Oklahoma

In early October we decided that we needed to take some time off from our work here with the Tarahumaras so that we could visit family, friends, supporters, churches (not necessarily in that order). We left Creel on Oct. 10 and began our journey which stretched to over 4500 miles in 31 days. We knew that the Lord was leading us to do this; however, we did not see how our costs would be covered. We planned our time to maximize the number of people we could visit, but our plans were not set in stone and we tried to keep a positive, flexible attitude.
We visited my niece, Ana, and her family. I loved holding and feeding her new baby girl (who was only 5 days old when we met).
After visiting Ana, we began the drive to Oklahoma via Tijeras, NM and Canyon, TX. We visited with new friends and old friends and we renewed acquaintances. Driving on to Oklahoma our first destination was Claremore, OK - but to get there we had to pass through Oklahoma City, my hometown, and I got us lost very easily. Amazing that after living there for the better part of 32 years, I forgot my way!
We spent 8 days in Claremore with our friends, the Crawfords. Ray & Cathy blessed us and pampered us. Their church replaced the tires on our truck as well as the clutch. They did so much to bless us - through their friendship and by spending time with us. Cathy took Jaynie and me for pedicures, a treat that I had not experienced in over 15 years and one that Jaynie had never known. Ray took Jose Luis skeet shooting with the men of his church. But aside from all of the things we did together, it was the time spent visiting that meant the most.

Skeet shooting

Jaynie's new hairdo - after suffering with straight hair, she decided she wanted to get a perm so that it would be curly. It was a bit harder than Jaynie imagined, but she was pleased with the results.

After leaving Claremore, we headed to Oklahoma City to spend a couple of days with my sister and her husband, as well as to visit my home church and a couple of dear friends who had recently returned from missions in other parts of the world. We also went to dinner with 2 friends from First Church who treated us to Mexican food at Tarahumara's Mexican Cafe. I had been craving spicy food and I got it there. Thank you, Brenda & Terri, for a great evening.

Our family enjoys visiting the OKC Zoo every time we are in the area, and this year was no exception.

Near the tiger area, there is a small bamboo forest perfect for getting a feel for life this way.

Somehow I did not download all of our photos onto the computer before Jose Luis erased them, so these are the best photos of the lot. However, we do have so many photos of animals at the OKC Zoo, the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, TX, and the Living Desert Museum/Zoo near Carlsbad, NM.

Texas & New Mexico

After our time in Oklahoma, we travelled to Fort Worth to spend 3 days with our friends the Freemans. We really enjoy visiting with them - talking until late and then getting up the next day to hit thrift stores, Jo-Ann's, and this year Ardis took us to the Fort Worth Museum of science and history. We liked the Cattlemen's exhibit complete with long-horn cattle. We sat through a stampede and then tried to round up strays. I really liked the challenge of managing a ranch (budget and all).

Jaynie learning how to ride and round up stray cattle at the Fort Worth Musuem Science and History. She did better than either Jose Luis or me. We'll see if she wants to ride a real horse here in Creel!

We also went to the exhibit on Egypt. It was great - with pottery shards puzzles, pyramid blocks, a mummy, and a camel. Siam & Jaynie travelling through the Egyptian desert - looks pretty real, no?

We had so much fun with James, Ardis, and Siam - worship services, daughter dates, shopping, great food, and great conversation. Thank you all so much for everything!

From Fort Worth we drove down to the Rio Grande Valley to visit Fanny & Buddy Ross. When we served with Oklahoma VIM, Fanny became and great friend and support. Six years have passed since we last visited them, and we were glad that we could get down to Mercedes for a quick visit.

Leaving Mercedes, we drove across Texas and into New Mexico. We stopped at the Living Desert Museum to see more animals. I think our favorite place to stop anywhere we go is the local zoo. We don't get tired of seeing the different animals and we are always amazed at God's imagination and creation (sorry no photos of anything more than animals, plants, and trees).

We continued on to Cloudcroft/High Rolls where we spent the weekend with the Kimball family. We went bowling (the second time ever for Jaynie and Jose Luis), sledding at White Sands, shopping at local thrift stores, but most of all we enjoyed visiting with Scott, Lynn, and their family as well as with old and new friends from the First Baptist Church of Cloudcroft. We hope to see them in the spring here in Creel!

We enjoyed the sun (and great cool weather) at the White Sands National Monument. We all went sledding down the dunes and then trudged back up to do it all over again.

Scott shows Jose Luis the cockpit of one of the drones used to test weapon systems. We've never been so close to a fighter jet - it was really cool!

We spent over 4 weeks in the States and the Lord blessed us so much with great friends, family, and church families. We were refreshed and now feel very pampered. Nevertheless, I was so happy to return home to Creel and to the work the Lord has entrusted us with - Thank you, God, for your love, care, and grace expressed through so many wonderful people throughout Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. I only pray that You, Lord, will use us to bless others.

We were on the road again!

But now we are home. We spent a little more than 4 weeks on the road this fall. It was a great trip! We were able to meet new friends, visit with very dear friends, and spend time with family. We left Creel on October 10th and returned home on November 11th. As soon as I can get photos loaded, I will show you a bit of where we went, what we did, and who we visited.
Since our return, we helped with the monthly Bible course for Tarahumara Christians (Nov. 15-19), made a quick trip to Cuauhtemoc to pick up US passport cards (which we applied for back in August!), Jose Luis made several trips to help his mother with government applications and paperwork, and we began homeschool again (much to Jaynie's dismay).
This Saturday Jose Luis will be sharing at a thanksgiving celebration at a Tarahumara boarding school run by the Methodist Church of Mexico. Then he will be going to Samachike for a week of Bible translation work. Jaynie and I will hold the fort down and hopefully made great progress with her school.
On a sad note, my kitten Fluffy ran off while we were in the States. However, his mother Lulu is still here - we gave away all of her kittens from the 2nd litter last weekend. We are trying to keep her in and away from tomcats so that we can get her fixed. No more kittens for us!
Well, I will make every effort to upload the photos soon. I hope that you enjoyed your Thanksgiving Day - what a way to spend in thankfulness for all that the Lord has done for us, no?

Lulu's 2nd Litter

Well, our cat Lulu didn't waste any time giving us another litter of kittens. Her babies were born on September 17th and we hope that their new owners will come and get them around October 22nd. Then Lulu will have a nice outing to the veterinarian in Chihuahua so that there will be no more litters at our house!

DTS Workshop in Mazatlan, Mexico

We went to Mazatlan last week for a 3-day workshop about Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). We spent 6-8 hours each day in class, but we were also able to enjoy the beach in the evenings. Here are a few photos.

The YWAM Mazatlan base used to be a hotel. It is in a great location and the staff is active in reaching out to the surrounding neighbors with different activities. Keep them in your prayers as they continue to make payments on this property - it was not cheap. May the Lord bless this base, the staff, and the directors, Brent & Heather.

The view from our room - not bad for a YWAM base! We had our own little balcony complete with table and 2 chairs. Jose Luis enjoyed sitting outside hoping for a breeze. I stayed inside to hide from the mosquitos and the heat, while Jaynie moved back and forth.

Lunch time - Jaynie and I are on the left and Dwayne, who is on staff with us in Creel, is on the right (along with Daniel who serves at the Guadalajara base and was one of our teachers).

Can you see who is lurking in this tree just outside the classroom where we met?

An Iguana!!

The sand was really coarsely crushed seashells. Jaynie brought back so many seashells and I am just remembering that I need to wash them out and let them dry in the sun - not good considering that we left Mazatlan with the shells tightly wrapped up exactly 4 days ago!

Such beautiful sunset over the waters - although we were ready to leave the heat and humidity, we will miss this awesome display of God!

14 Years!

On September 25th, Jose Luis and I celebrated our anniversary. It is amazing how fast the years go by. We were on the way back from a week-long course at the YWAM base in Mazatlan, Mexico. We spent the day in a train from Los Mochis to Creel - sleeping most of the morning and watching the scenery change as we left the tropics behind and returned to the cool, dry air of the mountains.

I praise God for my husband! It is not always easy being married, but it is always a blessing. I've learned so much over the years and I pray that the Lord will grant us many years to come.

August?

This summer it has been difficult for me to keep up with the blog - how's that for stating the obvious? August came and went and I did not post a thing! So I'll list some of the highlights.
Jose Luis worked with the translation committee the first week of Aug. They continue to work in the New Testament. The next week we received a short-term mission team from Baja California - what a blessing to see that the Lord is raising up mission teams in Mexican churches. This group worked hard in the town of San Rafael. Of course, I was able to serve them by cooking meals.
On the homefront, Jaynie worked really hard with 5th grade homeschool and we finished on Aug. 17, the day before her birthday. Then she began 6th grade on Aug. 19 with the California Achievement Test. It seems impossible that Jaynie is now 11 years old. She stands 5 feet 3 inches tall and does not look her age. But she is beautiful. Jaynie has really developed a flair for drawing, coloring, and writing. She loves to read and to research subjects.
The 4th week of Aug. we spent a couple of days in El Paso - mailing school papers back to Christian Liberty Academy, getting everything in order so that we could renew Jaynie's US passport, and doing a little shopping. It was our first time out to the US since Memorial Day weekend. It provided us with a much needed break and some major family time. For most of July and the first half of Aug. Jose Luis went one direction and I went another. It is very difficult to keep a marriage healthy when you don't spend time together!
Reading through my list it doesn't seem too busy, but it sure felt crazy in the midst of it. I did not mention that I began homeschool classes with Carolina (now a Sr. in HS), Michael(Freshman in HS), and Yoshiah (1st grade) Kaemingk. It is such a privilege for me to participate in their education. I never imagined that God would use me to teach children - may He fill them with His wisdom each day!
As soon as I can locate photos from Jaynie's birthday, I will post them here.