Mexi-Gringo Cris... y trabajo de cemento

Chris here,
I just wanted this on-line.
In my personal journey of 'incarnational ministry', I have worked hard to 'grab ahold' of skills that meld me into Latino-Mexican culture.
One skill that I was told a long time ago that I needed to acquire is how to work well with concrete... hand-mixed, shovel in hand, trowel and all. I was told by many of my culture-informants that 'to be a good Mexican man, you need to know concrete...'
It IS true that, IN Mexico, people do things with concrete that is almost magical... and when they build it in concrete, it STAYS for a long, long time. This is not 'racial profiling', it's sincerely a high compliment...
So, here's the pics... me and concrete repair of a wall, and pouring a security mount...

Soy Mexi-gringo oficial
Cris

Community Talk: Ebola in Mexico 2014: The Fear, The Reality and the Opportunity...

Chris here,

Wearing my Zambian-made dress-shirt (yeah, 2009, I was there!) I gave a community-health + public health + Bible-based talk in San Vicente last week. About 75+ adults came out for the well-advertised 1-hour talk by 'Hermano Cris'...  with over 30 minutes of post-Q&A.
The talk came together well...
<>had super-up-to-date info on the REALITY of any Ebola problem in Mexico (like not a problem)...
<>shot down all the mis-information going around about Ebola...
<>outlined the REAL epidemic problem in Mexico... INFLUENZA... and gave solid info on protection against 'la gripa'...
It was a really great time for me...
<>the entire slide-set was written in Spanish, and the entire talk was given strait-up Spanish... language skills >95% all cylinders... yeah!
<>everyone in the room clearly grabbed ahold of what was presented... many sighs of relief... truth setting people free...
<>I connected on the important 'God's perspective' point... "Fear not! I am with you, says Jesus!"
I am grateful for the forward-thinking church leadership in Pastor Jose Luis, his wife Marta and the elders who all encouraged the meeting to happen. I know the congregation and visitors were well-informed and encouraged that night!

Next teaching hurdle: finish writing the Worship book, and teach it in Spanish...

thanks for standing with us for 23 years of Mexico ministry, y'all!
Chris

Praying for the Ebola Crisis

What can we do about the Ebola crisis..PRAY

By Lori Bajkiewicz

We pray for the most affected nations, Sierra Leon, Liberia, and Guinea.

We pray for provision of resources to fight Ebola.

We pray for leaders to have wisdom on how to administer the resources that are available.

We pray for the churches to be a light during this time of such darkness. Give them ideas how to minister and the capacity to console many.

We pray for the missionaries that are serving. Guard their health and give them many opportunities to share the Gospel.

We pray for the Christians to be vehicles of Your grace and ready to share Your love and Your salvation.

We pray for the health workers. Give the doctors and nurses supernatural energy and protect their health against Ebola.

We pray for the children who have been left orphans because of Ebola.

We pray for peace in place of fear and hope in place of discouragement.

We pray for those who are searching for new treatments for Ebola.

We pray for a reduction in the transmission of Ebola.

We pray for the scientists to discover new ways to fight Ebola.

We pray for the volunteers who are serving during this crisis.

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day

It's always FUN to be in Mexico for the national holidays. Time to get dressed up and enjoy the local cuisine. The  church held a night filled with festivities that included music, prayer and lots of YUMMY food.

translating for Mime teaching

Enjoyed helping to teach mime (by translating for Rita) to the youth of the church in San Vicente. I find it humbling to speak Spanish in this capacity and it's a stretching experiencing. A Spanish/English dictionary is still a valuable tool that gets utilized. It may be time to purchase a new one as mine has broken into three sections now. At least we know I'm not afraid of looking up new words. What can be frustrating is when I know a word, but can't seem to pull it up on hard drive (brain memory). Time for the age excuse, "Just one minute, I need to move some info off my full hard drive to make room for the new words." I'm looking forward to seeing them minister in this art form. It's energizing to see these young people learning to share "The Message" to their communities.