missionaryMAC

Chris and I had a special errand to run one of the days when we were working with Trinity, Fremont, in Anapra last week. Panchis (the congregational president/caretaker of San Lucas) asked us if we would be the "padrinos del vestido" for her daughter Gaby's quinceanera, which will take place on July 17 of this year. Basically she was asking us to pay for Gaby's dress, which it turns out is a very customary practice; Hispanic families who cannot afford to pay for these elaborate events will summon friends and family members to sponsor various costs. Being asked to do such a thing was a catch-22 for both us. As volunteers for the mission, neither of us has very much disposable income, but at the same time it is an immense honor, akin to being asked to be a godparent for someone's child. In the end, we both decided that we didn't really have a choice. We love Gaby and didn't feel we could disappoint her and Panchis by saying no and then still show our faces ...

This morning I was up at 6 to take the group from Trinity Lutheran in Fremont, NE, to the airport. Yes, I know it's Tuesday, but if you want to come in the middle of April, you can come whenever you want, too! They spent their week at Iglesia Luterana San Lucas in Anapra, doing something that we are always in need of groups to do: repairs and renovations. Most groups that choose to work across the border do so for the intimate relational aspect of building a house for a family (not that there's anything wrong with that), but meanwhile, our mission buildings on both sides of the border are falling apart. Thusly, we were thrillled that Trinity was so willing to do whatever. Repair work is more difficult to schedule and budget for on our end since most of the projects were things that popped up during the week and we wound up at Lowe's almost every day, but the group still felt like they accomplished a ton and that is what matters. How could they now when we figure they went t...

That was a category from Jeopardy last Tuesday. The answer: "There is an Iron Skillet restaurant at the Petro truck stop on I-10 in this west Texas town made famous by a Marty Robbins song." The question: What is El Paso? I thought about it for a second and then realized that I know exactly what the answer is referring to. It's on the right as you exit I-10 at Horizon Blvd. to go to Sparks or Horizon City! How random is that?!?! Until next time, blessings!

For several months there had been a medical clinic from my home church, St. Paul's-Des Peres, on the servant event calendar; one of the people who signed up to go was my mom! Unfortunately the clinic wound up canceling, but my mom still decided to come hang out in El Paso for a few days. She didn't really have anything she wanted to specifically see or do; I think mainly she just wanted to get away from it all, and who could blame her? It's pretty unlike both her and I to have absolutely NOTHING scheduled or planned, but it wound up being a very relaxing visit. We lounged around and read a lot, watched some Cardinals baseball, played lots of Phase-10 (which was nice since Chris HATES that game with a passion), went shopping, hit a tennis ball around at the park a couple times (I didn't even know my mom liked tennis to be honest) and just enjoyed the good weather in general, layed tile and installed cove base in Chris's bathroom, barbecued one night, and yeah...that...

One of my favorite church services of the whole year is Easter Sunday, and yesterday I went to 2! Following the 9:00 am English service that I always attend at San Pablo Lutheran Church right here on campus--which was extra-celebratory with Mariachi San Pablo there in their full dress uniforms!--Chris and I crossed the border for a service at one of our Mexico mission churches, Iglesia Luterana Santisima Trinidad. Every year on Easter, they do all of the baptisms and confirmations together in one service! This year there were 9 baptisms and 6 confirmations, totals which include some people who were both baptized AND confirmed. It was definitely a sight to see--Pastor Pepe has it down to a science. The baptisms were first. All the questions were asked of the parents and godparents en masse, and then each family was called up one at a time for their child's turn. Pepe told each person precisely where to stand so that they would be in place as quickly as possible, and it seemed like b...

It's April 1...April Fool's Day. It also means that I have officially read 1/4 of The Message , which touts itself as, "The Bible in Contemporary Language." This is my 3rd time reading through the Bible in a year, but in 2008 and 2009 I used the trusty NIV Concordia Self-Study Bible that I had to get for Confirmation in 8th grade. I wasn't sure what I was going to think about majorly switching it up, but I promised I would keep you posted, so here goes: Things I like: --the section in Matthew entitled "Salt and Light"--it has never made more sense than when I read it in The Message --perhaps somewhat surprisingly, most of Psalms and Proverbs. I could list a whole bunch of specific verses, but one of my favorites was the Bible Verse of the Month in my March newsletter: "God's Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You'll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries," (...