I'm home

Well, I'm home now, safe and sound. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. I was starting to have my place and fit in down there, I was getting a pretty good handle on the language, and now I'm gone. I was happy to come home, but I love so many people in Queretaro and I already miss them a lot. I am surprised how easy it is to go through my day and not think about my experience and all I learned there, all those special people. I think I need to process a little bit more.

Praise God that I was healthy and safe my whole time this summer- it really is amazing how He protected me
Praise God for all I learned and how He revealed Himself to me this summer
Pray that my time in Queretaro will have a lasting impact on many aspects on my life in the US.
Pray that I can maintain my relationships with my Mexican friends through the internet

thank you all so much for praying for me. You are a blessing!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

And since I don't feel like writing thousands of words, feast your eyes on these!...

Left: a gordita! Saturday I ate a gordita (not the one in the picture) that was by far the best thing I've eaten here... it was pretty close to life-changing
Below: The Paredes family (minus Ramon, the dad, who is taking the picture) and myself in Bernal

Photos from the youthgroup "garage sale" of sorts. The purpose was to provide a poor neighborhood with cheap clothes, and then use the money to prepare food for people who sell things in the street near the church

Pijamada!!!!!!! (aka slumber party) we are making jewelry. Notice how well I fit in ;) Also, notice that Ariola is having no fun whatsoever at this moment haha!

*I have just over 2 weeks left here. Pray that I can "aprovechar el tiempo" make good use of my time. I want to spend every single day with a purpose. And I don't just want to "hang out" with the girls, I want to point them toward the Savior, I want each conversation to be seasoned with the Holy Spirit. Honestly, I don't really know how to do that, so pray that God gives me wisdom!

Still kickin' it

Well it's been a while, and although I am not feeling incredibly inspired to write a blog, I figured I should let people know that I am still alive.
Sometimes I stop and wonder if I am really on a "mission's trip". Mexican hospitality is AMAZING. I get invited over to people's houses or out to eat all the time, and everywhere I go they tell me "this is your house, Laura". It has been really cool to get to know families within the church, to hear the stories of their faith and just share a piece of their lives with them. On Sunday a family from the church took me to Bernal and San Miguel de Allende, two beautiful towns about 45 minutes outside of Queretaro. Bernal has a "pena" (cool-looking rock formation) and San Miguel has a beautiful iglesia. It was a beautiful day of being a tourist, and I will upload photos later when the battery on My camera is not dead.
As far as ministry goes, here is what has been going on: Friday I had a "pijamada" (slumber party) with the high school girls. I was a little nervous about it, but I think everything went pretty well. 11 girls came. I know it seems strange that part of my work here is to have slumber parties, but have no fear, it was a strategic action. The high school girls for the most part lack a sense of unity. Some don't get along and some are new to the church. Since there are not a lot of Christians in Queretaro, the girls really need the encouragement and support of Christian friends, and this is part of what I am trying to build this summer. Also, a couple of girls invited thier non-christian friends. Hopefully it was a good introduction to the church for them. I briefly shared a few Bible verses with them, and my desire that they truly love and support each other and grow in their relationships with each other through Christ, but I was really nervous and I have no idea if I used the right words or what anybody thought, but I hope that God was using me.
Additionally, we are in the midst of planning the "campamento" (summer camp). I'll just be up front about this one, I don't like Mexican planning:) For example, today we discussed who should and shouldn't receive financial assistance to attend the camp. We have talked about this subject in the past, and today we talked about it for a good 30-45 minutes and in the end, we still didnt come to a conclusion and we're going to talk about it at the end of the week. ahh!!!! so much for efficiency!!!! I'm kind of the go-to girl for anything nobody else wants to do for the camp, making flyers, buying materials, planning games, finding devotional verses pertaining to the subject. A few of the missionaries/people who work in the church act like they are just so stressed out and don't have time to plan the camp, and even though I don't really understand why they are so stressed, I am glad I am here to help. And I am really excited because it is going to be fun!!!
I have hung out one on one with most of the high school girls and I find myself in kind of a strange position. The original "oh cool, a foreign person" phase has passed and I feel like now a few of the girls arent very interested in spending time with me. I pray that God will give me wisdom in knowing who to invite out again and how to pursue a relationship with the girls. I feel like my time is short, and I want to be able to invest in girls who want and need my support.
This post is really positive, but I don't want to be fake, I really miss my family and friends language and culture, and I am constantly telling myself not to wish the time away. Please pray that I can keep my thoughts in the present and make the most of ever day here.

hmm

I believe Queretaro is one of the nicer cities of Mexico, I haven't really witnessed a lot of extreme poverty but I did have a conversation today I want to share.

I was talking with Job, the worship leader about the show "extreme home makeover" (I show i happen to be a fan of and cry every time) and he was telling me that he finds that show so crazy, because when they start out with a family with a rundown house who can't afford to fix it. The American "poor" more or less. But Job remarked that these people usually start out with a house with 2 floors and a large yard, that's like a mansion here! He can hardly believe we consider them poor.
A few weeks ago a guest in our home and Evy were remarking that in the US, to be poor means that you don't have a car to drive to work in or you have to rent an apartment instead of own a house, but here that doesnt mean poor. Here, poor means you don't have a house nor do you have food on a daily basis.
The majority of people I have met here, I would not consider underpriviledged, they just realize what they can live without. I don't have AC and I'm still alive. We don't have a dishwasher and it takes like 2 seconds to wash the dishes by hand. They don't have a clothes dryer because they can line dry the clothes and dont need to pay for the energy to run the machine.

maybe simpler is better

Available

Well, I am in the midst of week 4 of my time here in Mexico (to be exact it is day 24 and there are 35 left, but who's counting?) and things are going really well. After completely reconstructing my mindset and the way I viewed my purpose of being here, I finally feel like God can use me here. Dejame explicar (allow me to explain):
First of all, I am not here to do "stuff," to complete tasks, to check off things on a list. For me, that is SO HARD. I am a planner, I like to be able to track my successes and failures, I want to know if I am doing a good job. But there is no one here to say "Laura, do this, this and this". There is no list. Therefore, I have come to realize that my number one priority this summer has to be my own personal relationship with God. I knew that in my head before I came, but now I know it in my heart. Here in Queretaro I don't have my family friends, house, car, culture, language, schedule, and my appearance that fits in with everyone else. I didn't realize how much I depend on these things, and now I have to depend on God to give me my identity and my peace becasue I don't have these things. I have come to realize that the one and only thing I have to offer the people of Queretaro is my heart, and when they see my heart I want them to see God. I want them to see the God of salvation, the Lord of love. Often I cannot express myself very well in words, but I trust that the Holy Spirit can still speak through me with or without words.
At first I was really frustrated that I wasn't always doing something. I felt like I had way too much free time, but now I have slightly less free time and I am learning to embrace the free time I do have. I have never taken so much time to spend with the Lord, free from the pressures of my schedule and responsibilities, and this opportunity has been an immense blessing to me.
I have been hanging out with many of the high school girls one-on-one and I am also planning group events. I see the Lord in these times in the fact that these girls like me! I honestly don't understand it. I know I sound like an idiot when I try to talk most of the time, I don't fit into the culture at all, so I don't really understand why they would want to hang out with me but they are genuinely excited to get to know me. Thank you Lord!
**Please pray for the girls because there is a lack of unity among them, and in this culture where the vast majority of people do not share their beliefs, they need each other more than they even realize.
** Also, there is at least one girl I know of who has not accepted the Lord as her Savior, but she has not come to youth group the last 2 weeks. Pray that I can connect with her and that we can have some good conversation
I want to also share a sweet story of how I have seen God working in the church. On Tuesday, a 27-year-old lady named Christina was walking past the church and she heard the worship team practicing for the Wednesday night praise service. She lives close to the church and she said she had wanted to come check it out for a while, but Tuesday she saw the gate was open and came on in. Pastor Martin saw her and started talking. She said she would come to church, but she didnt know anyone. So Martin introduced her to Jessica, Yetzi and myself. She came to the worship service last night and I sat next to her. She thought it was really cool but I don't know how comfortable she is with Christianity because when it was time to pray in groups she wanted me to pray (praying in Spanish is not exactly my strong point). But it was really cool that I had the opportunity to pray with her and for her. She said she is going to come to the young adults group tonight. Praise the Lord for working in Christina's heart and giving her the courage to walk into the church, and also praise the Lord for the love I saw poured out by everyone welcoming her.
Well this post is long enough, but the last thought of the day is this: The importance of being AVAILABLE. I think in the US we feel like we always have to fill up our schedule with stuff to do. But when we sit back, relax, and just enjoy the presence of the Lord, this is when he can fill us with is Holy Spirit. When our eyes and schedules are open to those around us, we can find such great ways to minister to others!

a few pics

Here are just a few pictures to give you an idea of my living arrangements this summer.

(Left) Me, Berta, Evy and America. I live with Evy and America and Berta is a really good friend who eats with us a lot and I went to her house to eat once too.

(below) the living room and dining room of my house, this makes up most of the main floor

My bedroom. Look mom, I make my bed every day!

A few things that I believe need to be addressed...

This blog has no purpose but there are just some things I have found interesting so I am going to share them....

Coffee: anyone who knows me knows that I am very passionate about my coffee, so of course this was one thing that I was very much looking forward to about coming to Mexico. For heaven's sake, the SSP team came back with real coffee beans and coffee fresh from the mountains of mexico and pictures of the whole coffe-making process. I was EPICly disappointed when i came to Queretaro and found that basically everyone drinks instant coffee. This suck! Even at restaurants and coffee shops you can't buy just a regular cup of brewed coffee. Boo! But clearly, I am surviving

I ate fried bananas Tuesday, topped with sour cream and sugar. It was weird. I liked it

It is governor election time here. They have interesting means of campaigning here. There are cars that drive through residential neighborhoods with big ol speakers announcing things about the candidate. One time, as I was walking for the bus there was a group of campaigners in the street at a busy intersection. When the light turned red, they would run out into the street waving flags, yelling, and asking people if they wanted stickers on their cars. The weirdest part was that they were blaring a song with these lyrics "I want to make love like na na na, I want to make love like na na na" over and over. It did not strike me as professional. Maybe they didnt know what the song said haha.

Yesterday I wanted to take bus #5 from el centro to my house. There are 2 route 5's. I took the wrong one. When I realized this, there was really nothing I could do but wait for the bus to complete it's route so I could get off on the street I got on a take a different bus. Low and behold, it took almost 2 hours. Good thing I didn't have to be anywhere...


Oh Mexico :)

The 2 week mark

I can't figure out how to place the photos in a different location, but I thought I would just give you a taste of the things I have seen so far in the beautiful city of Queretaro.

So I have kind of been avoiding blogging for a while because it's been a little rough adjusting to Queretaro. I have felt a little lonely and homesick and at times quite useless. Like I said before, my ministry here is mostly relational, which means that I don't always have a task to do, which is hard for me. I talked with the pastor's wife Saturday and she gave me a little insight that I came in kind of a hard time, and hopefully God can use me to do a "healing work" in the hearts of some people here who have been hurt. God has been teaching that my chief job here in Mexico is to love him and become a woman of righteousness and grace after his own heart.

I am starting this week with a good attitude, and not letting Satan invade my thoughts and discourage me. Yesterday church was great, we had a potluck and in the evening I went to an amazing traditional Mexican dance show with 2 of the high school girls. I feel like I am finally jumping into the relationship building, and I have a few other "hang out" times scheduled for later in the week.

please pray:

I won't be homesick

I can build awesome relationships with the high school girls and church staff

I will get along with my host family, they will enjoy having me here, and I can encourage them.

God will be glorified!

Digging In

Well it is now my fourth full day here in Queretaro and so far, it has been so good! The feeling of overwhelmed-ness has passed and I'm just enjoying being a Mexican. Yesterday was a really good day. I met with Pasotr Martin in the morning and talked about the mission and vision for discipleship and small groups here at Companerismo Cristiano Horizonte. My chief role this summer will be to disciple the girls of "prepa" (la escuela preparatoria is like middle school). So really it's going to be great, this morning I made up a schedule of different events we can do this summer like sleepovers and movie night and swimming and whatnot, and I will also be meeting with the 7 girls one-on-one. It is kind of weird planning everything, because I haven't met the girls yet! Tomorrow (saturday) night is the first meeting of "extreme" the middle school/ high school group. I am so excited! Please pray that I can build great relationships with them.
Yesterday I also met with the other leaders of Extreme, I didnt know what they were talking about a lot of the time, they were discussing last weeks meeting and things, but they are awesome people and I am really excited to work with them!
Lastly, last night I went to the young adults group. I was a little nervous to be in a big group of people, but it went really well. I made a new friend named Carmelita and I just really enjoyed singing praises to our God and talking about my faith with people my own age. (ok, i basically just listened, but oh well)
God just blessed my so much yesterday. First of all, the confidence that pastor Martin has placed in me to minister to these girls is incredible. Doubts try to creep in that I am not the one for this position, but he tells me not to worry about my Spanish, or what they think of me. Talking with him reminds me that God has brought me here for a reason and he WILL work through me if I let him.
Additionally, when I was walking to the church before my meeting I was just praying to God that He would take away my fears of speaking, that he would give me the ears to hear and understand the Spanish and that he would fill my mouth with words to speak, and he totally did, he just gave me this peace and comfort even though I am living in a completely different world!

Speaking of different world, here are just some side notes about Mexican culture that I have found interesting...
everyone greets everyone with a kiss on the cheek. Whenever someone arrives or before they leave, they go to every single person in the room and give them a kiss on the cheek. I think it's great, it makes me feel like part of the group!
Some foods that I have eaten so far:
coconut ice cream
Mole
a billion kinds of "aguas frescas". Drinks made from fresh fruit. I have had mango, papaya, strawberry and watermelon
no intestine or tongue or eyeball yet, but who knows what will happen :)

ok this is way too long, if you read it all, congratulations!

I am here!

Well, I am here. I arrived about 8:00 monday evening, cruised around the city with Jessica (one of the missionaries from the US) for a while, picked up her husband Jean Paul from school and then went to my home. Not going to lie, I am a little overwhelmed. I feel like my 6 years of studying spanish are completely worthless. But it was just the first night, so hopefully it will get better.
My house is great, I love it already. I live with Evy, who is about 40 and her mother America. They have a beautiful home. I have my own bedroom and bathroom and there is even a pretty fountain in the back of the house that she said I can sit and read by. Evy can speak English if she needs to but knows I need to practice Spanish. I think they are a little more direct than many Mexicans, for example, they just keep telling me that I have to tell them when I don't like any food because they want me to be comfortable and they want me to feel like family.
Even though I am asking myself "what the heck am I doing here" I know that God is in control. Evy and America say that I am an answer to prayer because they were praying that God would send them someone to live with them. Someone to whom they could be a blessing and someone who could bless them. Thank you Jesus that I have a house in which I can be comfortable! (despite the lack of AC)
Today I will go to Horizonte Church and meet the pastor and just be generally oriented, so I will let you know how that goes!

Why am I going?

Well I leave in about 6 days, and as my first real blog post, I think I should just share why I am going to Mexico to serve God and people this summer.
In John 10:10, Christ says, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full". I have accepted Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for my sins. Jesus is my Savior, and I have a personal relationship with him. He gives me joy, peace and purpose. I truly believe that there is life after death, life in heaven with Christ. I know that I cannot keep this salvation to myself, I want to share it with others.
In one of our SOS meetings, Tommy Moon stated that missions can be summed up in Christ's words in Luke 7:37-38, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." It begins with me and Jesus, spending time with Him, getting to know Him and just resting in His love. When we are filled with Christ's love, it will naturally flow out into other areas of life and affect other people.
I know that I could spend my whole life sharing Christ with people right here in Iowa, but God has also given me a passion for the Spanish language and Latin American culture. I love the passion of the culture, the relaxed lifestyle, and the value of family. For me, it only makes sense that I combine my love for Christ and and my love for hispanic language and culture!
I think many times, we Christians here in the US forget that we really arent the only Christians in the world. We forget that God is moving outside of our neat little model of what a good church and good Christians look like. Plain and simple, I want to see what God is doing in other parts of the world! I want to learn more about Him and the way He works! I'm not expecting to go down to Mexico and change a bunch of stuff and show everyone how they can make their lives better by being more like me. No, I'm just excited to get involved in what God is already doing in Queretaro and Horizonte church!
Lastly, one of the main reasons I chose to go to Mexico this summer, rather than some other part of the world, is because there are so many Mexicans in NW Iowa and I want to become equipped to serve them better. There are so many disparities between the American culture and the Mexican-American culture, and I think a little understanding could go a long way in reaching out to each other, and drawing people to the love of Christ. I want to learn about Mexico, the way people think and the way they live. I want to learn about people's views on faith, missions, and immigration to the US. I want to use this understanding when I return in August to build relationships with Mexicans in the US. What I truly desire to see here in Sioux City, in Orange City and in all of the US is described by Paul in Ephesians 2:19-20, "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone."

ITeams Video

Check out this video from ITeams about Horizonte's mission and opportunities to serve in Queretaro!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8fsw4qGlQM