Sunday School Recap!

We're still going strong with our Sunday morning kid's church! I love being a part of this, knowing that our team of teachers and helpers are really making a difference in our colonia and the lives of the kids that step foot into our church. 

Here's a few pictures from the first quarter. This past Sunday we started a new quarter and you'll get to see pics of that at the end of the post!

This was a couple Sundays ago. We had a good group of visitors and they all got to pick a first time visitor's prize from the gold box!

 Bryan, an energetic little visitor, Eliu and Ailyn acting out Peter denying Jesus 3 times.

Beth and Pastor asking review questions and handing out tickets for candy!

Rocio and Bella teaching the kids a memory verse.

Visitors playing dress-up :)) This has to have been one of the funnest Sundays. All the little kids had to pick an item of clothing and act out the pastor, their mom or dad, another saint in the church, etc. The kids really came out of their shells :))) 

I looove to see little Eddy's smile! 

Now the previous Sunday was the funnest, but the next one had to have been the most dangerous--

This is Hna. Marisol passing out needles to all of the kids.

THIS is what she was holding and passing out to the throng of wee little chillens. 

Now, she did not previously inform us that this would be part of her game of "Stab a kid in the eye".

Our gringo eyes nearly popped out of our heads. All we could do was shake our heads and say to each other, "This would not be happening in the US." 

30 little kids with eager, evil glints in their eyes, were soon holding sewing pins. 

Things could have gone terribly wrong... LOL. 

In all actuality, Mexican kids ages 5-10 are very mature and are often fulfilling the responsibilities of teenagers in other countries. So holding a needle was nothing to them. They probably run holding while bouncing their baby brother on their hip.

 .....The game they were playing was a competition with another team of little kids across the sanctuary where they had to pop a line a balloons on the wall that contained words to the verse they had to put in order as fast as they could. And they sure did it fast. And violently.... I was scared for their lives and mine so I quickly vacated the melee of forcefully swinging miniature, needle-equipped arms and hands. They had their job done pretty quickly so I came out from hiding to take pictures of the aftermath. 

 Hno. Baltazar leading a game of tic tac toe. 

Snack time!

New theme! The past one was ship n' shore, and this one is more of a safari, jungle-y theme. So fun! 

 Hna. Elvira

Pastor reminding the kids about the Sunday school promotion that we're doing, and showing off the prize!

Looking forward to seeing more new little visitors.

Sarai, Choyo, and Bryan working on a project.

Ailyn doing her part. This little girl has not missed ONE sunday since we started this program! She is such a sweet, precious little girl. Can't wait to see what God does in her life and in her family's lives!

  Blurry pic but this is what I love. Choyo's infectious laughter :))) He makes everything into silliness.

My baby Judah. 

In this first quarter of Sunday school he was able to come once. One time out of 13 weeks of kid's church. 

His momma backslid about 8 months ago and doesn't let him come to church. It breaks my heart not to be able to see this little guy and to know that he could be lost because of the decisions he can't control. This was the first time in about 5 months that he came to church. 

He hasn't been back since. 

Judah is a different little boy than the rest of all of our kids. He was an example for the rest of our kids, and honestly for the rest of our church. 

He was always in the altars crying, seeking God. 

He worshiped in song service. 

The Sunday he came was no different. 

During pre-service prayer I had to get something from the back of the church. On my way, I happened to glance over at his pew and saw something so precious and also a little disconcerting. There he was, with his Aunt, 3 cousins, and Gramma. And he was the only one kneeled praying. His family saw me walk and see this and quickly (and with embarrassment) turned to kneel and pray as well.

My heart breaks as I write this and I can't help but cry. 

Please keep this little boy and his momma in your prayers.

*Nicole*

Churros & Crafts

Thursday afternoon we went downtown to pick up a few supplies for the 2nd quarter of our Sunday school program! This quarter's theme is safari/jungle. So fun! We bought several meters animal print material and a few other jungly things...

Churros. Little sticks from heaven. :)))

The holiday spirit hit me as I walked the streets downtown munching on these. Everything turned magical for a moment! :)))

The happy little lady selling the churros. As I was walking towards her about to buy some I overheard her telling her friend that times were rough and money was really tight. Luck was not on her side, she said.

It was nice to see a smile on her face when we bought several bags of churros. 

(Though I don't understand why her churro sales are down-- these things are melt-in-your-mouth amazing!)

^Maybe she just needs me as her PR manager :)))^

Friday girl's night:

We made a big fat mess crafting! 

Glitter was covering everything by the time we were done... 

Mod podge and glitter are our new favorite things. :)))

Anahy!

*Nicole*

Noah's Ark - A New Version

Every morning we start school off with devotions. We pray, have a small Bible lesson then the boys copy the book of Proverbs for about 20 minutes. After devotions is journal time. Our boys struggle with writing so this gives us a chance to teach writing rules and work on spelling while also seeing what is in these little boys' minds. Sometimes their writing is funny, sometimes it can make us teary-eyed. But sometimes you can tell they are a wee bit confused....

I told the boys that they were to write the story of Noah in their own words. All of the boys did very well, but one little guy who shall remain anonymous, got a little mixed up. (Please excuse the run-on sentences and any other errors you may notice! We are a work in progress :)

"One day God told Noah to build an ark of the covenant and Noah said that he would. Noah all of a sudden got boards to build the ark and so the people saw that God had told Noah to build an ark of the covenant so they said, "What is the ark for?" and Noah answered and said, "For your salvacion". They did not believe and Noah told them, "Repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of God so you can enter into the ark of the covenant of God, he is calling you and everything that is here will also enter into the ark. So the people did not pay attention to him and when he had finished the ark of the covenant, God told Noah that every species of animal like birds, reptiles, mammals, carnivores, wild animals, snakes, and monkeys will enter in. So every species of animal got in the ark and God said, "Bring your family into the ark and they got in and Noah and his family were saved."

~Bethany~

Happy Thanksgiving! It's Great to Be Home!

Did I nail it, or did I nail it??! Said we were going to the U.S. and we probably wouldn't get a chance to blog, and looky here! I made good on that promise! Hahahah :))

To break up this informative post and make it more interesting for our ADHD readers, I have included a few random pictures from our time in the U.S.
You are welcome.

Austin had a huge bag of Cheetos he was eating out of. Unfortunately, his car door was open and it was a windy day. The cheetos blew all over the parking lot and into Austin's lap. His response was a very pained, "Why did this have to happen to MEEE?!!" 

We had an awesome time in the States, I'm sure each of us to varying degrees. If anyone else wants to get on here and tell about their good time, they can! But as for me and myself...I (Bethany) had 100% of a wonderful time.
Since yesterday was Thanksgiving, I want to thank God for protecting us this past month. We travelled 9,000 miles in the car and a couple thousand in airplane. We did not even have one flat tire the entire time! (And no plane crashes, lol). We had a couple scary experience on the borders of Mexico, but we made it out alive :) Thank you, Jesus!

This is where Nicole and I rode for the majority of our driving days. In the backseat! 

We should be getting back to regular blogging. I think we need to try some new food. It's been a while since we've ate something scary-looking. This morning I walked down the street to our butcher and bought freshly killed chicken for dinner today. Then I went to the vegetable store and bought stuff to make red and green salsa. We are all ready for some delicious and authentic Mexican food. And how perfectly providential that I am making it! :) I can count on one hand the home-cooked meals I ate while in the U.S. So I am definitely looking forward to today's meal!! (The point of all that was to say that I should blog about buying freshly killed chicken. That sounds a little gross, right? It's really not...and it tastes oh, so yummy).

These are some dogs we found at gas stations along the way in Mexico. 

They look so intelligent!! They would probably end up to be the dogs that can answer telephones and open refrigerators...if only someone would adopt them and give them a little love! Oh, how sad! :P 

I'm going to chase a couple rabbits here, but I might as well include how thankful I am to be back home. I love to travel, don't get me wrong. But living out of a suitcase can get old. And I've always been a fan of travel-sized things. I think they are adorable!!! But when I got home I realized how good it felt to hold a normal sized toothpaste and shampoo bottle in my hands. Quite refreshing!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We surely did!

~Bethany~

September Special Services

 Hey ya'll! It's me, Beth, remember me? I used to blog on here all the time! I feel like talking in "Ermahgerd" because that's what I do when I know I'm totally guilty!!!! I do have a good excuse...which is...I've been busy with other things! As guilty as I do feel....this is my blog and I'll not blog if I want too haha!!

I would like to warn you guys though. Things are not about to get better. We are leaving for the U.S. in the morning and we all know how that goes...

Anyways, on to brighter things!

We had a conference about a month ago! It was great, if I remember correctly. I'm thinking that three people got the Holy Ghost! 

Bro. Voan and his wife and church came down from Uriangato. He preached a couple of the services. He's originally from Georgia and it was so fascinating to hear him speak Spanish with a southern accent--lol! We love the Voans!

 This man came down from Florida and preached the first night. His last name is pronounced "Full" but is spelled something like "Pfol".
We love having Americans down for our special services, but we especially love it when they speak Spanish and are able to communicate with the people! And that's how things this year ended up.

Got to see this little princess! 

We had Sunday school in the street Sunday morning. A tonnnn of kids showed up and it was just SO FUN! Singing, games, and then the Bible lesson by Marvin. Even the adults loved it.

  After Sunday school we all came into the church. It was raining and too cold to stay outside much longer. We all came in and got to singing and warmed the place up with some Holy Ghost singing and shouting!

 Fabz seeking the Holy Ghost

 

OOoooOh! Bro. Voan brought his trumpet and accompanied us in the worship service. It.was.awesome!!! I absolutely loved the sound of the sax and trumpet...they made me feel almost like a pro--ha! 

Thank you to the men that came to preach for us and also to our churches in Mexico that made the sacrifice to come to Puebla.

~Bethany~

Happy Late Birthday to Beth :))

Well... Yesterday was Bethany's 23rd birthday! Our internet was down for a few days, so I guess my mind just did not think to post yesterday! Oh well :) I can still sing Bethany's praises, even if I am a day late.

So, Happy Birthday to my lovely sister, friend, 

and partner in crime.... 

I love you!

Birthday breakfast: No less than heart shaped french toast for Beth! :))

The beautiful birthday girl

Austin's hilarious and sweet card... Mostly hilarious :))))

(Some family members were a little confused about Beth's age, but let me clear it up- 

She turned 23 not 24!! LOL)

A picture definition of unrequited love, I think.... LOL

^This boy is just way too old to receive OR give kisses, or so he thinks!^

 Present time!

 Among the many gifts, this is what touched her heart the most... *sniff sniff* She almost cried over these packages of Yakults! But I don't think anyone can blame her- they are pretty yummy :)))

Later on in the day she got a sweet delivery, ordered and sent all the way from the good 'ol U. S. of A.

(Yes, I know I just started yall's tongues to wagging! Hahaha!)

Beautiful flowers!

In the evening we went out for dinner at a Texas BBQ restaurant, run by an actual Texan. 

The food was amazing! It was like a little piece of home. 

Elder and Sis. Wakefield, our precious grandparents.

And the younger Bro. and Sis. Wakefield :)

And the even younger Sis. Wakefield :))

 All their recipes are Texas family recipes-- they make their own bbq sauce, and they make this delicious mixed berry cobbler. I mean really, where else in Mexico can you order cobbler??

^Sometimes food pictures come out looking not quite yummy.. But believe me, this was so so good^

Opening presents from Grampa and Gramma!

And that's that! The end and beginning of another year of life for our Beth. 

For all of you that weren't able to send your birthday wishes yesterday through text or email, the lines are open and we are accepting comments today! 

:))

P.S. So yeah... we did have a conference a few weeks ago, and it was an awesome conference... And yeah, laaaame for us not posting about it yet! 

It shall be up within the week! Scout's honor :)) Maybe even tomorrow! Unless our internet goes down again... We have a serious bone to pick with our phone company!! The internet service has been horrible. So hopefully the internet will stay on so that I can blog!

*Nicole*

Elisa's Baby Shower

This past Saturday we had our precious Elisa's baby shower! 

Here she is lookin' all cute :)

Cake and presents table!

Played games...

Took pictures with the little princess...

More games...

Took more pictures Elisa... :))

Opening presents!

Cheyenne found a turtle outside! So neat!

We're so happy to have Elisa out of the hospital and with us! 

She is an absolute doll and even her crying is so sweet and adorable... :)))

We love you Tia and Elisa!