[Sunday, March 28, 2004]
Well friends,
It has been an eventful weekend! About the busiest I've had in a long time. I'll start with Thursday. On Thurs. I left Puebla at 10 am and was on an airplane from Mexico City at 3:20. From there I went to Houston, changed planes and went to Dayton. I surprised everyone by coming home for my brother's wedding, which was yesterday. It was so much fun. My brothers and sisters didn't even find out until the day I came home and 2 sisters found out when they found me asleep in the room Friday morning. They were so surprised. Then, my extended family was surprised. Anyways, the wedding went very well. My brother seemed to have a wonderful day, as well as my sister-in-law, Shaylie. It was a crazy, but neat day! Well, right before the wedding, one uncle was taken to the hospital with chest pains and was there overnight. He's out now, but they still don't know what caused it.
Then we come to today. I was so blessed to be at my home church today. My sunday school class was having a fundraising event for our mission trip and also doing the evening service. So, it was great to be home to participate in that. God blessed us! The group has become so united and are just on fire for the Lord! I loved being here and seeing what God is doing in the lives of all His people. It made me even more excited about our upcoming mission trip to Puebla this summer. God is doing great and mighty things. I can't explain how overjoyed I was at the service tonight with the testimonies and worship time. It was a privilege to be able to share what we'll be doing on the trip to Puebla!
Well, after church I found out that my grandpa (on mom's side) was in the hospital and he'd had a heart attack this afternoon. So, we were all up there tonight. He's stable, but in critical condition and in a lot of pain. So, please keep him in your prayers.
I'm flying back to Mexico tomorrow (Monday) and should be arriving back to Puebla about 2:30am Tues. morning. Please pray for me as it will be a busy week catching up with school stuff and on my sleep! Thanks for your love and prayers!
Angelina
It has been an eventful weekend! About the busiest I've had in a long time. I'll start with Thursday. On Thurs. I left Puebla at 10 am and was on an airplane from Mexico City at 3:20. From there I went to Houston, changed planes and went to Dayton. I surprised everyone by coming home for my brother's wedding, which was yesterday. It was so much fun. My brothers and sisters didn't even find out until the day I came home and 2 sisters found out when they found me asleep in the room Friday morning. They were so surprised. Then, my extended family was surprised. Anyways, the wedding went very well. My brother seemed to have a wonderful day, as well as my sister-in-law, Shaylie. It was a crazy, but neat day! Well, right before the wedding, one uncle was taken to the hospital with chest pains and was there overnight. He's out now, but they still don't know what caused it.
Then we come to today. I was so blessed to be at my home church today. My sunday school class was having a fundraising event for our mission trip and also doing the evening service. So, it was great to be home to participate in that. God blessed us! The group has become so united and are just on fire for the Lord! I loved being here and seeing what God is doing in the lives of all His people. It made me even more excited about our upcoming mission trip to Puebla this summer. God is doing great and mighty things. I can't explain how overjoyed I was at the service tonight with the testimonies and worship time. It was a privilege to be able to share what we'll be doing on the trip to Puebla!
Well, after church I found out that my grandpa (on mom's side) was in the hospital and he'd had a heart attack this afternoon. So, we were all up there tonight. He's stable, but in critical condition and in a lot of pain. So, please keep him in your prayers.
I'm flying back to Mexico tomorrow (Monday) and should be arriving back to Puebla about 2:30am Tues. morning. Please pray for me as it will be a busy week catching up with school stuff and on my sleep! Thanks for your love and prayers!
Angelina
[Sunday, March 21, 2004]
Buenas tardes todo el mundo!! (Good afternoon everyone!)
It's been another beautiful week here in Puebla. Yesterday I went to a sports tournament in Mexico CIty with my youth group. It was an event held by Word of Life for area churches, so we made the 2 hour trip to Mexico City for it. When I got there, I was placed on a team with about 12 other girls. The only other girl from my youth group that went was not on my team, so at first I was very nervous about being alone. I didn't know anyone and I didn't know how important skill or winning would be to the girls on my team. I soon found out in our first competition, soccer, that I had just us much skill as any of them, which proved to make for a fun afternoon. The way the tournament worked was that every team played 20 minute mini-games of volleyball, soccer and basketball. We played each of those twice.Then, there were some track events. Well, if you can believe it, we lost every single game and the track events. The worst was a basketball game that we lost 32-2. It was so much fun though. We just got worse as the day went on.My team came in last place for the girls!!I cheered when the guy announced it. I had a good time laughing about it. I got a lot of Spanish practice yesterday, in a new setting, with a new set of vocabulary. I enjoyed it. The other girl that came with my youth group was on the winning girls team. Then, our guys team placed 5th out of 20. We all had a great time.
I can definitely tell that it's dry season because yesterday I came home filthy from all the dust in the air. It will be nice when the rain comes again! Well, thanks to all those who have been praying for me and writing! I received 2 special letters this week. One was from my mom and the other was from my cousin Kerri! It was so nice to hear from you! I hope you all have a great week!
Angelina
It's been another beautiful week here in Puebla. Yesterday I went to a sports tournament in Mexico CIty with my youth group. It was an event held by Word of Life for area churches, so we made the 2 hour trip to Mexico City for it. When I got there, I was placed on a team with about 12 other girls. The only other girl from my youth group that went was not on my team, so at first I was very nervous about being alone. I didn't know anyone and I didn't know how important skill or winning would be to the girls on my team. I soon found out in our first competition, soccer, that I had just us much skill as any of them, which proved to make for a fun afternoon. The way the tournament worked was that every team played 20 minute mini-games of volleyball, soccer and basketball. We played each of those twice.Then, there were some track events. Well, if you can believe it, we lost every single game and the track events. The worst was a basketball game that we lost 32-2. It was so much fun though. We just got worse as the day went on.My team came in last place for the girls!!I cheered when the guy announced it. I had a good time laughing about it. I got a lot of Spanish practice yesterday, in a new setting, with a new set of vocabulary. I enjoyed it. The other girl that came with my youth group was on the winning girls team. Then, our guys team placed 5th out of 20. We all had a great time.
I can definitely tell that it's dry season because yesterday I came home filthy from all the dust in the air. It will be nice when the rain comes again! Well, thanks to all those who have been praying for me and writing! I received 2 special letters this week. One was from my mom and the other was from my cousin Kerri! It was so nice to hear from you! I hope you all have a great week!
Angelina
[Tuesday, March 16, 2004]
Hello everyone!
I hope you are feeling the effects of spring like I am. It has been a beautiful week here in Puebla. The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. We had a rainfall the other night. So, it was definitely a great weather week for camp. Last week we did not have school. Instead, the students went to a Christian camp for spiritual emphasis week. A team of students from Cedarville University came down to do the camp. I helped out as a counselor during the elementary camp and helped some in the kitchen and dining hall during senior high camp. We had a lot of fun. I enjoyed being a counselor. I had 5th and 6th grade girls. Students from other MK schools and homeschoolers also were invited to come for camp. The speaker this year was from Canton Baptist Temple and he spoke about our life as a spiritual race. He did an excellent job with the elementary and the high school students. The Cedarville team was very excited to be here and they had such servant hearts! It was neat to meet people my age who had hearts to serve God!
Well, as if spending 4 or 5 days last week at camp wasn't enough, I went back Sunday for my church picnic there. It was the funniest thing too, because after I'd gotten home from elementary camp on Tuesday. (I went back out Thursday for high school camp) I started having flashbacks from my trip in 1996. We went to a baptism that was a ways drive from Puebla and there was a swimming pool and a pavillion. Well, after a little thinking, it finally clicked that I'd been to the camp in 1996 for the baptism. The whole time I was at camp I didn't realize it. Then afterwards, I put the pieces together. Well, interestingly enough, this past Sunday when we had our service and picnic there, we also had a baptism in the pool. My friend, Elizabeth got baptized, along with her mom, brother and dad (the man I tutor in English.) She is one of the 2 Mexican girls I have interacted with the most. So, it was a neat time. After the baptism, we played soccer. It was only the 2nd time I've really played soccer in my life and the 1st time, which was a few weeks ago, I did really bad. However, somehow my fear of the ball was overcome and I had a lot of fun playing. I even made some goals!! Then, after soccer we played a game of basketball. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the time of fun and fellowship there.
Well, the Lord has really been teaching me a lot lately. I have been studying and memorizing Ephesians 5. It's such a good chapter. It talks about the challenging subjects of loving others as Christ loved us, walking in a way that shows righteousness, goodness and truth, using our time wisely, encouraging others and submitting to one another. I'm really enjoying studying these subjects and putting them into practice, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I just want to end today by encouraging you all. Thank you for serving the Lord, wherever you are at. Thank you for your faithfulness to Him and to the church. It's amazing to think that God is watching over all of you and using you at the same time He's watching over me, thousands of miles away. God is good. His mercy is new every morning. Enjoy your Savior today! Love, Angelina
I hope you are feeling the effects of spring like I am. It has been a beautiful week here in Puebla. The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming. We had a rainfall the other night. So, it was definitely a great weather week for camp. Last week we did not have school. Instead, the students went to a Christian camp for spiritual emphasis week. A team of students from Cedarville University came down to do the camp. I helped out as a counselor during the elementary camp and helped some in the kitchen and dining hall during senior high camp. We had a lot of fun. I enjoyed being a counselor. I had 5th and 6th grade girls. Students from other MK schools and homeschoolers also were invited to come for camp. The speaker this year was from Canton Baptist Temple and he spoke about our life as a spiritual race. He did an excellent job with the elementary and the high school students. The Cedarville team was very excited to be here and they had such servant hearts! It was neat to meet people my age who had hearts to serve God!
Well, as if spending 4 or 5 days last week at camp wasn't enough, I went back Sunday for my church picnic there. It was the funniest thing too, because after I'd gotten home from elementary camp on Tuesday. (I went back out Thursday for high school camp) I started having flashbacks from my trip in 1996. We went to a baptism that was a ways drive from Puebla and there was a swimming pool and a pavillion. Well, after a little thinking, it finally clicked that I'd been to the camp in 1996 for the baptism. The whole time I was at camp I didn't realize it. Then afterwards, I put the pieces together. Well, interestingly enough, this past Sunday when we had our service and picnic there, we also had a baptism in the pool. My friend, Elizabeth got baptized, along with her mom, brother and dad (the man I tutor in English.) She is one of the 2 Mexican girls I have interacted with the most. So, it was a neat time. After the baptism, we played soccer. It was only the 2nd time I've really played soccer in my life and the 1st time, which was a few weeks ago, I did really bad. However, somehow my fear of the ball was overcome and I had a lot of fun playing. I even made some goals!! Then, after soccer we played a game of basketball. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the time of fun and fellowship there.
Well, the Lord has really been teaching me a lot lately. I have been studying and memorizing Ephesians 5. It's such a good chapter. It talks about the challenging subjects of loving others as Christ loved us, walking in a way that shows righteousness, goodness and truth, using our time wisely, encouraging others and submitting to one another. I'm really enjoying studying these subjects and putting them into practice, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
I just want to end today by encouraging you all. Thank you for serving the Lord, wherever you are at. Thank you for your faithfulness to Him and to the church. It's amazing to think that God is watching over all of you and using you at the same time He's watching over me, thousands of miles away. God is good. His mercy is new every morning. Enjoy your Savior today! Love, Angelina
[Saturday, March 06, 2004]
A warm hello to all my friends and family! Well, today is an exciting day! Today is the first day for our Spiritual Emphasis Camp. From this evening (Saturday) through Tuesday morning the elementary students will be at a camp about 45 minutes from here. I'm going to be a counselor! Interestingly enough, a team of college students from Cedarville come down to do the camp with the students. (They've been doing it for the past few years since Jeremy Hudson started going there.) I'm really looking forward to it. I'm sure being there will bring back many of the memories I have of being at camp at the WILDS. The junior high and high school camp is Tuesday evening through Saturday morning, so I will have those days off!! It will be such a nice break! I can't believe how quickly the time is going by!
In preparation for camp, we had spirit week this week at school. The students dressed up as many different things throughout the week- anything from pajama day to dress like your parents day! With all the excitement though the students were a little harder to manage this week! However, we are through it and ready for a great time at camp!
Well, I'd have to say that from mid January through the end of February was the hardest month I've had so far. Up until then, it was smooth sailing and I was just enjoying everything. Recently though, I had some culture shock hitting me in ways I didn't expect and so I had some hard times, but God has really used them to show me where I need to grow in my Christian walk. It has been a growing time. I'm looking forward to the lessons God is going to teach me through some of my mistakes and faults and through being in His service. God is so gracious to show us where we are and help us get to where we need to be! His faithfulness is amazing! Thank you for your consistent prayers. You can be assured that God is not only watching over me while I'm in Mexico, but he is also still working on me!!
I would like to specifically thank those that have given financially over the past 6 months. It is so neat to see how God is still providing for me. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of people who have given consistently to my mission fund, even when I already had what I needed for one year! God has used your gifts to confirm that he wants me here again next year! Thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Lord and His work!
In closing today, not to "rub it in" but just to keep you informed- it's been between 75-80 degrees in the afternoons this week! It feels so much like summer. It's great! (My body is saying- yah, summer vacation is almost here and my brain is saying- no you have 3 more months! Don't let spring fever kick in too soon!)
Oh yes, one more thing-- a cultural experience I had this week. Actually it was this morning. A friend bought me a tamale to try. It's kind of like cornmeal with sauce in it. It comes wrapped in a corn husk and is kind of in the shape of an ear of corn. Well, I was eating it and actually thinking it was pretty good, until....... I bit into the seed of a hot green pepper. I was choking and my mouth and throat were burning. I had tears coming out of my eyes and my whole body got warm. It took nearly five minutes to decrease the burning sensation in my mouth. It was an awful experience!!! I never want to eat something that hot again! So, I learned my lesson to look out for hidden green peppers! I'm sure I looked funny to my roommate because I was running back and forth into the kitchen fanning myself and refilling my glass of milk! I'm sure I'll be able to laugh at that later. :)
Have a great week. You are all in my thoughts and prayers!
Angelina
In preparation for camp, we had spirit week this week at school. The students dressed up as many different things throughout the week- anything from pajama day to dress like your parents day! With all the excitement though the students were a little harder to manage this week! However, we are through it and ready for a great time at camp!
Well, I'd have to say that from mid January through the end of February was the hardest month I've had so far. Up until then, it was smooth sailing and I was just enjoying everything. Recently though, I had some culture shock hitting me in ways I didn't expect and so I had some hard times, but God has really used them to show me where I need to grow in my Christian walk. It has been a growing time. I'm looking forward to the lessons God is going to teach me through some of my mistakes and faults and through being in His service. God is so gracious to show us where we are and help us get to where we need to be! His faithfulness is amazing! Thank you for your consistent prayers. You can be assured that God is not only watching over me while I'm in Mexico, but he is also still working on me!!
I would like to specifically thank those that have given financially over the past 6 months. It is so neat to see how God is still providing for me. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of people who have given consistently to my mission fund, even when I already had what I needed for one year! God has used your gifts to confirm that he wants me here again next year! Thank you so much for your faithfulness to the Lord and His work!
In closing today, not to "rub it in" but just to keep you informed- it's been between 75-80 degrees in the afternoons this week! It feels so much like summer. It's great! (My body is saying- yah, summer vacation is almost here and my brain is saying- no you have 3 more months! Don't let spring fever kick in too soon!)
Oh yes, one more thing-- a cultural experience I had this week. Actually it was this morning. A friend bought me a tamale to try. It's kind of like cornmeal with sauce in it. It comes wrapped in a corn husk and is kind of in the shape of an ear of corn. Well, I was eating it and actually thinking it was pretty good, until....... I bit into the seed of a hot green pepper. I was choking and my mouth and throat were burning. I had tears coming out of my eyes and my whole body got warm. It took nearly five minutes to decrease the burning sensation in my mouth. It was an awful experience!!! I never want to eat something that hot again! So, I learned my lesson to look out for hidden green peppers! I'm sure I looked funny to my roommate because I was running back and forth into the kitchen fanning myself and refilling my glass of milk! I'm sure I'll be able to laugh at that later. :)
Have a great week. You are all in my thoughts and prayers!
Angelina
