Something To Think About

September the 27^th was Diana’s birthday. Even though we continued on with school we found time for lots of celebration. She received over twenty greetings, had a family tea, talked to friends and family back home, and met with a ladies prayer group. Diana and I also went to Las Quintas for breakfast. It has delightful food in a beautiful garden setting.

We recently discovered that September 27^th is also the day for the “flor de pericon.” It is a Mexican marigold wildflower that has a licorice-like smell and is in bloom in September. These flowers are harvested and tied into cross shaped bundles. They are then placed on the doors and doorposts of homes to invoke the protection of Michael the archangel to ward off evil spirits. While many hang these crosses as a custom there are many others who sincerely believe.

Do you find yourself wondering “how in the world could people believe such a thing?” I’ve wondered the same thing, but let me give you something to think about. There is something to be said for people who acknowledge the reality of spiritual forces in every day life. And, it isn’t so far fetched that Michael the Archangel would offer protection. He did help get a message to Daniel (Daniel 10:12-13) and disputed with the devil about the body of Moses (Jude 9). Come to think of it there was also a time when people killed a lamb and splattered its blood on the doorposts to protect themselves from a death angel that was coming. Now who among us would have believed that one?

Here’s something else to think about. There is a country bordering Mexico that has some very different and distressing beliefs. I have heard that most of them sincerely believe that their ancestors came from monkeys. They believe there is no God or at the very least live like it. Instead of offering up their children on an altar of sacrifice as the Aztecs did, they open the womb of their mothers and crush the baby’s skull. They approve of their men abandoning natural relations with women and being inflamed with lust for one another.

So I ask you, who is in the greater darkness? Who is the most deceived? Who cares?! Darkness is darkness and deception is deception. But as we weep for those living in darkness in this country, let us not do it with an air of spiritual superiority but with weeping for the spiritual blindness in our own country as well.

Meanderings From…Guess Who

I’m well on the way in making those million blunders we were told we would make while learning the language. This week I told my conversation leader that I was already a son of the King of Kings. When he asked why I replied, “Because Jesus Christ forgave my fish.” (Pescados = fish; pecados = sins)

Yes, we are on this grand, exotic, exciting adventure. A new world opens up to us in some way everyday. It’s expanding our horizons and enriching our children’s lives. The truth be known though it also has its tough times. I don’t know if it would be possible if it weren’t for the Lord graciously giving us a renewed perspective over the last few years.

At times in our Christian lives we have emphasized keeping standards and expectations with a focus on what we shouldn’t do. It was easy to be motivated by guilt and to set extra-biblical expectations for ourselves and others. Our Christian life was lived out of our best efforts not to do the wrong thing and displease God.

At other times we have emphasized positive principles and guidelines with a focus on what we should do. We were often motivated by the personal benefits we would receive for obedience. Life was lived out of our best efforts to always decide to do the right thing to please God.

What we want to emphasize is the sufficiency of Christ’s life in us with a focus on surrendering to His Lordship. We desire to be motivated to bring glory to God as we depend on Him and to live the Christian life through the control of the Holy Spirit.

Are they all the same? Are they just different approaches for different people? Perhaps... Honestly we find ourselves emphasizing them all at different times and in different ways but only the latter has been a spring of living water welling up inside us.

All of you dog lovers will be happy to know that Chelsea has clearly become a part of our family by now. She pretty much lives a dog’s life of sleeping, playing, eating and being petted. We all are attached to her and can’t imagine how we managed without a dog for so long.

Prominent & Dominant

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It’s difficult to describe how prominent the Virgin of Guadalupe (Mary) is here in Mexico and how dominant she is on the religious landscape.

Prominent and dominant is one way to describe it, pervasive is another. Her picture or image can be seen in almost every home, church, business, bus, cemetery and market. While I want desperately to give you a word picture of how worship and superstition surrounding her permeates this society, words fail me. So, I will turn to the words of others in this quest.

Pope John Paul II said in one of his visits to Mexico, "I come to you bearing in my eyes and in my soul the Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, your Protectrix. You bear a filial love toward her which I have been able to spot not only in her shrine but also while passing through the streets and cities of Mexico. Wherever there is a Mexican, there is the Mother of Guadalupe. Someone recently told me that 96 out of 100 Mexicans are Catholic but 100 out of 100 are Guadalupeans!"









On the other hand one missionary wrote to me and said, “…December 12^th… is the day to honor the "Virgin of Guadalupe". Several million people a year will walk to Mexico City to the cathedral of Guadalupe to pay homage. Many will crawl on their hands and knees the last few miles or blocks to gain merit.” And from another, “To see people crawling on their knees trying to gain favor from Mary is enough to break even the hardest Christian heart. To see priests bow to Mary and ignore Jesus brings one to the point of anger. To see the precious indigenous people offering the sacrifice of first fruits to the feet of Mary is enough to drive a person to tears.”

How I wish I could inspire you to throw your life away to bring hope and light…

(You can read the account of the supposed appearance of the Virgin of Guadelupe to Juan Diego in 1531 at Mexico Connect.)

A Feel For Mexico At Home

There’s nothing quite like experiencing Mexico up close and personal as some of our friends were able to do in a recent visit with us. It’s so difficult to put into words or even capture in pictures the atmosphere and life here. Hopefully some day you will be able to see it for yourself, but in the meantime we thought it would be fun to give you ways of getting a feel for Mexico at home.

* Use ONLY water that has been purchased at a store for drinking, cooking and brushing your teeth. Make it a one week effort.

* Watch or play a complete game of soccer (futbol).

* Have a meal at your favorite Mexican restaurant BUT order something you have never eaten before.

* Send your children to school (public, private, home) in a uniform.

* Listen to a tape, CD or DVD in Spanish for one hour.

* Go to a local mall or shopping center with speed bumps (topes) and drive over them 15 or 20 times.

* Stop in at a local Roman Catholic Church to look at the icons, pictures, furniture and altars. Sit for a while thinking about a country that is 94% Catholic with a spiritual atmosphere that permeates the country.

* Have a cookout and invite friends. Grill out on a busy sidewalk and string up a tarp up over the tables.

* Check your beds for scorpions at night. If you get up in the night use a flashlight to look for them on the floor. Shake out your shoes in the morning.

* Soak all of your fruit in bleach water totally submerged for at least ten minutes.

* Randomly and without warning turn off the electricity for a couple of hours three times in a week’s span.

* Attend a Hispanic Church in your area.

* Carry a pocketful of dimes and give two or three to anyone who helps you in some way (shopping cart workers, bag boys, trash collectors, gas attendants, convenience store help, etc.)

* Take a taxi ride, bargain for the price before you get inside.

* Memorize a sentence in Spanish and say it to a few Spanish speakers.

* Ring a bell when the trash truck arrives to let the neighbors know to bring out their trash.

* Take fifteen minutes to pray for a spiritual awakening in Mexico.

The number you try will tell you about yourself:

2-5 – You have more than a passing interest in Mexico

6-10 – You have either visited Mexico already or should plan to in the future

11-17 – You should seriously pray about joining us as missionaries to Mexico

Round 2 - A Photo Journal

Sunday Afternoon Stroll

Morning Light

In Need


Stained Images



The Borda Garden

Market Place Musicians

Chicken Tacos At Los Colorines

Four Amigas In Traditional Dress

Streets Of Tepotzlan

Street Performance

At the Pyramid Overlooking Tepotzlan