More Videos!

Hey all,

Below are the links for youtube to see Jaquiline beating me up in a boxing class (twice) and a version of hockey where you play on a smooth tile floor, barefoot, using a checkers piece as a puck and your shoes as hockey sticks. It's especially entertaining if you have a few puddles left over from the last rain so people can slip and slide all over the place. There's also a video of a presentation the primary kids put on for Mexico's Independence Day.

Jackie Chan 1

Jackie Chan 2

Mighty Ducks 1

Mighty Ducks 2

Independence Day

Enjoy!

Now then, in other news... We are a month into the school year now, with both secondary and primary students and teachers, as you can see in the photos. The dashingly handsome tall guy in the back is me. Things are going rather smoothly, considering the staff is new, the school is new, the kids are new, etc...in other words, so far God has blessed the whole project in spite of my efforts to sabatoge it by acting as if this all depends on me. This take-control, have-it-all-together attitude shows up in these photos as you can see, since I'm constantly driven to maintain absolute professionalism in all my dealings in the school. This perfectionist tendency of intolerance toward foolishness is also being passed on to my students, unfortunately.

The creepy crawlers are back in force after the rainy season, as you will see if you look on photobucket (see link on toolbar at right) for the new pictures. There was a lizard on my bookbag (the third in the dorm in less than an hour, I think), a small rattlesnake nestled in a cactus at school, gigantic grasshoppers about 3 inches long, and a gila monster Joel Leman found by the shop one day. The gila monster is actually as poisonous or worse than a rattlesnake, but it's really slow moving and spends the vast majority of its time underground, so they're very rarely seen or cause any damage. There is no known antidote to its venom, you just have to gut it out and hope for the best. Word on the street says Joel will survive his bite, since he's a big guy and young and reasonably healthy (or was), but the doctor says he's still only about 75% likely to make it to Christmas. After that, he should be out of the woods.

We also had the Mexican Independence Day celebration on Sept. 15 and 16, so there was a long weekend (which is why I'm posting again so soon) off school, lots of red, white, and green, and the "grito" or shout, which they do every year. The shout is when they all get together in front of the local government hall, bands play, awards are given, and the mayor comes out on the balcony around 11:00pm to shout things like "Viva Mexico" (to which the crowd responds "Viva!") and then they ring bells and shoot off fireworks. This commemorates the start of the Mexican Independence 200 years ago when a priest, the leader of the rebels, rang the bells of the church and gave a rousing speech to the peasants to start the revolution against Spain. From the sound of it, they had a lot more reason to rebel than we did. This was the Bicentenial Celebration, so it was a bigger deal than normal. (The priest was later captured and executed by firing squad, but the revolution continued on.)

Now then, Profile of the Month: Angel, the little shortie in front of me in the group picture, is a very smart, congenial guy, just beginning the transition from little clown who's cute because he's little to bigger clown who isn't quite so cute anymore but doesn't realize it. He's very bright and seems soft-hearted, but hasn't really been challenged much in his life so some of the heart issues may have yet to come out. Pray that Angel will stay soft and obedient, but also see the root sinfulness of his heart plainly so he can recognize his need for Christ.

Finally, a few thoughts from a men's bible study that recently started up...we've been in Jonah, so here's a list of questions...these are only profound and useful if you actually stop and think about them...

What is it that God wants you to do? (Big or small, daily or lifelong)
Why don't you want to do it?
Why does God want you to do it?
Who will suffer if you don't do it? (And how?)

There are some others, but those make for a good start.

Thanks,

Todd