Rain Comes to San Pedro

It's been a surprisingly busy last few weeks, and I haven't managed to put anything up here in quite some time, so here are a few recent thoughts. . .

Rain has come to San Pedro. Hurricane Emily moved inland, bringing with it heavy rains that are almost unheard of here in the desert. I've been loving the cooler temperatures and the sound of falling water. Last night, as Paul and I were walking to youth group, it was that glorious time when it is incredibly windy and the rain is just starting to come. Right after we got into the church the downpour began.

Paul returned Tuesday. He was actually supposed to come back on Monday, but his flight from Seattle was delayed and he missed the plane to Torreon, so he had to spend the night in Dallas. This actually worked out well for me, because I had made a deal with Paul that I would write a song while he was gone, and on Monday I still was not finished. I had a melody I liked when we were in Torreon on Monday, but by the time I got home to my guitar I had lost it. About four the next morning I woke up, unable to go back to sleep. I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for a while, and then as I was trying to fall back to sleep, the melody suddenly came back to me. I was not going to lose it this time. I grabbed my guitar and went and sat outside, working on the song. Playing guitar outside at five in the morning in San Pedro is a glorious experience - the temperature is a perfect cool and the first signs of morning are just beginning to pierce the darkness. I soon had a melody and a guitar line that I was happy with, and over the rest of the day I managed to finish out the lyrics. So now, for the first time in probably ten years, I have written a complete song. I'm pretty happy with it to; it's mainly a bunch of images of life here in San Pedro and our times at the town plaza on Sunday nights. Paul and I have begun to record it, which makes it even more fun. We recently finished our first recording project, a cover of Switchfoot's "Innocence Again," and it's cool to see how much we can do with Paul's mixing board and a couple of instruments.

A few other thoughts from the week . . . on Monday I had my first class with Stephen and a Spanish class and then we spent most of the day in Torreon. I ended up hanging out with Stephen and Timothy, running some errands and cracking up at Timothy for a couple hours on end. On Wednesday Paul and I finished "Innocence Again." At church, Marcela and I sang a song in Spanish called, "El Espiritu de Dios esta en este lugar." Stephen preached on seeking God wholeheartedly. God should not be the center of our lives; He should be the whole, and our lives should be hidden in Him. On Thursday I returned with Jacob to the prison in the drizzle. I still love visiting the brothers there - they have a joy that continues to astound me. Thursday afternoon was spent taking care of Peter while everyone else was gone. Yesterday, Paul and I went back to the rehab center with Jacob, and then in the afternoon we worked on recording my song until youth group, where Elisa preached a similar message to the one Stephen preached on Wednesday. Afterward we hung out with the youth group until we couldn't keep our eyes open. We had some amazing tacos at Don Avelino's taco stand, and then Toto showed me all the old pictures on Sammy's computer. Today we slept in late; this afternoon we are going to do ministry at a nearby ranch, and tonight Paul and I will leave for Tepic to see all of our friends there.

The Recent Bookshelf: I finished reading Hearing God by Dallas Willard, and overall I would it say it was a very good book. I have begun to read Knowing God by J.I. Packer. (I seem to be into verbing God right now). In many ways it echoes what I have been studying with Stephen, and I am really enjoying it so far. I have also been reading through The Chronicles of Narnia again as I go to sleep. I have already finished The Silver Chair and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I have started Prince Caspian. I think I like those stories more and more each time I read them. While we're at it, I've been slowly working through Harmony by Walter Piston to learn some basics of composition theory. It's a bit dry to be honest, but there was a really cool appendix on the Harmonic Series and why pianos can't be tuned perfectly.

That's all the thoughts for now. Keep us in your prayers as Paul and I head to Tepic.

San Pedro Times, Pt. 4

Hello again from San Pedro! I have been down here just over a month now, and I feel like I am really beginning to settle in. Just in the last few days, San Pedro has begun to truly feel like home to me, and I am enjoying it more each new day.

A quick update on what's been going on . . .

About a week and a half ago, I got to speak to the youth group at Templo Cristiano, the Tolmans' church. I worked from Romans 7 and 8 and also 2 Corinthians 5, first looking at how even as Christians we still deal with sin, but in Christ, it is no longer who we are - it is our enemy (Rom. 7:17,20). In Christ we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17); we have an entirely new identity. So who are we now? We are Christ's ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20) and children of God (Rom. 8:15-16). If we really believe this, there is no need to perform or gain approval from others. We are infinitely loved as God's children. It was a good experience for me working through these ideas, and I also got to pray with several of the youth afterward.

This past week, Paul has been away on a family vacation, and I have actually been quite busy here. At first it was hard having Paul gone, but as the week passed, I began to see my friendships deepen with both the Tolman family and the members of their church. And my Spanish is definitely improving a lot as well. On Tuesday, I went with Stephen as he worked with the Calor, a semi-professional soccer team that he owns. I am beginning to see the incredible power of soccer in Mexico and what an amazing tool it can be for sharing the gospel. On Thursday I actually returned to America briefly to bring a van across the border that had been donated to the Tolmans - that day was quite an adventure. Then early Friday morning the youth group and the women from the church left for a conference of sorts in Monclova, a town about halfway to the border.

This week I have begun doing morning class with Stephen. He is leading me through the Scriptures examining the nature and character of God. The Bible has more than a few things to say about who God is, and I am loving getting a richer knowledge of my God and Father. Pray that the knowledge will really sink into my heart and shape the way I live.

Paul returns tonight, and this weekend he and I will be heading to Tepic, Mexico for a week and a half. Pray that it can be a rich time of seeing old friends and that God can use us to encourage them. We will get to see the missionaries David and Teresa Cayeros and the youth group from their church, and also some old friends from another church that we grew up working with.

The Power of Soccer

Today was quite an eventful day. I left early this morning with Stephen to go with him for the day - I didn't actually know what exactly I would be doing, but I knew it would be interesting to see what Stephen does. We ended up picking up guys from the Calor's second team to go to a practice game against the Santos. The Calor is a semiprofessional soccer team that Stephen owns that have actually done quite well nationally. As Stephen puts it, soccer in Mexico is like football, baseball, basketball, and NASCAR combined in America. It is what people live and breathe. And for Stephen, the Calor is one of his best "fishing hooks." He gets to pour into the lives of all the guys who come through the team, and through them their families, but he also has connections and opportunities to minister with all sorts of officials and high profile players through his involvement in soccer.

Today, the Calor had a practice game against one of the teams of the Santos, the one professional club in the Laguna. As they got started, Jacob and I went out to buy some drinks for lunch back at the property, and when we came back, Jacob took me to go watch the Santos professional team practice. We saw some unbelievable shots, we and the rest of the crowd that was watching them practice - these guys are the heroes of everyone in the Laguna. I'm still just beginning to grasp how powerful soccer is here. We watched the end of the Calor's game. I'm not a great soccer player myself, but I do know what good soccer looks like, and these kids, all fifteen and sixteen years old, could really play. Every first touch was perfect - total control. They made plenty of mistakes (they're not professionals yet) but it was an entirely different level of play than I've seen in the states. The Calor lost, but the game accomplished the practice they were wanting, and Jacob and I went back so that Jacob could get his picture taken with some of the Santos players. I got one of him with an Argentine who is the top scorer in Mexican soccer. Jacob was thrilled.

Meanwhile Stephen was talking to one of the owners of the Santos, and when the conversation was done, he had a business deal ready to go: the Santos can pull up anyone they wanted from the Calor, but the moment a Calor player plays first division, they have to pay. Stephen wanted to get the deal taken care of right away, so we headed over to the Santos office. We ended up waiting quite a while, but it was interesting to see all the high-ups of the Santos come and greet Stephen and warmly and stop to chat. Stephen told me how hard it is to communicate to Americans the power of soccer in Mexico. After chatting for a while about science, history, and God, Stephen finally was able to talk to the manager. The actual deal took all of two minutes, and we were out and ready to go, and Stephen was happy with how it came out.

We headed back to San Pedro for a delicious lunch of carne asada at the property. Then Sammy showed me some of the music he's been playing around with on his computer. Then I worked with Jacob a bit, teaching him some web design. Later we practiced some dramas for the upcoming trip to Monclova, and still later I went with the Tolmans and Don Pablo's family to the plaza to eat at Sammy's taco stand (well, it's his for the week, anyway). It was a rather non-low-key-siesta-taking-San-Pedro-style day, but I rather enjoyed it.

The Youth Group, Romans 7, and Life Without Paul

Well, it's been a little while since I've written, so this may get a bit long . . .

Hanging out with the youth group Wednesday night after church was a huge blessing, reminding me of the incredible joy I receive by being here - I have great friends here in this totally different culture, that I can't even communicate with amazingly well, and yet there is a closeness that doesn't really need words, and that I'm sure will be able to be enriched by words once I have the vocabulary. On the days with little to do, I begin to wonder why I am here (I think God may be trying to break me of my need for constant activity) and being with the youth was a great reminder of my answer to that. I'm becoming good friends with Jacob, the young preacher, and with Mario, a guy who doesn't know much English, but it doesn't seem to matter at all. For that matter, I am blessed with a number of other great friendships as well, and I haven't even been here a month yet - all praise be to God!

Wednesday night we all wandered over one girl's house to celebrate her birthday. Sammy brought out his guitar, and soon all the Mexicans were singing together these great old Mexican folk songs. This is one of those moments, when I'm surrounded by singing Mexicans, young and old alike, where I realize how much I love Mexican culture. Afterward, Timothy came over to spend the night with Paul and I. We played Monopoly until late, and Paul and I were both really tired, but it was fun hanging out with Timothy.

On Thursday we went back to the prison, and this time Paul shared a bit from Ephesians. It was great seeing the guys again, and Jacob has told me that next week we can actually stay and just hang out for a while afterward. Thursday afternoon Paul left to take his crazy computer test, and I just read and began to think about what to say on Friday night.

I have kind of been reading on and off a book I got from Brother Wilson called Let Go, a collection of letters from a French priest named Fenelon to Christian nobles in the court of Louis XIV. There was a quote that struck me in Letter 17: "When it comes to accomplishing things for God, you will find that high aspirations, enthusiastic feelings, careful planning and being able to express yourself once are not worth very much. The important thing is absolute surrender to God. You can do anything he wants you to do if you are walking in the light of full surrender." All the excitement and planning isn't bad, but it must flow first from surrender to God.

I've also been reading a book called Hearing God by Dallas Willard, and I was struck by something he wrote when talking about how the Word of God transforms our lives. He was looking at Paul's struggle with sin in Romans 7 and noting how in verses 17 and 20 Paul says that it is no longer him but his sinful nature that commits sin. Paul is not here saying he is sinless or excusing himself from sin, as other verses in this passage and other verses make clear. But his identity is no longer in his sin - his identity is in the new nature brought by Christ, and sin is the enemy within that he is warring against. I had never noticed this in this passage before, but I felt like it clarified for me how to recognize and deal with sin, but also embrace my new identity brought by Christ.

This sparked what I decided to share with the youth group. I worked from Romans 7 and 8 and also 2 Corinthians 5, first looking at how even as Christians we still deal with sin, but in Christ, it is no longer who we are - it is our enemy. In Christ we are a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17); we have an entirely new identity. So who are we now? We are Christ's ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20) and children of God (Rom. 8:15-16). If we really believe this, there is no need to perform or gain approval from others. We are infinitely loved as God's children. After I spoke I had the chance to pray for some of the youth, and then we went to a birthday party for Jacob. He's 23 now, and already he is married with two kids - definitely a different culture.

This morning, Paul left for ten days in Alaska with his family, so I am hanging out in Mexico without him for a bit. Jacob took me out with his wife and kids to get gorditas, which were excellent, and tonight I am heading to Chavez for a quinceañera. It looks to be a fun night.

San Pedro Times, Pt. 3

The time in San Pedro continues to pass quickly. Last Thursday, Paul and I got to return to the prison with Jacob, a 22-year old pastor in training. Jacob visits the prison each week to encourage the Christian inmates there and lead them in worship and Bible study. It was cool to go back without a big team and to start friendships with the Christian prisoners - it'll definitely be a testing ground for my Spanish. About ten guys gathered and we sang together and Jacob taught from Hebrews 12.

Afterward we hung out and talked to the prisoners - I ended up talking to a guy named Juan who became a Christian two years ago when the team from Grace Center was there. I was with that team, and it was so encouraging for me to see fruit from a short-term trip so long ago - now, two years later, this man is still going after Christ. On Friday, I went with Jacob to do a similar thing at the rehab center. I'm hoping to get to go back with him each week.

This past weekend, Paul and I went with the youth group on a retreat to a reserve near Cuatrocienagas - a group of beautiful spring-fed lakes in the middle of the desert. It was a great time for simply being with all the youth and continuing to deepen our friendships with them. I've really enjoyed getting to know them so far. And the water felt great and the stars were amazing.

On Sunday I got to help lead worship for one of the services. It's fun to learn a bunch of new songs and to play with of talented Mexican musicians. We've spent this week primarily getting stuff taken care of for Paul to start in at Tec de Monterrey in the fall.

Hopefully I'll be returning to the prison and the rehab center with Jacob later this week. I also get to give the message at the youth service on Friday night - pray that God will give words to encourage the youth group. Then on Saturday, Paul leaves for the States for ten days, and I get some time here by myself. Pray that in that time my relationships here will deepen and my Spanish will improve as I spend more time with my Mexican friends. I'm hoping also to receive some of the teachings that Stephen gave Paul and James last year, so pray that those can be an encouragement and a challenge. This longer term trip is a bit different than the short term ones I've been on in that I'm not involved nonstop in active "ministry time" - I actually have the most relaxed schedule I've had in years. It's been a bit of an adjustment, but it's been good to have time to think, read, and simply BE in Mexico. Pray that God will use this summer as a sort of retreat for me, to build me up in Him for He has for me when I head back to the States.

In Torreon Again

Paul and I spent the rest of yesterday relaxing and studying, and then last night we pulled out Paul's new recording equipment and began to play around with Switchfoot's "Innocence Again." Paul's been writing songs like crazy (or rather finishing songs like crazy). At this rate, he may have an album's worth by the end of the summer.

Today was another day in Torreon. After tackling the subjunctive with Marcela this morning, we headed to the city. First we were looking around with Sammy for a computer. Then after lunch we headed to Tec de Monterrey for Paul, Elisa, and Timothy to take some tests. Paul was supposed to take a Spanish test, while Elisa and Timothy were testing to enter the high school there. Their tests took several hours, but it was good time to read a bit and talk to Stephen some. Through a misunderstanding, Paul ended up not taking the Spanish test but instead the entrance exam for the university, which he was not supposed to need to take. And as it happens, it was the same test that Elisa and Timothy took. He's just waiting to see if they did better than him (they're pretty smart kids). Paul will be able to take the Spanish test and an insane computer test on Thursday, after which he will be done with his testing.

To finish the night, we headed to Torreon's beautifully cheap movie theater to watch "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." I thoroughly enjoyed the movie - it actually turned out to be a comedy mainly. Well, now it's bed time before an early start tomorrow.

Desert Camping, Improv Worship, the Almost Road Trip, and the Plaza

The camping trip in the desert with the youth was terrific. We went to a reserve in the desert near the town of Cuatrocienagas. It's a unique place because there are a bunch of small lakes supplied by underground springs. Because they are isolated from each other, each has it own unique species of fish. We arrived and had a short service and then spent the evening swimming in one of the lakes. The water was warm and crystal clear - even at night I could see my hand beneath the water.

That night Paul and I went out to the far corner of the property and laid out under the open sky. The stars were amazing! The dry desert sky let's all the light through, and the Milky Way was about as clear as I've ever seen it (and the view was twice as good once I put my glasses on).

The next day we played soccer for a while and then swam for another four hours or so. I swam with Elisa and Timothy to the far side of the lake where there was a small creek. The creek went through a tunnel of foliage that came out on yet another lake. A guy from Houston who was there with his family let me borrow his goggles and I was able to see the bubbling spring at the bottom of the lake. Later I carried Peter on my back to the same place.

After lunch, we went swimming yet again, this time with Stephen and Marcela. I learned a lot of random bits of Mexican history from Stephen and then went back to the shallows to play catch with Eric, Sedan, and Emanuel. Overall, the time was a lot of fun - it was great just hanging out with the youth group, and especially with the Tolman kids. I came back pretty sunburned - my white skin and the desert sun don't mix to well - but it was definitely worth it.

On Sunday, Jacob let me lead worship with him on the guitar. Between services we looked at a few songs. During the service, we did play those songs, but we also played a bunch more, which I got to figure out by watching his hands on the piano. It was a lot of fun, because the rest of the band were good enough musicians that my mistakes did not matter too much, and the music was fun to play. Jacob is a truly anointed worship leader.

Sunday night, Marcela and I were supposed to take a bus up to Del Rio to pick up a van that is being donated to the Tolmans. The plan was for us to register the van under my name with a tourist visa and then transfer it to the Tolmans. However, soon before we were going to leave, the Tolmans' friend Carlos called from Del Rio to tell us that he could get all the paperwork taken care of in the next couple days. For now the road trip is off.

To finish the night, Paul and I wandered over with some of the youth to the town square. This small town is too much - on Sunday night, the whole town comes out to the Plaza simply to walk around or sit and watch the world go by. There's even bingo games and an old folks' dance every Sunday night. I had some amazing strawberry water and we had a fun time wandering in circles and talking in Spanglish. Dino, one of the guys here, is pretty fluent in English and has become one of my good friends - he and Paul are masters of mixing Spanish and English together. Daniella, another one of the youth, is crazy about the Lord of the Rings movies, and she can't decide if she's in love with Frodo, Legolas, or Aragorn - some things are just cross cultural I suppose.

This morning I had another Spanish class with Marcela - we're tackling the conditional tenses now. I have to work on incorporating them into my everyday conversations - right now I don't use much besides the present and the preterite. Oh well, it'll come.

Paul and I have been hanging out with Dino, looking at pictures from when the Grace Team was hear and playing around on guitar. Today we're going to relax and catch up on some stuff - Paul has two tests for Tec de Monterrey to take this week - yay for computer tests in Spanish!

Back to the Prison and the Rehab Center

After yesterday's Spanish lesson, Paul and I returned to the prison with Jacob. Jacob, a 22 year old who's training to pastor the church, goes to the prison each week to do a Bible study of sorts with the Christian prisoners. Paul and I are hoping to go with him each Thursday.

We were let into the prison without any real hassle. After hanging out in the courtyard and playing guitar for a couple minutes, the guys began to gather and we headed over to a spot of shade beneath the wall to start our time. Jacob brought his guitar, and we had a short time of worship, and then Jacob taught from Hebrews 12. There were probably ten or fifteen guys there - a pretty large number, especially considering that most of the guys that Paul and James used to disciple have been transferred to other prisons now.

Afterward, we hung out, played guitar, and talked with guys - I talked to a guy named Juan who became a Christian two years ago when the team from Grace Center came to visit. It was so encouraging to see that this guy was now bearing real fruit - it wasn't some momentary decision that he forgot immediately afterward. Here, two years later, he is still pursuing Christ. It is always a great encouragement to see the fruit of short-term missions, because it is so hard to tell at the time what fruit there will eventually be.

In the afternoon, Paul and I continued to work on a grant proposal of sorts for Stephen, and then we went with Jacob to practice some worship music, with Paul on drums, Jacob on keyboard, and me on guitar. It was fun to learn some of the Mexican worship songs and to play with Jacob, who is an incredible musician. After Spanish class this morning, I went with Jacob to the rehab center, where he does a similar thing to what he does at the prison. I'm looking forward to getting to know the guys there as the summer goes on. Tonight, Paul and I are heading with the youth group to a town called Cuatrocienagas for a retreat. I'm not really sure what we'll be doing, except that I know we'll be camping out. Yay for adventures!