Busy

Hey all,

I haven't forgotten my blog, just pretty busy keeping up with things at the moment. Passion Mexico City is in 9 days and getting ready for that is keeping me very busy and a little stressed trying to get everything under control with logistics (I think I am the ideas person and need someone around me who is really good at organising events). The IT Adviser in me made a cool spreadsheet to work out the costs though... Matt O'Keefe would be proud...
Got a cool God story to share about the weekend, but will have to wait for the moment. Been a bit sick in the stomach over the weekend and until Monday but feeling better now.

Will keep in touch!

¡Viva Mexico!

These were the words that resounded in our ears as we celebrated the shout that started the Mexican revolution that subsequently led to Mexico's independence in 1810 which we celebrate on September 15 (the shout) and 16 (Independence Day).  Last night at approximately 12am, we had our "grito" and shouted Viva Mexico!  Viva!... and so on with the names of the Heros of Independence... and finally Viva Jesucristo... VIVA!

Jean Paul gritando Viva Mexico

Plaza de Armas all decked out for the party

Here's where it all started!

I celebrated the occasion with some close friends and we had a night of Mexican celebrations which I think helped me become even more Mexican... check out the photo...

We ate pozole and enchiladas which are both VERY Mexican and danced some very Mexican dances.  It was cool to see my friends dressed up in traditional Mexican dress from different parts of the republic - Jalisco etc...

The dancers

Traditional Mexican dress with Ruthie, Lucio, Sandy and Romi... (ok, the moustache isn't part of it... that was mine!)

So next year, look out - the celebration of Mexican Independence Day is coming to you - get into it!!!  

¡Una boda! The wedding of Jessica and Jean Paul

On the 9th of August, one of our team members got married! Jessica tied the knot with Jean Paul in a fun and meaningful ceremony at Horizonte. I played drums in the wedding (I think that's at least three weddings now "the wedding drummer") and also helped out with the serving at the party. Congratulations JP and Jessi!!

From Boda de Jessi y JP

From Boda de Jessi y JP

From Boda de Jessi y JP

God’s Way Camp

Cruising down the highway for Cuernavarca, I didn't have any idea of how fantastic the weekend would be. After a quick stop-off in the city of Cuernavarca for the comida, and following some of the organisers down the wrong road (they were collecting the signs they had put on the road giving incorrect directions to the camp hehe), we arrived at Camp Kikoten.

Camp Kikoten is just out of Cuernavarca which is about 45 minutes or a bit more south of Mexico City. The theme of the camp was 1 Timothy 4:12 - Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

One of the most impacting times for me was in the Friday night session when we had a time of worship and we sang (in Spanish) the song "Lord I Give You My Heart". This song was the song I chose for my baptism just about 10 years ago. It connected with me in a new way as I remembered how God has brought me through so many things to arrive here and that he has much more in store for my life. I can't believe that I'm here in Mexico, serving Him, being used to impact the lives of others. God is growing me lots and in that moment I remembered once again that I have to leave everything in God's hands, let go of my own pride and let God work. After I spent a little time reflecting and writing some things down that I wanted to say to God, I felt so much joy and freedom! I wanted to shout out how good God is! It was something really cool for me and another step in my journey with God.

The rest of the weekend was awesome also – a great balance of fun activities and great bible teaching. My favourite was a talk on love and purity by Jaime Foote (www.semillacuerna.com) which was very relevant and impacting for us blokes.

Check out some of the photos!

¡Sezza en Mexico!

Last week I had the excitement of another visitor from Australia – Sezza B! Unfortunately, her flight was cancelled last Sunday, so she ended up only having three short days in Mexico! However, we did our best to pack the mexperience into those three days.

Quick note: Mexico City now has two airport terminals, T2 is actually a new terminal (absolutely amazing actually!) that is separated from the other one and you have to take an aerotrain or bus to get to the other one. That caused a bit of fun when picked Sezza up from the airport as things weren’t the same as two years ago!

Anyway, on Tuesday we ventured out into the big wide world of Mexico City for a whirlwind tour of some of the city sights. After passing by the Angel of Independence, we had breakfast at the historical Sanbornes in el centro, then on to the Palace of Bellas Artes to look at some interesting (and some kinda crazy out-there) Mexican art exhibitions.

After feeling nice and arty farty, we headed through the crowded streets to reach the Zocolo which is the main square, surrounded by historical government buildings. Zocolo is used for a range of events from big concerts to protests to showing off the new Mexico City tram that’s going to be put into service. On one side of the Zocolo is the Iglesia Principal (main church) in Mexico City. We went inside to have a look and it is HUGE! I found that there is a Saint Felipe who was the patron saint of youth which I thought was pretty cool...

After that we started looking for a market I went to two years ago, but unfortunately it’s been cleaned up, so we chatted to an information guy who ended up being a tour guide trying to sell us tours, but we ended up with a cheap ride to the arts market and later to the bus station.

Rocking our way back to Queretaro by bus, we headed out for a farewell pozole for Nolan at Job and Sandy’s house. The pozole was great and Sezza was impressed (if not a little overwhelmed) by a big Mexican cena. After dinner we jammed out some worship songs with Job and Nolan on guitars and me playing the makeshift djembe on a water cooler container (sounds really cool!).

On Wednesday we went for a lap of the Queretaro sights and sounds taking in Theatre of the Republic (where the Mexican constitution was signed), el centro including the plazas and gardens and andadors, some quick shopping, Templo de la Cruz and the convent and finally los arcos!

Wednesday night after our uni students event, we headed out for some authentic Mexican tacos at Tacos Francia and Sezza really got into those tacos de pastor. It was Nolan’s (by the way, Nolan is a mate from Atlanta who has been a missionary here for over two years) last night in Mexico so there were a stack of young people hanging out, which turned into arm wrestles on the pavement – goodtimes!

Then Thursday flew by with a late brekky, a bit of a wait to go out and some rapid shopping for souvenirs before rushing to the bus station a little stressed but all good. Sezza came and went on her whirlwind tour of Mexico!

Thankfulness

Sometimes what is apparent is just the surface...
10 days after our event on the 5th of July, we had a party to celebrate what God had done in and through the event, to give thanks to God for being so good to us and to share stories!
We resurrected the Global Grounds space at the church which turned out to be really, really cool and got a band together to help us sing to God that He's the best!
Here are some photos of the fun!

Lots of stories were shared, actually, everyone got up and shared something that God had taught them, someone they met, how they had grown or some encouragement for those around.

Ric shared how he was amazed by the way God stopped the rain the week before the event for our bonfire, then on the day of the event (when even the pastor said it would rain!) so that we could enjoy the activities outside and the beautiful sun.

One of the teenage girls shared how she had arrived at the church early by chance and really didn't want to help out, but everyone kept asking her to lend a hand. She told us how God had used this to help her see how cool it was to help out others and then how she was impacted by the presentation during the event and even though she had grown up in a Christian home, decided it was time to give her whole life to Jesus.

Another guy shared how he had come to know Jesus because one of the other teenagers had prayed for him and invited him along to the youth events just over two years ago. He is so thankful that he knows Jesus as his friend and saviour and is part of the community. Now he had the opportunity to invite his friends along to the event (and he brought lots) to introduce them to Jesus too!

Another one of the teenagers was going to go on holidays on Saturday morning and wasn't going to be able to go to the event. She said she had been praying that something would change and she would be able to go because she really wanted to be a part of it. Through a turn of events, the family's travel plans changed and she was able to go to the event and then leave for her holiday afterwards!

A lot of the young people shared that they were excited about the event, but really believed that nobody would come. One by one they shared that that had been suprised and impacted by God's faithfulness in bringing along people to the event - friends, relatives, neighbours, people that we didn't expect - and that there were lots and lots of young people.

For me, the event was impacting in a stack of ways. I was excited to see the teenagers playing music in front of their friends for the first time and singing that they believed in Jesus and give Him glory and honour. I was excited that we had several teams of grafiteros come along and express themselves with awesome artwork. I was amazed by the quality and message of the winning artwork. I was encouraged to see the Global Grounds cafe space fully decked out and operating again. I was encouraged to see the way God is putting excitement in the hearts of young people to reach their world and to live a life worth of the calling that have received. I am excited that God is allowing me to be a part of what He is doing here in Queretaro!

Amazing experiences in the north...

I’m writing this from the aeroplane heading back to Queretaro (sidenote: Volaris is highly recommended! They even have powerpoints for every seat!). It’s been an absolutely amazing five days in Ensenada and Tijuana. I personally have grown, been challenged and seen God’s hand in so many things.

The reason we went to Ensenada and Tijuana was to attend a conference for pastors and leaders of Calvary Chapel churches in Mexico. I started with the attitude that we were there to receive teaching, resources and recharge. But God by His grace had much bigger plans. When we arrived and were able to see what God is doing here, He allowed us to be a part of it! To listen, pray and share with the people we met and to serve them was so much more meaningful than just receiving. The coolest thing was that, when we served, encouraged and shared, we ourselves were massively blessed and encouraged!

The conference itself was really helpful. The time was intense and full of lots of teaching from a range of pastors. There were eight talks in total and we listened to five talks in one day on Friday! Through all this, God was speaking to me, guiding me and giving me renewed faith in His perfect plan. One of the challenges that impacted me was to have the passion and thirst in Christ for the people of Mexico that says “Give me Queretaro (for Jesus) or I will die”. Knowing forgiveness, love and hope in Jesus is the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I LONG for all of Mexico, all of Queretaro, the whole of the university of Queretaro to Jesus personally and intimately.

Another thing that impacted me during this time are these words that Jesus said to his disciples when we was on earth:

Jesus told him [Peter]: You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or
brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or land for me and for the
good news will be rewarded. In this world they will be given a hundred times as
many houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and pieces of
land, though they will also be mistreated. And in the world to come, they will
have eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30 CEV)

I really miss my family in Australia – my mum and dad, my brothers and sisters, my nieces and nephews. However, I have discovered in a new light during this time how much I have gained hundreds of brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, nieces and nephews here in Mexico. I feel so much a part of the family of God and have been encouraged and blessed with the generosity and openness of brothers and sisters here. Over the past few days I have met so many people with whom I’ve talked and prayed – sharing each others’ burdens and problems, joys and triumphs.

It has been particularly special to stay with Chris and Rosalba who opened their home and their lives to us. Our time with them has been awesome and I’ve got a stack of really cool memories. Chris is a bigtime encouragement. He pastors two churches in Tijuana and has been working here as a pastor for about 18 years. He is a massively humble guy and I appreciated the opportunity to share with him what God was doing down in Queretaro and the challenges we have been and are facing. It was exciting to hear of his heart to see people encounter Jesus here in Mexico and to raise up Mexican leaders to strengthen the church here. I also appreciated his balance of wisdom and a great sense of humour!

I’ve also had a lot of fun over the past few days. God knows that I love surfing and I was able to go for a surf at Cantamar where we were staying. Chris has a longboard that somebody gave him and he hasn’t used yet. He said GO FOR IT! So I went for it. As I was getting ready, I was so excited – the others could see that I was about to jump out of my skin. I ran down to the beach with the board and jumped into the water. It was great to get back out there even though I realised that I hadn’t been surfing for several months!!!

On Sunday night Martin, Sara and I went along to a Christian café in Tijuana called Todo Por Ti (All for you) with some of Sara’s friends. We drove through a maze of backstreets in Tijuana until we arrived at a big shed with a little door – Café Todo Por Ti: Café Cristiano. When we entered the little door we were transported into a vibrant space for young people complete with fuzball tables, air hockey, a pool table, indoor volleyball court, stage with musical instruments, indoor soccer field and lots of tables to hang out with friends. The café is open during the evening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday until late as a place that young people, particularly Christians can come to hang out with friends in a relevant atmosphere free from the pressures of bars and clubs. For me, it was a great place and mmmm, the coffee was really good too!