) was really up for the match. Each team had about 15 players for 7 a side game, and when I came on La Loma were already 2-0 up with only 15 mins gone, and I panicked that my first game of footy in Mexico was going to get mugged!

However, with the addition of the ever lively (and sometimes nauseous) Jonnio Pollocko, Santa Monica began to turn things around. In a two minute blitz, Pollocko, now suffering from heat exhaustion blasted a stunning volley, follwed by a low drive, to make it 2-2. The crowd, of nearly 50 church members were going wild, and when a wildly hit shot by Pollocko was turned into his own net by the other Nothern Irish import, Gary Thompson, Santa Monica were ahead for the first time - in well - as long as the players could remember!

The rest of the match was back and forth, but Santa Monica finally ran out as 6-3 winners, with the amazing Thompson managing to balance things out by scoring at both ends.

Unfortunately, a few days later we are still recovering, although it was an amazing time for us to be invloved in an amazing church event!

Las Piramides.....

We have to apologize for the late posts, this week has been hectic, but we're finally forcing ourselves time to post to our friends at home. Last Saturday we visited the pyramids in Mexico, and it was amazing! Well apart from the walking and the heat! When we were in Norn Iron we froze and couldn't wait until the warmth of Mexico, but too much of a good thing isn't always good ha ha.

We walked up the pyramids, and round the surrounding area and into the museum and it was excellent to see the history of this part of Mexico, and also be in an area with little pollution! However it's hard to beat the Giant's Causeway with a nice big ice cream out of Morelli's!

It's Been One Of Those Weeks.....

It has been a really rough week this week, for numerous reasons! Firstly Julie has got the flu, and it hasn't been nice to her, with a nasty cough, and runny nose. Then an amazing mixture of our car window breaking, our house water not working, and not having enough Spanish to make head nor tail of either situation!

On Thursday we went to the seminary to see if there was any post, and for us there were loads of cool things arrived. Alright they had taken 5 weeks to get here, but they came at the right time! Now we have chocolate, bisto and wine gums to keep us happy (I know little amuses the simple!)

We just want to say a big thank you to all of you guys who keep in touch through our site, e-mails, updates from our own personal secretaries (Granny Kelly, Nanna Irons) and phone calls via Skype.

We really value your prayers and words of encouragement, we know that you think of us while we are here, and it's so amazing to wake up in the morning with a wee bit of craic from home! (Except about Spurs - I know they are nearly bottom of the league!)

Another Away Day.....

Today we went to UNIFAM La Loma, to visit this church with Gary, Carol, Andrew, Tabitha, and Andrew's parents, who are over for a couple of weeks. We were excited to go to La Loma, as while we were here as a team we had worked at this church. It hasn't changed that much, and it was good to see a few familiar faces. God has blessed them with amazing growth since we were last here, and today was also a blessed time as it was a baptismal service.

It was also the first church service we have been at that we have completely understood the preaching, because we had the wonderful Carol (and Andrew during the baptism with wonderful sung translations of the songs into a Northern Irish accent!)

My new seat.....

Wow! We were told by friends about this amazing chair in a shop in Satilite, so we decided to investigate and that is what we did the last weeks. During the week we went to see it, but alas they had none! A few weeks later we went and there it was so we had to give it a go, I fell in love with it but it was time to convince Jonny so I told him to sit in it and try it out! It didn’t take long before he loved it to. So it was ordered and is now in pride of place in our living and it is were we do our blogging and chilling, so I have included a picture!

This weekend.....

On Friday in Mexico, it is the “Day of the Dead”. This is a big celebration here in Mexico and at school our teacher explained to us that some people set up altars in their homes with pictures of their loved ones. On the “Day of the Dead” they make offerings to their dead relatives and talk to them. It is a very important time for them, some Mexicans visit there loved one’s graves and clean them, give them flowers and spend time talking and eating there. Satan has a massive grip on this country and we pray that we can be as shining lights in the midst of the darkness.

The Drop-in Centre.....

This is an amazing work which is continuing to be developed, with God workingin amazing ways (click the link for the Agnew’s ministry to read more of God’s presence in this work!) There was a team here from Men from Missions USA in this last couple of weeks. What a job they did over the last weeks. It is amazing to see how God brings together people and can accomplish so much through plain ordinary people like us. Praise His name that He doesn’t need us, but in His grace, chooses to use us!

We praise God that we have been able to be part of this work in a small way, we have both been able to use our nursing skills to treat people here and show Gods love in this manner. We would ask you to pray for this work as it continues to develop. Also for Andrew and Carol Agnew who head up this work, Fidel, Paty, Alejandro and the other people who labour for the Lord in this ministry.

Church plant....

On Sunday we went to a church plant not far from our house, when we arrived we realized that we had seen this area when we were here the first time with the Washbasin team. The weather here has been really cold recently (ok maybe 10 degrees C, but cold for here!) Don’t get us wrong we are used to cold weather, as we have lived in northern Ireland most of our lives, but the difference here is that there is no heating inside any of the houses or buildings!

Here are a few things on Sunday that really humbled us so much.

It is a rented building they are in, so every Sunday before church the pastor and the elders met and pray in the building in order to have it ready for church, as they do not know what has been happening in the building during the week.

During the service we were soooo cold and all of a sudden we had a tap on our shoulder. It was one of the men from the church, and he handed us coats! We couldn’t believe it but gladly accepted.

There was an appeal after the preaching, and there were a few people who came up. One person who stood out to me was a young guy who was crying so hard that there was a puddle on the ground in front of him. This young guy was so passionate for the Lord that I felt so overwhelmed. We praise God for the passion that He has given these people.

We praise God for these church plants and the work that is being done in this area, we are excited about the prospect of being involved in this area in January, we pray for wisdom that we will be able to encourage this work which God is accomplishing through these people.

Good, Better, Best.....

We were really convicted this weekend by the words of another missionary on the field. She has read a book that highlights that we owe God our best efforts, and the best of what He has given us to offer. The decisions we make have to be weighed up as good, better or best. You see, the decisions we make on a day to day basis are normally good, but we have to think; could they be better, and are they our best.

We were challenged on this with our quiet times in Mexico. Due to the language difficulties in church, we were downloading Bible study podcasts, family were sending us sermons from our home church at Ballee Baptist, and we were listening to them as we travelled. Now this sounds super holy, but in reality, many time we went back to listening to CD on our ipods.

You see, we may have been listening to music from the charts that may not have been that bad, that was our good. We could be listening to Christian music that our friends have given us, or recommended, this was our better. But we realised that listening to and applying God's word to our lives is our best.

We hope that you can ponder your decisions, as we now ponder ours. Can we say that our decisions are good, better or our best.

A Week at School.....

This week we both went back to school and it changed a bit - so we felt we needed to update on the praise and prayer points in this area. Julie is in the Elemental Level, and feels so much more confident with her Spanish having time in tutoring with Tania. She is finding her way through the class and even though I'm not allowed to say this - she is around the top of her class! (Sorry Julie!) She also got high marks in her classes with Tania, and we have really been praising God on how He has really blessed us and answered prayer through helping us with Spanish.

Another praise is that although Jonny is in Level 1 for grammar, he has now started in Level 3 for conversation, and has felt this to be of benefit. Due to having friends in church, and connected with the mission here, we have more opportunities to converse in Spanish than others in our classes. Praise God that in Level 3, Jonny is able to share more with his new classmates and also explain in greater detail, about why we are here, and the work God is doing in Mexico.

We thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray as we can testify to the fact that it is our greatest weapon against the attacks of the evil one.

2 Month Update.....!

We have now been in Mexico for two months, and we are going to go out for a bit tonight to celebrate! Today we got a little pang for home, and sometimes, more than others, it can really frustrate you! So today we prayed for the Lord to strengthen us at this time, and help us to be faithful in His plans. So I want to kick off a monthly report of looking back at what I like to call our "Red Sea Moments." I came to this when I read about the Exodus, and 3 days after crossing the Red Sea, the children of Israel began grumbling. Yet God reminded them to remember how He proved Himself to them by His faithfulness! We can count these ourselves when we have times when out of the ordinary things happen in our lives that can only be attributed to God. So here goes!

1. We are now really into our Spanish and we have found it difficult at times, but God has blessed us with amazing teachers, and an amazing tutor for Julie.
2. We have a wee car which has meant that we can zoom around the city in safety, and get places to relax when we need to.
3. We have been blessed by being able to live so close to the other missionaries on the field, and we have such a great team here to share God's work with.
4. God has given us an amazing family as friends. We have spent some great time with Benjamin, Gretal & Yohanni, having meals and having real fellowship while attempting to speak Spanish!
5. God has astounded us with providing us with Skype, which has meant that we can keep in contact with home. We were told it would take weeks for our internet to be activated, and yet it only took about one day! Praise God for making things happen in His time!

There has been so many more things that have caused us to rejoice, and we will definately have more in the months to come.

We hope you can feel encouraged to sit back and look at your "Red Sea Moments." They really make you stand in awe of the faithfulness of our God!

The Funniest Thing.....But True!

Some of our friends had sent us this video from Youtube as a joke to all those who have studied Spanish in some form. It is hilarious as it's so true - we actually learned all this stuff in our first semester! (Note to Christine, my sister-in-law. You can actually add -o to the end of most English words to make Spanish words!)

The Strangest Ministry.....!

A while ago, we went to Grandad's (and yes, I did say my Grandad!) and he had bought a new computer to play golf on, called the Wii. We laughed at the fact that my Grandad had a computer, then found out a bit more about it. Jonny had got a bit of extra money from his work, and decided to buy one, it comes with one game with boxing, golf, baseball, tennis and bowling. And this is all you need! What happened next is nothing short of amazing. You see, the Wii is the most amazing thing ever, and immediately we hooked soooo many people into it. Our friends bagan dropping like flies and buying the Wii, one couple even using it in their youth club. So we decided to bring it to Mexico as it is really compact. Unfortunately due to region differences, it is in black and white, but no less potent. So far we have played it with nearly all the missionaries here, and some of our Mexican friends. It is amazing fun, no secret tricks, no language barrier, it's good exercise, all the family can play, and everyone gets hooked. It has really surprised us how the Wii has become so popular, and we hope that we can play it loads over here with all of our friends. (Except for Robin Mackinnon as she is beginning to get far too good at bowling!)

Grrrr.....Sickness!

On Sunday during church Jonny began to feel a bit unwell and his tummy began to get a bit sore. Cue the inevitable! We were supposed to go out for dinner with Benjamin and Gretal but had to cancel as Jonny was getting worse as the service went on. We went home and got him lying down, but his condition got a bit worse and he vomited several times! He then began to feel a lot better but still had tummy pains. At this point I felt that he needed something in his stomach as he hadn't eaten all day and looked pretty green. Gary came over for support, and I made us all the stomach settling Bourbon Chicken with spicy wedges (This is why I'm the chef! - Jonny) So after eating this, it came right back up again, and we (well Julie) began to get worried. I rang Robin Mackinnon, who rang Leroy & Kay Lyndsey for advice. About 45mins later, the OMS cavalry arrived! Robin, Leroy and Kay came to assess Jonny and see what could be done. (Obviously my embarassment of being spotted in my pj's was dampened by my illness! - Jonny)

They thought Jonny had an infection, and thought about taking him to hospital, but it was decided to see out the night, with his own personal nurse, and see how it was in the morning.

In the morning the nausea had gone but the cramps etc. continued. so Leroy took Jonny to a local doctor who did some tests and concluded that Jonny has food poisoning! He has three medications to take and a bit of rest, so we are taking today off in order to get him back to strength, then back to school.

Please pray for us, and our health, as we are still new to this country and all the new little bugs that it has. And pray for rest and recovery for Jonny and I, so we can start back to school ASAP.

p.s. jonny is feeling alot better!

A New Typical Day.....!

Starting tomorrow, Julie and I are starting school together. Julie is going into level 0 and I begin level 1. So our new typical day will go as follows:

1. Get up about 5:45am, and get ready and have breakfast.
2. Leave the house around 6:15am-6:30am.
3. Arrive at Campanario at 7am to get the bus.
4. The bus will arrive at our train station around 8:30am.
5. We get the tube to Insurgentes (near our school) at about 9am
6. We walk to our school and arrive about 9:30am.
7. Leave school at 2pm-2:30pm.
8. Get on our return trip and arrive home about 4:30pm.
9. Rest, usually!

Unfortunately this is a good day! Many days because of traffic etc, we can be on the bus for over 2 hours!!! It seems as if the school is miles away but it is in the centre of the city, and it's due to traffic it takes so long. Please continue to pray for us as we travel and pray that the Lord protects us as we can be fresh each day for Him.

Gas.....!

Last week we got up in the morning, and Jonny got into the shower to get washed. But the water was a bit tepid, but hey ho. Later on Julie figured out that the shower was freezing, the oven didn't work, and the tumble drier wasn't going on! Hmmm.

We got a bit of gas delivered when we first moved in but it had seemed to run out!! So Julie rang the Mackinnon's to see what and who we should ring. So gas was ordered for 2pm that day. Yippee!

Unfortunately, Julie sat in all day and no gas arrived. Our guards at the top of our street are amazing, and they are really concerned about our safety, but they didn't know anything about the gas company and didn't let them in. The gas company said they would return the following day at 9am. Again no gas in the morning or afternoon, and we had to run out for showers etc, and have lovely microwave food, yummy!

Finally we figured what was happening with the guards and we got him to ring the company, and everything was sorted! So we are clean again, have clean clothes and eating proper food, you'll be glad to know.

It's funny as sometimes little things like this happen and we havn't got a clue what to do, but it's amazing that God has placed around us fantastic families to keep us o the right track!

Exams and Level 1

Last Friday Jonny had his exams for level 0. There were three exams; an oral exam, a written grammar exam, and a writen conversation exam.

He did really well in all three exams, and feels really excited about starting level 1 this week. It is amazing how time flies, and it seemed like only yesterday that he started!

We really appreciate your prayers and e-mails to encourage us in our language study, and we can tell you that it is making a big difference in our lives, study and general communication with people. This is why we are here, to share Christ through our lives, our actions and our words. Your prayers are upholding us and blessing us with the strength to do all three for the advancement of His kingdom.

S.T.I.C. (Sticking Together in Christ)

Last Friday we had our inaugural meeting of our new men's missionary fellowship group called Sticking Together in Christ (STIC)

It was amazing to have a night where we could all chill out and have the three F's (fun, food, and fellowship!) We began the night with prayer and a reading from God's word in 1st Thess. chapter 4, in relation to encouraging each other. We then had a bit of grub, and Christian gave his testimony. I found it strange that we know each other as missionaries, but sometimes we know little of each others lives before now, so it was amazing to hear how God has touched Christian's life and channels blessing through him.

We finished up with a game of Nintendo Wii. It was fantastic to see everyone getting together and - well - making fools of oursleves playing bowling, tennis, and most popularly golf! In the coming months we hope to have more of these meetings and each guy is responsible for each night and we'll have loads of fun nights, but most importantly nights where we can encourage one another and glorify God!!

We forgot.....Our Anniversary!

Ok this is a post we have tried to get around to for maybe three weeks! On the 20th September we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary! But as it was just a normal day for us it seemed a bit - well normal!

It's kinda strange over here because every day seems to blend into the next, and before you know it, it is your anniversary and you forget! Well Jonny didn't! (I don't know how because sometimes he goes to school with two different socks on! - Julie)

I got a lovely bunch of flowers, and also a pair of shoes (they were too big but it's the thought that counts!)

It's been how long.....?

It amazes us every week as we realise that we've been in Mexico so long. This is our seventh week in Mexico!
However to be honest there are good days and bad days. Sometimes the language is really tough, and then the food doesn't agree with you. Or something happens at home, something small, but because you aren't there it seems massive! We have just been talking these last few days, it would be lovely to go home for a few days, see everyone and eat kebabs! We are happy here, we have a peace about being here, but the devil does attack in subtle ways.

What has meant alot to us are our friends, family and church family who have e-mailed, you all know who you are! Sometimes just knowing that people back home are thinking and praying with us gives us a little spring in our step! Thank you all so much!

Friends/Amigos

These are our friends from Church, and we asked them last Sunday when they came for dinner, could we put a bit on our blog about them. They agreed, so here they are! In order we have Gretal, Yohani, and Benjamin. We met them in church in our first week and we could hardly speak two words to them, it was so embarrassing for us. So two weeks ago we studied up loads and went out for the day with them and had a fantastic day. Yesterday, they came to our house for an Irish meal. We had salmon and potatoes, however, no chillis! They seemed to like it, and have invited us to their new house next Sunday for a meal after church.

Please pray that our Spanish gets much better so we can share more with them. We showed them pictures of family and friends yesterday, and also of our church. They said that our friends, family and more importanly our church must be really happy that we have come to Mexico to work for God.

This meant a lot to us, as it is because of God, our families, our friends and our church, that we have been able to come to Mexico to serve Him. We really appreciate all your gifts, support, e-mails and cards, that encourage us so much while we're here.

DIY Take 2.....

After our disaster with our new curtains we decided to take our time to hang our curtains upstairs. We knew we needed to get our curtains up, as it was either that or change the newspaper as it was nearly 2 months out of date!

So last week, armed with a drill, a chair, some curtain ring (thanks Carol & Andrew!) and a lot of patience, we had a go.

Before


After (2 hours!)

And before you ask, they looked much different in the shop ha ha. But they keep the light out in the morning, and they are better than newspaper!

Training.....

On last Saturday, Monday and Today, we have been compiling and comparing using this book above called Discovering Your Ministry Identity, and the Birkman method.

A while ago Julie and I had completed these processes and received training and lovely colourful books that explained what team styles, organisational styles, and gifts we had, from how we answered questions about ourselves and how others saw us. We took the books, had our explainations and they really gave us insight into the type of people we thought we are and how others see us. Su Berkley (OMS Manchester) guided us through this process, and really helped us to see areas in which we are most effective, and other areas in which we need people beside us.

Apparently (now only apparently) Jonny likes to talk. You can decide if that's accurate of not! Julie is the careful planner, who likes to be in the background pulling the strings. Guess that kinda makes me her little talktive puppet!

The fun part was when we came together as a field team, and saw how we all could work together for the glory of God. It was fantastic to see how we could work with people, interact with people, when to include people, when to, and how to encourage each other. It is very easy to pigeon hole someone because we think we have them figured out, or to think that everyone needs encouraged!

We really feel drained by the training, but Gail & Deam Davis (OMS HQ) really facilitated this time, and God really came to teach us that regardless of the questions, the charts, and the little coloured boxes, He has created us all individual. He has formed us for a purpose, to glorify and uphold His son, Jesus.

A friend recently sent me a plan for his Sunday School class, and he summed up exactly what encourages us so much in our work, and we hope it does as you also labour for Him. It's simple, but it's all that needs to be said.

God doesn't need us, but He chooses to use us.

Mexican Culture

Last week we bit the bullet and asked a couple from the church out for dinner! In our first week at church we were introduced to them and their names are Benjamin and Gretal, and they have a gorgeous little girl! For the first weeks chat we could've crawled under a big rock as our Spanish was so bad that they hardly understood a word we were saying, and we stood in silence a lot of the time. But they were so lovely that we said to them we would practice our Spanish and then take them out for dinner!

So last week after church we took them out for a meal and they said they would show us some of Mexico City. Excellent! The Lord was really in that day as we were with them for over 6 hours and although it was tricky to explain somethings (Benjamin asked me to explain the history of Northern Ireland - Where would I start!) and much confusion, we had a fantastic time. We went for tacos, then for some ice cream, then they took us to Polanco(?) to a huge park, and we saw lots of cool Mexican dances, and then we went to go to the zoo but it was closed!

We then decided to go to the Mexican anthropoligical museum (I spelt that 4 times, I hope it's right!) which was really informative about Mexican culture.

We are having them to our next week and will put pictures of them on our blog as we said we would, to show people back home of our new friends!

Here are some pictures of the dancers we seen, and us in the museum!

Independence Day

On Saturday we celebrated Mexican Independence Day!

It was probably the most amazing party that we've ever been to, and it was great to see all the UNIFAM churches attending, and also dressing up!

We helped with the decorations and people had made such an effort to turn the Seminary into a total Mexican experience.

There was so much to do and all the money raised went to help fund the Seminary, and the work of God there. We had so much food it was unreal, and plenty of games, including one that ended up with Julie and I temporarily in prison (don't worry everyone it was only a game. We can see the headlines now!)

There were fireworks and dancing, and plenty of Mexican singing. But the most important thing was the Independence "el grito" (the shout of Independence) All the people shouted Viva Mexico! But they also shouted "Viva Christo" to help us remember that Christ died to give us true independence from sin.

We also found three Mexicans who you may recognise!

Carrubbers.....

We heard about this place from Andrew & Carol, and it seemed a cool place in Edinburgh! But this past week we have had a team here from Carrubbers and they are a fantastic bunch. We have worked together with the other missionaries to help with the Independence Party; we ate about 10 baguettes of garlic bread; and they (well me one time) have defeated Mexicans at football twice!

There are 8 of the guys, 4 girls, 4 guys, and of all different ages. It has been a pleasure to meet them and also to have some craic with them! Here they are below with Andrew & Carol:

(Left to right, bottom then top)

Andrew, Matthew, Mark, Cameron, Sue, LJ, Jonny, Rachel, Sarah, and Carol

Mexico....

We were very fortunate to be invited along last Friday to a new Mall opened up not far from our house. We went with the team from Carrubbers in Edinburgh, and Andrew, Carol, Robin & Margaret.

It was excellent to see the shops and reminded us of home a little bit, however the best thing about the place was the view, as you could see over a large area of Mexico City, even if it was really still a small peek at the whole city.

Bet you don't views like this in Fairhill!! (Hey!)

Our Family.....

We have been so blessed with spending time with our new missionary family in Mexico, since we're been here. We went out last Thursday for Colleen's birthday to a little Taco place near to our house. They have wonderful tacos, however they have a wonderful(ly hot!) selection of sauces!

We have enclosed a photo of our wee family, except for Robin Efing, who is hiding behind someone! We'll have pictures of individuals in the next while and have a bit more about them.

(left to right) Andrew, Julie, Jonny, Christian, Margaret, Colleen, Robin Mac, Maddy, Gary & Carol.

Sweet sweet music.....

Yesterday on our day off, we decided to travel into the centre of Mexico City with Gary to see if we could get Jonny a guitar. We went armed with a map courtesy of Margaret & Robin, and also some directions from Andrew & Carol.

Firstly we have to say that public transport in Mexico is fantastic, even if it is absolutely insane. For example, on our way home we had a bus with lovely comfy seats that didn't appear to be secured to the floor; a lady selling ice cream on the bus; and finally a fully costumed clown who was getting a ride home!

When we got into town the first thing we noticed were the people - no joking, we must have seen 10,000 people in town. There were people traffic jams everywhere. We also walked down a street for about 500yrds which is now known as "Chicken Street." Every shop on that street sold chickens. They were not in fridges but in the street, and every part (including the heads!) were in little piles for people to buy!

We walked round a few shops and there were a few good guitars but nothing that jumped out at us. Feeling dejected and ready to go home warm and tired, Gary suggested crossing the road for one last shop. The shop was really nice and they had a few guitars - but there was one amazing guitar. It is a Takamine guitar (this won't mean much to anyone, in fact it doesn't really mean much to me, but I've heard people who play guitar talk about them!) and when the lady told me the price I nearly collapsed! I knew that these guitars cost a bit of money, and when we did our wee calculation for money, it was very cheap, so cheap that we made her check the price again!

So we got it, walked with the box past all the thousands of people, jumped on the tube, onto another crazy bus, and arrived home, happy at a job well done!

DIY Disaster!

When we got our curtains, we had a look at the window on which they were to go and saw little plaster marks. So on closer inspection we noticed that the person who owns the house had plastered over the previous rawl plugs - result! Or so we thought. So rather than drill new holes with the drill we borrowed (Thanks Andrew & Carol!) Jonny began to screw the shiny new screws into the wall. The curtain pole went up and it was an excellent job (if I do say so myself!)

Jonny's grandfather is a master joiner, but unfortunately the trait mustn't run in the family! While sitting writing an e-mail one day there was quite a shout, and Julie ran into the living room to see me under two curtains and a curtain pole, and a bump on my head!

Obviously humbled by my DIY experience I decided to bypass the shortcut and drill proper holes, put in new plugs and the job was a success - for now at least.

Hopefully the curtains as you see below will stay up for at least a few weeks this time!

Our house.....a home!

Again due to the fantastic bunch of missionaries and so many lovely people back home and their gifts - our house is slowly turning into a home.

Tonight, one of the missionaries, Margaret, brought round some more things from our house. Hay cosas nuevas (I have new things!) We now have a cupboard for dining room stuff (name?); we have a TV stand to take the place of our old polystyrene one; we have two bedside cabinets; and finally a study desk.

We have been burdened recently to be happy in the work of God, and we have realised, and have been led in our quiet times to what is important, and what Christ felt was important. Christ was the ultimate people person, and to share Christ and to be like Christ, we must be "people" people.

It's why we are spending so much time learning the language, as a big part of being with people, is being able to talk to people. So when I am in class with the other students, and Julie is being tutored by Tanya (a non-Christian), please pray for us, that we will pick up the language and be able to use it effectively.

Also please pray, as we do, that we will all be focused "people" people.

This gift we received from a lady at home, has now taken pride of place in our hall and is the first thing we see when we enter our wee house. It really reminds us everyday of His faithfulness to us, and how we are to serve Him.

Weird and Wonderful Mexico

When we got to Mexico there were a few things we noticed straight away that completely dumbfounded us.

At the minute we may as well be on a beach in Portstewart as it rains all the time - so much for me bring all my shorts!

We were in church today and it was about 15 degrees and I was in my shirt sleeves - and there were people wearing full length zipped up coats! We asked one lady why and she said it was freezing!!

Last week we travelled to school everyday and on Wednesday (Miercoles - sorry but we have to practice!) Gary's teacher asked did we see the big torch in the road for the Mexico City marathon. Apparently we had driven past this 40ft tall torch for three days and never saw it! Does anyone have the number of a good Mexican optician?

Language School

The beginning!! This was it our first offical day at language school. It was a painful experience of trying to remember how rubbish school used to be, only with the added bonus of not wearing a polyester school jumper!

This is our little school, we are in a class with three other people and we have two teachers. Our teachers are Anna Rosa, a lovely little Mexican lady who always asks us about church, and Hugo (pronounced oo-go) who is an amazing teacher and we always have a laugh in class with him.

Our classmates are Edit, and Hyun Gi who are two Korean's people living in Mexico; and Josh, a guy from London who's mum was from Londonderry.

Our classes are from 9am to 2pm and are pretty intensive. We learn grammar for the first half (cue relearning what nouns, verbs, and adjectives arae again, plus about a squillian new words.) In the afternoon we have Hugo (oo-go remember) for conversation. We have to learn the alphabet, numbers, days of the week, colours, food etc. It is a lot of work and it is quite difficult for Julie, as she is Dyslexic. She is fantastic except the pressure of the continuous questions and reading we have to do. She is going to leave me in level zero for two more weeks, and she will study with a personal tutor to give her a boost, then rejoin level one with me. We did, and then didn't realise how important language is, especially as it is one of the main ways for us to share Christ with people, now we do. Please pray for us, especially Julie as we get stuck into our studies, and that we will both be able to jabber away very soon.

We also have found a nice little coffee shop down the street where we have break etc. We use this time to chat to Gary, who is at school with us (in level 2) and also catch up on the football results! (Spot us trying to translate the words we don't know!)

A Special Day.....

Today we attended church and it was a very special day. Firstly it was the first time we had driven to church on our own! It was hairy at times but we managed to get there on time. It was also a day on which three people were baptised into the church and it was amazing to see three people announcing to the world their desire to follow Jesus! Finally, and by no means leastly, the children had put on a presentation of what they have been doing in Sunday school. They came in and sang songs, and recited the books of the Bible. Afterwards they put on a presentation for all the adults of characters from the Bible, and also interesting things about the Bible.

We had the characters of the Bible, including a 7ft tall Goliath!

We also had food made for us at the church and it was so good to have everyone from the church there to share snacks together and walk round the different stalls, and also a good way for us to practice lots of the Spanish (Yeah right!) we have learned! Lupita's Mum organised the ladies in making all the food - it was really yummy, even though she insisted on giving me "mucho chilli!"

The stalls and the fantastically made Ark of the Covenant!

The queue's start forming!

Language School.....

On Monday we begin language school. We are both looking forward, and a bit nervous about starting, but we both have learned in this last week, that language is so important, and we need to be able to share Christ with the people we come in contact with in Mexico. So we have our little notebooks, we have a nice new shiny schoolbag, and a pencil case full of pens, pencils, highlighters and much needed erasers!! We thank you for your prayers as we take another small step in God's plan for our lives in Mexico, and do so with the knowledge that He is faithful!

Internet!!!

Margaret and Robin stood in line the other day for us, and were able to get us an internet package to get us set up. Margaret explained that it would take at least 5 days to activate the connection, which normally means in Mexico it will take two weeks! We have only had limited time to speak to family since we have arrived and at times it has been difficult with time difference etc.

On our way home tonight we were thinking what people were doing at home and it made us quite homesick imagining family etc. We got in about 6pm we decided to maybe watch a movie on the laptop and have an early night. When we turned on the laptop, it flashed up that wireless network and internet where available, and when we checked we had already been connected! Praise the Lord! We were so excited at how amazing God is, and then we also felt a bit stupid that we ever doubted His faithfullness. So we will now be updating this page regularly in order to include you in God's work in Mexico, as you are all such a part of it already. Through your prayers, we feel strengthened and sure of God's presence in our lives and in Mexico. Please keep praying!

Guarding Us.....

One thing that we feel led to pray for everyday is our guards. We have chatted to them in passing for the last few days and we have met three of them. We do not know their names yet, and don't really know much about them, but we are reminded of the verse given to us by the team we met from Armagh, who came out before us. It reminds us that God is always guarding us, and is our help. They read us the verse in Psalm 121.

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth."

I think it got to us that most of the time as Christians that we don't have an automatic realisation of this verse. Pastor Andrew (Roycroft) explained to us that when times were hard, which they would be, we should automatically go through a process of thinking.

The hills (our troubles) seem so big!
Where does my help come from?
Our help comes from God, creater of heaven and earth.

We are glad He is guarding us, and is our ever present Saviour!

First Few Days.....Church!

Julie and I are now to be members of the Santa Monica church, which is quite close to our house. It was the church that we attended while we were here with the Washbasin team, and we still remember some people that we met then. It was a bit of a daunting experience on the first Sunday as we had so many people coming up to us to introduce themselves.

Our first task was to try and translate the church magazine (semi-successful), then the service started. The worship is amazing, and is led by a guy called Chucho. It is not what we are normally used to in church at home, but there is no substituting relevance for reverence. It was so amazing to see people singing the songs with tears streaming down their faces, and I feel so challenged by seeing this.

We were a bit overwhelmed by the sermons as sometimes we had no clue to what was happening, or what was being said, however, it was such a time of fellowship and we were warmly wlecomed by everyone in the church. Jonathan brought us to the front and the whole assembly prayed for us as we start our work in Mexico and for everything we'll experience while we were here. It was such a humbling experience for us, and we felt the presence of God in the hearts of the church.

Afterwards we were swarmed by everyone in the church wishing us blessings, and introducing themselves to us.

First Few Days.....Driving!

Ok, on the second day here Christian thought it would be a good idea for us to begin driving. Ok, imagine the most crazy thing you have ever went through and then multiply it by a million.

We have been so blessed by God by being able to have our own wee car, it's a 2004 Ford Fiesta, and it is a good, safe car for us. Driving is difficult for us, as we are on the other side of the road, with a stick shift car, on the other side of the car. Plus there are no road markings and we haven't a clue where we are. So it's good fun.

After three days here Jonny missed a turn, ended up on the motorway and discovered a new place for us called Atizapan. Fortunately Christian came and rescued him, and the adventure was over! We want to thank all the people who support us and made it possible for us to have a car, as it makes such a difference to travelling, and will be such a blessing as we have lots of travelling to language school.