10 Pics of Guadalajara

We have been trying to take pictures of  Guadalajara in order to give you a glimpse of what the city and place is like. Here are some of our favorite so far…

When out and about its ALWAYS good to know where the bathrooms are!

There are many kids on the streets selling little candies or produce at all times of the day.

I tried to tell Emily we could make a “fun cage” for our kids to ride in around town…but she didn’t go for it.

The streets and shops around the historic district near our house. Fun place to go.

Driving school that “specializes in nervous people.” We are thinking of enrolling Emily! ; )

There are alot of old and customized VWs around. It would be great to get one of these for the Baja!

Tonola…another market place and artisan area which is fun to walk around.

There are plenty of young people around. In fact 29% of Mexico is under the age of 15…Compared to 13% in the US. Here’s a store that caught my eye as it attracts young people. It reminded of a surfer shop in VA Beach.

One of the main round-o-bouts in the city… One reason Emily is “nerviosa.”

Don’t know how it got there…but it sure is cool! Had to have been there awhile.

Values in Ministry: Part II

I’ve been working on making a new set of ministry reminders or values based upon a book that I recently finished entitled A Spirituality of the Road by David Bosch.  In the last post I mentioned that I had ministry reminders taped near my desk during my years as a youth ministry. These new ministry reminders and values will be posted alongside my previous list as a reminder to me to stay focused on what is important and as a source of encouragement. As with almost any list, it is certainly not exhaustive but simply what I gleaned from reading A Spirituality of the Road and Scripture.

If and when you pray for us you can think of this list and pray these things for us.

1) I will practice the presence of God.

            My relationship with God is not dependent upon language, locations, or limitations…so do not forsake my first love. “Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself.” John 15:1-8

2) I will guard against the extremes.

            Guard against the extremes of slothfulness and over activity. Live in the tension between the two. “If you find honey, eat just enough-too much and you will vomit.” Proverbs 25:16 “A sluggard buries his hand in the dish, he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.” Proverbs 26:15

 3) I will give my heart.

God is more concerned about my heart than my adequacies and proficiencies. It is not about me and what I can achieve. What God wants is a willing heart. I am a captive in Christ’s procession and he leads the way. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God you will not despise.” Psalms 51:17

 4) I will fellowship with Mexicans.

I am here to experience and demonstrate the Christian journey with the Mexican people.  I am not here to sell something or convince anyone of anything. I am here to demonstrate a way of life centered on Christ.  I am not called to change the world, Mexico, or my neighbors. Only Christ and the Spirit can do so…I am here to model a way of life and invite people along.  “All the believers were together and had everything in common…every day they continued to meet together.” Acts 2:44,46 “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28

5) I will redeem the mundane.

            It is in the commonplace where I will find and communicate Christ. Christ is revealed in the simplest of actions. Do not underestimate the genuineness of  communicating Christ in my attitudes and actions towards others. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thess 5:16

 6) I will claim the spiritual authority and inheritance entrusted to me.

            I do have spiritual authority as an ambassador of God. Do not be afraid to  exercise it. “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

 7) I will believe in the good.

            In all the differences it’s easy to become critical and negative. I will choose to believe the good in people over the bad. “Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21

 8) I will not play the martyr card.

            Be wary of having a martyr complex and false sacrifice…it’s not attractive. “Not only so, but wealso glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

 9) I will embrace my weakness.

Embrace my weakness, humility, and vulnerability. Minister out of my weakness and not in spite of it. If I am a servant than I will serve where my Master calls me to serve and not necessarily where I think I should be. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

 10) I will work from, in, and toward the reality of God’s Kingdom.

I will work and hope out of the present and future reality of God’s kingdom and not out of earthly despair, fear, and anxiety. ““The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15

Values in Ministry

Currently I’m working through creating a list of values or ministry reminders from a great little book I finished called A Spirituality of the Road by David Bosch. I would highly recommend it! I’m almost done and am planning on sharing them shortly so that you all can pray with us that we would instill these values into our lives and routine in Mexico.

Having a list of values or ministry reminders has served me well in the past. I would have stated values or quotes printed out and posted at my desk or in my office as reminders of what is really important and keeping me on course when things were hard and keeping me on the ground when things were going well. 

For fun here is a list of values or ministry reminders that I had posted on my desk for eight years as a youth pastor. These reminders served me well and were often a daily source of encouragement and wisdom to me in ministry. I still carry these values with me and look forward having a new set of “missions” related reminders to post next to them. These values or ministry reminders came from another great book called Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry by Doug Fields. I would also recommend this book to anyone who is new or thinking about ministry whether youth ministry related or not.

1. I will move slowly.

Only simpletons believe everything they are told! The prudent carefully consider their steps. The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with great confidence. Proverbs 14:15-16

 2. I will regularly check my motives and evaluate my heart.

When a king judges, he carefully weighs all the evidence, distinguishing the bad from the good. Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin”? The Lord despises double standards of every kind. Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure and right. Ears to hear and eyes to see—both are gifts from the Lord.  Proverbs 20:8-12

 3. I will steer clear of the number’s game.

    “If a shepherd has one hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one?   Matthew 18:12

 4. I will not criticize the past.

    No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,   Philip. 3:13

 5. I will avoid the comparison trap.

    Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.    Galatians 6:4

 6. I will focus on priorities.

    “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, ” ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:36-40

7. I will pace myself.

    Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:36

8. I will serve.

    But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”  Matt. 20:26-28

 9. I will be a learner.

    Learn to be wise, and develop good judgment. Don’t forget or turn away from my words.  Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; whoever walks with fools will suffer harm.    Proverbs 4:5, 13:20

10.  I will pursue contentment.

    Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little.  Philip. 4:11

A Month of Firsts

We have had quite the month of firsts…moving to a new country, figuring out how life works in Mexico from trash pick-up to cell phones, Pete ordering Starbucks through a drive-thru (in Spanish!), girls taking ballet lessons, Emily making new friends for all us, enrolling the girls into school for the first time (anywhere!), and more…

We have been seeking to be intentional in all that we do from meeting our neighbors, to taking the girls on exploratory culture walks, and even enrolling them in ballet and school.

Ali said the other day, “Mommy, I like Mexico more than our other country.” We were surprised because she hasn’t  said anything like this before and she more than any of our children have had moments of tears over missing people from home. So with a curious smile we asked back…

“Ali why do you like Mexico more?”

Ali responded, “Oh mommy! They have ballet in Mexico!”

Emily and I looked at each other and just laughed and responded back, “Yes Ali…they do have ballet in Mexico…YOU are so lucky!”

Shhh…just don’t tell her they have ballet in America too…we were somewhat intentional holding off ballet lessons for her till we got here.

Here are some pics of our girls first day of school in their “too cute” uniforms!

Fellowship Together

Emily and I will be following the weekly scripture readings from the church calendar as well as seeking to read the daily psalms. We are letting you know so that if you wish you may read and pray along with us to our Heavenly Father and know that we are praying along with you.

We are doing this in fellowship with our brothers and sisters at a very cool church up in Fort Wayne, IN called All Saints Anglican Church, (I’d encourage you to check them out) and in fellowship with our other friends and family who choose to follow the liturgical calendar readings.

Even if you don’t formally follow the liturgical year or don’t know anything about it I would encourage you that you can follow along with us! Here are some tools to help you:

 

1) “Lectionary” App: We use this app regularly and it was recommended by our friends at All Saints. It will easily guide you in both the weekly and daily readings. We will be primarily using this app.  They also have an Iphone version for you really hip peoples.

2) Revised Common Lectionary Online: Here is a cool website I found that is maintained by the Vanderbilt Divinity School. They post the weekly readings as well as having prayers and a link to art work that reflects the weekly readings. They also have a facebook page if you want to follow along that way.

We invite you to pray and read along with us. Peace and God bless.

Exploring the ‘Hood

We have been settling into our new home over the past week and have begun exploring our neighborhood and the surrounding area. We are blessed by a wonderful neighborhood with great neighbors and a park for the girls to play in near bye. Next week will begin our formal ethnographic studies as we prepare for language school at the end of the month. But here are some pictures from our first ethnographic outing…”Exploring the Neighborhood.”

Our “Casa. Check out that awesome orange bus and pink/salmon house!

“Parque” near our house

The local trash system. “Organico” and “Inorganico”. They collect trash every day here but only certain kinds. You also are expected to tip your trash collectors or else they may not take your trash.

A catholic church in our neighborhood. A sign out front advertises that “They offer and pray the Rosary to Mary every morning at 8am so that they can get closer to Christ.” (Sign is in Spanish of course.)

And for fun! Here is what we did while we waited for a cell phone store to open. We thought we would be safe to show up at 10am… but the store sign said it opened at 11am….we gave up at 11:30am…we only had so many pesos and sanity left!

And here we are…

We are all finally here in Guadalajara! It was a crazy adventure for both of us in terms of travel: Pete’s road trip with his friend, Dan, went really well! They enjoyed the drive down Baja, the boat ride to the Mainland, and arrived without problems to Guadalajara. I (Emily) was delayed for 2 days in Dallas because of the tornadoes that hit the area. The girls, my parents, and I spent some time in “shelters” in the airport while the storms went through. (Shelters being bathrooms b/c there are no windows…). But God really used the delay to comfort me about a few things…the biggest being that my girls will be fine! The girls were great. We had 2 LONG (as in 16 + hour) days, and they didn’t complain. We also got to spend some time talking with the others waiting for the Guadalajara flight. Specifically I had some great conversations in Spanish with 2 women while our children played together. God was gently reminding me why we are moving, that kids don’t really need to talk in order to play, and that He wants us to share His name and life and joy no matter where we are…in Mexico, in the airport, in the grocery store…wherever.

Anyway…now we’re here. There is a lot to get used to and we’re looking forward to sharing our journey with you as you join us in prayer as we learn and grow so as to be more effective in ministry here, and ultimately in La Paz on the Ranch! Our first job this coming week is to continue to get settled before language school and all of our orientation activities begin.

Some praises and prayer requests as we come to mind in your prayers to our King.

1. We are so very thankful for the house God has provided for us here in Guadalajara for the next 7 months or so. We are close to a park where the girls can enjoy a lot of activities and we have some wonderful neighbors. There are also a lot of families who spend time at the park, so God has put us in a place where we can build quite a few relationships. We’ll get pictures up soon.
2. We have a lot of great memories of our last week with all of you, and your encouragement and support has really encouraged us! Thank you!
3. Please continue to pray for our adjustment. Pete will begin language school on April 30, and Emily will begin meeting with a language tutor and continue developing relationships in the neighborhood. (As a reminder, our first months here in Mexico are devoted to learning the language and culture so that we can be effective in ministry on the Ranch. (It’s like “boot camp” for you military folks…only hopefully no one yells at us, lol.)
4. We have already met some neighbors: Alicia, Laura, Esther. Please pray as we continue to get to know them. They have been a huge blessing to us as we have asked them many questions already in the 5 days we’ve been here. We pray that God will give us many opportunities to share why we are here, why we have the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
5. We have so much to learn about life here. Please pray for daily energy and strength!

We will post pictures as soon as we can. (We are using our co-workers house to borrow their internet and do this post. We will hopefully get internet in our house in a few days or so, we’ll see). We just wanted to give a quick update. We love you all. Thanks for your prayers and support!!

Our Prayer For You

Here is the prayer by Kendall Payne (one of our favorite singer/songwriters) which we read today at our commissioning service.

It is our prayer for you…would you pray it for us.

Kendall explains how the song/prayer came to be and sings it in the beginning of the this video.

Lyrics:

I will pray for you now, for you have been my faithful friends
While the road we walk is difficult indeed
I couldn’t not ask for more than what you’ve already been
Only that you would say these prayers for me
May your heart break enough that compassion enters in
May your strength all be spent upon the weak
All the castles and crowns you build and place upon your head
May they all fall, come crashing down around your feet
May you find every step to be harder than the last
So your character grows greater every stride
May your company be of humble insignificance
May your weakness be your only source of pride
What you do unto others may it all be done to you
May you meet the One who made us
And see Him smile when life is through
May your blessings be many but not what you hoped they’d be
And when you look upon the broken
May mercy show you what you could not see
May you never be sure of any plans you desire
But you’d learn to trust the plan He has for you
May your passions be tried and tested in the holy fire
May you fight with all your life for what is true
I have prayed for you now all my dear and faithful friends
But what I wish is more than I could eever speak
As the way wanders on I’ll long to see you once again
Until then, would you pray these prayers for me?
Oh, that you would pray for me

Our Bags Are Packed & We’re Ready to Go!

Here’s what we’re taking with us to Mexico!

Now all we have left to do (sorta)  is Fiesta it up with our family and friends!

One Week Left…What do we do?!

With only one week left you may be asking yourself what are those crazy Johnsons up too?! Well here it is…

We work off our steam…

Trying to stay sane…

Smiling all we can…

While we eat lots of ice cream…

With good friends…