missionaryMAC

I had a revelation the other day. I was typing the e-mail message that went along with the e-version of my August newsletter. One sentence read, " think it's kind of relevant as I decide where the Lord is leading me next." Then I proofread what I had written and changed "decide" to "discern." How silly of me! I could not believe that I was so dense as to think I actually have a say in the matter. I thought about my revelation during my whole walk to the bank right after I sent it, for the rest of that night, and even still. Knowing that God already has where I'm going to go and what I'm going to do in mind makes me smile and relieves some of the pressure I sometimes feel to determine my post-YLM plans. I just have to figure out what His grand scheme is! Until next time, blessings!

This was my 3rd consecutive year working with the Canadians (Bethel Lutheran Church in Sherwood Park, Alberta). Like last year, they had 3 job sites this year. I worked with a crew in Juarez, building a home for the family of 3 that lends their yard to Pastor Hernandez's Mission San Francisco. The family had been waiting 3 years for an addition, and it was clear why when we went in their existing house to use the bathroom: there was a bed in the kitchen! The new addition will also be used as a meeting space for the Mission during inclement weather or for overflow. Amid the enjoyment of spending time with many friends from north of the border, a disturbing trend came to light this year: every project they've worked on is adorned with a Canadian flag. El Paso and Juarez better watch out, or they are going to become Canada's newest province pretty soon--The Southwest Territories! Singing "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" after church at Santisima on Sunday. E...

Stories and pictures from my week of playing tour guide for Marie and Philip... And the kitten! One of the CIS students found a kitten, or rather the kitten found her, when she fell out of the tree in the middle of campus and was bleeding from the nose. Her name is Angelita ("little angel") because she fell from the sky! She spent a couple nights in the dorm and one at my house (after we tried to release her but she showed up on my doorstep) being fed and nursed back to health before Marie, Philip, and I took her to the Humane Society last Saturday morning. My guess is she was adopted right away because she's so darn adorable! Freddy did not agree; he hissed and growled at the invader, who seemed pretty unaffected by his disdain! Marie and I at El Paso Saddleblanket. Like my new kicks? No, I didn't really buy them since they were like $249. Like White Sands, Hueco Tanks is another place you kind of have to take visitors to this area. Consequently, I have ...

Last week was YLM/LHMI's 2nd annual Conversations in Spanish course: an intensive week of language instruction with the goal of launching participants into Hispanic ministry back home. Spanish with a Lutheran twist. Once again, I was one of the 3 planners; I wouldn't be alone in saying that I did the largest share of the work. As you read in my last blog and will read more about in my next one, I had 2 friends in town, but I feel like I was able to successfully allocate my time between those 2 responsibilities. I was completely hands-on with CIS for the first half of the week since Marie and Philip didn't arrive until 1 am on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. After that my involvement was kind of spotty, but as you can see from the pictures below, I got to know each of the students and share lots of experiences, cultural and otherwise, with them! On Sunday afternoon I toured Mission Trail with the JumpStarters (7 of the students who arrived a day early to jumpstart their ...