Picture Update!

Mochis Congreso

With their new visual aid packages (laminated version of flanelgraph)

Balloon training at the end of the congreso

Kristi's just an awesome speaker at things like these!!!

The teachers really enjoyed the training. As did I, or maybe just enjoyed taking a weird picture.

Check out this sign! Translated: Turn off your cell, God wants to talk.

Tani and I teaching a "Sunday" School class on Tuesday a week ago. I'm impersonating the picture on the flanel graph thing. Can't you see the resemblance?

Tani taught the Bible lesson. She did great!

The kids enjoyed coloring and doing puzzles in the books.

VBS in Sahuaral (Sah wah rawl)

120 kids there, only 10 go to sunday school.

At the end of one of the general sessions the leader had the kids pray first for forgiveness for those who were already saved, then she had those who wanted to to pray to accept Jesus as their savior! It was sooo amazing hearing allll those kids accept Jesus into their hearts! What a touching moment!

The kids grouped into two lil kids classes and two big kids classes. I helped out with the older girls class and had a great time. The teacher I worked with was awesome. I really enjoyed helping her, especially since she used my help. We had a great time.

The last... melon

Well, actually I'm not living in Ice Age with Dodo birds, but we did finish the last of a long line of Congresos this weekend. About 25 teachers showed at this Congreso and learned and learned from 2 to 9 on Friday and from 9am to 3 on Saturday. With the traveling Kristi, Tani, and I had long days, but we had lots of fun. Kristi teaches those congresos really well. The teachers learned a lot and had a great time going from one thing to the next. We passed out binders and congreso manuals as well as a laminated version of a flanelgraph to each person. The "flanelgraph" set included a couple large backgrounds with a couple minor changes, lots and lots of people, animals, inanimate objects such as a table and food, trees, and everything. These all were stuffed onto four 2-3 foot huge sheets (my own estimation, and most likely to be technically incorrect) that the teachers had to cut the pieces from. All that's required to attach the pieces to the background is tape. Even Tani and I get our own sets. I can already picture using my set during the Sunday School class back at home. At the congreso all the teachers had a great time learning and gaining more vision for how to teach their classes.

Sunday School!

On Tuesday Tani and I taught "Sunday" School on our own (in Spanish making it a larger feat than it would be in English I can assure you) using Kristi's curriculum at a small church in a small town. The kids were great! We led them in a song, I told them a little story about a kid who almost steals 10 pesos, Tani taught them the Bible Story, we lead them in a game, and we passed out student books and safety-pinned a ribbon to their shoe reminding them of the lesson they learned at "Sunday" School. I really appreciate how the lessons Kristi writes are not about stealing, for example, but are deeper such as selling your soul for 10 pesos. This would include stealing, lying, cheating, and just about anything else, but at the same time goes way deeper than that.

The funniest thing about the class was that all the parents sat in the back watching the whole lesson. It made us slightly uneasy, but we pressed through and I think the parents actually enjoyed it. My spanish left something to be desired and at one point what I said was really funny to everyone. But I had a blast, and am looking forward to going back on Friday. It won't be on Tuesday because this week they are doing a different program and I'm not staying long enough for consistency.

VBS!!

I had the pleasure of helping out at the VBS in Sahuaral (sah wah rawl) for three evenings this past week, and it was awesome! The teachers are totally using Kristi's curriculum complete with teaching, student books, and songs! The starting session of every day had songs, a skit, Tani and my skit on Monday and Thursday, and teaching the main lesson. Then the kids grouped off into two little kids classes, 2-4 yrs and 5-6 I believe, and two classes for the 7-11 or 12 yr olds, one for the girls and one for the boys. I helped this amazing teacher who lead the older girls class. I was definitely impressed that she actually used my help with passing out the booklets and pencils, going over the memory verse, and even coloring their class flag. After classes they all gathered back into the church for the ending session with more songs, review, and a contest between the classes for participation, discipline, and flag decoration. The coolest part of the whole VBS is that 120 kids came when only 10 of them go to Sunday School, and everyone had a blast! What really touched me was on Thursday when the lesson was to Admit your Sin and the leader of the main sessions lead them first in a prayer for God to forgive them, then lead them in a prayer of both forgiveness and Accepting Christ as their Personal Savior!!!!!! It was amazing watching so many kids pray to ask Jesus into their hearts! I don't know how many kids prayed that or how sincere they were, but I can be sure that it was more than just the 10 kids from Sunday School that both prayed and were sincere.

I didn't bring a camera but...

Pictures I'm "Stealing" (with permission) from Tani:




Friday 4th of July barbeque party.




Um, that's just me.












Nice scenic shot. The most beautiful sunsets live in the desert, or at least down here.



















Oh yeah!

Great Week!

I've had a great time here at Rancho Pro-Vision. We have worked every day since I arrived. Tani and I both have a few projects we're working on. We wrote and recorded two puppet skits that we'll be using tomorrow and Thursday at a VBS that we are going to help with. It's a challenge to record a skit in spanish and actually pronounce well so the Mexicans will be able to understand it. Ruben and German (pronounced Herman) helped tons with the translating and Ruben is the main recording guy. Ruben did the majority of the recording and putting the skits together with music and everything to make them exiting. He's such a blessing.
Also Tani and I are both writing books. Tani's book has ideas for working with preschoolers and mine is how to make balloon animals. It takes a lot of work to write all the directions and to draw all the figures showing how the balloon should look.
We enjoyed a relaxing Fourth of July this Friday. We mostly did the easy projects like cutting out laminated game cards for one of Kristi's curriculums while watching movies. Later we went to the theater and watched Walle, then came home to have a nice barbeque. We tried to go all american with hamburgers and potato salad. We watched a movie while relaxing in their 2 foot tall pool (can you tell I like movies?) and enjoyed little firecrackers Dwight bought at a candy store. Yesterday was cleaning day and today is a day of rest, online church, and playing Nerts.
Tomorrow Mom is going home. Mom and Kristi have enjoyed a nice vacation together this week. I'll miss Mom though, until I go home in either late July or early August. My date of departure is still undecided.
Tani, Kristi, and I have lots of work to do this week, though, with the projects we're working on, more projects to do, and a VBS to help with. In the future we also have another potential VBS and a Kids Camp, as well as Tani and I teaching a Sundayschool class on our own it appears. That'll be an adventure because our Spanish is severely lacking. Well, I suppose all we can do is rely on God to help us remember the words we need to reach these kids' lives. Please pray for the kids in the VBS(s), Sundayschool, and Kids Camp that they'll be open to recieve what God has for them and to listen to what we have to say. And pray for us that God will give us the grace to work with kids in Spanish. Bring it on!

Welcome to Mexico!

We arrived last night at around 7:30 and went out for those delicious long awaited authentic tacos. Then swam in D and K's new 2 and 1/2 foot pool for a few minutes, and went to bed exhausted. We had been traveling since 2:30 that morning, with a 5 hour layover at pheonix. Actually, I had nice naps on the first plane and at the Pheonix airport, nice food, and thank God we slipped through customs just fine.
Today I started working. Kristi has set it up like a job, 8 hour workdays with a lunch break. It feels good working after having a nice summer break. Tonight was special. We had an apreciation night for the workers with music, food, and the pool for the kids. It was a great night.
It was a lot of fun seeing some of the folks here that I haven't seen in over a year. It's been a while, and things have changed. D and K have continued to add and change Rancho Pro-Vision. The patio is more complete with tiles where there was dirt last time I came, with different sectioned-off areas, built in raised flower bed things, and an above-ground pool. They've painted the whole place and remodeled the office and other office production room across the way. The place looks absolutely gorgeous!
Even the things that haven't changed have been hard to get used to, sorta. Already I've forgotten where the plates are stored, and how to make awesome grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with pre-grilled ham for the crew. What I remember and what I forget cracks me up.
Speaking of remembering, I find what I remember in the Spanish language fascinating. Words will pop up in mind while I'm translating something in my head that I have forgotten almost completely. I've been on the missions field, mostly in Mexico, all my life. I was born here, raised here for a good portion of my life, and visit yearly. I have inevitably picked up a lot of Spanish, but I lose it quickly as well. Or at least I think I have until a word I didn't even know I new comes up and I happen to know it. Already, too, I have been apreciating the Spanish class I took the term before coming here. I've been able to converse a little more now than I could before. I'm enjoying this missions trip, that's for sure.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow and whatever else comes up. I'm also looking forward to having all this time away from normal life that I can spend in hard core learning and seeking God (and enjoying free time after putting in my fair share of work).

Week Before I Leave

This week is crazy! This weekend, from Thursday to Saturday we're having a VBS at our church, and I'm helping with that most of the time this week. Today we finished setting up some of the stage decorations, and it looks great! Even Sunday will have a big VBS service with some of the songs the kids have learned all week. A really cool part of the VBS is the skits. We're doing the same teaching and the same skits in both the VBS here and the Kids Camp in Mexico. This is great preparation for the Kids Camp! The hard thing will be that I leave pretty much right after the VBS, and will be somewhat tired by then. Ha! Please pray for me that God would give me the strength and grace to have a smooth transition into life in Mexico.

Trip to Mexico!

I'm going to Mexico! I'll be staying with Dwight and Kristi Krauss, my sister and brother-in-law, Pro-vision Ministries, and helping them with their production of curriculum for the sunday schools in northwestern Mexico. Also they're hosting a kids camp at "Rancho Pro-vision" teaching the 100 children who come from the surrounding area how to be a leader for Jesus. It's going to be great!
I'll be leaving on the 30th by airplane with my mom who's staying for about a week. I'll stay for about a month. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me on this trip! Please pray for me while I'm in Mexico (and before) that God would bless everything I do and teach me new things, as well as for protection, financial aid, and everything else you can think of!
I'll be blogging while I'm there tolet everyone know how I'm doing and what's going on. Bring it on!