Persisting

We have continued helping kids in San Jose with their homework on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Three new kids started coming in October, the youngest of whom is F, a fifth grade girl. On Tuesday this week I had a chance to talk with her and as I asked her about her mom and dad I found out that she lives with her grandmother, but her parents have both been in the USA since she was five years old (almost six years ago). I asked whether she missed them and the immediately replied "nah!" very stoically. This reminded me again of the importance of being there as role models, mentors and friends showing the love of Jesus to children. Please join me in prayer for F and her brother H as they continue to be raised by their grandmother in the absence of their parents.

This is the place where we meet. The window is for one of the three rooms we have at our disposal. Currently, due to low attendance (less than 10), we only use this room.

San José meeting place.

Year end update

Judging by the frequency of our posts for the last six months one could conclude that either there is not much to report or so much going on there has not been time to report it. The latter is true as June through December has held many full adventures for us. Here's a brief summary:

Summer Campaign - we had a team of 30 from two Chicago area churches come for a bit over a week in late July to hold a basketball clinic, kids club and english class for people in Tenancingo, specifically in Agua Bendita and San Jose. It was refreshing to have much energy and excitement and a hectic change of pace. Both Lina and Matthew were heavily involved in coordinating details related to the campaign.

School - Samuel started 3rd grade and Rebeca 1st grade at the same public school where Samuel has been. Matthew got elected to the Parents Association as treasurer and has spent many hours getting to know the school structure, happenings and "ways of doing things." We have made good relationship with a number of families, some of whom have asked us whether we can help couples with counseling.

Church - We have continued our involvement with worship on a regular rotation with Lina on keyboard and Matthew singing, playing guitar and occasionally leading. This fall we also underwent some training for marital counseling with our teammate Steve Peterson. Though the program called Prepare/Enrich, we took a marriage inventory and were able to go through an evaluation of areas of strength and opportunity. It was refreshing and encouraging for both of us and we are now meeting weekly with a newly married couple and working through the followup with them. During the upcoming year we will continue to debrief with more couples both in the church and broader community.

San Jose - This past fall Matthew led a team of 5-8 mentors who spend time with elementary students helping them work through their homework. Because we have limited volunteers, we have only been able to offer help on Tuesdays and Thursdays. During October and November, our friend Carolyn Preston volunteered her time to teach English every Monday and Wednesday. She has since returned to the US, so our plan starting in January is to have homework help from Monday through Thursday. Additionally, we have had a few activities for women, teaching them crafts they can use for home business initiatives. We have started to think and pray about the possibility of moving to this neighborhood in future years so that we can spend more time investing in the people of the community.

That's the last few months in a nutshell. We appreciate the love, kindness, prayers, encouragement and support from so many. This year has been a bit difficult financially, although God has graciously allowed us to end each month in the black. We have gained a few supporting families, but lost more. We trust God will add others to our team of regular donors who will invest in our lives as we invest in the kingdom here.

A new podcast

Here´s a podcast that summarizes the last few months...


Click here to download it

All feedback is welcome, including comments about what you´d like to hear in future updates.

Wrapping up Hewitt days (Matthew)

As of this coming Thursday, our wings of faith will be tested. Matthew will end his work at Hewitt after nearly 9 years. Lina will continue working there three days a week and we will begin to take on a small salary from International Teams, based on what is already coming in. We are entering what we hope and pray will be the last push to discover 40% of our ongoing monthly support. Our aim is to have all of the pledges by October so we can begin our travels early November. From Tuesday August 26, this is a mere 10 WEEKS!!

While in Tenancingo, the leadership team there helped outline a two-year plan for us. We liked the fact that we're being viewed as missionaries-in-training as this will allow a certain level of "weight" off our shoulders as we hope to be seen as folks who are gradually getting into the work being done there and in no way possessing any sort of mastery on the job. There will be a lot of reading, writing and practical ministry opportunities for both of us and we look forward to this aspect there. Stay tuned!

Many people have heard our story, our vision, our desire to bring the saving grace of Jesus to the lives of many in Tenancingo. Now, we are praying that decisions will be made by individuals, couples and families to get behind us and commit to a regular ongoing financial and prayer support. We need 25 more solid commitments. There have been some encouraging propositions which we will be addressing in September. Two involve churches, and in three occasions we will gather with multiple families and couples who might be inclined to join our team. Please keep us in prayer for this. Will you, reader, be willing to pray about your part?

...but can we stay?

The latest big piece of news is that: We can go! After the books closed at the end of March, we counted up the numbers and the donations International Teams has received on our behalf have now exceeded our budgeted "departure expenses." These are the costs associated with travel, purchasing new furniture and appliances, vehicle expenses, and initial setup. In January we had about 68% and in three months have surpassed the 100% mark!


After you've settled down from your excitement, you may be asking when exactly we are leaving. Getting there doesn't automatically mean staying there and we need to have pledges indicating that enough donors will "keep us there." On that count, we are still at 44% of our monthly budget pledged. We have a number of folks thinking about it, some have confirmed they will join our monthly financial support team, a church or two are considering it and a lot of people are praying that God would provide what is still needed.

We'd love to transition down during the summer as this allows good closure from here (our lease ends at the end of August) and good transfer there (schoolyear begins late August/early September). Additionally, we are planning a trip to Tenancingo around the end of July and early August with our church. We are praying about having Matthew stop working around the beginning of July in order to focus more fully on the "support discovery" of the last amounts needed.

Warmer weather, new opportunities

For eighteen days this month, we have been adding significant mileage to our van. Our trip to South Carolina and Georgia has been a blessing to us as we have been able to spend time with both family, which we had not seen for almost a year, and friends, some of whom we had not seen for much longer. We have counted nine different beds where we have slept. The kids have been so flexible and excited about the next day's adventures. We are so thankful for their adaptability when out of their regular context. On a number of nights we have still been able to read a Bible story. In the picture, Samuel is reading an Old Testament story out loud while Rebeca tunes in.

The main purpose of our journey to the south has been to share about our vision for ministry in Mexico so people can better understand what we will be doing and how they can support with both prayer and finances. We have also initiated some form of contact with three different churches where our friends/family attend. As we continue sharing about Tenancingo, our hearts continue to be encouraged as others get excited about this opportunity God has opened up for us.

Chasing lions with fire in our bones

This weekend we have heard two messages which have had an impact and are sure to spur further thought and motivation to action in the weeks and months ahead.

First, on Saturday our pastor shared about "chasing our lions" based on a brief verse found in the second book of Samuel, chapter 23. One of King David's strong men chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed it. Our pastor was encouraging us to go on the offensive, to remember how we are on the side of victory and strength and that we need to stop being so defensive and "playing it safe" in our lives. Click here to hear the full sermon. Both Lina and I felt something resonate in our souls as he shared and we seek to go out and bring the love of God in Jesus to many who need to know.

Then, Sunday we also were able to hear Chris Gouzoules speak a message on Jeremiah 20 where he talks about fire in his bones. He did not despair, even though he had been thrown in the filthy pit. First he questions why God has allowed such things to happen to him. However, he goes on to say in verse 9, "But if I say, 'I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,' his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot."

We sense a flame in our hearts and a boldness to go fight the "lions" that are keeping people in Mexico from seeing and experience the strenthening, healing and loving presence of God in their lives. Would you pray with us as we continue to fan that flame and get ready to fight?

A bold initiative and a move

Summer may be full of R&R for some, but we're gearing up for a busy next two months as we have set a goal of meeting with three individuals/couples/families per week between now and Labor Day. We are doing this with the direct purpose of sharing our vision, passion and needs related to life and work in Tenancingo. Our intent is to be very direct in asking folks to consider financially supporting our ministry and that can be a delicate task. We need prayer for focus, joy, boldness, wisdom and good balance with work and family life.

Our lease is up @ the end of August and our landlord will not go month-to-month. He would require us to commit at least until April 2008 if we renewed our lease. So we are looking at alternatives. Our most obvious and likely one would be to move in with Lina's brother Isaac who has graciously opened their home for us to live with them; this may be through the end of the year depending on how the rest of our support discovery goes.

So how was Mexico? (2/22 thru 3/4)

• overnight travel by plane,

• quick breakfast with family in Mexico City,
• borrowed Malibu from brother-in-law,
• off to Tenancingo with a tad of car trouble (2+ hour trip turned to 4+hours).
• met people we will be working with...

• a pastor and wife,

• youth leader, wife & kids,

• a US missionary family...
• got to drive around town,

• some quick souvenir shopping
• learn of areas where we might live...
• we discussed the way of life there. the struggles, needs of the people
• what keeps them going...
• got a glimpse of the flower industry...

Tenancingo and the valley surrounding it is full of greenhouses. This is the largest flower-producing area of the country. The weather is mild all year long. It only reaches freezing temperatures on or two nights a year. Average annual temp is 64 degrees farenheit. Someone who works in this industry took us to the greenhouses and we saw rows and rows of flowers of different colors. It was amazing to see all this beauty.

We spent Feb 22 - 27 in Tenancingo, primarily to visit where we believe God has called us to minister. The trip was eye opening in terms of the intense and deep spiritual and emotional needs of so many people. We were humbled by our own limitations, but know God has a place for us there. He is the only hope to satisfy, heal, comfort and fill with complete joy and love the lives of so many who need Him.

View of Tenancingo from a hill above the city

Mini vacation

We did get to visit Ixtapan de la Sal, a tourist town half an hour away. Main attraction is hot subterranean water springs. There are a few water facilities with indoor warm water and then cooler pools with slides. If interested, we can recommend a hotel there.

Mexico City
After that we were able to spend a few days with Lina's family in Mexico city. We had much catching up to do as we plan this exciting new step of being closer to Lina's side of the family. We were also able to reconnect with a few of her friends.

Let us know if you'd like a more detailed account.

Here are additional pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/mateoreed/TenancingoTrip

... Tenancingo

View from the hill overlooking Tenancingo.

Tenancingo means "place of little walls“ in Náhuatl (Aztec language) Located two hours southwest of Mexico City at an elevation of 6693 ft. Population is approximately 80,000.

Largest municipality of its area, surrounded by smaller towns that bring products to market (Thurs & Sun). Given its mild climate year round, with an average annual temperature of 64.7 degrees, this is Mexico’s top flower-producing area, which is why the city and surrounding valley are full of greenhouses. Also known for wooden furniture & rebozos (shawls)

In the center of the town stand the traditional bandstand, parish church and city hall. Streets mostly paved, but not in the best condition. Due to market twice a week, town struggles with
being clean Approximately 2000 taxis including ones from nearby towns. No local buses; taxis stop for more passengers.