June 29th

My apologies for not writing as soon as I had anticipated. . . Since we moved, we do not have internet connection, so I have to travel to send and receive messages now. So, to get you caught up. . .

My doctor’s appointment was surprisingly wonderful! Our friend Iza came with us, and was very much needed as the doctor although seems to understand English, did not speak a word of it. Iza translated the entire appointment. We had to wait 1 ½ hours for the doctor initially because he was at the hospital, but the waiting area was pleasant and very clean. Once, it was our turn, the nurse reviewed my medical history and weighed me (I only gained 3lbs so far!). Then, we met with our doctor – Dr. Eduardo Esponda Tort. He was very nice, very professional, and quite serious. He read my medical records page by page, and asked a few questions here and there. He got more specific medical history, and then it was time for the ultrasound! I watched the ultrasound on the monitor with the doctor as he pointed out what was what, and Mark and Iza watched it on a TV. set up in the room as Iza translated what the Dr. was describing. We made it clear to him that we did not want to know the sex of the baby, and he respected that but said it was too early to tell at 15 weeks anyway. The whole ultrasound took about 20 minutes. The Dr. measured the baby’s head, his/her arms, his/her femurs, we saw the little heart beating 148 times per minute (right in the middle of the normal range), we saw the whole spinal cord which was very straight, and we even tried to count fingers and toes, but the little fella had his/her legs crossed, so we couldn’t get a good count. The doctor said everything looks great, everything is healthy and normal. He’s putting me on an iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamins. Because I’ve always had low iron, he said the baby will demand more of my iron, and I can’t afford to lose any. My blood pressure is good, and the doctor had no concerns. He said keep walking (Joyce and I have been walking 45mins – 1hour every morning while Mark runs with Aaron and Oscar Montoya and sometimes David). He also recommended I join a pregnant women’s yoga group. Not sure about that one yet. . . I asked if they had any kind of Lamaze classes in La Paz, and he laughed at me. Anyway, I feel much better about being pregnant down here after that very positive visit, Oh, and they gave me a string of pictures of the ultrasound and a VHS video of the whole thing! We were so excited! I go back in 1 month for another visit and ultrasound. I wonder if I’ll get a video each month!

We got our own apartment, so we are officially on our own. We are 2 blocks from Casa Buena and less than a block from the bay of La Paz. We have a beautiful view of the bay and the marina, so I can sit at my kitchen table and watch the ships sail in. It’s a small place with a fairly large kitchen and bedroom and tiny bathroom. It came with a fridge and stove which is rare. It’s bright and perfect for the two of us (and big enough for another in 5 months). The best part is the roof. There’s a spiral staircase from outside of our kitchen leading up to a roof with a shade over it with the most beautiful view. I always wanted a home at the beach; I just never dreamed it would be in Mexico! For my ocean view home, the rent is only $330.00 month which includes all utilities except a.c. which is pay as you use it. In the states, this place would cost a couple thousand a week for the location! God is good.

In other baby news, let me share with you the story about the Andrade family. Ricky, his wife Michel (pronounced Michael), and their 2 children came to La Paz for a vacation I believe Friday, June 17th. At the time Michel was 7 months pregnant, and they wanted to have one last relaxing vacation before the baby came. To give you some background information, the Andrade family is from San Diego where Ricky is a worship pastor at a pretty progressive church. They were staying at one of the resorts, and the first day they were there, Michel was feeling some discomfort. They thought maybe it was the heat or the side effects of traveling. The next day, Ricky went for a run on the malecon and was pretty far into his run when something told him to turn back. He picked up the pace, and returned to the hotel only to find a wheelchair outside of his room and a rush of staff helping Michel. On their second day of vacation, at 7 months, Michel’s water broke and she was bleeding quite extensively. The hotel arranged for a van to pick her up and take her to the hospital. On the way, Ricky said, “what if this is it, and you’re having the baby”. Michel responded, “That would be my worst nightmare”. They remembered seeing a sign for Crossroads Christian Fellowship along their travels the day before and were planning on attending that Sunday, and Michel said, “Call that church we saw”. Ricky called, and David Reed called Jesus Cortez (a bilingual member of Crossroads) to come with him in case they needed help translating medical terminology. When David and Jesus arrived at the hospital, they found a very calm Ricky and were very surprised at his level of calmness. They soon found out that Ricky was a pastor and that his sense of calmness and peace was from God. They also realized that Jesus and Ricky knew each other since Jesus had accepted Christ at the same church in the states that Ricky was a pastor at some years ago! What are the odds?! Meanwhile, with Michel, the doctors were preparing her for an emergency c-section. The doctors at Fidepaz Hospital asked Michel, “Do you know Jesus, and do you have faith in him?” Michel responded, “Yes I do, and my faith is getting stronger and stronger every minute”. The doctors on call that night were all believers and they prayed with her laying hands on her unborn child. They performed the c-section, and although they were concerned about his lungs not being fully developed, the baby came out screaming! Having two girls already, having a son was an extra blessing. The baby’s lungs had some fluid in them, and the baby only weighed a little over 3lbs. Michel was released from the hospital the next day (after a c-section!), but the baby remains there. Now, a week and a half later, the baby who they named August (meaning: awesome) van Cortez (from Cortez) Andrade has been gaining about 30oz per day. He hasn’t been able to breastfeed though because he’s just too week. They have been using a syringe to feed him. They are now talking about releasing him from the hospital, but Ricky and Michel are concerned (and rightly so!) because they aren’t able to feed him consistently yet. Please keep this family in your prayers. Their 11 year old daughter returned to the states with Ricky’s mom last week, but they have an 18month old who is still here with them. Little Ani can’t understand why her mom can’t pick her up like she used to. It’s been a very stressful situation for the family as you can imagine. Not quite the relaxing vacation they had planned. While they are “stuck” in La Paz and staying at Casa Buena, Milton, Susu, David, & Joyce are taking good care of them. Michel has to go to the hospital every 3 hours to try to feed August. We are very much enjoying having them as Ricky has been blessing us with his gift of worship and has been giving us lessons in music, presentation, voice, and worship – he is so gifted as a worship leader!
I’m also enclosing pictures of the 4th Baptist Church’s Anniversary Celebration. This is Pastor Francisco’s church where Mary and Raul attend. Crossroads participated in the celebration by singing “I Love You, Lord” in English and in Spanish. The picture I’m sending is the 4th Baptist women singing their song to celebrate their anniversary.

We hope all is well with you! We so much appreciate your comments on our blog and your e-mails. Let me know if you have any questions or if you want to hear more about something that I’m missing in my entries. God Bless!

We attempted to add pictures, but the link is down - we will do our best to add them soon!

Week of June 20th

Well, time is flying by. Ministry is almost in full force, our schedule is filling up, and we are loving every second of it. The weather is hot, hot, hot!!! Upwards of 95-100 everyday, and the sun is intense!!! Mark is protecting his noggin with SPF 30 daily.

Ministry-wise, Crossroads began studying the book of John last week, and plan to continue along this route throughout the summer. Mark kicked off John chapter 1 at our weekly Wednesday night Bible study, a smaller, more intimate group yet very diverse. Some of you will recognize the names I mention of who was in attendance for the Bible study: Joyce (David was on his way back to the states with his dad who was visiting this week), Milton & Susu, Basil, Raul from Crossroads, Linda (of Chuck & Linda), Cassandra and Paulette, Dave and Jean from Alaska (owners of the B&B we’re temporarily staying at), and Mark and myself. It was a great introduction to John with great conversations and fellowship.

Today, Sunday, Mark preached at Crossroads on John chapter 2 – Jesus clearing the temple. There’s just something about the Crossroads service that is so refreshing and fulfilling. One thing we’ve really been reminded is that our time of worship is not about what we can “get out of the service”, but what we have to offer to God. What are you offering to God? Are you too distracted by the things that annoy you, or are you concentrating more on what you can give to God as a living sacrifice?

Because Crossroads is made up of boaters, vacationers, and the core group of non-Mexican residents (in addition to some Mexican natives who come to worship in English to improve their language skills), we are always meeting new people as well as saying good-bye to old friends. This week we said good-bye to Steve and Agnes Richards and their 3 children who were here for 1 year experiencing the culture by going to the Mexican schools, traveling, fishing, sightseeing, and just enjoying Mexico. What an incredible year they have had in the Baja. Like so many of us, the vortex of La Paz is already sucking them back in, and they already have plans to return in December. Another family we were introduced to was Pastor Ricky Andrade and his wife Michael, and their children. Tomorrow I will share their story – an incredible testimony and experience of God – I can’t wait to share it with you, but I’m waiting for pictures to go along with my story.

Mark also went fishing this week with David Reed and his father from Arizona. They went out towards Tecelote, but only caught a small mackerel that they threw back. They had a great time out on the boat though. Last week David and his dad went fishing with Milton (owner of Casa Buena B&B), and they caught 4 dorado. I’m sure Mark will have more opportunities to go fishing (of fish and men).

Well, tomorrow is my 1st Mexican Doctors appointment – 9:00am. I’m a bit anxious. I’ll include a picture of my growing belly tomorrow with a full account of the appointment. Tomorrow I also want to share details about our new apartment! We move in tomorrow – the place is perfect with an incredible view of the Bay of La Paz – I’ll have pictures of our new place tomorrow too. God Bless!

Welcome to Mission:La Paz!

Welcome to La Paz!
Originally uploaded by Mission: LA PAZ.

Week of June 13, 2005

Wow, we’ve been here over a week! I feel that I better share some news with you all about our personal lives since the time is right, and I recently realized that many of you haven’t been told yet. . . Before coming to Mexico, Mark and I learned that I am pregnant! I am currently 14 weeks, and yes, we are going to have the baby in La Paz. One of the first things we did when we arrived was to find a doctor. A friend of ours from Crossroads Christian Fellowship (the American church we are primarily co-responsible for) found herself in a similar situation about 3 years ago when she and her husband moved to Mexico from the States. Her name is Iza, and she helped me to find a highly recommended doctor in the area. She even made our first appointment for us which will be next Monday, June 27th at 9:00am. I went to my Bethlehem doctor right before we left, and they copied all of my medical records to send down with me, hooked me up with a 9 month supply of prenatal vitamins and other comforts of home. We also had our first ultrasound and we saw the little one kicking and moving his/her arms and legs like crazy! Although I cannot feel any movement yet, it’s very exciting to know that he/she is active and everything is very healthy. We are very excited and very anxious about the whole process, and will be sure to keep you informed.

Our schedule is quickly filling up. The first week was like a homecoming and a very warm one at that. We had lunch with our good friends Carolina and Ruben and caught up on life. For those of you who are not familiar with this couple, Ruben is about the same age as Mark and Carolina is about the same age as me, and they attend 1st Baptist Church. Carolina’s father owns a large papeleria (paper store) in La Paz, and he is very business minded. Ruben recently quit his job with the government because of the corruption he faced everyday. He worked for the department of weights and measures, but the majority of the department accepts bribes from local companies instead of adjusting their scales to the correct level. In other words, when you get a gallon of gas, most likely, you pay for a gallon, but only receive 3/4. Because he is a Christian, he could no longer feel good about going to work each day, so in February, he quit knowing he was giving up a good income, in order to start a music ministry and a youth ministry program in La Paz. In Mexico, you just don’t quit your job to do volunteer ministry, so this was a very bold step of faith for both Carolina and Ruben. Although Carolina’s father initially disagreed with this decision, he is coming around and becoming more supportive. Ruben shares his love for Christ and music every Tuesday evening along the Malecon (the local version of the boardwalk…only it’s concrete and tile).

We also had our first Spanish lesson with our good friends Mary and Raul. Just some background info on Mary and Raul, they got married when Mary was 14 years old and Raul was 16. Now, about 10 years later, they have 3 children and attend 4th Baptist Church. Last year, they lived on the top of a mountain in La Paz right on the edge of a cliff that overlooks the whole city – the sunsets are beautiful, and the view at night is incredible. Although their house was only about 10 by 12 with a tar paper roof, walls made out of cinder blocks minus the mortar, and their floor was concrete/dirt, the 5 of them lived their very happily for years. Recently, the city did some construction to their area and basically eliminated their home. They are now renting the house next door which has a tile floor, doors, and windows, but this is only a temporary home. They hope to rebuild in the near future after the government is finished doing whatever it is that they are doing. Last year while Mark and I were here for 3 months, we met with Mary and Raul every Monday night to practice our Spanish. This couple speaks no English at all, so it forces us to use the vocabulary that we know to have a conversation. Mary is very patient with us and corrects us when we need it and gives us new words. We spent 3 hours at their home just talking and laughing. It is amazing how God can bring 2 completely different families together and make it feel like we’re brothers and sisters who have known each other for a lifetime. We plan on making Monday nights our weekly Mary and Raul Spanish night.

Saturday, we attended the 19th Anniversary of Principe de Paz – the 2nd Baptist Church. There were over a hundred people in attendance from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Baptist Churches and also from 2 of their missions in San Jose (about 2 ½ hours south of La Paz). The service lasted from about 6:30 until 10:00. Each church participated in the service with a song, scripture reading, or words of encouragement from their pastors. We felt so welcomed as we met old friends – got lots of hugs and kisses, and also met some new friends including the new pastor of Principe de Paz Juan Garcia Barandika.

The Crossroads fellowship is growing very quickly! The congregation is made up of a group of core members who are either ex-patriots, locals who wish to worship with us and learn English as a second language at the same time, tourists, and people from the boating community. When we first began coming to Crossroads, attendance was around 30-35 people. Now, 30-35 people attend throughout the summer months (the ministry’s down time) and closer to 50+ in the winter (the prime vacation months). Worship at Crossroads is generally very informal and participatory. Newcomers often say they feel surprisingly at home with the fellowship.