We went ice-skating with some of the youth!
Fabiola's Birthday! She is 21! We had a surprise party for her!
Fabiola, Alondra, and Ivan
Having fun playing "duck, duck, goose" at the chilren's home!
We celebrated Tana's Birthday on the 12th of June!
Friday, June 13, 2008
So here is some of what has been going on around here from May and June:
We went ice-skating with some of the youth!
Fabiola's Birthday! She is 21! We had a surprise party for her!
Fabiola, Alondra, and Ivan
Having fun playing "duck, duck, goose" at the chilren's home!
We celebrated Tana's Birthday on the 12th of June!
We went ice-skating with some of the youth!
Fabiola's Birthday! She is 21! We had a surprise party for her!
Fabiola, Alondra, and Ivan
Having fun playing "duck, duck, goose" at the chilren's home!
We celebrated Tana's Birthday on the 12th of June!
Friday, May 9, 2008
One Year!!!
Yesterday was our one year anniversary for my team. A year ago yesterday we walked off a plane into a place called "Leon", not knowing very much Spanish and having no idea what we were getting ourselves into! And now, here we are working and growing! Praise God for a good/crazy/fun/hard/unforgettable year!!
the welcome sign they made for us!!
us three girls at liberty! me, Megan, J'Lae
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Ladies Day and more...
Every two months we have a Lady's Day in the Church Building. A speaker comes and encourages us on a certain topic. Our speaker this time was Ilse. Ilse and her husband Raciel live in Guanajauto (the capitol of the state of Guanajauto) as missionaries. Last October some of my teammates and I went to Guanajauto (only 45 min. away) for a week to help and work with them. They are really awesome people and they also have an eight-year-old daughter named, Annie!!! On Saturday, the 26th, Ilse talked about having faith! It was really encouraging and challenging. It seems like lately we have been learning a lot about faith. Jazmin (a university student in the church here)taught in our new girls group about faith. After the Ilse spoke, we had a surprise baby-shower for her. She and her husband have been trying to have another baby for about 7 years and God is faithful and so good!!
Last Monday, or Cinco de Mayo, I got to lead our new girls study!! It was challenging and exciting that I finally got to share God's word with them! I talked about having Spiritual Disciplines and that in our personal relationship with God it is very important to grow!! We are so blessed that God provided the way for us to have a relationship with Him. At the beginning of the study I brought in a vase of Gerber Daisy flowers. Then I had all the girls pass them around and look at them. I asked them what flowers (or plants) needed to grow. Their answers were: water, dirt, sunlight, and care or attention. We are like blooming flowers before God!! Growing into what He wants us to be. But, relationships take work. Among many things; for a relationship to work we need good communication, listening, pursuing, and loving. It is the same with our relationship with God. Some ways we grow closer to Him are through prayer, reading and thinking on His word, loving: serving, dying to self, even fasting (setting aside things to focus on God. Ex: TV, Food, coffee)!
Why is it important that we are growing in our relationship with God? Because if we are not growing, then we are dying and not useful. God wants us to be useful and flavorful like salt, and holy and different like light; so that everyone can see God through us and praise Him!! God is our Father and wanted that relationship so much he sacrificed Jesus so that we can be with Him.
Looking at the life of Jesus, we also see he was spiritually disciplined! Ex: Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35, Luke 2:46, John 13:14-17. And ultimately in Matthew 26:39-42 we see Him dying to himself and his desires to follow God's will; which is always the best, but usually not the easiest way.
This week has been especially busy because Megan's and Ben's families are here visiting!!! It is so cool when your family gets to actually see, touch, and experience what you do! We are blessed to have Megan's parents, and Ben's sister and mom (his dad is staying with the guys...yikes!)staying with us in our house. It is very big and perfect for guests.
Speaking of our house...we are moving!!! Since we are not getting a new AIM team this year, we are moving into a smaller apartment about two blocks away. It is kind of sad because we have already lived in our house for a year now and we have a lot of memories here. But it is too big for just us three and while living in our new apartment we will be able to save a lot of money to go towards other things. We are staying positive and thinking of it as just another Adventure in Missions among many!
Good things about our apartment:
it's only two blocks away in the same neighborhood!!!!!!!
we each get our own bedroom!
there are 2 1/2 bathrooms
dining room
living room
really roomy
downsides:
the kitchen!!!! We cook a lot, so this will be hard. The kitchen contains: a sink and pantry. no cabinets, shelves, counters tops, or STOVE AND OVEN. Seeing this as a big problem in the future we have searched and looked into buying a mini stove/oven. The cost for one is actually less than what we will be saving on rent every month compared to the rent before. God will provide and He is soo good to us.
I have to say that God is soooo incredibly good and that I'm having the time of my life growing, learning, and serving Him here in Leon! Thank you for helping me spiritually, emotionally, and financially! It's going a long ways and it is definitely worth it! Much love in Christ, Annie
Last Monday, or Cinco de Mayo, I got to lead our new girls study!! It was challenging and exciting that I finally got to share God's word with them! I talked about having Spiritual Disciplines and that in our personal relationship with God it is very important to grow!! We are so blessed that God provided the way for us to have a relationship with Him. At the beginning of the study I brought in a vase of Gerber Daisy flowers. Then I had all the girls pass them around and look at them. I asked them what flowers (or plants) needed to grow. Their answers were: water, dirt, sunlight, and care or attention. We are like blooming flowers before God!! Growing into what He wants us to be. But, relationships take work. Among many things; for a relationship to work we need good communication, listening, pursuing, and loving. It is the same with our relationship with God. Some ways we grow closer to Him are through prayer, reading and thinking on His word, loving: serving, dying to self, even fasting (setting aside things to focus on God. Ex: TV, Food, coffee)!
Why is it important that we are growing in our relationship with God? Because if we are not growing, then we are dying and not useful. God wants us to be useful and flavorful like salt, and holy and different like light; so that everyone can see God through us and praise Him!! God is our Father and wanted that relationship so much he sacrificed Jesus so that we can be with Him.
Looking at the life of Jesus, we also see he was spiritually disciplined! Ex: Luke 5:16, Mark 1:35, Luke 2:46, John 13:14-17. And ultimately in Matthew 26:39-42 we see Him dying to himself and his desires to follow God's will; which is always the best, but usually not the easiest way.
This week has been especially busy because Megan's and Ben's families are here visiting!!! It is so cool when your family gets to actually see, touch, and experience what you do! We are blessed to have Megan's parents, and Ben's sister and mom (his dad is staying with the guys...yikes!)staying with us in our house. It is very big and perfect for guests.
Speaking of our house...we are moving!!! Since we are not getting a new AIM team this year, we are moving into a smaller apartment about two blocks away. It is kind of sad because we have already lived in our house for a year now and we have a lot of memories here. But it is too big for just us three and while living in our new apartment we will be able to save a lot of money to go towards other things. We are staying positive and thinking of it as just another Adventure in Missions among many!
Good things about our apartment:
it's only two blocks away in the same neighborhood!!!!!!!
we each get our own bedroom!
there are 2 1/2 bathrooms
dining room
living room
really roomy
downsides:
the kitchen!!!! We cook a lot, so this will be hard. The kitchen contains: a sink and pantry. no cabinets, shelves, counters tops, or STOVE AND OVEN. Seeing this as a big problem in the future we have searched and looked into buying a mini stove/oven. The cost for one is actually less than what we will be saving on rent every month compared to the rent before. God will provide and He is soo good to us.
I have to say that God is soooo incredibly good and that I'm having the time of my life growing, learning, and serving Him here in Leon! Thank you for helping me spiritually, emotionally, and financially! It's going a long ways and it is definitely worth it! Much love in Christ, Annie
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Pole
A couple of days ago I was walking to a bus stop with some of my teammates. I noticed some shattered glass on the sidewalk and while trying so hard to avoid stepping on the glass I failed to notice a pole thing and I ran smack into the pole! Although all I suffered was a small scratch on my forehead and some embarrassment, it makes me compare it to our spiritual lives. How many times do we focus on one point or struggle in our lives, and while not paying attention something bigger hits us right in the face?! We need to be ready and alert for Satan and his attacks! Just like Peter warns in his first letter, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour". When we are disciplined and on the look-out, it won't be as easy for the devil to attack. And the next verse is really encouraging! I know that I'm not alone and there are others in this fight too! "Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings". -1 Peter 5:8-9 So be on the look-out for your pole!
Here are some more pictures of when I went back home.
These are some of the graduates!! and some of my former teammates in Leon! woohoo for the AIM class of 05'!!
This is Bill from my Area Church in Lockney! He is really sweet! Please keep him in your prayers as his wife, Meese (Mary) passed away not even a month ago. He is such an encouragement to me!!
This is right after my brother was baptized. He is hugging my dad!
Two cool people! Jo (from my class) and Andrea (from the 07' class).
And lovely Barb!!!
Here are some more pictures of when I went back home.
These are some of the graduates!! and some of my former teammates in Leon! woohoo for the AIM class of 05'!!
This is Bill from my Area Church in Lockney! He is really sweet! Please keep him in your prayers as his wife, Meese (Mary) passed away not even a month ago. He is such an encouragement to me!!
Here are some AIMers serving!! This team is going to a delagation(region) in Mexico City called Tlalpan. They're pretty cool!
This is right after my brother was baptized. He is hugging my dad!
Christian, me, and Alison. They are some really special kids. Their family lived in Leon and worked as missionaries to help establish the church here. I was really blessed to see them in Lubbock!
All the 06' AIMers that were there for Graduation and Camp Adventure! Plus Chris Johnson (my former coordinator) and Eli Hooper, the coordinator of the Grass Valley, California Team.
Two cool people! Jo (from my class) and Andrea (from the 07' class).
And lovely Barb!!!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
My Brother
On the 18th my brother decided to put on Christ in baptism!!! and I got to be there! Please pray for him to take his decision seriously an
d make good choices!!
d make good choices!!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Fun in Leon!
Hello everyone!!
Last Wednesday our coordinators surprised us and took us bowling as a team!! It was a lot of fun spending time with everyone doing something fun! We all had a good laugh sharpening up our bowling skills. (I hadn't bowled for over a year!) And recently a family from the church invited us girls over for dinner
and games! We played Chinese checkers afterward and it was a blast! (although I look kinda tired from the picture below!)
This morning Donovan and I met with a girl named, Montse. We are going to be studying English with her. She is 22 and works on the Leon Tour buses giving tours of Leon!
Things have been good here as I am filling up my schedule with more and more things. I am still studying with Lucy (our guys neighbor) and Elvira. It feels good to be busy!
The next two weeks will be pretty dead here in Leon as many people go on vacation during Semana Santa and Pascua (Holy Week and Easter Holiday). It is traditional to go to the beach with your family at this time. Lent also started here, which means people eat only fish on Fridays and maybe give up other things. Many restaurants close on Fridays altogether because their main foods are meat! example: taco stands.
It's still strange to me sometimes to live in a country so rooted on one religion. Almost everyone claims they are Catholic, and especially around the part of Mexico where I live. The population around Leon has the strongest percentage of Catholicism. Here it is strange if you are not Catholic.
A couple of weeks ago, when I was in Mexico City with the new class of AIMers, we all visited the Basilica. It is like the Vatican of Mexico. While I was in one of the temples, I saw a statue of Jesus. He was on a cross. His face was forever stuck in a grimace of pain and agony as blood flowed from his wounds. I noticed a Mexican girl standing next to me in the temple. She looked about my age and was crying. I don't know why she was crying or what exactly had impacted her, but I told her that Jesus is our King. I wish I had said more now, but at the moment I was kind of at a loss for words. I do know that that experience certainly had an impact on me. Many people in Mexico have this view of Jesus. Helpless, on the cross, and in pain. I am so glad that he is alive today and gives me strength!! He is my hope and my salvation! He is not helpless or in pain, but has conquered death and made a way for us to be a part of the Kingdom of God!
Besides all this, I am coming to the U. S. A.!! Tyler, Donovan, Ben, and I leave very early Thursday morning to go to Texas! I'm very excited to see my friends and family in person after 10 months! I will be staying a week and I hope to see you while I'm there!
Last Wednesday our coordinators surprised us and took us bowling as a team!! It was a lot of fun spending time with everyone doing something fun! We all had a good laugh sharpening up our bowling skills. (I hadn't bowled for over a year!) And recently a family from the church invited us girls over for dinner
and games! We played Chinese checkers afterward and it was a blast! (although I look kinda tired from the picture below!)
This morning Donovan and I met with a girl named, Montse. We are going to be studying English with her. She is 22 and works on the Leon Tour buses giving tours of Leon!
Things have been good here as I am filling up my schedule with more and more things. I am still studying with Lucy (our guys neighbor) and Elvira. It feels good to be busy!
The next two weeks will be pretty dead here in Leon as many people go on vacation during Semana Santa and Pascua (Holy Week and Easter Holiday). It is traditional to go to the beach with your family at this time. Lent also started here, which means people eat only fish on Fridays and maybe give up other things. Many restaurants close on Fridays altogether because their main foods are meat! example: taco stands.
It's still strange to me sometimes to live in a country so rooted on one religion. Almost everyone claims they are Catholic, and especially around the part of Mexico where I live. The population around Leon has the strongest percentage of Catholicism. Here it is strange if you are not Catholic.
A couple of weeks ago, when I was in Mexico City with the new class of AIMers, we all visited the Basilica. It is like the Vatican of Mexico. While I was in one of the temples, I saw a statue of Jesus. He was on a cross. His face was forever stuck in a grimace of pain and agony as blood flowed from his wounds. I noticed a Mexican girl standing next to me in the temple. She looked about my age and was crying. I don't know why she was crying or what exactly had impacted her, but I told her that Jesus is our King. I wish I had said more now, but at the moment I was kind of at a loss for words. I do know that that experience certainly had an impact on me. Many people in Mexico have this view of Jesus. Helpless, on the cross, and in pain. I am so glad that he is alive today and gives me strength!! He is my hope and my salvation! He is not helpless or in pain, but has conquered death and made a way for us to be a part of the Kingdom of God!
Besides all this, I am coming to the U. S. A.!! Tyler, Donovan, Ben, and I leave very early Thursday morning to go to Texas! I'm very excited to see my friends and family in person after 10 months! I will be staying a week and I hope to see you while I'm there!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Good Times...
Well, there are not enough words to express what has happened these last couple of weeks...and if there are I am definitly not going to write that much...there is just too much so I will give you an abrigded version.
My time in Mexico City was awesome and it was really encouraging to see some of my classmates! We got to share some of our experiences on the field and just hang out together. I really miss them a lot and feel really blessed that I got to see some of them!
My time in Mexico City was awesome and it was really encouraging to see some of my classmates! We got to share some of our experiences on the field and just hang out together. I really miss them a lot and feel really blessed that I got to see some of them!
I also got a very big surprise from my mom...She came to Mexico City!! Not very many things surprise me, but this pretty much did it for me. And now she is with me back in Leon for a week! It has been cool to show her my home and friends here in Leon.
Besides all this I got to spend some time with our new team!! There are 4 girls and 2 guys coming to Leon this May! Omar and Tana came for a day and we had our first team meeting with the new team. It was cool because there were three generations of Leon AIMers (LAIMers) there. Two of my teammates from the 05' class are now assistants and were able to go on the trip. The new LAIMers seem really cool and I'm excited to begin working with them.
I hope God is doing amazing things through each of you!!
~Annie
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