What about April?

The month is one week from over and we have yet to add anything here. Well, while life has been quiet here on our blog, let us share a few things with you about our non-web-based life. In no particular order:

• Training We have continued some ongoing training which must be completed before leaving for Mexico. It involves some reading and writing a reaction. First we need to read a book about spiritual disciplines by Richard Foster called "Celebration of Discipline." Then there's a Statement of Faith (50+ pages) which details the core beliefs of International Teams. We need to summarize our understanding, as well as react to a few different scenarios of how we would incorporate our faith into a particular situation. Finally, the major project is an introspective study of the book by Christian psychologist Larry Crabb called "Inside out." Lina and I have both picked a mentor to read one chapter a week and meet with us for a few hours to debrief what we have learned that week. We're about a third of the way and should be done by early July with this part.

• Support Discovery We like this term better than support "raising" as we firmly believe that God will faithfully provide the financial and prayer partners we will need. Our job is to discover where that will come from. We have created a presentation and shared it with a few people. As of this posting there are 17 individuals who have told us they will regularly contribute financially to our ministry in addition to our home church, Christian Life Church. Starting this week I will be working a four-day week so that I will be off on Fridays. Our hope is to dedicate this time fully to our support discovery efforts. We have a trip planned for visiting friends, family and at least one church in Minnesota in early June. We will need continued prayer as we plan, meet and share with potential supporters.

• Family Samuel and Rebeca continue to grow and play together more often than ever before. Rebeca loves to imitate her brother and Samuel is more patient and understanding with her. They both now have bikes and are learning to ride around in the parking lot outside of our apartment. It is fun to have routines with our meals, baths, bedtime stories and prayers. The sense of security they receive is a joy to see just as it is a pleasure to create. We think Samuel has a decent sense of what is coming up, but the idea of "living in Mexico" is still a distant concept for him. Within the next week or so, you'll hear more from Lina's perspective.

That's it for now!