Visas!

So on Monday morning, Kevin, Eliana and I went to the immigration office with high hopes of collecting our residence visas. Everything seemed to be running smoothly, we signed the papers, gave our thumb prints (Eliana really liked that part), and then waited for the visa to be printed and laminated. Within an hour we had our visas in hand, with one slight problem. My visa said the renewal date was for August of this year rather than March of the following, like Eliana's and Kevin's. The type of visa we are getting is one that has to be renewed yearly, but August of this year isn't even six months from now! So, when we went back up to the counter it turned out that the system had just crashed, and they wouldn't be able to correct the error on my visa that day. Today is Friday, and we still are waiting bor news that my visa will be ready. Fortunately, I don't have any travel plans in the near future. We have friends who are missionaries through the Free Methodists who planned to leave on a six month furlough about a week ago, but when the husband's visa came through and the wife's did not, they have found themselves having some unexpected down time before leaving. I am thankful that this is not my situation, but am hoping that everything will resolve itself relatively soon (although I don't know if this is a pie in the sky expectation since this coming week is Holy Week). So please be praying that my visa paperwork will come through with no problems and have a similar expiration date to Kevin and Eliana's. If you could also be praying for our friends Gary and Jann for Jann's visa to come though I know that they would be thankful. Blessings on you and your families as you prepare to celebrate our Savior's resurrection!

New addition!

Yep, we're having a baby! Unfortunately it was impossible to get Eliana to smile for this picture (even though we promised her ice cream!). Actually, I think it was the ice cream that distracted her because in the second picture she is looking directly towards where the ice cream cart was. :) Still, we are all, including Eliana, excited about the new addition to our family. Eliana likes to rub my stomach, kiss it, and talk to the baby, saying "I love you baby!" We know she will make a great big sister, the challenge will be convincing her that she is the sister and not the mom! On Sunday I will complete 16 weeks of pregnancy, and the new little one is due to make his/her arrival in September.

Retreat Pictures

We returned from our retreat last Sunday and hit the ground running. This past week we have been hosting a couple, Andy and Erika, who both work in the LAM Miami office. Erika is in charge of recruiting, and Andy of media. The main thing they have been working on here in Mexico City is putting together a video for Spearhead, so they have been visiting different ministries, interviewing participants, and meeting many new people. Although we are tired, we definitely came back from the retreat inspired by everything God is doing through our fellow missionaries, and excited to get to work. I wasn't super great at taking photos at the retreat, but below are a couple that we took. I also, hopefully, am attaching a video of a spoken word poem that Kevin did for the LAM talent show, Nydia (who is mom to Ana, Eliana's best friend, co-worker, and wife of our boss Paul) did a pantomime to the words of the poem. Ok, so the video is not working, maybe too long? I will see if I can put it on YouTube and then link it on my Facebook.

Retreat-ing

Since Wednesday Kevin, Eliana and I have been enjoying the warm, yet temperate climate of Cuernavaca while on a retreat for all LAM missionaries in Mexico. It has been a great time of communing with our fellow missionaries, learning with and from one another, and also taking care of some items of business. For Eliana it has been near heaven because our room is next door to her best friend, Ana, and she gets to play with other kids almost 24/7. It has also been a little exhausting for her, so right now she is in her bed in our room attempting to "rest" while I sit outside and listen to her sing "Mary has a little lamb" about 100 times in a row! Still, hopefully she will get some rest because tonight after dinner we are having a talent show, so I was hoping to keep her up for that. We'll post more, including some pictures when we get back home. For now, we are enjoying the change of pace and the encouragement that comes from being with and seeing how others are serving our great God.