What We Will and Will Not Miss

Click here to read our latest letter which includes 3 "myths" about us leaving Mexico and what happens next. And since we're leaving Mexico next month, we created a fun list of things we will miss and will not miss about Mexico.

The Countdown Begins

One month from today Annette and I leave Mexico. After 1/4 of our lives this has become home and it will be hard to leave. (Click photo for larger version)

Back from Quito

We got back from 7 days/8 nights in Quito, Ecuador where we ran three Youth Ministry workshops (see photo above) at a sort of Latin American job fair called Latina 2006. It was great to have twenty-somethings from over 17 countries show an interest in youth work. Very encouraging.

There was one group of 7 Colombian youth leaders who asked for more in-depth training. They told us there were another 23 youth leaders from their church back in Colombia who couldn't make it to the conference. It was terrific to be able to hand them a CD with the interactive, animated youth ministry course which we've been working on for the last 3.5 years. Annette took a couple hours and showed them how to use the course to train all of their leaders. They were also excited that the CD contained thousands of other resources they could use with the youth group.

We love our job!

We Ordered the Fish

We were in a small town on the mountains of Ecuador. It was lunch time. We went looking for a restaurant. We found one next to this butcher shop. We ordered the fish. (click the photo we took...if you dare.)

Christmas at Home

As Annette and I walked in the door of my parents home the first thing I noticed was the smell of something good cooking mixed with the wonderful smell of a fire in the fireplace. Then my sister and our nephews called out "Tim and Annette!" and everyone came to the door to hug us and help carry our bags in. What a perfect Christmas homecoming.
(The picture is from Christmas morning, click it for a big version)

Yesterday and Tomorrow

Tomorrow Annette and I leave to go spend Christmas with my parents. But yesterday we went to the wedding of a girl from the youth group. It was beautiful wedding in a picturesque Mexican village about 1½ hours away. We took these photos along the way.
That mountain in the photo at top is a 16,000 ft volcano. Our city is on the far side from where we took this photo. The women and child in the photo immediately above are Mazahua Indians. If they even speak Spanish, it is their second language. Can you see why we're going to miss living here?

New Stories and Photos

We've got some new stuff for you. Click here to read our latest newsletter (December).

And if you haven't already read about our harrowing "baby bootcamp" experience, you've got to click here and at least look at the pictures of Annette and me trying to hold onto triplets!

Last but not least, if you have children, our Christmas gift to them is SPiKE: the accidental adventurer, which you can find in all its multimedia glory at here. Make sure you read the "Tips for Readers" and the "Back Story" which you can find on the links bar on the right of the page.

Baby Boot Camp

So far we have survived our 1st week of Baby Boot Camp. It's not easy; our three drill sergeants (Henry, Hugh, and BethelAnn Caroline) are unrelenting and intimidate us with their screams. Tim has watch from 3 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. at which time i pick up until the general arrives on the scene (3 year old George William II). Everyone must then spring into action to keep the ranks in order.

Our drills were challenging at first but now we can do them practically in our sleep. they begin when we hear the bugle cry of one of the drill sergeants. we must then quickly check the timetable to try to identify the call to action: food, diapers or general unhappiness. Then you know the drill... If it's chow time, we deliver the proper triplet to mommy. After food comes 'baby gas' drops, burping and then Tim's favorite, diaper check. My least favorite call is the "general unhappiness" one (also known as tummy troubles) - though they're getting the trick of pacifiers which helps.

Tim spends most his waking hours attending to G.W.II. George got a four color set of playdough for his birthday the day before we arrived and when he wanted to open it he was told, "Youll have to wait till Uncle Tim gets here"...so the first words out of his mouth when we arrived here was, "Where's my playdough?" Needless to say many hours have been spent creating snakes and monsters and then "cowark-ing" it (mashing it down with a... cork). Meanwhile i go from baby to baby to laundry to trying to keep my sister hydrated and fed so she can keep feeding the company.

We finish it all off with a bit of KP duty to leave the headquarters as ready as possible for the next day then collapse into bed by about 9pm to take advantage of the baby's "long sleep" (4 or 5 hours).

Our first real campaign as a solo brigade happens on Friday as Tim and I leave Phoenix with Henry. he was chosen to accompany us because he's the largest and strongest, which incidentally means that his lungs are the most powerful. so you can pray we have a scream free trip or that our fellow travelers are all deaf :-)

Next week we join up with the rest of my family in Orlando for Thanksgiving, upping the adult to child ration by only one, so the routine doesn't promise to be much different around there.
_____________________[click on the photos to see bigger versions]

All The Latest

Our latest story is about Nahum (middle) and how he made us proud... very proud. Here's a blurb to tempt you to click on over to the full story:

Imagine you are visiting a friend at Harvard and, on a whim, knock on the door of the dean's office, talk with him for 15 minutes about your interest in a Masters degree and then have him tell you, "We need you here at Harvard."

You may also want to take a look at the latest offerings at Annette's quotes blog or Tim's links blog. And if you have children of elementary school age we've created some illustrated stories about our dog, Spike: the accidental adventurer. You can read the stories to your kids or click on the audio link and have us read it to them (be sure to start with story #1).

We're Going To Miss This

Last Saturday we hiked up to a spot we'd always wanted reach. There's really no path so at times we literally crawled on our hands and knees to get thru dense brush and pines, but the view at the top was worth it. Click here or on the photo to see panoramic image we took. (There are notes on the photo so you have an idea of what you're looking at.)

Reality Check

Click here for our October letter. Here's a bit of the story it tells:

The kids from the church are mean to those of us who are sponsored by Compassion. They look us up and down to see how we’re dressed and when we answer a question they laugh at us.

And if you just can't get enough of our writing, then you have two options: a) see a therapist 'cause our stuff's just not that good; or b) click one of the following links to see all of our STORIES and UPDATES since 1997.