Amoebas, weddings and more!

Everything at Agua Viva is indicating that our busy summer season is almost upon us. Our summer staff have arrived, two lovely girls, one West Coast Westmont student and one East Coast Houghton student. We are scrambling to put together a design for our summer t-shirt and figure out details for the special dinner we will do each Wednesday night with the American groups. But the summer isn't quite here yet, so we can save all of that for another blog entry. Besides, quite enough has been going on as it is.

And a lot of what has been going on has been going on in my stomach. After taking a round of antibiotics to deal with the things discovered in my stomach when I got back from the missions trip in February, I brushed aside wise advise from my mother and didn't get retested, figuring the meds had done their job. But as time went on my suspicion that the medicine had not eradicated everything grew, and last week I went back to the lab to be retested. And it turns out that I still have a bacteria (proteus morganni) and some amoebas. So I have embarked on another course of antibiotics to kill said creatures. Please join me in praying that the medicine will do what it's supposed to do and that no squatters will be left in my stomach. 

For those who may be concerned, be assured that I feel fine in general, just have some minor discomforts.

 I still get to enjoy things like my first Mexican wedding, which I experienced on May 17, when my pastor's son got married. The church was decorated beautifully, the ceremony was lovely, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. And it was all very typical of my church, with the ceremony starting at 8pm instead of 7, the dinner getting brought out around 10, cake at 11, and I didn't leave until one in the morning! The wedding has been the talk of the town, or at least the church, for the past several months, so it was a pretty big deal. I especially had fun seeing the different rituals: the padrinos, the lasso, no father-daughter dance (throwing that one in for you, dad). I feel that I ought to mention that despite my distinct height advantage (as seen next to bride), I did not catch the bouquet.

A few days before the wedding I had some excitement of a different kind back at the rancho. I was out jogging in the evening on a HOT day, running directly towards the setting sun (such that I couldn't see much of what was in front of me) when I sensed a movement near my feet and heard a noise. I jumped a bit in the opposite direction of the noise and looked down over my shoulder to see a rattlesnake, rattling like crazy and coiling up in self-defense. I can say without a doubt that that marked the first time in my life I made a rattlesnake rattle. Unfortunately, Manuel wasn't around with his machete at the time to behead it. I do hear, however, that two days ago he spotted a mountain lion on a hillside on the edge of the rancho and took off in that direction, machete in hand. I wish you could see his machete more clearly in the picture, but trust me, it's there, doing away with plant life and reclaiming brown spaces at Agua Viva. 

Needless to say, life has been keeping me on my toes. And that's not even getting into the ministry aspect. I am currently living out a personal milestone. You see we are going through a book now for our weekly staff devotionals, but the book is in English, so only English speakers can lead the devotional. Brent asked me to take a chapter, which I gladly accepted. And I decided to present all in Spanish (so I translate the key points and figure out how I want to share them in Spanish). I gave the first part last Friday and it went pretty well. I took the time to write everything out in advance so I wouldn't be stuck searching for words. And miraculously, everyone seemed to understand me. It's a joy to think that God has brought me to a point where I can lead a devotional to a roomful of Spanish-speakers and have them get something out of it! 

God is at work in and through me, and I ask you to join me in prayer that He would continue, unhindered. 

Spring Cleaning

The busy summer season is rapidly approaching, so I am trying to take advantage of our last few weeks before the American groups come by doing some serious spring cleaning at Agua Viva and in my home. 

Last week I began tackling the dreaded work room in the Agua Viva office, which I was able to purge of things like phone books that said 'Keep until June 1993', old records, things for typewriters and other old school office equipment that I couldn't even recognize, etc. I also found a lot of useful things that had been buried and are now liberated from the back of dusty cabinets. I have a few more things to get into place in the workroom, and then have big plans to tackle the donations/storage room, and the seminary storage (which will actually be changing locations). This may sound boring to you, but these are the kinds of things that my little administrative self finds exciting. And I guess it's just more proof that God can use anything we have for His kingdom. So if you're praying, please pray that all will go well with my spring cleaning, and that because of it the ministry will have better access to its resources and will be stewards of them. 

On the homefront, I am also working with Becky on getting things as good as they can be in our house. This weekend Jeff, a fellow staff member/handyguy/dad-like figure helped me buy and install a new sink in our bathroom. The old one and all its connections were saturated with green crud from years of leaks with the minerally-water we have at Agua Viva. We also painted the bathroom a few weeks ago, and we just need to finish painting the ceiling. But if you ask me, the house is looking pretty good, but I guess you'll have to come see it for yourself. 

Safe and Sound in Ensenada

I made it back home to Agua Viva yesterday afternoon after a day of travelling without air conditioning and without music. Well, not entirely without music because towards the end I just started singing to myself. But I was able to import the copier without any problems and the questionable Suburban I was driving (254,000 miles and counting) did just fine. So thank you for your prayers in that.

It felt good to arrive at the ranch, park the Suburban (which I have come to refer to as 'The Beast') for good, put my abundance of Trader Joe's groceries away in my cupboards (special thanks to Laura for taking me to TJs) and sleep in my own bed last night.

For the very first time last night I saw lightening and heard thunder here, and today it is misty and gloomy, perfect weather for staying indoors and playing with my new Mac (thanks Aunt Babs!).