Sunday Morning Visit – A Photo Journal

We love our church here in Cuernavaca. The people are kind and have a sweet spirit. It’s in a great location with lots people in the surrounding area. (As a matter of fact we plan to set up a lemonade stand at a nearby market soon and give it out free in the name of Jesus.) The pastor is a man who seeks the face of God and teaches His word faithfully. As a matter of fact his whole family has been a huge encouragement to us. Two of his children are in the Youth Group and two others stayed in our home while we were away for the holidays. So, anyway, thought you might be interested in a short tour of a Sunday Morning Meeting.



Parking lot and greeter

They clean up nice for a Sunday morning go to meeting

Front entrace to Iglesia Biblica El Renuevo (The Renewal Bible Church)

We all circle up around the Throne for a time of worship

Tim is the Youth Pastor and former MK from Mexico (His wife Michelle is an MK from Bolivia)

It's all down hill in the foyer



The Youth Group meets outside for Bible study

Our church actually doubles as a Christian business through the week

Pastor rightly dividing the Word of Truth in the main meeting area

We make a quick stop for the traditional American Sunday afternoon chicken dinner

Did We Tell You?

Did we tell you…that after seven months out of the country, life in the US took on a whole new appearance? One of the first things that hit us in the face was the overwhelming enormity of our prosperity. It stretches on and on and on. Everything is so big and nice and clean and luxurious. By comparison it seemed excessive and overdone. It’s really hard to put into words and the longer I sit here trying the harder it seems to become. Not that we are not a product of it ourselves. In our seven months we have already been able to accumulate more than most of our brothers and sisters here.

That I met with two Mormon missionaries at a local restaurant on Saturday. The conversation was as they called it “civil”. We discussed a DVD I had given them the week before entitled The Bible vs. The Book of Mormon. Most of our conversation however centered on God’s revelation to us – what is and what isn’t. There were no outward signs of any heart change, but I am confident that this was a piece of the “Doubt Puzzle” in their lives and by the grace of God will someday lead to their salvation.

Speaking of which, have we told you that we have never felt so “covered’ in prayer as we did for this meeting. It was encouraging for us to know that there were so many “missionaries of prayer” with us at the front lines, and we look forward to joining hands in the future.

That our children now have a Spanish tutor three days a week. It’s extra work for them, but it is good for us to take a step together as a family in learning Spanish. Our tutor is a wonderful Mexican lady and she is also a Christian. Diana is continuing to study under her as well.

That baby girls here in Mexico have their ears pierced before they leave the hospital. Yep, it’s right there on the to do list, listen to heart, draw blood, check respiration, observe muscle tone, pierce ears.

That we appreciate all of you who take the time and effort to read, post, write, call, pray, and just plain love and care about us. Did we tell you that lately?

(Pictures of Chelsea by popular demand.)

Life Here …

Life here (in Mexico) consists of many things for us, but two that always seem to be on the front burner these days are language and culture. Here’s what I mean.

Trying to learn the rules while you are playing the game is difficult at best with the potential of being disastrous. Take for instance a dinner we had at a Mexican home recently. Here are some of the things that are going though our minds: Should we take something as a gift and if so what? Should we make room at the table for the hostess or will she stand to serve the meal? Should we eat when served or wait on until everyone is served? Do we eat everything on our plate or leave a little? Is it okay to take seconds or not? Can we offer to help clear the table? When should we leave without going too quickly or staying too long? Should we give everyone in the family a cultural kiss and/or hug when we leave or just the hostess? Should we send a thank you? It all adds up to the great possibility of breaking the rules of the game – unintentionally but breaking them none-the-less.

Q. How many forms can you think of for the word go in English? A. go, going, goes, went, gone. Q. How many forms are there for go (ir) in Spanish? A. voy, vas, va, vamos, van, yendo, fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron, iba, ibas, ibamos, iban, ire, iras, ira, iremos, iran, iria, irias, iriamos, irian, vaya, vayas, yayamos, vayan, fuera, fueras, fueramos, fueran, ve, vayamonos, ido.

As for our future here we continually hear the same warning. When people learn we are going to live in Puebla, we are cautioned that it is a stronghold of Catholicism. Our first language teacher, our pastor, a stranger at the produce stand and others all say the same thing. We are beginning to feel as though we are walking into some kind of fortress. We have been told that at one time Puebla was the premiere training center of Mexico with countless monasteries and convents.

There is lots of natural beauty here and we saw some of it today as we visited the Barranca del Salto de Sn. Anton. It’s a 40 meter waterfall right in the heart of our city. Amazing!

Day Of The Kings

Gift giving in Mexico isn’t on Christmas Day as we traditionally have in the United States but on January 6th - The Day of the Kings. The evening before, friends meet for a meal which includes a sweet bread in the shape of a crown decorated with nuts and fruit. The traditional drink for this sweet bread is a steaming cup of hot chocolate. In the evening children put out their shoes in hopes that the “Kings” will visit and leave gifts. This of course depends on whether they have been good over the last year.

This week we were invited by our neighbors to join them for a Friday evening celebration of Day of the Kings. While going into completely new situations isn’t easy, we took the opportunity as from the Lord and one reason we are here in the first place. It turned out to be a wonderful evening. We practiced our Spanish and they their English. One of the traditions of this holiday is the “finding” of the baby Jesus. Each person is responsible for cutting their own piece of sweet bread and if the plastic baby is in your piece you are responsible for having a tamale dinner for the group on February 2nd. Diana was the recipient of that distinguished honor. So come Ground Hog’s Day we will be serving tamales if any of you want to join us.

Speaking of holidays, I’m telling you, Mexicans loooooove late night celebrations for holidays. Most holidays are celebrated late into and through the night, the evening before the actual day. Christmas dinner for example is served around midnight on the 24th. Independence Day begins at midnight with the traditional “shout”. The Day of Guadelupe lasts through the night. All are accompanied by plenty of loud music, explosions and tasty food.

“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted. Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.” Isaiah 12:4-5

Reliving 2006

1. Chelsea became our first family dog.
2. By all the comments, Maria having her ears pierced was one of the highlights of the year. By popular demand we include a picture of this fine young lady and her ears.
3. After 32 years of living in West Virginia for Diana and 23 for Ken, we sold our house, packed up the memories and moved on.
4. It was a big family outing for us as we spent time in the Smokey Mts., Charleston S.C., Savannah, St. Augustine, Pensacola and Houston on the way to Mexico.
5. We join the ranks of those who call themselves missionaries.
6. Who would have ever thought that Language School would have become a part of our lives in our 40’s?
7. Jodi Buttram joined up for a tour of duty as she spent five months home-schooling our children.
8. We celebrated another round of birthdays for Daniel 15, Maria 11, and Christina 8.
9. God gave our family special surprises when we arrived in Mexico including a house with a view, ping pong table, a dog, world cup games, special friends…
10. Josiah and Jessi Smith became our first visitors when they came in August with their newborn son, nephew and nieces.
11. Diana was introduced to and became fond of a good cappuccino.
12. The scorpion count was up to 45.
13. Ken began reading Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman and highly recommends it.
14. We watched with interest and trepidation our first presidential election in Mexico.
15. We were able to trust and worship.