Sunday was a beautiful, crisp fall day in Tepeyac and we had 12 people in our little church service yesterday morning. Several of the sisters shared testimonies, scripture and sang songs, and Hermano Blas preached about the wisdom God gave Solomon and about the temple.
It was a nice service and we sang several songs we used to sing from
the Puerta Abierta Iglesia in Zapata when we first moved to Mexico
in 1994. Afterwards, all of us from the church went to visit Hermana
Lupita because her daughter told us she fell yesterday and we all prayed
for her. She was very sore, and can hardly move her right arm. She
injured her shoulder and both hands, she said. Her hands were obviously
swollen and she said she didn’t sleep during the night but prayed for
everyone while she rested. We pray God heals her quickly.
Bill and I drove to Jiminez in the afternoon to make some phone calls,
and look for the internet place, but we didn’t find it. Jiminez is a much
older pueblo than most of the towns near us. One of the young girls
from the church works at the president’s office there. It’s sort of like the
county seat, as Tepeyac is part of the district of Jiminez. It’s a beautiful
town to drive around, with lots of big trees. I was able to speak to my
mom and dad and several friends, and it was a blessing to catch up a
little on their lives in the states. We bought a small bottle of Coca Cola
and a bag of almendras (almonds) to share on the way back to Tepeyac.
I was able to make a cake yesterday, even though we discovered the
oven here doesn’t work. There aren’t even any numbers on the knob,
but, by God’s grace, I baked the cake in two separate layers my rice
cooker and it came out great! Thank you, Jesus, for my rice cooker from
Kathy Yoshimi. It’s over 11 years old but still works like a charm. J
We took the cake to the church service we attended in Ejido Jarita on
Saturday evening when we joined the family of Yessenia at their house
and sat in chairs outside, praising the Lord. We met the two hermanos
who came from Navaja, near Piedras Negras. They come every Saturday
and one brother plays guitar and leads worship. Surprisingly enough, the
first two songs they sang were “Tu Fidelidad” and “Renuevame,” songs
we sang with the women at the prison in Haskell every week. It was an
awesome service and the brothers went around and prayed for every
single person, anointing them with oil as they prayed. It was wonderful
to be there with them. We plan to go back next week, Lord willing. Next
time, we’ll bring some chairs as some of the 20 people that came had to
stand up during the service. The part that touched me the most was that
when we prayed, everyone got on their knees on the dirt and prayed. It
was wonderful to join all those believers, going to the Lord God on our
knees in prayer.
Saturday afternoon, I held my first art class at the church. Several kids
have been coming by to visit and I asked them if they enjoy drawing.
Several came over for a few hours and they used the markers, crayons
and colored pencils Robin bought just for them. Siri and Steve gave me
some page protectors so the kids covered their art and took it home in
the page protectors. It was fun to see all 7 kids drawing and coloring,
and I invited them back next week. I gave each of the kids a Bible Verse
written in calligraphy to take home for their parents. Roque, Guillermo,
Edgar, Noe, Idalia, Kenia and Diego all attended the little class. These
kids have all been to the VBS we have here in July.
Our neighbor, Alma, asked if we’d like some tamales. Her daughter
makes them and sells them for 30 pesos a dozen. ($2.50 U.S.) I ordered
a dozen and she brought them over Sunday morning, so we had chicken
tamales for breakfast. We gave half of them to Blas and Paula for their
lunch. It was a real treat for us.
We have been enjoying some old cassettes I found when we moved.
Bill loves Dottie Rambo and I found a tape of her music. Also, we’ve
listened to one of my favorites by Rich Mullins. It’s so quiet here,
sometimes I just want to hear some music. I’m listening to Kathy
Triccoli on my computer as I type this update. Some awesome music to
soothe the soul…Kari Jobe is also one of my favorites I have saved on
my Media Player. Thank you, Lord, for their music!
Hopefully, I’ll be able to go to the internet place in San Carlos sometime
Monday and upload this to our blog. Lord willing, one day we’ll get a
land line and internet service at home.
We appreciate you and your prayers for us. We are encouraged knowing
we are where we’re supposed to be, serving the King of kings. Thank
you for reading our blog, and thank you for your prayers for the people
of Mexico. May God be glorified here in Tepeyac and beyond…
In His grip,
Antonia y Guillermo
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday in the Slow Lane
We woke up to about a hundred gallos, crowing before dawn...I love to hear the roosters. Great way to wake up. The cow next door moos at me on the way to the outhouse...Aaahh...such is life in Tepeyac.
It was cold this morning, after the wind blew all day yesterday. I couldn't do much laundry because of the "Mexican real estate moving around" as Bill says. So saved laundry and dishes till this morning. No wind and quite overcast, but cool and nice out.
Our routine is to get water for the coffee pot from the faucet out front, and then I make Bill's coffee. He sits up in bed, propped up with all the pillows, dogs under the covers, and waits for his "miel" to serve him coffee in bed. What a life! :)
Then I do dishes or laundry, or both, like this morning. The washer makes terrible squeaking noises, and we think it's the belt so will look at it later today to see what's wrong. It announces to the whole pueblo that the "Americana" is doing her wash...
Lately, the school kids have been coming to visit in the afternoons. They only go to school from 8:30 until 12:30 so they have nothing to do after school. Diego, who has always attended the VBS, came without shoes. He's a big boy, about 12, I'd assume, and he said he likes to run around with no shoes. I'm the same way, but haven't tried it here. Too many unknowns yet...
Bill has been going over to the school at recess and the kids just love it when he comes. Yesterday he took some Butterfinger candies to Irene and her family. Then Roque, the 10-year-old who lives with Irene came to visit. Bill told Roque he can only have one candy a day...I don't know if Roque believed him or not. He's not registered for school here so just hangs around his kinfolk all day. He likes to draw and I've let him use paper and markers to draw at our house. His father is a police officer in San Carlos. Hopefully, he'll get registered in school sometime soon.
We can drive about 2 miles out of Tepeyac and catch a US cell tower, so we have made phone calls that way. It's sort of an adventure, and amazing to me to be able to communicate with friends and family as often as we have. When we first moved to Baja, we went to a "caseta" and made calls from there. We're spoiled with our cell phones, and so many people have them. Even here, you see kids with cell phones, texting all the time. Too funny, really, when you don't have indoor plumbing but you have a cell phone...
We'll try to send pictures next time we update our blog. I keep forgetting to bring the camera to the internet place...
We love you all and thank the Lord for you, especially for your prayers for us.
Keep building a kingdom for the King of kings!
By His grace,
Bill and Toni
It was cold this morning, after the wind blew all day yesterday. I couldn't do much laundry because of the "Mexican real estate moving around" as Bill says. So saved laundry and dishes till this morning. No wind and quite overcast, but cool and nice out.
Our routine is to get water for the coffee pot from the faucet out front, and then I make Bill's coffee. He sits up in bed, propped up with all the pillows, dogs under the covers, and waits for his "miel" to serve him coffee in bed. What a life! :)
Then I do dishes or laundry, or both, like this morning. The washer makes terrible squeaking noises, and we think it's the belt so will look at it later today to see what's wrong. It announces to the whole pueblo that the "Americana" is doing her wash...
Lately, the school kids have been coming to visit in the afternoons. They only go to school from 8:30 until 12:30 so they have nothing to do after school. Diego, who has always attended the VBS, came without shoes. He's a big boy, about 12, I'd assume, and he said he likes to run around with no shoes. I'm the same way, but haven't tried it here. Too many unknowns yet...
Bill has been going over to the school at recess and the kids just love it when he comes. Yesterday he took some Butterfinger candies to Irene and her family. Then Roque, the 10-year-old who lives with Irene came to visit. Bill told Roque he can only have one candy a day...I don't know if Roque believed him or not. He's not registered for school here so just hangs around his kinfolk all day. He likes to draw and I've let him use paper and markers to draw at our house. His father is a police officer in San Carlos. Hopefully, he'll get registered in school sometime soon.
We can drive about 2 miles out of Tepeyac and catch a US cell tower, so we have made phone calls that way. It's sort of an adventure, and amazing to me to be able to communicate with friends and family as often as we have. When we first moved to Baja, we went to a "caseta" and made calls from there. We're spoiled with our cell phones, and so many people have them. Even here, you see kids with cell phones, texting all the time. Too funny, really, when you don't have indoor plumbing but you have a cell phone...
We'll try to send pictures next time we update our blog. I keep forgetting to bring the camera to the internet place...
We love you all and thank the Lord for you, especially for your prayers for us.
Keep building a kingdom for the King of kings!
By His grace,
Bill and Toni
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Meeting Neighbors
We´ve been here 5 days and so far we´ve met 3 of our neighbors. One family across the street has lots of farm equipment and Bill brings him coffee each morning. His name is Javier and his wife, Graciella, is one of the teachers at the school next door to their house. The woman on our west side is Christina. Her children and grandchildren live in the states and she visits them there. They will be here to see her for Christmas, she said.
On or east side, Luis just arrived a few months ago from Texas. He grew up there but is living here with his aunt and uncle now, working with the ranch and animals. We got to pray with Luis yesterday and know that God is going to do something in his life. He´s not happy here, and has a wife and son in the states.
Lots of people and lots of needs, but our first assignment has been to be a witness for Christ. We have invited lots of folks to church so we´ll see what fruit comes from those invites.
Bill goes to the fence where the kids come out for recess across the street and visits them each day with the dogs. They love our dogs and enjoy seeing Bill and talking about the pups.
We will update again when we can. God bless you and thank you again for your prayers for us.
Tonight is Bible Study at Lupita´s house. We look forward to the fellowship with the saints there.
Bendiciones, todos.
Love yáll!
Bill and Toni
On or east side, Luis just arrived a few months ago from Texas. He grew up there but is living here with his aunt and uncle now, working with the ranch and animals. We got to pray with Luis yesterday and know that God is going to do something in his life. He´s not happy here, and has a wife and son in the states.
Lots of people and lots of needs, but our first assignment has been to be a witness for Christ. We have invited lots of folks to church so we´ll see what fruit comes from those invites.
Bill goes to the fence where the kids come out for recess across the street and visits them each day with the dogs. They love our dogs and enjoy seeing Bill and talking about the pups.
We will update again when we can. God bless you and thank you again for your prayers for us.
Tonight is Bible Study at Lupita´s house. We look forward to the fellowship with the saints there.
Bendiciones, todos.
Love yáll!
Bill and Toni
Monday, October 24, 2011
Settling in to the Quiet Life...
We are so grateful for your prayers and prayerful support for us. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all of you, making it happen. We know that God has called us to Tepeyac and we are so excited about what God is going to do here for His kingdom.
We came to Mexico knowing we had to prepare the small room next to the church to live in. On Saturday several people came to help us remove all the church supplies and clean and paint the room. Blas cemented the holes near the ceiling and with his wife, Paula and Lupita’s daughter, Irene helped paint the walls. It looks so much better, and with the hog-back Greg and Bill put up to support the roof, we have a nice 4”x4” post painted green in the center of the room. Since there are no outlets in the room, I ran an extension cord from the sanctuary and now have our lamp working. I brought lots of things like my crock pot, rice cooker, coffee pot, fan and microwave, but have found that if we have our fan working, the lights dim when I plug in the coffee pot. It got hot today and with no breeze, was somewhat stifling in the room. And the fan helped quite a bit, just moving the air around. For the most part, it has been very nice, and the temperature hasn’t risen above 80.
After church, Blas and Paula came over to put me up a clothesline in the mesquite trees out back. I asked him about the “rocking” outhouse and he said we’ll need to have another hole dug as this hole is disintegrating. The outhouses have been here since the church was built many years ago. We were pretty sure we’d have to replace them so I guess that will be our first project.
After working on the clothesline Sunday evening, Blas asked if we wanted to drive to Palmira to see his brother, Reymundo, and his family, so we all got in our pickup and drove to visit. Reymundo wasn’t there but his wife and sons were there, along with some other friends. The boys, Jesus and Isaac, were tending the sheep and bringing them home to corral, and I asked if I could take some pictures. Reymundo’s sons attended the VBS in July.
Tomorrow we plan to take Blas and Paula to San Carlos after I wash clothes, and we will get a few groceries. Our refrigerator is empty except for tea, water and ice cubes, and we have been eating canned goods that Paula has been nice enough to cook for us. We have to wait for the propane man to come through town so we can get fuel for the stove. Hopefully, he’ll come through town tomorrow. It has been nice to have meals with Blas and Paula. She makes my canned food taste much better with her additions of jalapenos, onions and garlic. It seems a shame to plug in an empty refrigerator.
We actually do go to bed with the hens and get up with the roosters here…and it’s healthier for us, I think. I know we have been catching up on lost sleep. Bill enjoys his siesta in the middle of the day, but he’s been doing that for years! He woke me up this morning with “Que hora es, mi miel?” (What time is it, my Honey?) Already learning that Spanish….He had been calling me his husband (esposo) and I keep correcting him it’s esposa, but he calls me husband anyway. So”miel” is an improvement!
Bill and I both shared Sunday in church, and Blas told us he had been praying for many years that God would bring someone to get them motivated and to bring the gospel to Tepeyac. He said he just didn’t know they would come from the “otro lado.” (The other side of the border.)
I guess the mosquitoes have also anticipated our arrival. We sure have lots of them in our little room. It is amazing there are any mosquitoes as they have been in a drought just like Texas. Although, I must say, the mosquitoes don’t seem as fat and healthy here. One blessing is that the water in town comes from a well nearby and they tell us the water is clean, and everyone here drinks it. Since we ran out of purified water, I trust the water IS clean. It comes on for a few hours three times a day, so we shouldn’t have any trouble with water. We are planning to build a bathroom with a shower and hook-up for the washer. We talked to Blas about it and he told us what we would need, and that for a little less than $500., we should be able to build it. It sure would be a blessing.
We’ve already invited several people to church. Bill brought a neighbor, Javier, a cup of coffee Sunday morning. Javier and his family have tractors and do farm work, so Bill wanted to talk to him when he got up.
Our dogs have been enjoying all the dogs in the neighborhood. The funniest thing happened our first day here when we visited Blas and Paula. Tootie and Max chased their baby chicken all over the yard. I told Blas I was sorry if our dogs bothered the chicken, and he said the chicken was glad because our dogs were small, and just gave it some exercise.
I was concerned about our dogs, but there were four other dogs inside the church Sunday morning. This morning, Bill and I sat out back of the church and enjoyed watching the animals next door. There is a cow, several horses, lots of chickens and turkeys. It’s so peaceful and nice here. Lots of mesquite trees and lots of dirt….very much like West Texas. Nearly every home has horses, goats or cows.
We are so grateful for your prayer support for us, and as smooth as the trip went coming down here, we know that God answered prayers. It was an amazingly smooth trip for us. We stopped in Sonora and stayed the night in a motel, enjoying a meal at the Sonic there. I caught up on email and we left out a little later than we had planned, but all went well at the border in Del Rio. We paid $61. US for our belongings (they estimated the value at $500. and we had to pay 16% taxes on it to the aduana (customs). We were so elated when we finally drove through Acuña,
If I could describe my emotional state since arriving here in Tepeyac, I would have to say it’s near unto elation. For so many years, I have felt we were supposed to be back in Mexico serving the Lord on the mission field. Having a husband like Bill who is ready at a moment’s notice to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons makes a woman want to get on about the Father’s business, and go into all the world. What a privilege to serve alongside someone who is a fisher of men like Bill is. God is so good, and we are so blessed to finally be here. Sorry it took us so long to get moved …. The last few weeks, Bill has been singing, “I shall not be moved,” in an effort to get me motivated. I just had to dematerialize, and when I see how much I tossed and gave away, and yet how much remains, it makes me wonder if I REALLY dematerialized that much. We have so much and they have so little. Even with our modest belongings, it’s way more than the average family has here.
This morning, Bill took a thermos of coffee over to visit Lupita and her husband. They tried to visit but finally Bill came back to get me. I wanted to get the wash done while the water was running but went over and we had breakfast with Lupita, her husband, her daughter Irene and granddaughter, Yadira. It was nice and the homemade flour tortillas were the thing I missed the most about meals in Mexico. Lupita told us all about the history of the church, and I enjoyed hearing the stories. She told Bill he’ll learn Spanish faster if he eats chilis. So he enjoyed some of her homemade hot green salsa on his eggs and potatoes. I had to drink a glass of water to stop the burning in my mouth!
We are heading to San Carlos so I hope I can get this sent by email to you. The snail mail will have to wait until we make it across the border. I’ll upload the newsletter on our Tepeyac blog site so you can read it there, also.
We love you and we thank the Lord for you. We hope to keep in touch as we serve here, and we hope that you’ll come visit us here. We know that you’ll be touched, as we have been, by the lives of the people here in Tepeyac and in Mexico.
We came to Mexico knowing we had to prepare the small room next to the church to live in. On Saturday several people came to help us remove all the church supplies and clean and paint the room. Blas cemented the holes near the ceiling and with his wife, Paula and Lupita’s daughter, Irene helped paint the walls. It looks so much better, and with the hog-back Greg and Bill put up to support the roof, we have a nice 4”x4” post painted green in the center of the room. Since there are no outlets in the room, I ran an extension cord from the sanctuary and now have our lamp working. I brought lots of things like my crock pot, rice cooker, coffee pot, fan and microwave, but have found that if we have our fan working, the lights dim when I plug in the coffee pot. It got hot today and with no breeze, was somewhat stifling in the room. And the fan helped quite a bit, just moving the air around. For the most part, it has been very nice, and the temperature hasn’t risen above 80.
After church, Blas and Paula came over to put me up a clothesline in the mesquite trees out back. I asked him about the “rocking” outhouse and he said we’ll need to have another hole dug as this hole is disintegrating. The outhouses have been here since the church was built many years ago. We were pretty sure we’d have to replace them so I guess that will be our first project.
After working on the clothesline Sunday evening, Blas asked if we wanted to drive to Palmira to see his brother, Reymundo, and his family, so we all got in our pickup and drove to visit. Reymundo wasn’t there but his wife and sons were there, along with some other friends. The boys, Jesus and Isaac, were tending the sheep and bringing them home to corral, and I asked if I could take some pictures. Reymundo’s sons attended the VBS in July.
Tomorrow we plan to take Blas and Paula to San Carlos after I wash clothes, and we will get a few groceries. Our refrigerator is empty except for tea, water and ice cubes, and we have been eating canned goods that Paula has been nice enough to cook for us. We have to wait for the propane man to come through town so we can get fuel for the stove. Hopefully, he’ll come through town tomorrow. It has been nice to have meals with Blas and Paula. She makes my canned food taste much better with her additions of jalapenos, onions and garlic. It seems a shame to plug in an empty refrigerator.
We actually do go to bed with the hens and get up with the roosters here…and it’s healthier for us, I think. I know we have been catching up on lost sleep. Bill enjoys his siesta in the middle of the day, but he’s been doing that for years! He woke me up this morning with “Que hora es, mi miel?” (What time is it, my Honey?) Already learning that Spanish….He had been calling me his husband (esposo) and I keep correcting him it’s esposa, but he calls me husband anyway. So”miel” is an improvement!
Bill and I both shared Sunday in church, and Blas told us he had been praying for many years that God would bring someone to get them motivated and to bring the gospel to Tepeyac. He said he just didn’t know they would come from the “otro lado.” (The other side of the border.)
I guess the mosquitoes have also anticipated our arrival. We sure have lots of them in our little room. It is amazing there are any mosquitoes as they have been in a drought just like Texas. Although, I must say, the mosquitoes don’t seem as fat and healthy here. One blessing is that the water in town comes from a well nearby and they tell us the water is clean, and everyone here drinks it. Since we ran out of purified water, I trust the water IS clean. It comes on for a few hours three times a day, so we shouldn’t have any trouble with water. We are planning to build a bathroom with a shower and hook-up for the washer. We talked to Blas about it and he told us what we would need, and that for a little less than $500., we should be able to build it. It sure would be a blessing.
We’ve already invited several people to church. Bill brought a neighbor, Javier, a cup of coffee Sunday morning. Javier and his family have tractors and do farm work, so Bill wanted to talk to him when he got up.
Our dogs have been enjoying all the dogs in the neighborhood. The funniest thing happened our first day here when we visited Blas and Paula. Tootie and Max chased their baby chicken all over the yard. I told Blas I was sorry if our dogs bothered the chicken, and he said the chicken was glad because our dogs were small, and just gave it some exercise.
I was concerned about our dogs, but there were four other dogs inside the church Sunday morning. This morning, Bill and I sat out back of the church and enjoyed watching the animals next door. There is a cow, several horses, lots of chickens and turkeys. It’s so peaceful and nice here. Lots of mesquite trees and lots of dirt….very much like West Texas. Nearly every home has horses, goats or cows.
We are so grateful for your prayer support for us, and as smooth as the trip went coming down here, we know that God answered prayers. It was an amazingly smooth trip for us. We stopped in Sonora and stayed the night in a motel, enjoying a meal at the Sonic there. I caught up on email and we left out a little later than we had planned, but all went well at the border in Del Rio. We paid $61. US for our belongings (they estimated the value at $500. and we had to pay 16% taxes on it to the aduana (customs). We were so elated when we finally drove through Acuña,
If I could describe my emotional state since arriving here in Tepeyac, I would have to say it’s near unto elation. For so many years, I have felt we were supposed to be back in Mexico serving the Lord on the mission field. Having a husband like Bill who is ready at a moment’s notice to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead and cast out demons makes a woman want to get on about the Father’s business, and go into all the world. What a privilege to serve alongside someone who is a fisher of men like Bill is. God is so good, and we are so blessed to finally be here. Sorry it took us so long to get moved …. The last few weeks, Bill has been singing, “I shall not be moved,” in an effort to get me motivated. I just had to dematerialize, and when I see how much I tossed and gave away, and yet how much remains, it makes me wonder if I REALLY dematerialized that much. We have so much and they have so little. Even with our modest belongings, it’s way more than the average family has here.
This morning, Bill took a thermos of coffee over to visit Lupita and her husband. They tried to visit but finally Bill came back to get me. I wanted to get the wash done while the water was running but went over and we had breakfast with Lupita, her husband, her daughter Irene and granddaughter, Yadira. It was nice and the homemade flour tortillas were the thing I missed the most about meals in Mexico. Lupita told us all about the history of the church, and I enjoyed hearing the stories. She told Bill he’ll learn Spanish faster if he eats chilis. So he enjoyed some of her homemade hot green salsa on his eggs and potatoes. I had to drink a glass of water to stop the burning in my mouth!
We are heading to San Carlos so I hope I can get this sent by email to you. The snail mail will have to wait until we make it across the border. I’ll upload the newsletter on our Tepeyac blog site so you can read it there, also.
We love you and we thank the Lord for you. We hope to keep in touch as we serve here, and we hope that you’ll come visit us here. We know that you’ll be touched, as we have been, by the lives of the people here in Tepeyac and in Mexico.
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