November News

The month of November can be described in one word; FUN! We had a lot of excitement this past month. From going to my first college level football game, two Thanksgiving meals, a praise night, and a trip to the zoo…we had fun as a family and experienced great opportunities getting to know new people and getting closer to those with whom we already have relationships. We also are two weeks away from an exciting time for the Benito Juarez congregation…more of that later.

November started with the addition of two more children in our congregation. Minerva and her two children, Marcos and Zaritzi (Sa-reet-see) have moved here to the city and are now a part of our congregation. Minerva is the younger cousin of our dear Vero.

Now just let me tell you about the type of woman Vero is. If you have been here to visit and have had the privilege to be in Vero’s home, you know how hospitable she is, but you also know the size of her apartment; TINY! Vero lives in a VERY small two bedroom apartment with her 3 sons. The guys share a room and she gets her own. Most of the time the Marquez family eats together by squeezing onto their couch, however if there are guests, they stand. Well when Minerva and her 9 &10 year old children showed up to our Halloween party, she explained to Vero that her husband had left her and that they were almost at the point of living on the street. Of course without hesitation, Vero moved the three of them into her home. Now, Marcos (10) rooms with Vero’s three sons and Vero now sleeps on her couch and willingly gave Minerva and Zaritzi her bed.

The first week they were here, Vero put the kids in school and found Minerva a job. Needless to say, the Marquez household is under a lot of stress and Vero reaps most of that. We ask you to keep this entire household in your prayers. Minerva is NOT a believer, but her children push her every week to go to services on Sunday, and now without choice, they participate in Vero’s Thursday night small group. It’s amazing to see the thing Minerva’s CHILDREN are teaching her. Things such as; God is bigger than us…we have to be thankful for all of our blessings…and even thanking God for difficult things that happen, because that’s how we come to rely on God. Yes, these statements have come from the mouths of a 9 and 10 year old.

See by the three of them coming to Mexico City, a prayer of the Benito Juarez congregation was answered. We’ve been praying for more children and an opportunity to showing God’s outpouring love. Now our kids’ class is being used every Sunday and every member of the Benito Juarez church is taking turns teaching the children. At the end of services, each child (yes Jax too) shares what they learned during class. They are going through The Story with us, which is very very exciting. Please be praying for our kiddos! We love them and they are the future of the Church here in Mexico!

Mid-November Alejandro took us to a Pumas vs. PolyTech football game (GO PUMAS!). Now that’s American Football, not Futbòl (soccer). I have never been to a football game outside of high school (stop cringing!). Of course, Alejandro had to explain everything to us, but it was fun to learn and now I appreciate the game a lot more. It was a great opportunity to spend time with Alejandro and his family. We even brought Jax back a hat from the game.

The day before Thanksgiving we took Jax to the Chapultapec Zoo. Chapultepec Zoo is FREE! Can you believe it?! We had a ton of fun and Jax sure did love his day out. Usually we have a “park day” and we just go to our local park, but last week was a special treat. Jax got to see monkeys, a rhino and some giraffes. The monkeys were his favorite by far. However, I think his MOST favorite thing was running around and being more of a spectacle than the animals. Everywhere we turn people are saying how beautiful he is…at this point I’m pretty sure Jax knows how cute he is and he eats it up! At the end of our zoo trip he got to have his picture taken with Spiderman, Elmo, Winnie the Pooh, and Tiger. He was alright with Spiderman, but really nothing compares to Elmo.

Thanksgiving Day, we hosted the congregation that meets in Tlalpan. The missionaries down there met at the Pink House and served their church members a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Of course, we got to eat and it was fun! I think they had a total of 60 people. What a great turn-out!

This past Saturday, we did Thanksgiving on a much smaller scale. Ryan and I wanted to share the Thanksgiving tradition with the Benito Juarez congregation, so we planned a praise night focusing on thankfulness. Ryan and I cooked all day…all the works; turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, broccoli casserole, rolls, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie and everything else. After our praise night we began to eat at 11pm and then ended the evening with the Lord’s Supper. The last people left at 1am. It was a great night of reflection and we even learned some new songs.

Now, we are gearing up for a Christmas party here at the house. The 5th of December we are looking forward to the surrounding congregations coming to the Pink House and celebrating the holiday season with us. We’re planning a potluck and some Christmas carol singing. Please pray for this time together.

Now for something new and exciting; on the 13th of December, the Benito Juarez congregation will have their Mission/Vision 2010 Sunday. We’ll be talking about plans, goals, and dreams for the New Year. Topics that we will be discussing are the importance of small groups and renovating them, Sunday morning commitment, financial goals and responsibilities, and community outreach. We ask remember us on the 13th. We are hoping to end this year with a bang. I will try to post again before we leave for the holidays. I have a follow up doctor’s appointment on the 22nd to see if my medication is working and also to have another ultrasound on my neck. Please pray for those things also. We love you all and hope that while you are reading this, you are remembering all of our Lord’s blessings in your lives!