A week on...

We've been in 'lockdown' mode for a week now. Each morning has been school at home for the kids, then various activities in the afternoon - none of which include going and seeing people. Sarah and I both feel like our Spanish is suffering, because we're not seeing anyone.

Today we had family church at home. Each of the girls presented a Sunday school lesson, then we prayed for our fellow missionaries around the world. Good fun - and we even got to do some craft.

We are expecting that in the next 24 hours the government will announce whether we all go back to school and Uni on Wednesday, or whether the lockdown is extended. My hunch is it will be back to work, as the number of cases here is leveling off and I think the economy is suffering as well! Its all very well for the government to say 'everyone just stay at home for 5 days', but in a country where a lot of people are on the breadline, that's a tough ask.

Its also been a tough few days because its starting to get really hot. Over 40C every day now, and the nights don't cool down much. We do have a/c in the house, but only in the bedrooms, and electricity here is pretty expensive so we can't run them on and on. We're drinking heaps of water - about 20L between us every two days. We know that because we have to go to the shop and keep buying it. Fortunately, water is cheap - about $2.50 for 20 litres.

So now we wait - to see what the government will say.

A word from Sarah

We are feeling well sustained by God through people's prayers. It's wonderfully amazing to notice the number of times a day that God provides just the right strengthening, provision, language skill, friend, helper etc, at just the right time. Even trivial things like today i went to find a clothes shop that Karina had won a voucher to. I found the address, but it just looked like a suburban house. I was about to drive away when someone pulled up who clearly looked like the owner of a dress shop. Sure enough, she caught my eye, spoke to me in English, and in I went. It didn't really matter if i never went into this shop, but God takes care of the details.

There are far more valuable ways that God is caring for us, but I think the trivial demonstrate the breadth of God's care of us as individuals.

I had my best and worse language experience last week. On Tuesday I climaxed by bursting into tears on Miriam's teacher when she asked how I was. On Friday I walked along the river to talk to a stranger to practice my Spanish. The first lady said no, but the second was perfect. (There was much terror and prayers between the first and second!) She spoke to me clearly and slowly, was patient to correct me and help me to get things right, and she only used English to help me over a hurdle every now and then. We walked and talked for 40 minutes - and it was in Spanish all the way. I'm sure God gave me the gift of tongues just for the morning to give me a lift, because he knew I needed it!

The swine flu is having a huge effect on Mexico and Monterrey in particular. To cancel all schools, unis and public gatherings,  for almost two weeks, in about 6 states (more than 30million people) is a huge deal. The streets here are very quiet like very early on a Sunday morning. Shops are open, but there's just about no-one in them. Some people are wearing face masks, but not everyone.

We are perfectly well and are trying to make the most of the time that we have. We're being proactive in home schooling the girls and helping them progress in English, Spanish, maths, violin, basketball and art. Although this afternoon we all went to a friends house and sat around chatting and eating icecream in the back courtyard while 6 kids played in a huge paddling pool! (A good option when it's 32.)

Thanks again for your prayers. They are a delight to God, and sustenance for us.

Latest on the swine flu

Hi everyone,

I guess you've heard about the swine flu outbreak by now. It started in DF (Mexico City) but has now made it here to Monterrey. There have been 10 cases and 1 death so far (although that lady had come from DF).

Now, at 10pm we have just heard that schools will be shut for the next 2 weeks - including Universities - so there will be no language school for me. I  think that decision will be reviewed in a couple of days but we have to wait and see. We are being urged to not gather in large groups, have personal contact etc.

There doesn't seem to be a great deal of worry amongst the people around us - I think they are looking forward to a bit of a holiday from school - but we'll see how that mood changes as and if the situation gets worse.

We'll certainly be praying that things don't get worse here in Mexico - perhaps you could join us in that.

Pete

The calm before the storm...

We were woken by a very unusual sound today - thunder, accompanied by rain! This is very unusual for Monterrey - at this time of year the maximum temperatures are around 35C and the humidity is around 20%. The dust blows in from the desert and its generally hot and dry.

We've been enjoying a week off from school and all the usual routines this week - but it all starts again tomorrow. The girls will go back to school and Sarah and I are starting at a new language school. We'll be in class for 2 hrs, 3 times per week and will be trying to find regular conversation partners outside these hours. Sarah will be in the Level 1 class to try and get some grammar basics cemented to complement her growing conversation skills, and I'll be in Level 3, building on the intensive month class that I completed in March.

School, and language school will go until mid-June, when we have the long end-of-academic year holiday - almost two months. This is when it gets seriously hot in Monterrey, so we don't know what we'll be doing in that time.

If you have spare prayer time, perhaps you could be praying for us all as we get back into the routine of early mornings, driving to school and classroom work. It's been a luxurious two weeks of sleeping in and enjoying some rest.

Back from a week in Guadalajara

Hi everyone,

Happy Easter (it's still Easter here). We've just returned from a 2100km round trip to Guadalajara. Here's a few pictures, some thoughts, and some prayer points.

The front of the main cathedral in Zacatecas

Yes - there were lots of cactuses (ii?)

It wasn't all hard work.

Jan Kennington (grey hair) at the MOCLAM stall.

We went to Guadalajara for VIVE09, a missions conference run by COMPA, the Mexican IFES affiliated group. It was kindof like MYC with a missions twist (if MYC means anything to you!) with about 700 people there.

Each day there were talks, seminars, meals, fun and lots of singing - which was good for us because it really helps us in our Spanish learning. There were a number of speakers, speaking on a range of topics from themes in John's Gospel to Being Christian in the professional workplace.

All sorts of things struck me, but one particular one was that there was a great emphasis in being a Christian within your profession, God has led you into that profession - make the most of it as a 'mission field'. It was interesting to hear that, whereas in Sydney we often hear the call to leave the profession you are in and become a 'professional' minister. I don't think I heard that issue raised once.

The conference was held at a hotel owned by the University of Guadalajara, situated about 30km from the city - so it was quite nice. As you'll see from a couple of photos, it wasn't all hard work.

We came back through the colonial mining town of Zacatecas (8,600ft) which was a great insight into some Mexican history.

Today is Easter Day, so we thought before we went to our own church we might go into the Catholic Cathedral in town and have a look at how Mexican Catholics 'do' Easter. And what did we find? Well, nothing really. There were lots of crowd barriers and extra seats seat up - but it was all for Friday - 'Black Friday' as it is called here. Their emphasis on Easter is on the death of Jesus - its almost as if the resurrection doesn't rate a mention. But while we thought about it, thats exactly what we see in all the religious art here - Jesus is either a baby (usually in the arms of Mary), dying or dead (often in the arms of Mary). He is practically never portrayed as risen or glorious - I'm sure there are lots of theological themes to chase through there.

Anyway - its been a big week. I (Pete) have been quite unwell along the way (heavy flu, then side effects from antibiotics) but am getting better now.

Here's a few prayer points.

Thanks

- for a smooth trip and a safe time on the roads

- for a good opportunity to meet up with some old friends and make some new ones

- for a great insight into COMPA, how and where they are operating

- for the safe arrival of our boxes from Australia while we were away

Requests

- for a good week as a family this week - the girls are off school for another week

- for progress in Spanish, and for good decision making in terms of what language learning option to use next.

- that we'd be gracious and gentle as we seek to proclaim the news of the risen Jesus.

A few photos of normal life

We're now getting settled into our new house. Our stuff hasn't arrived yet, but we are hopeful it might happen this week.

On Friday we're going on a 2000km road trip to Guadalajara - across the other side of Mexico. We're going to VIVE09, a student missions conference run by COMPA - the Mexican IFES group. It'll be a week with 700 students doing Bible study, singing, praying, doing seminars and mucking around. Should be fun, but also exhausting for all.

Meanwhile, here's a few snaps of our house and surrounds.

This is looking up our street. Our house is behind the blue bin.

A couple of weeks ago we went to a waterfall where they had kids rides and picnic stuff. This is a twisty, deep fried potato with sauce!

This is the view across the valley - taken just down the hill from our house.

Karina washing the car. Because we're on the edge of the desert, its very dusty so we have to do lots of cleaning!

Updated prayer points March 19 2009

We are very grateful for the large number of people we know are praying for us as we settle into Mexico. Its been a great encouragement to have requests for additional prayer points and information  - so here are some up to date points.

* Sarah has been quite sick over the last two weeks. She has been suffering from a very heavy flu which kept her in bed for a week, and meant she had no voice for 5 days. We are thankful to God that he has healed her and she is feeling much better, although would still like an afternoon snooze!

* Lucy has been struck with a lesser version of the same disease so had to take two days off school (including her birthday yesterday). She went to school today but is about to head off to the doctor.

* Everyone else is well!

* We are moving into our new house tomorrow (Friday). This is a great answer to prayer and we will enjoy the new space this will give us. Its also a little closer to school so the morning routine will be shorter.

* We are thankful that we have been able to start assembling the furniture we need and are praying that deliveries will come as promised.

* We still don't know when the goods we shipped will arrive - however we now have confirmation that they will be arriving in Monterrey - not a port 550km away! (It has taken a while to arrange this!) Pray that our goods would arrive soon.

* We are very thankful to God for answering our prayers about school for the kids. All three of them are really enjoying FORMUS, have great teachers and have started making friends. They are not too phased by the fact that everything is in Spanish, and have said how it is starting to 'seep' into their heads.

* Pete has been at fulltime language school for 3 weeks - and while has learnt a lot and made good progress, is feeling very overwhelmed. Next week he will have a 1-1 week with the teacher reviewing what has been done so far.

* Sarah has been out of action for a while in terms of language, but is getting back into it now. You could pray that she would find someone who will be a good language helper.

* We have decided to join a large Presbyterian church here, and people have been very welcoming. Pete has been invited to join the men's group (but due to family illness hasn't been able to go yet), Sarah has been to the house of one lady, and the kids have started going to Sunday school. There is a good kid's program at the church, which is good because church goes for 2 hours.

* We are very thankful for a couple of Mexican people who have been amazingly helpful to us. David and Claudia, and Vicente and Adriana have spent many hours helping us with jobs, getting things sorted out. Please thank God for them.

* Please pray that as we move into our new house that we would establish a godly household and not get too caught up in getting things sorted out. We've already met one of our neighbors (when he ran into our car) and they have kids the same age as ours - so we are hoping we will develop a good friendship there.

Thanks for your prayers.

You might also be interested to see a short movie I have made. You can download it at

https://www.yousendit.com/download/UmNLZEUrcTI4Q1EwTVE9PQ