Rapture Practice & Other Firsts

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God and the dead in Christ will rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16

It was a Friday, past midnight and we were fast asleep. Fast asleep that is until the blaring of the Mariachi Band with their trumpets startled us wide awake. It sounded as though the party had entered our room. Peering out from the relative safety of our second floor bedroom window, I could see that about twenty-five people including band members had gathered at the door of our neighbor’s house for a fiesta surprise that continued on into the night. That was our first trumpet wake up call since we have been here as well as our first midnight rapture practice.

The “Firsts” were fast and furious for us in the beginning. But even after a year and half they continue to come. Here are some others we have experienced recently:

We had heard that it happens in Puebla; but the other morning while taking the dog out, I saw it for the first time. Our van was covered in volcanic ash. Coming inside I discovered it was also on our bedroom floor where it had fallen through our open window. Popo had quite a belch in the night.

While we continue to grow accustomed to our life here, it is nice from time to time to do something familiar. So, with family in tow, we gathered with friends for a Christian school Christmas program the other evening. The first came after the program when we joined friends for ice cream sundaes at an outside eating area. That was just a little tough for us to do in the past and was a nice first that’s destined to become a family tradition.

We awoke to the New Year with the temperature at a cool 32 degrees. It was our first time at the freezing point and wasn’t exactly what we signed up for when we came to Mexico. We have a small space heater we use to knock the chill off, but I’ve got to tell you we miss the central heating. However, it was up in the 70’s today. It felt soooooo nice!

A bit more important firsts we are looking forward to: first fruits of the harvest, first day of fasting and prayer as a team, first family vacation in Mexico; first friends to join us here, first big breakthrough…

(Pictures in this post were taken by Daniel on his recent ascent to Popo and Ixta.)

Stopped!

I was fighting a nasty cold and really didn’t want to go to the market the other day. If I had only known what adventure lay ahead I wouldn’t have. You will recall in a recent post we mentioned that one thing that takes some getting used to is the fear of Tránsitos (traffic police). While there are good honest ones, they have a reputation of stopping you to, shall we say, extract some “pocket change”.

For us that leads to taking such measures as not passing them when there’s opportunity to linger behind, having an alternative route to get a passenger to their destination when necessary, filling the glove compartment with copies of Passports, FM3’s, a copy of the law, other documents and a list of numbers to call such as team leader, lawyer and director of police.

Never-the-less there I was on the way to the market when I was STOPPED. They asked for my driver’s license; they asked for the certificate of the operator’s sticker we received at the border; they told me it was expired. I assured them it wasn’t. (Actually it was but the law states that if your FM3 visa is current so is your sticker – even if the date has expired.) I gave them a copy of the law; they assured me I was wrong. I assured them I wasn’t. Eventually without explanation they told me to follow them. A couple of minutes later they stopped again, but by then I had been able to reach a friend and fellow missionary who spoke with them on the cell phone. He must have said something right because they handed me back my documents and said, “Until later.” I hope that isn’t an indication of things to come.

Addendum:

For you diligent readers let me take time to add some extra detail here. Approaching this issue is not as simple and straight forward as it might seem. First is the need for a clear understanding of the laws. For instance the FM3 visa/sticker law as stated above is not always understood even by the Tránsitios. Recently our team leader was stopped in Mexico City at which time he produced and explained the law. This particular policeman said, “Thank you I did not know this.” He was released but promptly stopped fifteen minutes later. And we continue to learn laws. For example, we recently learned that our vehicles and our driver’s licenses are considered foreign property and cannot be confiscated. Nice to know, but what do you do when you are threatened with your vehicle being taken?

Then of course there’s that ticklish little issue of “pocket change”. Even in the missionary community there is a wide variance of ideas on how to approach it. Some would say “pocket change” is a bribe and should never be indulged. Besides, once you pay, you became a target for more stops in the future. Some would take a pragmatic approach and say that a little pocket change is worth the time (possibly an hour or two) and headache that it avoids.

Believe it or not culture comes into play in this whole thing. While we may expect government officials to be basically honest, this is not the prevailing thought across the world. The idea of officials receiving “pocket change” is woven into the basic fabric of the society. It is understood by all that this is how the system works and it is no different than tipping a waitress who gives you good service in a restaurant. As a matter of fact government officials depend on these “tips” for their wages. That leaves some accepting it as a cultural norm, others refusing to participate in anyway, and a few sending gifts of appreciation later on.

Outside of law and ethics here is some other advice we have received: 1) Insisting “just give me the ticket” often results in being released 2) NEVER make eye contact with the police as it communicates guilt and will result in being stopped 3) Drive in the far left lane making it more difficult to be stopped 4) If stopped, get your entire family to stand outside the car creating an embarrassing situation for them “How could they stop that poor family?” 5) Hand them a laminated copy of their superior officer’s personal cell number and offer your phone for them to make the call 6) If there are two officers checking the car, one spouse should be with one at the motor and another with the one checking the trunk to assure there is nothing “planted” in your car

It Takes Some Getting Used To

We were talking about adjustments recently and thought that listing a few might be of interest. They are not given in a spirit of “we do it right” or even “we do it better”, but just differences that take some getting used to.

Hanging clothes on the line
Toilet paper in a trash basket not the toilet
Contaminated water and keeping filter full for clean water
No assurance that what is in the store today will be there next week
Sampling fruit and cheese at the market before you buy
No canned pumpkin for Thanksgiving
Outside cafés in winter
Huge potholes in the interstate
No central heat
Fear of Tránsitos (traffic police)
Littered streets and sewage smells
Very dry and itchy skin
Dressing up rather than dressing down
No use of checks or credit cards
Narrow and small – streets, houses, aisles, seats, personal space…
Different health standards
Unexpected left hand turns from right hand lanes
Hours of frustration with the telephone company
Always having a dictionary on hand
All night holiday celebrations
Huge rocks used at constructions sites instead of orange cones
An abundance of religious imagery
Plucked chickens heads and all hanging at the market
Spiritual attacks from the enemy
Intersection venders and entertainers
Beggars
No fast food breakfast
Oaxaca cheese
One football game each week but lots of soccer games
Inexpensive medication and without prescriptions
Men carrying bags

Parasites and diarrhea
Tipping almost everyone
Stray dogs
Climbing on top of the house to check the gas gauge
Freezing at night and sunburns in the day
Turning the water heater off at night and back on in the morning


“Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1

Looking At 2007 – Through the Lens Of Faith

The events of 2007 are complete. Following are some highlights and some possible (in italics) outcomes. By the grace of God and through the lens of faith we believe there was much more that meets the eye.

1) Dulce’s first visit in our home was in October. After studying English and the Bible with us she became a Christian two years later. When we asked her what was the turning point she surprised us by saying, “The first time I was in your home and watched the loving interaction in your family I knew it was something I wanted.”

2) Cases of Bibles were given to friends throughout the year. There are many special stories of God’s grace; of note is the story of Carlos. Not once did he open it when it was given but placed it on a shelf. During a personal crisis a few years later he felt strangely drawn to the Bible. Taking it off the shelf and searching the Scriptures he received Christ. Carlos eventually introduced seventeen members of his family to the Lord and became a godly man and leader for the Mexican church.

3) Our team formed in Puebla and began to pray together. It became the foundation of a forward movement. Of special significance was what it did in our own hearts as well as the evident breaking up of spiritual and generational strongholds. The ground was prepared both for us and for those who followed years later.

4) I worked in a small gift shop for part of this year. It was an opportunity to work on language and share Christ with two brothers – Arturo and Gustavo. For one it became the aroma of life, but sadly for the other it became the aroma of death.

5) 2007 continued to be a year of transition for our children. They had ups and downs, it was good and it was hard. As adults each of them said this time was instrumental in their lives. They became a man and women of faith and led their own families in the Way.

6) We met the Hernandez family begging on the steps of the Cathedral. They were a poor family from a country village who came in to take advantage of the Christmas season. We were able to pass along bread, candy and a Gospel of Luke. Taking it back to the village they read it and waited for someone to come and share the love of God more clearly. Eventually a national Christian from the house church went to the village as a missionary in their own right and led the whole family to the Lord.

7) Friday November 16th seemed as normal as could be. I went to the store for a bottle of coke with Maria and Christina. I didn’t realize it but the Spirit went in ahead of us. Only in eternity did we learn that at that moment there was a strange burning in the hearts of some there to really know God. The seeds were planted for a later harvest.

8) We continued to send Rope-holders and journal about our experiences here. At times we felt as if we were in an arena with our lives being observed by unseen spectators. The Lord used our attempts to be real to encourage some to a deeper walk, to call others into a life of prayer, to cause families to strike out on new journeys of faith, to send missionaries to China, Niger, Mexico and Sri Lanka, to bring others into new life and honor the King of kings in it all - all through the lens of faith.