Mexican Baptist National Convention

Last week we returned from our trip to the Mexican Baptist National Convention in Guadalajara. All in all the trip went well with only a few mishaps that God led us through every step of the way. We planned to leave Puebla at 7:30am in the morning to arrive to Guadalajara no later than 3pm. However between Puebla and Mexico City one of our tires blew out. I guess we had had too many curb checks in Puebla. Aaron got out to change it, but when they pulled out the spare they found that it was flat also. So we had to call our supervisor who lives in Mexico City to come and help us out. We drove around with him while Aaron stayed at the van. We finally found a repair shop where the spare could be patched since the other tire was beyond repair. We returned to the van, they put it on and off we went through Mexico City to find some new tires. We found a Sam's and figured they had a tire center. Nope they only sell the tires. So we found a Goodyear, to find out they only put the tires on. So we then found a Costco who had the tires and put them on but remembered that we had left the other tire at Goodyear. So we bought the tires, found our way back to the Goodyear just before they closed. We were set to head out of Mexico City by 5:30pm which put us arriving in Guadalajara at 11:30pm. Wow that was exhausting typing that I think it was worse living it! But we were safe the whole time and saw God's hand (and his funny side) throughout the day.

The Convention was very interesting. They started the week with an evening service where a band made up of police men played the national anthem, while some others carried the flag in. It was a very respectful presentation. The following day the meetings started which were pretty heated while discussing some of the topics to be voted on. By Wednesday morning they found themselves voting on each board member whether to keep them or let them go. One of the members read his letter of resignation before this happened. They voted to dismiss the Comisario (Commissioner/Superintendent) and the Executive Director. The next session they nominated two new members and continued on with business in a whole new atmosphere. It really was a great experience, and we feel blessed to have been a part of it. We were able to meet several Mexican pastors and missionaries, and many people got to see that we were interested in Mexican Baptists. Lord willing we will return next year because of the relationships that were started this time. We made contacts with folks from different parts of Mexico, which told us to stop by if we should pass through their area. We saw many doors being opened.

We ended our trip by almost running out of gas. On the toll roads there are very few places to stop and we got caught in the longest stretch. Our gas light came on and the GPS was saying 20 miles until the next gas station. We then started praying and made it just in time. It was a definite test of faith. Thank you for praying us through. Click on the picture below to see some pics of the trip. Have a great week!

Trip to Guadalajara

Exploring our country

One of the other assignments we have is to explore our area in Mexico. So a couple Saturdays ago we were taken by another missionary family to a favorite trout fishing spot that a lot of people visit on the weekends. It was about 30 minutes outside of Puebla, but the drive was breath taking with all the hills, mountains and volcanoes we saw on the way there. Once we arrived we felt like we were back at home in Missouri because there were a lot of trees and a babbling spring fed brook. There was a little playground for the girls and plenty of places for them to run and play. We all were able to catch one fish a piece. Yes even Evie hooked a pretty good sized one. Of course I (Gabrielle) reeled them in and took them off the hook, but they had to hook them first. We had a great time spending time as a family and teaching the girls a little bit about fishing, which is one of my (Gabrielle) favorite past times with my Dad!
We have experienced quite a few hail storms here in Puebla and the latest one covered our back yard. The girls played in it like it was snow. But with hail is usually rain and a lot of it. We have found the drainage here is lacking and have found quite a few detours around flooded streets. So I figured if that is the closest we get to snow I can handle it. But the majority of the time we have beautiful weather!

This next week we will be driving to Guadalajara for the Mexican Baptist Convention. We are hoping to attend some meetings and begin relationships that will soon turn into partnerships in reaching the city of Puebla for Jesus. Please pray for traveling mercies as we will be gone from July 4-15. See you in a couple weeks.

Below is the link to the fishing pictures and a few more.

Fishing Trip