On the road again!

We are 2 weeks into our 5 week journey in the USA and we have been so blessed in so many ways! So far we have visited friends, both old and new, in: El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Cloudcroft, New Mexico; Gallup, New Mexico; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Claremore, Oklahoma. Along the way we have met many special people - like the pastor from Belen, New Mexico, who performed emergency surgery on our truck on I-25. We also have been able to spend more time with a couple of people we met in Creel during short-term missions from their churches or ministries. We have been awed by how great the body of Christ is and by how our sovereign Lord has our lives in His hands. And, although we miss our friends and family in the mountains of Mexico, we look forward to what God has planned for the coming days. :)

Precious time

Last week, when we went to the city of Chihuahua to take Jaynie to the doctor, we spent the night at the house of a pastor we know there. The pastor and his wife had to leave in the evening for a meeting, and we spent the better part of 3 hours just visiting with each other and playing with Jaynie's bear, Esther. We had a good time of reading the Bible and talking about what we read and about what we are facing with Jaynie's treatment. Then, after the pastor and his wife returned home at about 10 pm, I helped prepare dinner! In Creel, we are used to eating the evening meal (dinner or supper) at 6:30 pm, but our hosts are accustomed to eating the dinner at 10:30 pm. I like this photo of Jaynie - she is a precious daughter and a bunch of fun to hang out with. However, I like this photo also because of what is in the background - the piano that I learned to play on, the piano that was in our house growing up. It was a blessing to see, hear, and know that it is being used to God's glory by the eldest son of the pastor. But, one thing I don't like about the photo is how I look! Where did all of that gray hair come from?

Doctor visit & family photo

Another week is almost over and Jaynie and I have finally gotten into a regular rhythm for her school! She is doing pretty good and I am definitely feeling more rested and more in control. That said, we had to take Monday & Tuesday off from school to take Jaynie to see a dermatologist in Chihuahua City. My sweet daughter has started getting big white patches on her skin. The doctor called it "vitiligo" in Spanish and said that it is hard to determine what causes it. We loaded up on medicines for Jaynie and will start her treatment today. Oh, how I miss the days of co-pays and reduced-cost prescriptions! I pray that the treatment will work and Jaynie's skin will return to that beautiful milk and coffee color.

Here is our family's latest photo - we took it to print up some prayer cards to take with us when we go to the USA next week. We were standing behind Brother Miguel's house in San Luis Majimachi before church last Sunday. It looks so sunny but a cold front was blowing in and by the afternoon we had about an inch of snow! It was the first snowfall of the season. Jaynie even managed to make some snowballs!

Photos of Jaynie

I thought to post a couple of recent photos of Jaynie. Our baby girl is growing so fast - it is hard to believe that she is 9 years old and in 4th grade! The first photo is at the Valley of the Monks and was taken about a week ago.The second photo is at Los Manzanos and in it Jaynie is playing with Jose, who is 10 years old. One of the things that has been difficult for Jaynie to learn is how the Tarahumara children play. Usually, they play very rough and tumble; the children are very physical and love to throw things at you!

Rest

Okay, so you know that I have not taken much time to rest lately, right? I have been working pretty much all the time doing things (in ministry, in home school, in our home and mostly in that order!). God is so good and merciful to me – we just finished a week of teaching in the DTS. The class was Get The Word Out and it was taught by Mary Jean Powers. On Thursday evening, she spoke to the staff of our base and any students who wanted to attend as well as the staff of a visiting YWAM team from Quebec, Canada, and any of their students who wanted to attend. Well, she talked about REST as God intended for it to be. We all know the verses in Matthew where Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are tired and burdened and I will give you rest…” This always makes me think of softness or when I just can’t handle something. I have the tendency to work until I drop, or until my sciatic nerve acts up and I have to go to bed for a couple of days. But, I never tied this verse into what God says in Exodus 20:9 – Remember the Sabbath (or day of rest) and keep it holy! This is a command from the Lord. We have to do this. We must follow His example by working 6 days and resting 1 day each and every week. Mary Jean challenged us to look at all Jesus did during His 3 years of ministry. Do you know that the Bible never says that Jesus ran or that He overextended Himself or that He worked nonstop during those 3 years. I am going to study to see how many times the Bible says that “Jesus walked”. What a good word for me this was! I say all of this to encourage you to also look at your life and see if you are resting one day each week. I can honestly say that I am not doing that. I confess that I need to return to God’s way and plan for my life before I wear myself out “working” for Him. I need to stop seeing God as my employer and return to seeing Him as my Savior, Redeemer, Prince of Peace, and Friend.

Here is a photo of our Discipleship Training School students with Mary Jean Powers (far left) near the Valley of the Monks (which is located close to Creel). It is a great place to climb on the rocks and to rappel, if you have the gear for it.

I hope you all have a great week – remember to set aside 1 day for rest! And, please, if you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know either by leaving a comment below or by sending me an e-mail. I really would really appreciate your input!

Whew! - a little school, a clean room, and photos

What a crazy week we had! I did a little better with Jaynie's school last week - 1 full day of classes. The other 4 days we did part of her school work, but I still need to figure out how to organize myself better. I did manage to clean part of our house this week. I am sure that Jose Luis was happy to see that! Last Monday, I asked Jaynie to help me by cleaning her room or more specifically to get everything out from underneath her bed. When I came back from the base kitchen to see if she was ready for breakfast, her room was an even bigger mess. She had decided to rearrange her room - we finally got everything arranged nicely and in order yesterday.



Here are some photos of a couple of Tarahumaras with whom we work. This photo was taken at the Christmas party the Christians in San Luis de Majimachi organized on December 24th. This is Refugia; she has been coming to church for over a year now since she prayed to accept Christ as her Savior.

This photo is of Chuy, Crucita's youngest son in Los Manzanos. When we first started going to her house last year, Chuy would run and hide behind his mother's skirt whenever I would talk to him. He would cry and not talk or play with us. Now, he loves to play tag and he talks and talks. Of course, we cannot understand everything he says because he combines Spanish and Tarahumara with his own language (2-year-old's).

How Time Flies!

Wow! I can't believe that so much time has passed since I last posted an update here. I hope that you all had a great holiday season and are enjoying a new year filled with many blessings.

Here at the YWAM base we are very busy. We began a new Discipleship Training School on Jan. 12 with 6 students. The Heislers are the directors of the school, but I am in charge of the kitchen. This means that besides teaching Jaynie all of her school subjects, teaching Carolina and Michael Kaemingk one subject each, I cook lunch every day during the week and some of the breakfasts as well. Last week, I did not manage my schedule very well and Jaynie's school work suffered. Praise God that we begin a new week tomorrow and I can try again to do all that needs to be done on time!

Tomorrow Jose Luis goes to Samachique (about 2 hours away by truck or 45 miles one way) for Bible translation work. The translation committee is working on 1 Chronicles. I pray that he will be filled with God's wisdom during this week and that the committee will be led of God to translate His Word perfectly.

A couple of weeks ago in Los Manzanos we built a gingerbread house. Everyone there really enjoyed making it and eating it. What a bunch of fun! Crucita's youngest son, Chuy, loved to eat the candies off of the house.

Well, I had better close and help my husband pack for the week. I will try be better at updating this blog. Let me know what you think and if you have any questions I could answer - I appreciate your input and comments. Have a great Monday and a week filled with the wonder of Christ's love for you.