Preparation

Today is a quieter day but we are doing preparation for our big youth event this evening.  We have invited youth from Dallas and Tara's community to come out with their friends to an evening of games, pizza and some skits we've prepared.

Yesterday we had a day of learning more about Guadalajara as we visited the market which included their cathedral as well as indoor and outdoor vendors.  We started with a picture scavenger hunt which forced us to interact with some of the locals and learn more about the city.  After a great lunch in a restaurant we spent some time shopping in the market.  A long, hot, tiring, fantastic day.

Below are a bunch of the pictures from yesterday.

 Lots of street vendors

 Austin thinks he's the knig

 Buying something to cool down

 Inside the Market

 Lots of neat statues you could sit on.

 One of our assignments was to get a picture of a shoe shiner so Diane took advantage and her shoes shined.  He was a nice guy who has only been doing this for 11 years because as he got older no one would hire him so he "had to find some way to make an honest living." (His words)

 The crypt under the cathedral

 Routonda

 Not something you see everyday in Canada.

 Enjoying a Rousa, an ice drink with salt, chili powder and pop.  An acquired taste which I did not acquire.

 FYI: The young Mexican girl in this picture is Paulina.  She is a neighbour of Dallas and Tara's who we met two years ago and she has been hanging out with us this trip as well so we invited her along for the day.

 The cathdral

 Our platter of food for lunch.  3 of these fed 22 of us, with leftovers.

Painting accomplished

Another beautiful day here in Guadalajara.  We split up this morning and went to two locations.  Half of us went to the school where Dallas and Tara's kids attend and met with the kids and prayed with them (sorry i don't have any pictures to post as i was with the other group).  The other group went to the Matthew Training Centre just outside of the city.  It had college aged students from all over the world who attend a 7 month training program geared toward missions.  We spent time worshipping with them and sharing some stories and then we split into groups to pray.  In the afternoon we went back to the orphanage where we finished our painting.  After supper a few went with John and Connie to their cell group.  A busy tiring day but a good one.  Tomorrow we head to the market to do some culture training and also some sightseeing and shopping.  A good break before a busy weekend of ministry programs.

 The finished project of the court.  See yesterday's post for the before picture.

 Singing with people from the Matthew centre

 Checking out their grounds.

A cool place we came across close to the Matthew centre.

Another great day

Today we worked at an orphanage where we cleaned up their court  and then began painting it to make it a basketball court.  Instead of a thousand words here's a bunch of pictures.

 Cleaning up the court

 Helping the kids with homework

 
 Playing some soccer with the kids (helped to keep them off the court)

 Taking a water break

 Finished the blue sections

 Almost done the green section.  we will be adding all the white lines tomorrow.

 Good job guys!
Keesha hard at work.  Actually if you look closely at her toes you will see all the blue paint.  All the youth worked hard both at painting and at connecting with the kids there.

Tomorow we will be going to two different places in the morning and then back to the orphanage in the afternoon to finish the paint job.

A Beautiful Day

What a beautiful day today.  The sun was shining, the day was warm and we enjoyed time together in prayer.  Today we focused on prayer.  We realize (especially from where things were two years ago) that prayer plays a large role in the ministry that is happening here in Guadalajara. Today we spent time talking about and then going on a prayer walk.  We started by driving to the top of a hill overlooking the city where we prayed individually and then as a group for the city as a whole.  That God would do great things through the ministries here.  We then broke off into smaller groups each led by one of the missionary couples and we went walking all over the area around where they live praying for specific people they have been connecting with as well as areas where they can be building new relationships.
It was a new experience for many but overall it was a really good time of meeting with God and connecting together in prayer.
Tomorrow we will be spending most of the day working at an orphanage with some of us painting and some of us playing with the kids.
Pray that we would be able connect well despite language barriers and that we would stay hydrated in the heat.  (I know you from MB don't want to hear about the sun and heat but please pray anyway :)
A praise item is how well we are connecting as a team.

Late night posts

Hey all,
So we arrived early this morning safe and sound.  We took a quick nap and then headed off to Dallas and Tara's cell group.  We had a good time of singing in both English and Spanish and had a sharing and prayer time.  The host couple offered us lunch with some awesome meat buns (not Mennonite style) and then enjoyed a swim in their pool.
I think updates on the blog will end up being later in the day when i am back at Dallas and Tara's with access to their internet.
Tomorrow we will meet in the morning and get oriented to the city and then head off for a prayer walk.

 Love the Rockies

 Cell group

Sorry about your snowstorm warning.  Around plus 30 here.

Well we made it to Fargo.  No problems at the border and after a good supper in Grand Forks it's time to relax before a long day of travelling.
Continue to pray for us as we connect as a team and as we go through 4 airports tomorrow.

The journey begins!!

Well today we pack up and head on our way.  We've had quite a number of glitches along the way that have slowed our preparations but we know God is good and that he can do amazing things in our weaknesses.
Lots to do to get ready today.  We are leaving at 5pm to drive to Fargo where we will spend the night and our flights leave tomorrow at 1pm.

Please pray for:
- Unity in the group. (Pete, Ian, Kayla, Lyndol, Keesha, Kayla, Cy, Jason, Brayton, Austin, Malachi, Daniel, Christian, and Graydon)
- For the Missionaries we will be serving with: Dallas and Tara, John and Connie, Ernie and Diane.
- For smooth travel across the borders and with all the flights.

- on a personal note, please pray for Irene and the kids as they try to balance the week with family time and time at the hospital visiting Irene's dad.