tomorrow i will be hopping over the border for a couple hours to get some paperwork filled out. please pray that our travels will be safe, and we will all have a good time. (its aproximately a 3 hour drive each way). i need to get this form filled out in the US in order to recieve my paycheck. Its been frustrating and a stressful situation for all of us here. i hope this will finaly be the solution we have been looking for. i will post again in a few days to let you know how it all went. thanks in advance for all your prayers.

Sorry it has been so long since my last post; but last week was crazy! Super busy but I loved it! We had a Short Term Missions group from Loveland CO. We did a lot of stuff in a short time. We got to see a lot of cool places, and we also did a lot of work to try and further Gods kingdom here in Monterrey. Check out the PHOTOS link on the sidebar for some of what we did. We went to “el cola de ceballo” (the tail of the horse), which doesn’t sound like a place you would want to go; but it was beautiful. You can see from the pictures why they called it that. It is a waterfall, but the way the water comes down the rocks in fine lines, it kind of looks like hair; and all together (if you use your imagination) it looks like a tail. Also notice in the photos that there are always lots of people around. We are always sure to let everyone know where we are going with the gringos and everyone is welcome to come with. Last Monday (Nov. 20) was also a national holiday (revolution day) so we went to the parade to pass out information about our church and talk to people. There were a lot of people there, and a lot of kids in the parade. It was mostly made up of schools and sports teams. We also went to the “grutas de Garcia” (the Garcia caverns). It was another beautiful place. There were some really cool rock formations (stalagmites and stalactites for you geologists). Most of my pictures from inside the caves didn’t turn out – sorry, maybe next time. We also did a lot of evangelism at the university. Naturally, I enjoyed that time. By Gods’ grace we have already begun to see the fruits of our labor that day. Yesterday two students came to our church as a result of a conversation with some members of our visitors from Colorado! I talked further with them and they have expressed interest in coming to our small group this Friday! Another day we went to some of the poorer areas and had a member of the group perform as a clown and share the gospel with the kids. We also handed out some food and gifts. This is a day most of the STMers won’t soon forget. The contrast of the poverty always makes us thankful for what we have. My heart always burns for them. For those of you who think Latinos don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, think again. We had about 70+ people here in our home for our feast! Turkey, mashed potatoes, Mexican stuffing… it was delicious! We wanted to make all the STMers feel at home, plus we invited members of the church and before we knew it we had to rent more tables and chairs for all the people who wanted to come! We did soo much more that I don’t have time to talk about now, but I will definitely post more stories soon!
Prayer requests:
~still struggling to find a solution to the problem that is preventing me from receiving my paycheck.
~Dora’s health during her last month or so of pregnancy
~Claudia, a young (Christian) woman attending our small group, needs strength and courage to share the gospel with her (non-Christian) family.
~thanks for a “successful” time with our visitors from Colorado last week.
~that God would work in the hearts of those who we reached out to last week.
~Di, a missionary friend of mine back in the States; preparing to go to Guatemala
Personal
~transition: finding my specific role here, adjusting to the language barriers, etc
~Boldness, patience

Wow, its hard to believe I’ve already been here a week! On one hand it feels like I’ve been gone for a while, but on the other hand, it feels like I just got here. So much has been going on here too, they have definitely kept me busy and entertained. But everyone has been really nice and very friendly. I really feel like they have welcomed me in as a part of the family.
I am living with a young married couple (about my age) named Allan and Dora. They are expecting their first child in about 6 weeks, so right before Christmas. Also living with us is a young lady named Carmen. All three of them (along with the entire church planting team) came from the same church in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The house is beautiful and spacious. There are 3 bedrooms in the basement so we all stay down here where its cool (yesterday it was about 95 degrees, in the summer they tell me it will consistently reach 110-120!). I had purchased a bed a few days ago and just got it delivered on Thursday. So now I at least have one piece of furniture in my room. I also posted a couple pictures of the house and some of the team, and a short term mission group from Iowa that was here last week. Check them out via the PHOTOS link on the right sidebar, below the photo of the “unleashed” collar. I will try and post more pics soon.
We have been plenty busy, with the short term group that came down from Iowa, meeting and getting to know the church leaders here, and also another pastor from the Honduras church was here visiting with his family. We also have a bunch of different small groups. So add to all that trying to get settled and familiar with the new territory and I’ve been pretty busy. That’s definitely a good thing, because it doesn’t give me much time to let my mind wander back to missing friends and family back home.
Monterrey is a beautiful city and very diverse. There are quiet a variety of people living here. People from all over Latin America live here. It is also a very expensive city. I am not sure why yet, but most things here (like at the walmart, and home depot) are more expensive than the States. But the food prices are about the same. We actually live in the middle class area and the church meats near the mall in the uppermiddle class area. We meet in a room we rent at a reception hall. It is a very nice place, but I don’t think we will fit there for very long. Right now we have 2 services every Sunday and will probably need to add a 3rd or switch to a bigger room by January. However, in Latin America church attendance actual declines during the winter and the holidays (the opposite of the US). This is why I will be able to come home for a week or so to be around for Christmas and Knowlty’s wedding. Appearently winter is the time for Latinos to take vacations and spend time with their families. So this will be the only time I return to the states until next November.
I have been meeting a lot of cool people down here. I’ve met some other missionaries, some other Americans, lots of Hondurians, and Mexicans. The church already has established some good connections with other churches and Christian organizations down here, and some of them are from the US, so its nice to be able to speak some English now and then.
I also got to go check out “the TEC” (translation = the Monterrey University of Technology) yesterday. It is a beautiful campus, with a very diverse group of college students, and all kinds of animals roaming around the quad. Seriously, deer, peacocks, and a gaggle of ducks freely roam about amongst the students.
God has plenty of room to work here, and it looks like he has already begun to take back this city for his glory. Pray that I will be able to help Him, and not get in His way.
That’s about all I have time for right now… keep checking back.

Prayer Requests
~Miguel and his wife, Alicia, two of the first baptisms from the church here in Monterrey.
~ Chris – a missionary I met who works with an orphanage here and is having issues with his organization, and also has a big decision to make within the next 2 weeks.
~Dora’s health during her last month or so of pregnancy
~we have passed out about 10,000+ pamphlets and invitations to announce our new sermon series at church. Pray that God will stir the hearts of those who received them.
~Claudia, a young (Christian) woman attending our small group, needs strength and courage to share the gospel with her (non-Christian) family.
~Di, a missionary friend of mine back in the States; preparing to go to Guatemala

Personal
~transition: finding my specific role here, adjusting to the language barriers, etc
~that the details would be worked out so I can receive a paycheck soon.
~Boldness

hey, just wanted to let you all know that the flight was smooth; and i have been welcomed here with open arms! its a very buys weekend so i dont have much time to post; but expect another more detailed update soon.
p.s. i have wireless internet acess here in my home, so staying in touch wont be too difficult.