Ninos Pequenos de Centenario!

We have just completed our last trip into Mexico during my time at the Center for Pioneer Church Planting. I can hardly believe its almost over! Well, this trip was a blast. One reason it was a blast was because I had one of my good friends come from San Angelo as a translator. None other than the Fonze! He did a great job translating as well as being a servant and keeping the group in tears of laughter all week! Also, for the first time since PNG I was not working in a medical or dental clinic. This freed up my time to play with the kids, see the village, learn spanish songs and work with VBS, and my favorite...PLAY SOCCER! Many of the teens of the village would come around in the afternoons and we would play soccer from about 7 to 9 or 10 pm. During the day we had VBS around 10 am and another session around 3 pm. Ivan, a pastor and one of the men on my team, taught the lessons using Piper's children's curriculum. We sang songs with the kids and did crafts relating to the lessons. Ivan wrote a song by the title of this blog that we taught to the kids of Centenario. They didn't seem to know what to think of a song written for them, about them! I also spent part of my day in the kitchen with Carmen. For food on these trips we pack a tub of food specifically for a lady in the village whom we pay to cook a meal each day for us. It was a great way to practice my spanish and learn how to cook some tasty mexican food. It is also a great opportunity to build a solid relationship with someone in the village and share the love of Christ with in the process. They also are blessed by a little supplemental income. One day we were invited to a family's house for lunch. I love going to the homes of those living in the village to see where they live and to know more about their lives. The meal was excellent; they cooked a goat for us as well as chicken and an unlimited supply of tortillas it seemed like. Another thing I love about Mexico is the food!! However, there are things that break my heart when in Mexico. Recently we had an ex-Catholic priest, Richard Bennett (www.bereanbeacon.org), come speak at our school and teach us about Catholicism. With a broader understanding of this religion and Satan's vice grip he has on the majority of the hispanic population, it crushes me to see it's influence everywhere you look in Mexico. A lady named Juana invited us over for coffee on two occasions. While sitting in her kitchen drinking coffee, I noticed a framed picture of Mary hanging on the wall just above a shelf with a vase of old, dried out flowers and other little belongings as if they were offerings to Mary. Juana is a sweet (not to mention short...I'm 5'3"), elderly lady who will not go to heaven if she dies without Christ. "Sweet" is a great adjective for the majority of the people we meet in the places we go to in Mexico. But that is coupled with a veil blinding them from the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of CHRIST (2 Cor. 4:3-6). Another yard in town is home to an idol of Mary encased with glass and white christmas lights to light it up at night. This doesn't begin to describe the bondage of sin. My heart breaks for these people that someone would live there permanently to be a steady, consistent witness of Christ to them by their lives and by the preaching of the gospel. I pray God plants His church there, raising up spiritual worshipers to worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

The last night in Centenario, we had a fish fry that we invited the whole town to. The whole town didn't come but it was neat to see families gathering together at the school where we stayed, eating together. It was a blessing to us to be able to show the love of Christ in sharing a meal with them. The fish was quite tasty too. I have never once in all my life liked seafood in America but in Mexico I have never once NOT liked it. Mom and Dad...you would have been proud! These fish were scaled only before battered and thrown into the oil to be fried. Other than the bones and organs, I ate every bite! My fish was so cute with his little buck teeth that I thought I would give him a kiss! There are other tasty things to eat in Mexico that are much more appealing to the eye like chocolate covered bananas with sprinkles that I was forced to try by one of our other translators name Irian. I gave in with little complaining.

Like I said above, I have two more weeks of classes before our graduation. After that my plans are to spend some time with family and friends and speak at various places before leaving for La Barra. Here are my plans for the next year (Lord willing):

August 17th-Graduation

September 24th-November 20th- La Barra

January 08-August 08-Teach at the Center for Pioneer Church Planting (missionary first

aid) and work with Mark Faulkner and Chris Johnson as short term mission directors.

September of 08-PRAYERFULLY-planning with a team to go to some unreached people group

with the gospel long term!!