A Lot to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving!!

So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving and my heart is truly over flowing with Thanksgiving to God.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” -Psalm 100:4-5

As this bible verse reminds us, we need to praise God and give him thanks because His love is un-ending. Nothing we did made us deserve His love, and nothing we do can use up His love for us. Praise God for His patience with us despite our mistakes!!

Two weekends ago, Tim went with about 90 men to Cancun for a men's retreat. He enjoyed his time and had nice time away to just focus on God. While he was in Cancun, we had girls weekend here in Merida. Sarah and John were out of town, so Angelica, Nicole, Kristi and I stayed in their house and watched their dogs. It was a wonderful 3-day weekend with the girls! We had Nicole's baby shower on Saturday and Sunday I went with the three of them to their mission in the city of Tizimin (approx 22,000). We had a great weekend having girl-bonding, giggling like crazy, talking about babies, and encouraging and challenging each other in faith. I feel so blessed to be such great friends with such strong, wonderful Christian girls! I am thankful for you Nicole, Kristi, Angelica and Sarah!

This past weekend, Tim and I flew home early Friday and arrived back to Merida late Monday night. It was a whirl-wind of a weekend, but was excellent to spend time with family from both sides, and friends! The reasons we went home was to stand up in and celebrate in Kim and Jim's wedding (Tim's sister and now brother-in-law). The weekend was packed with catching up with Tim's side of the family, preparing for the wedding, and enjoying the fun reception. Then, Sunday after church we drove the 3hrs home to Columbus and had Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, my best friend Jenny, and the Reimann clan. It was fun and relaxing evening! We came back tired from the long hours of traveling, and too few hours of sleep, but feeling blessed to have spend time with family and friends. We are so thankful for God's blessing of loving, nurturing, and caring families!

General Merida update:

God is GOOD!!! We were recently getting discouraged about our bible study in Hocaba. The kids were coming, but were not listening and just very disrespectful. Also we weren't seeing the commitment, excitement or growth that we'd hoped for. So, we decided to change how we go about it. Now, we now longer play soccer with them. Instead we have 2 classes they can choose from: guitar class, or craft class. How it works is that we all come together and I do a very dramatic and exciting telling of a Bible story to capture their interest and teach them about God and how he wants us to live. After a discussion of how to apply to story to our lives, we break into groups. Tim leads a guitar class, in which we are using the school's 5 guitars plus Tim's guitar and he is teaching the kids notes, strumming, etc. The goal is to teach them a few praise songs. The kids that are too young, or not interested in guitar go to the craft class with me. We will do something different each week. So far, we used the beads that Jenny generously donated and made necklaces. These kids were beyond thrilled!!! None of them had ever made a necklace before, nor used beads, so they were pumped! Then, we went outside to leave (and it was pitch dark, no street lights in Hocaba) and the kids went ballistic with glee! Some of the beads glowed and they were stunned and so excited!! It was very cute to see. Last week we used water colors donated by Tim's aunt Kristi, and this week we are going to make ear-rings. The new format is proving to be a huge success. The kids are dedicated to coming since they are interested in the classes, and the deal is that they respectfully listen and participate in the Bible study to be able to go to the class afterwards! We are very encouraged!

Also, God is SOOO GOOD!! We have been praying for Hocaba, that God steps in and shows us how to better the Hocaba mission and get people excited about it. In that prayer, we pray for money to continue construction on the permanent concrete building. God is answering that prayer in very unexpected ways! My sister Laura and her husband Matt came to visit in the early fall. They showed their pictures and counted their experience to Matt's family. They felt lead to give a very generous donation to Hocaba. Then, we found out the the Florida's mission team coming in January is focusing on Hocaba and will also be making a donation. Then at Kim's wedding this weekend someone from Tim's church said they recently donated a significant amount, and one of Tim's aunt's church is hosting a fund-raiser and wants Hocaba to be the recipient! God is Good!

Matthew 7:7: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

We are very excited to see progress being made in Hocaba! We hope that the building can be finished enough to be usable, with walls and a roof by the time we leave in July. The finishing touches of windows, paint, etc are secondary. We pray that with the building in place, the church will be able to grow and flourish now having an area to have meetings and services after dark, or in poor weather. God is Good and will provide!

Thats about it from here!!

Some things we are thankful for this thanksgiving:

1. God's love for us

2. Our salvation because of Jesus' death

3. Our wonderful, supporting, and loving family

4. Our friends here and in the US who challenge our faith and support us

5. Those people who have and will donate towards the church and mission of Hocaba

6. For our puppy Cody!

7. For Kim and Jim's recent marriage

8. For our safety, health, and happiness

here is a video of Cody. Silly video, but fun! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiHPkndVtxE

Updated Hocaba video to come soon!!

Hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving!

Fall in Merida

Life continues to go exceedingly well for us here in Mexico.

Tim and I have started a Marriage bible study with Jeff and Nicole, which, after only 2 weeks, has already proven to be such a blessing. We are being challenged to strengthen and better our relationship by Jeff and Nicole, and hope we are doing the same for them. We are going through a book and video series called "Staying in Love: Falling in Love is Easy, Staying in Love Requires a Plan" by Andy Stanley. It is excellent and very encouraging. It has spurred us on to seek more ways to love our spouse and put them first. Last week we did the study, then went out to dinner and walking around centro afterwards - a delightful evening.

Class is going well too. Tim is loving music, but getting frustrated that the instruments have not yet been made possible and he is still without a room - he goes into each classroom now. But, there is a meeting for parents of band students this Thursday to explain to them that the school doesn't have money to purchase and then rent out instruments so each parent will have to buy their own. We fear that many will not be able to do so and will have to quit band. SO, if you happen to have an old band instrument laying around your house, please donate it!!!!! Any band instrument (flute, clarinet, picalo, trombone, tuba, percussion instruments, trumpet, French horn, baritone, saxophone) would be GREATLY appreciated. You can send them to:

Centro Educative Calvary

Calle 27 #359 x 32 y 34

Colonia san Vicente Chuburna

Merida, Yucatan, MEXICO 97206

In Hocaba, construction continues thanks to the generous support of my friend Brittany Lambert.

Last week we went, we took Erick's car, and well it broke down when we were there. He had to have some of the kids and other friendly people help us push it out. After an hour of fruitless trying, we gave up, and just did the Bible Study. When we came back an hour later, it started on the first try! Please pray that this car remains reliable seeing as it is our constant method to get to Hocaba. And that if it goes bad, that we are blessed with another car we are able to use to go to the mission.

Thursday night "Home Fellowships" which is a fancy way of saying dinner + bible study, continue to be my favorite part of the week - what I look forward to most, and leave the most filled and joyful. Now in Home Fellowship we are going through a wonderful and challenging book called "Spiritual Discipleship" by J. Oswald Sanders. Each week I am challenged by both what the book stays and from the reactions and insight that the others in my bible study share. In particular I have been struck by Angelica. To be honest, when I first met her and heard her share her perspective and thoughts in bible study, I found her very hard to relate to. She was leaps and bound ahead of me in my faith. She was a true disciple, seeking God in everything, in every decision, and everyday life. She trusts him completely and truly relies on Him for

fulfillment, comfort, love, etc. She isn't afraid to speak about Him boldly, tell others about her

faith, and challenge fellow Christians to live more for Christ and follow Him more closely. Over the past year, as my personal faith, and recognition of my need for Christ has grown, I now no longer see her as strange or un-relatable, but rather as such a wonderful inspiration and example. I want to be more like her. I want to be more dedicated and committed to the Lord. I

want to seek ways to continue to glorify Him and learn more about what it means to be a true disciple or follower of Jesus. I am so thankful for Angelica's presence and influence in my life. I think it is no accident that I have gotten to know her and learn so much from her. (Another reason I love her, she and I craved this award-winning pumpkin together at the English service Pumpkin-Carving Party!!)

Also, I can't believe I haven't written about it yet, but my sister Laura and her husband Matt came to visit!! We had an absolutely WONDERFUL time while they were here! I feel so incredible blessed that we have had so many of our family and friends visit us while we are here. Esepcially Matt and Laura. Since Laura is in Med School, we didn't know if she would be able to visit! But she did and it was excellent! With them we got to do lots - we went to Hocaba and Uxmal:.

We went downtown Merida, and they came to school with us! It was fun because both of them got to meet their Prayer Partners (Pen Pals) from both last year and this year! Here is Matt with Mario.

We also went to Cuzama, which has 3 wonderful cenotes, and spent time with the Scotts. Most important to me though, was simply being with and talking to my big sister. I look up to her in so many ways; for her outgoing, bubbly personality which is consistantly positive, for her dedication, committment and endurance in Med School, for the way she treats people with love and respect, and just the overall person she chooses to be! What an excellent trip!!

Cody is doing well and growing fast:

Prayer Requests:

1. For my difficult and troubled kids in my class. I am slowly discovering many that have very difficult home situations.

2. For Tim and my's continued patience and love towards our students on a daily basis.

3. For spiritual growth for both of us! That we'd continue to learn and grow so much.

4. For church growth, church building, and most importantly the individual growth of church members in Hocaba.

5. Our Wednesday night youth bible study in Hocaba - that we are committed, and excited to go each week, and that the kids learn to be respectful, and listen and that they truly learn from it.

6. For safe travels in the end of Novemeber home to Kim's wedding.

Delighted in the Lord

Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

—Psalm 37:3-6

As Pslam 37 promises, if we trust in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. Tim and I stepped out and made the difficult decision to follow where we believed God was leading us and stay another year. And just as He promises, we are discovering that God is filling us with the desires of our hearts and we are truly "delighted in Him." In layman's terms: We never realized all the reasons that God wanted us to stay, but slowly they are presenting themselves and we are show in so many different ways that this is where we wanted to be and we are truly happy.

Staying this second year has already proven to be "worthit" and the right decision. Last year part of our - mainly mine (Kari) difficulty was loneliness. I went from living in a house with all of my best friends, being only a few hours away from family, to being here, yes with my husband, but the friend area was lacking. However, this year has been excellent! Friendships that started last year with Angelica, Jeff and Nicole continue to grow stronger. They encourage us in our faith through Bible Studies and teaching together, and we just flat out have fun!

This year also, Tim and I are especially close with John and Sarah. They are the perfect "couple friends" for us! The boys get along great and jokingly talk trash while playing PIG while Sarah and I never lack something to chat about. We have had so much fun spending time with them most weekends and seeing them at church! Sarah and John are also teaching us how we want to parent. Both Tim and I had absolutely wonderful and loving parents and had and continue to have wonderful relationships with them. Sarah and John do many things the same as our parents, instilling values, teaching discipline, putting their kids as their priority, etc, but also do some things differently that Tim and I would like to do when we have kids. For example, although it is clear that their kids are their priority, they still make a conscious effort to have friends and spend time with adult friends often. Also, they discipline and teach using the Bible. They teach their kids not only what their parents and society expects of them, but what God's standards are. Also, they pray with each of their kids individually at night, and both girls are comfortable praying aloud for dinners. It is fun to see other great Christian parents to learn from them. Friendship is certainly one of the areas that God has blessed us with this year! (we are going to miss them soooo much when we leave)

School is another area in when God knew what was best for us!

As I mentioned before, I wanted to teach 7th but ended up in 3rd again. That was no accident. I am loving teaching 3rd again! I am able to put into practice everything I learned last year! I have improved as a teacher 200%! I know that I still have much to learn and many areas to improve on, but this year is going so well!

I am both much stricter and much more loving this year. I am trying to be firm on discipline to teach the kids respect. Also, I am conciously praying every morning to have God's patience, love and energy to be the best teacher I can be. I am conciously praising each kid every day for doing well and try and touch them on the shoulder, give them a hug, etc to show then love. So far, my classroom is much more orderly and a productive learning environment. I am so excited to have 3rd graders again so that I can learn from my mistakes last year!

I have a great group of students this year. Overall they are better behaved than last years group, however I have many special needs students. A few have diagnosed learning disabilities, speech disabilities, ADD, ADHD, and behavior disorders. These children take even more love, patience and time than a normal 3rd grader. I would like to ask you to please pray that God shows me what each of these kids need to be able to reach their potential, and also that God will continuously provide me with patience and love. Without help from God, I literally can not do it. I tried for months to do it on my own last year. I failed. After about 2 months of failing, I broke down and asked God for help. And He did. Now, I get through everyday only because I am trusting in God to give me patience and love beyond my own ability. He is good and says He will give us whatever we ask for if we ask in His name. (John 14:13) He does!!

In particular could you please pray for Samuel. He has a behavior disorder and is very difficult for me to deal with. He is making sounds or talking or yelling 85% of the day. This of course is a huge distraction to me and all the students. Please pray that God helps him learn self control (Proverbs 16:32) and also self-confidence. Every time I ask him to do the given activity he tells me that he can't. He can. He has normal learning ability and can read and write like all the others, however, for some reason he truly believes he can't. Please pray for Samuel.

School is going very well for Tim. He is teaching all grades 1-7. He loves that he gets to see all the kids in the school and teach all levels. It keeps it interesting and different everyday. He is very excited about the 5-7 band and choir. The kids have already choosen their instruments (though the school hasn't actually purchased them yet), and choir has their assigments as well. For the month of Septemeber he focused on general music, such a tiempo, rhythm, treble and bass clef, etc, and will start teaching the specifics of notes, and instuments in October. He is taking his job seriously and doing an excellent job!

Speaking of excellent jobs, he is a busy man, but managing it all very well! Besides teaching, he is taking 2 masters classes online, as well as 4hrs of Spanish classes a week. He has improved so much in Spanish, and will continue to improve rapidly now that he is teaching his music classes in Spanish. I am very proud of his motivation and improvement!!

We have an exciting announcement to make! Thanks to the generous donation of Brittany Lambert, Hocaba is in the process of building a new sanctuary called a palapa. It is a much more sturdy structure, although still temporary. This is a very necessary change, seeing as the current sanctuary is literally collapsing in. This past Sunday it rained during service so everyone just got soaked. The tar paper is ripping, and almost 30% of the support beams are broken. It is truly a hazard. BUT, a new one will be under construction this week! Praise God for Brittany's generosity!!! God provides!!!!!!!! Below is the "before"... "after" pictures to come!

Prayer Requests:

1. Growth for the church in Hocaba. The kids are staying steady at about 20 kids in Sunday School and 8 in Youth, but the adults that come are few in number, between 4-8 each Sunday. Pray that the families of the kids that are coming will be interested and come as well!

2. Our marriage. Just that God continues to bless us and that we have an unending supply of patience, love, and forgiveness for each other. Also, that we grow even closer and more in love this year!!

3. For Samuel

James 5:16:
¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

We’re back! After a 5 week stay in the US with our families and friends, we are back in Mexico about to start a second year as missionary teachers at Calvary. Tomorrow is the first day of school and we are excited to meet our students and start the adventure this new year will bring. Check out the link to the awesome video Tim made about our last year here!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc7XL5uZUrw

Before I talk about the plans for the second year here, I want to say a bit about our vacation at home. It was 5 weeks filled with spending time with the people most important to us, relaxing, and preparing for another year in Mexico. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful families and friends that make us feel so loved and welcomed when we come back! We are doubly blessed in that our two families live only 5 minutes apart. This summer we were able to do lots of things with both families present, such as BBQs, baseball games, hikes, etc. We are both blessed to have such wonderful families and great in-laws! Also, we spent lots of time with college and high school friends catching up on life’s adventures. What a blessing to have such wonderful Christian friends who can be excited for what God is using us for down here in Mexico! While we had a fantastic, perfect, awesome, relaxing, rejuvenating time at home and were sad to leave, at the same time we were ready to come back for another year in Merida.

Now that we are here, we are completely confident that we made the right decision to stay. We truly feel that God was calling us here and we are so excited to be here again! We were immediately welcomed back by our wonderful friends here – everyone from church and school and particularly the Stones, Scotts, and Angelica! We are so blessed to have made such great friends here!

These first 2 weeks back have been filled with teacher training meetings, preparing our classroom, lesson planning, and most excitingly, picking out and adopting our puppy Cody! We went with Sarah to a couple different animal shelters in Merida and ended up adopting our cute little guy! We are having so much fun doting on and playing with him!

We are so excited for what this year has to bring. Tim will be teaching Music. This means that he is going to be starting and directing both a choir and band for 5, 6, and 7 graders. In addition to this, he will be doing sectionals, private lessons, as well as teaching general music to kids in 1, 2, and 3 grade. On top of all that, he will continue taking Masters classes online towards his Masters in Education degree he is working on. He will have a busy year starting the choir and band but is very excited to be doing what he loves! Also, the church is paying for the missionaries who want it to have Spanish lessons twice a week for 2 hrs apiece. Tim is excited to take advantage of these every Monday and Friday evening. He is going to be a busy guy, but will do a great job!

As for me, I will be teaching 3^rd grade English again this year! Although admittedly a bit disappointed to not be teaching 7^th grade English and Biology as was planned, I am excited to be teaching 3^rd again. This will give me the opportunity to really learn from last year and do a better job as a teacher and mentor to my students! I learned so much last year, and will avoid the things I tried that failed, and do more of the things that I found worked really well. I’m glad to have 3^rd again since I already have a sense of what works and what doesn’t, as well as how quickly they can learn new things.

Most exciting about this new school year is that the school started a new English curriculum, which seems EXCELLENT!! We are using the communicative approach which focuses on getting the kids able to communicate orally in English as the primary goal. We will still use all areas; reading, writing, listening, and speaking, but the focus is much more on speaking and listening. The books seem great and gives lots of suggestions on how to get the kids speaking. Also, we are required this year to only speak in English. This will be a challenge because some times when they just don’t get it it is easier to revert to Spanish, but I am going to try to the best of my ability to only speak in English! Another teacher, Monica, had the idea to have an empty jar and every time the kids catch you speaking Spanish you put in a marble, when it is full, they get a prize. It would be a great way to keep myself accountable, and I’m certain the kids would try and catch me!!

The Lord has blessed us so much and we are excited to see what He has in store for us this year!

Hocaba is going well. We went there the first Sunday back and had a nice time catching up with everyone there – and the kids in Sunday School were very excited to see us! We will continue to do Bible Study and Discipleship with the 8 year olds – teenagers on Wednesdays and are looking to focus more on discipling multiple kids. The church in Hocaba is in great need financially. While electricity, lights, and fans were added recently through donations, the current sanctuary is in disrepair and is a safety hazard. The church is in the process of building a church building made of cement blocks, but has been in the very slow building process for over 3 years due to lack of funds. About $7,000usd could finish that church. But, since those funds are simply not available, we are considering putting a new temporary sanctuary called a Palapa there. That would cost about $700usd but last a maximum of ten years. Please let us know if you are interested in donating!

Check out the link to the awesome video Tim made about our last year here!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc7XL5uZUrw

Update

Kari and I are doing well with school as things are wrapping up for the year. The Mexican government's standardized testing is preoccupying our students right now so there isn't much take home work that we are able to give. For our end of the year in class project we tasked our students with a book they get to create. It was Kari's idea. I decided to go with it too and I'm glad I did. My students love this assignment. A couple of the students are even putting bible stories into their own words which is always warming to see.

Our bible study in Hocaba has slowly been growing and we are starting to see the fruits of our labor. Over 75% of the men in Hocaba are alcoholics, which is one reason that going to Hocaba every week is so important, because this is what they think growing up consists of. With a couple of the young teens we have started a discipleship where we get together with them and invest in their lives. We meet with Rogelio and Laura every week and share the bible with them and help them work on becoming a disciple of Christ. As time goes on we hope to add more for it to become a small group...and the end goal is for them to raise up disciples of Christ (Mat. 28:19).

On July 13th Kari and I fly home to see family, friends, and a nice break from the heat (although since the rainy season began it has been very pleasant). We will being sharing in church a summary of our trip and maybe a video that we have compiled since we've been here of different ministries we are involved in. We'll also be relaxing and going to weddings every other week. We return again to Merida for our second year in the middle of August for teacher training and all the prep that goes into teaching.

We haven't heard the final word on what we will be teaching but Robert has alluded to Kari's biology background so she might be teaching middle school science and lab. I will be starting a music program (gen, band, choir) for the school. It will certainly be a growing experience and I covet your prayers as both Kari and myself prepare to teach in areas that we are passionate about.

As Kari and I reflect on what has happened this year we are inspired by what God has done in our lives. As a married couple we have grown closer to God and in turn grown closer together. At the same time we have found new ways in which to grow that we didn't even know about! Good times:). As individuals it is astounding to think about where we were in our faith a year ago and compare that to where we are today. Actively listening to God and living with a desire to grow and to be transformed...transformed us!

As for coming to Mexico in hind sight, we came for completely different reasons than why we are staying. We came because we made a plan. A plan to fit into what we want. In the book of proverbs it says that we plot our course but God directs our steps. We plotted our course and God did what he promised...he blessed us and reminded us that it isn't our plan but His. When we came here we told ourselves we were putting our 'real lives' on hold. But what we came to realize is that this is as real life as it gets.

What we know and confess is this. God is good and his will is perfect. There is no limit to what he can do and no heart that he cannot transform. God is good.

Its been awhile since we've written a general update... so here it goes.

Since I've posted last we had 3 big events. 1. We went with church friends to Chiapas and Tabasco 2. Brittany Lambert came and visited and 3. We decided to stay (that is

explained in the previous blog)

1. Tim and I went with 11 others on a 5 day trip to Chiapas and Tabasco, two southern states in Mexico. The trip was absolutely wonderful and filled with many gorgeous views! The highlights included going to Agua Azules, which was a huge series of cascades with absolutely gorgeous and clear waters:

Then, we headed to El Canyon de Sendedero which was a river running through a hugh canyon abnout .6 miles high. We took a boat ride through the canyon for a few hours and then headed to the top in a car to look down. What an astoundingly goregous place!

Later we went to a city called San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. It was such a wonderful, clean, and beautiful town located in a valley surrounded by beautiful green mountains. The weather was much cooler - with a high of 85 instead of the 100 we are used to here in Merida. The city was very well developed and we spent and entire day walking around:

We also went to the Mayan Ruins of Pelenque:

Overall, it was a wonderful trip both for the sights but also for the company. We had a great time getting to know some of the people from our church and school on a more personal level.

2. Then, the day we got back form our trip to Chiapas, Brittany Lambert came to visit! She got here on a Thursday evening and left on Monday. It was a quick but WONDERFUL trip! We went to downtown Merida and looked around and shopped, went to one of the seven wonders of the World: Chichen Itza and the beautiful centoe Ikkil near it. Also, she came to school and met my students and played with them, went to church and Hocoba with us. It was an excellent trip and I feel so blessed that she came down! We stayed up late every night cracking up and reminising!

As far as school updates, everything is going well for both Tim and me. Also, the school is growing quickly. A new building is in the process of being built - the first level is finished and construction on the 2nd and 3rd level will continue to be built as funds come in. The new building is in anticipation for the growth of the school from preK-6 and 300 students this year to preK-7 and 450 students next year. We are excited to be part of the growth and see how the school continues to grow and change next year.

Life is good and we feel very blessed to be able to stay another year and continue our work at the school, church, and especially in Hocoba. But, at the same time, we are VERY excited to come home for a month this summer to relax, and most importanly see family and friends! We'll be home July 13- Aug 10.

One More Year....

To our dear family and friends,

Tim and I are writing this letter to you to share in our good news: we are going to stay in Mexico another year!!

This decision was not made lightly nor easily. In fact, we have been praying about it, seeking counsel of trusted and mature Christians, talked to each other and our families, and finally have decided, with confidence, that God is calling us to stay here another year. This letter is to tell you our good news, and to explain a bit about how we arrived at this decision.

First of all, in early March came the official time to decide if we were going to stay. Without hesitation we checked the no box. Then, our pastor talked to us and told us that we were doing so much good here and that he thinks our work is not finished and told us God was telling us to stay. He also said that if we stayed we’d being obedient to God and He’d bless us, and if we left we’d be disobedient. This freaked us out because we had no desire to stay and didn’t feel at all called by God to stay. So, we started talking about it, praying and talking to friends and family, and even had meetings over Skype with my pastor back home. Through all that searching we came to the conclusion that we were NOT being called to stay, that the pastor just wanted us to. So, with confidence and relief we decided not to stay. And in fact were eagerly waiting to get out of this tortuous weather and back to our family and friends in Ohio. That was true up until May 5th.

On May 5th, while we were in Chiapas on vacation with some people from our church/school the school director and I were talking in the car. We got to talking about what instruments I played and it leads us to talk about him wanting to start a band at school here. Music is not important in Mexico and very few schools have bands, but he sees the importance and wants to start one. That lead us to discuss how Tim would be great at starting a band, since he has the training in music and has a passion for teaching. Not to mention that he is currently going to online school for his masters in Music Education. This conversation planted the seed.

I told Tim about the conversation and he immediately got excited. But after a few days we decided, we don’t’ want to stay – for a variety of reasons. So we decided that we still didn’t feel called and so that we’d keep an open mind and keep praying for God to lead our lives, but stick to the plan of going back home unless God told us otherwise. Which He did.

Tim came up to me one day at school and looked so overwhelmed. He said he’d been praying and really felt called to stay. This made me start praying even more, seeing if God was really calling us. Through prayer and reading the Bible, about a week later I too felt conviction to stay. I shared this with Tim. When I was doing my Bible lesson for my 3rd graders, we talked about Acts 9, the story of Ananias being called to heal Paul even though Paul was persecuting Christians. We talked about how Ananias had to have faith in God and do what God was directing him to do even though he both didn’t want to, and didn’t understand why. In the end, Ananias had faith and did as God told him and healed Paul. Paul then became a Christian and became a great disciple and wrote much of the New Testament. As I was telling this to my kids, I felt a great since of conviction that God was teaching me through this lesson. That even though neither of us wants to stay, and we don’t know the exact reasons that God is calling us to, we have to have faith.

After this, I read my stack of note cards of verses I have memorized in the past, and as I read through them, and later shared them with Tim, we both saw God was confirming the call. As I read them it dawned on me, if these verses are important enough that I’ve memorized them, aren’t they important enough to do, to live by? A couple of the verses that really stuck out were:
· Romans 5:3-4 “We rejoice also in our sufferings, because we know the suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character, hope.” – even though we are not suffering here, it is a sacrifice to stay. But this verse tells us to be thankful for the difficulties because they teach us to have perseverance, character and hope
· Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
· This one just made us crack up: Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame” – this verse let us know that even though we don’t want to stay, and don’t have the energy to deal with the kids and heat, or the energy to put into Hocoba, that God will take care of us and give us the energy and strength we need. And the sun-scorched land part is so true! (its 106 as I type this)
· Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
· Luke 10:2 “He told them, ‘the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest fields” – we are ready to be the much needed workers
· Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
· 1 Thessalonians 2:4 “We are not trying to please men, but God who tests our hearts” – this one was particularly helpful in knowing that even though people will question our decision, or be sad that we are staying away another year, that we know we are making the right decision because we are trying to follow what God wants for us.
· Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship” – even though we don’t want to stay, it is our sacrifice to God to stay, we are worshiping Him by trying to follow Him, even though we’d rather go home
· Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understandings, in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight” – even though we don’t yet understand why we are being called to stay, or what God will use us for next year, we know He has a plan

So, after Tim and I talked about it and prayed and read, we decided to stay. But as soon as we decided, I freaked out, finally letting myself think of all the consequences, and everyone and everything I’d be missing out on at home. We decided before that we weren’t going to think about the logistics of everything, or what we’d be missing, but instead just look for the answer in the Word and through prayer, so as soon as we decided and started to think about what it meant, I got very sad and cried. But Tim was great, he was so confident and showed me that we really were doing the right then even though it seems hard.

So, the next day we talked to Robert and Damaris (the school director and his wife) about the whole process we’d been through and that we still didn’t feel peace about it. Talking with them gave us more peace, as they just encouraged us to follow where we thought God was leading. Then, more confirmation came. The next night we had girl’s night with 4 other girls at church. It was wonderful and calmed my fears about not having close friends here.
We officially announced me are staying on May 16 and feel good about the decision. Though we still want to come home and will certainly miss our family and friends very much, we know we are doing the right thing.
We don’t know specifically what we will be doing next year, but it is hopeful that Tim will start a band, do private lessons, sectionals, and teach music class. And I will be teaching 7th grade Biology class and lab and English, and be in charge of having all grades 1-6 do a science lab at least once a month. None of this is certain, and who knows, I might be in 3rd grade again, but the thing is, we truly made the decision based on faith, not on the specifics. So however God decides to use us here, we will happily serve. We will certainly commit more time and effort to Hocoba, continuing to go Sundays and Tuesdays, and likely add another day of the week to get more Bible studies started, and to witness to non-believers there.

We believe God has a purpose and plan for us here next year and are excited to watch it unfold.

So, if any of you has been trying to decide where to go on vacation next year – we’d LOVE to have you visit us! You can stay at our house, see our lives here, go to Hocoba, and we’ll take you to cenotes, Mayan ruins and the beach!

We’ll be home July 14- August 10thish (don’t know the exact date we’ll leave to drive back) so please make an effort to see us while we are home. We miss you and love you all!

We’d appreciate your prayers for our emotions and energy for the next year, as well as prayers that God provides financially!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

God bless,
The Reimanns

Ps we plan on coming home after next year to continue my education towards a Bachelors in Nursing and a Masters in Music Ed for Tim.

Visitors and Updates

It has been a very long time since our last blog. I had was off of school for a week and a half becuase of mono, then we were busy with Jenny and Casey's wonderful visit, and now are preparing for the Reimann's visit! Here is an update of what's been going on:

School:
Things are continuing to be wonderful at school. Tim is doing a great job teaching – his students absolutely adore him and love how fun and energetic he is in the classroom. He is continuing with piano and guitar lessons and is now tutoring 2 adults in English as well. He is a busy and talent guy and is very involved in the school and church.

As far as me, things are going well and discipline is going much better. In my class we are continuing with our prayer partner project and the kids absolutely love it and get very excited every time letters arrive from the US. This past week we worked on “video letters” where they were recorded reading their letters to their prayer partners. They had fun and it really motivated them to work on speaking. If you are interested in watching here are the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNUGdh144Rw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI-ipQ26RiA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-6bUOvmro8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM-rXjndn1k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEQymeM8JGU

Hocoba:
Hocoba is a wonderful blessing in our lives. We are in love with the town, the people, and the relaxed attitude of everyone there. We are now going every Tuesday from 330 till about 9. Tuesdays we teach bible study to a group of 10-12 boys ages 8-13. It is a challenging group, but is getting better and better each week.

A couple weeks ago, when we drove up, two of our kids were fighting. And I mean fighting, they were punching to hurt, not just playing. So, Tim runs over yelling at them in English to stop fighting. One of them ended up with a bloody lip. Not a good start to the day. But when we started there were about 8 kids. We started the lesson and literally 2 mins into it some of the kids just started messing around and talking. Within 5 mins 3 of them had left and a couple minutes later all were gone except the pastors 8 year old son and his cousin. We gave up and asked the kids what they wanted – they didn’t respond. So we told them why we are hear, because we believe that what we have to teach them about Jesus is the most important thing in the world and we want them to be saved too. And we told them we are not going to force them to listen but if they want to hear what we have to say or if they have questions that we’d be sitting in the bleachers for the next couple hours. So they all started playing soccer. And Tim and I were praying and talking to the pastor. An hour later, with no promoting or invitation, all of them came and sat down and said “now we are ready to listen”. And they did. They asked a lot of great questions like: Why don’t you worship the idols we have? How did you choose your religion? Who was Jesus’ dad? Is the world really going to end in 2012? So we talked about all their questions and had great discussions.

It was just as much an important lesson for the kids to hear as it was a lesson for Tim and I in patience, God’s timing, and trusting Him. We are going to Hocoba twice a week to honor God and to do His command in Matthew of telling the nations about salvation through Christ. It is not for us, but for Him and His glory. When we got discouraged that they weren’t listening and really prayed to God pleading for Him to lead us and to lead the kids to listen – He answered. It was a much needed lesson in trusting God in everything. Since that day, all the lessons have gone so much better and the kids have a different attitude and Tim and I are giving it all to God!

In other Hocoba news… Hilliard United Methodist church donated $800 dollars towards the church in Hocoba. That money is being used to put up more blocks on the new sanctuary that is much needed, seeing as their current stick and tar paper one is quickly deteriorating. Also, the money provided electricity to the Sunday school rooms and the pastors house. Thank you all for your financial blessing!

Visitors:
Jenny and Casey came to visit for a week! We had an amazing time! Tim and I took a bus to meet them in Piste, to go to Chichen Itza (one of the 7 wonders of the world):

Then, we headed to Cenote Ik Kil and jumped into the 150 feet deep water! It was beautiful and
refreshing after a day in the sun:

The following day we headed off to go caving with Fernando:

It was very difficult, we certainly got a work out and got pretty dirty too:

After a 3 hour caving adventure we headed to cool off in Cenote San Ignacio:

Monday Jenny and Casey came to school and meet all of our students:

Jenny even got to meet her two prayer partners. Here is one, Miguel! How precious:

Tuesday we headed to Hocoba for Bible study after school. Casey taught all the kids a very fun game called Woah and after bible study Casey and Tim played soccer with the kids while Jenny and I went to visit an old lady who I know there named Nancy. Hocoba was a great experience for all of us:

Wednesday we explored downtown Merida, including the huge and crazy market there:

Thursday we went to the horse-drawn truc that took us to 3 different gorgeous cenotes before coming home for Bible study at Jeff’s house. Here is Casey and I jumping into one of the 3 cenotes.

Friday we went to Uxmal which is another Mayan ruin – which we all thought was way better than Chichen Itza. We looked around and sat on top of the pyramid for a long time just enjoying the weather and marveling at how all of it was built so long ago and trying to picture what life would have been like.

After Uxmal we stopped at Cenote Kankaninche:

It was such a wonderful week having Jenny and Casey here. It is a blessing to have such wonderful Christian friends. And it made Tim and I so excited to go back to Ohio and spend time with Jenny and Casey and all of our other friends!

Prayer Requests:

1. Please pray for Hocoba. The the bible studies are effective and that the kids hearts are opened to accept Christ. And that Tim and I will be really letting the Holy Spirit guide our words and actions while we are there.

2. Prayers for decisions. That God really leads us and shows us what He would have us do next year - staying in MX, returing home for school, and where in Ohio He would want us. Prayers for clarity and wisdom.

3. Prayers for the Reimann's safe travels and safe visit as they are coming March 20-30.

4. Prayers for my family as the are continuing to cope with my Grandma's death in February.

5. Prayers for patience, wisdom and love to be the best teachers we can be!

6. Prayers for health as Kari continues to have swollen glands and has been sick off and on since getting mono

Blessings, Happiness, Adventure, Love.... our life!

Blessings:
Ephesians 1:3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

* God has continued to bless Tim and me in our time here in Mexico. Yesterday we had our second class of the New Believers class we are leading in Hocobá. The first week of the study things did not go as planned… we got the church’s car late, had a flat tire on the way and ended up arriving 1 hr late. But, as always, God is bigger than our plans. The pastor had invited some teenagers, and they came! We had 6 guys between the ages of 12 and 18 in our class. They were all pretty timid and would not answer any questions or share their ideas. But they were there and interested and truly listening. We used Campus Crusade’s pamphlet called “Do you want to know Jesus personally?” It is useful in outlining the main aspects of Christianity.

* Before the class began I was so nervous. Being an hour late and not knowing exactly how to lead the class was making me very anxious. So, I stepped away, and took some time to pray. I asked the Holy Spirit to lead my words and decisions, and that he did! The study went smoothly, and I think God really lead me to be able to teach effectively. It was a blessing.

* After the study Tim suggested they all go plan soccer together. The 6 guys, the pastor and Tim started playing soccer and before long 10 more kids joined. They played for 2 hrs straight. I went to visit an elderly lady, Nancy, whom accepted Christ with me before Christmas. On our way out, we stopped, sat on the car hood and looked at the crystal clear sky filled with stars and talked about our blessings!

* Yesterday our second study went well, though only 1 of the guys returned, we still had a class of 8. This group was much younger, between 8-13 and was harder to keep their focus, but still went well. We went over the booklet again and focused on prayer and having a relationship with Christ. Again they played soccer for a couple of hours afterwards while I chatted with the girls while we watched.

* Some interesting facts I learned about Hocobá: 1. There is 40% illiteracy rate. 2. Approx. 70% of the men are alcoholics. 3. Over 90% of them practice a religion which is a mix of Catholicism and Mayan religions. Please keep this town of less than 3,000 in your prayers.

Happiness:
We are so happy! We are happy as a married couple, as English teachers, as Sunday school teachers, as New Believer class leaders, as guitar lesson teachers, as tutors, as Spanish students, as worship band leaders, and living as Mexicans! Life’s GOOD!!

Adventure:
This past week we discovered Fernando (our adventure buddy) is still here (we’d thought he’d already left for Canada). Anyhow, we invited him to dinner on Saturday and we had a great evening chatting away and looking at pictures. Sunday we went to 3 cenotes and had great adventures. Here are some pictures of our trip:








Love:
We love eachother and love being married! We love living in Mexico, being teacher, (basically everything I said under happiness). Also, we love our friends and co-workers. This week Sarah (another gringa whose husband works at the US consulate in Merida) took me shopping then we went out for Pina Coladas. It was great talking and having a girl friend to share time with. And as always we are enjoying spending time with Jeff, Angelica and the newly arrived missionary Wes.

Prayer Requests:
1. Please pray for our Hocobá class. The God continues to lead every aspect of our class and leadership. Please pray that more people come and that the group is consistent.
2. Please pray for the people of Hocobá and that the Good News is heard throughout the town and changes the hearts and lives of the people.
3. Please pray for Tim and me as leaders in our classrooms, Sunday school, and Hocobá. That God gives us wisdom and direction.

Random Facts:
1. Tim started Spanish lessons – the church is providing them for all the missionaries and they take them 3 days a week for 1.5 hrs each day. He’s improved so much the first 6 months we’ve been here, and now that classes have started, I know he is going to go for good to great quickly! I’m so proud of him! I can’t imagine arriving in a country where I didn’t know the language and being able to pick it up so fast! I’ve got myself a smart husband!
2. Tim is doing excellently as the worship band leader. They now sing together at the beginning as a band, then to close Tim just plays the acoustic guitar and sings alone – it sounds great!
3. We got a “Japanese Rock Garden” put in front of our house – looks great….