MexiConference

Altotonga, Mexico -- I'm back from the WIM November/Mexico Conference. They are always good... It was really nice to talk to all the missionaries who are working in different parts of Mexico doing all kinds of different things and hear how God is moving among them. The theme for the weekend was Adapting our Ministries to New Challenges. And it seems really relevant to all of us. All the speakers were good, and this year we had discussion times after the different "classes" and that was cool. I played translator this weekend for one of the missionary wives. It was something I was asked last minute to do and I really enjoyed it so I volunteered for the rest of the weekend. I agreed on the basis that someone else would take notes for me and give me a copy afterward.

I spoke on Appreciating the Challenges during the Women's Tea. It was something that God had been speaking to me about... I used the story of Nehemiah and James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:3-9,12 and Psalm 103... the first few verses. I hope the ladies enjoyed it!One of the really cool things was at the end where people were getting recognized for their service. And there were people who were getting recognized for 5, 10, 20 and 25 years of service. Wow. That's incredible to me. I was recognized for finishing my training and "joined the ranks" as a Senior Missionary...I also have "someone" to thank for an anonymous card that I received... I thank you a lot, it was very much appreciated and may God bless you many times over.Today I am still recovering from the weekend... Chris asked over the weekend "Why is everyone always tired at these things?" I threw out the suggestion that it's because we're on a more "relaxed" schedule... we don't have half the responsibilities that we normally have!

I came home with the Briles-- they were kind to offer to drive me back. They brought down with them some stuff I had asked for, a few small things for the trip to Japan (those brush your teeth things-- the finger gloves kind of things) and chocolate! And also a case of rootbeer. That was very nice! The other thing was a few tubs to pack my stuff up for when I move next May. I'll send one back up there to wait for me til May in Texas. They had a lot of tubs they weren't using, so they're lending them to me until I move.

The one big thing that I love about WIM is that it is like a big family. The conferences are like family reunions. We all sit at different places during meal times and chit chat and talk about things at home in Mexico and at home in the States, what's going on, jokes, etc. We also, it seems like, network our resources. For instance, one of the guys is really interested and has studied linguistics, and so we were talking about Japanese-- so he's going to send me any stuff he finds via email. Another is really big into training Mexicans as missionaries and sending them out, and quite a few of my kids are seriously interested in doing missions. So, I'm going to try to hook them up. So, that was that. Well, I need to get. I'm still pretty tired.. but will write soon!