Final thoughts from Mexico:
- Mexicans eat spaghetti. We've had it here more often than I've ever had it in the states. They make it slightly different too. I'm not sure what they do but it's a different flavor. I didn't like it at first but it's not too bad now. Sometimes they put a fried egg on top of each plate. They also have some spicy spaghetti seasoning which is pretty good.
- I'm still not sick of Mexican food. I love tacos, empanadas, salbutes, taquitos, and burros. We haven't really had a lot of this stuff recently for our meals so I'm actually kinda missing it.
- I killed a monster spider in the shower last night. Of course, it had to be Rachel showering so it freaked her out and she ran out of the shower in a towel to come find me because I wasn't in the room. It seems like everytime there's a huge bug, Rachel is the first one to spot it. Only a few times have I found the giant bug first and killed it before Rachel even found out about it.
- It's hot here. I know it's really hot in the states too but most people in the states have some kind of escape from it. We go to our room that is hotter than outside and we have 1 fan that is not very strong. We have 2 convenience stores (7-11 & Oxxo) close by with a/c but you can only hang out in there for so long. But when you come out of those places, it feels so much hotter than before. We start dripping sweat if no fan is on us.
- Rachel and I both have trouble sleeping at night. I wake up probably 3 or 4 times throughout the night. This is weird for me because I rarely wake up at home.
- Roasting marshmallows in 90 degree weather isn't really that much fun.
- I actually enjoyed the kids' ministry that we did last weekend. I have found that both Rachel and I don't really enjoy doing kids' ministry. I love kids but I'm not a huge fan of organizing 100 kids for games, crafts, and Bible stories. But it was better than we anticipated.
- We invited kids from around the area to come for 3 days from 4-6 pm. Almost every day, it didn't start until at least 4:30. It was definitely on Mexican time because none of the parents or kids seemed in the least bit annoyed that we started so much later.
- I got to tell Bible stories and the rest of the team acted it out. That was the highlight for me. We also sang songs, played games, and did crafts with the kids.
- The last day we were going to watch Finding Nemo in spanish. I was going to talk a little bit about the father heart of God afterwards. So we rented the movie from Blockbuster. So Tyler set it up about 30 min. before we were going to start and then we found out that it was disc 2 with only the special features on it. So we had no Finding Nemo and Blockbuster was too far away. Fortunately, the pastor had some kids' movies and we watched Robots instead which also has a good moral to it. But I've only seen it once and I couldn't follow everything that was happening so our translator, Damaris, spoke to the kids afterwards instead of me.
- After that, Shelby and Seung Hwa dressed up like Barney and Baby Bop and the kids took pictures with them. Overall, it was a successful weekend and I'm glad that VIDA is becoming more known in the community.
- Sunday was really cool too. We got to speak to the church about different cultures. We did some skits about how different cultures do things and the confusion that happens sometimes. Then, Yi Rang spoke about culture shock. Seung Hwa, Hyeon Jin, and In Hwan spoke a little about Korean culture and then all the Koreans sang 2 Korean songs. We did a drama and then Rachel spoke.
- I thought she did an awesome job speaking. She spoke about cultural differences and how no one culture is correct or wrong. She talked about her upbringing and how she has had so many different cultures surrounding her.
- Afterwards, pastor Manuel said that it was a great program and really good for his church.
- This is our last week and I think most of us are ready to go. It's a pretty laid back week. We're mixing fun stuff in with some ministry stuff. We're focusing more on prayer. On Monday, we went to the beach for several hours and then we drove around the city and just prayed for different things. Yesterday, we went to a mall and did a prayer walk there. Then, we went to the beach for the evening and watched the sunset. Today, we are going to a water park and tomorrow, we're going to a Mexican market.
- This is my last post from Cancun. This outreach has been an up and down one for Rachel and I. A lot of the people on the team have had a rough time as well. But in the end, we know that it was worth our time here. I realized that if we hadn't been here, there might be some people who would have never met Jesus. We also helped connect VIDA to the community and hopefully that relationship will grow and more people will come to the church. We've encouraged other Christians here too and seen a lot of youth step forward in their faith.
Also, each of us has grown a lot too. For me, I've seen my confidence grow especially when it comes to public speaking. I always knew that God gave me the ability to speak but I never really saw God use it. After speaking on the Father heart of God 2 different times, I was amazed at how all the youth came forward for prayer both times. Carl and Shelby also spoke then too so I know it wasn't just me, but it was just so cool to see God use us like that. It made me more in awe of God because I know it's not my words that were touching people, but it was God touching people.
Randy
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Toilet Seats Optional
More thoughts on Mexico:
- Not all toilets have seats. In fact, I think the vast majority of them do not have seats. It's more of an option but not a necessity. I don't really understand why they don't just have squatty potties if they don't have a seat, but oh well.
- The towns of Buctzotz and Merida are pretty cool. Buctzotz is a traditional Mexican style town. People here call it a village but it's like a small town. Everyone knew that we were the foreigners in town. In the middle of town, there's a park that randomly has free wireless internet. A bunch of old taxi drivers just sit around there waiting for people to need a ride. The taxis are bicycles with carts attached to the front and they have 3 wheels and it costs about $.50 to take a ride.
- Merida is a city with Starbucks and Burger King and whatever else you need. It's a much wealthier city than even Cancun, at least where we live in Cancun. Rachel and I loved Merida because we got to stay at the pastor's mom's home. We had a room with AC, cable, & free wireless internet. We felt so spoiled. It was hard to leave that place. Plus, his mother was like our Mexican grandma.
- Sleeping in hammocks takes some getting used to. We slept in them in Buctzotz and it's really comfortable at the beginning, but the first night we struggled to stay asleep all night. Once we got used to them though, I really liked them. I think they're probably best for naps though.
- We didn't sleep outside in the hammocks. The houses here are set up for hammocks. There's random hooks in the walls and almost everyone sleeps in hammocks. We bought a really cool orange and green one. So now, I have one from Mexico and Rachel has one from Ecuador.
- I'm told I'm a good storyteller. We did a VBS in Buctzotz and I told a Bible story while the rest of the team acted it out.
- Rachel and I do not like children's music at all. The youth group there led the kids in some Spanish songs and all the music was on a CD. I never want to hear any of those songs ever again.
- Fresh fried fish is delicious. We stopped on our way from Buctzotz to Merida in a town called Santa Clara at the pastor's aunt's beach house. We hung out at the beach and some people put up their hammocks and slept close to the ocean. It was pretty cool. The beach was covered with shells so it was difficult to enjoy that part of the beach because it was hard to walk barefoot. The water was really warm and calm. A huge storm hit and Rachel and a couple of others stayed out in the water and enjoyed the rain. They decided to get out when they saw the lightning. Probably a good idea.
- We painted 2 houses purple. I thought it looked awesome.
- I got to speak again on the Father heart of God at a camp with about 150-200 people. I spoke at the orientation for the camp but I didn't know it was orientation. Afterwards, Carl got up and had an altar call and almost everyone came forward for prayer. I don't think most orientations have altar calls but it was pretty cool to see that kind of reaction.
- We were like movie stars at the camp at least for 1 night. That night we introduced ourselves and the youth were already energetic from worship. So everytime we introduced ourselves they would cheer wildly. Tyler and Seung Hwa got the biggest cheers of anyone. We got a pretty big cheer when Rachel said we were married. Tyler was loving every bit of it especially. In case you don't know, he's an 18 year old with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girls in Mexico were loving it. Afterwards, almost everyone got mobbed for pictures. It felt like the paparazzi was after us.
- While we drove, we saw several Mexican ranches, wild pink flamingos, and an absolutely ridiculous amount of butterflies.
- This week, we are preparing to do a children's camp here at VIDA on Thursday-Saturday. It will look similar to the VBS that we did. After that, next week is our final week here.
- For the final week, I don't know exactly what we'll do but we have a debrief week. Basically, our team will hang out together. We won't do a lot of ministry in the final week, but instead we'll do some fun stuff together as a team. Hopefully, I'll be able to update one more time before we leave Mexico.
- Not all toilets have seats. In fact, I think the vast majority of them do not have seats. It's more of an option but not a necessity. I don't really understand why they don't just have squatty potties if they don't have a seat, but oh well.
- The towns of Buctzotz and Merida are pretty cool. Buctzotz is a traditional Mexican style town. People here call it a village but it's like a small town. Everyone knew that we were the foreigners in town. In the middle of town, there's a park that randomly has free wireless internet. A bunch of old taxi drivers just sit around there waiting for people to need a ride. The taxis are bicycles with carts attached to the front and they have 3 wheels and it costs about $.50 to take a ride.
- Merida is a city with Starbucks and Burger King and whatever else you need. It's a much wealthier city than even Cancun, at least where we live in Cancun. Rachel and I loved Merida because we got to stay at the pastor's mom's home. We had a room with AC, cable, & free wireless internet. We felt so spoiled. It was hard to leave that place. Plus, his mother was like our Mexican grandma.
- Sleeping in hammocks takes some getting used to. We slept in them in Buctzotz and it's really comfortable at the beginning, but the first night we struggled to stay asleep all night. Once we got used to them though, I really liked them. I think they're probably best for naps though.
- We didn't sleep outside in the hammocks. The houses here are set up for hammocks. There's random hooks in the walls and almost everyone sleeps in hammocks. We bought a really cool orange and green one. So now, I have one from Mexico and Rachel has one from Ecuador.
- I'm told I'm a good storyteller. We did a VBS in Buctzotz and I told a Bible story while the rest of the team acted it out.
- Rachel and I do not like children's music at all. The youth group there led the kids in some Spanish songs and all the music was on a CD. I never want to hear any of those songs ever again.
- Fresh fried fish is delicious. We stopped on our way from Buctzotz to Merida in a town called Santa Clara at the pastor's aunt's beach house. We hung out at the beach and some people put up their hammocks and slept close to the ocean. It was pretty cool. The beach was covered with shells so it was difficult to enjoy that part of the beach because it was hard to walk barefoot. The water was really warm and calm. A huge storm hit and Rachel and a couple of others stayed out in the water and enjoyed the rain. They decided to get out when they saw the lightning. Probably a good idea.
- We painted 2 houses purple. I thought it looked awesome.
- I got to speak again on the Father heart of God at a camp with about 150-200 people. I spoke at the orientation for the camp but I didn't know it was orientation. Afterwards, Carl got up and had an altar call and almost everyone came forward for prayer. I don't think most orientations have altar calls but it was pretty cool to see that kind of reaction.
- We were like movie stars at the camp at least for 1 night. That night we introduced ourselves and the youth were already energetic from worship. So everytime we introduced ourselves they would cheer wildly. Tyler and Seung Hwa got the biggest cheers of anyone. We got a pretty big cheer when Rachel said we were married. Tyler was loving every bit of it especially. In case you don't know, he's an 18 year old with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girls in Mexico were loving it. Afterwards, almost everyone got mobbed for pictures. It felt like the paparazzi was after us.
- While we drove, we saw several Mexican ranches, wild pink flamingos, and an absolutely ridiculous amount of butterflies.
- This week, we are preparing to do a children's camp here at VIDA on Thursday-Saturday. It will look similar to the VBS that we did. After that, next week is our final week here.
- For the final week, I don't know exactly what we'll do but we have a debrief week. Basically, our team will hang out together. We won't do a lot of ministry in the final week, but instead we'll do some fun stuff together as a team. Hopefully, I'll be able to update one more time before we leave Mexico.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Sunburns and colds
Well tonight we have a good chunk of free time so I thought I would update everyone on what's been happening here. So here's some more random thoughts:
- The food - Almost everything can be put into a tortilla. In fact, I'm usually disappointed if I don't see tortillas with our meal. For breakfast, we usually have either eggs or pancakes and cereal. Mashed black beans are served with the eggs usually. They are kind of like refried beans but I like them better. There is always some kind of salsa to put on top of everything. At first, we were eating a lot of fruit - mango, papaya, pineapple, bananas, but not as much lately. For lunch and supper, we usually have some kind of meat and some kind of bean but they have done a really good job of giving us variety. I never really know what to expect. We also get empanadas. This is Rachel's favorite thing so far. It's basically fried dough with cheese or potatoes. The cheese is the best one. The record from the last team is 19 for one person. I did 8 once but I'm not gonna go beyond that. If you've ever had a samosa from India, it looks similar. They made burgers for us the one night. It was one of the biggest homemade burgers I've ever seen. Oh and one more thing, their tortilla chips are a million times better than ours because they bake them fresh.
- My spanish - It's not really growing a whole lot. I'm able to get by with what I know but I wish I knew more. Some lady was talking to me today and I understood about 30% of it. I think she was worried about me because I looked smaller than a week ago when she saw me and my face was much redder. So I think she was worried that I don't like the food here which is absolutely ridiculous. But I do think my stomach has shrunk here because I don't eat as much.
- Sunburns suck - I knew that before but I came to realize it again. Rachel's whole body is burnt from Monday at the beach. My shoulders and legs are burnt. We should be good to go in a few days though. It's already better.
- Colds suck - I knew this too, but mine is still lingering. Rachel and Shelby both have it while several others have stomach problems. On top of that, most of us are pretty tired. We got the night off though tonight so hopefully that will help.
- I forgot to mention last week that the doctors who came to the medical clinic flew in from various parts of Mexico. I think there may have been one from Cancun. Kind of weird that none of the doctors here were willing to be a part of the clinic.
- My dancing still has not improved and I am doubtful that it ever will. It's not that I'm unwilling. I'm just terrible.
So this past week, it rained a lot here so we stayed back at the base and cleaned a lot. I think all of us were tired of being stuck here. On Saturday, we went to a different camp and invited a bunch of kids from the neighborhood to come out for a kids' program. It rained really hard so we gathered in a circle with a youth group from some church and prayed for the evening. We prayed in English, Korean, Dutch, and Spanish. It was so cool. The rain slowed down after a while and then some kids started coming. So we did our program. Then to our surprise, we found out that we were staying for a birthday party. So then, the youth group led us in worship which was some guy rapping in Spanish. Then, a guy preached for the first time in his life. It was an interesting sermon. I think things might have got messed up in the translation but I didn't really agree with his sermon. Then they had food and drinks afterward and we could go swimming in the outdoor pool.
Well the birthday cake looked pretty good. It had orange icing with pineapples at the corners. I noticed the piece on my plate had a small piece of jalapeno pepper on it. I thought it must have gotten there by accident so I brushed it off. I bit into the cake and was completely shocked. It was actually pieces of bread with some spicy cream on it and random bits of ham in it. Once I got past the shock, it wasn't too bad but I wouldn't buy it at any point in my life. Then I did get cake and it was much better.
Sunday we had church at 12:30. People just bring in a bunch of food and we have a Mexican potluck. It's pretty cool. Monday was the beach and we went to a movie in the evening. It was in English with spanish subtitles. We saw the new Transformers for only $4. Yesterday was probably the highlight of my time here so far.
We went to a church where they were having an evangelism conference. I was asked to speak about the father heart of God and how that was important in evangelism. It was mostly youth that were there. So I talked, then Shelby, and then Carl. Carl gave an altar call for anyone who wanted to get prayer. The entire group came up. It was pretty amazing. People were crying. Before we went, I was a little nervous and I was praying. I just felt like God was saying to not worry about because He'll take care of it and He definitely did. We then taught them one of our dramas. Tomorrow and Friday, we are going to go with them to a park and do our dramas and pray for people there. It should be pretty cool. Hopefully, it will get this group excited to do more of it. Most of the people in Mexico are very religious so we're trying to really focus on relationship with God. Anyways, it's been a good week so far. I don't know when I'll be able to update again because we're going to a small town on Monday and we will be there for a week and a half. We're supposed to sleep in hammocks while we're there so that should be cool.
Anyways, please pray for our health. As I said, a lot of us don't feel that great. We have a month left here and we want to be able to fully put our hearts into it and it's really difficult to do when you don't feel good. Thanks.
Randy
- The food - Almost everything can be put into a tortilla. In fact, I'm usually disappointed if I don't see tortillas with our meal. For breakfast, we usually have either eggs or pancakes and cereal. Mashed black beans are served with the eggs usually. They are kind of like refried beans but I like them better. There is always some kind of salsa to put on top of everything. At first, we were eating a lot of fruit - mango, papaya, pineapple, bananas, but not as much lately. For lunch and supper, we usually have some kind of meat and some kind of bean but they have done a really good job of giving us variety. I never really know what to expect. We also get empanadas. This is Rachel's favorite thing so far. It's basically fried dough with cheese or potatoes. The cheese is the best one. The record from the last team is 19 for one person. I did 8 once but I'm not gonna go beyond that. If you've ever had a samosa from India, it looks similar. They made burgers for us the one night. It was one of the biggest homemade burgers I've ever seen. Oh and one more thing, their tortilla chips are a million times better than ours because they bake them fresh.
- My spanish - It's not really growing a whole lot. I'm able to get by with what I know but I wish I knew more. Some lady was talking to me today and I understood about 30% of it. I think she was worried about me because I looked smaller than a week ago when she saw me and my face was much redder. So I think she was worried that I don't like the food here which is absolutely ridiculous. But I do think my stomach has shrunk here because I don't eat as much.
- Sunburns suck - I knew that before but I came to realize it again. Rachel's whole body is burnt from Monday at the beach. My shoulders and legs are burnt. We should be good to go in a few days though. It's already better.
- Colds suck - I knew this too, but mine is still lingering. Rachel and Shelby both have it while several others have stomach problems. On top of that, most of us are pretty tired. We got the night off though tonight so hopefully that will help.
- I forgot to mention last week that the doctors who came to the medical clinic flew in from various parts of Mexico. I think there may have been one from Cancun. Kind of weird that none of the doctors here were willing to be a part of the clinic.
- My dancing still has not improved and I am doubtful that it ever will. It's not that I'm unwilling. I'm just terrible.
So this past week, it rained a lot here so we stayed back at the base and cleaned a lot. I think all of us were tired of being stuck here. On Saturday, we went to a different camp and invited a bunch of kids from the neighborhood to come out for a kids' program. It rained really hard so we gathered in a circle with a youth group from some church and prayed for the evening. We prayed in English, Korean, Dutch, and Spanish. It was so cool. The rain slowed down after a while and then some kids started coming. So we did our program. Then to our surprise, we found out that we were staying for a birthday party. So then, the youth group led us in worship which was some guy rapping in Spanish. Then, a guy preached for the first time in his life. It was an interesting sermon. I think things might have got messed up in the translation but I didn't really agree with his sermon. Then they had food and drinks afterward and we could go swimming in the outdoor pool.
Well the birthday cake looked pretty good. It had orange icing with pineapples at the corners. I noticed the piece on my plate had a small piece of jalapeno pepper on it. I thought it must have gotten there by accident so I brushed it off. I bit into the cake and was completely shocked. It was actually pieces of bread with some spicy cream on it and random bits of ham in it. Once I got past the shock, it wasn't too bad but I wouldn't buy it at any point in my life. Then I did get cake and it was much better.
Sunday we had church at 12:30. People just bring in a bunch of food and we have a Mexican potluck. It's pretty cool. Monday was the beach and we went to a movie in the evening. It was in English with spanish subtitles. We saw the new Transformers for only $4. Yesterday was probably the highlight of my time here so far.
We went to a church where they were having an evangelism conference. I was asked to speak about the father heart of God and how that was important in evangelism. It was mostly youth that were there. So I talked, then Shelby, and then Carl. Carl gave an altar call for anyone who wanted to get prayer. The entire group came up. It was pretty amazing. People were crying. Before we went, I was a little nervous and I was praying. I just felt like God was saying to not worry about because He'll take care of it and He definitely did. We then taught them one of our dramas. Tomorrow and Friday, we are going to go with them to a park and do our dramas and pray for people there. It should be pretty cool. Hopefully, it will get this group excited to do more of it. Most of the people in Mexico are very religious so we're trying to really focus on relationship with God. Anyways, it's been a good week so far. I don't know when I'll be able to update again because we're going to a small town on Monday and we will be there for a week and a half. We're supposed to sleep in hammocks while we're there so that should be cool.
Anyways, please pray for our health. As I said, a lot of us don't feel that great. We have a month left here and we want to be able to fully put our hearts into it and it's really difficult to do when you don't feel good. Thanks.
Randy
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Cancun!!!
First off, my apologies for not updating sooner. We have been busy since we've been in Cancun and I haven't really been on the internet very often. Also, I've just been plain lazy with it too. Anyways, we are in Cancun. I'm gonna give you a list of some of my initial thoughts of our first week here.
- It's hot and humid - I was expecting this and it actually hasn't been as bad as I thought. I think my body has adjusted to the heat. We have fans in our rooms so that helps for sleeping.
- Mosquitoes - I think this is the headquarters for mosquitoes. During our first few days, I think all of us had at least 15 bites or more on our legs. We're constantly putting on bug spray.
- Bugs in general - We stayed at a hotel for a few days and the bugs were terrible there. The first night I killed at least 6 large spiders and a cockroach in our room. By the end we also had a lizard hanging out in our room.
- The people are warm and friendly - It's very typical of the other Latin American countries I've been to.
- The majority of Cancun is not paradise. It's only along the beach. Outside of that, it looks like a poor Latin American country. Since we're 20 minutes away from the beach, we're definitely in the poorer part of Cancun.
- We are very blessed to have such good housing - We are staying at a place called Campamento Vida (Camp Life). It's a former table dancing club that has been turned around into a church/retreat center/medical camp/probably more good things in the future. It has 20 bedrooms. Rachel and I are thrilled to have a bathroom. The showers are cold which is fine because it's hot here. The toilet doesn't flush so well but it goes down eventually. The bed is extremely comfortable and it's a queen. Honestly, I think for us the facilities here are better than in Denver. It's not a huge room but it's nice.
- They love to dance here - We had a great dance party Sunday night and even thought I looked terrible, it was a lot of fun. We even did the limbo and I shocked many people with my flexibility on that one. I think growing up Mennonite has definitely hurt my chances of ever being a good dancer.
When we got here, our main job was cleaning the place. We arrived Monday evening and started work the next day. We passed out flyers for the next 3 days in the morning to tell people about a free medical clinic that the camp was having on Friday and Saturday. The rest of the time, we cleaned and practiced our dramas. When the clinic started, we were basically the entertainment for all the people waiting. We did a program of dramas and puppets. Then, we would take all the kids and do various crafts and balloon animals with them. One of the girls on our team cut hair for people during both days. We couldn't do much to help the doctors but we did whatever we could with keeping the place clean. The clinic was a huge success and from what we heard, the doctors were very blessed to have us there. They did this once before and they said it was not nearly as good as this time. Some of the doctors weren't Christians so it was definitely a great witness for them. On Sunday, we hung out with the church that meets at the camp and then got ready for a fancy dinner that night with the doctors. All of the doctors had gone to the beach that day so when they got back we had this fancy dinner. We actually didn't eat until well after 10 pm. After the meal, we were all saying goodbye to them and our leader, Carl, said we were leaving in 5 minutes. Probably an hour later, we finally left after the dance party.
The next day, we had a much deserved day off which we spent at the beach. It's been a long time since I've been at the beach and I forgot how nice it is there. Rachel is now at the point where she wants to go every day. That's probably not going to happen. We're about 20-25 minutes away from the beach so I think if we get there 5 times, it will be good. Obviously, that's not why we're here.
Yesterday and today, we went to a distribution center for the poor. We helped do a bunch of stuff that they didn't think they would ever get done. The pastor here at Camp Vida, Manuel, has been wanting to partner with them because they're the only church in the city that's doing anything for the poor. It's a Catholic church. Anyways, the people were so impressed by our team that it was really easy for them to partner with him. So that was pretty cool. Last night, we went to a park and did some dramas and Carl preached. We hung out with some of the kids there and played a little soccer afterward. Tonight, we plan on going to another park and ministering there.
Somehow I got a cold in the midst of all of this. It seems ridiculous that I got a cold in the summer, but I have it. During the medical clinic, we moved to a hotel that had air conditioning. I think the drastic change in temperatures contributed to it. Hopefully no one else on the team will get it from me.
So this is a really long update but I wanted to let everyone know that we are doing well. We miss all of you guys back home but we know this is where God wants us right now. He's doing some cool stuff here in Cancun.
Randy
- It's hot and humid - I was expecting this and it actually hasn't been as bad as I thought. I think my body has adjusted to the heat. We have fans in our rooms so that helps for sleeping.
- Mosquitoes - I think this is the headquarters for mosquitoes. During our first few days, I think all of us had at least 15 bites or more on our legs. We're constantly putting on bug spray.
- Bugs in general - We stayed at a hotel for a few days and the bugs were terrible there. The first night I killed at least 6 large spiders and a cockroach in our room. By the end we also had a lizard hanging out in our room.
- The people are warm and friendly - It's very typical of the other Latin American countries I've been to.
- The majority of Cancun is not paradise. It's only along the beach. Outside of that, it looks like a poor Latin American country. Since we're 20 minutes away from the beach, we're definitely in the poorer part of Cancun.
- We are very blessed to have such good housing - We are staying at a place called Campamento Vida (Camp Life). It's a former table dancing club that has been turned around into a church/retreat center/medical camp/probably more good things in the future. It has 20 bedrooms. Rachel and I are thrilled to have a bathroom. The showers are cold which is fine because it's hot here. The toilet doesn't flush so well but it goes down eventually. The bed is extremely comfortable and it's a queen. Honestly, I think for us the facilities here are better than in Denver. It's not a huge room but it's nice.
- They love to dance here - We had a great dance party Sunday night and even thought I looked terrible, it was a lot of fun. We even did the limbo and I shocked many people with my flexibility on that one. I think growing up Mennonite has definitely hurt my chances of ever being a good dancer.
When we got here, our main job was cleaning the place. We arrived Monday evening and started work the next day. We passed out flyers for the next 3 days in the morning to tell people about a free medical clinic that the camp was having on Friday and Saturday. The rest of the time, we cleaned and practiced our dramas. When the clinic started, we were basically the entertainment for all the people waiting. We did a program of dramas and puppets. Then, we would take all the kids and do various crafts and balloon animals with them. One of the girls on our team cut hair for people during both days. We couldn't do much to help the doctors but we did whatever we could with keeping the place clean. The clinic was a huge success and from what we heard, the doctors were very blessed to have us there. They did this once before and they said it was not nearly as good as this time. Some of the doctors weren't Christians so it was definitely a great witness for them. On Sunday, we hung out with the church that meets at the camp and then got ready for a fancy dinner that night with the doctors. All of the doctors had gone to the beach that day so when they got back we had this fancy dinner. We actually didn't eat until well after 10 pm. After the meal, we were all saying goodbye to them and our leader, Carl, said we were leaving in 5 minutes. Probably an hour later, we finally left after the dance party.
The next day, we had a much deserved day off which we spent at the beach. It's been a long time since I've been at the beach and I forgot how nice it is there. Rachel is now at the point where she wants to go every day. That's probably not going to happen. We're about 20-25 minutes away from the beach so I think if we get there 5 times, it will be good. Obviously, that's not why we're here.
Yesterday and today, we went to a distribution center for the poor. We helped do a bunch of stuff that they didn't think they would ever get done. The pastor here at Camp Vida, Manuel, has been wanting to partner with them because they're the only church in the city that's doing anything for the poor. It's a Catholic church. Anyways, the people were so impressed by our team that it was really easy for them to partner with him. So that was pretty cool. Last night, we went to a park and did some dramas and Carl preached. We hung out with some of the kids there and played a little soccer afterward. Tonight, we plan on going to another park and ministering there.
Somehow I got a cold in the midst of all of this. It seems ridiculous that I got a cold in the summer, but I have it. During the medical clinic, we moved to a hotel that had air conditioning. I think the drastic change in temperatures contributed to it. Hopefully no one else on the team will get it from me.
So this is a really long update but I wanted to let everyone know that we are doing well. We miss all of you guys back home but we know this is where God wants us right now. He's doing some cool stuff here in Cancun.
Randy
Monday, May 30, 2011
Bible study week
This past week, our speakers were Eric and Amy Barlow. They're a couple on staff here at the base who have a passion for the Bible. So naturally, our topic was Bible study. It was a really good, practical week. It gave me a stronger desire to spend more time in the Word and they showed us a bunch of tools to use to help study. I really enjoyed the time that we had to actually put that to use. On Tuesday night, we spent an hour alone reading Psalm 119 and meditating on it. Later in the week, we spent time as a group studying Philemon in depth. It was just really cool being able to do a study rather than just listen to how a study should be done. Overall, it felt like one of the most practical weeks, but also really important.
The end of the week was rough. On Saturday, the Around The World DTS left for outreach. They have an extra month of outreach since they are travelling through at least 6 countries. Our DTS was combined with them for the first 8 weeks so we were able to get close to some of them. In a way, it felt as though half of our team left. Rachel and I are both just ready to go on outreach already so that has made it harder seeing them leave. This week is going to be difficult without all of them in class. On top of that, this week we will have a Korean speaker and everything will be translated into English. I'm really glad for the Koreans in our class that they get to have a week where everything is in their language, but I know it will be difficult for us to concentrate the entire time.
So our YWAM experience here has been unique. Both of us have days where we just want to go home. For both of us, this is a new feeling. When we were in missions before, we both really enjoyed it and rarely missed home. I can't pinpoint why this is so difficult for us. We both know that God has us here for a purpose and we have seen some of the reasons why we're here. I know that we fit perfectly on this team and we both love our teammates. God is going to do some really cool things on outreach. We're both growing in our relationship with God. But it's still difficult. It has been a humbling experience for sure. This verse just came to my mind and it's one that fits us right now.
Psalm 43:5 - Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
No matter how hard this experience has been or will be from here on, God is still king. He is God and we are not. He has us here for this time and this place. We may not always enjoy it, but one thing I've learned is that my emotions can't always be trusted. They're always going up and down. So regardless of how I'm feeling at the moment, God is still good and His purposes are good. We will do our best to embrace YWAM while we're here and be God's light where ever we go.
Fun Fact:
You cannot hum while holding your nose.
Deep Thought by Jack Handey:
You know what would be the most terrifying thing that could ever happen to a flea? Getting caught inside a watch somehow. You don't even care, do you?
The end of the week was rough. On Saturday, the Around The World DTS left for outreach. They have an extra month of outreach since they are travelling through at least 6 countries. Our DTS was combined with them for the first 8 weeks so we were able to get close to some of them. In a way, it felt as though half of our team left. Rachel and I are both just ready to go on outreach already so that has made it harder seeing them leave. This week is going to be difficult without all of them in class. On top of that, this week we will have a Korean speaker and everything will be translated into English. I'm really glad for the Koreans in our class that they get to have a week where everything is in their language, but I know it will be difficult for us to concentrate the entire time.
So our YWAM experience here has been unique. Both of us have days where we just want to go home. For both of us, this is a new feeling. When we were in missions before, we both really enjoyed it and rarely missed home. I can't pinpoint why this is so difficult for us. We both know that God has us here for a purpose and we have seen some of the reasons why we're here. I know that we fit perfectly on this team and we both love our teammates. God is going to do some really cool things on outreach. We're both growing in our relationship with God. But it's still difficult. It has been a humbling experience for sure. This verse just came to my mind and it's one that fits us right now.
Psalm 43:5 - Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
No matter how hard this experience has been or will be from here on, God is still king. He is God and we are not. He has us here for this time and this place. We may not always enjoy it, but one thing I've learned is that my emotions can't always be trusted. They're always going up and down. So regardless of how I'm feeling at the moment, God is still good and His purposes are good. We will do our best to embrace YWAM while we're here and be God's light where ever we go.
Fun Fact:
You cannot hum while holding your nose.
Deep Thought by Jack Handey:
You know what would be the most terrifying thing that could ever happen to a flea? Getting caught inside a watch somehow. You don't even care, do you?
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Holy Spirit week
Well, this week has been pretty intense. God definitely showed up and revealed some really cool things to both Rachel and I. It was probably more intense for me than it was for Rachel since she has grown up a little more with Holy Spirit stuff. My background with the Holy Spirit is fairly limited. Growing up, I really don't remember any teaching on the Holy Spirit. I experienced the Holy Spirit but it wasn't something that I pursued. The times that I remember experiencing the Holy Spirit the most was when I would confess sin. I could just feel a sense of freedom every time I did that. Then, the Holy Spirit would bring out tears, but for some reason I never really associated the fact that I was crying with the presence of the Holy Spirit. For me and I think a lot of other people I grew up with, the Holy Spirit's main purpose was to convict us of sin. I could also feel the Holy Spirit during worship sometimes, but that was pretty much the purpose of the Holy Spirit. Honestly, I never really thought anything of it because no one I knew really ever talked about it. I didn't know anyone who spoke in tongues. No one had ever prophesied anything over me and I really don't remember ever seeing anyone dramatically healed. When I went to REACH, God opened my eyes a little more to the power of the Holy Spirit. I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and then fell over from the presence (slain in the spirit). I heard some people speaking in tongues, but it was a very weird experience and I still had a lot of doubts. I did have numerous people prophesy over me and later God used me to prophesy over me as well. So, I began to slowly tap into the Holy Spirit, but I still didn't really understand much. I think my lack of understanding of the Holy Spirit stemmed from fear and obviously, ignorance. Often, we're afraid of things that we don't understand. So we stay away from it. My relationship with God is pretty good with where I'm at with the Holy Spirit so why mess with that? I thought of an analogy earlier today regarding my relationship with the Holy Spirit. It's as if I'm really good friends with the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is an acquaintance. Every once in a while, He'll come with the Father and Son. Sometimes I hang out with just the Father or just the Son, but never with just the Holy Spirit. It's kinda awkward and I don't know what to say. When we all hang out, I don't really talk to the Holy Spirit. I just focus on the ones that I know, the Father and Son. Slowly, I'm getting to know the Holy Spirit, but never really thought we would be that close of friends because I just don't really understand Him.
Fast forward to this week. So I've been seeing God do some cool things up until this week, but understanding the Holy Spirit was still a bit hazy for me. This week our teacher was J.R. Polhemus, who's a pastor from a church about 45 minutes away from the base. Going into the week, I decided to have an open mind. I don't think I'm going to go into too many specifics on what exactly was taught since I know that this can be a controversial topic. I'm still trying to process some of the teachings in my head, but I think God has opened a whole new door for me. I spoke in tongues which was a new experience. Now this wasn't like speaking tongues in front of an audience, but a prayer language between God and me. I loved how J.R. presented it to us and it really changed how I thought about this particular subject. I know this is especially controversial for some so I'll just leave it at that. Today he brought 6 people with him and they all prophesied over us. They split into 3 teams and we went to where ever we felt God led us to. It was really incredible. Almost everyone had a word spoken over them that seemed to fit exactly. For me, I've felt a specific calling all my life but was never sure if it was me thinking it or God. Well, God has definitely confirmed it through not just today, but through other people who have spoken to me here. Rachel also had some things spoken over her that totally fit and then they spoke over us as a couple. One of the things, he said about us is that God strategically put us together. We are opposite in many ways but we balance each other out. He talked about 2 kinds of people: rational and intuitive. Basically, a rational person is more cautious and thinks through all decisions before going ahead with it. An intuitive person knows right away and will often do things impulsively. Neither one of us those is bad. I am definitely more rational and Rachel is definitely more intuitive. Sometimes, it can be annoying for both of us, but in the end, it's a blessing because we help each other. So, this was probably one of the more influential weeks I've had here so far.
So, I need to finish my analogy about the Holy Spirit. This week, I got to know the Holy Spirit on a more personal level and came to find out that He's just as awesome as the Father and Son. He seems to be a bit mysterious at first, but when you think about it, they're all a bit mysterious. I don't fully understand Him and I don't think I will. But He's amazing and I want to hang out with Him more often. I'm still getting to know Him better, but I think I'm embarking on a pretty crazy friendship.
Randy
Fun Fact of the Day:
The African cicada fly spends 17 years sleeping, then wakes up for two weeks, mates and then dies.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.
Fast forward to this week. So I've been seeing God do some cool things up until this week, but understanding the Holy Spirit was still a bit hazy for me. This week our teacher was J.R. Polhemus, who's a pastor from a church about 45 minutes away from the base. Going into the week, I decided to have an open mind. I don't think I'm going to go into too many specifics on what exactly was taught since I know that this can be a controversial topic. I'm still trying to process some of the teachings in my head, but I think God has opened a whole new door for me. I spoke in tongues which was a new experience. Now this wasn't like speaking tongues in front of an audience, but a prayer language between God and me. I loved how J.R. presented it to us and it really changed how I thought about this particular subject. I know this is especially controversial for some so I'll just leave it at that. Today he brought 6 people with him and they all prophesied over us. They split into 3 teams and we went to where ever we felt God led us to. It was really incredible. Almost everyone had a word spoken over them that seemed to fit exactly. For me, I've felt a specific calling all my life but was never sure if it was me thinking it or God. Well, God has definitely confirmed it through not just today, but through other people who have spoken to me here. Rachel also had some things spoken over her that totally fit and then they spoke over us as a couple. One of the things, he said about us is that God strategically put us together. We are opposite in many ways but we balance each other out. He talked about 2 kinds of people: rational and intuitive. Basically, a rational person is more cautious and thinks through all decisions before going ahead with it. An intuitive person knows right away and will often do things impulsively. Neither one of us those is bad. I am definitely more rational and Rachel is definitely more intuitive. Sometimes, it can be annoying for both of us, but in the end, it's a blessing because we help each other. So, this was probably one of the more influential weeks I've had here so far.
So, I need to finish my analogy about the Holy Spirit. This week, I got to know the Holy Spirit on a more personal level and came to find out that He's just as awesome as the Father and Son. He seems to be a bit mysterious at first, but when you think about it, they're all a bit mysterious. I don't fully understand Him and I don't think I will. But He's amazing and I want to hang out with Him more often. I'm still getting to know Him better, but I think I'm embarking on a pretty crazy friendship.
Randy
Fun Fact of the Day:
The African cicada fly spends 17 years sleeping, then wakes up for two weeks, mates and then dies.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
As the light changed from red to green to yellow and back to red again, I sat there thinking about life. Was it nothing more than a bunch of honking and yelling? Sometimes it seemed that way.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Spiritual Warfare with Dean Sherman
So this week was a long, draining week, but it was good. We had a YWAM legend speak this week. Dean Sherman has been with YWAM for over 40 years. When I was in REACH, we watched his videos. He's also good friends with Henry Schrock from Hartville Mennonite Church and he's eaten at the Hartville Kitchen before so there's all kinds of connections. Anyways, he has a distinct style to his speaking. He has a very dry sense of humor that you either love or hate, I think. The first 2 days were of Dean just speaking and although it was good, it just seemed to be very long. The last 2 days, he spent most of the time answering questions that we had. That was really interesting. One thing I took from the question and answer time was this: He used the Bible most of the time to answer questions. He said that almost every question we have is answered in the Bible. He had all kinds of good spiritual one-liners that just kinda hit me. Here's a few:
"Emphasize life, not belief."
"Christianity started with a man, not a manual."
"Christianity is not about making bad people good, but about making dead people alive."
"Christian faith is based on logic and reason."
"It's dangerous to read the Bible with intellect alone."
"Expect the Holy Spirit."
"Don't accept, stand against."
I think one of the things that I can take away from the week was that we have all authority in Jesus' name. I've always known this and have used it before. But it was made more clear to me this week. There is no evil power greater than the name of the Jesus. We can stand up to anything that satan throws at us. We do not have to accept all of the evil that happens in the world, but we can stand against it and fight it. We may not see the answers to our prayers immediately but our prayers are being heard and they will be answered.
So this weekend is our first anniversary. I was looking at getting a hotel so we could get away for the weekend but we just decided that we don't really want to spend the money on that. I think I prayed a little that God would help me find a cheap, but nice hotel. After we decided though to not get one, we thought we would just stay at the base. We would maybe go out to eat on Saturday night but that was going to be about it. Well, our friend Cheri, (who I call Cheryl because she calls me Roger, it's a long story) is going to her aunt's cabin tonight to also get away. Then she told us that we can come if we want and we can even stay Saturday night if we like. She is only staying tonight so it worked out perfectly. God answered my prayer without me really asking for it. So I thought that was pretty cool and worth sharing. And now, the fun fact of the day:
Armadillos, opossums, and sloths spend about 80% of their lives sleeping.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what REALLY throws you into a panic.
"Emphasize life, not belief."
"Christianity started with a man, not a manual."
"Christianity is not about making bad people good, but about making dead people alive."
"Christian faith is based on logic and reason."
"It's dangerous to read the Bible with intellect alone."
"Expect the Holy Spirit."
"Don't accept, stand against."
I think one of the things that I can take away from the week was that we have all authority in Jesus' name. I've always known this and have used it before. But it was made more clear to me this week. There is no evil power greater than the name of the Jesus. We can stand up to anything that satan throws at us. We do not have to accept all of the evil that happens in the world, but we can stand against it and fight it. We may not see the answers to our prayers immediately but our prayers are being heard and they will be answered.
So this weekend is our first anniversary. I was looking at getting a hotel so we could get away for the weekend but we just decided that we don't really want to spend the money on that. I think I prayed a little that God would help me find a cheap, but nice hotel. After we decided though to not get one, we thought we would just stay at the base. We would maybe go out to eat on Saturday night but that was going to be about it. Well, our friend Cheri, (who I call Cheryl because she calls me Roger, it's a long story) is going to her aunt's cabin tonight to also get away. Then she told us that we can come if we want and we can even stay Saturday night if we like. She is only staying tonight so it worked out perfectly. God answered my prayer without me really asking for it. So I thought that was pretty cool and worth sharing. And now, the fun fact of the day:
Armadillos, opossums, and sloths spend about 80% of their lives sleeping.
Deep thought by Jack Handey:
If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what REALLY throws you into a panic.
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