Happy almost Thanksgiving

I started this last night and got sleepy, so finishing this morning!

I am going to start this post with the things that I am thankful for since it's almost Thanksgiving : ) I am thankful that I get to share some fun activities and lessons with the students this week. Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Mexico, so I actually get to work on Thanksgiving. Sharing these activities is a little piece of home for me. I am thankful for my Mexican family here, my school family, my church family and missionary family here. So many relationships to be thankful for in Mexico. Of course, I am thankful for my family, friends, church family and school family back home too. I haven't forgotten about you : ) I am thankful for my constant prayer warriors, encouragers and supporters. Thankful for this opportunity to serve here in Mexico. I am thankful for my faith and how God continues to keep me growing and learning. I am thankful for my life, food, sun, chirping birds. The list could keep going : )

Please continue to keep praying for Norma and Ricardo's marriage and just for the whole family. God knows and He cares. Of course, keep praying for that language piece. I need to work on practicing more as I have been slacking. Be praying for direction with the adult English class and if that's something I should be working on. I will be heading to MN on December 15th for a couple weeks, so be praying for travels, safety and that I don't freeze : ) Continue to pray for health and safety here in Mexico.

God has been reminding me lately, that ministry is sitting and listening to Norma, going through things with Norma, praying and crying with her. Thankful I can be here for her as she has been such a blessing to me. God continues to remind me how important it is to encourage and be there for other believers as well as reaching the lost. I think sometimes we get so caught up in just reaching the lost that we forget about our brothers and sisters that are hurting and need some support and encouragement.

Liz has shared with me a couple times in the last few weeks how much I have impacted her life. She said I taught her to trust herself and I have taught her more English and helped her not to be afraid of making mistakes and asking what she have doubts about. She shared she has become a more confident person. Thank you Lord for that reminder that yes, I am making a difference. Again, sometimes, we think things should look big and numbers about how many have accepted Christ. Thank you Lord, for letting me use my gifts of teaching and encouragement here in Mexico.

Then of course, there's Dani/Daniel. This boy has my heart! He likes me just a little bit : ) He continues to greet me with at least 2 hugs a day and such big smiles. Of course, I love all the kids, but Dani and I have had such a special bond from day 1. I have wrote about him in my past blogs. God knew I would need Dani to show me that extra love.

Mail is not a big there here, but I would still love to receive your Christmas cards : ) Crazy to think it's that time of the year already! If you would like to send me a Christmas card or any other kind of card, I will be at my parents from December 15th-30th. I arrive in Minneapolis the evening of December 15th and fly back out on the 31st. Their address is 11777 124th St. Wadena, MN 56482. Feel free to send me a greeting. I will not be doing Christmas cards, but will do some kind of card after my journey here is done. Happy summer, 4th of July, who knows?!

Another thing as the end of the year is approaching and you may be thinking about end of the year giving, the school here is in need of money for construction as well as to help with tuition for the students. If you feel led to give to either of these projects, you can send a donation to me at my parents place before December 30th or you can give online anytime, by going to wgm.org and click on the give button. Click Fund a Project. If you want to donate to the construction, type in Christian School Construction in Irapuato. If you want to help a child to be able to attend school, type in Scholarships for Christian Students in Irapuato. Whatever is easiest for you. Please e mail if you questions about that.

Support is another thing I am so grateful for. As I have shared before, God provided the funds I needed for this trip in 28 days! I am still amazed when I write that. I shouldn't be as that's the mighty God we serve. I just had someone e mail the other day and share they felt led to give and donated to my account. Thank you Lord for continuing to provide. Thankful for each one of you that has donated, prayed or encouraged me and continue to do so.

What else has been happening the last week and a half in Mexico and ministry? School seems to be going well. I feel like we finally have gotten a routine : ) This week is a different week as we are doing Thanksgiving activities, but we are having fun! We are going to make pumpkin souffle on Thursday. That will be another little piece of home : ) Thankful for the little pieces of home here and there!

Last Thursday, we had a program at school to celebrate Mexican Revolution. A revolution is a forced change in a way a country is ruled. In the early 20th century, there was a revolution in Mexico. If you want to know more about the Mexican Revolution and how it changed Mexico's government, go to google. During the program, each class did a little dance, the preschoolers presented the flag and shared pictures of some of the people that played an important part in the Mexican Revolution. I shared pictures below and some videos on Sarah's Mexico Missions Journey on Facebook. I have been slowly inviting people to this page as I can only invite so many at a time. If you are not a part of that group, please feel free to request to be added. This is where I post videos from here. I also have been sharing my blog there as well as my personal facebook page until I get everyone added in the Mexico one.

I continue to be amazed at how creative the staff at school is, from decorating to the dances and things they do at the programs. I feel like we are having a program at least once a month. All the decorations you will see in the pictures, they created. I am the kind of person, that would order from Oriental Trading or Amazon : ) It's always so fun to see the decorations and programs come together. We usually have many practices and they can get a little crazy, so I am always glad when practices are done.

Last Friday, our school family went out to breakfast to say good bye to me, even though I don't leave until December 15th and I am coming back : ) I just had to laugh. They put together a sweet basket with some treats and sweet notes. They know how much I like food : ) God continues to remind me that even though I am not fluent in Spanish, I can still share my life and love with the people here in Mexico.

God also continues to remind me of how much He loves me as well as the people here in Mexico. This was such a sweet morning of fellowship and bonding with the school family. They have welcomed me here to Mexico and the school with open arms. Thank you Lord for these relationships! I did post about this on facebook, so you may have read about this already or saw pictures, but wanted to share here for those that may not be on facebook.

Saturday, is our day to sleep in : ) Norma has been cleaning out their unfinished bathroom upstairs as she wants to turn it into a war room, so I have been helping her go through things. We had piles for school, her sister, sell and trash. We also got a Christmas tree and put that in the corner. We are still working on decorating that, but will post pictures when it's finished.

Sunday, we had church. We showed up 40 minutes late, but no big deal : ) We mostly missed the worship time, but I was still able to get 2 songs at the end that I knew-Oceans and I Can Only Imagine. I caught some words throughout the message. It's still good to listen to the Spanish. Norma always shares the scripture we are reading, so I can get that in English on my Bible App.

Sunday afternoon, we drove about an hour from here where Norma and Ricardo have some land that they eventually hope to build on. It's so peaceful and quiet out there. There was even a winery near their land that we stopped at to look around and have a taste of tequila. Too strong for me! I shared some pictures of the beautiful scenery.

We were going to go to a hot hair balloon festival in Leon, but realized it was expensive when we got there, so went to the mall instead. It was just good to be spending time together as a family. There was a band playing at the mall and they were even playing in English.

Monday, there was no school because of the Mexican Revolution. I worked on prepping things for the Thanksgiving activities this week. Norma and I decorated for another birthday at school : )

Yesterday, Joe and Corinna came over and shared about Thanksgiving with the students and did crafts with the kids. A fun day for everyone. Be sure to check out the pictures. Our secondary class was able to pray with Joe and Corinna as Joe is having shoulder surgery today. Please be praying for his surgery and recovery. So thankful for Joe and Corinna and the blessing they have been to me.

Today, we will continue our Thanksgiving activities. I will be sure to share more pictures in my next blog. That's all for now. I guess I better finish getting ready for school.

Check out pictures from the last week and a half : ) Thanks again for your prayers, support and love! May you enjoy time with family and friends this Thanksgiving. Praying for those of you that are missing loved ones this Thanksgiving. He knows and He cares!

Breakfast with the school family

They gave me a basket of goodies for a good bye treat. Even though I am not leaving until the 15th and I will be back : )

Roll appetizer

One end of the table at breakfast

Group at breakfast. Missing Lyzz

Breakfast Group Selfie

Yogurt with fruit

My breakfast, so delicious. Bread stuffed with ham, sauce and cheese

Just a bird walking around the restaurant

Liz was feeding the bird

View from the restaurant

Basket of goodies

Cookies with sweet notes

Another sweet note

New wallet for all my money : )

Look at all those treats!!

Such a cute basket

Sweet notes that were in the basket

Joe, Corinna and I with the secondary students and their turkeys

Joe

Corinna, Joe and I

Preschoolers watching a Thanksgiving Video

Joe & Corinna with the preschool class

Secondary class watching Thanksgiving Video

Secondary class with turkey crafts

Breakfast on Saturday. The name is a couple pictures down

Before the lettuce and other ingredients were put on

Fruity drink from Starbucks. Yes, they have starbucks in Mexico : )

Riding to check out the land, enjoying my starbucks

Norma and Ricardos land they hope to build on

The road to the land

Shot of the land

Norma and Ricardo

They thought I needed to have my picture taken : )

Next pictures are just shots of the scenery when we were walking around where we went to look at the land. Much of the land doesn't have buildings yet. Very peaceful!