A Great Ride

This was our ride this morning. Through the flooded streets of Querétaro, Mexico. The old VW Bug, or "Bocho" as it is called here, is still a pretty popular car. Coming in at 14.5 kilometers per liter, even the gas mileage is fairly decent. But when you have to deal with some unrelenting rain, as we've had the last three days, it can be tough. There were four of us in the car this morning. Our driver Maria, Cesar, his son Alejandro, who while still a baby, takes up a lot of space with his car seat, diaper bag, toys, talking bear, and everything else, and of course, me. Now I was the lucky one because I got the front seat. You see, if you are riding shotgun, you have a job to do. You have to man the defroster. But it is not the button that most of us have on our cars. The defroster for this classic is a rag to wipe the driver's window clear until the temperature between inside and out stabilizes. That magical moment hit this morning about the time we got to our destination. Nothing better than riding four in a cramped car, all with bags, no defroster, windows partly down, in famous Mexico traffic, in the middle of a flood. But at least the wipers worked.

News From The Front... Oaxaca

I am sitting in the newest coffee house in Oaxaca City, Mexico. It is called the Black Coffee Gallery. You can check it out here. After a week of hard work, a few hours of "down time" checking my e-mail and sipping some great Oaxacan coffee gives me time to relax and think. The last few days have been spent with a couple of friends from Oregon working to bring water, food and hope to some of the poorest people living in Mexico. A few years ago we had this crazy idea that if we could serve up a glass of water, alongside a plate of farming ideas from the US and some great Mexican know how for dessert, we might be able, in the words of the late J.D. Salinger, to save a few. Yesterday I watched as Santiago [pictured here] planted corn in an irrigated field for the first time in his life. I listened as his wife Julia shared that she never could have imagined seeing running water on the fields of their family farm. While there is still much to be done, we are getting closer to our goal. We need to dig our well a little deeper and we have a small demonstration green house to finish and plant in February. But we are moving ahead. Our first harvest, if all goes well, will be at the end of May. Until then, I'll keep you posted on how this city boy is doing as a farmer. Mientras, here are a few pictures of our work so far. [our first day. dry, hard, packed soil.] [our plow team, used to make our corn rows.] [here I am cutting the irrigation tape.] [our team. santiago, me, mark doverspike, and tom davis.]

Off to Oaxaca

[Monte Alban, ancient site of the Zapotecs, Oaxaca, Mexico] Tomorrow, like George Clooney in his most recent film, I'll be up in the air. I am headed for Oaxaca, Mexico. Later in the week I will be knee deep in mud learning the ins and outs of corn planting, irrigation, and seed quality. Not bad for a city boy. In early February I'll be visiting some good friends in Querétaro before a quick trip to reconnect with Pastors Raul and Melesio in Guadalajara. A few years back our ministry served in Guadalajara every year, facilitating a fantastic US/Mexico church partnership. Guadalajara remains one of my favorite cities in which to spend time. I have some great friends there, it is cosmopolitan, and the climate is wonderful. No wonder thousands of Americans have retired to the area. But even though I love Guadalajara, and Querétaro too, my hopes, thoughts, and prayers in Mexico will be centered on Oaxaca and our ongoing ministry there. On February 13th, a group of almost 20 people will arrive to serve with us. One of the ministries we are providing is a small traveling woman's health clinic. For people with little or no access to any health care, these clinics can be a Godsend. Our group is also covering a patio area at a small local church in the village of San Baltazar. The people of this church will use the new patio to give classes, and more importantly, prepare hot meals for the senior citizens of their village who find themselves alone and unable to care for themselves. Alongside these other ministries we are offering a series of training classes for pastors and leaders in the Tlacolula Valley. These classes, led by Mexican professors, have become one of the only avenues of Christian higher education available for the Zapotec people of this area. Each year our attendance grows and this year we hope and pray that the trend continues. Finally, our style of incarnational ministry, where you come as learner servants instead of conquering heroes, can be exhausting. Putting aside your wants and desires to live and experience life alongside your fellow man, can wear you out. So pray for me while I am gone. And for our ministry, Adventures in Life. And know that through it all, we hold firm these truths... He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it, and... God is good. All the time! I will post as I am able over the month or so. Blessings.

Author, Author!

A while back I had the opportunity to run into Drew Dyck, one of the people responsible for putting together and getting the word out about a new resource from Christianity Today called Round Trip Missions. Round Trip Missions is a web based resource to help short-term team leaders rethink, plan, raise funds, and generally do all the stuff necessary for a successful short-term mission experience. Drew asked me to consider writing an article for them based on one of my earlier blog posts. After about ten seconds, I of course said yes and am pleased to say they liked it and you can now read it online here. If you like it, and even if you don't, please take a moment to leave your thoughts over at Round Trip Missions. The truth is there are some problems within the short-term mission industry. We need people to weigh in and let us know how we are doing. Only by hearing the voices of those we serve, and those who serve with us, will we be able to improve. Thanks, and enjoy the read!

Vegas Gets The One-Two Punch

The New Year's Eve Party was a huge success for Las Vegas. Over 300,000 people braved the cold, wretched traffic, and bad press about Vegas to show up, fill our hotels, and give the city a much needed economic boost to start 2010. Now we get a second shot in the arm when the Annual Consumer Electronics Show opens this week. Hotels, gaming, and tourism folks are expecting another 110,000 visitors to our fair city. For a city that has been arguably ground zero in the recent housing and unemployment crisis, this is indeed good news. Visitors are what drives our economy, and when you have almost half a million folks stopping by for coffee over the course of a couple of weeks, well, it's a great way to jump start the local economy. Now if only those idiots in boxing can get over their petty differences and get the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight on in March, this can really start to seem like the "old" Vegas, complete with swagger, juice, and the vibe that can only be found in the little city in the desert.

The 2010 Rose Bowl

As a young boy growing up in Southern California I always dreamed of going to see the Rose Bowl. For those of you who are not quite so sports inclined, the Rose Bowl is simply the greatest annual college football spectacle in the United States. This year, for the first time, I was fortunate enough to get a chance to attend. I have a great friend from Oregon who somehow found out he had an extra ticket and so there I was, with 94,000 of my closest friends basking in what is the biggest party in So Cal. Now for me, this year was extra special because Ohio State was playing. Not that I like their football team, I don't. But their band was there. And as some of you may know, in addition to growing up loving sports, I was also a band geek. So that means I was especially excited to see the Ohio State band, "The Best Damn band in the Land" perform their historic spell out. My old high school band director was a graduate of Ohio State, was tuba player, and was once chosen to "dot the i" in Ohio. This band is off the charts amazing, but on this day, I was disappointed. Because instead of the usual large spell out, we got two smaller scripts so that fans on both sides of the stadium could enjoy the moment. Still good, but not the what I was expecting. Over all though, a dream come true. Thanks Gordon. [That's him above in the crazy Oregon fanatic get up.] Enjoy the pictures. [The Buckeye Band getting ready to step off.] [The start of the spell out.] [Sunset on the San Gabriel Mountains, spectacular.]

Now We Can Feel Safe

In light of the recent attempts to bring down a US Airliner, I came across this article on Google. Amazing the lengths we will go to feel safe. Washington (Journal-Constitution News Service) The recent attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab [pictured here] to blow up Northwest Flight 253 has led the Administration of Barack Obama to institute new procedures aimed at reducing the likelihood of another terrorist attempt against the American Airline industry and the American people. Prodded into action by administration critics such as Missouri Representative Candace Miller who called the recent actions an "Act of war against the US" yesterday President Obama announced new regulations, effective January 15, 2010, that will "...end air terrorism as we know it." The new rules will bar airline travel for all citizens of the United States, except for government officials and members of Congress. Ray LaHood, Secretary of Transportation, acknowledging the Draconian nature of these regulations said that while the new regulations are "very restrictive, and will make air travel a thing of the past for many in America, they will help us prevent another terrorist attack of this type.” Reaction from the more conservative members of Congress was both swift and supportive. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky), speaking for the GOP caucus, praised the administration for the new regulations saying “The Republican Party strongly supports President Obama and his administration in their common sense efforts to combat terrorism and safeguard the American people. There should be no sacrifice we will not make to ensure our freedom and safety” But not all reaction was positive. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada quickly pointed out that the new restrictions will effectively end air travel as we know it. But when questioned by Sean Hannity of FOX News whether the new rules would in fact make Americans safer, Reid was forced to admit that yes they would. Under fierce questioning from Bill O’Reilly on his FOX News show, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) also conceded the reality that the new rules will limit opportunities for Islamic Jihadists to attack the United States. But she also vowed to pass a bill to thwart the Administration attempts to place these limits on air travel. When asked how Americans, who have become used to easy inexpensive air travel would adjust, President Obama responded that “…all Americans ought to be willing to put up with a few inconveniences for the safety and security that these common sense solutions will bring.” (Sam Fuller, Diane Smerkel, and Lisa Ruthman all contributed to this article. All rights reserved, Journal-Constitution News Service. ©)