Sergio's 5th Birthday

Feliz cumpleanos Sergio! one of our kindergartners from Circulo Andante

On Tuesday, after our Circulo Andante ministry, I had the joy of celebrating a little Sergio's 5th birthday with him in colonia Antorcha. His mom invited me, along with the other Circulo Andante volunteers to their house to eat pozole, a traditional Mexican corn soup. Cooking it over a small grill, she had to move the pot inside where she set up a fire because the winds were too strong. She had borrowed chairs from her neighbors and set up an extra table with table cloths so we could enjoy a lovely meal together in her recently built Homes of Hope house. Her husband served us until we were full, and then asked us if we wanted more. I was fairly sure he had come back early from work that day for our gathering, as I had never seen him before in all the times I'd gone to visit this family. When we insisted we couldnt eat any more, thats when Sergio's mom brought out a small cake that Sergio's picked out himself for us to enjoy. We sang "Las Mananitas" (the traditional Mexican birthday song) and each ate a slice or two of the delicious cake while Sergio's parents shared with us their journey as a family over the last 5 years. They also told us that this celebration and food was especially for Sergio's Circulo teachers, who are only around on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and that their family gathering for him would be on Sunday.

I felt so honored by this family that they went out of their way to cook a special meal for us and cared enough to invite us to celebrate this special day with them. I felt like I was a part of their family :) May God pour out his love and blessings over Sergio and his family in this coming year!

Little Sergio with his family on his 5th Birthday

Sights and Thoughts from the Border

Most people who come to Mexico through the Tijuana border crossing have the image stuck in their mind of long lines, pushy vendors and dogs sniffing under their car. But if you follow the border fence all the way out to the west coast, you'll find yourself in the town of Playas. Playas is where the old YWAM Tijuana base used to be located and this town has a long border fence that continues out into the ocean.

I hear long ago families on either side of the fences used to meet there to talk or throw food and other goodies to their loved ones on the other side. With new border laws in the U.S. this is no longer possible and the border fence on the Mexican side has just become a place where people can come to remember those days and dream for better ones to come.

It has been reported that several hundred Mexican men, women and children die every year trying to cross the border into the U.S. Now, it's easy to make some kind of political argument about the why and who's fault it is, etc., But recently, I was humbled during a visit to the border in Playas by the site of hundreds and hundreds of small wooden crosses hanging from the fence...

Each cross represents the life of some desperate father, mother or child in search of a better life, but never made it. The immigrants that died crossing the border are not just a number, not just a political statement. They are real people, and I am meeting them every day. Everyone here has a story of a brother or a mother or a son or a daughter that left to go to "el otro lado" (the other side) and they never saw the again.

It is a great joy for me to be serving God in Tijuana, but I still feel like I have so much more to learn about the people here. The border culture of Mexico is completely different from other parts of Mexico I have visited. My heart breaks for the the grandmother who has said goodbye to a her son years ago and doesn't know if he made it and whether or not he is dead or alive. My heart aches for the mother who is struggling so much in her present situation that she lives dreaming about a place she may never get to and a life she probably will never have. And my life is committed to helping the children here who have no hope for a future better than their parents had - committed to teaching them the value of who they are in Christ and that their dreams are possible here in their own country, if they will work hard and follow the right path, "with God all things are possible". I will work tirelessly with my kids to make sure they do not become another cross hanging on that fence. That's why I'm here!!!

The sign says "Tijuana is the corner where dreams from a country in need of peace bounce back."

Susie, the Übersetzerin!

Recently, I had the privilege of being the "Übersetzerin" or translator for a Swiss team that came to our base. First, I went out with them on a house build, and got to experience my first every tri-lingual house dedication: German (swiss student) to English (swiss leader) to Spanish (me)! Here's a picture of the family that was blessed with a house built by the Swiss team...
Another great experience I had with this team was translating for them at the church in colonia Antorcha, where we have the Circulo kids ministry. They went to two services, where they shared German songs, had a kids program and preached. It was really cool to see how some of the students who didnt speak very much English really challenge themselves and get up in front of the church to share their testimony (they shared in English,their second language, and I translated to spanish). At the end of each service, they had a wonderful time of ministering to the congregation through prayer. Two people made the decision to give their lives to Christ after those services and I had the opportunity to pray with them to become Christians. Amazing!!!

me translating at the church in Antorcha for the swiss team leader, Daniel

me (left) translating for the pastor in Antorcha as he prays a blessing over the Swiss team

At the end of their time here, the Swiss team went down to Ensenada to help out with the Carnaval ministry there for a few days. Although I didn't translate for them there, I got to drive them down, and then go on a whale watching tour - how fun! (or so I thought...) I've always wanted to see whales in the wild and now this is my chance! About 45 minutes into the trip I started to feel alittle whoozy, but that was forgotten about once we saw a pod of dolphins swimming right next to our boat - so cool! But after that, things starting going down hill for my stomach, and i ended spending about 4 of the 4.5 hour tour so seasick I didn't see anything expect for the back of my eyelids and the toliet bowl. Oh well, next time I'll take drammamine before hand and hopefully actually see some whales... I saw a couple blow holes, but I'm not sure that counts.

I'm so thankful for this Swiss team that came and know that the ministry they did in colonia Antorcha will carry on long after they are gone. I feel so blessed to have been a part of it!

DTS Reunion!!!

Danae, Meredith, me and Lizzie, back together again in Ensenada

Just as I hit the one year anniversary of graduating from DTS (Discipleship Training School), one of my dear friends from DTS, Meredith, came down to Mexico for a week to visit. One year ago we were celebrating all the struggles and triumphs we went through during our 5 months of DTS - now we were recounting all that God had taken us through during the last year. It was such a joy to join together with 2 of our other DTS friends that are now staff in Ensenada and share with each other a bit of our journey the last year that we've all been apart.

As for me, I feel so blessed to have been able to follow my dream of living and serving in missions full time in Mexico for the past year. There have been hard times of missing my family and friends back home, and confusing times of wondering "what to do next?" but overall God has been faithful - He has provided for me to live here, He has given me a community of people surrounding me that love and support me, and He has placed me in a growing ministry where I can joyfully serve and also be challenged on a daily basis.

It was fun to hear about Meredith's college life, where she is attending Trinity Western in Canada. I thought back to my college years at IWU, and how I had the opportunity to travel the world and whenever the chance came to visit somewhere new, I signed up quick and never looked back. I can tell now that God is doing something new in my life. I love it here where I'm working and my heart is planted with those living in the colonia where I serve and do kids ministry (Circulo Andante). Right now, I don't want to go anywhere but there, and share more and more about Jesus with them each day. I have grown to love them - mothers, fathers, and children alike. I am committed to seeing their community transformed by the love of God, and each day I will do my small part to see God's kingdom come there.

Here's to another year of serving God in Mexico!!

What - I have a blog?

So many things have been happening in 2010 since coming back to YWAM TJ, I can't keep up with it all! Sorry to any of you who actually read my blog and have felt 'out of the loop' these past 2 months. Really I'm still down here in Tijuana, Mexico, loving life and serving God! What follows will be my attempt to catch you up on some of my adventures these last 2 months...