Things have been busy around here, let me share with you some highlights.

Thanksgiving was a blast! I watched as Caitlin prepared our first Turkey here. We ended up having 20 visitors come and eat. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the actual people but just the table all set up.

As you can see, we had plenty of food and just enough seats.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to go visit my friend Heather Sanchez in a city called Queretero. It is 3 hours away by bus. Heather and I know each other from when I was interning at the University of Northern Colorado. She's on staff and married.

And today we had the opportunity to go to the Red Cross to pack boxes for victims of the floodings in Tabasco. It was fun to do something that you could see an immediate result from. We packed 5 pallets of boxes today!

Please pray for us:

• as we finish the semester, that we would do so strongly- not wasting any day on campus
• for team transitions- our teammate Nate is leaving and Kat is coming back from a long time in the states dealing with sickness and we have 3 new teammates coming in January as well.
• for our time at home with our families
• for transition back into the United States and cultural shock
• that we would remain steadfast in our walks with the Lord
• for revival in the hearts of Mexicans and we would see this city transformed by the Gospel
  

We got to spend a day with the Lord today. Classes and many businesses were closed as they celebrated Revolution Day here. So I headed to a coffee shop. I was reminded of some sweet things.

In July, my friend Vanessa and I layed before the Lord the idea of me being finished with support so I could leave with my team. As we prayed, the picture of God asking Noah to build the ark before one drop of rain fell. At the time I believed that God was asking me to start packing before support was in. Noah by faith built that ark and I by faith sent invitations out for a going away party and made every plan to leave. And God sent the rain and I left with my team. Now I'm here in Mexico City and seeing God's character show up in new ways everyday.

I love the book of Romans (if you haven't caught that yet). Today I was reading in a devotional about Romans 4 which happens to be one of my favorite chapters. This chapter points to Abrahams faithfulness to be the father of many nations even before he even had a child. Here is what it says:

"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Romans 4:20-21

As I thought of this today, I was reminded of our hope for City Wide Transformation here in this city. What is the difference between Abraham and I? I believe that God has promised us that He will bring every nation to himself. He says that in the Bible. So if Abraham could be fully persuaded then why can't I? I don't have the power to change this city or country just like Abraham didn't have the power to bring a child into this world. He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. The power that made Abraham the father of many nations is the same power that is at work in this city. I am fully persuaded that God has the power to do what He promised here too.

What I'm reading these Days

It was suggested to me by my friend to check out the book written about the life of Jim Elliot called "Shadow of the Almighty". I've been reading it for about a week now and am hooked. You should pick a copy if you are a reader and want to be encouraged. Here's one of my favorite quotes so far. As you can see, he had a passion for Latin America too.

"Mexico has stolen my heart. We've been here for a fortnight and they have invited me to stay as long as I wish. Right now I almost wish it were for life...The Lord has been good to me in bringing me here and giving this brief opportunity to se the field and hear the language a bit. Missionaries are very human folks, just doing what they are asked. Simply a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody."

I couldn't agree with you more Jim.

Birthdays and Fun at the Beach

Every year, Short term teams from all over the world take 4 days off to relax, recharge and meet with staff from the states. This year, our midyear conference just happened to fall over my 26th Birthday. What a great way to mix work with fun!

I was able to celebrate with some of my friends and favorite food in Mexico as well. We made banana boats and had our cook at the restaurant stick them in the oven--messy but good.

But mor than that, we got some amazing time with staff from the states that came down to specifically develop us and help us work better as a team. We did a personality/strength test and compared our results with the rest of the team. What an eyeopener to see how we all are wired so differently but together we are God's provision for each other.

Here are some things to pray for me as we beging to wrap up this semester (I can't believe it's already that time):

- that I would trust and walk in the way that I was made in Christ...meaning I would live out of my strengths and not be abandon them.

- that my identity and worth would continually be in Jesus and Jesus only

- I would be able to connect with students from this semester to encourage and help plan for the spring.

- I would enjoy my weekend in Puebla with other staff women from around the country.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment.

The Opportunities We Miss

We have become pretty accustomed to the Metro these days. We take it a couple of times a week. Early on in the semester, I began buy a bottle of water everyday from the same vendor inside our metro stop. It was a young guy and everyday we would chat a little and that would be all. I had the hopes of getting to know him to share the Gospel with him. I think the "friendship" gave me hope of having real Mexican friends apart from ministry. Well one day I went down into the metro and his stand was closed and hasn't been reopened since. I realized that I kept waiting and waiting for a better time to share with him and now I've missed my chance.

It makes me think about all the times I miss sharing Jesus with someone because I want to be sure about the relationship. What opportunities have I missed today?