.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.

.moments.

i have these moments. these moments when everything seems surreal and right and spiritual and a whole whack of other emotions. i had a few of those this week...

This past week we had a special week at EOC.  We got to work on a house build project together as a whole staff. No teams. Just the staff.  The 'hired pros', the office staff, the kitchen folks, the interns, all of us!  We invited our family members, some pastors, and got to really live out community this week.  It was a beautiful thing. We ate phenomenal breakfasts served by various people during the week.  We savored incredible lunches prepared by Ana and her family (who conveniently happen to be neighbors to the family we were building for). We enjoyed working together for once... a first in EOC history.  It was really special for many of us. Alejandro shared before the build he'd be dreaming about this opportunity!  And Jose shared that he hopes this won't be the last of these types of builds!  

we laughed. we built. fast. we learned. we served. 

and we fell in love with the wonderful family we were building for.  Their story is rich and full of struggles, health issues, perseverance, joy, and smiles that is so full of love...  

So when we were dedicating the house on Thursday, I had one of those moments.  standing with my friends. from 3 nations. from different spaces and places. for one purpose. to love. so often, even here in the ministry we make it so much more complicated than that..

That evening we had a grand feast. my first american thanksgiving. in mexico. 

We invited staff, families, neighbors, pastors, friends... over 100 were there to celebrate. to bread break together. 

It was a night of abundance. joy. fullness.  diversity. community.

After watching the highlight video together of our week's work i had another moment.

Looking around the room, some faces i didn't know, some i only recognized, and others who i can now call real friends. these people were my family.

As the evening unfolded I had just finished saying farewell to Marisol, the young woman (and new friend) who we built the house for.   Then suddenly I see someone calling me over...

it was Christina.  Christina was part of the family I helped build a house for the very first time my youth group came down to Ensenada!  Over 5 years ago we met Christina and her mom and we built a home for her. She's now married, with two children.  I've been able to visit with her a few times since my return and she's always excited to see me. always telling me she's never forgotten us!  And so I sat with Christina, holding her newborn baby... and had yet another moment.  Who would have thought... over 5 years later I'd be sitting here holding Christina's newborn. Who would have thought... over 5 years later I'd be sitting among these people and calling it home...

.moments. that shake me. and remind me Im apart of something really cool...

and indeed I am thankful.

cheers

i raise my glass (of sangria?

to my friends & family who i got to serve and work alongside last week
to the teams of wellington and calvary
it was a pleasure to share this, my new home with you.

it was an emotional week. 
much laughing... 'remembering whens'... feeling safe... accepted... being challenged and challenging...worlds colliding...being inspired and humbled... knowing im in the right place... being encouraged and empowered... late night sleepovers & cigars with dear friend...trips to estero to debrief the day... moving beyond the surface... serving friends and family... grand reunions and tearful goodbyes...
im exhausted.
but what a fabulous week it was!