Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Week Six Highlights


       On Sunday Kent preached on being pilgrims and sojourns on earth using Psalm 84 as his primary text. I heard that it was a great sermon, unfortunately I missed it since I was teaching the ninos. This Sunday was also special in that we were celebrating a miraculous healing. A family member of one of the ladies that attends our church was diagnosed with cancer. The affected family members were not Christians but asked for prayer. The church here prayed faithfully and to the doctor's surprise he is completely better. The family traveled down from America to thank the church for their prayers. They also brought hot dogs and potatoes for French fries. It was an enjoyable Sunday.
    
    Week six was finals weeks for me so the whole week seems like a blur. We did the normal routine stuff in the morning, well I skipped one morning, then I locked myself away in my room to write an essay and research paper. Kent reports that the afternoons were business as usual.


     One big thing that happened, for me at least, that was out of the ordinary was I got a haircut. I decided after much thought that I prefer short hair, it’ll be easier to maintain to military regulations, and cold showers go much faster with short hair. So, my long hair is gone folks….




     On Wednesday, I preached about the love of God (the topic of my research paper). It was a nice service and I always enjoy an opportunity to apply what I’m learning to actual ministry.

     Sometime during this week Pastor Joel and Kent installed our sink and fixed the plumbing issue with the shower, so we have a fully functioning bathroom!
     On Friday, after an early start, I finished my research paper (essay was submitted Thursday) and sent it to dad, my amazing proofer, and was free for the afternoon. It happened that as I was finishing up I was told that the Ruben sr, Denia, and Ramses were going to Nogales to watch a movie at the theater and they had invited Kent and I. I was more than ready to get away from my room and happily jumped in the car, with the clear understanding that I needed to be home no later than six to go over my paper, after dad finished, and submit it before the nine o’clock deadline.


     True to Mexico fashion we were about an hour later leaving than originally planned. On our way to Nogales we happened to pass Pastor Joel and his family, their car had stopped running on their way to Nogales. We did not recognize them but somehow it was discovered that we were in the area so we went back to help. After some tinkering and adding of fluids, using a rolled-up piece of paper, the car started and everyone happily jumped in their cars. Unfortunately, the car only went about twenty feet before dying again. They needed to get to Nogales for their daughter’s graduation so everyone but Pastor Joel, piled into our car and off we went again.

     Between our delayed start and the detour, we had missed the movie time, but we missed it by so much that we had just enough time to grab lunch and catch the next showing. After the movie, we stopped at DQ and had ice cream. We arrived home at about 7:30, a little later than I had hoped but still enough time. The outing was a lot of fun, and was an amazing way to unwind “after” finals.
  
     Saturday was spent working on projects around the compound and then in the evening, everyone headed downtown to the plaza. There was live music, food, and lots of people.






Week Five Highlights

Week 5 Highlights
 
By Kent Glazier
Sunday was an exciting day here at the orphanage! In addition to Krista, myself, and Northwest Christian School, representatives from two other supporting organizations in the U.S. arrived for a special presentation highlighting the work that takes place here. The community was invited, an extravagant breakfast prepared, some of the children presented cultural dances, tours were given, pictures taken, and I was asked to share a few words about Kid’s Kingdom.
I prepared remarks regarding three attributes that I think capture the nature of the service here: Love, Collaboration, and Giving. It was a great day, but sad at the same time, as we said goodbye to our new friends from NCS. The kids really loved having them here!
Monday was a day of rest for the ladies as they had started about 4 o’clock Sunday morning working in the kitchen and spent the better part of the day cooking, cleaning, and serving. Krista was not feeling well and so was able to get some needed rest. I went with a couple of the guys to Benjamin Hill to work on projects there. I ended up being turned loose on laying tile in the sanctuary which I think went ok considering I had never done it before!
As the rest of the week went on we settled back into our typical routine. I don’t know if we’ve mentioned it but for Krista that means waking up a few hours before the rest of us to work on homework. Her ability to do both the Master’s program and the mission work has been impressive. She’s also been showering the kids daily and working hard to combat head lice in the girls’ hair. On Wednesday she made chicken pot pie and salad for everyone here with a little ‘help’ from the kids and me. Having kids in the kitchen adds some chaos but they LOVE being part of the meal prep process!
Activities with the youth group filled the weekend. We’ve been leading a youth Bible Study on Friday nights for high school students and young adults, working through the 12th chapter of Romans and focusing on how to avoid being conformed to the pattern of this world as well as the place we each have in the body of Christ. It’s been enjoyable and, I pray, fruitful. We typically have 10-15 young people and they’re a lot of fun to hang out with! After our study the ladies went across the street for a tea party to celebrate Meche’s birthday (Meche grew up here at Kid’s Kingdom and now serves as a volunteer) and the guys stuck around the orphanage for a great game of soccer!
Saturday started with a sunrise hike. We were set to head out from the orphanage at 5 a.m. which I took every opportunity to bemoan in the days leading up, but I was a good sport that morning. We ended up leaving around 5:30 (pretty impressive for teenagers!) but after a few errands and a bit of a drive we fairly well missed the sunrise. It was a great morning hike at any rate with a view that didn’t disappoint!
Krista led a devotional at the top and we enjoyed sandwiches and tacos. By the time we made it back down some of the other adults had set up a surprise birthday party for Ruben sr. who’s the son of the directors, and a good friend. Of course we had more food, and by the end we were all ready for a good nap!
As always, thank you for your prayers, and stay posted for more highlights :)