Hmmmm.....Whatever Could This Be?

I'm not sure this needs much more explanation.....does it? P.S. It's a Baby!!!!!!

Big News.....We're Not Finished Yet!!

This last few months we have been praying about what we would do after Mexico.....go to Bible College.....return to work.....sleep for 2 months!

But we felt a calling from the Lord saying "Your time in Mexico isn't finished yet."

This we know is totally from the Lord, as it would be so easy for us to return home and have kebabs, English TV, and all of our family (the last bit is in no particular order by the way!) So we are being obedient to His will and we will return to Mexico after a time back in N. Ireland. We haven't decided as yet when that will be, but we're sure that the Lord will lead, and as Julie's Nanna always says, "The Will of God will never lead you where the Grace of God won't keep you!"

According to my Mum.....

All through my childhood I bought presents for Mother's day, Father's day and every other day that was special for someone. My continuing question was....."when is Children's Day?" To which my Mum answered (probably like your parents) "Children's Day is everyday!"

Well, in Mexico they actually have the Day of the Child, and our church had a celebration to which the kids were treated like royalty, with popcorn, chocolate fountains, bouncy castles and trampolines! It was amazing to see all the kids faces!!

Now I'll have to Skype my Mum to put her right.....and try to get 26 years of back presents.....(I don't think so either!)

MEXIKIDS.....

Today we had a record MEXIKIDS day, there were 82 kids today, and it was such a blessing to see them all enjoying themselves. To see them dance and hear them sing about the Lord is such a priviledge to be a part of. Praise God for this time!

Saying Goodbye.....

It's not long now until Gary leaves us on the field, and returns home to Northern Ireland. We will really miss him here on the team and we shared a bit about what he means to us all at retreat, and I think in the words of Joni Mitchell "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." Gary has been a real brother in Christ, a sounding board, a friend and a coffee buddy for so many years and we are sure that God will continue to mightily use him in the future, wherever God places him.

So Many Blessings.....Puebla

It was a real treat on the way home from retreat to see another part of Mexico which we had never seen before. We visited the Zocalo in Puebla, about 2 hours from the city, and it was a real treat. We had some lunch in a fast food restaurant with the Mackinnons, Gary and Laura (our Mexican friend who came to Veracruz with us) and it was amazing to see the history that still remains in this wonderful place. We feel so blessed to have seen all the things we have seen in this amazing country.

Pirates Ahoy.....

We celebrated Joshua Mackinnon's birthday while in Veracruz and we all got dressed up as pirates for the occaision. It was a really fun time and we think Josh and the kids really enjoyed themselves as Josh believed we were all in Veracruz just to celebrate his 5th birthday (and why not!)

Eating Out.....

While in Veracruz we visited an amazing sea food restaurant in which we were treated to some local seafood caught that very day. We had a feast of shrimp, crab and fish that was enough to leave us needing a little nap in the afternoon. It was great to experience this real cultural time and a great time was had by all!

Retreat.....

Our retreat time in Veracruz was one of the most special we have had in Mexico, and according to Jonathan Morton, who has spent 12 years with OMS in Mexico, it was the best. Not only did we have time to relax, have birthday parties, dress up, and make fools of ourselves learning new games!

It was also an enriching time for us as we had Barney & Karen Davis, two Christian counsellors their to lead our time on Christ's words of "Follow Me." I think everone, and especially us, learned a lot from this time and it really challenged us to how we are following Him as missionaries in Mexico.

It was great to experience such a great time with the team, and we felt that we all grew closer together in this special time.

Wish You Were Here.....

Not to make you too jealous but this is were we are heading to retreat in a few days! We are so excited about being with the team on retreat, to spend some quality time with the team, to play with the kids, to spend time with Gary before he leaves and also to try to not get sunburned! It's a lot to concentrate on. We are excited about our speaker Barney Davis and his wife Karen who will join us, and for all the fun things that we have in store for us there.

It will be good to refresh ourselves and also spiritually rest and get quality time with God through the ministry of our speakers, and time to reflect on ourselves as servants for God in Mexico. Expect some pictures of a very red Jonny over the next week or so!!

Team Work.....

This last couple of weeks a team from the Washbasin has been here to work in the Coacalco church. This is something that we are really excited about as they have worked alongside the church there in doing some amazing projects; painting a Sunday school room, a kids club and also a medical outreach. The team have been excellent and it has been a real blessing for us as missionaries, and we are so thankful for having them here!