Transitions and the Fingerprints of God

Howdy y’all!

I am more thankful for your prayers and support this month than I have ever been, as God has been doing some strange and stressful, but good things in my life and in the lives of those around me.

It has been a month filled with transitions for me. If you remember, in my last update, I was excited and hopeful for having just moved in with my new host family and roommate and was hopeful that I would not be moving again until August. Well, in both of those things God had other plans. Although our new family was very welcoming and wanted our trust, we encountered some of the brokenness of Mexican family life in a new way this month. Unfortunately, that brokenness inhibited Ashley and I from truly integrating with this family in a positive and healthy way. The added stress also brought to light some emotional issues in Ashley’s life, which she will be leaving Mexico to deal with more effectively. Between the two pieces, it became clear, both to my leaders and to me, that it would be best for everyone if I also move when Ashley leaves. At this point, I will be returning to the De Alba home for a few days until a new host family can be arranged.

Despite the chaos in my living situation, it remained a place of deep ministry for me. Just two weeks into my time here, I happened to be present for a conversation between my host mom, Hermana Ursula, and our cousin, Samuel, in which Hermana Ursula was presenting the benefits of faith in Christ to Samuel. When I got a chance to speak, I was able to ask Samuel if he even knew who Jesus was and thus earned the opportunity to share the Gospel of a Lord who would leave everything to become a man, even more, a baby, and then live a perfect life that we could never live and then be unjustly and cruelly murdered, but then not stay dead. Instead, this Lord was raised to life and lives to restore our world to its intended glory. Later, I got to ask a few more questions and eventually Hermana Ursula was blessed with the opportunity to lead Samuel in prayer to accept Christ as Lord! I was also able to minister to Ashley in a way that could only have been possible through the grace of God as she began dealing with the depth of her emotional issues.

A month ago, I was also nervous about finding a new church, having left my wonderful and loving church on the mountain but not having the opportunity to visit my potential new churches. This month, I visited two churches and saw God’s hand at work in amazing ways. Within minutes of walking into the first church, I knew it wasn’t the church for me, because it was simply too big for me to get involved with. Yet, the following week, when I visited the church that I would choose, I knew just as quickly that it was the right church for me. My new church is La Cuarta Iglesia Nazarene de la Cuidad de Mexico and is located just three minutes walk from my current house. Although I will be moving in a few days, I will remain with this church, for which I am truly thankful, as I am already starting to build friendships there. Thus far, my ministry consists primarily of attending services and observing at jovenes group activities, however, I look forward to having a greater voice among them as I get to know them better and am hoping to lead an inductive Bible study with a few of the more spiritually mature jovenes and leaders.

I have also had a wonderful month with Compa and my ministry there. I attended my first celula (small group) just a few days ago and look forward to getting more involved as the celulas actually get started. I have also been attending staff and leaders’ meetings and have enjoyed getting to know the members of my area staff team, Ada, Hendi, and Benjamin, better. Together, the four of us will minister to roughly eight campuses and seventeen celulas located in the southern part of the city, including La ESCA, where I attended a celula in the fall, and the UNAM, one of the largest universities in the world, with a student body numbering over 315,000! I will continue working with the students at La ESCA and have already begun a celula with the Facultad de Derecho (Faculty of Law) students. I am also hoping to get involved with a celula for the Facultades de Ingeniro y Arcitectura (Faculties of Engineering and Architecture), which I am truly looking forward to! Having grown up with my parents, both with degrees in engineering, and having attended Texas A&M, where every other student, or so it seems, is or has been an engineering student, I have been surrounded by engineers for nearly my entire life. In fact, I’ve never been away from them for this long, ever. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to being around engineers again!

One of the craziest new developments this month has been the introduction of seminary classes into my schedule. I will be taking two classes, via distance education, with Moore Theological College, located in Australia. The bigger shock, though, is that these classes will be conducted in Spanish, and I currently have about a fifth grade reading level in Spanish. And if this doesn’t seem insane or crazy to you, you didn’t read this paragraph very carefully… The incredible part, though, is that I do have a fifth grade reading level in Spanish, having studied Spanish for all of eight months of my life. Eight!

Overall, this month has been one of my most difficult months here in Mexico, but also the one where I most clearly saw God’s hand at work in the various parts of my life. From watching God move to care for Ashley and I in a deeply emotional time, to welcoming Samuel into the family, to meeting some of my new students, God’s fingerprints have been everywhere I look.

Please continue praying for:

• Ashley, that she would be restored to full emotional health and that God would lead her in this time of unexpected transitions
• All the transitions that are continuing to occur in my life, including Ashley leaving, moving in with a new family, and my seminary classes
• My students at the ESCA, that they would truly be ready to share their faith and be intentional and invitational with their fellow students, giving their celula a chance to continue into next year
• My Derecho students, that God would be at work among them and be growing them into men and women who look like Him!
• My Ingeniro y Arcitectura students, that God would give them a passion for sharing the Gospel with their fellow students

Love in Christ!

Nicole

Moving and Pink Bows

Howdy y’all!

I hope this update finds you in good health and growing in your walk with the Lord! I pray that in these days He would teach you to pray, even as He is teaching me!

I said goodbye to my church from the fall, Iglesia Cristiana Sion, almost two weeks ago. It was a sweet and beautiful goodbye from a people that I have grown to dearly love and will miss as I move into a new and equally wonderful, but very different, season in my life and my ministry. During my final Sunday in church, Johan, my pastor, singled out pretty much every member in the congregation over age 9 to say something to me, with sweet responses ranging from “Thank you for being an example to me,” to my dear Lupita, 11, who couldn’t speak through her tears, to Johan’s many sweet memories. These included teaching him English, the many, many conversations during our rides up to the church, my favorite food – Tacos al Pastor (tah-coes ah-l pah-store) and the silly jokes I liked to make when the car proved just a little too short to clear the topes (toe-pays; road humps – those bumps in the road that are way bigger than speed bumps). I later found out that one of my jovenes (hoe-ben- ace) also jokingly requested that they stick a pink bow (to match the gifts they gave me) on him so I would take him back to the States with me… Needless to say, it made everyone laugh!

Since then, I have been waiting anxiously for school to start and for my students to return from their far off lands of Puebla, the Estado de Mexico, and who knows where else, to begin their classes. For my students at the ESCA, this will be the beginning of their final semester and, hopefully, an evangelistic outreach that will allow their celula (cell-oo-lah) to continue into the coming year. I will also, most likely, be getting involved with at least one celula, possibly two, at UNAM, which is possibly the largest university in all the Americas, boasting a student body of 315,000, well over six times that of my beloved Texas A&M University, which currently ranks seventh largest public university in the United States.

I am also looking forward to beginning the process of finding a new church. I took last week off to visit my friend and YearOut teammate, Stephanie, at her church, Iglesia Bautista “El Buen Pastor en Getsemani” (Ig-lay-see-ah Bah-oo-tea-st-ah Ayl Bwayn Pah-store En Hayt-say-ma-knee). I enjoyed my visit there, but I am also excited about finding my new church and settling in there.

Finally, I have moved twice since my last update. I spent a little over a week with my director, Paul Johnson’s, in-laws, the De Alba’s, as interim housing, while my new family finished putting in a new, tile floor on the first floor of their house. My roommate, Ashley, and I met our new family and moved into our new home just two days ago. We live with a single woman, Hermana Ursula, and her three children, Ernesto (32), Ursula (30), and Ere (26; short for a name I can’t begin to pronounce, let alone write). Ashley and I share a small room with minimal furniture. We’ve managed to find places for most all of our things, but are still eagerly waiting for bed-side tables to create just a tad more shelf space, to augment the portable armoire, a small bookshelf, and the window ledges…

As you pray for me this month, please pray specifically for:

• My relationship with my new roommate and host family.
• My search for a new church home here in Mexico.
• My students, that they would return to school ready to graduate, but also ready to see their small group grow and continue on into the coming year.
• My funding! I sent out almost 60 letters just a week ago and am desperately in need of a good response from these letters. Please pray specifically that people would open their hearts and give as God leads them.
  

Much love and God bless!

Nicole

Review of The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America

Now it is not my typical response to pick up a Christian sociology book, not because it doesn’t interest me, but because I am typically more interested in the Christian Living or discipleship book about an issue that I am struggling with or feel God is leading me to deal with – often buying the book assuages that feeling for a little while… Occasionally, I even by books because dear friends are struggling with certain issues or because I’m trying to answer somebody’s ridiculously in-depth or outrageous questions that I never had with my faith. If nothing else, the Christian sociology books just tend to be outside my small budget. So why on earth did Gabe Lyons’ book catch my eye? Honestly, because it is a book about active faith. Not activism, mind you, which is purely political in nature, but faith that motivates real, practical action to fix the problems in our world.

The premise on which the book is built is based on research that Lyons’ non-profit organization did a few years ago, talking with teens about how they view faith and spirituality and the Christian name. I do understand that there are good reasons why teens and young adults have issues with their faith. Honestly, I can say that I, and a few too many of my friends, used to be among them. Our connotation when we heard the word Christian wasn’t good, and we brought a few strange ideas to the table, even if we were, ourselves, nominally Christian. Quite simply, over the last forty to fifty years, Christians have fallen from grace and from prominence of voice in the American culture. What Lyons did in this book is capture the heart of the movement of Christianity in America that will carry it into the future. It’s the type of movement that restores grace and gives Christians a voice. What makes it awesome is that Lyons gives words to the movements and changes that Christian leaders who work among teens and young adults have been seeing for the past several years.

So what’s so different about these “new” Christians? To describe them in a single word, restoration marks these new Christians. They are moving away from a “Me”-centered faith to a faith that recognizes how they fit in the world. When these new Christians find problems with their world, instead of withdrawing into themselves or deciding to just go with the flow and live among the failures of the world, they take action. They recognize that the Gospel does not start with their sin and does not end with their salvation, but that a grander plan is at work. They start at the beginning, with the created, perfect world, and end with that perfect world being restored, and they realize that THEY have an active role in creating that restoration.

In his book, Lyons talks about six dimensions of this new Christian, contrasting them with past generations of Christianity and giving living, vibrant examples of people who have put his dimensions into practice. He gives real examples, like the non-profit organization To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA), whose t-shirt design was one of Hot Topic’s best sellers for quite some time, and Paste magazine, whose founders chose to evaluate contemporary and pop art based on its artistic quality, not on the artist’s character or social faux paux.

While the book often seems to lack the scriptural references that are expected of any book in the “Christian” section of your local bookstore, Lyons does insert scripture at strategic points. He uses scripture less as the recipe, forming the definition of Christianity, instead focusing on movements in Christianity and showing how they are re-conforming themselves to scripture. This creates an interesting dynamic, because he explains where these new Christians are going, then anticipates people taking offense and correctly invokes scripture to affirm the offensive movements. In fact, for a sociologically-minded, rather than a discipleship-minded, perspective, he does, in fact, make the correct choice in using less scripture, thus creating a book that is more accessible to a secular audience, because it becomes a book about what Christianity IS instead of what it is supposed to be.

Despite the incredible strengths and occasional weak points in this book, I fell in love with it and with Lyons’ message for two reasons. First, I have seen countless numbers of his points proven true in both my own life and the lives of my friends, thereby giving confirmation to the movement he is recording. And second, as a campus minister working with the same population on which his research is based, I began to recognize the grand opportunity I have to bring this movement of restoration in Christianity to my students, specifically to my Mexican students. For so many years, the reason I ran from faith was because I recognized that the Bible spoke of active faith, yet everywhere I turned, faith was presented to me as passive and without lasting impact. My faith became my own when I finally encountered restoration-minded Christians, whose faith lead to real, tangible action. Now, my act of restoration is to pass on the restoration mind-set to my college students, who can take that restoration to so many more corners of the world and of Mexico than I could ever dream of gaining access to.

Baptisms and Babysitting Car Keys

Howdy from Mexico!

I pray that God is restoring you into the man or woman that He created you to be and that you are faithfully growing in Him and taking His restoring power into the world, wherever that may be.

I know it has been some time since you heard from me last. December and the first few weeks of January have been busy, crazy times for me. Even so, they have been a sweet blessing. In this update, you will find:

• Wrapping Up Ministry Before Christmas
• Christmas Break
• Returning to the Field
• Looking Forward and Financial Need
• Prayer Requests

Wrapping Up Ministry Before Christmas

I spent the first two weeks of December here in Mexico, ministering at my church, Iglesia Cristiana Sion, and preparing to say goodbye to the believers and my dear friends there. The most exciting moment of that time came in sharing in their Baptism service, in which around 10 people (I lost count!) from their two locations, Mexico City and Toluca, were baptized! those baptized included Carmelita, a new believer that recieved Christ during my time here, and Memo, one of my jovenes, and one of two currently pursuing high school studies in preparation for college.

Christmas Break

Midway through December, I was thankful to be able to spend a few whirlwind days in Texas, on my way home. I was able to use that time to reconnect with many dear freinds and several supporters. I then flew to Michigan to spend the remainder of the year with my family. I was delighted to celebrate both Christmas and New Year's in my picturesque hometown of Frankenmuth and to attend Frankenmuth Bible Church while there. I enjoyed reconnecting with friends and family during that time, including my baby cousin, Tommy! I was also able to shed Christ's restoring power during that time, by caring for the safety of my brother and his friends. They would choose to celebrate the New Year with alcohol and late nights, despite being underage. Rather than making my bbrother and his friends my parents' worry, or speaking words that would go unheard, I decided to ring in my New Year by "babysitting" their keys until they proved sober, thereby keeping them safely off the roads and out of the five to ten foot ditches that line many roads near my home.

Returning to Mexico

I returned to Mexico just a week and a half ago, to officially say goodbye to my Mexican church and family, as I will be moving to a new family and a new church. This transition is so that I can be more deeply involved in ministering to college students, through Compa, InterVarsity's sister organization here in Mexico. I will be officially joining the ranks of Compa's volunteer staff this semester, which I celebrated by attending their regional staff retreat last weekend. Trhoughout the weekend, God's hand was most clearly seen in the relationships I built with the other staff, comprised of predominantly part-time and volunteer staff. As volunteer staff, I will be assuming more responsibilities on my main campus, the ESCA, and will be attending at least one other celula, or small group, starting in the next several weeks.

Looking Forward and Financial Need

As I look forward to school starting, I also have to look at my reality, that I face the prospect of my severely dwindling funds. I came to Mexico as a direct result of your incredibly generous gifts, however, many of those gifts were one-time gifts, not monthly or recurring gifts which would maintain my support level over an extended time. Thus, my huge initial support is now running out as my faithful monthly supporters, though generous, cannot fulfill my financial needs on their own. At this point, I am facing a monthly deficit of roughly $900. Thus, I will be spending the next week focusing on both kicking off the Spring semester well and doing extensive fundraising. If my funding situation does not improve, I may be forced to return to the States for a time, to focus on restoring my funding to an appropriate level, which I clearly would prefer not to do.

I am desperately in need of your help! With my funding sitation as it is, if it does not improve, I could be returning to the States as soon as February or March for funding purposes. I realize that many of you currently support me, either through one-time or monthly gifts, but if you are willing, I could desperately use more of you to come on board with consistent monthly gifts, specifically those in the $10 to $50 a month category, and generous one-time gifts to get me through this financial slump. Also, if you know of anyone, even people you know I know, that I may not have thought of or may not have an address for, that may be interested in supporting me, please send me their addresses and your own, as I will be sending out fundraising letters in the next week.

Prayer Requests

My ministry and efforts cannot have their full effect without your faithful prayer support. Please be praying for these specific needs:

• That God would provide in huge ways for my financial needs over the coming months, and that people would actively get on-board with supporting my ministry here
• That I would wrap up my ministry at Iglesia Cristiana Sion well this weekend and that my transition into a new family and church would go smoothly
• That I would be able to meet with Compa leaders, both staff and students, to kick off the new semester in a way that is glorifying to god and is specific to the campuses I work with, specifically the ESCA
• That God would raise up students and student leaders at the ESCA, to take the place of those who are graduating, so that God's work through Compa can continue on that campus

Love in Christ,

Nicole Dietzel

Christmas Donations

Howdy y'all!

As we are celebrating the holidays, I wanted to offer you an opportunity to celebrate Christ's birth by furthering his mission: taking His message of love and reconciliation to the world. As you know, I am working as a missionary this year and my mission is to spread Christ's mission to Mexico City in three key ways.

• On a personal level, my mission is to spread His love and reconciliation through contact and relational evangelism, and by being a light through my brilliant smile and laughter.
• In my church, my mission is to spread His love and reconciliation through discipleship and encouragement of the believers there.
• In my ministry with Compa (IV Mexico), my mission is to empower college students to take His message of love and reconciliation to their campuses.

If you would like to be a part of God's work in Mexico City, please prayerfully consider a Christmas or New Year's gift to Latin America Mission by donating online at www.lam.org/donate and directing it to my ministry by typing my name, Nicole Dietzel, into the box, then follow the steps. If you prefer hard copy donations or direct deposit monthly donations, send a check with a note directing the Latin America Mission people to credit your donation toward my ministry. You can send donations to:

Latin America Missions

Attn: Reciepting

P.O. box 52-7900

Miami, FL 33152-7900

I am so thankful to be doing the work of God in Mexico and I am absolutely delighted by the way that God has been moving over the past three months! I can't wait to see what else God has in store for the coming year!

Love in Christ,

Nicole

Prayer and Idol Worship

Howdy y’all!

I want to thank you for your faithful support and prayers, because it is your faithful partnership that enables me to be in Mexico, pursuing the work of God and encouraging believers each day. I praise God for the way he has consistently raised up men and women around me to send me to this country where the name of the Lord is preached.

Unfortunately, there are many here, who instead of following the Lord, choose to worship idols. Some of those idols have made this month a truly dark and hard month here in Mexico, beginning with San Judas (Saint Judas), who is a saint celebrated for the miracles attributed to him. On the 28th of every month, people all over the city carry these idols and wear this image around their necks or on their shirts and then take their idols to the Catholic churches to be blessed. On my way to my church that night, I witnessed one of these ceremonies, with about twenty people gathered in the street, dancing native dances, celebrating this saint and blocking traffic for more than two hours.

The darkness continued through Halloween and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which on the surface felt like an American Halloween on steroids. However, you notice the difference, when you actually consider the costumes people were wearing, even the smallest children were dressed, not in cute animal or pumpkin costumes, but as skeltons or worse. You further see the difference in the altars that they put up dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe or the Santa Muerte (Saint Death) and the fact that every costumed person was something dark.

In spite of the darkness, though, God was truly at work! I have finally been able to start meeting regularly with my small group at Compa, and I have truly loved building relationships there! Also this month, my church welcomed at least two new believers into our small church! There may have been others, but I still don’t understand everything that goes on around me… Even so, God has continued to bless my studies of Spanish, several people have remarked in this past week about how much I have improved since I arrived in September!

I was also able to attend a prayer retreat with my entire YearOut team, which was an amazing weekend, spent resting and meeting with God. Just this afternoon, God chose to pull me aside again and take me on a little adventure, getting me a little lost, but showing me the most beautiful, rural hillsides, covered in grass and cactus and, most notably, free of people. I had searched long and hard for just such a space on Sunday and without finding one.

I ask that you would continue to be in prayer for:

• My church, Iglesia Cristiana Sion, as we are looking for land to purchase so that the church might have its own space and room to expand. We currently meet in the front room of Hector and Milca’s home, which reaches its maximum occupancy with around 30 to 35 adults.
• My church’s mission in Toluca, which is also looking to buy land and have its own, consistent space, as it currently meets in the homes of its various members.
• My small group with Compa, which is in severe danger of dying out after this coming semester, as all of its members will graduate. Specifically pray that the members would be encouraged to evangelize and reach out to the people around them, especially younger people, and for me as I consider teaching an evangelistic English class to draw new people in. Also pray that Mario, the Compa staff worker I work with most closely, would be open to the idea!
• Me, as I am looking into making a very big change in where I will be spending the next several years of my life, pursuing, ironically, the same goal, but in a country, cultural context, and language that is not my own. Specifically, pray that God would give me wisdom as I begin to pursue the possibility of serving as a part of Compa staff, here in Mexico, instead of returning to the States to pursue InterVarsity staff there.
• Running the race well over the next two weeks, as I look forward to preparing for Christmas and returning to the states for a couple weeks to rest and reconnect with people.

As I consider Christmas, I will be in Texas for a few days, as I head home, and will more than likely swing back through for at least one night in January, as I return to Mexico. If you would like to get together, either in Texas or in Michigan, I would LOVE to reconnect with YOU! Send me an email and I will do everything I can to come and see you!

Finally, if you are considering a year-end gift, I would very much welcome the extra support! With the possibility of extending my service here in Mexico consistently becoming more real, there are even more opportunities to join God and me in the work He has planned for me here! I am specifically looking for people to join my support team with small, but consistent monthly gifts, ranging from $5 to $50 a month.

Love in Christ!

Nicole Dietzel

101 Things I’m thankful for

1. Christ's sacrifice for me and for everyone, inviting us all to know him!
2. My faith
3. The Holy Spirit, who invites me to know God more deeply and who guides me in truth.
4. The Word of God, given to us without error and boldly declaring the truth of Christ as Lord and God's plan to rescue the whole word from the mess we've created for ourselves.
5. Life
6. God's financial provision for me, even in spite of living in poverty by American standards.
7. Health
8. Days when I am free of pain.
9. My family back in the states
10. All the people who are so willing to support my ministry here in Mexico!
11. Mexico!
12. Compa
13. The Compa cell (small group)at the ESCA
14. Mario, the staff worker for Compa in Mexico City, whose job is truly larger than one person should have on their own, yet his joy in his students is so wonderfully obvious in every moment!
15. Iglesia Cristiana Sion, my church on the mountain
16. Trees!
17. Grass!
18. Cody, in whose life the transforming power of Jesus Christ is more evident every day!
19. Prisca, who knows me so well she hears what I'm not sayin and speaks right to the heart of every problem, even when I'm having trouble admitting it!
20. Brandy, who loves to share all the amazing things going on back in the states, which truly encourages me!
21. Electricity, which went out as I was writing the original copy of this list...
22. Hermana Maru, who loves taking care of me, making sure I'm eating enough (which actually means too much...) of her amazing, homecooked food!
23. Having a backyard, in a city where grass and green things in general are minimal, unless you count the buses, which are painted green...
24. Dasys wehn I can eat when I'm hungry and only what I'm hungry for
25. Shiloh, whose wisdom and willingness to speak truth into my life is one of the greatest blessings I've ever recieved!
26. Carolyn, whose loving words are truly encouraging.
27. The new washing machine Hermana Maru bought this month!
28. Lupita (adult), who is always so eager to welcome me into her home and to feed me!
29. Jonathan (9), Lupita's son, wh makes me laugh and smile, especially when I ask him how he is and he responds "Bien, pero bien mal" ("Gode, but good bad."), with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
30. Space to enjoy God's creation
31. Hector and Milca, whose home has become my second home, the first place I go when I go to the church, up to four times a week!
32. Neri (1), Hector and Milca's yungest child, who is a joy to me, because she is always so happy and calm
33. Hectorin (4), Hector and Milca's middle child, whose energy and mischievous smile re a delight to me.
34. Sergio (15), Hector and Milca's oldest child, whose deep, clear voice is truly a delightful addition to the mostly off-key sounds of worship at church
35. Diana (17), whose delight to see me each week makes me feel so at home in her presence! And her voice is like an angel!
36. Betty (15), whose eagerness to know me is so encouraging to my heart!
37. Lupita (11), whose patience with her younger siblings, all four of them, is truly an inspiration to everyone who sees her!
38. Josephina (Jose) and Jaime, who welcome me into their home so often!
39. Paulina (15), Jose and Jaime's oldest child, because she is just a delight to get to know!
40. Sleep and good rest
41. Brian (9), Jose and Jaime's middle child, whose attempts to use eawch English word I teach him as often as possible are truly delightful.
42. Karina (8), Jose and Jaime's youngest child, is always ready for the biggest hugs!
43. Gaby 2, whose delight in greeting each person is truly infectious.
44. Hot showers
45. Days when I can sit down on the micro
46. Days when I can sit down on the Tren Ligero
47. Days when I can sit down on the Metro
48. Paul and Nydia Johnson, for being amazing directors of Spearhead!
49. Wendy Der, for being an amazing director of Spearhead!
50. Lotion... It just feels that good!
51. Good books
52. Good music
53. Ben Stuart/Breakaway podcasts
54. Tacos! Who knew you could eat out and feed 3 people a full meal for less than $8!
55. Bright colors because they brighten my day!
56. The houses in Mexico, which are painted in such wonderful, bright colors, that it makes me smile just to see them!
57. Time alone
58. Caro, who is truly a delight to know and serve with, and her perseverance in the face of truly challenging situations in her ministry is so encouraging!
59. Ashley, another of the truly wonderful people I serve with, whose perseverance to love in truly hard circumstances is truly encouraging!
60. Stephanie, whose quiet spirit is a joy and delight!
61. Patrick, whose desired qualities in his future spouse have caused our team untold hours of joy and laughter
62. Jonathan, whose sense of humor and easy-going personality are truly wonderful
63. Living in a house with walls that won't blow away in a strong breeze
64. Living in a house where neighborhood animals cannot enter at every whim
65. Having my own room, where I can truly decompress each day
66. Phill and Brandee, who I can have the shortest, most insignificant conversations with and still come away so encouraged and feel so delighted in!
67. STiM and the wonderful preparations I recieved through them
68. STiM's newest STiM team, which is still being formed, ut will send me some wonderful new Spearheaders next summer!
69. The musical abilities of my team, which make it truly delightful to sing and worship with them!
70. My own musical abilities, which allow me to turn my own room or the patio into a wonderful place of worship, drwing me into the heart of God.
71. The chance to see a good movie every once in a while
72. Having the computer with me to record my thoughts
73. The opportunity to serve in this place and in this time
74. The desire God has placed in my heart to continue to serve in Mexico, after my year is up.
75. The joy of unexpected adventures!
76. The hike up the mountain each week, it's a nice bit of exercise.
77. Finding a taxi quickly on my way up the mountain
78. Finding a taxi, period, on my way down...
79. The way God continues to bless me with safety in travel
80. Knowing that I am truly loved by God
81. The gift for language that God has given me, which has allowed me to learn so much Spanish in such a short time.
82. Hermana Lulu, whose faithful attendance at every church event is truly encouraging
83. The upcoming baptisms at my church, on December 11th!
84. Being able to return to Texas for a few days on my way home for Christmas
85. Being able to return home for Christmas
86. The two new believers in my church this month, Carmel and Mari
87. The open and trusting way that the Compa small group has invited me into their fellowship and into their lives
88. Johan and Gaby, my pastor and pastora, who are just wonderful!
89. Afternoons when I can just hang out with people from the church, whether that means looking after Neri while Milca helps make lunch or long conversations with the women from my church
90. Every chance I get to get to know the people of my church a little bit better
91. God's desire to draw people to himself
92. God's way of using people to accomplish his work, even though we screw up and aren't always real good at following his directions
93. The fact tht God has already taught me so much patience and flexibility... I still have more to learn, but what I have comes in handy...
94. Having built enough trust with people not to have to eat things that truly disgust me, like nopales (no-pa-lays; cactus) and chicharon (chee-cha-roan; pork rinds)
95. Days off, which I can spend with God!
96. Having a bathroom where the water comes to me, I don't have to bring it with me...
97. The joy I have in Christ!
98. All the lessons I've learned from countless experiences in ministry back in the States that are guiding me in making decisions in each new situation I face.
99. The understanding God has given me of his word
100. My parents' faithfulness to provide an education for me!
101. Having 100 things I can name that I'm thankful for!