MTW Street Child Ministry: Mexico City

There is a Street Child Ministry (in its beginnings) in Mexico City. There are a group of nationals who weekly go to various metro stations to do a "Vacation Bible School" type program. I had the privileged in participating the last few weeks and just loved it! The kids are rough, and not well behaved, but the are precious and full of joy. For a lot of these children (ages 3 to 13ish) school is not very important, drugs deals are already a way to make money, and their parents give them little to no supervision or discipline.... they are essentially on their own. The ministry group that visits the metro stations weekly has built relationships with the children and have "regulars" that come back every week.

CURICONCERT: Piano Style

For our CURICLUB last Friday we had a concert. One of our English Club attendees (Alitzel) and one of our RUF members (Uziel) are both studying at the National School of Music via the UNAM. They both study piano... and it is an 8 year program for a degree! So we had a concert. We used the piano and facilities at our church and it was awesome!

Thankfully Suffering

In Thessalonians 5: 18 it says "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

I've been thinking a lot about this verse lately and especially in the times when I'm finding it hard to be thankful. Before, when reading this verse, I always thought the '"for this is the will of God" part was referring to the fact that His will was for us to be thankful. I still think that is his will, but even more so, I think the "for this is the will of God" is referring to "all circumstances". All of our situations (happy, sad, difficult, fun) are God's will for our life... and that is why we should give thanks in each one of them. In each and every situation God is forming us to be more like him. God allows suffering and hard times in our lives (whether caused by external factors or our own personal sin) to teach us, mold us, humble us, and remind us of our need for His grace.

Suffering is a blessing, and that is why we should give thanks! God not only allows suffering to change and teach us, but also to grow His Kingdom. I'm currently reading the book "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" and the author Paul David Tripp, when talking about using our suffering to witness to others, says this:

"God has brought me through sin and suffering, not only to change me but to enable me to minister to others. My story is a small chapter in the grand story of redemption, and Christ is on center stage. My story is much more about him than it is about me. In this way even my failures result in his glory. In my own weakness, foolishness, and inability, I have learned the truthfulness of his promises and the reality of his presence. This makes my story a vehicle of change in the lives of others."

So, we can be 'thankfully suffering' because our suffering has grand and eternal purposes, for our hearts and even the hearts of others.

Guanajuato (Spring Retreat)

We had our RUF Spring Retreat in Guanajuato, Mexico (about 5 hours from Mexico City). Guanajuato is a smaller city know for its relaxed atmosphere, Spanish style architecture (it was founded by the Spanish), and its romantic setting. We did visit downtown one afternoon; however, our retreat took place in the countryside at a “retreat center” owned by Mission to the World. We had about 25 students go on the retreat; about 8 of them non-Christian. Our theme for the retreat was “Vision through Scripture”. Our speaker, David Green (the U.S. North-East Coast/Mexico RUF Director), began by talking about the authority, reliability, and story of scripture. In later talks we looked at practical ways to apply scripture in our lives, through workshops on “how to study your Bible” and “how to make decisions based on God’s will”. The retreat was also filled with small group discussion times, games, great food, team competitions, and very little sleep!

I was excited to be at the retreat!

During a "talk"

Playing games!

I was on the red team...
Bonfire and marshmallows

"Campamento Mision al Mundo" (Mission to the World Camp)

This is a sort video of the group during worship one day...

Downtown Guanajuato!!!!

Me in Callejon de Besos (a famous "ally of kisses")

Silhi and Me at a city overlook

The whole gang!

Crepes

One of our English Club attendees is from France. He is at the UNAM working on his doctorate. For our CURICLUB a last week he taught us the authentic way to make crepes from scratch. Our topping options were: jelly, chocolate syrup, caramel, cajeta, peanut-butter, marshmallows, almonds, chocolate chips, nutella, strawberries, bananas, mango, powdered sugar, and pecans!

Julien (our Frenchman) and Karina cooking the crepes

One of my crepes!

My Mom in Mexico!!!

She walked on the cobble stone streets

In Toluca she visited the Botanical Gardens, Cathedrals, ate Local Chili-Mango Ice Chilaquiles, Pozole, and Fresas Con Crema

She visited Parque Viveros for a walk (the place I run)

Parque Viveros is also a tree nursery

She ate a Bellini, the "spinning" sky restaurant

She saw traditional indigenous dances while shopping downtown

She ate in a rooftop cafe overlooking downtown

She ate churros rellenos and esquites in Plaza Coyoacan

She visited the Museum of Mexican Medicine

She visited the huge Spanish-built Cathedral downtown

She met my friends and some of their families

She woke-up early and ate fresh cut fruit and drank coffee on the go...

She rode the metro, learned to fight for seats, got her arm stuck in the door, and was tough with the crowds

She saw cacti

She climed the pyramids of Teotiuahcan

She ate quesadillas, sopes, tamales, ensalada de nopal, and drank orchata en Cafe Tacuba

Of ALL the places in the BIG city that she traveled, she was "injured" in Wal-Mart (ask her the story)

She rode the TURIBUS (aka tourist bus ride around the city)

She stood in front of "La Tarahumara" restaurant (the famous barefoot running tribe of Mexico)

She hung out on the UNAM's campus

She visited the National Museum of Anthropology

...with her daughter.

She pretty much conquered Mexico!!!