I’m back in Chicago for a few days. After some lengthy layovers and delays, I am home safe and sound. Thanks to all of you who were praying for that. If you have my number feel free to call it. Merry Christmas!!!

As i sit here and type this it is currently just over 80 F. in about 24 hours i will be in chicago (currently in the 40’s) ouch. but i am enjoying this weather and a bit of free time while i can. i got all my bags packed and ready much quicker than i anticipated, and have some free time before our Christams dinner tonight. if you have some free time, i would reccomend checking out this tv show called “One punk under God” (you can dowload the first episode for free at itunes). it is a documentary of the life of Jay Bakker. yes, that Bakker, the son of Jim and TammyFae. it was really intersting. i enjoyed to hear his prodigal son type testimony and where God has him now. I also like his message of Love and forgiveness. however, there are some major doctirnal flaws with his church and theology. i am both encouraged and afraid of the direction a lot of “post-modernist” type and “emering type” churches are going. i really enjoy some aspects of them, and find them very relevant and applicable to my life. BUT, with my church background and knowledge there are some things i think they take too far; or let too much slide. church is not a business and it is not game. it is not a once a week trendy thing to do. it should be a live altering experience.
sorry i got carried away there, but i often struggle with the old conservative type traditions, and my personality/preferences. i know i was kind of vauge and this is a huge topic, but how do you feel about this? iany comments or feelings? i also have other resouces and such if you are interested in learning more…

anyways, i fly back to the Chi tomorrow and i am super excited to see you all! may you all have a blessed Christmas and a God glorifying 2007.

Its been another really good week. I’m super excited to go back home next week! But I have been busy and doing lots of fun stuff down here too. I wish I could post some pictures from my fun day on Tuesday, but Cameras aren’t allowed there. I went with my new friend Chris, to volunteer at D.I.F. (basically like DCFS, it’s a government organization for abused, and neglected kids, etc). He volunteers there on a regular basis, and I am hoping to be able to also. We had good plans for the day, there was a broken lock on a gate that we were going to replace “real quick” and then go paint for a while. Well, we had some difficulties with the new lock and lack of tools; so that ended up taking most of the morning. We took a quick break for lunch at a taco stand (I still am loving the food here!) Then we prepared for a party he was throwing for his English class, because he is returning to the states for Christmas next week also; and a few of the kids are getting transferred/placed elsewhere before he gets back. So it was like a Christmas party / going away party. It was a lot of fun, and we ended up playing with the kids all afternoon instead of painting. But, its not like it was a bad thing. These kids really needed some love. So please pray that I can get through the application process quickly and start volunteering there regularly. Also I am thankful for this friendship with Chris, he is a missionary from North Carolina, and is about my age and a big basketball and Seinfeld fan. So we always have plenty to discuss!
Also, on Wednesday, I finally got some more clearly defined expectations of my and my role here with the church. I am super excited for what God has in store when I get back from my Christmas break. i have already done a lot of this stuff, here and there, but now its going to be more frequent and expected of me. Some of the general weekly goals/plans are as follows: volunteer at DIF, addictions counselor, ESL teacher (2xweek), Escobedo outreach (poor area), evangelism, set-up/tear-down team, and co-lead small group! Its such a relief to have tangible goals and projects for each week. I feel confident enough and have “settled in” for long enough; I am ready to dive in and really get into why God sent me here.
As I write this I am also excited for this afternoons activities – basketball! That’s right, not soccer, we are going to play basketball! I finally rounded up enough people to play a real sport. (p.s. I totally count this as an outreach activity LOL)
It is finally starting to seem like Christmas (although the 75F days still throw me off) but we have a Christmas tree and some lights up! It still hasn’t hit me that I’ll be home less than a week and Christmas is only like a week away. I’m sure it will hit me when I arrive in Chi town on Thursday.

(sorry I this post is somewhat vague, nothing is official, so I don’t want to start any rumors or tell more than I should)
So I had been praying about something for a couple weeks now. There was something that was really tugging on my heart. I was torn about what to do about it. I must have went over the list of pro’s and con’s in my head a couple dozen times. I tried to play out all the options in my head; I searched the scriptures, I searched my heart, and prayed a lot. Still no answer. So Saturday, some people where going to the movies, and I just didn’t feel like going. Instead I was chillaxin at home. Until I felt the urge to go to a coffee shop and chillax there. There are two coffee shops that I have been to, that are within 2 blocks of our house. But I feel the need to walk to this other joint that is about a mile away. To me that’s not a big deal, but with the weather here, people though I was nuts. (its about 45 F, and it was almost raining – to me that’s just a brisk October day — here, it’s a wicked cold front requiring hats, gloves, scarves, etc). So I stroll up to this coffee shop and right away see my pastors car. [‘coincidence’ #1] I walk in and go to say hi to them (he is meeting with another leader in the church. They are surprised to see me (I usually don’t go out alone, and due to the “bad” weather), and after I assure them that I’m not cold or sick, and explain that I just felt the need to come here and chill. So I politely try to excuse myself, not wanting to interrupt their meeting; but they insist. So I ask what they are meeting about. And wouldn’t you know, they were meeting about the exact thing I was praying about! [‘coincidence’ #2] My jaw dropped when he told me. I was like, God is soo funny; I was going to talk to you tomorrow about this, because this was weighing on my heart. So we sat and talked and starting to see about the possibility of making something happen! How cool is that! (in case you didn’t pick up on the sarcasm, I do NOT believe in coincidences) It was an excellent reminder to me that God has an amazing plan for me. I’m still discovering it, and that makes everyday a blessing and an adventure

I found this really cool link from a friends blog to a site calledfollowing the star its an online daily advent devotional. i have really enjoyed it thus far and thought you might too
on a lighter note, i was really sick for the past few days with some crazy Mexican virus. but i am finally feeling better after sleeping pretty much all day yesterday. so i am ready to get back to work again. things have kind of slowed down a bit here, a lot of the locals take vacations during this time of year. and also because of the cold (45-50 F) and rain; people haven’t been going out too much.
We have had a couple more people express an interest in being baptized! which is awesome, but we may wait until it is warmer outside to dunk them. so thanks for all your prayers, and keep praying! God is ready to do great things!
I also want to be in continued prayer for all of you, so email me (havingaE@yahoo.com) with any requests/praises/thanksgivings you might have.

i got this from a forwarded email. so i am not certain if the numbers are exact; but you get the idea…….

“If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep … you are richer than 75% of this world. “If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
“And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.”
“If you can attend a church meeting without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death . you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.

“Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people to share it with.”

finally, the saga has come to an end. after a ridiculously complicated and frustrating month; i have recieved my first paycheck! it ended up as a fun adventure as we had to cross the border into texas to get the final paperwork completed. My host family came with me and did a bunch of their Christmas shopping in some outlet malls. Thank God its all over and now i can pay my rent and focus on why i really came here! Thank you soo much to all of you who had been praying for this situation!