God is Good!

God is good!!!

So this past week was a wonderful, God-filled, blessed, and very stretching for both Tim and I.

So, a quick summary to get you up to speed. This past week, a mission team of 40 high school seniors from Florida came to our church. They were split into 4 teams who rotated between the different mission sites our church has in the villages surronding the capital city of Merida. Tim and I were in charge of "facilitating" the groups when they went to Hocoba.
So Wednesday we ride in a 15 passanger van with a group of the seniors to Hocoba. We get there and the leader pulls me aside and tells me to decide what we should do and tell everyone where to go and what to do. They had come with nothing planned - and we were told they woudl have it planned and we'd just be there to help in anyway we could. So, we split into 3 groups, a group stayed in the main square and 2 groups went door to door telling people to come to the center to hang out and for music and to tell them about Jesus.
I lead one of the groups going door to door - seeing as I was one of the only 2 translaters. The 4 of us set out walking through the village streets. We never ended up knocking on any doors, when people saw 4 white gringos walking by they would come outside to see, or ask us where we were going and what we were doing. We talked to so many families inviting them to come hang out with us and sing. Also, we prayed for 4 families.

Then, we walked up to a house with 6 kids playing outside and started talking to them and offering them candy (sounds sketchy right) then a mom came out really quick and I thought, "oh man, she's going to yell at us for talking to her kids," but instead she turned around and yelled back at her neighbor's house "come see the gringos talking spanish"! lol So this lady and her neighbor came out and ended up talking to us for about 20 mins. We told her why we were there, and that we are Christians and that our main goal here is to tell people about Christ. The women we were talking to said they didnt' know anything about Jesus, but wanted to hear. I shared the Gospel with them and asked if they were interested in what I was saying or had any questions. They said they didn't know what questions to ask but wanted to know more. So we stayed and I talked to them more about Jesus and salvation. We ended up praying with the two comen and 5 of the 6 kids. They all accepted Christ for the first time. It was so wonderful to see God working through us to teach these people about him.

Later one of the girls with us was saying how amazing it is that those people went from not knowing anything about Jesus to believing and being saved after only 20 mins. But that is the difference between the message we bring and any other religion. The holy spirit was working in their hearts and showing those women that what we were saying is the truth, even if it is new or they dont understand everything about it.

Wednesday night while the group of seniors were loading the vans to leave, their leader called me over to a group of 6 teenagers to translate. She ended up sharing the Gospel with them and all 6 of them accepted Christ!

It was such a wonderful and stretching day going door-to-door for hours in the Mayan village of Hocoba. God used me to lead the high schoolers, and really used my Spanish to be the translator. It was a wonderful experience.
We went back on Thursday with the Sports group. Again we devided in groups and went around the town sharing about Jesus and inviting kids to come play with us in the central field. Word spread fast and more than 40 kids were playing soccer, football, basketball and frisbee with all of the Florida kids from 330pm to 730pm. (Here's a picture of some of them) It was a blast playing with the kids. And again it was an amazing experience being able to share my faith with so many people when we were going door-to-door in small groups.

My group came to a house with a grandma and her 3 small grandkids. We told her we were here to invite her kids to play and to talk about Jesus. She said "just a minute" and went inside. She came back with 2 chairs and sat down just wanting to talk to us. Again we were able to share the Gospel and she gave her life to Jesus for the first time and was saved. It was so awesome, when I was praying for her she was crying and just so overwhelmed with joy and emotion. That night before we left to go back to Merida I brought Tim with me to introduce him to her and to say goodbye. We went back to see her when we went on Friday too.

Friday was another great day in Hocoba. The last group did dramas and had songs to teach the kids. Again I took a group going door-to-door and met alot of wonderful people. About 40 adults and kids came to watch the dramas. Afterwards Angelica talked to a group of teenagers guys 6 of whom committed their lives to Christ for the first time.
In 3 days in Hocoba, as a group we saw more than 30 people committ their lives to Christ and accept the free gift of salvation. It was such an amazing, inspiring and God filled time.

The kids were so sad to see us go on Friday - a big group of them sat watching us get on the bus and kept waving... here are some of the kids saying goodbye to us:

Then Saturday morning, Tim and I got to church around 10am to help set up for the big activity Saturday afternoon. We helped organize the mission team to set up the food, make goodie bags, set up for the music and go out door-to-door and invited people to the picnic with free food, clowns, music, and dramas. I was the leader/translator for one of the groups going out inviting. Tim stayed at church helping set up everything. The event from 1230-530 was a huge sucess. There were about 300 people who came for the event! It was so much fun and perfect windy cool weather (86 degrees).

That night Tim and I went home tired from the busy week, but so excited and revived! It was so nice to do something different than our normal school schedule! And it was so amazing to see how God really used both of us for his glory. Tim did a great job translating and communicating with the people in Hocoba as he stayed in the center playing music the first day and playing sports with the kids the other day.

God is Good!

A Mexican Thanksgiving

Tim and I have been experiencing a continous outpouring of God's love, protection, and blessings in our time here in Mexico. Since the last time I've written we have both been growing in faith and fellowship. A couple weekends ago, Tim went to a men's retreat with our church. It was 3 days and 2 nights jam-packed with fellowship, and teachings. Tim is getting sooo much better at Spanish and was able to follow some of the conferences - and during the others, he read about a third of the Bible. He came back so excited and so re-energized about his faith and learning about the Bible and being a man-of-God. He really got to know alot of the men from church and feels much more connected.

When I was home alone for that weekend while Tim was at the men's conference, I too got more connected, with the women of our church. One night I went to Damaris's baby shower. It was nice to just relax and talk to some women of the church I'd never met. Then the next day I spent 4 hours with Angelica and Lupita - they invited me to dinner after church and we ended up just sitting on Angelica's bed talking for hours. It was wonderful! It made me feel so much closer to both of them - they are wonderful women-of-God and I am excited to start being so much closer to them. I know that God made that opportunity to spend time together because that morning I'd talked to my parents on the phone and was getting very sad thinking about how much I miss my family and girl friends from home and how I really dont' have any close friends here. Then it was so calming and such a blessing to have time to really connect with those two wonderful ladies! It felt like college again just sitting on a bed till late talking about anything and everything. I am thankful for Angelica and Lupita in my life!

The blessings continue to pour out on us. Tim and I have truly been growing in our relationship together! We've recently made a point to go on more dates and make and effort to have quality time together. Its been so much fun! Tim suprised me and took me to a movie, we went out for pina coladas once, and we have been having fun talking together and doing a couples devotional. God is certainly blessing our marriage - we are both so in love and very happy!

This week was Thanksgiving. It was so much fun! On Thursday, we had a half-day at school and the whole time we spent playing games, make indian or pilgram outfits, coloring, painting, and eating. It was really nice to just have a fun day to enjoy time with out kids instead of having to be teaching them and keeping them under control. Here's a short video clip of my kids trying to eat donuts off a string http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMai9J1VOi0 Thursday night, we had a Thanksgiving potluck with the English service at church. With everyone inculding kids there was abotu 25 people there. We had delicious food and great fellowship for the whole night. At the end of the evening, all of the adults sat around a table and we each talked about what we are thankful for and praised God for all the blessings in our lives. Tim and I certainly have so much to be thankful for: for our new and wonderful love and marriage, for the opportunity to be here in Mexico and the experience we are having, for the ability to be teacher and the learning experience that is for us, for our health and happiness, for our families and friends, and for the love that everyone at our church here has shown us. These are only a few of the millions of blessings we are thankful for in our life!

Last night, we had Fernando (our caving/cenote going buddy) over for dinner. He was here for about 4 hours. We shared dinner together, then sat on the couch talking - it was great to have a relaxed evening with him just catching up on life!

So as you can tell, we are happy, healthy, and blessed beyond belief! Praise be to God!

Mom and Dad visit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mommy and daddy came to visit!!!

Tim and I drove the churche's 1970's bug to the airport and picked them up Thursday night. We were both excitedly waiting till they rounded the corner and we finally got to see them! Thursday we got home late, chatted for a couple hours and hit the sack.

Friday morning we were all up bright and early and got ready for school:
My kids had each made one letter in the welcome banner to give Richard and Cheryl a proper welcome to Mexico:

Each of my kids came up to them, gave them a handshake and introduced themselves. Each kid also taught them a Spanish word. Then Cheryl did her lesson on seasons with the kids. She was great! She brought different type of seeds and leaves with a picture of the tree they came from, explained each and passed them around. Then the fun part came - the SNOW!! None of my 38 kids has ever seen snow. My mom brought this chemical stuff that when you add water truly looks and feels like snow and is even cold. The kids were SOOO excited!! Here they are playing in the snow:Richard prepared a lesson of English slang to teach the kids. We did a bit of it but didn't have time to finish because it was a half day. I'm going to finish the lesson sometime this week. After a great day meeting both Tim and my classes, and all of our fellow teachers and directors, school was out and we headed in bus to downtown Merida:In "El Centro" we walked around the main plazas and historical center of Merida, ate traditional Yucatecan food for lunch, and bouhgt some soveniers. It was a beautiful sunny day and not too hot - around 96 that day. Here we are in the Plaza Grande:Friday night after getting back from downtown, we changed clothes, covered ourselves with mosquito repellent and headed back to school/church. Friday night was one of our school's biggest parties/fundraisers. It was the same night as Day of The Dead and is designed to give people and alternative means of entertainment instead of participating in the Day of the Dead celebrations. More than 300 people from our school and church came to the party. There was food, bouncies, and games for kids. Each teacher was responsible for setting up a game. Tim and I choose to do a Relay Race. It was a huge success - everyone gathered around to watch the kids crab-walk, hope, wheel-barrow, etc. It was a very fun night and was wonderful to be able to introduce my parents to the people from our church and see our students in a different setting. Here we are eating: Saturday morning we headed off on a full-day adventure with Fernando. On the 1 1/2 hr drive to the caves, we stopped on the highest "mountain" (which is actually more like a hill) and looked at the view. Here we are at the look-out. Richard and Kari are showing off their new Mexico souveniers:
We arrived at our first stop of our adventure- the Caves of Calcehtok- the biggest cave in the Yucatan. Richard kept marveling at the fact that even though these beautiful, extensive caves are the biggest in the Yucatan, it is very underdeveloped and little-used. It is by no means a tourist trap. For the 2 hrs we were there, we were the only people in these caves in which you can go in for more than 8 hours without hitting a dead-end. For 5 of us, we paid 20 pesos, or about $1.50 to enter. Good deal I'd say. The cave is very open with a high ceiling in the places we explored and is filled with interesting natural formations as well as Mayan artifacts such as pottery. Here is Fernando, Richard and Cheryl sporting their hands-free lights before entering the cave:After caving for a couple hours, we headed to the Mayan Ruin of Oxkintok. Here 3 of us are at the main pyramid of this ancient city:

This was the favorite stop of the day for both Richard and Cheryl. All 5 of us kept marveling at the amazing fact that all these structures were made between 300 and 500 AD. It is incredible to think of the time and manuel labor it took to create such large impressive structures with no machinery. We entered and conquered the maze within on of the pyramids! As we continued, we made our way to these awesome statues: Saturday after the caves and the Mayan Ruins we headed to Cheryl and Richard's first cenote in Chochola. It is a very small, but very beautiful lake inside a cave. At places it is a mere 2 feet deep, and in others drops dramatically to 150 feet to the underground river system below. After our adventures, we came home and made fajitas, ate together, and crashed after a long but wonderful day.

Sunday, we headed to Calvary Chapel's mission site in the small Mayan town of Hocoba. We snapped a picture of people on their way to the cemetary to celebrate day of the dead. Notice the ladies with towels covering their heads. We learned that this is coustum stemming back to the days of the Spanish conquest when they were told to cover their heads before entering the church. The older ladies of smaller towns still follow this tradition:

We arrived at the mission trip abotu 1 and 1/2 hours later. Here we are with the pastor, and his wife and kids outside the sanctuary made from sticks held together by wire, and a tar paper roof:

Normally Tim and I have about 19 or 20 kids ranging from ages 1 to 12 in our Sunday School, but this week we only had 8 because may were absent because their families were celebrating Day of the Dead at the cemetaries. Tim brough his guitar and with the help of Richard and Cheryl taught the kids two new praise songs in Spanish. Then, I did the Sunday School lesson in Spanish while everyone else did crowd control and made sure the kids were listening! Big help! Then we used the fancy new markers that Cheryl had brought to color pictures. Richard and Cheryl were great with the kids and got right in there and colored with them: At the end of the 2 hour Sunday School, we gave each kid and orange for their snack and sent them out to play on the playground equipment.
Both before and after Sunday School we got a chance to sit down with the adult members of this tiny church and talk to them about their town, their country and their lives. Richard did a great job of engaging them in great conversation and asked interesting questions. We learned that this town was built and once prosperous due to the henequen plantations - a plant from which hemp and ropes are made. But once nylon was invented and replaced the need for help, the plantation and therefore town started to dry up. Now days the majority of the people are employed in Merida, which is an hour and half away. We took an hour or so to drive though Hocoaba, a town of poverty and disrepair. What we saw was very humbling: As we were driving around Hocoba we saw a small tortilla machine in front of someones home. We were interested so we stopped to talk to the people and see the process. Very interesting, and only abotu 50cents for 2.2lbs of fresh hot tortillas:Sunday after the mission at Hocoba, we got back to town and ate at Kari and Tim's favorite resturant called SuperSalads before heading to church. We dropped Tim off so he could practice with the band and then we went to church an hour later for the English service at 5. After church got out at 7 we chatted with everyone and went home, relaxed and went to bed.

Monday was another great and full day. We went to the very small remote town of Cuzama to take the truc - or horse-drawn mini-railroad cart - to the 3 gorgeous centoes. Here we are on our truc:

Cheryl and Richard were as impressed and in awe of these beautiful underground lakes as Tim and I were the first time we went. It was absolutely gorgeous and the first one we went to we were the first ones there so the water was completely still and transparent. Here we are in the 3rd cenote. (disclaimer: Richard and Cheryl only used lifevests at the last one so they could just float around using the goggles instead of swimming):

Here they are being brave swimming in the 150 feet lake in a cave and looking mighty cute doing it!

Richard and Cheryl were both a bit hesitant Sunday night at the idea of driving another 1 1/2hrs to go to the cenotes, after having such a packed weekend, but at the end of the visit they both agreed that it was their favorite thing that we got to do. It was so interesting driving past so many tiny Mexican towns on the way, and the truc itself is such a unique, one-in-a-lifetime experience, as are the cenotes! After the truc we stopped at a brand-new resturant right by the enterance to the trucs. It had only been open three weeks and is the only resturant not out of someones front room in thier house in the whole town. It was a gorgous unique resturant which we think could really bring more tourism and money to the very tiny poor town.

On our drive back to Merida, we stopped in a small town and Richard bought coconut home-made ice cream off the streets from these guys:

Tim and I both had a WONDERFUL time with my parents here! The visit was fun, and busy, but we never felt rushed and had plenty of time to just sit and talk and enjoy eachother company. It is such a blessing that my parents wanted and were able to come share in Tim and my new life here in Mexico. It means so much to both of us that they can now truly picture and relate to our lives here. What a great trip! It made us both miss home, family and friends so much more, and made us happy we are only this far away temporarily! Though we miss our friends, and families, we are both very happy here and know that it was the right decision and where God wants us. Being just the two of us for the first year is such a great way to start our marriage and we are learning how to depend on eachother compeltely. We are happy and in love!

Thanks mom and dad for coming! It made us both SOOOOOOOOOOO happy and thankful! We love you!

Everyone else, family and friends, we have an extra bed and AC.... please come visit! We would be more than happy for anyone to come visit whenver and however long you want!!

Please keep praying for the mission of Hocoba, that it will grow and that financial support will be found to continue the bulindg of the new cinder-block sanctuary.

Spiritual - Emotional - Mission update

So, we have been talking alot about our weekend adventures lately - they are note worthy because they are out of the ordinary routine and very exciting, and we can't wait to share our photos... but here, we do much more than exciting weekend trips... we have a week full of teaching and other things. So this blog is going to be a bit about that! (and after that, Tim wrote a new blog on our last and best cenote adventure!)

School is fabulous, it is going much better and continues to improve each day. Recently, I realized that I was not praying intentially for my kids, and I knew that had to change. I've been diligent in praying for my kids everyday and have really felt my heart open to them and I love them more and more each day! What made me realize the great need to pray for my kids was when I gave a kid who is normally well-behaved a detention. Her mom later talked to me and explained that her alchoholic and abusive father (who is divorced from her mom) came into town and my kid was supposed to visit with him. The appointment with the lawyer went too long and she wasn't able to see her dad, and doesn't know when she will be able to again. This all was going on in the days before she got detention. It made me realize in a hit-me-in-the-face kind of way how much is going on beneath the surface of all of my kids. My worst kids and my best kids all have things they are dealing with or struggling with or learning. I need to keep each of them in my prayers....

This incident gave me the idea of having prayer partners for each of my kids. So I asked for people form the US to partner with my kids and to commit to pray for them everyweek and to send them letters 3 times this year. The response was overwhelming! I got all the support I needed within 2 days! It was so neat to see God provide the support for me and my kids! All of my kids are sooooo excited that people from the US are praying for them and writing to them - its amazing how excited they are actually! Its cute! Thanks to all of you who joined with me in this project.

At school Tim and I are both developing strong relationships with each of our kids and truly love them and love being teachers! Tim is also getting to know some of his students outside of class. He gives piano lessons to two students (as well as teaches guitar to two other missionaries). His gift for music is truly a gift here, he now leads the worship band for the English service and is doing a fabulous job as lead guitar and lead singer!

We are both enjoying being a permanent part of the mission called Hocoba. There Tim and I are in charge of teaching Sunday School to the 18 kids ages 1 to 12. It is a challenge with so many kids with such a wide range of ages, but we feel blessed to have this opportunity. The church is Hocoba is in great need for financial support, right now the sanctuary is made from sticks wired together and a tar paper roof. The sunday school room is of cinder block but does not have electiricy. Also, they are in need of sunday school supplies, right now all we have available is crayons. Glue, sissors, tape, paper, makers, and BIBLEs are in need. Our church has a vision to build a cinder block santuary, as well as provide electiricty to the sunday school rooms and future santuary. Becuase of these needs, I have start a project partnering financially and in prayer with Hilliard United Methodist Church. God has really laid in my heart to try to the best of my ability to help find financial support for the Hocoba mission. The Mayan people of Hocaba are very loving and welcoming to us. The mission is quite wonderful, there are about 25 kids under 18, and around 12 adults. It is so wonderful that there are so many kids coming to sunday school so that they can be brought up believing and can change the face of the small Mayan village of Hocaba. Our mission church there is very needed, seeing as it is the only Chrisitan church there.

Please continue to keep Tim and Kari in your prayers. Everything is going fabulous here, we are healthy, safe, happy, and feel incredibly blessed by God to be able to be here serving Him.
Please pray:
1. For our continued health and safety
2. For the spiritual and emotional lives of our students and that Tim and I will have the wisdom to know what questions to ask and what prayers to say to speak to our kids needs
3. For the Hocoba mission, that the church would continue to grow, and for Tim and I to have the patience and wisdom to teach the Sunday School class. Also for the heart of the Hilliard United Methodist Church to open to Hocoba and provide financial support.
4. For Tim and I as teachers - that we continuing improving and learnign new and better ways to teach our kids

Below is what Tim wrote about our past weekends AWESOME CENTOE ADVENTURE!!! READ ON!!!!

Hello blog readers. This is Tim Reimann coming to you from Merida, Mexico. You haven’t heard much of me in our first 78 days, but Kari has been doing a wonderful job of documenting our hot Mexican adventure. Credit must be given where credit is due and Kari definitely deserves some credit! With that being said…I’ll tell you about our day, while trying to stay inside the lines of what really happened.
This morning Kari and I woke up on the new sheets of our king size bed, after a comfortable night sleep. Comfortable and roomy. After getting ready slowly for our long day we were picked up right on time by Robert and family. We stopped by Lupita’s house and picked up her, her son and Angelica. From there we departed; Robert, Anita, Dan, Caleb, Havie, Lupita, Angelica, Kari and I. We packed into Roberts van and headed for Cuzama. The car ride there was typical when leaving the Merida outer limits; Flat landscapes and armored police vehicles with officers holding battle rifles.
When we got to Cuzama we were delighted that it was still a cool 98 degrees and overcast, perfect weather for spending the day outside in the Yucatan peninsula. Now, this trip was described to us as a once in lifetime trip because of the cenotes, but also because of the transportation. In old plantations here in the peninsula the means by which they transferred the cash crop back to the ranch buildings to be processed was by a horse or donkey lead cart. These carts are on a rail track…here they are called trucks, and that is what we took to the cenotes. A rickety, primitive sitting cart pulled by a malnourished horse driven by a Mayan man with a machete. About 30 minutes after we departed we arrived!
As we stepped out of our truck, we noticed nothing out of the ordinary. There were Mayan men lounging in the shade along with iguanas and other various reptiles. I didn’t even notice the entrance to the cenote which ended up being a two foot by two foot hole in the ground marked off by a couple 2x4 pieces of wood.
I was the first person to climb down the latter, or rather the pieces of wood held together by metal twine. As I descended into the cave it took a little bit for my eyes to adjust and when they did my breath was immediately taken away. At the end of the latter was a wooden deck which is what I was standing on when I was looking at what my brain was telling me had to be water. I couldn’t believe it. It was like I was looking at a National Geographic photo…only with the taste, smell and dampness of the really thing. There was a single hole in the ceiling of the cenote letting in a thread of sunlight shining on perfect water. I would say it was like glass, but glass would look like the Rocky Mountains compared to this underground pool. It was perfect because it has never been exposed to the elements. You could see all the way to the bottom of the pool perfectly…it was almost as if the water got clearer in the deeper areas. This was taken right before we got in. We are about six inches away from the water and about forty feet from the bottom of the pool. As everyone else came down to join me they were all as breathless as I was.
Kari and I quickly got ready to go in along with our companions. Anita, Roberts daughter, and I were preparing to enter the water, I had her ripple the water so that I could how far the leap was from where I was to the surface. Even though it was only six inches, it could have been twenty feet for all I could tell.
The temperature of the water was blue raspberry kool-aide. It is exactly how it sounds, perfectly refreshing and intoxicating in beauty. Kari and I swam, explored, and jumped into the raspberry water. A half hour passed and it was time to load up the truck and vamos to the next cenote. The second was more like the ones that we have been to before, but it was still very interesting and very unique. The water was crystal clear. When we strapped on our goggles we could see all the way to the bottom, which is about 50 yards. There were a clump of roots hanging from the ceiling of the cenote which were climbed by both Kari and myself. For those of you who know my fear of heights, you will be happy to learn that I am slowing getting less scared of “the jump.” Jumping off high places into cenotes is good practice.
We swam in the second cenote for a little more than a half hour, packed up and then left for the third cenote. This one was the most interesting and coolest. It wasn’t until our time had half expired when we discovered how cool this cenote was. Looking from the light into the dark isn’t that special because your eyes are adjusted to the light and can’t see the dark…right? Well it wasn’t until 5 of us, lead by Kari, got up enough courage to start swimming to the other side of this very deep cave. After we had swam about 75 yards, half way across to the other side, we found that there was a ledge that we could stand on. Also we discovered that once our eyes adjusted to the dark, we could look back under the water where we had just swam from and see the perfect silhouette of people swimming some 200 feet away. Not just that, but since the change in perception, the water now looked that delicious blue raspberry color. Again we could look down and see the bottom of the cenote and make out every rock facet and every feature of blind fish swimming 30/40 meters below us. It was absolutely, truly amazing! The best cenote trip to date! Every cenote we go to has been totally different than the one before it, which is very encouraging because each new cenote that we go to gets better and better.
After traveling on the rickety truck and swimming at three different cenotes we were happy to vacate the water and dry off. We made our way back, riding back from the middle of nowhere on our horse pulled truck. The ride in and of itself was very cool because we would look behind us and we saw the rail track fade into the distance as well as the butterflies would stir as we would jostle by. It was very pretty.
This trip is something that we highly recommend! We can’t wait until the Mason’s come so that we can go back to the blue raspberry kool-aide water and dip our longing feet in again! God is good…and uber creative!