What advice would you give?

On Tuesday nights I have the girls over that have graduated from college but are just starting off in the "real world". It has turned into one of my favorite parts of the week. I always have something prepared but it seems like a topic always comes up that is more pressing than what I have planned. 

We talk about budgets, honoring our parents, following our calling, taking a job that isn't our dream job, etc.

Last night, some girls came with a urgent question. They wanted to talk about what to do when they see fraud at their jobs. Let me lay out these cases for you and I honestly want your feedback. Your biblical based feedback. 

Case #1: Susie is essentially a warehouse manager. This is the first time in 30 years that there has been someone in her position--weighing materials that are coming in and documenting orders. So you can imagine the "white lies" told by the outside vendors as they bring in their materials. They have been accustomed to telling how much instead of weighing. Well Susie has realized that they exaggerate the material to receive a higher cut and she is sending trucks away.The owner is a supposed christian and some of the vendors are her own family members. There is a very good chance that the owner knows of the white lies and doesn't have a backbone to change it. What should Susie do?


Case #2: Martha is a graphic designer at a small race car company. She is in charge of making posters and logos for the races. She has been working there for 2 years. Martha's boss came to her awhile back with a receipt from car company and asked her to lower the numbers in Photoshop to keep the company in a lower tax bracket. Martha said no. So after awhile the boss asked another person in the office to do it and they are completing it for the company. However, Martha knows its happening and even though she isn't doing it directly, she is in charge of organizing the fraudulent receipts. What should Martha do? 


Together last night, we checked out:
1 Kings 3:16 --King Solomon and the two women with one baby
Acts-- Ananias and Saphira
2 Kings 5-- Namaan, Elias and Gheizi


I await your comments. Thanks for helping me do my job.

Update...what? what?

So let's have a quick multiple choice question...

Why hasn't Emily posted a blog in the last month?

1. She doesn't like you. So she didn't tell you what is going on.
2. There is nothing cool to tell you.
3. Pinky the computer's hard drive crashed for the 3rd time in 3 years...leaving Emily without a computer.
4. All of the above. 

And the answer is.... number 3! 

My friend Gaby came over and restored Pinky again. Who knows how long it will last until she goes again so I am taking advantage of it now. So without further ado, here is what you have missed in my life. 

we had a October girl's time at the house. It was a massive success...think we'll do one in November too!

We had our fall retreat in the state of Queretaro. We had a great time with students and other staff.

We worked at the Christian Expo in October and showed  the movie "Magdalena". Our students in Mexico City loved participating!

I turned 30! And celebrated with a surprise party, chinese food buffet and seeing Footloose with my husband. It was a great time!

My husband Gabriel got his resident visa for the United States. This means that we can live and work in the US without hassle! He had his tourist visa for 10 years before that but we are both working for something more permanent in the other country. 

So that is what you missed...in a nutshell. October was extremely busy and it is looking the same with November as well.

Celebrating Independence Day

Mexico does it well when it comes to celebrating their Independence. Most of the time, it's my favorite time of the year.

This year we celebrated the Sunday before with Gabo's family and then on Thursday the 15th with our friends. I think we are going to need to do something completely different next year cause me hosting their Independence day is a lot of pressure.

Anyways, here are some pics first with the family. 

I made a cake to show my love. It was a double win because they love my cakes and I was showing my Mexican Pride. :)

My man with  my cake.

Con Ximena...look likes she wants to dig in!

Some of Gabo's siblings and their families. 

And then the celebration with our friends. We invited everyone who didn't have plans.

Gabo with Violet

Sweet Lily playing "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" which ended up to be a very controversial game.

There is a small problem at our house...there is no very good phone signal so the phones have to be lined up by the window. Pretty crazy. Reminds me of when I visit my mom's house.

We fell into bed about 3:30am. It was an exhausting night. Next year I might go to a hotel. :)

Presenting the new apartment!

Moving out of our old apartment was bittersweet. We loved where we lived. We had some great parties, meetings, and conversations there. I fell in love with Gabo in that apartment and learned so much more about the Mexican culture and about Jesus and my relationship with him. I lived there 3 years. 2 with Angie and 1 with Gabo.

This is what our living room looked like the Sunday before we left. We had way more stuff than we thought! 

The process to leave with the owner and his beloved secretary (hint: sarcasm) was a little bit unnerving. But overall, the process was pretty seemless giving that we live in one of the largest cities in the world.

Here are some pics of the new apartment.

The cute little dining room.

The cross collection right above the new and improved buffet.

The Kitchen...the plus this time is that it's open and I am not cooking in a closet!

The office. This is still a work in progress.

The living room and the front door.

While Telmex was changing our internet over...

I spent some time unpacking and getting settled into our new apartment. We love it by the way. Telmex, our local internet/phone company took their sweet time coming over to do a job that literally took 5 minutes. I am officially done complaining about that. 

Let me share with you all the story of the mueble (piece of furniture in Spanish). This is a buffet that some STINTers found in the trash of their apt 3 years ago.

This was after Gabo used his brute force to pull out the vertical pieces in the middle that made up a wine rack. We aren't big wine-o's here so we preferred simple shelves in the middle. I got my instructions from www.younghouselove.com and a friendly paint salesman at the local Soriana store.

So first I sanded it.

Then I did a spray on primer. 

And that is when Angie and I started to get a little light headed in the house. We opened some windows and turned on the fan. 

Then later that night, I started the lovely task of painting the beast in all it's nooks and crannies with black oil paint mixed with a little bit of paint thinner. 

Just so you know, that paint was a pain to get off my skin but well worth it in the long run. 

So here it looks all finished. 

We love it. Although we have no idea who the original owners were, we are glad that it ended up in our house!

God's Blessings on Labor Day

Yesterday my sister pushed this little nugget out. Well actually Lucy Marie weighs 9 pounds so she is not a little nugget but yesterday was her day. Just like all the grandchildren multiplying in our family, Lucy is special too. 

On December 25, 2010, my sister calls me on skype and she says that they have a secret to tell us. They just found out they were pregnant! Gabo and I were ecstatic to be the firsts to know. Amy was thrilled. A couple of weeks later, Amy calls and tells me that she tripped and bounced down the stairs and there was some bleeding and she was going to go to the dr. This was before other family members knew. They found out that there was a placental hemorrhage next to where our little Lucy was growing. The OB-GYN tells her to take it easy and to come back in a few weeks. Which is impossible by the way with an 18 month old in the house. These type of hemorrhages can be dangerous leading to bedrest, miscarriage or premie babies. So we prayed a lot here in Mexico.

On February 14, Amy sends me a text message after leaving her ultrasound. The hemorrhage is gone. It's a miracle...not just shrunk but disappeared. We celebrated God's mercy on Amy's womb. 

So yesterday Lucy arrived all 9 pounds of her. I was in Mexico moving apartments without internet. 

Here is how they got our couch in our new apartment. Quite the fiasco...(more pictures to come of the new place)

And yesterday, my best friend Suzanne moved too...from Dallas, Texas to Ioannina, Greece.What a great day!

I thank God for many things today...

- Suzanne and Jerry and their heart to serve Jesus and tell college students about His love in Greece

- My sister Amy and my brother-in-law Ryan and my lil' man Rylan--they are a great family to welcome someone new into. Lucy has a great place to come home to even though Rylan thinks she lives at the hospital

- Our new apartment! It's close to a fun market and a park and 3 blocks from my girl Angie
- My mom-Cath's birthday is today!

Quick Trip to South Bend

Yes, I was in the states for a very short week. I am sorry that I didn't tell you guys. I needed some time to hang out and rest up from the crazy year.

I really only came for one reason...

This one in the orange lunging across the table. My sister (to the left) is about 4 million months pregnant but she decided to teach summer school so I hung out with my lil' man for a couple of days.

Rylan has quite the vocabulary these days. Let me share some of my favorite lines with you.

Me opening the car door to get the nino out. 
Rylan: (hands flung out wide) "TA DA" like he just finished a magic trip

Pulling out of the mall parking lot, Rylan was mad we were leaving. 
Me: do you want french fries?
Rylan: No
Me: do you want to go get mama?
Rylan: No
Me: do you want to go back to the mall?
Rylan: No
Me: Well what do you want?
Rylan: I want jetskies and sailboats.
Me: You want to go to the lake and see jetskies and sailboats?
Rylan: OK! (asking a clarifying question automatically means that I am asking him to go)


I also had a great time seeing family. Although I didn't take many pictures, it was a really good and relaxing time. I had fun shopping in the states, eating Bruno's Pizza, going to Hacienda and laughing a lot.

However, I severely missed this face.

It's amazing what 8 days in the gringo land can do to my heart. Love my home in Mexico but love the roots in USA.

Hope to see you all the next time around! We are praying to be there at Christmas!

The summer update in pieces...

I haven't been around that much the last couple of weeks so I want to play catch up with you guys so you can hear a little bit more about my summer.

 I lead a summer project at the end of July. If you are new to Campus Crusade land, that means a summer mission opportunity. We hosted the project in Mexico City and it was an overall good time.

I loved our students and the activities that we did and our biblical studies course.

One of my favorite parts was Patty (front right). She became a believer about a year ago here in Mexico City and she was a last minute addition for the project. I actually called her the day we were starting to see if she could fill in where another girl dropped off. She showed up 4 hours later and what a blessing she was!

We got to celebrate her birthday with her as well. We surprised her with a little party and the students serenaded her at midnight.

I think the project experience was a growing experience personally, professionally and definitely for my marriage. Gabo and I are still learning to communicate well and share our feelings clearly.

Another plus is that I found my favorite bread in Mexico. It's seasonal so I usually only eat it in October and the first week of November. It's called Dead Bread.

As you can see, I was pretty stoked about it.

More updates to come!

The Family Fly

Let me take a minute to procrastinate from all things summer project to share a little story about the life of a white girl being married to a Mexican. 

We got married in a civil ceremony on June 17. It was supposed to be for family and very close friends. Well this guys showed up... (back right corner)

I had never seen him before and after the ceremony I saw him talking to my gringa friend Caitlin. And I said to that Gabo, "um who is that man at my civil wedding?"

He replied, "Oh he's a family friend. We refer to him as the gnat cause he always just hangs around." 

During the next couple of months "la mosca" (the gnat) called the hubs wanting to be in contact with my friend Caitlin. He liked her and for some reason he thought he had a shot. Gabo always dodged the question not knowing what to do. 

A couple of nights ago, our house phone rang at 11:45pm. Gabo ran to get it thinking it might be an emergency. It was the "mosca" calling...he wanted to know about the English speaking Church and how he could go and meet other girls. Gabo spoke firmly to him that he wasn't going to help find his ideal white girl. 

Most of all, I was severely grossed out by this man mid-30's having the nerve to call Gabo looking for options for a girlfriend at MIDNIGHT! 

I think it's funny and disturbing that people think marrying someone from another culture is a dream come true and it's all roses and pretty rainbows. It's not all the time. People live in a dream world. Bi-cultural marriages are fun but they are a lot of work.

To you the "mosca": you don't know what you would even be getting yourself into. It's not a dream world. And please don't call my house that late again.

Why the Fourth of July means something different to me...

Two years ago, my friends and I decided to throw a party here in Mexico to celebrate our independence day. I think I have become quite the party planner here because of the nature of how we use get togethers to love people well, say goodbye and include new friends and non-believers in our circle of friends. (Maybe I will share a post on that later...)

So July 4, 2009-theme "4th of July" 

 

 Me with Jessica and Katie (we organized the festivities)

When we were inviting friends, Katie told me to send a text message to our friend Gabo. And he showed up. 

And we took a picture together and he asked me out on a date. July 4th was the kickoff of our dating relationship.

Then last year--July 4, 2010, we were married. (We move quick huh?) And celebrated with Katie in the US. 

So this year, we just celebrated our first year anniversary and we are here in Mexico with lots less Americans around so we decided to take a road trip yesterday to celebrate with some friends in Queretaro, Mexico. It was about 3 hours by bus. Here is a picture of the husband and me at the bus station coming back. 

Personally, I am so grateful for this man. He sacrifices so much so that I can still feel like I can be this American girl. There is nothing like eating a burger, some watermelon and cherry coke on the appropriate day of the year while saying the Pledge of Allegiance with 2 other American friends. 

Coming home, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness for my husband. Our marriage is full of learning new things about each other and understanding our cultures in the middle of it. 

Considering Jesus..

One of my jobs on staff is going to share on campuses here in Mexico City. I try to go about every week even though that I don't have a team. I look for volunteers or students to go with me. 

The part of Evangelism that I love is that it's a conversation. Even though many Christians think of it as a time to impart a sermon, I don't love that. It's a dialogue. 

So I was on campus on Tuesday sharing with students. I met Carmen who is studying Sociology and we hit it off right away. We had a great conversation. Carlos began to transition into the Gospel and we talked about her belief of God and what she believes about Jesus. 

I began to talk about the claim of Jesus being a Lord, Liar or Lunatic and what she thought about that. Carmen told me she never considered Jesus as Lord but he definitely wasn't a Liar or a Crazy man. She thought of him as a good leader. 

A.W. Tozer says, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." 

I began to talk to Carmen that our view of God affects how we see our life. Carmen told me she never considered that before. She had to go to class but she had a lot to think about. 

So my question is, what comes to mind when you think about God? How does your life reflect who Jesus really is? And what do you do everyday to tell the world about who Jesus really is?  

One year down...millions more to go!

The hubs and I had a great time in Cancun celebrating our 1 year anniversary and recovering from a couple of crazy weeks in DF. I just want to clarify what kind of vaction-ers we are. 

 We take naps by the pool

We take a couple of walks on the beach.

We eat good Italian food.

The husband even made me a sandwich! 

We truly enjoyed relaxing and marveling in all that we have learned in one year of marriage.

Hotel Hernandez

So the last couple of weeks, we have had a constant flow of house guests. We've got people sleeping on air mattresses and couches and sometimes we have even given up our bed. 

Hosting is interesting. I love having people here. I love hanging with friends that I don't get to see very often and cooking for them. Our friend Katie came back for a few weeks to finish up things here before her move to the states. We've had so many events at the house that sometimes there is no room in the fridge for everything. (Shown below, Katie hard at work organizing the fridge)

I think the hard part is that me and the hubs are not so good at resting. When the friends or family leaves, I do the dishes or wash the sheets for the millionth time. In my eyes, Hotel Hernandez is always worth it. But sometimes it can be exhausting..planning, preparing and still wanting to enjoy the people.

So how did we decide recover from this whirlwind? We are going on vacation next week! That's right my friends. Don't even think about robbing me...I have a hardcore doorman and double bolts on the door. :)

Gabo and I are heading back to Cancun to rest, get some sun and more importantly celebrate our 1 year anniversary. The break is much needed. The equation for recovery for me is: 

Emily + lounge chair on the beach = happy coma

These will be our digs for 4 days next week. Pretty rough huh?

Hotel Hernandez closes on Monday. Pray for a restful time of rejuvenation for us. 

And that we could literally sleep well. (Check the time stamp on this blog...6:15 am is not a normal "get er done" time in my book)