Moving Out

Today I am leaving to stay with a Mexican family for a while. David, Leah, and the kids leave tomorrow for Wisconsin. 

I am going to be living with a couple with two children, a girl (maybe nine years old?) and a boy (about six or seven years old). I am really excited to be pushed out of my comfort zone and to learn more Spanish. It is time.

I plan on staying with them until the end of July when I will travel with Tiesha (one of the American girls here) to Tampico. David's sister Mima lives there, so I hope to stay with her and her family for a week or so before flying out. I still don't have a plane ticket...I could use some prayers for one that is cheap, haha. God will provide :)

I'll try to stay updated, but forgive me if I don't. I'm not sure how much I'll have Internet access.

Until next time.

Blessings,

Lauren

Break-In News

I mentioned in a previous blog that the base was broken into and a sound board and a lot of tools were stolen. It wasn't a huge surprise since the base has been broken into before. However, many of us felt that this break-in was different--we felt that it was done spitefully. 

Despite the fact that the police have done virtually nothing, God has answered our prayers for something to be done. Last week some guys tried to sell some of David's tools to a friend of his. David's friend, who didn't know about the break-in, decided not to buy any of them because the tools didn't have the battery chargers (which the guys had not taken when they stole the tools from the base). Lead number one. 

Lead number two: a few weeks ago another one of David's friends, Reuben, mentioned to him that some guys had come in a black truck (the same one that was witnessed in the break-in) to try to sell him some tools. Reuben, also not knowing that they were David's tools, denied the tools. The men proceeded to park in front of Reuben's house and sniff cocaine. He told them to leave, so they did, peeling out after leaving some tools with Reuben just "because they liked him" (sketchy...). 

When Reuben mentioned the tools to David, he said that he had heard about the break-in from the announcements that David had put in the news. David found out that some men had put out ads on the local news that said something like, "Tired of Waiting on God: David Teran, local pastor..." and continued to explain that he had been robbed and was looking for any leads. Somebody had posted announcements to mock David. 

The police have plenty of leads, but nothing has been done thus far. The base is located in a different county than Cerro Azul so the local police have been pretty useless. However, we heard that the other county's police have started to investigate more. 

Please be in prayer about this situation. It would be tempting to either focus too much on what happened and the direct effects on us and to want justice to be served, or to be passive about it and not do anything. The latter seemed like the best option to me until David mentioned the "the curse of Mexico". To him, to let things just die would be to enable the lawlessness that is prevalent here and to continue the problem that Mexican people have struggled with for a long time: letting other people walk all over them.

David and his brother know a lot of the guys involved, which could be a really big blessing. Many of them work for a drug dealing chain, but we don't know how much they are associated with it. (We do know they are pretty low on the chain). If we didn't come out of this with any tools or a sound board but we changed one of those men's hearts, it would be worth it. Reuben, who is a Christian, is really interested in getting involved since he is in contact with the guys a lot. He really has a desire to talk to the guys, tell them that what they did was wrong, and discuss the situation with them. This could be really dangerous for him, but I firmly believe that with a lot of prayer and discernment, God could really use him in their lives. 

Thanks for your prayers-they are so crucial no matter what the situation, but I especially appreciate them now that I can see the potential for God to bring peace in this unnerving, chaotic and potentially dangerous situation.  

~Lauren

A More Vivid Picture of Life Here

I feel like I haven´t done a good job of explaining what life is like here. This should.

1. If I wake up and I´m not sweating, it´s either WAY too early in the morning or it´s going to be a good day.
2. I don´t shower most days. I just let the humidity wash over me.
3. If I want something good to eat, I just follow the huge line of ants (luckily in our house we don´t have cockroaches).
4. The other afternoon Leah and I went to the market to get meat. As a worker was putting some meat in a bag for the lady in front of us, the worker dropped a piece on the ground. Without even blinking she bent over and picked it up and threw it in with the other meat. The lady buying the meat didn´t seem to notice at all. I mean, the floor had been mopped that morning, right? (I´ll attach some pictures so you can fully understand this story.)
5. I eat, on average, about five mangoes a day. (David´s sister Mima comes every week with bags full of them.)
6. Every Tuesday and Friday I get to play soccer. We play on a basketball court at night. It´s the coolest then (about 85 degrees) and the court has stadium lights. I usually come home with a shirt that´s three shades darker but it´s so worth it.
7. There´s been one day where I´ve peed more than twice. That might be TMI. Sorry.
8. It is standard here to greet people with a kiss on the cheek.
9. I love going to the grocery store. AC baby.
10. On Tuesday I tried their version of corn on the cob. It´s an ear of corn smothered in some mayonaise like spread and coated with salt and chile. It was alright...
11. It´s not difficult to figure out the favorite flavor around here...it seems like EVERY kind of candy is chile flavored. Bla.

It seems odd to end on eleven but I can´t think of anything else right now. I´m sure I will think of more.

Be blessed!
Lauren

YWAM Veracruz

Cerro Azul, literally translated as "Blue Hill", is a city of about 35,000 people. It's located near the east coast of Mexico in the state of Veracruz.  Though it may appear dirty at first, but I've come to love and appreciate its true beauty: huge mango trees, drooping with fruit; thick bushes, each sporting many of its own unique type of flower; little taco stands that open at eight o'clock in the evening; little old ladies making their daily three mile walk to or from the market; bright, sometimes fluorescent, houses dotting the hills; and, my favorite, venders that line the streets selling everything from nail polish to horchata (a delicious milky drink) to tamales (YUM) to fruit to music. I still haven't gotten used to the way people stare at us when we walk or even drive downtown (apparently they still haven't gotten used to having four white girls in town), but I've realized that it's not because they are hostile; rather, they love us BECAUSE we are white. It can be fun...sometimes it's slightly annoying. 

David Teran grew up in Cerro Azul. After he finished his Youth with a Mission (YWAM) Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Monterrey, he never dreamed he'd be back. However, after spending a couple of years leading Praise and Worship at a church in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, he felt that God was calling him back to his hometown. David had a vision that at one point thousands of people would be bowing down to Jesus Christ and truly worshipping Him. As much as David wanted to stay in the states, he wanted even more to be in God's will. He packed up and moved back down. Sure enough, right when he arrived God opened tons of doors for him.

David had known Leah (who grew up in Hayward, my hometown) from when she had done her DTS in Monterrey in the late 90's, but they didn't know each other really well. When Leah felt that God was calling her to the state of Veracruz, she didn't know that David had moved back to Cerro Azul to be a missionary. God reunited the two and they learned about their common mission and passion for the state. One wedding and two years of training later, YWAM Veracruz was born (along with a couple of kids). 

For a few years David and Leah ran things much as other mission "bases" do: they hosted students who came for part-time mission work.  After doing this all summer long with two toddlers only sixteen months apart and another on the way, David was offered a job as Youth Pastor at the church that he had previously led Worship at. They felt God was calling them to take the job, so they left to seek God in the United States.

David and Leah had such a passion for Cerro Azul that they knew they'd be back, but they also realized that they needed to restructure the way they were doing things. God had promised them when they had left that they would not go back alone. He was faithful to his promise. When they returned in the fall of 2008, Dan and Wendy Spurling informed David and Leah that they wanted to be part of the YWAM Veracruz team.  

David and Leah came back to Cerro Azul last August with the vision of BEING the missionaries instead of simply facilitating short-term trips for students. For Leah, this means having her kids in the schools and getting to know the parents.  

David is more of a go-getter; he likes to schedule and organize events. However, both David and Leah have felt that this time needs to be one of praying and waiting (hence the title of this blog). They know that when God begins to open doors, the team needs to be on board and of the same heart about whatever God is calling them to do or be. 

Right now, besides being in prayer, the team has been teaching English classes, participating in the Youth Group and church, and getting to know the language and the people. There are active churches here, but they aren't ready to receive new believers. The goal is not to take over the churches but to support them. 

Some prayer requests:

1. A group of students from the Youth Group is going to the middle school tomorrow to do a presentation about values and morals. This is such a great opportunity for the Youth to become role models for the middle-schoolers and for the church to have an impact in the schools. Please pray that the kids learn a lot, whether it is by word or action, and that this is a stepping stone for the Youth to become more bold in sharing their faith.

2. There is an opportunity for Dan and Wendy to go to a one-month school in Guadalajara to get a degree to teach English in the schools. This is a HUGE deal. Prayer for wisdom and guidance for Dan and Wendy would be appreciated.

Thanks once again for checking in. I hope this makes up for me not keeping in touch ;)

~Lauren

Prayer Requests

This may come as a shock to some of you that I am writing two times in three days. A true testimony that God is changing my life, haha. 

Last week was the first week that the YWAM team (Dan and Wendy, Kenni, Sarah, and Tiesha) here led English classes at the base. The classes are three times a week, MWF, for two hours for all of June.  Because I was watching the kids on Wednesday, I was only able to attend the classes on Monday and Friday.  So far they are going really well. The people who come (who are all friends of YWAM staff) are tons of fun to work with and are eager to learn. They are truly a blessing to me, and I haven't known them very long!

Friday night the girls and I went to another birthday party.  It was for the teenage son of a pastor of the church the girls attend. It wasn't by any means as large as the first party I went to but it was a blast. It was at their house. Though the girls, Dan, Wendy, and I were the only non-family members there, there were probably forty people including aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, and siblings. The girls had suggested that Manuel (the birthday boy) have karaoke at his party, so he did! It was a ton of fun. Kenni had her iPod with her so we plugged it in toward the end of the party and broke out a ton of American songs. They loved it! They didn't want us to leave, but we finally pulled away around midnight. 

Funny story: the Kenni, Tiesha, and I were partaking in what we like to call a "water binge" on Wednesday night when we noticed that the water tasted like mint. Very strange. Hm. Thursday morning I was hanging out with the kids and Joe, the second oldest, comments that the water tastes like mint. Weird. We were telling Sarah later that day, and she looks down at the water jug (which holds about 3-4 gallons of water), lifts it up onto the counter and very angrily says, "Maybe because it's got a big wad of gum in it!" Joe had put his half-chewed gum in and polluted what we thought was the last of our water supply. I thought it was pretty funny. The other girls didn't. At all.

On a more serious note, I have a few prayer requests. 

1. On Friday, the girls and I went to the base to set up for English classes and found that it had been broken into. Whoever did it stole about $2000 worth of tools and equipment. It had been broken into before (at one time some kids had cut the electrical wires so the whole building, which is not small, had to be rewired) because the base is not in-town.  However, a lot of us felt that this specific instance had spiritual implications. There was definitely a weird feel to the place when we got there and, though it was still daytime, the girls were a little uneasy.  Of course, as you probably guessed, I was still sitting there analyzing the situation while the girls were running toward the van to go who knows where. English classes were still held. And, contrary to common belief, the police here actually do stuff every so often, as was demonstrated when about seven of them showed up to investigate during our English class. It didn't interfere with anything. Anyways, the tools that were stolen David had accumulated over about eight years, so you can imagine the disappointment that he and the other YWAM staff must have felt.  Please keep him and the safety of the base in your prayers.  There are still valuable items (such as a drum set and a four-wheeler) being stored there.

2. David and Leah are trying to work out a place for me to stay for the month of July. I may have mentioned before that I may stay with a girl from a nearby village.  It would be very different, even from where I am living now. I am also going to ask the family mentioned above (Pastor Laura's family) if I could stay with them for some time this month. I would appreciate pray for direction and that I would be placed with the right people.

Thanks for reading all of this. I always write more than I expect :)

Blessings to all of you,

Lauren

Week 1

The last week has gone by so fast, I'm not sure I remember it. Let me give you a little synopsis of it:

-Thursday: I arrived to David and Leah Teran's beautiful house in Cerro Azul (I will be living here until we arrange for me to stay with a Mexican family for a while. I speak mostly English in the home, so it will be helpful for me to stay with someone who will speak Spanish to me all the time. Right now Leah is trying to arrange for me to stay with a woman from a nearby village).

-Friday: I slept in after a long day of traveling. I got to see how their days usually go including school for the kids, feeding the baby (who is super cute and growing quickly), trying to keep things tidy, etc. For the most part I just observed, besides the previously mentioned trip to the store and attending part of a graduation with the other girls who live here. Oh, and I couldn't forget my first trip to one of the infamous taco stands!

-Saturday: I was introduced to my duties for the time I am here. We took a trip to the pool at what they call the "casino" (which is like a big outdoor civic center). It felt soooo good. We took another trip to the local taco stand that night :)

-Sunday: Most of my day consisted of playing with the kids and attending a birthday party. This was no ordinary "American" birthday party. Leah had warned me that Mexican people like to throw big parties for their children, but I had no idea. There was a rented trampoline, two big rented inflatables, a hired clown, about 120 people (families attend birthday parties), food (and tons of sweets) for all of the kids, and big plates of food served to each adult.  And (according to David, who had not attended but who proved that this party was the talk of the town by passing on this bit of information) there were 500 tamales made for the event! We arrived at about 3:30 and didn't leave until 7. All this for a seven year old. Crazy.

-Monday thru Thursday this week consisted of a lot of babysitting, baby feeding, running errands, attending some prayer meetings and worship times with the girls, reading, doing dishes, and sweating sitting down doing nothing but thinking. Oh! I almost forgot one of my highlights-on Tuesday night I played soccer with David and some of his friends. We just played on a basketball court at the casino. It was great, despite the fact that the humidity alone was wet enough to soak my shirt ;) 

David and Leah left to take some time off so I turned into a full-time mother when they left on Wednesday (they left the baby with another couple in town). Today we had a couple of interesting experiences with the kids....David and Leah will be back tomorrow (Friday).

That's pretty much it, with a lot of details left out. I hope you are all doing well.

~ Lauren

I made it!

I was welcomed this morning by the hot, humid Cerro Azul air. It's good to finally be here ;) Funny story: somehow I managed to forget almost all of my toiletries at home, which were packed in a smaller bag, including my toothbrush. Needless to say, I quickly became familiar with the shopping mart in town.
More later.
In Christ,
Lauren