39 for the first time!

Well I celebrated my first 39th birthday last Thursday. I had a good day. I started my day heading to a doctors appointment. For the past few months my hands have been going numb. The doctor suggested I take medicine to help with the swelling of the pinched nerve. I then headed to class. My creative Bible study class is held every Thursday. After class I headed to my friend Tammy's house and then met several friends and my sister and her family for dinner. I had a great time. I also had a great weekend with my parents to celebrate my birthday. Next year I will write you about my second 39th birthday.

The call

The doctor only said he would call if there was something wrong. Well today I got the "Call". I stopped at K-Mart (I had to include that for my coworkers in Mexico where there is no K-Mart) and received the call that the MRI showed I have a herniated disk in my neck. After the doctor told me in medical terms I then asked him to explain what that meant. He told me I would have to go to a neurologist to find out my treatment. For the past few months my hands have been going numb for no reason. I always have had a pain in the neck... No not you Bethany :) so I didn't really think it was a big problem. I will fill you in when I find out more info.

I'm here

Wow so much time has passed since I last wrote. July and the first part of August were busy busy busy. I attended the ME conference. What a blessing that was. I took the Biblical counseling class. It changed me and some of my thoughts which lead to worry. After the ME conference I attended the VBS program my church had. I was the missionary focus. Right after the VBS I headed to MI to spend some time with my extended family. Soon after I arrived home I spoke at a church who supports me. Then last week I went to Virginia Beach to spend some time with two of my supporters. I had a great time of rest and relaxation. Thanks Janice for the comfortable bed in your guest room. (I have slept in many guests rooms on furlough and by far is Janice's bed the most comfortable!!) I am able to take a short breather however I don't know for how long because I started classes at seminary again this week. After my first class I look forward to my classes, they seem as if they will be a lot of work but rewarding. I haven't forgotten my friends who read my blog.
I will write more later.

My Kids

I have been in the states for two months. I really miss my kids. So I thought I would share some of the pictures I got of them right before I left Mexico. For those of you in Mexico please give "my Kids" a hug if you see them..

"OLD" friends

God is good. This past Monday I was able to pick up my friend Suellen from the airport at BWI and take her to Harrisburg PA. We were able to get together for a brief time of fellowship. Suellen and I met when we joined ABWE together in 2000. She was an instant kinder spirit. It helped that she was an "I" too. Those of you who have taken the disk test will understand. Monday we were able to share in each others joys and learn each others sorrows. I do read her emails but I did enjoy hearing how God was working with and through her in her ministry.
As I write this I have also learned that God has allowed one of my good "old" college buddies to also have the opportunity to move to Washington State. Shirlee Mccoy. (You might have read one of her books. One of her new books her character is named "Martha Gabler" imagine that.) Shirlee and I actually met in Thailand before I was a Christian. We became good friends in college. She is one of my spiritual mothers. I will miss her even though I don't spend much time with her, but I know this will give me the opportunity to visit Washington State.
God is good because he allows us to make new friends along our journey, but to also keep the "old" friends too. I am thankful for all the good "new" friends I have in Mexico!! But am thankful for my "old" friends too.

Home assignment

Well how does it feel to be "home"? I can honestly say I don't feel like I am home. I MISS MEXICO! Several of the changes I have seen while I have gone. Most of my good friends no longer live in Maryland. When I go to church especially Sunday school I don't know anyone. I feel like I am the new kid on the block. I guess I am. It has been good to meet some new people from my home church. It is also exciting to be home and see the changes. There have been many good changes. The church has voted to raise my support 300 dollars more . What a blessing that was. I only have to raise 400 dollars this year, so if you would are reading this and would like to support me let me know. :) Other changes are the gas prices are up to 4 dollars a gallon!!! That is hard on a missionaries salary. The other thing is the price of rent and groceries in this area are sky high.
Pray as I get adjusted to things at "home". When I first got home we had some family problems. Pray because my family needs to be saved.
well going to sign off for now.... just a quick note to let you all know I am alive and doing well.

A month later

As I look at my last blog I realize it has been about a month since I last wrote. I made it to Maryland without any problems okay the first day I ran a red light and the second day I got a written warning. I have been busy. I thought the first few days "home" would be restful. It took my Mexican parents, Israel and Paloa five days to go from Mexico to Maryland. A very long trip and with the gas prices a very expensive trip. We all had a good visit. Right after my "parents" left I went to the Edge Seminars hosted by ABWE. Also great classes. Thursday afternoon I headed to a missions conference at my home church. I presented my ministry in several classes and then at night was able to go out on evangelism. Friday we saw a great new movie still in production about tribal villages hearing the gospel. Saturday we had an international dinner. Sunday morning I was able to speak in a class, and then later in the evening service. Today and tomorrow I get to present in the classes at the Christian School. Going to write more later about the missions conference... Thanks all for your prayers.

Eight days and a wake-up

Eight days and a wake up. We used to say this when we were little and living in Turkey. It would indicate how much time we had left before we returned to the states. Well I have eight days and a wake up before I leave MEXICO. (we never counted the day we left it was our wake up.) It has been hard!!! I have been packing for the last two days. The good thing is I can keep my furniture in the same house because Bethany is going to continue to rent. Pray as I say goodbye to my Mexican friends. Last weekend I went on a church retreat. I told myself I would not cry, but I ended up crying. Even the deacon of our church was crying. This week I will be having many going away parties. I will be leaving April 28th in the morning. Hope to see my friends in Maryland soon.

Good News

Today I woke up and thought it would be an ordinary day. I started off my day with an ABWE business meeting. Around noon our meeting finished and I was set to start my daily activities. When I got home from my meeting I had a message on my answering machine from a special friend I have been seeing for the last six months. We have been getting serious these last three months. I was not expecitng to hear from him today, however he asked me if I was avalible to have lunch together. I wasn't expecting anything special, but during lunch he got down on one knee and proposed. Of course my answer was YES!!! He is planning to come home with me in April so he can meet all my friends and family. I called my family and they were excited to hear the good news. I am including the picture I got of him today.

April Fool's!!!

Happy Easter

I can't believe how fast time goes. This weekend is Easter Sunday. Wow! We plan to have several events for the church this weekend. Tomorrow at kids club more kids will come than usual. Several of the teens wanted to have a sleep over at my house. (The problem is they were all teen boys.) I told them no but maybe we could go to the swim park on Saturday morning. This Saturday night we are having an evangelistic outreach in Los Olivos. A concert for teens and young adults. Pray many people will come. Also Easter Sunday we are having a special breakfast and then church service. Right after church service we will be heading to Veracruz Mexico for a pastoral retreat, Monday - Wednesday. We plan on driving back to Mexico City Friday afternoon. Pray for safety as we drive. Also pray we can plan the year for the church to honor God.

Hope you all have a great Easter Sunday!

Daily Life

Stress is the condition that results when person-environment transactions lead the individual to perceive a discrepancy, whether real or not, between the demands of a situation and the resources of the person's biological, psychological or social systems.

I am sure none of us have felt that way!! Lately I feel like I am living in a bubble of stress. First financially after my operation. Okay that was not a planed expense. I hopefully will get reimbursed for that SOON, but I have to wait until the claim goes through.
The second stress is the fact in less than a month I will be leaving Mexico. I don't have my visa for the next year and need my new visa before I leave in April. I also will have trouble packing because the doctor told me I couldn't lift anything over 10 pounds for the next six weeks. Furthermore I feel bad because Bethany is doing all the housework and I can't do much to help her. I am tyring to live stress free because I know God has a plan and purpose for everything, but as they say easier said than done. Pray that I can feel God's presence in this stressful time, and not cause more health problems. My blood pressure has been through the roof this last week. (even after taking my medicine) Which than causes me more stress and the cycle continues.......

My adventure this weekend

Friday night after work my coworkers and I went out to eat at a taco stand "King-Kong" before our meeting with the other leaders of the church. We arrived at the taco stand around 7 Pm. Susi and I decided we wanted to share a platter. Alambre meat with cheese, a very greasy meal. We also ordered onions on the side.yummmmm.... After dinner we went to our meeting and it lasted until 10:30 PM. I arrived home around 11:00Pm and got ready for bed. Bethany came home about 12:00 and we chatted for a little bit. She was planning to help a friend in the morning and she had to leave at 3:00 AM.

Around 2:00Pm in the morning I woke up with nausea and felt bad. I went to the bathroom but nothing came our on either end. I wanted to throw up because I thought that would make me feel better however nothing came at first... Then it hit... I was in the bathroom several times throwing up. As Bethany left she asked if I needed help I told her no I was all right. I thought I would throw up and then go back to bed and rest. I tried to lay in bed but I could not sleep. My left side of my stomach was hurting. Around 5 am I thought I would call my neighbors who are also missionaries because I felt so bad. I decided to wait until 7am. My neighbor Zina took me to the clinic down the road from our house. I thought it was something I ate the night before. We arrived and I was examined by the clinic doctor and his diagnostics was that my appendix need to be taken out. It was hard to make a decision because I felt so bad. He wanted to admit me to the hospital right away. Zina suggested I go to see the doctor who treated her husband for stomach problems. So we left the clinic and headed to the hospital. The doctor in the clinic told me not to wait to go right away. We we arrived at the hospital in Santa Fe ,the rich part of Mexico, the emergency room took me right away. They hooked me up to an IV and then two young guys came in. They were wearing jeans and causal shirts. One was the emergency room doctor and the other was the resident. I thought maybe I was on a C.S.I show or something.. They took several test and then with the results told me I need to have surgery.. By that time my friend's doctor the specialist had arrived.
So as they say that is the rest of the story I was released from the hospital Sunday afternoon because I had the surgery laparoscopically.
Several funny thing happened in the process... One was when I was having the ultra sound done there were eight people in the room and about all eight people took turns. I was laying in my bed during the ultra sound thinking... They can't find any thing maybe I just have GAS... I thought I was making a big deal out of nothing.
The other funny thing is you know you have surgery in Mexico when one of your doctors comes into the room the next day after your surgery and proceeds to greet you with a kiss. The typical greeting in Mexico between a man and women. OK the kiss is on the cheek for those of you wondering...
Now comes the recovery part.
Thanks for praying all of you who knew and thanks for praying for my recovery. Tonight as I write this I feel much better then even this morning. I hope to get pictures. I didn't bring my camera along when I went to the emergency room. But Bethany took a picture on her cell phone.

ISB mini renuion.....

Wow it is amazing how God works. This past Monday we had an ABWE gathering at Nelson's house. While there we were able to share and pray with his daughter in law, Sara Morales. (Keep praying because for her because she is still in the healing process). I know it will take a long time. It was neat however after lunch we started talking. I knew she had gone to the same high school I did. That is a miracle in its self because we both attended the International School in Bangkok. Better known as ISB. (Sara was a missionary kid... and I lets just say not SAVED YET.) She graduated two years ahead of my class in 85 and I in 87. However she worked at the school in 86. My first year I attended and she worked with several teachers I had. She also helped with track and field a sport I was involved in in high school. I don't remember her nor she me, but it took God 21 years later to cross our paths again... WOW

By the way for those of you who know we happened to be wearing the ISB colors... Go Panthers....

FOOT SCRUB

Sometimes Bethany and I like to have a foot scrub....Tonight was one of those nights. I don't really need to say much. I think the picutres speak for themselves. I only thought this happened in the movies. Guess not.

Valentines Day

Happy late Valentines Day,

I love the way Mexico celebrates Valentines Day. It is not just a day to celebrate romantic LOVE, but to also celebrate friendship. Here they call it Día de amor y amistad. This Valentines day fell on my day off Thursday, so two of my single Mexican friends and Bethany went to the park. We cooked out and then piged out on beef steak and tortillas... YUMMMMM.. then came home and watched a dvd. It was a good time. Bethany and I also made small cup cake hearts for our neighbors and gave them out. Pray for our neighbors as we continue to build a realtionship with them. Hope you all were able to celebrate valentines day with your love ones too.

The Burn

Here are the pictures I promised yesterday. It does not show the everything but you can see how close it got to the houses and the big tree we saved....

Lost Blog Now found....

I added a Christmas blog I thought I lost. Scroll down to read what happend before Christmas.

Missionary or Firefighter?????

Wow what a night... This I think can only happen in Mexico. Tonight Bethany and I were having dinner with Zina and her boys and we smelled something that was burning. Zina informed us sometimes people burn the fields next to our house. Sure enough when we went outside the field next to Bethany's and my house was on fire. Drew and I watched my neighbor pour buckets of water on the field. I didn't think it was that bad; however after a few minutes I realized we needed to help him with the buckets of water. So Zina, Drew, Bethany, and I came with our buckets. Our neighbor wanted to throw water on a huge tree in the field, because he was afraid it would catch fire. However when we went to put water on the tree we couldn't get near the tree because the flames and smoke were too bad. We were afraid because if the flames or sparks got too near the homes they could catch the gas tanks on fire. Big problems because all the houses in Mexico have their gas tanks on top of their houses. One of the neighbor ladies called the fire department two times but they never sent anyone to help. So now the fire is out and all is save and sound. Zina then told us to keep our doors closed because now the RATS will be looking for a new home and they ususally seek the houses near by. I will send pictures when the blog is not acting up.

From Mexico to China

I often wonder if God would ever call me to another country like China to minisiter for Him. I don't know if I could learn another language....

February 7th is the Chinese New Year. I decided to use this opportunity to have the children in kids club learn and pray for the Chrisitans and the church in China. The first two picutres are the children making a sign to remind them to pray for the Chinese. It says... Jesus loves you. The last picture is of Blanca holding up her finished sign with a Chinese umbrella.

Pray God might use one of the kids to go as a missionary in the future.

The Joys of City Life

Ah.... Sometimes I don't feel like a real missionary because I live in a large city. I read my friend Suellen's blog, missionary in the Gambia, and think of the drastic difference it is to minister in the city.

I am going to focus on one of the pleasures it is to work and live in the city. Last night after work I with three other girls went to the center of the city to see the Lion King. The good thing it was in English, so it was a nice treat just to sit and veg and enjoy the costumes and scenery. At first I thought we would have some trouble because a major storm blew in last night. Tree limbs were flying everywhere. Luckily none hit our car. When we were near the theater (in the very very rich side of town) we saw one tree had blown over and had landed on two parked cars. We made it to the theater with no problems. It was a nice treat to go to a Broadway play for less than 12 dollars.

Even though sometimes living in the biggest city in the world can be stressful, it does have its advantages!

Small World

Just a quick note. Sometimes it amazes me how small the world can seem even living in the largest city of the world. (Mexico City has over 30 million people) My car has been in the shop since Christmas, to get a few repairs.... SO I have been taking public transportation. I do like the fact I can still get around without my car, however it does take longer on a bus. Well the other day I left to catch my bus and when I got on there were two Church members from Nelson's church. It feels like a small little city when you see someone you know..

Hope you have a good day. Going to jovenes, Youth group, and we are going to start to study the book, The Stranger On the Road to Emmaus.

Happy New Year

Evelia and Juan Carlos one of her sons...

Okay this wish is a little late, but I hope you all look forward to the new year. I was able to spend Christmas and New Years with my parents in Pennsylvania. I had many days of relaxation. Sorry I did not call some of you in Maryland. I think I was in hibernating mood.

I arrived back in Mexico on Friday Jan. 4th in the middle of the afternoon. I was home for a good ten minutes when I had to leave again to help a friend. My friend and her three young children came to spend the night until Sunday morning. Please pray for my friend Evelia, and her children. She is going through a very difficult time right now. Friday night when Evelia was crying and asking questions... I thought I am not qualified to help. Pray for me as I along with others try to help Evelia in her time of need. She and her children need to be coverd with prayer.