.joy.

JOY TO THE WORLD
THE LORD HAS COME!

joy. it's defined as
a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciate
i can share that this christmas, i am seeing clearly what true joy is about...truely valuing one another, family, laughter, simple pleasures, delighting in one another (and not just in stuff)... this is the joy Jesus was all about ...

.feliz navidad.

It's crazy to think Christmas is just a few days away...
There's some things Im definitely been missing this Christmas season...
belting out the christmas carols in church... all the incredible nibbly-dippy-dip foods... all christmas parties (and especially new years at Jill & Duncs!)... holiday fun with the Maxwells... playing games of scattagories or big birtha with my family... being home..

I won't be missing the snowstorms (hahah snowmaggedon!) ...running what seems like 10 services on christmas eve at the square...the crazy shopping... the freezing cold weather... (well, ok maybe i will miss even those things, for a moment too!)

But my first Christmas season in Mexico is starting off to a wonderful start! We're enjoying some time of vacation - time away from the office and down time before we host some teams over and into the new year! Enjoying the visit from my friends Rebecca... savoring moments around a fire, enjoying a bevie at the beach, or simply being. It's wonderful. Yesterday I spent a couple hours visiting Marisol -a young woman who our staff built a house for over US Thanksgiving week. It was incredible getting to just chat, talk, share... and i managed to stumble my way through speaking spanish the whole time. Good thing for Spanish/English dictionaries! It was actually a bit exhausting, but all worth it. Also got to receive some Mexican cooking lessons from Ana and her family... preparing tamoles, rolling out tortillas. Let's just say Ana's 7year old niece was putting me to shame.

I had a moment at my church's special christmas program - reminding me of the universal-ness (is that a word?) of Christmas. I chuckled at the familiarity of a corny church drama. But what really impacted me was the power of "O Noche Santa" (o holy night) being sung by a incredible choir of voices, suddenly reminding me that it was Christmas. 

Jesus. His birth. 

All that that means.
Immanual. Christ with us.
Christ is with me... even as Im far away from what I'm used to. from my family. my friends. my traditions.
Christ is with you... wherever you are reading this.

Merry Christmas all.

.rain.

ok, so before you start hatin' on me about getting out of the snow, 
we haven't exactly been enjoying sun and fun over here.
we don't have rain, but enjoying lots of rain. and what do you get when you cross a dusty, sandy city with lots of rain?

not that im complaining. i'd take this over "Snowmageddon" anyday...

Please remember to take some time to pray for the many people who don't have the comforts of a cement floor, a real roof, or warm blankets... 

its crazy how quickly I even forget about that. As I complained about my shoes getting muddy as I'd walk across the street, I didn't even think about the people I meet and see everyday who are really impacted by weather like this.  EOC is partnering with local government and 'redcross' type groups to aid in any way we can. 

.blast from the past.

In March, back in the youth pastor days of Wellington Square, I travelled down with a team of amazing youth from Wellington & Calvary United to build two homes down here with EOC. This one family particularly touched my heart and I was able to visit them a few times since my return.

So to the Youth Mexico Missions Team '08... to Wellington Square.. to Calvary.. to all those who supported to this trip or others like it... thank you. This is what it's all about. You are all apart of changing lives...

.road trips.

im writing this on the long ride home from a retreat and road trip adventure up in northern california. there were many rich pockets of teaching, conversation, sharing, and learning. In both formal and informal times.

here's some of my top fav moments of the past week

observing a community of people getting it. living it. an inter-generational mish mash of people who were sharing life together, challenging one another, and loving one another. their ‘philosophy’ was, for lack of a better word, very ‘emerging’, however they weren’t disgruntled 20something, they weren’t trendy, most of them probably hadn’t heard of Rob Bell, and they probably didn’t really even know the term “emerging church”... but they were already wrestling and living out the same questions myself and many of my friends were asking. it was refreshing. inspiring. humbling.

laughing & reuniting with my roomie and dear friend Nona.

teachings on ‘the jesus way’. again reminding me that this whole following Jesus thing is in fact as simple as that. its about Jesus. we complicate it so much. its about love. we are called to care, not cure. how did Jesus do it? he sat among them, listened. and asked questions. what kind of ‘revolution’ would happen if every person who claimed to follow Jesus lived life out this way....

airbrushed grad photos and counting the cost... more teachings... ill save them for another post...

becoming known with my friend Ana. I wrote earlier about my desire to really know and become known. this is starting to happen with ana. through language barriers we are beginning to really journey together. i am thankful for the times we had this weekend to laugh, cry, ask, search together. she is truely an answer to prayer.

naomi. the joy and smile of this little girl is beautiful...

enjoying food. and too much of it.

seeing changing leaves and living in cold (ish) weather. although im excited for a break from the cold, snowy, long winters canada, it was wonderful living among green, trees, and brisk mornings.

roaming around san francisco (and riding the cable car!)

more realizations that mexico is my home now. gravitating towards fellow ensenadians (?) at the retreat, moments of “woohoo!” as I understand full conversations in spanish, and noticing the stir of excitement in my heart when we crossed the border back into mexico. home.