A BIG SURPRISE

The calendar says it's December 16, 2009, but for me, Christmas has come and gone--and what a great Christmas it was! I had been pretty sad about being in Mexico over the holidays without the twins. We tried to get them to us, but with school and dates so close to Christmas, the cost was prohibitive. One morning I woke up to see Bernard sitting at the computer. I meandered over to see what he was "researching". He quietly said, "Do you want to go see your kids in Canada?" I objected, stating that we had responsibilities, not to mention the cost. He continued staring at the screen and asked again, "Do you want to see your kids before Christmas?"-- What a ridiculous question; of course I wanted to see Kresten and Ashley. He smiled and said, "There's a great seat sale. Do you want to go in two days or in nine days?" I was stunned. Was this really happening? Could we REALLY travel to Canada to see our children and other family members? My emotions were mixed as I thought of my deep desire, yet my responsibilities that God has given my hands to do here in Mexico. We checked the calendar and realized that the week of Dec 8-15 would be a perfect week to go. I could hardly believe our spontaneity--not a character trait of either of us.
We didn't tell Logan of our plans because we knew he would be too excited to get much done in the next nine days. The week slowly dragged by, but the 8th finally arrived. I got Logan up to get his school work done early. Then as his last "assignment" I had him put a paper puzzle together that read: Get your backpack packed. We're going to Canada today. He was quite proud of how quickly he put the puzzle together. Then he stood up to go on to something else. --"Hey, did you read the puzzle?"
--"Sure. What a silly sentence!"
Bern and I laughed. Then we spent the next five minutes trying to convince Logan that it was true; we really were going to Canada. We showed him the packed suitcases. We told him the plan, but it only resulted in fits of tears. This was hardly the reaction for which we had hoped!!
--"Why don't you want to go to Canada?"
--"I don't want to spend 50 hours in the truck!"
Well, I couldn't agree more, so we told him about our plan to fly. Only then did he somewhat reluctantly pack his backpack. Bernard and I were hoping we would get a bit better reaction from the other two when we showed up on G'pa's doorstep.
The night of the 8th found us in the lovely home of Shirley and David Lidbury in Calgary. They were gracious to host us overnight and get us to our departing plane by 7am the next morning. Our anticipation was growing. We would see our family in less than two hours!!!
Richard, Bern's brother, was the only one who knew of our plans. He picked us up at the airport, but not wanting to cast suspicion, he had not rummaged through Grandpa's closet for our coats. Have you ANY idea what -30 C temperatures feel like when your clothes consist of blue jeans, t-shirt, and a bunny hug??!!
We arrived at Grandpa's, walked through the door, and watched Grandpa and Uncle Dave try to process what they saw. It was then that Kresten came around the corner brushing his teeth. He stopped dead in his tracks and said, "What are you guys doing here!" Hmmmmm, two out three reactions were not quite what we had expected. But soon, hugs and explanations were being offered. Logan was so happy to see his big brother. Dad graciously conceded to having us as his guests for a week!! (haha---What other choice did he have??) He was so happy to have us home.
Anxious for the third reaction, we had planned to have Ashley drop by G'pa's after school to "call us in Mexico." Right on time, she drove up to the house at 4:00. As she opened the entry door, there we were, the three of us singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Her reaction was worth the whole trip--She stared at us with eyes as big a saucers, trying to believe what she saw, but realizing it couldn't be!! It took quite a while for her to process the fact that we were there. I now fully understand the meaning of "complete shock". She was paralyzed trying to understand what she saw. Then the tears flowed freely. What a great surprise!!!
We had a wonderful week together. We made the conscience decision to stay at home, spending all of our time with family. Two of the many highlights were the extended family gathering for games, snacks, and some "pick'n n grin'n" and our sharing Christmas as a family around G'pa's tiny tree.
Never has a week flown by so quickly. We got in lots of lov'n and liv'n during that one week. I was reminded again how precious is the gift that God has given us that we call "FAMILY". We are blessed by G'pa's life and wisdom. We marvel over the growth and maturing of our kids, as well as their cousins and chosen mates. We remember the many blessings God has bestowed upon us--the gift of being HIS family, and the privilege of sharing in fleshly family. I pray that you have as wonderful a Christmas as we have had. Yes, the calendar tells me it's Dec 16 today, but my Christmas has come and gone--And what a memorable Christmas it was!!! Happy 2010 to you all as you share this holiday season with family and friends.

Perspectives of Life (and Death)

God has given us some wonderful opportunities to be LIGHT and SALT here in our little corner of Mexico. Bernard and I should count how many times a week we look at each other, give a chuckle and say, "What is God doing?" One of our LST participants, Javier, pops by our house quite often. He is an "ideas" man. One of his recent ideas was to have us go to his high school and spend 40 minutes with an English class. We had a great time interacting with the 35 students with varied ranges in their English abilities. Logan, of course, was the main attraction, especially among the girls!! We chatted briefly with the teacher, then we were on our way. Later that day Bernard and Logan were on their daily bike ride when they turned down a random street. Who did they see arriving at her house? You guessed it, the English teacher from that morning's experience! What are the chances that they would pick a random street and a random hour and "bump" into a new acquaintance?? Indeed, God, what are you doing?

A highlight for us continues to be our reading sessions with the LST participants. I meet with Karina each Tuesday. She is a lovely 20 year old who finds such excitement in learning about Jesus. Every time she leaves, she expresses how much she enjoys our sessions. It is SOOO fun getting to lead an hour's worth of conversation centered around Jesus!!! Elia and David are also a joy for the two of us. Bernard continues his studies in English. Elia and I are studying the seed-line of Jesus in Spanish. Bernard also continues lessons with Gustavo and Javier. All of these LST participants, except for Karina, join us for our Sunday Celebrations each week. I look forward to the day Karina joins us, too.

One of the themes in which we try to present to those with whom we are studying is the idea of "perspective determines response". The way we perceive, envision, or "know" God determines how we will respond to Him. I believe that God has been further teaching me concerning this theme of perspectives. Living in a different culture, we are challenged to be mindful of how our actions may be perceived by those around us. Even closer to home, we constantly have to check the "reality" of how we are perceiving others in a culture that is not our own. It's easy to get upset when a car slowly merges into your lane, butting you out, until you come to your senses and remember that here in Mexico, there are no lanes; wherever you are is your lane, and wherever someone else is, is also your lane. See? It's easy! No need to waste energy in getting frustrated!
Sometimes we have ethnocentric perspectives. That's to say, we begin to think that our "Canadian or American" way is far superior. But then we watch the masterful skills that are put into erecting a two-storey concrete house. It truly is a work of art. How did they EVER come up with those creative ways of building? Or we encounter the ingenuity of solving the problem of how to fit three truck-loads of aluminum cans into one truck. The problem is quickly solved by dumping all the cans in the street and using the truck to repeatedly run over the cans-forward/reverse, forward/reverse. In short order the cans are reduced to a fourth of what they were! The driver even had plenty of room to scrounge up a few more cans!

God again reminded me this week of how my wrong perspectives lead to unjust reactions. Our dear brother, Eliseo, for whom several of you sent funds to help with his prostate operation, lost his battle with Cancer on Tuesday. His operation was successful, to the point that he rallied enough to be baptized back in the summer. Some time later, however, other complications set in, and he withered to skin and bones. We were honoured to be present for the celebration of his life. The crowd was small, but it was a beautiful experience of sharing the qualities of this fine husband, father, and grandfather. Afterward we convoyed to the graveyard where the family said last good-byes. While Ivan was saying a few words, we were constantly interrupted by the background noise of the shoveling and mixing of cement from a cemetery worker. The loud and constant sound was so intrusive that many of us kept looking back in hopes that the worker would cease his work out of respect for Eliseo and his family. But no, the shoveling continued. Finally, upon Ivan's concluding words the irritating noise also came to an end. My thought was, "Yeah, wouldn't you know the worker would stop just about the time Ivan concluded his thoughts." It was then that the worker parted through the crowd carrying a heavy pail of wet concrete. He placed four concrete slabs over Eliseo's grave, then pail, by pail carried wet concrete to pour over the grave. I was humbled. The worker's face poured with sweat as he laboured tirelessly to give honour and a last dignity to Eliseo and his family. And what honour did I give him? I barely listened to Ivan's words out of my annoyance over the mixing of the concrete-the very concrete that would seal Eliseo's final resting place. Sigh...

With the holidays approaching, I've been a bit on the melancholy side. I've missed my dear sweet mother, my sister and her family, and the only remaining uncle, Dorsey and Betty, in Alabama as the Arnolds gathered for the yearly family reunion-Thanksgiving always reminds me of my family and my growing-up years. The upcoming holidays without Kresten and Ashley seem less than exciting. I would much rather be putting up the Christmas tree knowing that all five of us would be opening presents together on Christmas morning. However, my perception of these holidays determines my response. I know there will be other holidays when we will share in the festivities together--just not this year. On that thought, I'll sign off until the next blog. My little boy is anxiously waiting to dust off the stored Christmas tree. We have a house to decorate; the holidays are coming!

New-Birth Day

Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to Alicia. Happy Birthday to me. November 2, 1982. It was very late at night my last year of University. I had been studying God's Word with one of my best friends, Carol, and the campus minister, Larry Cline, at Troy State University. I grew up "going to church", but some of the things I studied challenged my thinking. I finally began to understand the great sacrifice Jesus had made for me. I realized my great need for His blood to wash away my sins. I longed to be a new creation in Christ. I died to myself into Christ's death, coming under the authority of Jesus 27 years ago!!! I've taken some time this past week to reflect on the many ways God has used others to help mold me into the person He has created me to be. I'm so very grateful to be walking in the grace of God's love. Without that life-changing decision in the late hours of that Nov. 2 night, I would have lived out a very different life. It's a privilege and honour to represent the One who has made all the difference in my life. It's been a great 27 years.

Our family had an adventurous week-end. Saturday was packed with activities and people. We began the day by visiting my friend's aunt and uncle. Socorro has been asking me for weeks to drive out to Guacamayas to "chat" with her Auntie Socorrita. Getting there was like going out into the bush of Africa (Okay, it wasn't that rough, but close.) It was an extremely poor area, and we were the novelty item of the day. Logan became quite uncomfortable that "everybody" stopped and stared at the "guerros" (white folks). We finally arrived at the tios' home, which was little more than a wooden shack. A little old lady was sitting out in her big plastic chair that seemed to dwarf her little body even more. She broke out in a huge smile to see Socorro, then the tears followed. She explained that her "viejito" (old man) had left her and she had been sitting there all day. She didn't know where he was. As it turned out "Tio" (Uncle) returned about an hour later from the ferreteria (tool shop) where he had bought a pump (through small weekly payments) to supply water to his cactus plants. The moment he arrived home, Tia Socorrita settled. Socorro introduced us by telling her uncle that we were teachers of the Bible, and that we could answer any questions he had about God. (After picking my jaw up off the floor, we explained that we were simply on a journey, and that if he would like to join us, we could investigate God's Word together.) He was thrilled. He popped one question after another as we tried to give the Reader's Digest answers. After an intense and quite enjoyable time of discussion, he leaned back in his chair and declared, "No one has ever been able to answer all these questions I've had. I've asked many people who have come knocking on my door. They don't know the answers, and they never come back." We expressed our concern in just "knowing facts", and explored the need to know God and His desire for our lives. We left him a Bible, which clearly marked the passages that answered some of his questions, and we settled on a date when we would return again to spend the afternoon together (as well as bring him a pair of reading glasses). What impressed me the most about this gentleman was his passion to live for God. There he sat in front of his wooden shack, his wife robed in a dirty plain dress, his home supplied with the most basic of necessities--and guess what he spoke about--his desire to do good for the poor!!! What a humbling experience. This humble man who works every day in his cactus garden to earn a few pesos for his little wife and himself taught me a lesson in having compassion for the poor. He knows he's poor, but he realizes there are many who have even less than he. We can't wait to be with him again and glean from his many years of wisdom. Our lives will no doubt be blessed!!

Sunday's Celebration brought 108 people together in worship to our God. It was a great morning of song, prayer, testimony and praise. Afterward, we loaded into various cars and trucks and headed out to Miramar where Tammy and Malcolm hosted between 70 and 80 folks in their home. It was a grand time of fellowship and getting to know one another on a deeper level. As we have the privilege to walk shoulder to shoulder with our brothers, sisters and friends of La Comunidad de Cristo, I can't help but wonder if much of what we do would have been similar to many things that the first century church did that we read about in the book of Acts. What a great family of believers!!

Hope you had a great week-end, too! Until next blog,
Alicia, for the Krogsgaards

A Week Full of Surprises!

Do you know what I love most about working in our Master's Kingdom? We never know what things God will bring our way. I think of Jesus and his resolute decision to get to Jerusalem; yet, along the way he met up with many opportunities to bless others' lives. Bernard and I have our general schedule of what our activities will be for the week, but we just never know what other opportunities God will orchestrate to tie into those events. Our first adventure came on Monday evening when our Let's Start Talking reader, David, and his girlfriend, Elia, scheduled their session. David had mentioned bringing over a few friends with whom he had been taking an entrepreneur class. Thinking I would make them a treat, I began to make a lemon pie. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect SEVEN people to show up at my front door FORTY-FIVE minutes early. I had flour over me, Bern was out for the next thirty minutes, and I had not one sip of cool drink to offer. After finding places for all our guests to sit, I scurried Logan off to the corner store to buy cold refrescos. As it turned out, it was a wonderful evening. Four of the guests were from nearby aboriginal coastal towns, and one guest was a tourism promoter for the state of Michoacan. The little group of seven has been cooperating together to bring about an ecologically based tourism business to their land on the virgin Michoacan Pacific coast. They are wanting to offer their land for tourism to the Canadian public. They are hoping we can help them promote their beautiful vacation spots by finding a person in Canada to get the word out about the Michoacan coast. We had a lovely conversation, but the most impressive moment was when we asked if we could pray for God's blessings on their endeavors. After our prayer, David ran out to his truck, grabbed his Bible, and asked if he could read a passage from Job. He reverently opened his Bible and stood to read. The others immediately stood to hear the Word of God. It was a holy moment as David read Job 22:19-30 ...Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you...If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored...You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows...After our guests said their last good-byes, Bernard and I turned to each other and said, "What is God doing in all this???"

Our next surprise came on Wednesday when we got to enjoy the presence of our new Mexican team member, Ivan Ponce de Leon. He, Stephanie and five month old Ethan arrived earlier in the week from Texas. We look forward to seeing how God will use this wonderful couple in La Comunidad de Cristo! I also got to share a classic Canadian food- G'pa's Johnny Cake with genuine Saskatoon Berry syrup (Thanks, Sharon, for providing that from the Berry Barn.) It was a big hit for our Texan and New Zealand team mates. Logan remembered how much he loved it, too.

Thursday turned out to be a big day with my Thursday Bible study. God stirred the participants into deep prayer as we brought the names of several struggling Christians before the throne. God's presence was tangible as we begged His mercies upon our loved ones. Comments were tossed around that we need more prayer in our celebration times on Sundays. God formed an idea in my mind. (More on that later.) Then we were off to a big birthday party for one of our family's five year old, Ximena. The mom was frazzled as she prepared for her 50 plus guests. She didn't know how she would ever entertain the children and serve everyone. Alas, Bernard and Alicia to the rescue. Our years of LST parties gave way to a million party games. The kids had a great time and the parents enjoyed watching the crazy Canadian games their children were playing. The birthday mom was the most grateful as she didn't have to entertain all those kids!! Afterward I rushed home to get chairs set up for our make-shift Bible study since the birthday party was still going strong at the building where we usually host the study. Again, God orchestrated great things as we studied and visited until 11 pm.

Friday brought another set of great circumstances and conversations as five women gathered at Blanca's house to enjoy a morning of food and fellowship. We covered a host of topics from the celebration of Halloween to testimonies of how broken marriages have been healed through tough love. During our conversation one of the women, Julia, who has been worshiping with us for many months expressed her concern that she didn't sense a full joy that she has seen in some of us women. After much probing and questioning, it finally came out that she has been living with a married man for 21 years, with the hope they he would leave his wife and marry her. After much admonition, advice and godly counsel, we took her burden to God. It was a powerful time of prayer for our dear friend who is suffering from wanting to follow Jesus, but burdened by the love of a man who can never be hers- the father of her three children. We saw, first-hand, the power of confession. She's faced with a very difficult decision as she contemplates her "first love".

Now it's Sunday and the surprises continue. With Blanca's admonition that we needed to pray as a church for some of the baby Christians who are struggling with sin, as well as those who have not yet named Jesus as their Christ and Saviour, Bernard and I planned a time of congregational prayer. It was an amazing experience. I think if we had made the time, every person in the congregation would have come forward for prayer today. Rather than feeling shame for their weaknesses, many poured out their hearts as they struggle in their journey to walk with Jesus. Afterward our praise and worship was filled with a renewed joy and determination to live a life worthy of our calling. It was a great day.

And the surprises continue even as I bring this blog post to a close. Our family escaped the trick- or- treaters Saturday night by spending the afternoon and evening at Miramar. We arrived home about 11 pm, glad to see no evidence of eggs having been thrown at our door. However, around 9:00 tonight (Sunday) we were greeted with the familiar songs of the trick-or-treaters at our door. No one told us that Halloween candy beggars peruse the streets THREE nights!!! We had little candy, few coins, and even less desire to explain our oversight, only to receive an egg or two thrown at our wall. (These little goblins are so very persistent.) So we turned out the lights and headed for our team mates' house. We visited for a few hours until we thought the begging ghosts had all retired for the night. Our first order of business for tomorrow is to head for the store and buy a BIG bag of candy for our little beggars tomorrow night. Next year we'll be ready!!!!

Hope you have a week full of surprises from God, too. Until next week,
Alicia for the Krosgsgaards

Back to "Normal" Life

The Krogsgaards had a wonderful week visiting with long-time friends, Chadd and Nancy Schroeder and their three girls in Guadalajara. Our lives have passed like two ships in the night since I first met Nancy in the Adventures in Missions Program in 1985/86. We both had plans to work with Gary and Danita Jackson in, what was then, Yugoslavia. My plans changed as Bern and I married and went to Mexico City, and Nancy decided to do her AIM work in New York. She met and married Chadd, then they took up residence in Mexico City just about the time we left Mexico to return to Canada in 1992. They have now been working in Mexico almost 20 years. After many years of being so far away from each other, we find ourselves only 6 hours from Guadalajara; however, Chadd and Nancy have made the decision to return to Texas this summer. As I said, two ships passing in the night!!! One of our highlights of the week was getting to know their girls. Natalie and Morgan are sweet 16, and their precious adopted daughter, Ceci, is 8. She and Logan had a grand time together. Nancy, her team mate, Toni, and I flew to Cancun for a four-day Mexico missionary retreat. We were treated like royalty by an organization called Women of the Harvest. They loved on and pampered all 50 of us missionaries. It was wonderful to meet many other missionaries who are working throughout Mexico with various denominations and churches . It was an honour to be a part of the retreat!! Each participant was there because of individual and congregational donations throughout the United States and Canada--Amazing!!!!
Now we are back home and ready to start another week here in Lazaro. Missing our church family last Sunday, we were "eager beavers" this morning, arriving an hour early for our Celebration Time. No one told us it was the day to set back our clocks!! (oops) Guess it's better than arriving an hour late, as we did once in Dauphin, Manitoba!! I like the good old consistent Saskatchewan time where we never have to worry about changing our clocks.
Our week is full with continuing to read with some of Wade and Richelle's Let's Start Talking readers, visiting a few of our family members who are struggling or just need a bit of encouragement, and our regular Bible Studies. We thank you for remembering us in your prayers. Thanks for reading. Until next blog,
Alicia for the Krogsgaards

Thanks, Wade and Richelle

How quickly time flew with our first Let's Start Talking team, Wade and Richelle Grocott from Saskatchewan, Canada (Regina/Moose Jaw). They served the people of Lazaro Cardenas well, as they conducted three weeks of English conversation classes with Mexicans who have varying levels of English skills. Their schedules were full, and as always, God sent such wonderful people. They read excerpts from the book of Luke with six readers in the morning, then came home for lunch, and returned again for their other eight to ten readers. Because they read with most of their readers every day, they were able to accomplish in three weeks what many teams usually accomplish in six!!! They became good friends with quite a few of their readers. As always, it was hard to leave some of their new friends. It's amazing how close you get to some readers in just a few weeks. Yet, it's not surprising, because from the very beginning of your friendship, Jesus is the focus of the conversations. Rather than lingering over surface conversation, the LST program provides an atmosphere that allows transparency and deep-seeded conversation.

Richelle with
Camela








Richelle
with
Lety











Wade with
Gustavo




One of the bridge-building aspects of Let's Start Talking is the parties. Their purpose is to allow the readers and the church family to meet and build relationships. The three parties were a big hit, and served their purpose. We had good participation from the church; everyone had fun playing silly games together.


Richelle greets,
reader, Aldolfo.








Readers,
Lety and
Nely get
better
acquainted
with an
ice-breaker





Reader, David translates
for those who don't
speak English







Happy
Birthday
to Jr.
at the
Canada
party.






Readers act
out one of the
stories from
Luke.






Wade
explains
the "Wink"
game
ONE
MORE
time!



Now that Wade and Richelle have done in three weeks, what would have taken us three months, it's our turn to take over the studies with their readers. Bernard stays busy with continuing one-on-one sessions with several of the men readers. Most have continued their studies in English, while one is more interested in hearing about Jesus in his heart language, Spanish. Please pray for David, Gustavo, Javier, Miguel, and Jr. Others are continuing to meet with us during our Sunday Celebrations. Several joined us two Sundays ago when the church flocked to a nearby beach for fun and fellowship. Our plan is to continue group conversations with the use of a weekly conversation club. We want to keep contact with our new friends so that we may give them what they desire, English practice, while exposing them to what they need, Jesus!!!
Wade and Richelle have paved a path for future LST teams. Let's Start Talking is a wonderful tool for the missionary. Many thanks to Andrea Muirhead, director of LST Canada for all she did in getting the Grocotts to Mexico. We're thankful for all of Wade and Richelle's supporters who made it possible for them to be in Mexico. Most of all, we thank God for orchestrating all things for the success of the project, and the Grocotts for blessing the lives of so many. Our prayer is that many of these seeds that have been planted in readers' hearts will germinate and grow into a full-grown faith!!!
Until next blog,
Alicia for the Krogsgaards

Some great news

I've forgotten the number of times one has to perform a task before it becomes a habit. Nor do I remember how long it takes to "get out" of a habit. However, I do know that I went almost two months without blogging, and now, after getting back to normal, everyday life, I have written one blog, with the intention of again writing each week. Alas, one week was not enough to get me back into the habit. The next week, I had completely forgotten to set aside time to blog, and worse, did not realize it until mid-week. However, I have had some news that I have wanted to share with you for some weeks, now.
Several months ago, I sent out an "urgent need" e-mail explaining two medical situations that were happening with two of our families at Comunidad de Cristo. Little Alex was suffering from, what was tested to be TB and Eliseo was in need of surgery due to Prostate Cancer. Many of you promptly replied with monetary gifts. Since then, Alex has undergone treatment and is doing very well. Eliseo's surgery was a success, although he continues to battle with painful bones and joints. While we were in Canada, we received the good news that Eliseo and his daughter, Lulu, had decided to come under the authority of Jesus in baptism. This family was one of the first families that Malcolm and Tammy met when they first moved to Lazaro Cardenas almost five years ago. They have been a part of many Bible Studies and groups. However, when this family saw love in action and the sacrifice of Canadians to help people they didn't even know in another country, it made a huge impact on them. This family is forever grateful for the help that fellow Christians gave them. Knowing that Eliseo has been given a "new life" when he was sent home to die, has helped the family understand Christ's love. Thank you to all those who helped financially, and with prayers. We never know how God will use the circumstances in our lives to bring about good for our souls. I've included photos of the baptisms as testimony of God's goodness, especially in times of trial.
Until next week,
Bernard, Alicia and Logan

Eliseo



Daughter,
Lulu






Rejoicing together

Home Sweet Home

The summer was a whirlwind for us, but we are safely back home in Mexico after two months of traveling in the US and Canada. It was wonderful to spend time with family and friends. We have so many people to thank who helped us along the way. We've been reading the book of Acts in our family devotionals; I find that I identify with Paul as so many people helped him along his journeys. We have been fed (overfed), housed (very comfortably), and spoiled (rotten) all the way from the Mexican border to the rural areas of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and back!! We've sat around many tables of friends and supporters from years gone by, as well as developed new friendships along the way. Many thanks to all who had a part in our journeys this summer.

We accomplished many things during our time away from Mexico. We rented our Saskatoon house for another year. The couple is hoping to buy it. They will know more of their situation the first of the year. We again thank Ian MacLeod for managing that property for us. We were able to celebrate the twins' 20th birthday together. How can they already be adults? We were granted our manaje from the Mexican government which allowed us to transport our household goods from Canada into Mexico. G'pa's garage and basement are now empty of our boxes, beds and plastic containers!!! Bern's brothers helped us load a 17 foot U-Haul in just under three hours. Logan, Mom and Dad waved good-bye on the morning of Sept. 2, and headed for San Antonio, Texas (via Childress, Tx and Abilene, Tx). It was a highlight to visit with long-time partners in the Mexico work, Billy and Belinda Moore, then visit with Bobby and Gail Lawson from the Southern Hills Church in Abilene. Our dear friends, Angela and Bryan Gately, drove from Lazaro Cardenas up to San Antonio hauling their empty trailer. Again our liaison missionary friends, Bob and Patty Grigg came to our rescue and allowed us to use their house as our meeting station where we incorporated help from a member of their house church, Josh, to unload the contents of the U-Haul into the empty trailer. We were sure wishing we had Bern's brothers to help. It took substantially longer than three hours to make the transfer!!! Bernard had to do some fancy packing as the trailer was a bit smaller than the U-Haul. Surprisingly, the guys fit everything in!!! The next day, we two families headed toward the Mexican border. Would we have problems getting our possessions into Mexico??? We whipped out our menaje and the border patrol flagged us through. We were stopped two more times, but with one look at the menaje, the officials were satisfied and sent us on our way. We are forever grateful to Bryan and Angela for their sacrifice of time and energy to help us get our possessions to Mexico. No truer friends can be found!!!

We were overjoyed to get to Miramar and unload our possessions. We gave a quick round of hugs and "missed yous" to a few loved ones there, then set out to unload the trailer one more time. Logan was so excited to find some of his precious things that have been packed up for over a year. Having to get acclimated again to the heat, it took us most of the afternoon to unload. We cooled off in a nearby pool when we felt like we were going to melt into the cement.
It was wonderful getting to our home and sleeping in our own beds that night of Sept 10. Home, Sweet Home after miles/kilometers on the road!!

But wait, we don't have too much time to bask in the sweetness of home. We have Wade and Richelle Grocott coming from Saskatchewan to run a three week Let's Start Talking program!!! They come in tomorrow!!! We have to get their bed set up. We unpack the fans we brought on the trailer so that their upstairs room will be bearable in the heat. Bern headed for the airport in Zihuatanejo, an hour and 1/2 from Lazaro to pick up Wade and Richelle, but five hours later he arrived home WITHOUT our LST workers. A quick run to the cybercafe informed us that Wade had gotten sick in transit so they were still in Toronto--maybe tomorrow. Another run to Zihuatanejo proved more productive, and we welcomed Wade and Richelle into our home Saturday, Sept 12.
.
They had a bit of a slow project start because Richelle was sick the first two days, we had not been in Lazaro to get their readers set in place, plus we had no phone service for a week (apparently lightening damaged our line/modem while we were away). However, by Monday they were both well and reading. By Wednesday, they both had full schedules!!! By Thursday we had phone and internet service. We are so very pleased with the great readers God has brought to Wade and Richelle. It will be hard to let the Grocotts go back to Canada. They fit in so beautifully here. We feel so very blessed to have them as our first LST team. We look forward to many more LST projects as Wade and Richelle pave the path for future teams!!

I look forward to getting back to my weekly blog. Thank you for your encouragement in keeping up with what's going on in our corner of the world. We love you and thank you for your prayers that you offer to our God on our behalf. We love being back with our family here in Lazaro Cardenas.
Enjoy the photos and we'll have a shorter blog next week.



Fun with the kids
at the park and at
Chucky Cheese







Outdoor sing-song
A bit on the chilly
side!

Brothers give a hand











Ashley supervises
the loading

Bryan
and
Angela
Gately-
our
"moving"
angels!




Ready to
unload at
Miramar



Wade
and
Richelle
Grocott
lead an
LST
project

The Mexicans already love
Wade and Richelle. Rodrigo
teaches Wade to roll his
tortilla.

MIA Parents (Who knows where we'll be next)

Hello from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada!!!

We have been on the road for about three weeks, and been settled here in Regina for the last week. I've not blogged since we left Mexico, so thought I would give you a quick glimpse of our travels. We left Lazaro in a caravan with Tammy and Malcolm to visit a few pueblitos on the way to Morelia (3 1/2 hours from Lazaro). We also had the privilege of taking our teen-aged friend, Perla, to visit her Mom in the big city. It was a fun day!! We enjoyed a short evening with the Gonzalez family, then headed off early the next day for the border. We drove about 17 hours and hit the bridge just before dark. A night's rest and seven more hours of driving led us to Abilene where we spent four wonderful days with Bobby and Gail Lawson whom we have come to love and respect from the medical missions in Los Llanos. We had the joy of meeting about 30 folks from the Southern Hills congregation who had gathered at the Lawsons for a BBQ to hear about the work in Mexico. We continue to pray for God's guidance as the mission's committee meets and decides if Southern Hills will become our overseeing congregation!!! There are so many good works from which they must choose. Gail spoiled us and sent us on our way to San Antonio. Our first stop was the Toyota dealership as Bern checked out a truck. (You can ask him my opinion of owning a big, white truck--wink, wink.) Needing a more rugged vehicle, we checked out the great incentives Toyota was offering in July. Our next stop was Schlitterbahn Water Slides Park. We had a blast enjoying Logan's birthday gift together!!! This time, I'm glad to say that Logan was NOT catapulted from the water slide!! The next day led us to our faithful liaisons, Patty and Bob Grigg. They do so much for us by accepting mail and packages, as well as providing our housing, storage for our vehicle, and a ride to the airport. Thank you, dear friends and fellow workers!!! You are such a blessing to us!!

A full day of flying landed us in Regina, Saskatchewan where we were happily greeted by G'pa, Ashley, Uncle Dave, as well as friends, Candace and Andrea!! The next day Kresten arrived home from his camp counseling duties, so we were overjoyed to be with both of the twins and lots of other family for our traditional "Happy Birthday to Alicia and Uncle Dave" party. Sunday we headed to Kenosee Lake to share our work with the Moose Mountain congregation. We left Logan to enjoy a week of camp at Clearview Bible Camp. Reports were that he had a great time. (Not sure how the counselors fared for the week.) Another five hour drive got us to Dauphin, Manitoba where we were able to share the work with Mountain View Christian Assembly and the Dauphin Church of Christ. It was a wonderful time of visiting, although way too short!!!

Five more hours of travel got us to Saskatoon where we stayed busy with doctor, dentist, and optometrist appointments. We were again spoiled-this time by Auntie Jean, who shared the fruits of her garden--strawberries, saskatoon berries, raspberries, carrots, lettuce, and much more. Our renters were not in town so we decided to head back to Regina to spend time with Bern's sister, Wendy, and Bill before they headed back to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Another trip to Saskatoon will give us opportunity to share the Mexico work with the congregation. We hope to rent out our house again since there will be little time for getting it up for sale at this point. We still have some hope that it will sell through word of mouth.

The plan is to be back in Abilene the end of August as we head south in our U-Haul truck to take our possessions into Mexico. We miss our lives in Mexico and look forward to being back the first of September. We look forward to our LST couple that will be joining us for three weeks in Sept.

Until next blog,
Bernard, Alicia and Logan

Breakfast of berries
every morning with
Auntie Jean.

Bern
and
sis,
Wendy





Spending time with
our twins.











G'pa watching
his grandkids

Poor Loggie--
He holds his
own with his
big bro and
sis!!