Taco Juan

**(Due to the fact that this is not our personal story, we've changed some names)**

We may have mentioned Juan before, he's the owner of our favorite taco restaurant the Rancho.  He's been coming to our church since sometime before JP and I returned from the USA last year.

The other night, we went to the Rancho with some friends after JP preached at their church.  In a rare moment of non-busyness in the restaurant, Juan told us his story.

Our good friends, Luis and Sandy, had been going to the Rancho for some time when they invited JP and I (who, at the time, were engaged - circa 2008).  We immediately recognized the world's best taco upon eating there, and have been regular customers ever since.  Luis and Sandy had shared a bit with Juan about salvation in Christ.  He was interested in spirituality and was open to hearing what they had to say.  JP and I also talked a little with him about Christ.

Juan has a sister who lives in Canada, and she accepted Christ.  Because her town doesn't have a church service in Spanish, she looked for sermons online and found a Mexican church that offered live-streamed services every Sunday, so she began to tune in regularly.  Juan went to visit his sister in Canada, and she also told him about Christ, and encouraged him to attend a Christian church.

In 2011, our church, Horizonte Queretaro, got a new pastor.  He and his wife moved up from another city, and we took them to the Rancho.  They were hooked, and went frequently.  They, too, began sharing with Juan about salvation in Christ.

One day, Juan's sister came to Queretaro to visit.  She was in the restaurant talking with him about attending the church she tuned into online, which happened to be here in Queretaro, when suddenly that pastor walked into the Rancho!  It was Kike (KEE-kay), the pastor of Horizonte Queretaro, who was by that time a friend of Juan's.  Juan found all this to be too much of a "coincidence," and decided to go to church.  He began attending Horizonte regularly, then accepted Christ!  He now uses his restaurant as a way to point others to Christ as much as possible.

We had heard bits and pieces of Juan's story, but it was amazing to hear him tell how God orchestrated everything to bring him to where he is today!

(Just a side note: since me and another girl listening that night are from the United States, Juan piped up that he had spent some time in the US too.  "But it's in a place where hardly anyone from here (Queretaro) knows of - Portland Oregon."  Couldn't be closer to home for JP and I.  Literally!)

JP going after the "trompo" of BBQ  pork at the Rancho

My FAVORITE dish, BBQ pork and cheese taco

Going to "Edgar"

JP and I have been going to a particular economical "home cookin's" restaurant since probably before we started dating.  The place has a name, but we just call it "Edgar," because that's the owner's name.  Edgar and his wife, Monica, make the BEST healthy-ish Mexican food ever!  They've had so much business over the years that they now have three locations, and also provide the food to feed the illegal immigrants housed at Immigration every day (that's a whole nother blog topic...)

Shortly after we returned from the US in June, we noticed that Monica was wearing a scarf over her head all the time, and had lost a lot of weight.  Then we found out that she had cancer and was going through chemo.  We prayed with her and Edgar before she went to her operation in Mexico City.  They believe in God, but have always been taught that you can get to heaven by being good and partaking the sacraments.  They were wary of "salvation by grace."

Yesterday, we went back to Edgar after about a month of not going.  Monica had her hair in a cute curly girly style, and her operation had been a success, she is cancer free!  We thanked God with her that He cured her.  We also mentioned that we are going to be starting a Bible study with business owners in mind, and we'd like to invite her and Edgar.  Monica was VERY interested in this.  She said she knew it was good to read the Bible, but she just doesn't know how to understand it.  This is the same thing that Guadalupe, the storage unit administrator who accepted Christ with us, had said.  So the we're thinking the focus of the study first should be about how to and why read the Bible. 

Please pray that we may soon have a place to meet (like the living room of our house, or someone else's house) for this important study for business owners!  And thank God with us that Monica's cancer is GONE!  :)

Intervention

At our church here in Mexico (Horizonte!) the pastor has been preaching on the book of Jonah.  It's been good of course, but this past Sunday's message really hit home for me.

Our church

Our first two weeks in Queretaro weren't exactly what I would consider a walk in the park.  It was WONDERFUL to be back "home" and see our friends and everything.  But it was also really stressful because we had no physical HOME to come  back to.  And all our stuff is in a storage unit on the road to Mexico City.

I must say that our friends in QRO are pretty much rock stars, because Ric and Ana let us stay with them and their daughters for TWO WEEKS (we had thought it would be about to 5 days until we found a house to rent), and Luis and Sandy let us borrow a car for that whole time too! 

However, it was NOT easy at all to find a place to live!  The city has grown exponentially since we left, and home owners can basically name their price and someone will be willing to pay it.  There were days when every place we went to was a big fat NO.  Some were way out of our price range, others were in bad neighborhoods, others were too far out of town to live at without a car.  THREE times, we went to go put the first month's rent down on a house, only to find that during the few hours that we were thinking and praying about whether this was the house for us, the house had been rented to someone else.

After the third time, I was just done.  I was ready to throw in the towel and go back to Oregon.  Besides, it was ridiculously hot, and we were living out of suitcases in cramped quarters, infringing on our friends' privacy for WAY to long. 

I feel like we were definitely going through a "storm" in life.  Jonah ran directly away from God, and God made an intervention for him.  Our pastor related it to the show, Intervention, where a person doesn't realize he's destroying his life until his family gets the crew from the show to do, well, and intervention.  God did an Intervention for Jonah by making the storm come on the sea.  I think God did an intervention for me so I would stop being so uptight and selfish (because I really wanted to have a perfect house with all the perfect stuff in it once we got here...)  So God put us in situations that were "not up to my standards."  (Which sounds really lame now.)  Intervention.

We finally found a place (it was actually two and a half weeks later) to live temporarly while we settle into ministry and then resume looking for a house in a couple months.  We decided we can stop infringing on our friends' privacy (although they were very welcoming to us!), and save some money renting a room/bathroom for a few months. 

Then, I was letting my mind go south again...  We're STILL basically living out of suitcases, it's STILL ridiculously hot (and we're not allowed to use the air-conditioning unit that some friends gave us because it will use too much electricity), and we're hand washing our clothes.  REALLY?!  This is not what I had bargained for.

Remember Jessi, this is what God has planned for right now.  Count your blessings! 
We live in a very central location (perfect for public transportation), we have our OWN BED!!, I was able to get some stuff out of storage (like pots and pans and towels, yay!!), and the other people who rent rooms in this building are really cool - they don't have parties at night or play music loud, and we have the opportunity to get to know them and share Christ with them too!  lWhat more could I ask for?!

So I'm thankful for the intervention.  God saves me from myself!

Night view of Queretaro from a hill

Not a Veteran Yet!

Recently I was reading some blogs from new missionaries who have just moved to Mexico and Central America.  It was interesting to see the things they are struggling with.  I want to tell them that in 7 years, they will look back and feel like pros in the same areas!  One person mentioned that they were waiting in line in the bank for 20 mintues...  I go to the bank with a book and a Coke because I know I will not be out in 20 minutes!  (trying to set up a USA/Mexico online transfer account, I spent 10 hours over the course of 2 months in the bank, and I didn't get the account set up successfully!  Side note - I went in to try again with my Mexican citizen I.D., and it took about an hour TOTAL!)  And then there's the language learning.  I'm so grateful that God allowed me to start learning Spanish when I was 14, and I was conversational by 4 years later!  Learning on the field must be difficult!

Some things about life as a gringa in Latin America are old hat now.  But I have light years of learning to do yet!  Living in Queretaro, I feel like I have a lot LESS cultural aspects to have to deal with, I mean come on, we can FLUSH our TOILET PAPER, have hot water showers, have better internet that JP and I currently have in the U.S., and I don't stick out like a sore thumb from being blonde and freakishly tall! 

BUT, I have so much to learn when it comes to the MINISTRY aspects of it all.  Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do.  And I'm not good at that.  Sometimes I don't want to meet with another young lady who is going through rough times - it's not comfortable.  Sometimes I don't like to be at dinner with another couple while they tell us why they think Christian churches are harmful to the traditional culture - it's disheartening.  Sometimes I would rather not have foul-mouthed beer-drinking young professionals over to our house and listen to them talk about their latest relationship failure - I'd rather go to tacos with friends from church and hear about the youth conference they went to in Mexico City. 

But we live in Queretaro to help people come to a relationship with Christ.  And when one person accepts Christ, it really does make it all worth it! 

New missionaries - hang in there through the culture and language struggles!  That gets better!  Remember why you are where you are.  The hard times, uncomfortable-ness, disheartening convesations, and frustrations are worth it because God allows YOU to play a part in changing eternity for someone else!

Clean Hair... And SO Much More

I HATE washing my hair.  Like I REALLY.  HATE.  IT.  I unfortunately also hate the feeling and the look of having dirty hair.  I also have hair that is prone to greasiness, and I play with my hair like, ALL the time.  That makes for an unfortunate combination.  However, I LOVE taking a shower (as long as I can do it without getting my hair wet)!  There were actually a couple of days this past summer, days when it was 95 degrees outside and 89 inside, where I showered three times in one day.  It just feels so good.  And two of those times per day were made even better by the fact that my hair didn't even NEED to be washed!  :)

So yesterday at church (yeah, I DO have a point to this!) we were studying Titus 3:1-7.  At Horizonte Church we go through an entire book of the Bible at a time.  Over the course of several weeks or months, of course.  And I've really been enjoying Titus.  So the pastor was talking about verse 5 - Jesus saves us, not because of cool stuff we've done but because of MERCY.  And as all Horizonte attendees know from the Titus series, mercy is "NOT receiving what you deserve."  Christ WANTS to clean us up from sin.  And the pastor asked a big question: What part of my life do I NOT want Christ to clean?  It's like me with not wanting to wash my hair.  In fact, I probably thought of that analogy yesterday during the sermon precisely because I hadn't washed my hair a in a couple days and, honestly, it was particularly greasy-looking.  I want my body to be clean (hence 3 showers per day if it's super hot out), but I don't want to go through the bother of washing an incredibly full head of hair because, even though I love the end result, I hate the process of actually washing it, then brushing it out, waiting for it to dry, or even worse drying it with a hair dryer.  So yesterday, for example, people had reason to wonder if I'd showered recently - not because I had crap on my face, or smelled like B.O., but because it was noticeble that I hadn't washed my hair.  And that contributes to a general "not-showered" look.  The same happens if I let Christ clense me from my sins but keep going back to one particular sin because I don't want to give it up and be forgiven.  Having forgiven sins is *a little* bit bigger of a deal than having clean hair.  And the GREAT thing is that if I give over control of my life to Christ so He takes care of the sins that I don't want to let go of, I'm clean for good!  (Stupid hair gets dirty again in the next day or two!!) 

So, while I may not change my hair-washing habits, I DID get a lot to think about and work on in my SPIRITUAL life!

The Example of Daughters

Several months ago, I wrote about Pam and Karen, and their baptism here at Horizonte Church. 
Well, I've been discipling Pam since them (in August), and that has been going well...  She is enthusiastic about learing more about the Bible, and deepening her relationship with the Lord.  Karen works in the mornings and goes to school at night, so I haven't been meeting with her, but Pam shares what we learn together with Karen in their house! 

Pam and Karen's parents were not Christians when I last wrote about this family.  The end of 2010 was an incredibly difficult time for this family - several difficult situations arose, and the dad was getting almost hostile toward people who told him about Christ.  The mom started coming to church in December with Pam and Karen.  One day after church, she asked me to pray with her and her daughters for a difficult family situation.  Pam said she was shocked that her mom asked for prayer!  But that was the beginning of a change in the mom.  She accepted Christ!

A few weeks later, the dad was about at the end of his rope.  He found himself alone and desperate for help.  His siblings have been Christians for years, so he knew of the Message of Salvation.  He knew that he just needed to accept forgiveness from Christ and he would be saved.  So, alone one night, the dad accepted Christ too! 

Now the whole family comes to church on Sundays and you can just see their desire to learn more about Christ!  The parents are kind of shy, but we're introducing them to other couples their age - like Arturo and Fabiola, who have daughters the same age as Pam and Karen and live in the same neighborhood - and are inviting them to a married couples' event on February 12th.  It's really been amazing to see how God is changing this family!

My time with Pam has been great too!  She has so many questions about the Bible - most of which we look up together - and I've been encouraged to study the Bible a LOT more because I realize that I don't know how to answer some of the things she asks!  We have been learing some Bible verses together too, and Pam has her family practice them with her.  They all know John 3:16 now!  :)

Carmelita (friend from church), Karen, and Pam at tacos with the youth group!

I'm SO thankful for the opportunity to be a part of the change that the Lord has brought to this family, and see how GOOD He is!

Happy Day!

About three months ago, a family entered Horizonte and asked about the church.  This family is from Mexico City and was visiting Queretaro.  They have family that lives down the highway from the church.  The Mexico City family brought their Queretaro family members to Horizonte for the second service.  There were three girls - Pam, Karen, and Fernanda.  Pam and Karen are 23 and 20, respectively, and Fer is in elementary school.  Their parents didn't want to come.

Pam and Karen accepted Christ the beginning for 2010 through the influence of their family members in Mexico.  Immediately they were interested in being involved in the young adults' group and coming to the Sunday services at Horizonte.  They are learning a lot about the Bible, and are VERY eager to continue that learning.  

The other day, the three of us went out for crepes (very popular in Queretaro, and VERY yummy!!).  I had told them that Laura, the lady that was discipling me, just moved to the US.  They asked me about eing discipled, what that is, and how they can be discipled.  I'll begin meeting with each of the girls this week!  Unfortunately we aren't able to do a study all three together, as Karen goes to school in the evening and Pam gets off work at 7pm.  

Please pray for Pam and Karen, that they will continue to grow in the Lord.  And for me, that the Lord will speak through me.  I've had some frustrating experiences with discipling in the past year - girls who aren't commited to meeting for a study, or who are too busy going to dance clubs in the evening to meet.  I've been discipling Sandy, and 17yearold for about 2 months now, and that is going well.  And I trust that Pam and Karen will be commited and benefit from our times together!

Both girls were baptized yesterday at Horizonte Church!  I don't have pictures of their actual baptism - I was behind the stage helping them out!  But below is a picture of thir parents (who thanfully came to watch!), aunts, uncles, cousins, and a few friends! 

The Guys From Down the Street - Take 2

In January, I wrote about some kids - Enrique and Fernando - who live in the same neighborhood as Angel and siblings who are Christians who go to our church.  Enrique is the guy who introduced himself to us several months ago as if he were in some kind of non-christians annonymous...  hehe.  Anyhow, I'd also mentioned that he's been coming regularly to Metamorphosis group (young adults small group), Infusion, and now and then to sunday morning church service. 

Saturday was Infusion (monthly meeting and hang-out time for the young adults at church, and any friends they invite), and Enrique came.  Our topic was worry... and I was the one leading the discussion... quite fitting.  hehe  When we were all leaving, Enrique stopped me and thanked me for the discussion - that he's been suffering a lot lately from worry about all sorts of stuff, and that knowing that GOD provides a way out of worry by us putting our trust in Him, and "casting all our cares on Him." (1 Peter 5:7) It was nice to see that Enrique's life is being impacted through Infusion.  He's also going to tell a little bit about how his life has been impacted recently, at a breakfast for people who want to join a small group at Horizonte. 

Anyhow, yesterday, I just about thought I was hallucinating when I recognized Enrique's mom and sister, and the parents of Andrea (a girl from that same neighborhood who comes to youth group) in church.  I think Angel's family (they're the Christians who live in that neighborhood) are pretty much evangelists by lifestyle - they just hang out with their neighbors and the next thing you know, they all show up at church!

Please pray for Enrique and his family, and Andrea and her family, that soon, all that they have been hearing about Christ's love will move from their heads to their hearts to change their lives and bring salvation!

Two Steps In The Right Direction

Our friend Jorge, who I think we may have mentioned before, as been making some decisions lately...  He and his girlfriend have/had a really messed up relationship.  Both Jorge and his girlfriend work with JP, and they're our age, so about a year ago we started hanging out with them.  Jorge began coming to Jean Paul with situations regarding his girlfriend, ex-wife, etc.  JP always told him that there will be no advice given in this house that doesn't come straight from the Bible.  Jorge always said that was fine, but the whole "Bible thing" isn't for him, but that JP could get good advice from it. 

About 2 months ago, things took a turn for even worse with Jorge and his girlfriend.  He began showing up at our house rather late at night, looking for JP to talk with him.  It got to the point where we had to tell him to please call before coming over; that 11pm is really too late for him to "show up" at our door.  It was getting tiring.  So one of those late-nite time with JP, he asked for "marriage counselling."  Which was weird, but whatever.  We suggested that he talk with  Pastor Martin at our church.  He is now meeting with Martin every week, and is slowly learning about the importance of a relationship with Christ.  Jorge's girlfriend doesn't want him around anymore, and doesn't want to go out with me anymore either.  That was really hard for him to handle, but I'm sure it's for the best.

Jorge came to church today.  We are having a series called "Staying in Love," and I actually felt kind of bad for Jorge because I know he thought that Martin was preaching directly at him - the sermon touched on the exact things that Jorge is dealing with, and Martin knows that from their counselling sessions.  I know that Martin had the sermon prepared well before he knew that Jorge was going to come to church, and LOTS of people have said in the past few weeks that who was telling Martin about their lives because, he was preaching directly to them!  Anyhow, we hope that Jorge continues on this (slow) path to Christ because that's the only thing that's going to help him have hope!!

The Guys from Down the Street

A few months ago, Angel, a guy from Infusion (Horizonte Church young adults' group) brought a friend, Enrique, with him.  Angel and Enrique have been neighbors and best friends for year.  Angel had invited Enrique to church before (when he attended a different church in QRO), and Enrique didn't want to go back.  So when Angel invited him to Infusion, he didn't want to go.  Angel told him that it's really just a group of young people hanging out, eating, and talking about the Bible.  NO preaching, just conversation.  After lots of prodding and promising that if Enrique didn't like Infusion he didn't have to come back, Enrique came. 

His initial greeting to all of us was, "Hi I'm Enrique.  I'm not a Christian."  (What is this, non-christians annonymous??)  And no one even batted an eyelash, just welcomed him and sent a plate of chips and a coke his way, and joined him into the conversation. 

Enrique was raised in a Catholic family, but didn't like the "traditional-ness" and felt like he was obligated to give money if he wanted to go to heaven.  So he quit church.  He knows a good deal about the Bible, and actively participates in biblical discussions in Infusion.  But he has his own set of rules for life, and doesn't want any other rules imposed on him.  (No worries, his "rules" DO include abiding by the laws of the country!)

Anyhow, Enrique continued to come to Infusion for about 2 months, and attended the Infusion Christmas party as well.  At the party, he asked Lluvia (one of the Infusion leaders) if it was ok if he kept coming to Infusion even though he's not a Christian.  Of course Lluvia said, YES, we'd LOVE for him to continue coming!  And Enrique said that he'd made more good friends in Infusion in the last two months than in college that last two years.  He went on to say that he didn't understand why a group of Christians would want HIM to hang out with them, since we know he doesn't believe the same as we do.  We told him that he's more than welcome to not only come to Infusion, but also to invite any friends he'd like - even if they're not Christians, or they're some other religion.  Just that we're going to keep talking about the Bible and Jesus, and how Jesus has changed our lives, and how He can change everyone's life. 

Enrique - the guy with a church-phobia - has now even been coming to Sunday morning services at Horizonte.  He even brings another neighbor friend - Fernando - who is 15, and also wonders if it's ok for  him to come to church even though he's not a Christian.  Between all the Christmas parties, birthday parties, hiking trips, and random get-togethers that we've had in the past couple months, even Fernando has gotten to know some of the other high school kids.  Even though like 5 or 6 other high schoolers have told him that he should come to high school youth group, he still says he doesn't know anyone there...  But hopefully he'll realize that the other kids DO want him to come, and he'll GO.

We know that God is working in the hearts of Enrique and Fernando, and trust that soon they will both begin a relationship with Him.  See?  You DON'T have to be a party-pooper weirdo Christian to be a good example to those who don't have a relationship with God...  I truly believe that God wants us to be a part of our cultre!  Just to be aware of things that are not pleasing to God, and participate in all that IS pleasing to God!