CAMex

Why we leave early to pick up Hannah from school…

Sat, 26 May 2012 06:19 GMT

Here in the city, often as we drive over to the neighbourhood of Jesús María, or more often when we take Hannah to school, we see something like this.

Yes, on the main city streets, a herd of sheep or goats (in this case both), with a shepherd or shepherdess (or goatherd) and a dog or some dogs.

They'll quite often take up the whole street (often a very busy main street, you understand), in which case you just have to wait. Or you can try to worm your way around them if you can. Or they might just stream around you.

Yesterday, Shari happened to have a camera with her. If we had a camera mounted on the front of our van, oh the things you would see.

This past week’s Tweets…

Fri, 25 May 2012 16:49 GMT

From a co-worker's blog – check out Miguel and Tania http://t.co/u6m8gbc7 #
Now that's pretty useful – the Rulers of Israel and Judah Infographic ⌛ http://t.co/CTEyzfMq #
Who knew? Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre theorized that a warp drive (a la Star Trek) may be possible… http://t.co/yKUvbEme #
Going to Bible study. Tonight's theme – Jesus' Mission! Me voy al estudio de la Biblia. Tema de esta noche – ¡la misión de Jesús! #
Important: In the USA, CAM International is now Camino Global. (CAM International of Canada is still CAM International of Canada.) #
Important Reminder: CAM International of Canada is still CAM International of Canada. (Name change expected this summer) #
The Gospel is NOT – "God really needs your love to be fulfilled. Poor guy." #
Home sweet home #
⌲ Homeward Bound! ⌲ ¡Volviendo a casa! ⌲ #
Interesting thoughts from a fellow missionary (in Thailand) – "Four Reasons Missionaries Fail to Learn the Language" http://t.co/eJkCfr5l #
Met a man near Edmonton with a Chihuahua MX license plate. He's a farmer from Mexico. How cool is that? #
The not-so-long-awaited part 3 from coworker Tina – Part Three: Quirkiness of living in Mexico http://t.co/WiPPkFwL #

Car Repairs and a Men's Retreat

Fri, 25 May 2012 16:37 GMT

Yesterday while taking 9 boys (our two included) to football practice in the van, we went over a speed bump (boy, are there a lot of them!) and heard something break underneath the van. Never a good sound. We had one more clickity-clack.

The thing is, I'm about to leave on a 3 hour trip with several big guys, on the way to a men's retreat. I took the van initially to a suspension and brake place. The jacked up the van on a nice hydraulic lift and proceeded to find one section of leaf of the van's springs on the driver's side was broken. Ok. How much would that be to fix?

Well, they tried to call an expert to come and check it, but he wasn't answering their phone calls. But their estimate was about $140 for parts and labor. Not sure how that would compare to the U.S. But they couldn't fix it today. Not enough time. I asked them to lower the van, that I'd perhaps come back next week.

But that still wouldn't get the van fixed for today, and the long trip with a bunch of guys in the car, the last two miles being harsh, dirt roads with a lot of ditches and potholes. So I did what I like to do in Mexico...improvise! I started asking around, and found a guy just a bit off the beaten path. He looked at my problem and quoted me a price...a whopping $45 for parts and labor. How long do you need, I asked him. Oh, about an hour and a half. Mayra and I returned after two hours, and there was the van, ready to go.

In other news...we accomplished a big step for the final release of our other van today, obtaining a paper that states that the vehicle theft report is officially canceled. Now, all that has to be done is to present the document in Toluca (!), the state capital, and we're ready to roll. The man in charge of the MP said he would do this for us. Should be ready to drive, we hope, on Monday. Just in time for our wave of visitors. We'll still need to get new electronic keys, however, before we use it a whole lot.

Coffee Shop Outreach

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:40 GMT

Tina had a great post yesterday on what went on at her coffee shop. The relational element permeates pretty much all we do here, and the hopefully not-very-hidden agenda is that we desire that everyone we come in contact with hears the gospel and responds to it. Check out Tina's post HERE.

Yesterday was the fourth straight day we did a prayer walk around our neighborhood. Initially the plan was to just do it this week, but there's talk about extended it, making it a regular (if not daily) part of what the church does here. Good idea.

Daniel and David are loving football. Yesterday I was able to watch one of their practices for a while. I took a total of nine kids, counting our two boys, to football practice yesterday, all of them neighbor kids. It all started with our kids. Yes, they are quite social! I told the coach that he should give us a discount. Cheaper by the dozen.

Quote of the Day: Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell. We owe Christ to the world--to the least person and the greatest person, to the richest person and to the poorest person, to the best person and to the worst person. We are in debt to the nations. Encompassed with this debt, though, in our contemporary approach to missions, we have subtly taken ourselves out from under the weight of a lost and dying world, wrung our hands in pious concern, and said, "I'm sorry, I'm just not called to that." David Platt, Radical

This is why we have the coffee shop!

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:33 GMT

I get asked, by nearly everyone who knows about the coffee shop, if we make money. Well.... the answer is not even close! But, we don't do it to make money.

This shocks people. How do you pay for it? Why don't you raise the prices? etc etc.
The reality is this is a ministry to our community. It is an place to hang out, a place to talk, learn english (or more spanish in my case).... a place to build relationships!

Thats why today seemed so great! It pretty much started normal... but with in the three hours we were open....

2 girls showed up (they came to basketball yesterday) and wanted to practice english. That ended with a presentation of the Gospel.

One other girl (Elizabeth) who has been coming the past couple weeks to study for her english exam to get into the college she wants to go to. The first day she came (last week sometime) her and I talked about what is different with Christians. Then on Monday we talked about it a little more. Today, Sophia presented the Gospel to her.

Then we had two friends from Sendero de Vido 1 come visit us and have a little bible study and stayed to chat, it was a definete pleasure to hang out with them!

Then to close down for the day we all prayed we got to pray for Elizabeth before she left.

Of course we all indulged in cake, frappes and mochas (gave most of them away!) while this was all happening!

0 – The RETURN (again)

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:34 GMT

Ah, the memories. My first 0 sticker. I wondered if I would get one. It took a lot of work and conversation, but eventually I did.

You may or may not remember what a 0 sticker is. Here in Mexico City, there are restrictions on who can drive when. For example, a foreign vehicle (like ours) can't drive between 5:30am-11am weekdays, one Saturday a month, and one day a week. Yes, that's a lot of restrictions!

But there is a way out. If your vehicle is less that 8 years old, you can have it emissions tested for a small fee (for me around $23 Canadian), and you have the chance to get a zero sticker. That means you can drive whenever you like for 6 months, at which time you go back and try again.

I've done this many times now, and we got our 0 sticker when we came back to Mexico in November.

Here we are 6 months later.

The van went through the line quickly … then I waited, and waited, and waited. I spent a couple hours at the place, and was finally told that for some reason the "system" would not give me a zero.

So they were very helpful (they know me by now) and gave me my money back and suggested I try another Verificentro (where the test takes place).

So today I did.

Spending hours on something like this may remind you of the complexities of life here – there's always something!

Anyway, I went to another place (a place that, as I recall, told me years ago that I simply couldn't get a 0 because I was a foreigner).

Once again, they told me I couldn't get a sticker because I didn't have such-and-such, so I talked and explained and chatted and so on and so on….

Eventually, they felt they had enough paperwork to give it a try.

So I went into the prayer room (I'll bet you didn't know that Verificentros had prayer rooms! Well, ok, they call it a waiting room, but that's the same thing, isn't it?), and reminded myself that God is more powerful than any computer system. And that I would accept what He decided to do.

In no time, the tests were done – and I have a 0 sticker!

Praise the Lord!

So we can actually drive the van for another 6 months… then… we'll see!

Our van being tested – can you find it?

Our other zero posts:

If You Want to Change Your World...

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:05 GMT

Samuel is a committed Christian, and for years has desired to use his art in a ministry context. God brought us together one day, about 6 years ago, and he has taught me so much about how God can use graphic arts in powerful ways to advance his kingdom. And ever since we met, my vision of what ministry can and should be has been taken to a whole nother (sic) level.

Right now, Samuel is working on a t-shirt design, another design for some canvas signs that we plan to give to every church member to hang on their houses, and also the formal summer internship logo. But he's also working on an extra-special project--some ideas of what to paint on a wall at my home church, Word of Life Chapel, this summer.

Our current project here is to use the words "Be Born Again" on t-shirts, signs and flyers. Now, those words may be well known in English, and even a bit worn out, bringing images of a circa 70s religious movement to mind, but those words do not have any baggage in Spanish. Vuelve a Nacer. What does that mean?

Salt preserves, it also creates thirst. It is our hope that as we begin a campaign that will extend over the next several months, people will begin to wonder why they need to be born a second time--and ask us. We are also in the middle of elections here (Presidential elections, July 1). Our campaign is in direct contrast to all the old, trite slogans of the various political parties here. If you want to change Mexico....vuelve a nacer!

Quote of the Day: Movements are like this. They are grassroots, often underground, and they start with crazy people who are willing to believe in the impossible. Movements never start in corporate offices with executives drawing up a master plan. Looking for the best and brightest and recruiting them to the work is not how world-changing movements start. If we truly want to see the world changed, we must begin as a band of madmen, welcoming other crazy people who want to be part of something bigger than themselves.
Neil Cole. Organic Leadership: Leading Naturally Right Where You Are (p. 130).

Miguel and Tania

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:38 GMT

Please pray for our co-workers Miguel and Tania. Miguel is deacon at the first church, Sendero de Vida Santa Bárbara. For the last two years now, Tania has experienced hemorrhaging, and lately this condition has gotten worse. Socialized medicine here is deficient many times at best. What Tania really needs is a hysterectomy.

Miguel was going to try to get off work yesterday and explore private clinics and hospital, seeking a solution to a medical problem that has gone on for quite a while now. Several of you have already donated to assist this couple with their health care costs. We thank you for that.

Quote of the Day: When people develop resources untested by life experience and sell them to the church, the results are pathetically weak. A good idea in your office does not always translate to a good idea in real life. Believe me, I have shelves of these ideas gathering dust. It is the reality of experience that sharpens us. Experience on the fields of battle refines us and our strategies. There is no substitute for this.
Neil Cole. Organic Leadership: Leading Naturally Right Where You Are (pp. 118-119).

Handing out food!

Wed, 23 May 2012 07:01 GMT

Yesterday the Kubick family came over to Jesus Maria (they are spending the week in Puebla with the Prusia's). This family is a great family from my chuch that decided to spend the first week of their summer serving here in Mexico!

When they got here we did a little tour of the community center and an abbrivated neighborhood tour.

Then we hung out and ate with the other missionaries here in Ixtapaluca.

And finally, we went and bought a bunch of food, split it up, took it to four different houses in the neighborhood.

As always, taking a thing of food to someones house ends in a 2 hour visit! It was a great time of laughing, praying and drinking coke!

Sometimes it is the small acts of kindness that can impact a persons life.... actually it will impact the person recieving and the person giving.

Praying and Frappe's

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:07 GMT

Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work. --Oswald Chambers

Our neighborhood is in some serious need of prayer. There has been some colorful activity happening lately. So this week, every morning at 8am we are walking around Jesus Maria praying. Praying for God to transform this community, for safety, for doors and hearts to be open etc etc.

I have gone on several group prayer walks and never have I done them in silence. I liked it (even though the random dog or person would sometimes distract me!).

Then we end with a time of prayer in our little rented house we store all of our church stuff! Today, by the end of it, I think we had about 15 people =)

Here is a really bad picture of the little prayer time atthe end of the walk...

And, on a fun note... the coffee shop got a new drink!

Prayer Walking

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:50 GMT

All this week those we are doing a prayer walk around the church's neighborhood, Jesús María. I wasn't about to go yesterday, but today I did. About 10 of us started out, and 5 more people joined us at some point during our circular walk. We walked in silence, praying for our neighborhood. It needs prayer...there have been some pretty wild things going on there recently! We also are praying for a plot of land, that God would be gracious to us in that regard. I ended up carrying Romi, Mariana's daughter, for the last half of our walk. That girl gets heavy! Prayer walks are a cool idea, something we haven't done before, but something I'm sure we'll do more in the future.

Yesterday our mission, CAM Int'l, ceased to exist. Well, sort of. We have a new name, Camino Global. You can check out some color commentary at Jim's blog, or on Tina's blog.

We are looking at installing concrete benches in front of our community center instead of metal ones. The concern is that people will hacksaw them off at the legs and sell the metal as scrap metal for $. Happens quite a bit here with manhole covers. We'll see.

Once again, a personal motto, recently solidified in my mind, that sort of goes along with the quote below. I want my life to have elements in it that cannot be explained by human reasons, and I want to be part of a church that cannot be ignored by its community.

Quote of the Day: The church was once a catalyst for artistic expression, social change, and the founding of hospitals, schools, and missionary enterprise, but today she has settled for providing a one-hour-a-week worship concert, an offering plate, and a sermon.
Neil Cole. Organic Leadership: Leading Naturally Right Where You Are (p. 116)

typetext

Mon, 21 May 2012 21:32 GMT

God recently gave me the opportunity to travel to the countries of El Salvador and Honduras. During the first part of the trip, I attended the FAM missions mobilization meetings in San Salvador to hear exciting reports of what God has been doing in raising up Latins to be sent out around the world. God continues to raise up missionaries from the "Global South" to serve in areas where oftentimes "gringos" are not well-received.

The Sunday following the meetings we were sent out to visit churches in various parts of the capital city (San Salvador). I had the privilege of leading in communion (1st picture above) in one of the "Iglesias Centroamericanas" located there in the capital. What a joy to worship and enjoy fellowship with this group of believers! The welcome was warm...and of course the temperature was a bit warm too!

Then....on that same day I traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras (2nd picture above) to share about a ministry that we helped to start in Mexico called the "Summer Missionary Program". The hope is to initiate such a ministry for the national church in Honduras. I shared the opportunity with several church leaders...and the desire to start such a ministry there was evident. Pray that God will give wisdom to know when and where to begin such training in January 2013.

The bottom picture illustrates the new "face" of missions. Business as Mission (BAM) is growing in many parts of the world including Honduras. Above are some sheep being breeded to help to fund both national pastors and missionaries on a seminary campus in Siguatepeque. Pray that God would multiply their efforts and that their initiatives (raising sheep being just one of several initiatives) would yield much fruit for the kingdom! Thanks for praying!

Field Trip!

Mon, 21 May 2012 21:11 GMT

We're helping to host a lady who came from Michigan to minister to the women at last weekend's women's retreat held at Camp Koinonia and attended by nearly 150 women.

As a special treat for our special guest, we drove the 2 hours over to Guanajuato to enjoy a day at one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It truly is a treat to visit and just drink in the visual flavor of this place.

A day there involves a lot of walking, so I didn't take our better camera which is heavier. Thus, the photos don't seem to be as nice as I would have hoped for, but some of them are still pretty good. I've selected some of the best ones, as well as some that give you a feel for the views of the city.

Enjoy!

CAM International / Camino Global – Important Update

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:44 GMT

Today, in the USA (NOT in Canada), CAM International changed its name to Camino Global.

What does this mean?

Well, for today, it means that if you want to write a cheque (check) in $US to support the ministry here, you will send it to Camino Global in Dallas and you will make it out to Camino Global.

Things like the new US website and all stuff like that there will be rolling out little by little in the weeks and months ahead.

For more information about making donations in $US, read here.

Now, what about CAM International of Canada? Well, CAM International of Canada is still CAM International of Canada.

So any cheques made out in $CA, and sent to the Canadian office, can and should still be made out to CAM International of Canada.

CAM International of Canada will be Camino Global as well, but that change won't likely come until sometime in the summer. We'll keep you informed.

Meanwhile, if you would like to donate in $CA, here's the info.

Thanks for your patience! We're all hoping the confusion will be over with soon.

Camino Global!

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:37 GMT

Today is the long awaited day that our mission organization CAM International officially becomes CAMINO GLOBAL!

CAM International has a 122 year history of transforming the spanish speaking world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

I am excited to see how God uses this organization and its amazing missionaries in the future!

Snippets

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:55 GMT

A few glimpses into our day yesterday.

Daniel and I drove to church at 8:50 to unload the instruments, sound system and screen that had been loaded into the van the night before.

When I arrived, I purchased one of my favorite breakfast options for 10 pesos (about 80c), a torta de tamal, which is a spicy tamale with green sauce, packed into a bread roll. A bit high carb.

Mayra and Cathy came with José, Adriana and Axel.

Allan played 5 songs on the drums, Daniel played two.

We welcomed two new families that had not previously attended church.

I directed the service and the music yesterday. We read Psalms 23, 34, and 46 as a congregation. And played some great music.

Samuel preached an awesome sermon from Nehemiah 12.

Iris and Chela, who were at a political meeting seeking a possible donation of land from the municipality arrived near the end of the service.

After the service, Mariana showed Mayra and me a horrendous, hurtful text she had received from her own mother. The mother came shortly after and accused Mariana, in front of us, of neglecting her in favor of her new, church family. Christ's words in Luke 14:26 became very clear to me.

Samuel decided to invite a bunch of people to our house to eat. I checked with Mayra, and she said, "Sure!" 12 people (plus us) came home (initially) to eat meat on the grill (arrachera), plus some chicken wings I found in the freezer. Darrol Prusia called about his trip over here tomorrow from Puebla.

Samuel, Alejandro and Ismael took the ice cream they bought back to the store, because it was made with vegetable cream instead of real ice cream. While they were gone, Sofía, our one Mexican intern, and her parents and grandmother came. Then we ate the good ice cream.

Tina and Myhiah joined the party. Most of our other guests left. Mayra went to buy things for a homework project for Cathy.

I played Settlers of Catan with Sofía, Tina and Myhiah. It was like taking candy from children.

My dad called in the middle of the game.

Mayra returned, Fabian and Tiffany arrived.

I took Tina, Myhiah and Sofía home to Tina's place in JM around 9 p.m. Fabian took Tiffany home.

Left to pick up the Cottrills around 11:40 p.m.

Arrived home after dropping off the Cottrills at 2:25 a.m.

A bit from this morning...we can't drive either vehicle. The Astro because it's Monday and we can't drive Mondays. The Journey because, well, the process continues. So I walked up to the nearest taxi base and brought a taxi back home, so Mayra could take the kids to school, then to a prayer walk in Jesús María, then to a Bible study at 10 a.m. In the meantime...I went back to bed for a while!!! A bit of confession there!

Quote of the Day: Jesus calls all of us to surrender our whole lives to follow him. This is not a call into a career but into a kingdom. All citizens of Christ's kingdom are called to serve fully. No Christian is held to a higher level of accountability for his or her character than another. Jesus bled so that all of us could be holy and set apart, not just a few. Now it is true that leaders are held to a stricter accountability, but that is true whether they are paid to lead or not. And regardless of accountability, each of us is called to a holy life. None is called to a more holy life than another.
Neil Cole. Organic Leadership: Leading Naturally Right Where You Are (p. 105).

Wheelchair Project

Sun, 20 May 2012 07:24 GMT

At the encouragement of co-worker Tina Barham, I (finally) wrote a letter to Operation Blessing Mexico to solicit 10 wheelchairs for distribution here in Ixtapaluca. Click on the link to check them out. Or check out their English site HERE.

Within 5 minutes I received a confirmation message sent from a Blackberry saying that they had received our message, and it should be any problem. That's how quickly things should work in our wired world!

We solicited 10 chairs and need to give a fairly detailed report with a picture of the recipients of this gift. Our community center is a stones-throw away from a Special Needs school, and we also have had contact with a small nursing home nearby in the past. I suspect that we'll be able to fairly easily find 10 people who would gratefully receive such a gift, given in the name of Jesus.

Our target dates for doing this are the last week in June and/or the first week in July.

Our first Spanish-language intern ever arrives tomorrow, and for the next 8 weeks be helping us in various ministries here at the church. Join us in welcoming Sofía Cortez, from Harvest Bible Church, Mexico City. Sofía studies at the Río Grande Bible Institute in Edinburgh, TX, and will be joined by her friend, Elisa, May 30.

Quote of the Day: The truth is that the Spirit of the living God is guaranteed to ask you to go somewhere or do something you wouldn’t normally want or choose to do. The Spirit will lead you to the way of the cross, as He led Jesus to the cross, and that is definitely not a safe or pretty or comfortable place to be. The Holy Spirit of God will mold you into the person you were made to be. This often incredibly painful process strips you of selfishness, pride, and fear.
Chan, Francis Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit

So, whats new?

Sat, 19 May 2012 11:36 GMT

Whats new?

Well... not a ton! I think we have all been enjoying the last few weeks being a little calmer then normal. We still have normal church activities, coffee shop, some english classes etc. But, in a few weeks we will be super busy!

Tiffany and I actually have begun a 7 week 5k training program. So that has consumed some of our time this last week! It has been fun and left our bodies a little tired. You wouldn't think running 3.1 miles would take so much work haha

We have Myhiah here (from the great state of NEBRASKA!!). She has been teaching (or at least playing) Basketball three days a week.

In the next few weeks we have lots of people coming to visit, lots of activities going on, and lots of very early morning gym times! =)

I am super excited to see what God does here in Jesus Maria this summer... and how He will use all of the people coming! PLUS, I love the craziness that comes along with all the people coming. I really enjoy when things are crazy busy for a time.

Well that is all for now. I know this is a kinda lame post... but I have been enjoying the quiet!

Here is a blog from a coworker, Rod--- it is about our need for property for our church!

Park Beautification and Classes

Sat, 19 May 2012 09:13 GMT

We are EXCITED to have a group of young people down from Leroy Community Chapel in about a month. One of the projects we hope to accomplish while they are here is to provide some park benches to the area in front of the market where we do our community center activities. Here's some samples of what those benches could look like.

A big thanks to Fabian, who will be helping us make the benches. One concern is that the will not be hack sawed off and stolen to be sold for their metal content...trust that will not happen! The other option would be cement benches.

The OH group will also be doing all manner of outreach classes, including baking, crocheting, soccer, drum,

violin, piano, and ballet classes. Now that's what I'm talking about!

Quote of the Day: The message of biblical Christianity is not “God loves me, period,” as if we were the object of our own faith. The message of biblical Christianity is “God loves me so that I might make him— his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness— known among all nations.” Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around him. We are not the end of the gospel; God is.
Platt, David, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (pp. 70-71).

This past week’s Tweets…

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:49 GMT

When Church Planters Want to Drink Sweet Tea from a Garbage Can (missionaries do strange things) http://t.co/SzyxG8SX #
Good read just 99¢ on the Kindle – "Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching" –Get it while it's on sale!– http://t.co/VZxk47BF #
A mitad de nuestro tiempo en Canadá; ¡disfrutando tiempo con la familia! Halfway done our time in Canada; enjoying time with family! #
What are the Top 10 Most Read Books in the World (past 50yrs)? Visit the link to find out… http://t.co/XxuBk567 #
Long-awaited post from our coworker Tina – Part Two: Quirkiness of living in Mexico! http://t.co/vSCGmCIB #
Some things are just cheaper in Canada. Just sayin'. #
The Gospel is NOT – "A neat club to belong to" #
Jim's Journal – "A good deed" — http://t.co/mAdciDAU #
Crazy day in Canada, but we survived. Good to see Shari's brother and his family. Sure ready for some rest now! #
From our coworker Tina: quirkiness of living in Mexico http://t.co/xgSHfX6n #