Pozole at the Goldoy's!
At the youth conference!
Vanessa, Crystal, and Abby!
At the cathedral!
Youth Conference day 1!
Gigo, Vanessa, Olivia, Ana Gabriela, and Robin!
Me and Ana Gabriela!!
At the Museo de Antropologia
the team!
Monday, July 21, 2008
A few pictures from Mexico... =)
Pozole at the Goldoy's!
Me and Ana Gabriela!!
At the Museo de Antropologia
I'm home!!!
Hello everyone!! I'm so sorry about not being able to update the blog for almost a week!! The laptop broke.... which was a bummer, but the second week brought a totally different schedule for us, which would have meant less time to use the computer anyways... So God knew, and we were so blessed to be able to use the laptop at all the first week!!
Where do I even begin?? The second week was our Youth Conference every night and during the day we had painting/cleaning/organizing projects at the Contreras home and on Thursday we painted at Pastor Goldoy's house before we had our 2nd annual pozole lunch!! :)
The youth conference was so great-- over 100 people came each night! Josiah taught through Colossians and our music team plus some other musicians from churches in the area joined them-- they sounded great!
It was a very busy week, but God allowed us all to have the rest we needed! Friday night after the conference ended (sad! :( ) we all went to a really nice taco place Luis recommended to have dinner (it was around 11 PM) and we all got to celebrate another week of God's goodness to us!
Saturday was a really fun day-- but bittersweet because it was our last full day in Mexico.. :( Our whole team plus our families went to downtown D.F. (distrito federal) and went to a place to get a quick bite to eat called Cafete Tacuba.... Then we headed out to go to a huge Cathedral and walk through it, then to the Palacio Nacional to walk around! Then we went to our friend Omega's house for pozole (this time green pozole!) and spending time with eachother! And after that (yes we like to stay busy! :)) we went to the infamous Haagen Daz that we went to last year... We had to relive the experience :) It was a wonderful day of spending time together as a team and with our host families and the Graumans too!!
Then came Sunday (yesterday!), Robin Contreras' birthday, our last day at church with everyone, and the day we had to leave... After church we hurried to the airport to check in all of our luggage, and get a quick bite to eat before the hard part--saying goodbye!!
We got to LA around 7 PM, and were all already missing Mexico so much!
God was so good to us with blessing us yet again with smooth and safe travel, and with no lost luggage or issues with customs!!
Its good to be home, but I'm not going to lie, I miss Mexico! :) I can't wait to go back-- and in the meantime I'll be practicing my Spanish! :)
THANK YOU ALL for your prayers and support and encouragement over these last two weeks! There is a ton of detail I left out of this blog just for time's sake, but I would love to fill you in whenever!
Now comes the good part..... the pictures!! :)
Where do I even begin?? The second week was our Youth Conference every night and during the day we had painting/cleaning/organizing projects at the Contreras home and on Thursday we painted at Pastor Goldoy's house before we had our 2nd annual pozole lunch!! :)
The youth conference was so great-- over 100 people came each night! Josiah taught through Colossians and our music team plus some other musicians from churches in the area joined them-- they sounded great!
It was a very busy week, but God allowed us all to have the rest we needed! Friday night after the conference ended (sad! :( ) we all went to a really nice taco place Luis recommended to have dinner (it was around 11 PM) and we all got to celebrate another week of God's goodness to us!
Saturday was a really fun day-- but bittersweet because it was our last full day in Mexico.. :( Our whole team plus our families went to downtown D.F. (distrito federal) and went to a place to get a quick bite to eat called Cafete Tacuba.... Then we headed out to go to a huge Cathedral and walk through it, then to the Palacio Nacional to walk around! Then we went to our friend Omega's house for pozole (this time green pozole!) and spending time with eachother! And after that (yes we like to stay busy! :)) we went to the infamous Haagen Daz that we went to last year... We had to relive the experience :) It was a wonderful day of spending time together as a team and with our host families and the Graumans too!!
Then came Sunday (yesterday!), Robin Contreras' birthday, our last day at church with everyone, and the day we had to leave... After church we hurried to the airport to check in all of our luggage, and get a quick bite to eat before the hard part--saying goodbye!!
We got to LA around 7 PM, and were all already missing Mexico so much!
God was so good to us with blessing us yet again with smooth and safe travel, and with no lost luggage or issues with customs!!
Its good to be home, but I'm not going to lie, I miss Mexico! :) I can't wait to go back-- and in the meantime I'll be practicing my Spanish! :)
THANK YOU ALL for your prayers and support and encouragement over these last two weeks! There is a ton of detail I left out of this blog just for time's sake, but I would love to fill you in whenever!
Now comes the good part..... the pictures!! :)
Friday, July 18, 2008
We interrupt this blog to bring you an important announcement!
From Chris & Ann: Hey, everyone -- you who have been faithfully praying for Katie and her team, checking this blog for updates and leaving comments have been a wonderful encouragement to our daughter while she has been in Mexico City. Thank you all very much!
We were as curious as the rest of you as to why the updates stopped coming after Sunday night. We suspected computer problems, and found out yesterday we were correct: The computer belonging to Katie's dear hosts, Robin and Luis Contreras, broke earlier this week. The computer Katie brought with her from home isn't cooperating, either, so there will be no more updates for the rest of the trip. The team returns home this Sunday night, so soon after that you can check back again for "the rest of the story," plus many of the photos Katie has been taking over the past two weeks.
Thank you, thank you and thank you again for your love and support for Katie and the whole Mexico City Short-Term Ministries Team!
"...grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" --2 Peter 3:18
We were as curious as the rest of you as to why the updates stopped coming after Sunday night. We suspected computer problems, and found out yesterday we were correct: The computer belonging to Katie's dear hosts, Robin and Luis Contreras, broke earlier this week. The computer Katie brought with her from home isn't cooperating, either, so there will be no more updates for the rest of the trip. The team returns home this Sunday night, so soon after that you can check back again for "the rest of the story," plus many of the photos Katie has been taking over the past two weeks.
Thank you, thank you and thank you again for your love and support for Katie and the whole Mexico City Short-Term Ministries Team!
"...grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen" --2 Peter 3:18
Sunday, July 13, 2008
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting!" Psalm 118:1
"Praise the Kord, all nations; Laud Him, all peoples! For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting, Praise the Lord!" Psalm 117
Can you believe we only have 6 more days here in Mexico City? I can't!! Today, our second Sunday here was a day filled with fellowship and blessings from the Lord! We woke up this morning and got ready for church, and once there went to Rosie's kids class which Luisa led this week... Then came fellowship time (and a tamale shared by some of us on the team!) before Luis' sermon and worship time in song!
After church, the team headed out to a restaurant in a nearby hotel-- buffet style!! :) We ate (and ate and ate-- that's just how things are in Mexico :) ) and someone brought up a team outing to go see Wall-E... So we did! :) It was so fun to see that movie with the Contreras' and some of the team and their "families"-- we all enjoyed the time together and the movie too! :)
We got home about 2 hours ago, and had some dinner Robin made for us (as Sarah says-- "She's amazing!") and played with the kids before heading off to bed!
Praise the Lord for his goodness and kindness to us-- (as those Psalms say)-- He has blessed us and provided for us in more ways than I could possibly write here...To be able to be here is an incredible gift- but more than that, to be able to know the perfectly sinless Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, who died as payment for my sin (I deserve that penalty!) and rose again in victory over death and over sin itself, is a gift that can not be compared to any other!
Tomorrow starts another busy week-- of painting and other projects here at the Contreras home, and the Youth Conference this week every night from 6:30-9:30 PM! Pray for our continued health (and Wendy's restored health--she has a cold! :( ) and for the energy and strength and wisdom we need for the conference ahead!
Have a great night/day/whenever you read this! I hope all is well in the states :)
Que Dios les bendiga
Can you believe we only have 6 more days here in Mexico City? I can't!! Today, our second Sunday here was a day filled with fellowship and blessings from the Lord! We woke up this morning and got ready for church, and once there went to Rosie's kids class which Luisa led this week... Then came fellowship time (and a tamale shared by some of us on the team!) before Luis' sermon and worship time in song!
After church, the team headed out to a restaurant in a nearby hotel-- buffet style!! :) We ate (and ate and ate-- that's just how things are in Mexico :) ) and someone brought up a team outing to go see Wall-E... So we did! :) It was so fun to see that movie with the Contreras' and some of the team and their "families"-- we all enjoyed the time together and the movie too! :)
We got home about 2 hours ago, and had some dinner Robin made for us (as Sarah says-- "She's amazing!") and played with the kids before heading off to bed!
Praise the Lord for his goodness and kindness to us-- (as those Psalms say)-- He has blessed us and provided for us in more ways than I could possibly write here...To be able to be here is an incredible gift- but more than that, to be able to know the perfectly sinless Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, who died as payment for my sin (I deserve that penalty!) and rose again in victory over death and over sin itself, is a gift that can not be compared to any other!
Tomorrow starts another busy week-- of painting and other projects here at the Contreras home, and the Youth Conference this week every night from 6:30-9:30 PM! Pray for our continued health (and Wendy's restored health--she has a cold! :( ) and for the energy and strength and wisdom we need for the conference ahead!
Have a great night/day/whenever you read this! I hope all is well in the states :)
Que Dios les bendiga
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Are we allowed to have this much fun in a museum?
It has already been a week! I can't believe it! So much has happened in the past two days, but I will try and keep it short! :)
Thursday was a great day-- we had our second to last day of VBS which went well-- our groups craft was a trial and error but the kids had a ton of fun and all of us did too!! After the VBS ended, our team was pretty hungry, so we headed to an Argentinian restaurant around the corner that Luis had recommended-- which was DELICIOUS!! :) Then the music team had practice so we walked back to the church and the rest of us organized for the last day for VBS and painted upstairs!! Then around 5... or was it 6? :) Luis picked us up and we all went over to Antonio and Gaby's house for Armida's famous papusas-- which were incredible! =) It was a great time of fellowship with our team and the host families... we played games from "tijeras" to a cup game that i still don't get (which is really frustrating...my brain hurts!) to "sculptures" to "bang bang bang"... I don't think I've laughed that hard in a very long time!!! Robin came to pick us up and we left the party to get some rest for last day with the kids for VBS...
Friday (yesterday) was the last day of VBS, which was sad, but with all of the fun of finishing up crafts, and taking pictures with the kids, there wasn't much time to realize that it was the last day until all the kids had left! I am going to miss all of those kids so much! Thankfully, some of them go to Luis' church, so I'll get to see them the next 2 Sundays! We cleaned up after the VBS ended, and ordered some pizza for all of us to eat for lunch while we had some time to fellowship and play some games together (movie charades is a lot of fun with this group!) :) before heading off to paint some more... then came a huge treat-- we got to go have dinner at the Graumans!! It was such a blessing to get to be there again this year and have dinner with them as a team-- and we got to meet the Dowdy's too!! We had yummy lasagna and salad and bread, and cupcakes Mrs. Dowdy made for dessert (they live right next door to the Grauman's!!)-- and I got to hold baby Abby again!! She is so precious!! I got to catch up some more with Crystal, and Sarah, Vanessa, Crystal, and I had some fun girl talk time while Armida and the rest of the gang went crazy being hyper :)
Today we got to sleep in a bit, and we all went to the Museum of Anthropology for a few hours-- which was a blast (and it was a beautiful sunny day!!)... Then we headed to lunch at an outdoor restaurant we went to last year-- which was so fun to go back to! Vanessa, Sarah, Luis, and Luis and I sat at a table and talked until it was time to go.... Then Vanessa, Luis, and I got churros (my 1st Mexican churros!!)
Then we came home, and Robin, Vanessa, and I had a fun time talking in our room while Robin drank her hot chocolate... And now we are gettting ready to sleep!! :)
I wish I could write more-- there's so much to tell! Maybe tomorrow! :)
Have a great night!
Thursday was a great day-- we had our second to last day of VBS which went well-- our groups craft was a trial and error but the kids had a ton of fun and all of us did too!! After the VBS ended, our team was pretty hungry, so we headed to an Argentinian restaurant around the corner that Luis had recommended-- which was DELICIOUS!! :) Then the music team had practice so we walked back to the church and the rest of us organized for the last day for VBS and painted upstairs!! Then around 5... or was it 6? :) Luis picked us up and we all went over to Antonio and Gaby's house for Armida's famous papusas-- which were incredible! =) It was a great time of fellowship with our team and the host families... we played games from "tijeras" to a cup game that i still don't get (which is really frustrating...my brain hurts!) to "sculptures" to "bang bang bang"... I don't think I've laughed that hard in a very long time!!! Robin came to pick us up and we left the party to get some rest for last day with the kids for VBS...
Friday (yesterday) was the last day of VBS, which was sad, but with all of the fun of finishing up crafts, and taking pictures with the kids, there wasn't much time to realize that it was the last day until all the kids had left! I am going to miss all of those kids so much! Thankfully, some of them go to Luis' church, so I'll get to see them the next 2 Sundays! We cleaned up after the VBS ended, and ordered some pizza for all of us to eat for lunch while we had some time to fellowship and play some games together (movie charades is a lot of fun with this group!) :) before heading off to paint some more... then came a huge treat-- we got to go have dinner at the Graumans!! It was such a blessing to get to be there again this year and have dinner with them as a team-- and we got to meet the Dowdy's too!! We had yummy lasagna and salad and bread, and cupcakes Mrs. Dowdy made for dessert (they live right next door to the Grauman's!!)-- and I got to hold baby Abby again!! She is so precious!! I got to catch up some more with Crystal, and Sarah, Vanessa, Crystal, and I had some fun girl talk time while Armida and the rest of the gang went crazy being hyper :)
Today we got to sleep in a bit, and we all went to the Museum of Anthropology for a few hours-- which was a blast (and it was a beautiful sunny day!!)... Then we headed to lunch at an outdoor restaurant we went to last year-- which was so fun to go back to! Vanessa, Sarah, Luis, and Luis and I sat at a table and talked until it was time to go.... Then Vanessa, Luis, and I got churros (my 1st Mexican churros!!)
Then we came home, and Robin, Vanessa, and I had a fun time talking in our room while Robin drank her hot chocolate... And now we are gettting ready to sleep!! :)
I wish I could write more-- there's so much to tell! Maybe tomorrow! :)
Have a great night!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Good evening everyone! I apoligize for not giving an update yesterday but we got back late and were very tired-- it was a long day! Yesterday was day 2 of the VBS and went a lot smoother than day 1 detail-wise, and our kids are so much fun! Sergio did a great job teaching the lesson, and we kept our kids busy with clay after we had our Brazilian snack (I didn't tell you this I don't think, but each day we are "traveling" to a different country as part of our theme)... After the VBS our team sat down to recap the day, and exhuastion hit! We cleaned up and then came the afternoon of band practice for Vanessa, Sarah, Henry, Carlos, y Luisa-- for 4 HOURS!!! Luis D. and I were the only other team members who stayed that whole time because the rest of the team got picked up-- so we entertained ourselves by playing games on Sarah's laptop, ordering pizza, and listening to the band practice! After that (around 7 PM), Sarah, Vanessa and I left with Luis C. to go trade in our van that we had rented for the week for a new one that wasn't falling apart :). Luis, being the kind and always thoughtful person he is, wanted to appease us having to run this errand by taking us for ice cream before dropping Sarah off at her home. So we went to the beautiful sky mall and to our dismay, ben&jerry's had closed-- so we went for the next best thing-- Starbucks! :) Vanessa was the only smart one out of the four of us because she got a hot chocolate to drink, while the three of us got cold frappucinos-- which on a sunny and warm day would have been great, but it was raining and cloudy and cold! Oh well! :)
By 10 PM Vanessa and I were home, and ready to sleep!
We woke up to our alarm this morning at 5:30, and realized we didn't have to leave until 7:15 (as opposed to 7 AM the past few mornings) so Vanessa pressed the snooze button until 5:45... It was definitely the hardest morning yet to wake up, but God provided strength and energy to get going! We had a quick and yummy breakfast, and headed out to pick up the others in our carpool! Traffic was heavier this morning (by the way, have I mentioned yet how amazingly fun it is to drive in Mexico City? I love it! Luis offered for Vanessa or Sarah or I to try it for a little bit... who knows maybe I'll take him up on it? :)) but we got to church in plenty of time to set up., have our devotional time (led by Sarah today--on humility before the Lord-- so convicting!)..and take a quick nap! :)
At 10:30 the kids poured in (we were up to 63 today!!) and day 3 began!! Our team was definitely more tired today, but just as God provided the energy to wake up, He allowed us all to fulfill our responsibilities for today! This is just one of the many ways He has shown Himself faithful!! Sergio, again, did a great job teaching our little kids, and we made foam crowns today with fun stickers the kids got to decorate them with.. All of our kids got to be un rey for a day! :)
After the VBS, the music team had practice again-- this time until 5 PM-- and the rest of us left who didn't get picked up, painted upstairs, and organized our supplies for tomorrow. Luis then picked us up and took us to our homes, and Vanessa and I had a delicious dinner with Robin and the kids-- wow we are so spoiled!!
So tonight Vanessa and I are going to try and get a bit more sleep, because tomorrow will be another busy day of VBS, and then afterwards we get to eat Armida's papusas at her family's house!!
I hope everything back in the states is going well :)
Thank you for your prayers! God is stretching me and teaching me in ways I didn't know possible, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be here to learn!
I will write again soon!
Que Dios les bendiga!
By 10 PM Vanessa and I were home, and ready to sleep!
We woke up to our alarm this morning at 5:30, and realized we didn't have to leave until 7:15 (as opposed to 7 AM the past few mornings) so Vanessa pressed the snooze button until 5:45... It was definitely the hardest morning yet to wake up, but God provided strength and energy to get going! We had a quick and yummy breakfast, and headed out to pick up the others in our carpool! Traffic was heavier this morning (by the way, have I mentioned yet how amazingly fun it is to drive in Mexico City? I love it! Luis offered for Vanessa or Sarah or I to try it for a little bit... who knows maybe I'll take him up on it? :)) but we got to church in plenty of time to set up., have our devotional time (led by Sarah today--on humility before the Lord-- so convicting!)..and take a quick nap! :)
At 10:30 the kids poured in (we were up to 63 today!!) and day 3 began!! Our team was definitely more tired today, but just as God provided the energy to wake up, He allowed us all to fulfill our responsibilities for today! This is just one of the many ways He has shown Himself faithful!! Sergio, again, did a great job teaching our little kids, and we made foam crowns today with fun stickers the kids got to decorate them with.. All of our kids got to be un rey for a day! :)
After the VBS, the music team had practice again-- this time until 5 PM-- and the rest of us left who didn't get picked up, painted upstairs, and organized our supplies for tomorrow. Luis then picked us up and took us to our homes, and Vanessa and I had a delicious dinner with Robin and the kids-- wow we are so spoiled!!
So tonight Vanessa and I are going to try and get a bit more sleep, because tomorrow will be another busy day of VBS, and then afterwards we get to eat Armida's papusas at her family's house!!
I hope everything back in the states is going well :)
Thank you for your prayers! God is stretching me and teaching me in ways I didn't know possible, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be here to learn!
I will write again soon!
Que Dios les bendiga!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Sorry to disappoint.... :(
Hi all! I'm so sorry but for now I'm not able to put pictures up-- I know it all must be confusing/boring to read my essays about Mexico, but my laptop is not working so I won't be able to get pictures up until the 20th when I get back! So sorry!
Have a great night!
Have a great night!
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