Signing Off

Hello everyone. It has been almost a month since I’ve written, and this will be the last post. Maybe that’s why I’ve been dragging my feet. 

I came home earlier than originally planned. I left Mexicali at the end of April in order to surprise my boyfriend on his birthday, May 4th. He was shocked when he saw me. It was awesome. For a long time I battled homesickness in Mexicali, and while I loved teaching ESL, being part of the Luna family, and learning how to strengthen our ministry bonds with Iglesia Peniel, I realized more and more each day how much I wanted to get back to my own family. To just be with them. Since the Luna family is together constantly, being part of their close network strengthened my desire to return to my family so that I could experience the same things – the laughter, conversation, and food with those who know me best. 

I had decided to return home early at the beginning of April. I wrote a deceptive post about the ESL schedule drawing out into May just to throw off my boyfriend. I apologize for the lie! What actually took place was that we had a week and a half of classes after I returned from Camp Cuernavaca. Then the Luna family and I made the most of our time together, just eating and talking and enjoying their new home. 

While the Lunas and I shared a tearful good-bye, I must admit I was overjoyed to return to my home and family. My readjustment to American culture was seamless, almost scarily so. I had expected to struggle a bit with reverse culture shock, but the only things that have been a bit difficult for me have been the pervasive violence and sex displayed through the tolerance of our media and society. I was a bit sheltered for six months, you see, living in a Christian community of nonsmokers, nondrinkers, and never listening to secular music.

Also, the difference in our expressions of faith has got me all discombobulated. The Mexicans express their emotions very naturally in praise and worship of our Lord and Savior. Those that I encountered cry, sing, clap, love, laugh, shout and simply cannot help but live every day with Jesus by their sides. That last statement might sound a bit vague, but I guess you would just have to experience it, seeing how the Holy Spirit moves in this body of believers, to understand. In contrast, I have noticed that my peer group and culture (which includes me) are much more introspective and methodical in our faith walk. We seem a bit restrained. Or afraid to let it all out – the joy and thankfulness we feel for Jesus’ gift of salvation.

Lastly, the generosity that I witnessed among the Luna family has made a deep impression on me. Although Charly and Yadira earn peanuts compared to a low-income family in the States, they continually give money to their needy family members. This reflects their absolute trust in the Lord to provide for them. They expressed this trust in the Lord in many other ways, which I hope to put into practice as I reenter the American world of work, bills, and everything else.

Come to think of it, more of the Mexican culture has stuck with me than I realized. Now that I am back in Michigan, I am listening to the research interviews and writing notes that will culminate in a detailed paper about cross-cultural partnerships established by Mexico Outreach. I am also reconnected to Octane Ministry and we are already planning how to incorporate the knowledge and experience from my six-month stay into our preparation for the weeklong mission trip next spring.

I hope you have enjoyed this journey, and I pray that God has spoken directly into your hearts through these words. I know He has done so for me.

In Christ,

Kelly Who Was In Mexicali

Las Montañas

Sunday we took a trip into the mountains. Charly drove.

The kids sat in the bed of the truck.

Pastor Luna sat in the passenger seat.

And Yadira and I were in back.

We stopped in Chula Vista to visit a church.

We took a photo with everyone who was at the church.

Then the pastor´s family invited us to their ranch.

We were greeted by cows.

We took a walk on the property.

We walked under trees.

And across a field.

Jaqueline and Arturo wandered into a cacti field, and came running back after they were yelled at.

Here are some cow pies just for the fun of it.

We retraced our steps across the field.

And rested in the shade.

Then we climbed a rock.

And said good bye to the family.

We kept going to Tecate where we ate tacos and returned home nice and pooped.

In other news, the fam brought out the pool during the really hot days…

…Brayan´s cheeks are still fat…

…and his thighs are even fatter.

Here is the house!

The living room…

The kitchen…

 Anayeli´s room…

 Karla´s room where I currently sleep…

The bathroom, although we´re still waiting for the city to connect the plumbing to the sewer…

Jaqueline´s room (and I didn´t take a photo of Yadira and Charly´s room because Yadira was napping)…

And the team that made it happen!

Summer begins

Hello friends and fam! I am now back to ¨normal¨ life here in Mexicali, although a lot has changed. We now live in a beautiful, spacious home. The build team did an awesome job and the family is so happy. I, too, am continually surprised when I sit down on the couch in the living room and think, ¨Wow! I´m sitting in a living room!¨ Yadira gave me Karla´s bedroom while I´m here so that I have some privacy. I appreciate that.

The temperature has begun to climb over the past four days. Yesterday at twilight it was 97 degrees, and today it´s supposed to hit 103. We have not yet installed any air-conditioning. This lilly white Michigander is wilting a bit. Our summers in Michigan don´t get much hotter than this so I´m way out of my element! I am shocked when I see someone outside in a sweatshirt and jeans, but the temps here reach the 130s and higher in the summer.

I wanted to post some photos from Octane´s visit, but there is a virus on my usb drive so I can´t access the folder. However, there are some photos from my parents´visit!

Dad, Charly, Yadira, and Mom

It was great to have some of my family come and be part of my life here in Mexicali, even though it was only for one day. My parents then swept me off to San Diego for a weekend before all of the chaos of the Mexicali mission trip began.

And now we are nearing the end of April. I look forward to the month of May and changing the format of the ESL class a bit. We will focus now on learning the past tense of English. I have purposely taught the class slowly rather than cramming as much language learning in as possible in this 7 month curriculum. The students need time to practice what they are learning and for that we are just now getting to the past tense. Yesterday was the first day back at class, and only 2 students showed up besides Yadira and Jaqueline. Yikes! I am starting to relax a bit and it didn´t bother me too much. As Marcela said, people are just starting to get back into their routines after 2 weeks of vacation (all of the schools have 2 weeks off and so their parents often take the time off as well).

My lack of frustration shows that I´m starting to understand the culture a bit more. Also Yadira told me yesterday that I look more Mexican. She said that people don´t stare at me anymore like they did when I first arrived. Must be the tan.

God gave me a good dose of information to process through the interviews I conducted in Camp Cuernavaca, and although I continue to struggle with homesickness, I look to Him to guide me. Please pray for me, that God would give me joy in this ministry and strengthen me. I also have a few praise reports. The church now has electricity, thanks to a donation! The family is also blessed with a new home, thanks to the Octane team. And soon we will seal where the walls meet the floors with tile due to another donation. Lastly, and most importantly, Pastor Luna´s daughter Laura has started coming to church regularly since the Octane team came and left. The impacts that the teams´visits have on people here are profound. Praise the Lord!

Yes, I´m still here!!!

Don´t worry, I didn´t get caught up in the civil war that is NOT happening here in Mexicali which the news says IS happening. If I have time, I will go into those awful rumors in another post. I have just been away from the Internet for over two weeks, working on my research project at Camp Cuernavaca. Below is a post from forever ago. Enjoy!

A post from Wednesday, April 8th.

 

What We’ve All Been Waiting For

 

I’m sorry I haven’t written. I was very uninspired after my parents left (yes, my parents visited) and then the Mexico Outreach Easter week camp started and now I want to explode from the overdose of inspiration. There has not been a moment to write.

 

We are finally in Camp Cuernavaca. Months of preparation have finally come to fruition for Mexico Outreach staff, for youth groups from all over the U.S. and Canada, and for me. We arrived Friday, April 3^rd. The Octane team has been very busy and faced both wonderful ministry moments as well as some pretty serious challenges within certain partnerships. The build team is kicking butt on Charly and Yadira’s house, from what I hear. By the time you read this they might already be done and gone.

 

I am off on my own, conducting interviews for school. I have all the time in the world to myself and yet I have no time. What exactly do I mean by that, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. By “I have all the time,” I mean that the 24 hours of these days are dedicated to what I want to do. These days are all about me, me. ME.  Not really. These days are dedicated to an awesome research project that has been in the works officially since June 2008 to learn about the relationships between North American and Mexican churches through Mexico Outreach.

 

By “I have no time,” I mean that I am carrying out my research project, but I don’t have enough time to do it. It seems the only good time to interview a youth leader is at 6 a.m. or at 11 p.m. And it’s even a bigger challenge to get to the Mexican pastors because of lack of transport. Yesterday, however, due to a beautifully architected hitch-hiking plan, I jumped from site to site and interviewed three Mexican pastors. (Don’t worry, Mom, I hitch-hiked with church groups). I am busy every day from 5:30 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. and, facing the end of Easter Week One, I still find myself with just under half of the least amount of interviews I need to establish credibility in this project. I would prefer to go beyond the bare minimum without treating it like my “magnus opus.” I think that’s the phrase. Anyway, that’s what Dr. B. warned us bright and eager students against. “This isn’t your magnus opus,” he said. In other words, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

 

These two weeks at Camp Cuernavaca are so insanely inspiring. It is impossible to explain this if you haven’t been here. Mexico Outreach changed my life. I was a nominal Christian when I first came here, and God knocked me over with the reality of His being and power as we ministered with our Mexican partners. My life was never the same, and so many others say the same. I realize I’m glorifying an organization right now, but that’s not my intention. God uses this ministry to pivot the lives of thousands of people on both sides of the border.

 

This ministry is my passion (like, duh). Do I say that with strength and joy? Sometimes. And sometimes this MO thing drives me insane. It’s sometimes just too much for me – the commitment to growing our partnerships with Mexican churches, the length of preparation for such a quick visit, and the countless trial-and-error moments throughout. The times of joy spring from the teamwork, the dreams shared between those who serve in this ministry, the growing connection with people from another culture, and the endless quest to understand. I love all of that. I love it, and I’m part of it. I’m also strengthened because I’m accepted into this ministry. The Mexico Outreach staff takes care of me, and that makes me feel loved. They allow me to do my little research project. That’s awesome.

 

During my bloglessness, I’ll be in a constant state of logistical planning and chasing down leaders at the same time, followed by really beautiful conversations as these leaders share what’s on their hearts. Everything these youth leaders and Mexican pastors are telling me is blowing my mind. There are some with 17-year relationships, others who are just on the cusp of a deeper connection and shared vision. It’s just SO COOL. Now, I need to sleep. Buenas noches.

 

Church Work is Hard

I didn’t anticipate exactly how God would stretch me and grow me as His disciple here in Mexicali. I thought that the ESL program would be it. Sure, I knew I’d have to be flexible and expect some surprises and changes, but I never thought that within the small church body, we would come together to face problems and bring about change. It took a few months to get around to addressing the fact that Iglesia Peniel had no members outside of the family, and that it suffered from lack of vision, mission, etc. Now that the problems been brought into the light, we few are doing what we can within the abilities and resources of the church to breathe new life into Peniel.

 

 

 

 

I took a class last year at Concordia University called “Evangelism in the Life of the Church.” I’ve been skimming my class notes for inspiration and direction with Iglesia Peniel, and while there are a zillion relevant points I could share, this list sticks in my brain:

 

“5 statements regarding membership and outreach:

1. Growth is a congregational issue

- synod and district can help

            - ultimately the congregation must decide

2. There is no magic pill

            - no one tool, program or gimmick can turn this around

            - we need to be in mission to the unchurched where we find them

            - we must seek the answers in the context of our local community

            - some things will work and some things won’t, we need to encourage really good

failure

3. Size is not the issue

            - we can glorify the size, either largeness or smallness

            - congregational health is not related to size in any way

4. Numerical growth is not the issue

            - our focus is on service to those beyond our own membership

            - growth must be seen as a byproduct or natural result of health

5. No program or activity will make a lasting difference if the congregation has not decided to be in mission and ministry beyond its own membership.”

 

I share this list merely to provoke your own meditation on outreach. Personally, I like to read and reread these points for perspective as we round out our second week of Pastor Luna’s suggested plan for change. Here’s a quick review of the plan: 1) before both of the services on Sundays and Thursdays, we go out into the neighborhood to pass out flyers and invite people to church, 2) pray on Saturday mornings from 8 – 9 A.M. wherever we find ourselves, and 3) have a meal after church on Sunday in the front yard of the church. Since we started this plan, we have had at least two visitors at every church service. It is also improving the overall morale of the existing church members and creating unity. Most likely, it’s because the congregation has decided to “be in mission and ministry beyond its own membership.”

 

Ron Aramburo spoke one word to me in a conversation about Iglesia Peniel, and it’s proving itself extremely useful with this particular challenge: consistency. This is the key in our humble efforts, but I observe that consistency is very difficult in this church. I am learning when to provide helpful encouragement and input (regarding the importance of having the meal every Sunday, for instance, and not just when everyone feels like it) and when to be still and watch how the Holy Spirit is going to lead these Christians to transform their church. One more point from my class notes regarding consistency: “Hopeful foresight: ability to see how things MIGHT be if we just make some changes. Are we willing to make the change and carry it out for a LONG period of time???”

 

I have a confession to make: I’m a hypocrite. I have stepped into the realm of inconsistency in the ESL ministry by canceling the morning class. Attendance continued to be weak and I lost heart, even though I had two committed students. I feel a bit confused about the decision to cancel, but at the same time I feel a heavy load lifted. I was demoralized with a class that had dropped from nine students to two or three, but now I wonder if I should have kept the class going for the two interested ones. I know they are not Christians, so they would continue to benefit from the touch of God through me, the Luna family, and the Bible verses, prayers, and songs in class. This is why I feel a bit confused. Church work is hard, but I rest assured that God is in control in the midst of my clouded efforts.

The Lunas have been practicing the dramas to do with the VBS team.

 

 

03.12.09

Just in case you’ve forgotten how cute Brayan is, here’s a photo.

And, just in case you’ve forgotten how cute my niece Gracie is, here’s a photo.

What a disheveled and adorable baby you are, Grace. I love you!

And here are a few drawings from Anayeli.

In addition to super cute babies and drawings, I have updates on the ESL class and Iglesia Peniel. On Wednesday, some notorious class-skippers showed up, so I was able to share my concerns with about 80% of the students at once and challenge them to commit to the class. One in particular talked to me after the class, saying that he wants to come because learning English is so valuable in Mexicali and free classes are unheard of, but he has a lot of homework as a college student. He didn’t come today, Friday. There were two students again, so I cancelled the class for today. I feel like completely canceling the class is giving up on the students. We’ll see what God has in store. I’m praying for His guidance and will to be done.

 

Yesterday before the service, we met at the church and went out into the neighborhood to pass out flyers. The flyers have very basic information about the church and provide us an opportunity to meet people and invite them. Pastor Luna and I took one street and Yadira and Charly another. Our first few visits were brief, including a mere pass-off of the flyer and smiles. Then we stopped at a house where a young man wanted to chat. He had a lot of questions for Pastor about the differences in beliefs of Christians, Catholics, and Jehovah’s witnesses. It was a great learning experience to witness how Pastor Luna answered his questions. We all returned to the church feeling energized, and the service that followed was really joyful. We don’t know God’s plan through our efforts, but we know we are called to do this. That brings a lot of joy to a believer.

 

It’s interesting how difficult it is to actually get around to evangelism. The devil knows all the perfect lies and barriers to put in our way to keep us from action. But actually doing it – talking to people about your faith and simply inviting them to church – is exhilarating. The satisfaction of knowing you have obeyed God is wonderful! We all felt it at Iglesia Peniel, and even more so because we obeyed together.

3.09.09 — Changes in Order

Today, two of my morning students showed up. That’s out of eight students. We have a HUGE problem with commitment in this class. It affects my ability to teach, and their ability to learn. Every day, half of the students are clueless about the lesson we are reviewing, because they were absent the last class. In addition, there are always people missing in the new lesson, which means the following class they are going to be clueless, too. Get a clue! Come to class regularly! Today I was really frustrated because I started to review what we learned Friday: talking about your job. One student had the material. I was lost as to how to proceed, because I couldn’t review when 50% of the class (i.e. one person) didn’t understand anything. And my next thought was, why should I teach new material when Wednesday I’m just going to face this same frustration again? I told them I couldn’t teach them with the best of my ability when they come and go as they please. I improvised and taught a small amount of new material, then ended the class 15 minutes early.

After the class, I started thinking about what we can do. I am considering canceling the morning class, depending on their availability to join the afternoon class. Maybe the suggestion will be all that is necessary for improvement. Or maybe we’ll cancel the class and focus on the divinely wonderful afternoon class. The afternooners are just amazing. I’ve gushed about them more than once, and today the class was no different. Our interaction is lively and fun, they attend consistently, are eager to learn, and are diverse and interesting.

Another ministry in need of change is Iglesia Peniel. I have talked in previous blogs about how the church is not growing. Finally this past weekend, we addressed the problems that exist and Pastor Luna laid out a plan to jumpstart this ministry. Coming from an American church background, I am familiar with the strategic planning that goes into all aspects of church ministries. Sometimes our ability to plan can choke the spiritual life out of a group of believers, but by the grace of God, the American church does have something to offer struggling churches like Peniel. With this background, my schooling and experience in Octane Ministry, I have been able to encourage the family to address the problems of the church. This is not easy, because I am afraid of disrespecting the family and being a Miss Know-It-All. It wouldn’t be the first time. In fifth grade, that’s what the kids called me. Obviously, God’s matured me since I was 10, but needless to say, the process isn’t easy. This is an evident prayer request! The plan is to evangelize in the neighborhood before the Thursday night service, inviting people to church. Then on Sundays, we will have a meal outside the church after the service, to make more of an impact on the neighborhood that we are really a community, and part of the church. After the meal we will again go out into the neighborhood and evangelize. On Saturday mornings at 8, we will all pray for an hour wherever we are. This will unite us as a community across the distance, as we commit to prayer together. These were all Pastor Luna’s ideas. Besides forming this plan, he said that simply acknowledging that there are problems and talking about them is part of the growth of the church. Amen!

03.03.09 — A new home and homesickness

Every year, our Octane mission to Mexicali includes Vacation Bible School teams and a building team. The building team receives a family from DIF (the social services agency here) who desperately needs a new home, and they build the home in a week. The families for whom we have built homes are not Christians, but we continue to minister to them and take their children to a church for the VBS ministry.

When Amy and Mike visited Mexicali in mid-February, we were faced with a new opportunity: helping a family within the community of Christians. This is another change within the Mexico Outreach ministry – working more with recommendations from pastors and less with recommendations from DIF. Galatians 6:10 says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Since Mike and Amy stayed with me at Yadira’s humble home, and because her church is one of our partners, her home naturally became a possible building project. Last Friday, Amy Carrier called from Michigan to inform Yadira that the building team would like to redo her home. Yadira took the call outside, during the ESL class, and we heard a loud “Aaah!” followed by laughter, cries of joy, and thanks to God. Yadira and Charly live in a humble home in a humble neighborhood. For the first ten years that they owned their property, they lived with their three children in one room. In the past three years they have been able to save up the money to add on a bedroom and kitchen. The addition didn’t happen overnight, though. Pastor Luna laid the brick walls over several weeks. He’s not in the best of health, so he worked slowly, and they paid him with meals each day. Yadira and Charly’s home needs many improvements. They do not have plumbing. There is one source of water in the front yard with which they fill buckets to bathe, pots to wash dishes, and connect a hose to fill the washing machine. The neighbors kindly let them rig a pipe from the washing machine to their sewer drain. They dump the rest of the water waste in the street. Don’t worry, it’s only bathing and dish-washing water – they have an outhouse. Having an outhouse and a poorly sealed house results in lots of cockroaches indoors. The roof is not finished and it leaks. There are large holes where the walls end and the roof starts. The walls are brick, but not plastered inside nor cemented outside. There are several holes where the mortar has deteriorated over time. The building team plans to add an addition on to the house, give them plumbing and a real bathroom with a toilet and shower, and redo their existing roof.

Yadira and Charly are so excited for the building team’s arrival. Every day Yadira tells me that she couldn’t sleep the night before. Upon recounting the telephone conversation with Amy to her family, she said through tears, “I never thought we would finish our home.” Immediately her mom and dad, also crying, hugged her and started praising God for His goodness and blessing on her family. This is a hardworking Christian family that simply could not accomplish in several years what the building team is able to do through fundraising for 3 months and building in 7 days.

In contrast to the excitement of a new home, I am suffering from homesickness. I want to share about this because in this blog I emphasize the bright side of things. Yes, I am inspired, motivated, and enlightened every day in Mexicali, but it does not come without a price. I miss the opportunity to go out and do something alone. Something as simple as putting gas in my car, browsing the aisles of the movie section of the library, or walking to the closest grocery store to buy a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. I miss being able to plan a day for myself, which might include spending time with my friends, then studying, then watching Project Runway. I miss Aunt Marcy’s big purple couch, and the conversations we have on that couch. The Luna family is so loving and caring, but I miss frequent visits with my family and Gracie and seeing her grow. More than anything, I miss Jon.

I am not sad. I am happy here in Mexicali, and continue to dedicate myself to the ESL ministry and preparing for the Octane mission team’s arrival. The threat of homesickness is that it will turn my focus away from of all that God wants to use me for in Mexicali, and instead place it on the calendar and a countdown to my return to Michigan. Sure, God can continue His work without me, but I want to obey and be joyful in the process. “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5.

2.28.09 — Photo post!

Brayan, being his normally chubby and cute self.

We ate out the other night at Maggie’s Chinese restaurant, and Karla fell asleep before our meal came.

Here are Jaqueline and I at a fiesta the neighbors had for their daughter’s birthday last Saturday night. Jaqueline, otherwise known as Tatin (Ta-teen), holds a special place in my heart. She is 12 years old, very intelligent, sweet, and mature for her age. I love her like a little sister.

Laura has been bugging me to take a photo of her and her baby when she’s actually done up, rather than in her pj’s.

The three Luna sisters from left to right: Laura, Yadira, and Elizabeth, and Laura’s son and Yadira’s oldest daughter, Tatin.

Tito was sitting on the back of a truck at twilight. I took this photo from the kitchen with my telephoto lens. Or with my teeny Canon digicam. Whatev.

This past Wednesday we went to a funeral and the burial in a cemetery west of Mexicali, at the edge of the mountains. In the cemeteries here, the family actually shovels the dirt and buries the coffin.

Back by popular demand, Brayan…naked!

The family is continually planning ways to make a few extra bucks – to pay the electricity bill at the church, to pay for food tomorrow, etc. Sofia made churros – those French-fry-looking things in the bags on the right. Churros are basically puffs of air, which expand when fried in oil. The people like to pour chile sauce in the bags and eat the churros saturated in chile.

Yadira, too, took time this week to purchase candy to sell to pay the electricity bill. We went to a “dulceria,” or candy store, in downtown Mexicali on Thursday.

These are all different kinds of chile at the dulceria. You can buy the chile by the kilo for cooking, or making candy.

Yadira and Charly have a small building in the front of their plot called a “puesto,” or little store. Yadira plans to sell candy, chips, and churros from here. Many families in Mexicali set up little stores in their homes to sell candy to kids in the neighborhood. In this photo, Charly is putting up a shelf in the puesto.

Yadira put the candy she bought in jars to place on the new shelf. This is just the beginning.

02.21.09 (take two)

After I had been in Mexicali about a month I posted a blog observing cultural differences here. One of the topics was the respect that children show their elders, and the role I am expected to play in that relationship. Adults tell the children to do something and the children do it immediately. Get me a cup of water. Go buy me a bag of cookies at the corner store. Give up your chair at the table to me. At first, I was totally uncomfortable giving orders to the kids in the family. Now, I have no problem with it. Tatin, plug in my laptop cord. Anayeli, there’s no room for you in the truck, go sit in the back. Karla, unplug my laptop. I understand and recognize the importance of status in this culture. Parents and elders are to be obeyed without question. Sure, at times the kids dawdle in heeding these requests, but they don’t complain or refuse. The reason this whole system works is because the chain of command never ends. If anyone older than you asks you to do something, you do it. The kids must do what they’re told, and so must I. When Pastor Luna asks me or any of his children to do something, we do it without question. Other than through obedience, respect is given through choice of words. Those of you who have studied Spanish understand that, in the second person, you have the option of saying “tú” or “usted.” “Tú” is an informal way of saying “you,” and is appropriate with siblings and friends. “Usted” is the formal manner for addressing your parents, and people you respect. When I first arrived here, I addressed everyone with “tú.” Then after about two months, I realized that Yadira, Charly, Tito, and everyone addressed Pastor Luna and his wife with “usted.” And because I respect them very much, I fell in line with the others. As the days pass and I meet more and more pastors for whom I have limitless respect, I find much joy in addressing them as “usted.” It is a way to continually let them know that I hold them in high esteem without having to spell it out. This also means I’m learning cultural norms and starting to adjust to them. Cool!