Has it really almost been a month!?! Yes, since we have last written a bunch has happened, and we have barely had time to catch our breath, even though some of it we were on vacation.
In mid-March, Lawrence, Leah's cousin came to join us for a week in Mexico City. It was great to be able to show family our life here and we really were excited that he was so excited about things. We did everything you could possibly do in a week, which means he missed a ton, but then we've been here nine months and have missed a ton. Some of the highlights were taking him to the community center at a trash-dump community for a medical brigade that we help translate for. Lawrence is quite a good on-the-fly optrician. We hit the pyramids and the center of town and a new attraction for us, was that we went to Tula, an ancient ruins about 2 hours from our house. It was quite fun.
The day Lawrence left, we too left on a plane bound for California. My (Kevin's) 180 days was almost up and I needed to leave the country to enter again with 180 days. We had planned on taking the time to do some fundraising, but with all that has come in and the way we've been able to cut our budget for the year, we did not need to do any of that. It was great to see family and friends, though the time with each of you was waaaaaay too short. Our little trip home was quite the adventure, because a nearly midnight we found out that we booked the wrong date without knowing and missed our flight! Oops...but we worked it out with not a little trouble and are here jumping in the swing of things.
Upon returning, we'd been off of our duties for homework club for two weeks, so we were excited to return to our kids. That also meant last minute planning.
On top of that I (Kevin) was scheduled to preach at church, in Spanish, the Sunday after we got back.
About that...I DID IT...well to be honest I read the sermon I prepared rather than preached it, because though I'm picking up the language fairly well, it is still difficult to flow in my thought process, especially for 30 minutes in front of a crowd. The experience was difficult, and I learned a lot about my language and cultural limitations, but it only makes me want to do it again and better. Everybody has been generous and said I did a good job, so that was nice.
We have now generally settled into our routine again here and after about three weeks of craziness, it is a nice break.
Hopefully we will be better at our time here on the blogosphere.
Congrats friends about to get married, and ones who are about to have children! We look forward to sharing that with ya'll when we come back!
PS - another aspect of the title of this blog comes in the fact that we have hit the smoggiest time of the year...hot and no breeze. Plech. A beautiful city hidden. It only means that it is time for the rainy season to come shortly - my (Kevin) favorite type of weather! Woo hoo (although it makes line-drying clothes a bit difficult.)
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
The Shack
We have gotten to read a good amount while we were here (it is amazing what not having a tv can accomplish), and one of the novels we have read was The Shack. Look it up.
I was very impressed by the guy's talent in writing, and for Christian publication, I was even more impressed. My only complaint is that the book seems to switch voices in the middle of the book, but it switches for his own intent, and I can respect that. I am most impressed by how he writes the theological insights that he has, and I feel it is a good read for many people.
Check it out!
I was very impressed by the guy's talent in writing, and for Christian publication, I was even more impressed. My only complaint is that the book seems to switch voices in the middle of the book, but it switches for his own intent, and I can respect that. I am most impressed by how he writes the theological insights that he has, and I feel it is a good read for many people.
Check it out!
Vacations and Family
Tonight marks the first evening of vacations for school children who have a two-week vacation time for Semana Santa - Holy Week. That means we have vacations, except for English class.
We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lawrence, Leah's cousin to join us in Mexico City on Sunday. He will be staying the week with us and we are excited to show him around our currentl life.
Our Mexican brother and his family have also arrived from the north of the country, so it is a full house, but very fun to have another baby around and just good family times.
We will be heading to the States primarily because we have to change our visa before we can stay longer here in Mexico, but we will be meeting with friends and family in So. Cal. as well. We are looking forward to it.
Please be praying for our family as our Mexican nephew has health problems and could use all the prayers he can get. It is tough for the family, but praise God he has a LARGE family who loves him very much and he is a pretty happy little guy.
We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Lawrence, Leah's cousin to join us in Mexico City on Sunday. He will be staying the week with us and we are excited to show him around our currentl life.
Our Mexican brother and his family have also arrived from the north of the country, so it is a full house, but very fun to have another baby around and just good family times.
We will be heading to the States primarily because we have to change our visa before we can stay longer here in Mexico, but we will be meeting with friends and family in So. Cal. as well. We are looking forward to it.
Please be praying for our family as our Mexican nephew has health problems and could use all the prayers he can get. It is tough for the family, but praise God he has a LARGE family who loves him very much and he is a pretty happy little guy.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Back From LAM Retreat
We just finished our LAM retreat this past weekend. It was a great time spiritually and relationally. The theme of the conference was about the definition of success - God's success. It was a simple time of understanding, but after being around a number of missionaries who have devoted more than 20 years of their lives in Mexico, I learned that success takes different forms and very rarely does it look like something you would take someone out to dinner for.
With the future intentions of being long-term missionaries, it was great to see the difficulties and the life commitments people have made to serving the Mexican people. It was quite inspiring and humbling.
One of the greatest things for me (Kevin) was sitting with an old man, who grew up on a farm in Indiana. He and his wife have been in Mexico for 45 years, and though I'm sure we have millions of differences, he was a great man to learn from. We sat at dinner and talked about what it was like to be a Christian in the south (where he studied) during the civil rights movement. Very disturbing experiences he had ministering to African Americans while living in the south. Praise God for an active faith to share.
We have a crazy month ahead of us. Leah's cousin is coming for a visit for a week, which will be great and then we go to Los Angeles for a week to meet up with some people, share with our church and maybe (hopefully) do a few interviews for jobs.
Homework club is seeing more and more kids coming and our abilities more and more stretched. It is difficult to give the attention we would like to give to each kid, but we rejoice that they have a safe place to play and that our relationships with the youth are growing.
Leah's involvement in the women's group is great and Kevin just began a Bible study with some of the boys from the morning homework club.
As for future options, we are currently looking for positions that begin in August or early September. Kevin has recently applied to a few universities to be a resident director and Leah is looking for community organizer positions.
We would like you to be praying with us as we are praying about our long-term future here in Mexico. We are interested in student ministries, both American and Mexican and are praying about beginning a study abroad program for youth, similar to the program we are currently in, but that would also give university credits. This is a long-term future with a lot that can change, but please be praying with us about these things.
Thanks.
With the future intentions of being long-term missionaries, it was great to see the difficulties and the life commitments people have made to serving the Mexican people. It was quite inspiring and humbling.
One of the greatest things for me (Kevin) was sitting with an old man, who grew up on a farm in Indiana. He and his wife have been in Mexico for 45 years, and though I'm sure we have millions of differences, he was a great man to learn from. We sat at dinner and talked about what it was like to be a Christian in the south (where he studied) during the civil rights movement. Very disturbing experiences he had ministering to African Americans while living in the south. Praise God for an active faith to share.
We have a crazy month ahead of us. Leah's cousin is coming for a visit for a week, which will be great and then we go to Los Angeles for a week to meet up with some people, share with our church and maybe (hopefully) do a few interviews for jobs.
Homework club is seeing more and more kids coming and our abilities more and more stretched. It is difficult to give the attention we would like to give to each kid, but we rejoice that they have a safe place to play and that our relationships with the youth are growing.
Leah's involvement in the women's group is great and Kevin just began a Bible study with some of the boys from the morning homework club.
As for future options, we are currently looking for positions that begin in August or early September. Kevin has recently applied to a few universities to be a resident director and Leah is looking for community organizer positions.
We would like you to be praying with us as we are praying about our long-term future here in Mexico. We are interested in student ministries, both American and Mexican and are praying about beginning a study abroad program for youth, similar to the program we are currently in, but that would also give university credits. This is a long-term future with a lot that can change, but please be praying with us about these things.
Thanks.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Life is good in Mexico City
Hello all! Between rather infrequent blogs Kevin and I have been quite busy, which has been good. We are feeling more and more at home here in Mexico. Let me give you a quick over view of how we pass our time here.
Monday
On Mondays we hold our homework club. We have a session in the morning from 10-12 and one in the afternoon from 2-4. Some students here in Mexico City attend school in the morning, others in the afternoon/evening. It is a little bizarre seeing some students just arriving home from school at 9 at night. Our mornings are typically light, which is nice. We have a smaller group of students, all of which are quite smart. We arrive at our church around 9:15-9:30 each day to start setting up. Our church is about a 20-45 minute micro bus ride from our home, depending on traffic and our driver! Afternoons are a little crazier. We typically have between 12-18 students, most of which are in Kindergarten-3rd grade. We also have some older students. We now have a girl from our church which helps us out at the homework club, her name is Alejandra, and she is great. We so appreciate having her. We generally plan a craft for the kids at the beginning, and then move into a time of reading. (On Thursdays we have a small English lesson in place of reading). We then move into a homework time, and finally usually finish up with a game. Many times students come without homework, so we have math sheets and other exercises for them to do instead.
Tuesday
Tuesday is our World Vision day, although it has been a slow start. Our main purpose will be to help them in some interviews and documentation of those interviews as they are planning to close down the particular project we are helping at in September. The interviews are aimed at understanding what the project accomplished, how it fell short, and how it might do better in the future.
One Tuesday a month we have a meeting with our supervisor, and the rest of the missionaries that are here for a year. This is a great time of fellowship and encouragement.
Wednesday
In the morning I (Leah) have my women's group. I am so encouraged by the women who have been coming. We only began a few weeks ago, but the women are really opening up to one another, which is so exciting to be a part of. The goal of this group is to disciple. It is mainly made up of women from our church, but there are also several who do not attend our church and are seeking. One young woman is a neighbor, and though her family is Catholic, she has become a regular attender at our women's group, English classes, and also is offering to help in the kitchen when short term mission teams come to town. Please pray for the women in this group. Many face incredibly difficult challenges relationally, financially, and from past experiences.
Our Wednesday afternoons are mainly dedicated to homework club prep, or any meetings we might have. Kevin, who now is officially on the ordination track for the Free Methodist church, often meets with his supervisor on Wednesdays.
Thursday
Thursdays are our marathon days. We are at the church around 9ish to prepare for homework club. After homework club the Millers, the missionary couple that lives next to our church, generously has invited us to share dinner with them. At 6 we have a prayer meeting, and then at 7:30 English classes begin. We don't normally get home in the night until around 10. English classes have been really encouraging for Kevin and I. We love our groups. I have all girls between the ages of 16-18. They are so great. One of them came to our church on Sunday which was a real encouragement. Hopefully she will continue coming and want to become more involved in the church body.
Friday
Our day of rest (and cleaning)!
Saturday
We leave the house early Saturday mornings to make it to Ecatapec where the World Vision office is (about an hour and a half trip). We give English classes for an hour to the young people who are promoters of human rights in their communities, and then join them for a work shop on emotions. (which we do not run) Generally we get home around 3-4 in the afternoon and then spend some time hanging out with our family. Often we have late nights on Saturdays.
Sunday
Sunday mornings are really peaceful for us. Because we have church in the evening we wake up late, and enjoy breakfast together, usually the house is empty because everyone else goes to church in the morning. We then spend the rest of the day doing this and that until church at 5. I know I have mentioned it before, but we really love our church. The people are warm and inviting, and our pastor and his wife are just amazing examples for us. I always come away feeling like I learned something new.
So that is a little look into the Book-Satterlee's week. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts, we really appreciate them!
Monday
On Mondays we hold our homework club. We have a session in the morning from 10-12 and one in the afternoon from 2-4. Some students here in Mexico City attend school in the morning, others in the afternoon/evening. It is a little bizarre seeing some students just arriving home from school at 9 at night. Our mornings are typically light, which is nice. We have a smaller group of students, all of which are quite smart. We arrive at our church around 9:15-9:30 each day to start setting up. Our church is about a 20-45 minute micro bus ride from our home, depending on traffic and our driver! Afternoons are a little crazier. We typically have between 12-18 students, most of which are in Kindergarten-3rd grade. We also have some older students. We now have a girl from our church which helps us out at the homework club, her name is Alejandra, and she is great. We so appreciate having her. We generally plan a craft for the kids at the beginning, and then move into a time of reading. (On Thursdays we have a small English lesson in place of reading). We then move into a homework time, and finally usually finish up with a game. Many times students come without homework, so we have math sheets and other exercises for them to do instead.
Tuesday
Tuesday is our World Vision day, although it has been a slow start. Our main purpose will be to help them in some interviews and documentation of those interviews as they are planning to close down the particular project we are helping at in September. The interviews are aimed at understanding what the project accomplished, how it fell short, and how it might do better in the future.
One Tuesday a month we have a meeting with our supervisor, and the rest of the missionaries that are here for a year. This is a great time of fellowship and encouragement.
Wednesday
In the morning I (Leah) have my women's group. I am so encouraged by the women who have been coming. We only began a few weeks ago, but the women are really opening up to one another, which is so exciting to be a part of. The goal of this group is to disciple. It is mainly made up of women from our church, but there are also several who do not attend our church and are seeking. One young woman is a neighbor, and though her family is Catholic, she has become a regular attender at our women's group, English classes, and also is offering to help in the kitchen when short term mission teams come to town. Please pray for the women in this group. Many face incredibly difficult challenges relationally, financially, and from past experiences.
Our Wednesday afternoons are mainly dedicated to homework club prep, or any meetings we might have. Kevin, who now is officially on the ordination track for the Free Methodist church, often meets with his supervisor on Wednesdays.
Thursday
Thursdays are our marathon days. We are at the church around 9ish to prepare for homework club. After homework club the Millers, the missionary couple that lives next to our church, generously has invited us to share dinner with them. At 6 we have a prayer meeting, and then at 7:30 English classes begin. We don't normally get home in the night until around 10. English classes have been really encouraging for Kevin and I. We love our groups. I have all girls between the ages of 16-18. They are so great. One of them came to our church on Sunday which was a real encouragement. Hopefully she will continue coming and want to become more involved in the church body.
Friday
Our day of rest (and cleaning)!
Saturday
We leave the house early Saturday mornings to make it to Ecatapec where the World Vision office is (about an hour and a half trip). We give English classes for an hour to the young people who are promoters of human rights in their communities, and then join them for a work shop on emotions. (which we do not run) Generally we get home around 3-4 in the afternoon and then spend some time hanging out with our family. Often we have late nights on Saturdays.
Sunday
Sunday mornings are really peaceful for us. Because we have church in the evening we wake up late, and enjoy breakfast together, usually the house is empty because everyone else goes to church in the morning. We then spend the rest of the day doing this and that until church at 5. I know I have mentioned it before, but we really love our church. The people are warm and inviting, and our pastor and his wife are just amazing examples for us. I always come away feeling like I learned something new.
So that is a little look into the Book-Satterlee's week. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts, we really appreciate them!
Friday, February 8, 2008
Sick...Again
Kevin is recovering from a pretty good cold...pretty much like everyone else of the 18 million plus Mexico City. The time is the time for colds. Our entire family has gotten something somewhere and we like to share. Kevin had a bit of a stomach bout the week before, but everything seems to be clearing up nicely. We are looking forward to a sick-free next few weeks...although working with kids, you never know.
Ministry stuff - going really well. The English class is already underway and Leah is loving her class which is full of younger girls. A great time for connections. Kevin has taken the advanced class, which includes the pastor of our church and a friend who lives across the street from the church. It is a great class as well.
Homework club is coming along and we are starting to see some good relationships grow with the kids and their parents. We hope that the homework club will get the kids to come to the other events at the church and that their parents would come too. Our pastor has a dream sometime in the 10-15 year future that the Free Methodist Church in Mexico would have the best schools in the country. The homework club is a far cry from that, but everything has to start somewhere and he is very excited about it, so that makes us happy.
World Vision is really coming under way, and we've been asked by the youth volunteers to come early and do some English classes, which will be a great time to connect with them. Our office work has not yet begun with World Vision...not the most exciting thing in the world, but really needed, so we are glad to be of help.
Now, after downing a few more glasses of Mango Juice (Mexican food and drinks are great!) we will be heading into our full weekend with World Vision and church on Sunday.
Ministry stuff - going really well. The English class is already underway and Leah is loving her class which is full of younger girls. A great time for connections. Kevin has taken the advanced class, which includes the pastor of our church and a friend who lives across the street from the church. It is a great class as well.
Homework club is coming along and we are starting to see some good relationships grow with the kids and their parents. We hope that the homework club will get the kids to come to the other events at the church and that their parents would come too. Our pastor has a dream sometime in the 10-15 year future that the Free Methodist Church in Mexico would have the best schools in the country. The homework club is a far cry from that, but everything has to start somewhere and he is very excited about it, so that makes us happy.
World Vision is really coming under way, and we've been asked by the youth volunteers to come early and do some English classes, which will be a great time to connect with them. Our office work has not yet begun with World Vision...not the most exciting thing in the world, but really needed, so we are glad to be of help.
Now, after downing a few more glasses of Mango Juice (Mexican food and drinks are great!) we will be heading into our full weekend with World Vision and church on Sunday.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Been Almost a Month
Hello. Sorry it has taken us a while to write. As you can probably tell by the lack of our blog-posting, we have had a busy month. We're settling well into our homework club ministry and see a regular morning attendence of 4 children and an afternoon attendence of 12-13 children. Needless to say, our afternoon class is quite a bit more chaotic.
We began working with World Vision again also, since our break from the new year and just committed ourselves to doing some English lessons with some of the youth that come on Saturday mornings. We are excited at the prospect of contributing more with World Vision and getting to know these youth better. We also see it as a great opportunity for ministry as our experience with WV has not been much on the ministry side.
This past Thursday we began our weekly English class at our church in Iztapalapa. Kevin is facilitating the program an excericise he enjoys and it helps relieve one of the other missionaries who on top of her work with the women also has 4 children that she cares for. This is also a great opportunity for Kevin as he is in the ordination process and is gaining practical experience in leading a ministry. We had almost 20 people come on Thursday. One of the great things that comes from this, though we hold the classes for cheap, the money that we charge goes to covering material costs and the extra will go straight into programs for the children that come to our church, including the Homework Club.
Leah also began to meet at the Women's Club at church a prospect she was really excited for when we came to Mexico City. It has finally materialized.
Language learning is still going on, little by little. We are accustomed more now to the city and are excited to be in a more regular routine.
Things to be praying for:
Many of the students that come in the afternoon have learning disabilities or have been passed along through the system without learning the basics. This is obviously detrimental to their ability to learn and their desire to do so. Our goal is that they would love to learn and grow in the basics while they are in our Homework Club.
Another prayer request regarding our homework club has to do with the vision of our pastors here. They want fifty children regularly attending church by June. Right now we have about 20. The interesting and opportunistic thing is that about 15 of our homework club students do not regularly come, so please pray that they will get involved in other activities in the church as well. This goes for their parents whom we are developing relationships with as well.
For the English class that we will see a good turnout and be able to continue to provide what the local community wants.
Regarding World Vision, that we would be able to show the love of God in the midst and help to communicate that the human rights come from God and that it is through God that we have the strength enough to excercise our rights. Please pray for connections with the youth as well, and for our boss.
Things up and coming:
We are excited for the Latin American Mission retreat. It is a mandatory retreat to meet up with all of the LAM missionaries in Mexico and to also learn more about cultural learning and share our experiences. This will be a fun time happening at the end of the month.
Lastly, sort of silly, we are routing for the Giants this year, known as the Gigantes, because we have a Mexican friend who is a huge Giants fan. Frankly since the 49ers didn't even come close this year, we're happy to share in another friends' joy.
We began working with World Vision again also, since our break from the new year and just committed ourselves to doing some English lessons with some of the youth that come on Saturday mornings. We are excited at the prospect of contributing more with World Vision and getting to know these youth better. We also see it as a great opportunity for ministry as our experience with WV has not been much on the ministry side.
This past Thursday we began our weekly English class at our church in Iztapalapa. Kevin is facilitating the program an excericise he enjoys and it helps relieve one of the other missionaries who on top of her work with the women also has 4 children that she cares for. This is also a great opportunity for Kevin as he is in the ordination process and is gaining practical experience in leading a ministry. We had almost 20 people come on Thursday. One of the great things that comes from this, though we hold the classes for cheap, the money that we charge goes to covering material costs and the extra will go straight into programs for the children that come to our church, including the Homework Club.
Leah also began to meet at the Women's Club at church a prospect she was really excited for when we came to Mexico City. It has finally materialized.
Language learning is still going on, little by little. We are accustomed more now to the city and are excited to be in a more regular routine.
Things to be praying for:
Many of the students that come in the afternoon have learning disabilities or have been passed along through the system without learning the basics. This is obviously detrimental to their ability to learn and their desire to do so. Our goal is that they would love to learn and grow in the basics while they are in our Homework Club.
Another prayer request regarding our homework club has to do with the vision of our pastors here. They want fifty children regularly attending church by June. Right now we have about 20. The interesting and opportunistic thing is that about 15 of our homework club students do not regularly come, so please pray that they will get involved in other activities in the church as well. This goes for their parents whom we are developing relationships with as well.
For the English class that we will see a good turnout and be able to continue to provide what the local community wants.
Regarding World Vision, that we would be able to show the love of God in the midst and help to communicate that the human rights come from God and that it is through God that we have the strength enough to excercise our rights. Please pray for connections with the youth as well, and for our boss.
Things up and coming:
We are excited for the Latin American Mission retreat. It is a mandatory retreat to meet up with all of the LAM missionaries in Mexico and to also learn more about cultural learning and share our experiences. This will be a fun time happening at the end of the month.
Lastly, sort of silly, we are routing for the Giants this year, known as the Gigantes, because we have a Mexican friend who is a huge Giants fan. Frankly since the 49ers didn't even come close this year, we're happy to share in another friends' joy.
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