Flu Update 3

Things here remain the same in terms of the influenza situation with more cases arising and a few more deaths. However God is still working in mighty ways and we remain faithful that He is in control!

Since the WHO Alert level was raised to Level 5, we have decided that Julie & Ben will travel to Indiana, USA for a couple of weeks on the invitation of the MacKinnon family. Julie travelled up this morning with Robin and their four kids, and Christian & I will stay on the field.

Although this is a stressful time, we are still in good spirits and will keep everyone informed of our situation, and prayer points as things develop!

We really appreciate your prayers as we continue to stand beside our brothers and sisters in the national church.

Flu Update 2

Just to keep everyone updated in terms of the flu outbreak in Mexico.

1. Pray for us as we continue to be in good health and spirits. God is faithful and we have been staying with the MacKinnon family and it has been a blessing to spend time with the kids and rest.

2. We are still following the government, WHO, CDC and our embassy's recommendations for prevention of Influenza.

3. Continue to pray for Ben. It has been a real answer to prayer that he is no sleeping through the night again, and is in amazing good form! He's loving all the attention!!

4. Pray for the leadership of OMS both here in Mexico, and in USHQ as they make decisions regarding protocols for the outbreak. We trust them impeccably and they have been amazing in keeping us updated.

Thank you again for your prayers, we feel so blessed and encouraged to know that we are being covered in your prayers before the Lord!

Lots of Love,

Jonny, Julie & Ben!!

Swine Flu Update

We just wanted to let everyone know that we are all fine and well and are taking the advised precautions. We understand that this affects more than just us, and we appreciate your thoughts and prayers at this time.

We continue to have faith that God is in control and He is using this situation for His glory. We talked to a pastor yesterday and they had a meeting were 35 people came to the Lord. Many people are afraid and are turning to Christians for advice. We had a neighbour arrive yesterday asking for a Bible to read. We praise God that "He never leaves us nor forsakes us."

Please continue to pray for missionaries, for health and for wisdom. We'll keep you updated.

Jonny, Julie & Ben

Starting Again...

As we are readjusting to everything here in Mexico we would ask for your prayers...

1. We have started back to Spanish this week. Pray that we get back into the swing of things!
2. Ben has met the doctor and has to go back to get a few more injections and to get checked out. 3. We are moving into our new house in the next few weeks.
4. The altitude and the heat are all very different for us.

Please pray for our health and that we will settle quickly and make new friends at our church and that our Spanish will continue to improve! We really appreciate your prayers and God continues to answer them! We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!! May God bless you as you serve Him!

Birthday party!!!!

Esteban & Joshie in centre, the Birthday Boys!

It was Joshua's birthday this week, and we all got together on Sunday after church for the party! He had his birthday party along with Esteban (the son of our pastor and his wife). They were both 6. It was great fun and I think there was over a 100 people there. This was Ben's first Mexican party, and so he was introduced to a pinata! Just as the party was finishing it started to rain and then there was a hail storm! We couldn't believe it as it has been so warm since we arrived. It didnt stop everyone from having a great day!

Away to retreat....

We had a great opportunity this week to go away on the national church retreat and relax alongside the pastors and church planters who serve God here in Mexico. We had a great time in sessions as well with David Harriman an evangelist for the Francis Asbury Society. He also stayed with us and it was great to get to know him.

There was plenty of opportunuty to refresh our language, our love of the Mexican food, and to get to meet the people who really shaped us the last time we were here! Ben had a great time sleeping by the pool!

Sunday!

We were at church in the morning, followed by a lovely lunch (thank you Jonny) it was great to met some new friends and also some old friends! This is our new Pastor, Alexis, and his wife Alicia, and also their three amazing kids, Esteban, Dan, and Andrea. Please keep them in your prayer as we serve the Lord together in Mexico.

Baptism....

On Saturday, we went to a water park with our local house churches for a Baptism! It was a great day and there were 12 people baptised. It was a great day of fun and fellowship, and it was a good way for us to get our Spanish dusted off! Praise God for the work He is doing in these house churches, and the growth that is taking place!

Easter Party

On Thursday we had the opporunity to catch up with all our fellow missionaries and of course all the kids! We had an Easter party, with the famous bunny cake! It was great for everyone to be able to met Ben and he loved all the attention!

We Arrived....

5 cases, 3 hand lugages and a pram! When we arrived in Belfast airport we met up with our family and we decided to check in (a big thank you to Andy for taking all our luggage to the airport in his van!) The airline management were not happy with us not having return tickets and therefore we had to buy them there and then to return home! We can get them changed at a later date at a cost but it did delay things a bit. We finally got onto the plane after some tearful goodbyes but we were delayed for an hour due to some problems on the plane!

We got to New York and were at the far end of the airport, and we were in a hurry due to the wait in customs and also our delay! However when we arrived our next plane was then delayed by an hour! We couldn't get in touch with our friends in Mexico to let them know!

Thankfully we arrived around 11pm, which is 5am in the morning Ballymena time! The MacKinnons came to collect us, and it was great to have some friendly faces to pick us up!

Were did the time go!

We have been in Mexico a week now! It is hard for us to believe, so much has happened in that time. We are sorry it has taken us so long to up date but we have not had a minute. We will attempt to update you on what has been happening!

Short Termer...Danielle

This is Danielle Bickerstaff and she will be coming to the field to live with us from the end of April for a couple of months. We are really excited for Danielle as she comes out and serves on the Mexico field. Please pray for her travel, language learning, and that she will hit the ground running as she serves God in Mexico.