Semana Dos (Week 2)

So it's been 2 weeks now, and I'm still trying to figure out this keyboard...

First, some prayer requests...
My teachers are very proficient and helpful and kind, but one is into coffee-table buddhism and another is a very moral man, but also interested in positive energy, supernatural phenomena, etc. He also does not give much credence to the Bible, but gives much more weight to the testimonies of those who've had supernatural experiences. All of my teachers are at least nominally Catholic, which in Mexico means they have rarely if ever read the Bible.

The jovenes (young'uns) in Mexico are almost all Catholic in that they were born into the Catholic church, but none that I've talked to hold to Biblical truth. All of them seem to recognize that many things about the church are wrong, but instead of searching for what's right about Christ, they seem to reject such a search altogether. It seems their experiences thus far have innoculated them not only against the Catholic church, but against truth, the Bible, and Christianity in general.

My family in Mexico is very similar to my teachers and peers: nominally Catholic, very friendly and amiable, close family ties, etc., but not interested in the difference between nominal faith and true faith. The difference between salvation by faith AND works and salvation by faith that LEADS to works is lost on them. They don't seem to notice the logical discrepancy nor become concerned that the first option is not taught in the Bible.

All this to say that I, and Mexico in general, need lots of your prayers.

Second, notice that the links to my photos from Magdalena and Morelia are posted in the sidebar of the blog, always available for you to view periodically. I've been adding pictures here and there throughout the week, so there will probably be some new ones each time you view them.

Third, I'd like to recommend 3 books that I've found extremely beneficial...
Live Life on Purpose, by Claude Hickman, does an excellent job of explaining how to know God's will and live your life for His Kingdom, living life by a compass rather than a map.

The Master Plan of Evangelism, by Robert Coleman, is an excellent view of how Christ evangelized, discipled, and mentored those around him. This book does a great job of clarifying a strategy for evangelism that doesn't necessarily revolve around our modern connotations of evangelism.

The Master Plan of Teaching, by Matthew Friedman, is a sequel of sorts to Coleman's book and describes more specifically how Christ mentored, taught, and discipled his followers once they'd "signed on."

Fourth, in the last week, I became an uncle again (Ian, June 22), I saw an excellent Mexican classical guitarist perform for over an hour, free of charge, found out that my Mexican aunt is a stunning artist (hoping to buy one of her paintings, maybe, which is unheard of for me), and saw my first "Corrida de Toros," or bullfight.

As for the guitarist, he was great, but no Mom, he hasn't inspired me to take up the guitar again...yet.

As for the bullfight, that was a very entertaining cultural experience, but probably not one I'll go to again for a while. There was a horseman that was fantastic (look for Pedro Hermoso de Mendoza on youtube and be amazed at the horsemanship), several bullfighters that were fun to watch at first, but boring after a few minutes of watching the same thing (look for Enrique Ponse on youtube), and 8 guys that must have been slightly inebriated to take on a bull without the benefit of capes or horses. Their goal was to try to "ski" by ganging up on the bull all at once (which involves one particularly brave or stupid or drunk man taking a charge full in the gut) and grabbing his tail, then playing the part of Baloo vs. Sher Khan in The Jungle Book. You can try to youtube this one also, using ¨forcadores.¨

In short, an interesting week. Keep praying for my Spanish skills, which are slooooowly growing better, for my Mexican family, etc.

OK, that's enough.

Gracias,

Todd