This is a video of last winter when we shot off some fireworks. Some of it is pretty tough to see, but wait for the actual firing of the rocket. It's pretty cool.
Mexicans seem to love fireworks- they get set off for a few weeks around Christmas and new years- and also for any of the various Mexican holidays. Here in Tijuana area we have enough deportees from the US that they'll even celebrate US holidays like the 4th of July with fireworks. It's legal, inexpensive and slightly dangerous. I almost blew up a neighbours house in the bottom of the canyon last winter. I apologized and all was well. Then I changed the angle of the launcher.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Saturday, August 09, 2008
lots of tears...
I experienced my fair share of tears yesterday- not mine, but the tears of gratitude and the tears of a broken heart.
Yesterday I lead a women's soccer team from a Christian College in California to our Eastern Colonias to help a Christian family with a roof. They had received a tarp last year from us to keep the rain out and it was pretty helpful at least over a couple of beds, but not over the rest of the house.
They live in a 2 room modest home made of scrap wood at the side of the railroad track on squatters land. The husband has health problems and recently had surgery on his intestines. He has been unable to work so they survive on the equivalent of welfare which pays them about $100/ month to feed the couple and their 2 teenage daughters. The mom raises budgies to sell to veterinarians for some extra income. She sells 10 birds for $40 every few months to supplement their income.
One of their teen daughters is about 14 and was about to enter secondary school next week, but cannot because the cost is way too high for them. She is deaf and mute, but has been able to excel in school. Last year she received the equivalent of an A Average and was looking forward to going to high school. The cost for her to go- for books, shoes, uniform and tuition is about $200. About 2 months wages for the family. This is the ordinary cost for this!
Well the team finished putting rolled roofing down on the house and in the end prayed with the family and gave them some clothes and food. At which point in time the mother began to cry. She had tears of gratitude and thankfulness to God for sending this group to be a blessing to them! Their roof before this consisted of plain wood of different types shapes and quality, with huge gaps that allowed the rain to pour in in the winter. Praise God they will be dry this year!!
During this I went to visit a pastor I know in a nearby community. He had recently lost his paying job and has been struggling to make ends meet. He started a welding business out back of the church and he welds gates, doors and security windows out there. The problem he is finding is finding customers! His neighbourhood is quite poor and the material is pretty expensive. There are wealthier neighbourhoods, but people are generally not willing to give half down before the job to someone they do not know. So Pastor Julio is kind of relegated to people he knows who would have the money to pay him.
While we were visiting, Pastor Julio mentioned that school was starting soon and he had 10 kids in his church who can't go to school this year because they do not have the money for books, uniforms and tuition. Tears swelled up in his eyes as he thought of these kids being destined to desperate poverty for the remainder of their lives. But it wasn't so much the poverty he was worried about, it was the things that happen to kids in poverty.
Pastor Julio grew up in a rough family. He was getting beaten so much he left home at 8 years old to live on the streets. He almost immediately turned to drugs and alcohol to dullen the pain and struggled to survive on the streets. At 18 he was drunk, living on the streets and God spoke to a woman who was walking by him. "Tell this boy about me" she sensed God saying. But he's drunk and a mess, there is no way he wants to hear about Jesus! But God persisted and this frightened woman shared Jesus with a drunk 18 year old who had never known love. He believed her and placed his Trust in Jesus and began to follow Him. His life took a dramatic turnaround. He got training and a job as an iron worker and after some time went to a Bible Institute and became a pastor. He has a true pastors heart and loves the people God has given him, especially the vulnerable kids. He had tears in his eyes as he spoke about their potential and their vulnerability.
YUGO's back to school has had to be scaled back this year because of lack of donations. Last summer I went to Canada and shared the need and we had over 20 kids sponsored, but this year we only have received 2 donations from Canada!
If you are willing and able to help there is much need here! We are only able to work with a few of our poorest churches to help at least get the church kids in school as a blessing to our brothers and sisters in Jesus.
The costs are as follows:
High School - $550
Jr High - $300
Elementary - $150
Kindergarten - $120
If your heart moves you and you are willing, you can send a check made out to YUGO Canada to :
YUGO Canada
Box 231
St. Albert, AB
T8N 1N3
Please send a note saying it is for the Backpack program!
Thank you for your love! We appreciate you folks and your partnership with us! I'm hoping to be able to see a bunch of you when I'm back in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in November!
God bless,
Mike
Yesterday I lead a women's soccer team from a Christian College in California to our Eastern Colonias to help a Christian family with a roof. They had received a tarp last year from us to keep the rain out and it was pretty helpful at least over a couple of beds, but not over the rest of the house.
They live in a 2 room modest home made of scrap wood at the side of the railroad track on squatters land. The husband has health problems and recently had surgery on his intestines. He has been unable to work so they survive on the equivalent of welfare which pays them about $100/ month to feed the couple and their 2 teenage daughters. The mom raises budgies to sell to veterinarians for some extra income. She sells 10 birds for $40 every few months to supplement their income.
One of their teen daughters is about 14 and was about to enter secondary school next week, but cannot because the cost is way too high for them. She is deaf and mute, but has been able to excel in school. Last year she received the equivalent of an A Average and was looking forward to going to high school. The cost for her to go- for books, shoes, uniform and tuition is about $200. About 2 months wages for the family. This is the ordinary cost for this!
Well the team finished putting rolled roofing down on the house and in the end prayed with the family and gave them some clothes and food. At which point in time the mother began to cry. She had tears of gratitude and thankfulness to God for sending this group to be a blessing to them! Their roof before this consisted of plain wood of different types shapes and quality, with huge gaps that allowed the rain to pour in in the winter. Praise God they will be dry this year!!
During this I went to visit a pastor I know in a nearby community. He had recently lost his paying job and has been struggling to make ends meet. He started a welding business out back of the church and he welds gates, doors and security windows out there. The problem he is finding is finding customers! His neighbourhood is quite poor and the material is pretty expensive. There are wealthier neighbourhoods, but people are generally not willing to give half down before the job to someone they do not know. So Pastor Julio is kind of relegated to people he knows who would have the money to pay him.
While we were visiting, Pastor Julio mentioned that school was starting soon and he had 10 kids in his church who can't go to school this year because they do not have the money for books, uniforms and tuition. Tears swelled up in his eyes as he thought of these kids being destined to desperate poverty for the remainder of their lives. But it wasn't so much the poverty he was worried about, it was the things that happen to kids in poverty.
Pastor Julio grew up in a rough family. He was getting beaten so much he left home at 8 years old to live on the streets. He almost immediately turned to drugs and alcohol to dullen the pain and struggled to survive on the streets. At 18 he was drunk, living on the streets and God spoke to a woman who was walking by him. "Tell this boy about me" she sensed God saying. But he's drunk and a mess, there is no way he wants to hear about Jesus! But God persisted and this frightened woman shared Jesus with a drunk 18 year old who had never known love. He believed her and placed his Trust in Jesus and began to follow Him. His life took a dramatic turnaround. He got training and a job as an iron worker and after some time went to a Bible Institute and became a pastor. He has a true pastors heart and loves the people God has given him, especially the vulnerable kids. He had tears in his eyes as he spoke about their potential and their vulnerability.
YUGO's back to school has had to be scaled back this year because of lack of donations. Last summer I went to Canada and shared the need and we had over 20 kids sponsored, but this year we only have received 2 donations from Canada!
If you are willing and able to help there is much need here! We are only able to work with a few of our poorest churches to help at least get the church kids in school as a blessing to our brothers and sisters in Jesus.
The costs are as follows:
High School - $550
Jr High - $300
Elementary - $150
Kindergarten - $120
If your heart moves you and you are willing, you can send a check made out to YUGO Canada to :
YUGO Canada
Box 231
St. Albert, AB
T8N 1N3
Please send a note saying it is for the Backpack program!
Thank you for your love! We appreciate you folks and your partnership with us! I'm hoping to be able to see a bunch of you when I'm back in Saskatchewan and Manitoba in November!
God bless,
Mike
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Multa...
I learned a new Spanish word today. Multa. I learned this when a car with flashing lights (not a police car!) signaled for me to pull over.
It turns out that when you register your vehicle here in Baja California, it is only good until Dec. 31 of that year. I was unaware of this. When the government of BC vehicle pulled me over he asked for my license and wrote me up a "Multa" - a Fine for not re-registering my vehicle. I confessed ignorance because I didn't expect that everyone's registrations would be finished the same day. He said I wasn't that far out from the real re-registration date, because although it says Dec. 31 is the expiration date, they give 6 MONTHs grace for everyone- so it is actually June 31 that it is really due-- without fine.
Better than that, he said that I have today and tomorrow to register the truck and if I did- I could get it done without a fine. So the REALITY is that the REAL expiration date is the day AFTER you get stopped.
So I went and re-registered my vehicle. I went to an information booth that was unmanned and waited. Then I decided to ask another government worker who was engrossed in a magazine where I go to pay fr this and she sent me to cashier #9. Cashier #9 was very pleasant. She took my information and sent me to Cashiers 7 and 5. Cashier 7 was not available so I went to cashier 1 who called cashier 7 over the intercom (READ: She yelled out "MARIO!!!!) Mario promptly came to his desk and took about 12 of my dollars. $8.00 was actual fees of some type. $2.60 was for a certificate that states I don't owe any debts to the government. 25% was taxes to support the ministry of families and Sports and Education. $5.20 was for something I will never understand because it is written with short forms- no real words. and finally there is a $2.00 "Voluntary" donation to the red Cross.
After that I was sent to cashier 5 who wasn't there. Cashier 1 again utilized the intercom system (READ: Yelled out "JOSE!!") who promptly came to help me. There I paid about $90. ($5.00 of which was another voluntary donation. The rest was for various fees that make no sense to me.
So now I know that every year, precisely 1 day after I get pulled over, I need to re-register my vehicle and donate to various government organizations!
UPDATE:
Seve Barboza had her studies done finally and got her results. She does NOT have cancer or anything else grave! (Praise God!) This doctor (the specialist) is asking her to cut back on the medications and see if that helps. He feels that the medications are causing havoc on her system and she needs to rest her stomach and bowels for a few weeks. She has another appointment in 2 weeks to see if she has made any advancement.
Jose is suffering from problems with his prostate. He did get an appointment last week. The doctor ordered him a study- which he can get in a month or so. And another appointment a month after that. He is looking at getting into a private clinic to for the study and result- he could have both of those done by the end of next week, Lord willing. Praise God for His provision for this couple!
OTHER MEDICAL NEWS
A little girl we'd been helping out, Misi, has a cleft palette. She had it fixed last winter by an American doctor at a clinic here, but it did not take well. She needs more work done and one of our missionaries has found an opportunity for her to get a repair done as well as speech therapy to help her make a full, excellent recovery. Please pray that Misi can get the paperwork needed to get this done- they need passports and medical visas which can be difficult to get. Please pray for God to provide them with the needed finances to get the paperwork down. This family are not believers and the father is quite antagonistic to Jesus and his Good News. Please pray that they would experience the love of Christ and respond to Him in repentance and faith!
OTHER NEWS
Our vehicles...
Today I took my truck in to the shop for transmission problems, which turned out not to be too bad. However, I am losing engine coolant- about 2 liters in 2 or 3 weeks. There is no noticeable leak anywhere, which apparently usually means that it is leaking into the engine via a bad gasket. This is a huge expense in Canada/US but here it is not so bad, about $350 and 2 days work. I've been putting in a couple hundred dollars a month into these vehicles for repairs for the last 4 months or so and it is taking quite a toll!
The other day I was driving the van (1994 Grand Voyageur) on errands in the states when I noticed the engine temperature light was going crazy. I pulled over at a gas station and found out that I had very little water left in the rad. I filled it with a gallon of coolant and 1-1.5 gallons of water. It was almost empty! Again- it looks to be a major leak into the engine. This one needs to be done right away or it could seize the engine...
We appreciate your prayers for these vehicles! At YUGO we often have vehicles donated and rarely we have good vehicles donated so we are praying that one comes in that would suit our needs for the type of driving we do.
SUMMER
Summer is going well. Shar is spending lots of time getting ready for the homeschool year starting in September. Class is going well for me. It's been good to be a blessing to the students and see them growing in their knowledge of God's Word. I've been learning a ton as well as we talk about culture and our own ways of serving and loving Jesus! I've also been teaching some medical mission interns and have been enjoying that tremendously.
FALL
Fall is coming up quickly! We have a few plans in the wings.
Construction
We have a team coming down from Alberta to help build a church in Valle Redondo, a squatter village in the far Eastern outskirts of Tijuana. They are building a 10 meter X 15 meter 2 story church building for this church of 75 adults and 35+ kids. It is a growing church plant of almost 1 year. Pastor Ramiro and his wife Katy and 2 other members are in my class and have been a great, faithful addition. They have a great vision for reaching their neighbourhood with the Good News of Jesus and helping with the desperate poverty in their community by providing meals for kids, a day care so single moms can go to work without putting kids in an orphanage ( a common practice here) and a medical clinic to assist with the huge, ongoing medical needs of this area. I'm glad t be able to partner with Ramiro and Katy in their ministry!
Canada
I have been invited to speak in Nipawin, Saskatchewan for their alumni retreat this November 21-23. I'm taking the opportunity to be back to connect with churches and supporters so I'll be back from Nov 5-24 or so, depending on travel costs! At this time the cost to fly and rent a car is pretty high, it's almost the same as driving from here with the whole family! So we are looking for places to stay and people to connect with. If you'd like us at your church, small group, youth group just with your family during that time- please email and let me know if we can work something out!
msmcdonald@yugomail.org
Semi-confirmed Schedule:
Nov 5- arrive in S'toon
Nov 6-15 open (I'm waiting for a response from a church on the 9th)
Nov 16th- North Battleford, SK
Nov 17-21- Swan River, MB
Nov 21-23- Nipawin, SK
Nov 24- Depart for Mexico.
Please let me know if you can give me an opportunity to share a report on the ministry here while I'm back!
God bless!!
Until Next time,
Mike for the family.
It turns out that when you register your vehicle here in Baja California, it is only good until Dec. 31 of that year. I was unaware of this. When the government of BC vehicle pulled me over he asked for my license and wrote me up a "Multa" - a Fine for not re-registering my vehicle. I confessed ignorance because I didn't expect that everyone's registrations would be finished the same day. He said I wasn't that far out from the real re-registration date, because although it says Dec. 31 is the expiration date, they give 6 MONTHs grace for everyone- so it is actually June 31 that it is really due-- without fine.
Better than that, he said that I have today and tomorrow to register the truck and if I did- I could get it done without a fine. So the REALITY is that the REAL expiration date is the day AFTER you get stopped.
So I went and re-registered my vehicle. I went to an information booth that was unmanned and waited. Then I decided to ask another government worker who was engrossed in a magazine where I go to pay fr this and she sent me to cashier #9. Cashier #9 was very pleasant. She took my information and sent me to Cashiers 7 and 5. Cashier 7 was not available so I went to cashier 1 who called cashier 7 over the intercom (READ: She yelled out "MARIO!!!!) Mario promptly came to his desk and took about 12 of my dollars. $8.00 was actual fees of some type. $2.60 was for a certificate that states I don't owe any debts to the government. 25% was taxes to support the ministry of families and Sports and Education. $5.20 was for something I will never understand because it is written with short forms- no real words. and finally there is a $2.00 "Voluntary" donation to the red Cross.
After that I was sent to cashier 5 who wasn't there. Cashier 1 again utilized the intercom system (READ: Yelled out "JOSE!!") who promptly came to help me. There I paid about $90. ($5.00 of which was another voluntary donation. The rest was for various fees that make no sense to me.
So now I know that every year, precisely 1 day after I get pulled over, I need to re-register my vehicle and donate to various government organizations!
UPDATE:
Seve Barboza had her studies done finally and got her results. She does NOT have cancer or anything else grave! (Praise God!) This doctor (the specialist) is asking her to cut back on the medications and see if that helps. He feels that the medications are causing havoc on her system and she needs to rest her stomach and bowels for a few weeks. She has another appointment in 2 weeks to see if she has made any advancement.
Jose is suffering from problems with his prostate. He did get an appointment last week. The doctor ordered him a study- which he can get in a month or so. And another appointment a month after that. He is looking at getting into a private clinic to for the study and result- he could have both of those done by the end of next week, Lord willing. Praise God for His provision for this couple!
OTHER MEDICAL NEWS
A little girl we'd been helping out, Misi, has a cleft palette. She had it fixed last winter by an American doctor at a clinic here, but it did not take well. She needs more work done and one of our missionaries has found an opportunity for her to get a repair done as well as speech therapy to help her make a full, excellent recovery. Please pray that Misi can get the paperwork needed to get this done- they need passports and medical visas which can be difficult to get. Please pray for God to provide them with the needed finances to get the paperwork down. This family are not believers and the father is quite antagonistic to Jesus and his Good News. Please pray that they would experience the love of Christ and respond to Him in repentance and faith!
OTHER NEWS
Our vehicles...
Today I took my truck in to the shop for transmission problems, which turned out not to be too bad. However, I am losing engine coolant- about 2 liters in 2 or 3 weeks. There is no noticeable leak anywhere, which apparently usually means that it is leaking into the engine via a bad gasket. This is a huge expense in Canada/US but here it is not so bad, about $350 and 2 days work. I've been putting in a couple hundred dollars a month into these vehicles for repairs for the last 4 months or so and it is taking quite a toll!
The other day I was driving the van (1994 Grand Voyageur) on errands in the states when I noticed the engine temperature light was going crazy. I pulled over at a gas station and found out that I had very little water left in the rad. I filled it with a gallon of coolant and 1-1.5 gallons of water. It was almost empty! Again- it looks to be a major leak into the engine. This one needs to be done right away or it could seize the engine...
We appreciate your prayers for these vehicles! At YUGO we often have vehicles donated and rarely we have good vehicles donated so we are praying that one comes in that would suit our needs for the type of driving we do.
SUMMER
Summer is going well. Shar is spending lots of time getting ready for the homeschool year starting in September. Class is going well for me. It's been good to be a blessing to the students and see them growing in their knowledge of God's Word. I've been learning a ton as well as we talk about culture and our own ways of serving and loving Jesus! I've also been teaching some medical mission interns and have been enjoying that tremendously.
FALL
Fall is coming up quickly! We have a few plans in the wings.
Construction
We have a team coming down from Alberta to help build a church in Valle Redondo, a squatter village in the far Eastern outskirts of Tijuana. They are building a 10 meter X 15 meter 2 story church building for this church of 75 adults and 35+ kids. It is a growing church plant of almost 1 year. Pastor Ramiro and his wife Katy and 2 other members are in my class and have been a great, faithful addition. They have a great vision for reaching their neighbourhood with the Good News of Jesus and helping with the desperate poverty in their community by providing meals for kids, a day care so single moms can go to work without putting kids in an orphanage ( a common practice here) and a medical clinic to assist with the huge, ongoing medical needs of this area. I'm glad t be able to partner with Ramiro and Katy in their ministry!
Canada
I have been invited to speak in Nipawin, Saskatchewan for their alumni retreat this November 21-23. I'm taking the opportunity to be back to connect with churches and supporters so I'll be back from Nov 5-24 or so, depending on travel costs! At this time the cost to fly and rent a car is pretty high, it's almost the same as driving from here with the whole family! So we are looking for places to stay and people to connect with. If you'd like us at your church, small group, youth group just with your family during that time- please email and let me know if we can work something out!
msmcdonald@yugomail.org
Semi-confirmed Schedule:
Nov 5- arrive in S'toon
Nov 6-15 open (I'm waiting for a response from a church on the 9th)
Nov 16th- North Battleford, SK
Nov 17-21- Swan River, MB
Nov 21-23- Nipawin, SK
Nov 24- Depart for Mexico.
Please let me know if you can give me an opportunity to share a report on the ministry here while I'm back!
God bless!!
Until Next time,
Mike for the family.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Jose and Seve
Praise God!
A couple people have given towards Jose and Seves medical cost!
Since I last blogged, Jose was called into the Dr.'s office and given an appointment for next week with the specialist-- Praise God! He is feeling a bit better lately and is looking forward to seeing what the specialist has to say. Please keep him in your prayers as they do their investigative work with him this upcoming week.
Seve had her colonoscopy and assosciated tests on Friday. She is feeling a little rough after the tests- as she couldn't eat almost 2 days before the test and needed to take something to purge her before the test-- she said it was incredibly disgusting stuff and the purging process was suprisingly less joyful and comfortable than one would think. They gave her a general aneasthetic during the test and afterwards they sent her home while still groggy! She was in, out and home within 4 hours but quite tired and in some pain afterwards. She had one other test afterwards, has one more this coming week and then a consultation with the Doctor to let them know the results of the tests.
We appreciate your prayers on their behalf- they are a great couple whom we've come to admire greatly!
On another note- we had a birthday celebration with Caleb at the drive-in theatre! A fine time was had by all as we watched "Wall-E". We were all a bit disappointed- not that there was anything bad about it, but I suppose we've come to expect a more entertaining film from Pixar. This was ok- but very forgetable.
Thanks to someone's generosity, we'll be taking the boys to the waterpark in August! Thank You and Praise God. It has been a great learning experience for our boys to see the benefits of sacrifice!
Thanks for praying and Partnering!
Until Next Time,
Mike for the family.
Php. 4
I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
A couple people have given towards Jose and Seves medical cost!
Since I last blogged, Jose was called into the Dr.'s office and given an appointment for next week with the specialist-- Praise God! He is feeling a bit better lately and is looking forward to seeing what the specialist has to say. Please keep him in your prayers as they do their investigative work with him this upcoming week.
Seve had her colonoscopy and assosciated tests on Friday. She is feeling a little rough after the tests- as she couldn't eat almost 2 days before the test and needed to take something to purge her before the test-- she said it was incredibly disgusting stuff and the purging process was suprisingly less joyful and comfortable than one would think. They gave her a general aneasthetic during the test and afterwards they sent her home while still groggy! She was in, out and home within 4 hours but quite tired and in some pain afterwards. She had one other test afterwards, has one more this coming week and then a consultation with the Doctor to let them know the results of the tests.
We appreciate your prayers on their behalf- they are a great couple whom we've come to admire greatly!
On another note- we had a birthday celebration with Caleb at the drive-in theatre! A fine time was had by all as we watched "Wall-E". We were all a bit disappointed- not that there was anything bad about it, but I suppose we've come to expect a more entertaining film from Pixar. This was ok- but very forgetable.
Thanks to someone's generosity, we'll be taking the boys to the waterpark in August! Thank You and Praise God. It has been a great learning experience for our boys to see the benefits of sacrifice!
Thanks for praying and Partnering!
Until Next Time,
Mike for the family.
Php. 4
I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
20To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Fasting...
Jose and Severa are two of the most faithful people in my class. Rarely do they miss a class unless they are sick (and even then rarely...) or off on a mission trip somewhere in Southern Mexico.
Jose is one of several leaders in a little church that has a missions mindset. The attendance is less than 30 regularly, yet they have sent off and support several missionaries.The average income for a family in the church would be $400/ month. So each tithes to pay the lights, water and propane bills etc. and at the end of each month they take special offerings to pay their missionaries. Much more than 50% of their total monthly offering goes to support their missionaries working with Native peoples of Mexico. A really inspiring group!
On one of their trips to meet with some folks who have gone out from the church to live in the south, they think Severa contracted some kind of disease. She came back with severe, bloody diarrhea. She has seen multiple doctors and was in the hospital for a week. She has to have some tests done (colonoscopy) to check for colon cancer. She has had the diarrhea since March! The problem is that they have purchased government insurance for their medical needs and although the tests would be free, she has to wait until September to get them done! That will have been 6 months with diarrhea and other symptoms until the test, never mind any operation. Tijuana has dozens of Doctors and clinics to take care of this privately, but the cost is about $500.00 and this couple makes less than that each month... If you could please pray for Severa!!
Her husband Jose was on a trip to encourage their missionaries in southern Baja when he woke up in the middle of the night sicker than a dog. A visit to the Doctor provided the same frustration Severa had-- yes you are badly ill, wait several months for an appointment. So they scraped up what they had left for the month and got some tests done. He has severe prostatitis. A normal test for a 50 year old is about 4.5 or so- his test was 25.6! He has had severe fevers for 2 weeks now, extreme pain all the time, but esp. when he urinates and he looks like hes been run through the ringer.
He needs an appointment with a urologist but the government urologist (one for a city of 3 million!) has no appointments. At all. He does not know how long it will take. He has been taking medicine that has helped a little bit- only a low grade fever now, but still excruciating pain. He told me yesterday that a Dr.'s appointment outside of insurance is about $50.00 plus any tests and medicines. But they are tapped out already, having paid a lot for their medication.
So I was talking to my young men (Elijah Caleb and Jacob) this morning about this. We did not have enough support this month to get a full paycheck and I've had both of our vehicles in the shop twice each this month which has further drained the account. I'm wanting to help out, but we don't have much right now until child tax credit comes in on Friday. Even then, after paying the bills that it pays and some gas and food money, we will have enough left for Caleb's birthday party at a water park. So I told them we were cutting back- no eating out for the rest of the month, no tacos or soda or anything like that- but even so, we would not have enough to help Jose out with medical bills.
Then Caleb said "what about the waterpark... we could not go there and give that money to them." Elijah and Jacob agreed. They said it was a much better use of our money to help these guys out--what if the have cancer, or if his infection gets much worse and he gets really sick?!
I am so proud of my men! They get it- They understand loving God with everything you have and loving your neighbour like yourself!
Isaiah 56
Jose is one of several leaders in a little church that has a missions mindset. The attendance is less than 30 regularly, yet they have sent off and support several missionaries.The average income for a family in the church would be $400/ month. So each tithes to pay the lights, water and propane bills etc. and at the end of each month they take special offerings to pay their missionaries. Much more than 50% of their total monthly offering goes to support their missionaries working with Native peoples of Mexico. A really inspiring group!
On one of their trips to meet with some folks who have gone out from the church to live in the south, they think Severa contracted some kind of disease. She came back with severe, bloody diarrhea. She has seen multiple doctors and was in the hospital for a week. She has to have some tests done (colonoscopy) to check for colon cancer. She has had the diarrhea since March! The problem is that they have purchased government insurance for their medical needs and although the tests would be free, she has to wait until September to get them done! That will have been 6 months with diarrhea and other symptoms until the test, never mind any operation. Tijuana has dozens of Doctors and clinics to take care of this privately, but the cost is about $500.00 and this couple makes less than that each month... If you could please pray for Severa!!
Her husband Jose was on a trip to encourage their missionaries in southern Baja when he woke up in the middle of the night sicker than a dog. A visit to the Doctor provided the same frustration Severa had-- yes you are badly ill, wait several months for an appointment. So they scraped up what they had left for the month and got some tests done. He has severe prostatitis. A normal test for a 50 year old is about 4.5 or so- his test was 25.6! He has had severe fevers for 2 weeks now, extreme pain all the time, but esp. when he urinates and he looks like hes been run through the ringer.
He needs an appointment with a urologist but the government urologist (one for a city of 3 million!) has no appointments. At all. He does not know how long it will take. He has been taking medicine that has helped a little bit- only a low grade fever now, but still excruciating pain. He told me yesterday that a Dr.'s appointment outside of insurance is about $50.00 plus any tests and medicines. But they are tapped out already, having paid a lot for their medication.
So I was talking to my young men (Elijah Caleb and Jacob) this morning about this. We did not have enough support this month to get a full paycheck and I've had both of our vehicles in the shop twice each this month which has further drained the account. I'm wanting to help out, but we don't have much right now until child tax credit comes in on Friday. Even then, after paying the bills that it pays and some gas and food money, we will have enough left for Caleb's birthday party at a water park. So I told them we were cutting back- no eating out for the rest of the month, no tacos or soda or anything like that- but even so, we would not have enough to help Jose out with medical bills.
Then Caleb said "what about the waterpark... we could not go there and give that money to them." Elijah and Jacob agreed. They said it was a much better use of our money to help these guys out--what if the have cancer, or if his infection gets much worse and he gets really sick?!
I am so proud of my men! They get it- They understand loving God with everything you have and loving your neighbour like yourself!
Isaiah 56
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Quinceanera "Sweet 15"
I had a cultural experience last Saturday- my first Quniceanera!
Quinceanera is a girls 15th Birthday- a HUGE deal here in Mexico! I got there about 1 hour and 15 minutes late, hoping I didn't miss the meal. It turned out nothing had started yet- so I was just on time!
So it starts with music- some kind of Christian pop that celebrates the quinceanera and some girls comes down the aisle(it was outdoors and the aisle was only between 10 chairs in single file- 5 on each side of the aisle.) There were 10 girls likely ranging in age from 4-14. They come down the aisle slowly with flower petal baskets and bubbles. They are dressed in little ball dresses with their hair all done up nicely. Then the crowd stands and claps for the special 15 year old as she walks in between the other girls dressed in a wedding-type dress with a crown on her head as they toss flower petals and blow bubbles at her. She has a specially decorated chair at the front and then a preacher talks for about 30 minutes. He spoke about purity and following God through adolescence etc. Then the birthday girl gets a ring to signify a covenant between her and God to save herself for marriage. She also gets a new pink Bible and a pillow for kneeling on to pray.
Her mom gives her a baby doll that is her "last gift as a child" she then gives that doll away to one of the little girls who had the flower petals and bubbles to signify that she has left childhood and is entering into young adulthood. She was then presented, with her escort, to the world as "Senorita Ramirez"!
She leaves the same way she left to rose petals and bubbles and a song and then we ate Birria ( a pulled beef dish in a sauce-- very tasty!!)
Rights of passage are important, but I was left wondering (with no answer given...) why there isn't a similar celebration for guys- to recognize their "coming of age". I suppose historically it may have to do with when a girl is eligible to be married and for the guys- they are eligible to marry when they can prove to the girls parents that he is responsible enough to care for their daugter...
I watched the cake for a good part of the ceremony. It was a 3 story wedding type cake with 2 other cakes on the side. All the cakes were covered with some veil-like material, presumably to protect them from the hundreds of flies that were around. Eventually the weight of the flies pushed the veil close enough for them to get a taste (or it was close enough already...). And did they feast!! The sight was quite disgusting, and apparantly others shared my disgust as 3 women got up, dis-veiled the cake and shooed the flies away- for 1 hour (or more!!).
Unfortunatly, I needed to go to class before we got to the cake part, so I was left without having a chance to try it...
Quinceanera is a girls 15th Birthday- a HUGE deal here in Mexico! I got there about 1 hour and 15 minutes late, hoping I didn't miss the meal. It turned out nothing had started yet- so I was just on time!
So it starts with music- some kind of Christian pop that celebrates the quinceanera and some girls comes down the aisle(it was outdoors and the aisle was only between 10 chairs in single file- 5 on each side of the aisle.) There were 10 girls likely ranging in age from 4-14. They come down the aisle slowly with flower petal baskets and bubbles. They are dressed in little ball dresses with their hair all done up nicely. Then the crowd stands and claps for the special 15 year old as she walks in between the other girls dressed in a wedding-type dress with a crown on her head as they toss flower petals and blow bubbles at her. She has a specially decorated chair at the front and then a preacher talks for about 30 minutes. He spoke about purity and following God through adolescence etc. Then the birthday girl gets a ring to signify a covenant between her and God to save herself for marriage. She also gets a new pink Bible and a pillow for kneeling on to pray.
Her mom gives her a baby doll that is her "last gift as a child" she then gives that doll away to one of the little girls who had the flower petals and bubbles to signify that she has left childhood and is entering into young adulthood. She was then presented, with her escort, to the world as "Senorita Ramirez"!
She leaves the same way she left to rose petals and bubbles and a song and then we ate Birria ( a pulled beef dish in a sauce-- very tasty!!)
Rights of passage are important, but I was left wondering (with no answer given...) why there isn't a similar celebration for guys- to recognize their "coming of age". I suppose historically it may have to do with when a girl is eligible to be married and for the guys- they are eligible to marry when they can prove to the girls parents that he is responsible enough to care for their daugter...
I watched the cake for a good part of the ceremony. It was a 3 story wedding type cake with 2 other cakes on the side. All the cakes were covered with some veil-like material, presumably to protect them from the hundreds of flies that were around. Eventually the weight of the flies pushed the veil close enough for them to get a taste (or it was close enough already...). And did they feast!! The sight was quite disgusting, and apparantly others shared my disgust as 3 women got up, dis-veiled the cake and shooed the flies away- for 1 hour (or more!!).
Unfortunatly, I needed to go to class before we got to the cake part, so I was left without having a chance to try it...
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Lights Out
Monday night marked the first chance I had to teach in Spanish since we came back from Chihuahua. I was starting a new course on Preaching Biblical Messages and Pastoral Ministry.
It took an awful lot longer to prepare for this one, because I basically needed to fully prepare what I was going to say in English and then do it again in Spanish... I can't just translate the words because I think it's best to internalize the message in Spanish as much as I can so it comes out a little more naturally than just reading a translated manuscript. I really enjoyed it because I have a teaching manual in English and another in Spanish and doing it in both is helping to expand my vocabulary and see how the grammar works too.
I left a little early to get out there and arrived much earlier than needed. So i took a little tour and took the long way around to the church. By the time I got within 100 feet of the church- the road had been completely dug up to put in some water pipes! So I turned around and tried to take another way only to find myself at the top of a precipice with a "road" going downhill seemingly into a ditch with little other alternatives. So I looked around and found, finally, an alternative route to the church that didn't involve me going the full 10km back around the neighbourhood to get in the other way-- nor sliding down a hill into a ditch.
After I arrived one of my students, Gustavo, arrived with a smile on his face- but no car. "Can't get around the ditch?" I wondered out loud-- no- he'd gotten a ride partway and walked the rest-- his car that he'd had for 3 months had been stolen- along with a baby stroller that they had! He had woke up at 4:30am and everything was OK. At 5am his baby stroller was gone from inside the house and the car had been stolen too! He said all this with a smile and said "God knows what we need and what we can handle"
We went into the church and found that there were no lights. Which isn't unusual, because the church has no "official" power. There are just power lines that cross right over the roof, so they hook a wire to it and connect it to the breaker box and bingo-- you got lights!! Not tonight, though. so Gustavo hopped up on the roof to shimmy the wire but it didn't work. One of the neighbours said that the church had a backup power connection- a wire coming from a neighbours house- when they put their lights on, so did the church! But, they weren't home. So we did the class for about an hour or so without lights.
Down here it gets dark about 8:15 or so, and so about 8:00 the room was so dark, the whole class could've been sleeping and I wouldn't have known- The only reason I could see was the twilight coming through the open door beside me. Just then the neighbours came home and we thought we'd have light! BUT... it turns out the whole side of the road was without lights because when the guys were working on the road, they had either knocked down, or taken down the wire that connected that side of the road to the power grid...
Despite the issues of light and dark, the class actually went well. I was able to communicate pretty well, I think and my comprehension was a lot better than it had been before. The preparation helped to increase my vocabulary and it came out pretty naturally in class. I had a comment that my Spanish is much better now, so that was encouraging!!
I'm back out Saturday- hopefully with lights this time!!
It took an awful lot longer to prepare for this one, because I basically needed to fully prepare what I was going to say in English and then do it again in Spanish... I can't just translate the words because I think it's best to internalize the message in Spanish as much as I can so it comes out a little more naturally than just reading a translated manuscript. I really enjoyed it because I have a teaching manual in English and another in Spanish and doing it in both is helping to expand my vocabulary and see how the grammar works too.
I left a little early to get out there and arrived much earlier than needed. So i took a little tour and took the long way around to the church. By the time I got within 100 feet of the church- the road had been completely dug up to put in some water pipes! So I turned around and tried to take another way only to find myself at the top of a precipice with a "road" going downhill seemingly into a ditch with little other alternatives. So I looked around and found, finally, an alternative route to the church that didn't involve me going the full 10km back around the neighbourhood to get in the other way-- nor sliding down a hill into a ditch.
After I arrived one of my students, Gustavo, arrived with a smile on his face- but no car. "Can't get around the ditch?" I wondered out loud-- no- he'd gotten a ride partway and walked the rest-- his car that he'd had for 3 months had been stolen- along with a baby stroller that they had! He had woke up at 4:30am and everything was OK. At 5am his baby stroller was gone from inside the house and the car had been stolen too! He said all this with a smile and said "God knows what we need and what we can handle"
We went into the church and found that there were no lights. Which isn't unusual, because the church has no "official" power. There are just power lines that cross right over the roof, so they hook a wire to it and connect it to the breaker box and bingo-- you got lights!! Not tonight, though. so Gustavo hopped up on the roof to shimmy the wire but it didn't work. One of the neighbours said that the church had a backup power connection- a wire coming from a neighbours house- when they put their lights on, so did the church! But, they weren't home. So we did the class for about an hour or so without lights.
Down here it gets dark about 8:15 or so, and so about 8:00 the room was so dark, the whole class could've been sleeping and I wouldn't have known- The only reason I could see was the twilight coming through the open door beside me. Just then the neighbours came home and we thought we'd have light! BUT... it turns out the whole side of the road was without lights because when the guys were working on the road, they had either knocked down, or taken down the wire that connected that side of the road to the power grid...
Despite the issues of light and dark, the class actually went well. I was able to communicate pretty well, I think and my comprehension was a lot better than it had been before. The preparation helped to increase my vocabulary and it came out pretty naturally in class. I had a comment that my Spanish is much better now, so that was encouraging!!
I'm back out Saturday- hopefully with lights this time!!
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