Thank you for all your prayers

we arrived back in Canada and are all doing well, we thank you all so much your your support and prayers, God has protected us all and continues to keep us well in Canada.

I hope next year the students will be just as blessed

adiós, all

Hola once again

Hello!

So these past few days have been awesome. Theyve been busy but not too busy, a good way to end off our trip I would say.

So Saturday we went out to Mascarenas again and did a small kids service in the church. About 15 kids showed up and it was very very fun. We did our skits and even lead the song 'Father Abraham' in spanish (we didnt know the words that well) and the kids loved the actions because they were different than what they were used to. It was a real good experience this whole trip doing stuff with the kids in Mazatlan and in Nogales.

Yesterday we did the whole church service at Triumph Lutheran. Pastor Ted and his wife Karla are our hosts here in Nogales as you may or may not have known, we are staying in a couple houses on his property and the church is at the top of the hill. The congregation is quite small with little variation in age but they were very encouraging and welcoming. We did a few skits, lead worship and Nick and Jenn shared their testimonies (for the first time all in English without needing translation!) So they were able to talk a little longer, which Nick definitely did. . . haha

Today the boys all went to the barber and got hair cuts from a lady who knows Dan and Leonnie and Ted and Karla and i'll just say she did a good job. Ryan has less hair than he has this whole trip! Today is our free day and we are cleaning packing and working on our presentation for all you crazy Canadians. Tomorrow we leave for Tucson where we will then fly to Edmonton! Almost Home-time!

Until the next update! (there will be more)
-Team Mexico

Hey Bloggees

Hello Bloggees! (from one of the girls)

It has been a few days since we last checked in and updated you all. We have found ourselves quite busy working on different projects and crossing the boarder almost every day.

Last week we spent a lot of time working on our skits and testimonies. We had the privilege to help out with a chapel at the Mission on Friday, and do the service in Buenos Aries on Sunday. Tomorrow we are part of the chapel at the Mission once again and this weekend we are leading a service at Triumph Lutheran Church in Nogales, Arizona.

Monday was our day off for the most part. The girls cleaned Gola's house (the mother of the pastor's wife who has a house on the same property as ours) for an hour or so, and Kris spent the whole day on a adventure down to Mascarenas, Mexico with Dan. Other than that most of us got lots of rest and so people are feeling a lot better.

Tuesday we then headed up to Tuscon to encourage and help out at a church (Abiding Savor). We designed a pamphlet advertising and inviting people to a yard sale, dinner and service in a few weeks; then we got to go around to the community and hand it out. It was fun to spend time talking to the pastor, giving new ideas and encouraging him at his new perish. Before we left he took us out to two different houses where we met two ladies of the congregation. At one house we got to pick grapefruits and oranges till our hearts were content! Currently the boy's house smells of citrus, much better than other things it could smell like. We were very excited when we pealed the first orange and tasted it. It tasted like wild raspberries. Unbelievable! We have eaten so many that we are probably on a vitamin C over dose!

Just yesterday (Wednesday) we finished painting the fence at the church in Buenos Aries. It took us a few days and some runs across the boarder to get more paint, but in the end it ended up looking really good and the people seemed to appreciated it quite a lot. Then today we were invited to go back just so they could feed us a delicious meal (the forth of such delicious meals). The hospitality is incredible. They take care of our every need and then some. On our way home we stopped in at the market in Nogales (Mexico) and picked up a few things to take home, mostly pure vanilla.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us these past few months leading up to this trip and throughout it all. We are so thankful to know that no matter what is going on here we are being supported in prayer more than we know. Everyone seems to be feeling much better. Jenny's back is still bothering her a bit, but for the most part it has been really good. We could also keep praying for Nick's back injury (from playing basketball). Mostly as a team we are are in need of prayer for renewed energy. We can see the end of the trip coming in just a few days now and everyone is looking a bit tired and worn out. The last few days are looking pretty busy, travelling all over the place and we are definitely in need of energy and endurance.

Thanks for all your comments that we always look forward to reading, we hope you are all doing well.

Dios le bendiga!

Your beloved Blogger

The Latest from the border(not boarder)

Hola canadians!

So Kris isn't here at the moment so there won't be any pictures because we're inept. However hopefully it will be enough to hold you over til then.

So a few updates since our last blog: We have worked at the Mission, the Church across the line, and some work in Mascarenas. Today is our day off so we have some time to update you. Otherwise we have been pretty busy and wil continue to be busy this week.

The Mission (Cross Roads Mission Rescue) is a facility like those we have in Canada for homeless (ex: Mustard Seed) but its orientated toward the illegals in the states. When they make it over the line they are left with nothing so the Mission provides meals and clothes. We worked in the kitchen and did some work with the clothing there on Saturday. We made lunches and helped with serving and setup for lunch.

Our work across the line (border) in Mexico at the Church with Darwin has been awesome! We have painted the inside (as you saw) and now the outside including doors, and the metal fencing around the church. We since have been a part of the sunday school yesterday and we were the service afterwards. It was a grand experience as we were able to do skits, testimonies and a little bit of preaching with some help from translation.

Yesterday after the church service we journeyed out to Mascarenas to do some work at the church there. The whole group worked on a trench where a rock wall will be built. However because of Nick's back he was unable to to help so he (I) went with Darwin and the pastor to visit people around the community.

Prayer Requests for the Team:
Kris: He is doing better! Praise Item!
Jenn: Keep praying for her Kidney Infection and her back.
Ryan: He is feeling a lot better but not quite 100%.
Michelle: Health would be good.
Tovah: She would stay healthy!
Nick: Back injury

Gomez's

Darwin & Mary-ann

thank you all so much for your prayers and support, please continue to pray for these things. God Bless

Until Next Time
Nick Joyal & Ryan the Dittman Jimmy

Greetings from the boarder land!

We made it!

On Tuesday night we arrived safe and sound in Nogales Arizona. Yesterday we met with our host family Darwin and Maryann Jackson. Right away Darwin brought us to the Mexican side of Nogales where some of us did some street canvasing and the rest of us played basketball with the local Mexican teens. Later on we went to a Spanish bible study at Iglesia Evangelica Luterana Church.

Already it has been awesome watching Darwin interact with the Mexican locals, he is a true evangelist. Today we watched him put on a chapel service at the Rescue Mission on the Arizona side of Nogales. It is here that we will be serving in the kitchen throughout our next two weeks. Most of us went back across the boarder today to paint the interior of the church, but before we started they served us a meal of chicken with chocolate chili sauce!! Very good.

We have been blessed with a twelve passenger rental van with Mexican insurance for a very reasonable price. Waahoooo! We were pretty certain we weren't going to be able to rent a van with the ability to go across the boarder, but once again God provided for us. Michelle insists that we tell you that we are driving a 2009 Ford E350 with a 5.4L v8 Fuel flex engine with an Allison 4 speed auto transmission with some bling bling on the hood!

This weekend we will continue to paint the church, fence and the exterior as well. We will continue to be helping out in some services doing skits, songs and our testimonies. On Sunday we will be driving to Mascareñas,‎ Sonora where we will be going to a church service.

Thank you for all your prayers and support it has been really encouraging reading your comments and emails. An update on how the team is doing: Jenny is feeling a 100% better but continue to pray for her kidney infection, Nick's head is healing up well but he pulled something in his back playing basketball so please pray for healing, Michelle's knee has been bothering her so please pray that it won't give her any pain, Ryan is on the up slope of a pretty brutal stomach flu, pray that Tovah and Kris's good health would rub off on the rest of the team!

For now take care and God Bless,

Team Mexico

Adiós Mazatlán. ¡Nogales aquí nosotros venimos!

All our bags are packed and tomorrow morning we head off on another part of our adventure. 

We (the boys!) have really enjoyed our time here in Mazatlan. Some of our highlights here have been the food, our hosts, the produce camp that we experienced and being immersed in the mexican culture.

The cuisine in Mazatlan has been simply astonishing. We never knew that we could digest so much deep fried food (well okay maybe not all of us are digesting the food quite right!) Living with the mexican families has let us truly appreciate the major affect a deep fryer can have on your meal time. Already we have placed our orders for 100 of the finest deep fryers(the Lincat DF 33 deep fat fryer) for next years christmas gifts. The mexican cuisine has definitely lived up to its reputation for having intense flavors. We can only have faith that God will allow us to experience such taste in Nogales. 

Our host families here in Mazatlan have been unbelievably hospitable to us in every way. They provided us with everything from a bed to laundry services. The culture we have encountered here has largely been contributed to by our hosts and their families. We have all been blessed with beautiful families that we can now call our own. We have kind of been adopted into the families, so much so we even have unique roles to play in each. Nick and Ryan's host family renamed Nick Chabelo. This is the name of a character on mexican television. It is a kids show, the character is tall, goofy and doesn't know when or maybe even how to be serious. We think that Chabelo is a kid who is in a man's body so he wears kids clothes and has a really high voice which sounds even funnier in spanish. Self explanatory. We watched one episode and soon realized why Nick is now Chabelo. 

On Saturday we were blessed with the opportunity to go to an agricultural camp an hour and a half north of Mazatlan called Ceuda. We handed out pamphlets and magazines to the local youth after doing a kids outreach outside the church in the neighborhood. It was very eye opening to see the conditions these people live in. We walked around to invite children to the church and it was hard to see some of the children; a lot of them had pink eye and it wasn't difficult to understand why with the living conditions in the community. When the kids showed up to the 'kids service' it was awesome to see how willingly they participated with us. Ceuda is place I'm sure will stay in our hearts for a long time.

We are so grateful to be on this missions trip, thanks for all your support. Please continue to pray for us as we travel tomorrow afternoon to Nogales. Health amongst the team has been fairly good, Jenny is doing amazing but please continue to pray for her back.

Dios te bendiga.

Ryan, Nick and Kris

Hola!

Hello Blogees.  This blog is from the girls so it may not be as humorous as the boys (as in Ryan and Nick).

Since the last blog entry not much has changed. We are still taking part in different ministries the church puts on all over the city and surrounding areas. We have been to a few homes in the evenings in which they have gathered the community and put on some small services. Each of these services always ends with the children in the community getting their operation Christmas child boxes. It is not really how I imagined it would be. It always makes us laugh when the younger children get their boxes and have no idea what it is or why it is on their lap. There are always some kids that just don't understand that all the stuff in the boxes is theirs, so we open the box with them and take stuff out and start to play with them. I think for some kids it will take some time to understand that it is all for them. it is also funny when you watch them take the toys out that you could only understand how to use by reading the directions or having someone show you. Their was a musical instrument that you blow into, but it kind of looks like a drum and when I showed one boy how to use it he got so excited, it made me very happy.

One of the most important aspects of the trip thus far has been the significant language barrier. There are two missionary couples that are living in Mazatlan who speak english and of course the Gomez's (who are doing really well Rob), but most of our billets don't speak more than a word or two of english. I have learned so much spanish in just this past week. I came here knowing just the bare basics, if you could even call it that, and now I communicate with my billet only in spanish. You learn quickly when you have too.

We have also spent a lot of time talking about the cultural differences we have found in Mexico. I know everyone knows that it is laid back in Mexico, but really, it is super laid back. There is almost no purpose in planning ahead, there is nothing for you; just show up and do something or other. We are struggling to change our American mind set that tells us we need to be organized instead of just going with the flow. We are just trained to be as efficient as we can, but it just does not work here!

Today Nick ran into an air conditioner that was protruding from a wall over the sidewalk. Ryan was rather excited because he finally got to use his "doctor bag." Nick has a small gash in his head, but it is not worthy of stitches or worry. So he's going on in his usual energetic fashion.

The boys tore out the existing kitchen counter in the Bible school/church and will be retiling a new counter top with in the next couple days.

We just want to thank you so much for all your prayers, they make a world of a difference. It gives us much comfort and strength just to know we have such a strong support system back home. As you pray for us we are praying for you too! Some things you could pray for would be health (especially for Jen, her back is acting up), that we would continue to learn the language quickly and also that we grow as disciples of Christ.

Thanks for reading and take care,

Dios te bendiga (God bless you)

The Long Awaited Culture Shock Pt.2

So since our last blog a lot has happened. The reason for the long wait is because internet was down in our billets home and then their computer needed fixing so we have finally found an internet source to update yet another blog.
We can´t possibly tell you everything we have done so we will highlight some events. The first big event we were a part of was the Fiestininios here at the church. This was a childrens festival held for the community and church family. The other things we have done were church services and a little childrens program the day before fiestininos. These all so far, except for one, have been outlets to give out Operation Christmas Child boxes to the children. All of these experiences were amazing, the children love it. Health'wise everyone on the team is quite well and praise God Jenn is doing awesome! The culture here continues to surprise and stretch us out of our comfort zones as well as show us how much God works in the world. We have uploaded photos, hope you enjoy! Until next time PEACE!
Ryan the Dittmann Jimmy / Nick Joyal

Culture Shock! Pt. 1

So, our very first day and night in Mazatlan.
Its been a fiesta and a half. We flew in this morning at 6:45 am and arrived in Mazatlan around 12 give or take a few whatevers, we were and are very tired. It was a grand experience on the plane for all especially Nick being it his first plane ride. We arrived at the airport, went through customs, and couldnt help but notice the colorful airport we had entered into. It was like purple and blue and sweet. we soon found out the whole city is like that, except all the colors of the rainbow in all kinds of combinations.
we arrived at the church/bible institute and met Guatalupe (sp?) our host. We went through our itinerary(more on this later) and then strolled the streets for a little bit before leaving for our billets.
We (Nick and Ryan) then went over to Rosillie(our billet) moms house where the entire and we mean entire family showed up for the most amazing shrimp and whatever else we were eating that there ever was in all of our lives. We definitely left a 5 inch high pile of shrimp shells (which sounds weird but their shrimp is different then our ignorant idea of shrimp) and it was gooooood. So now we are here in her house, Es Mucho Hermoso (we learned that today haha). And we´re blogging. So this has been another edition of the team mexico of awesomeness blog, tune in next time when we teach you our version of spanish!

Love: Nick Joyal & Ryan The Dittmann Jimmy