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….

A Refreshing US Break, and a Wonderful Mexican Return

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!!

"Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! " Psalm 105:1-2

God is Good!

Its been quite awhile since our last update. I'll try to keep it short, but informative.

To start, God blessed us with a long and refreshing break back in Ohio over Christmas break. It was hard to get home (took a total of 31 hours with all the delays to get from Merida to Columbus), but when we finally got home, it was marvolus! It was so wonderful to spend time with both of our immediate and extended families, and to see all of our wonderful friends.

I was very sad to leave home, but suprisingly happy to get back to Mexico. It feels like home now for me and Tim- which is great! A few nights after our return we went out to dinner with Jeff, Angelica, Lupita and Wes. It was so great to see our wonderful friends again and to meet a new one in Wes (a newly arrived missionary from Florida).

We are back into the swing of things here in Mexico, and our schedule this stint is much fuller. Here's a quick look at our week:

Monday= school. After school Tim gives guitar lessons

Tuesday= School. Go to Hocoba 2:30- 8 (1 hour away) to go door to door whitnessing and then hold a new believers class that Tim and I are writing and leading.

Wednesday= School. Then Kari gives English tutoring, Tim piano lessons.

Thursday= School. Then bible study/home fellowship

Friday= School. Church

Saturday= Free

Sunday= Hocoba 9-3 to teach Sunday School. Church.

Busy Schedule, but awesome!!

So, as you saw on the schedule Tim and I are leading a New Believers bible study in the small Mayan village of Hocoba on Tuesdays. We actually start tomorrow. So please pray for guidance for us in leading this, and that people are opening and excited to join! We'll update you on how it goes!

This past weekend we went to Hocoba to teach sunday school. We did a craft that Tim's church had given us which was very fun and exciting for the kids since it was materials they've never had access to before. Also, thanks to the Haney family from my church all the kids got to pick out a Beanie Baby. They were thrilled even though they thought it was just to play with then... when they found out it was to take home there were even more squels and loud "gracias" being said!After Sunday School we went to one of our church members house to prepare for the lunch that we were supposed to have but never did due to time constraints. We snapped some interesting shots of a typical home in Hocoba:This is me looking at the giant ducks. They raise them for meat.
Their homes almost all consist of one room with lots of hammocks and places along the wall stacked with clothes. But the rest of their "house is outside." Including the bathroom, kitchen (picture below) and laundry area:
A precious little girl from my sunday school class showing us her puppy! This is a picture of their turkeys laying on their eggs:So, as I've mentioned in previous blogs, Tim and my phase for this whole Mexico experience is "You NEVER know (even when you think you do)". So, as I said, we were supposed to be going to someone's home for their birthday lunch that they'd invited us to. But last minute we found out it was also her brother-in-laws baptism. So we went to the service for that, but ended up leaving in the middle because the people we were with from Merida had to return. So, they filled up whatever they could find; plastic mayo bottles, a plastic sand bucket, and an old pot, with the chicken they'd prepared for us to take home with us. Here is us walking back to our car with our lunches in tow:
Needless to say, Tim and I love going to Hocoba. It is an eye-opening, perspective-changing, God-filled experience everytime we go. We are very excited to see how God is glorified through the study we are starting. Again, please pray that God leads people to the study and that he shows us how to lead it!

God bless you! Thanks for reading! Keep reading too, there are some fun random fact below:

Random Fun Facts:

1. We got a dog (Coeblence) and kitten (Cola). Not really got per say, but more like won their love. So the next door neighbors got a kitten, we named him Cola and he is very friendly - Tim loves to play with him. Two houses down they have a dog, all year we've been talking to it and trying to pet him, but he is afraid. But with time love one. Now, everyday when we leave for school they follow us down the street, and when we come home they greet us and beg to be pet. We we finally go inside, Cola stays at the door whining to get in! Its fun to have pets without really having them!

2. I (Kari) got a class pet - two fish, though one already died. The kids are thrilled. Dori and Nemo are their names.

3. Its been lovely weather. Between 70 and 80 for the high, breezy and cool nights!!!

4. I took my class ice skating for their behavior prize. It was hilarious and a blast!

5. We had our first encounter with the Mexican police: Tim left our house in a barrowed car to go to band practice before church tonight. He realized he forgot his music and therefore threw the car in reverse and drove 200meters back to our house in reverse. Well, the cops saw. So I'm at home and hear a knock on the door. It is our neighbors telling me to come translate for Tim. SO I get out there and see Tim and the neighbors talking to the cops. I come and translate for Tim. The deal is that the license plates are old, the papers for the car are incomplete and old, and Tim broke a law. So there is 1 ticket for driving back wards, 1 ticket for the plates, and 1 ticket for the documents. Our sweet neighbor explains to them we are missionaries borrowing the car for our mission in Hocoba. And flat out asks them to have mercy on us and not give us the tickets. They say no and that they will take the documents, licenses plate and Tim's license right then, and we'd have to go downtown tomorrow, pay all three tickets, pay for new plates and papers, before they give the license back. YIKES! However, our neighbor disappears into his house, returns, talks to the cops and 1 min later all is well and they drive away. Turns out he paid them off for us! It took only $10 usd to get out of all those problems and tickets. However, our neighbor took a risk for us, because you can get an extra ticket and taken in for questioning if you try bribing an honest cop. So we broke a law, then broke another with the pay-off to get out of the first law we broke!

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!