Goldfuss Update (December 4, 2005)

Dear Praying friends,

We had a wonderful Lord’s Day today. We were very full. We had a number of visitor children who made lots of noise in the service, but we are thankful for the 19 children who came today.

We are leaving tomorrow morning at 4:30AM to go to South Carolina for Mike’s family reunion, Ohio to visit our home church, and Pennsylvania to visit Faith’s mom and dad. The kids are oh-so-excited. Mom and dad are too, but they are very tired. We will be returning on the 27th of December. So, we won’t be able to send a prayer update for a few weeks. But, please keep praying.

We have several special speakers coming for the three Sundays, but Mike has assigned the work on Wednesdays and Sunday School to the men and young men of the church. They will really need to be bathed in your prayers. Please pray for the church people to fulfill their responsibilities.

Several people have organized a special young people’s activity devotional and get together. We aren’t able to have many of those. Pray that it will be a good time and a time of Christian fellowship for them. It will be on December 16.

Mike will be preaching in Mentor, Ohio on December 18 and in Pennsylvania on December 24.

Special announcement--Any of you at or around BJU, we will be in the Snack Shop on Tuesday morning, December 6, (that is two days from now) from 9:00 AM til 12:00 PM. If you can get by to see us, we’d love to see you. We are going to try to see several past and future interns also at this time.

Praise that Hector and Teresa were there today. Elsa was not. Pray for each of them.

Since Reme is not going to be helping us with school, she has decided to be a missionary, visiting people in the church and organizing the youth get together. Pray for her to have an effective ministry.

Thank you for your prayers,
Mike for us all

Monthly Prayer Letter (November 2005)

Dear praying Friends,

We have been writing weekly email updates without fail ever since April. Because of that, it seemed like we had “just” sent a prayer letter. Well, we did “just” send the last one in APRIL. If you have not been receiving the email updates, please let us know. Drop us a note at mikegoldfuss@hotmail.com and we will get you right on the list. If you feel that the weekly email prayer updates are sufficient for you, please also let us know and we’ll take you off the snail mail prayer letter list. You will still receive the prayer letter via e-mail.

In April we had just gotten back from Texas and a visit with Faith’s parents. We left 6 workers working on our house. They hadn’t done the work that they said they would when we left. However, they stated that they would still get done in the allotted time that they had. We continued paying them by the week. When we got to the last week 6 weeks later, there was still about 3 weeks of work to go. All the workers just left. This was the second time we had problems with workers and we were very upset as the BJU mission team was arriving in just over a week. The neighbor lady waited until this time to tell us that the workers used the two weeks that we were gone to take 4-hour “naps” on the roof. That was grand. :-) There is a large unoccupied house, mostly finished and with running water right next door to us. Mike asked permission to use the house for the group from BJ and the lady miraculously said yes. They even had a hot-water heater to use. 24 of the team members stayed in that house and a married couple on the team stayed in another neighbor’s home. It’s great to have good relations with our neighbors.

The week of the team’s visit was the highlight of our summer. Along with our church people, the team gave 6,000 tracts and invitations out in our church neighborhood for several nights of evangelistic meetings. We saw several people come and visit for those services. Pray for continued lasting fruit as a result. The week had several trials and the Lord’s grace strengthened us through each one. One of the team’s van’s transmissions broke for the 2nd time in ten days. The other van had its back window broken. Fortunately we also have a van. One evening a young man on the team drove our van with 31 other people (team members, our family and Rachael Davis who was helping Faith cook that week) down the mountain to the church. They, and the van, all made it in one solid piece—I think everyone was molded together.

We were very concerned about how we were going to get 32 people fed everyday in the cabin, but we divided into two shifts and everything worked out well. The weather was wet and cold the whole week, but the Lord gave everyone the grace for the close quarters. It was actually better than we could have ever planned. The spirit of everyone was wonderful and we enjoyed all of the fellowship with all of the chaotic togetherness.

This past summer, we were able to start a Bible study in our new neighborhood. Nicholas, his son Humberto (20), and three siblings Janet (20,) Vanessa (19), and Jain (15) have been attending for about 5 months now. We have been enjoying studying the gospel of John. They have been hungry for God’s Word. Our studies on Saturday afternoons normally last from 4 PM until about 7 PM. Nicholas has shown true fruit of being born again and trusting in Christ completely for his salvation. He has some serious family problems that he is trying to get sorted out before the Lord, and his desire is to please the Lord in all he does. Mike recently bought him some very good Christian books and Nicholas has been seen studying until 1 AM many nights. What a blessing. Pray for him to be able to correct the things in his life that have taken years to mess up. He has been faithfully witnessing to many people that he has come into contact with including his parents who are very against him because of this. The others in the Bible study have also come to church with us.

Mark and Bekah Perry came from Westerville Bible Church in August. They even took us away on a short vacation for a couple of days. They brought some neat things for the whole family from their church members. They have a digital camera and while they were here, Mark kept up a daily summary, complete with pictures, of everything that they did. The address on the internet is: http://bigmexicocity.blogspot.com/ To find the pictures of the family and the trip details, check on the older posts section under August.

The church has had very good attendance throughout the summer and fall. We are still very burdened about the salvation of a good number who come faithfully, but have no real fruit of salvation in their lives. The big news is that our church landlord is needing our building again. So we need to move AGAIN! We are all seriously praying about this. Our church would really love a permanent building. There is a building very close to where we are now and it is for sale or rent. This would be a miracle for our church, but we have the God of miracles! Thank you for praying with us!

It seems a constant prayer request is that the Lord would raise up faithful men to lead his church here. We have lost several of the men who were rather faithful in attendance but were not saved. Morgan and Marcos struggle in their spiritual lives. Pray for Nicholas to continue his growth and leadership in his home where no one else is saved. We have three other men who need to grow or be saved.

Mike’s mom has organized a special family reunion in December. She is flying us up for it and the whole family is very very excited. Pray for the church in our absence to grow and to go forward.

Pray for us to be able to finish the house soon in the New Year if the Lord allows. It would be nice to get into the house for the new semester of school. It would be wonderful to move soon so that we can function in a much more organized manner and thus be more useful in the Lord’s service. We do have great news! Ruben and Heidi Zartman are planning to come February 1st to begin a ministry downtown primarily working with street children (orphans from age 4-12 who live on the streets). Even though they will eventually be about 2 hours away from us now, they will be staying in our cabin as they become adjusted and as they seek the proper place to live downtown. We are thrilled as Ruben’s parents were the ones that helped us get adjusted to the city. Now, we pray that their son and his wife will be the first of many future missionaries that we will be able to help become established all over Mexico City. Please pray for them as they make this important move.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We rely on them so much for the Lord’s strength and grace of each day. Your support and love gifts are so much appreciated also. May the Lord give you a wonderful holiday season, a merry Christmas and a Christ-centered new year.

In Christ,
Mike, Faith, Mikey, Cristiana, Carissa, Matthew, and Cherith Goldfuss

A Late (or early) Update-- Depending on How You Look at It

Dear Praying friends,

We did not write an update as things have been very hectic and sometimes overwhelming. It is wonderful to know that "He is the Rock, His work is perfect." Deut. 32:4

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Faithful men.
• Both Marcos and Morgan have been having major struggles in their spiritual lives. They need prayer for victory. This is difficult for us as we have helped them as much as we can help them. They just need to determine to stay in God’s Word and do what it says. This is particularly crucial as they are the only ones that are qualified to preach. They will be preaching in the month of December while we are gone for three weeks to see family. Mike’s family is having a reunion as we have not been back in almost five years—(not including his father’s funeral). His family is paying for the trip so that we can attend. Our little church needs prayer while we are gone. Please pray for much growth in Morgan and Marcos.
• Elsa’s housing situation is difficult. Pray for an inexpensive room close to school to become available for her.
• We have been ministering this week to a family that has recently come from Florida where they lived for eight years. The wife is Mexican and the husband is German. They have six children ranging in ages 8 to 22 and are home-schooled. They were recommended to our church by mutual friends in the States. The whole family visited on Sunday and seemed to be very bored. This was so sad for us as Mike was preaching on the sufficiency of Christ alone and loving Him with all of your heart. They were concerned by the lack of activities for their children and want to go to a very large church of over 4,000 in the north of the city almost two hours away. Through some special opportunities this week, they have shared some real family needs. The oldest son is very ill and needs urgent surgery to remove most of his colon. The second child, 19 and a daughter, just left home and is not speaking to the parents. Pray for us to kindly be able to continue to share that our children do not just need activities—although they can be nice and helpful, but what they need is a personal relationship with Christ Himself.
• Teresa needs prayer as she was left responsible for her 10 month old great-niece, Sara. Teresa’s niece drinks heavily and was abusive--hitting and neglecting the baby. Teresa’s husband could not bear the situation, and even though it was not his family---he brought the baby home to Teresa. We all got baby clothes together (as the baby did not have anything) and just two days ago Teresa took the baby back to her own brother, the baby’s grandfather, to make that family stand up to its responsibility. Pray for little Sara. It is another hard situation. We have prayed with Teresa about the Lord’s will. On one hand, it would be a wonderful opportunity to try to raise that baby in the Lord. And on the other hand, Teresa is in her late 50s with an unsaved husband and all of her family problems. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s perfect will and for Alberto’s salvation.
• Some may remember Itza. He was very faithful the second through the fourth years of the ministry---and even played the piano the whole year that we were on furlough. He is still in the army, but not doing well. His mother asked that Mike go and see him because Itza is now very suicidal. The problem is that he is now located in another city. Please pray for the Lord to work in his life through the problems that he is going through and that his entire family will finally become serious about serving the Lord.
• The landlord of the church wants us to get out of where we are meeting. (This is after we have moved in his building 2 times.) We now have until February. We are trying to teach our people that the Lord has a purpose in everything and not to become upset or angry, but to look at the situation as from the Lord. We are all praying that if it is the Lord’s will that He would give us a permanent building for the church. There is a very nice building not far from us that is for rent or for sale. Our landlord plans to go with some from the church to recommend us as renters. Pray that the Lord would show Himself strong to our little congregation—and that if it is the Lord’s will that he would offer us an unbelievably low price for the building.

PRAISES:

• Erasmo has a new job. This is such an answer to prayer for the Lopez family. They have been attending for four years and up until now ---he has never felt the responsibility to be the main provider for his family. This has been such a struggle for Matilde. Pray that he will remain faithful to his job and thus be a blessing to the church and the Lord’s people.
  The children’s Sunday school class is going very well. There have been between 10-15 children every week. This is such a contrast as earlier this year our children were the only ones who would attend. The mothers could not get their children there that early (11 am)(????) But the Lord has worked in their hearts and they are being faithful. Sarai, Juana, Elsa, Reme, and Faith are all taking turns teaching.
• Church attendance has been between 45-50 people for several weeks now!

Thank you so much for praying, and so sorry for all of the details. It does help to relieve our burden a little; however, to know that you are specifically taking each request to the Lord.

In Christ, Mike, Faith, Mikey, Cristiana, Carissa, Matthew, and Cherith Goldfuss

Prayer Update (November 6)

Dear Praying friends,

Thank you for your prayers this week. I think I have just about all of the addresses again. Thank you so much to those of you who helped with that. Our computer has been really acting up, and that is the reason that we are late again with our update.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Faithful men.
• Marcos and Morgan are going to have several opportunities in December to preach. Pray for them to grow through this.
• The lady, Lilliana, who is not Nichol's wife, but is the father of their four-year-old little girl, doesn't seem to be very thrilled about coming to church. She has accompanied him to church for the last three months--and now seems angry about coming. The ladies of the church are trying to reach out to her. Please pray that she would feel the love of Christ in our midst, and that she would be saved. (Praise: Nichol is really growing and changing! This may be one reason for the resentment felt by Lilliana.)

PRAISES:

• Sra. Silvia and Sra. Teresa both were back today after several weeks away with the death of their mother. Please pray for Teresa to continue to grow and for Silvia to be saved.
• Elsa came today!!!! (Prayer request: Alondra (her sister) and Miguel (Alondra's boyfriend) did not. It certainly seems as though Miguel and Alondra do not want to obey the Lord. They both need to be saved. Miguel is very manipulating and wants Alondra to live with him even though they are not married. Miguel is VERY angry with us for sharing what the Lord says on this subject. Elsa is very confused with all the upheaval in her life. Now that Alondra is going back to Miguel, she cannot pay for her apartment and needs to move again. We were able to spend about four hours with Elsa Sunday afternoon and evening. Pray for her to be faithful in her Christian walk.)
• Vanessa had not been to our Saturday Bible study for about two months. She came back yesterday. She had been living in sin, but we are thankful that she has returned. Pray that she will be saved.
• Sr. Hector seems to be having his eyes open to false teaching from a former church! Two weeks ago he did not come back because he was mad at some things Mike needed to say to him from God's Word. Yet, the Lord began working on him---and he has returned both last week and this week. Last week in Sunday school he publically apologized for being very angry and said that he felt the Lord was showing him the truth, but that it is hard to accept.
• Our three oldest children have been witnessing to the sister of our neighbor who came up here to visit but she just happens to live by our church. She has been reading her Bible, but says that she doesn't understand it. Pray that the Sra. Berna will come and be saved.

Thank you so much for praying,

In Christ, Mike, Faith, Mikey, Cristiana, Carissa, Matthew, and Cherith Goldfuss

Prayer Update (October 30)

Dear Praying friends,

We were way down in attendance today for some reason--even with one extra hour of sleep last night. I've learned to only announce the time change in the spring when we lose an hour. I figure those who come late normally might make it on time in the fall. That was the case with one family today. They were 40 minutes early when they thought they were 20 minutes late. :-)

Thank you for praying. I lost all of the addresses in the email address book. I've been able to recover only 2 of the 5 groups up to this point. Pray that somehow we'll be able to get the rest.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Teresa and Sylvia--were not in church today again.
• Faithful men and Salvation for Alejandro, Octavio and Fidel.
• Growth in Marcos and Morgan’s lives.
• Continued growth in Nicolas' life. He told me on Friday of this week that he believes that he has truly been born again due to the way the Lord is working in him and has allowed him to respond to different situations in which he never would have responded correctly before. He said that he is trusting only in Christ for his salvation.
• Elsa, Alondra and Miguel were not there today. We've tried to call them but cannot get in touch with them. This is a matter of concern.

PRAISES:

• Sr. Hector came back after missing last week. He talked with us 2 weeks ago and we tried to make him realize that he isn't saved as he was trusting in his baptism and good works. He confided to the whole church today that he was upset upon hearing that, and that's why he didn't come last week. However, he says that the Lord is working on him.
• We were able to get the suspension on the car fixed on Monday. The mechanic said one piece came off in his hand without any pressure. We are thankful for the Lord's provision and protection.

Thank you so much for praying,

In Christ, Mike, Faith, Mikey, Cristiana, Carissa, Matthew, and Cherith Goldfuss

Prayer Update (October 23)

Dear Praying friends,

Thank you for praying. This week was a relatively normal week. In fact, I can’t remember if we’ve ever had a normal week since. . . . . ?????

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Teresa—after all the stress of last week with her mom’s death, she had a very severe kidney infection this week. Her sister Silvia was not in church today either.
• Faithful men.
• Salvation for Alejandro, Octavio and Fidel.
• Growth in Marcos and Morgan’s lives.
• Continued growth in Nicolas’ life.
• After talking with us for 4 hours last Sunday, Sr. Hector didn’t come back to church today. Pray for him to be saved too.

PRAISES:

• Three different groups or individuals were able to deal with problems biblically this week and get the situations taken care of. People are applying God’s Word.
• Elsa and Alondra left where they were living with Miguel and moved into their own apartment. They are becoming more self-supportive. They come 1½ hours away in 3 different buses to get to church. Miguel was not happy about their moving out (he is Alondra’s boyfriend.) He was very angry, but he was in church today. Pray for him to be saved and for the girls to continue seeking to do what’s right.
• What a surprise today to have Gabby come back after 4 years. She was faithful for 3 years but left to live with an unsaved young man. We were so happy to see her. Please pray that she will return and that she will be saved.
• Memo, Guille’s son with the major problems with his wife came today for the third time. Pray for him to be saved also.

FAMILY NEWS:

The kids all put up signs around this week announcing that we are giving away free dirt. We have so much from the foundation of the house and need to get it out. We had two trucks come this week and take a load. Problem is we still have about 13 more loads to get rid of.

We are hoping to be able to get our suspension fixed tomorrow. We had some things break due to the almost 8 inch potholes on our street. We all used a wheelbarrow yesterday to try to fill in some of the holes. Matthew pitched in with his Tonka dump truck.

Thank you so much for praying,

In Christ, Mike, Faith, Mikey, Cristiana, Carissa, Matthew, and Cherith Goldfuss

The Goldfuss Family

Some Concluding Thoughts

Now that we're home and beginning to get our bearings again (we hit the ground running!), I wanted to put down a few thoughts about our trip. It was great to see the Goldfusses again and fellowship with them. It was also neat to see how much their children have grown (I always think of missionary kids staying the same height and size as their last prayer card). It was exciting to see their house and to think of the great blessing it will be to them when it is completed and how they will be able to use it to enhance their ministry.
Since this was not my first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or even seventh time to visit Mexico, I was struck more by similarities to our life and ministry here than the differences. Here are a few of them, in no particular order.

• The difficulties of ministering to people are very similar. The problems the Goldfusses are facing with unsaved people or those in the church are evidences of the depravity of man. It has nothing to do with where those men live; they have sinful, selfish hearts.
• Building on the previous point, people often destroy their lives with layered sinfulness. They spend years making sinful choices, doing selfish things, and living with no thought of God and his Word. When they finally realize their plight, they want to pop a pill and turn back the clock twenty years. Unfortunately, those layers of sin have consequences, scars, and form habits. I like to say that the Christian life is simple. I didn't say easy, but it is simple.
• Raising children in this sinful world is no easy task. I thank God for those who are willing to accept the challenge of trying to raise godly children to the glory of God.
• God must change hearts. His Holy Spirit must give spiritual life where there is spiritual death. God's Word is living and active and it penetrates through man's pretenses and pretexts. The Bible is sufficient for salvation and for sanctification (2 Tim 3:14-17).
• God's people love to sing hymns of faith and praise to God. Some would like to say that hymns are not appropriate for "Latin culture." They are not appropriate for unregenerate or unthankful hearts. However, it was a joy to hear and watch God's people sing his praise--- it makes me look forward to the day when a multitude of the redeemed from every ethnicity and language group will sing God's praise (Rev 7:9-12).
• God puts in the hearts of his leaders a love and a burden for the people to whom they minister.
• It is certainly true that "Anywhere with Jesus is 'Home Sweet Home.'"

Home, Sweet Home!

After a short delay in Dallas, we arrived home around midnight. It's great to be home. I never noticed how smooth the roads were, how big our house was, and how much I took running water for granted (I did have a water and sewer bill in the mail). We thank the Lord for a great trip and we will continue to pray for the Goldfusses.

American Airlines Flight 642

Departing: Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Departure Time: 8:34 PM
Gate: C7

Arriving: Columbus, OH
Arrival Time: 11:38 PM
Gate: B32
Baggage: 5

Quick Update from DFW

Well, we're waiting to board our flight to Columbus from Dallas. Customs and everything went fine, we got a little bite to eat (would you believe I spent $4.28 for a personal size pizza from Pizza Hut?), and we're ready to be home (and get back to work!).
Mike got us a taxi to the airport from his house, and we left about 12:15 and made good time. When we left his house, it was foggy, chilly, probably about 50 degrees. When we arrived in Dallas, they told us it was 101 degrees!
Thank you for your prayers. Next stop: HOME!

American Airlines Flight 1064

Departing: Mexico City, Mexico
Departure Time: 3:30 PM
Gate: 29

Arriving: Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
Arrival Time: 6:07 PM
Gate: A17
Baggage Claim: CUSTOMS

One Last Look

The View from the Roof This Morning

Pretty foggy out there, huh? There really is a big city out there. Honest.

Next Door Neighbor

We are in the big city, right? Oh wait, that's just the neighbor's lawn mower!

Church Family

Here is a picture of Morgan and Marcos, two young men from the church. Morgan is 25 and a taxi driver (he drove us back from the airport). This morning, he led the song service.
Marcos, on the right, is 24 and the oldest son of Juana. He works downtown as a maintenance man in a children's cancer hospital. These two young men have been given some opportunities to lead in the church services.
These two girls are the twins, Alondra and Elsa. The guy on the left is Miguel, the friend of Alondra. Elsa is living with the Arredondo family right now because they have come from a difficult family situation.

Pozole

Today after church, we were invited over to the home of the Arredondo family (Juana and Reme) to celebrate Reme's birthday. Juana had made a massive pot of pozole for all to enjoy. Pozole is a soup made with chicken (or sometimes other meat) and hominey. We sprinkled oregano on top, shredded lettuce, sliced radishes, and ate it with cream spread on tostadas. It was quite tasty. This is how to make pozole.

Ingredients

• Pork roast or chicken, cut in chunks
• Red chile pods
• Garlic salt
• Can of hominy

Directions

• Cook meat in salted water until it shreds easily.
• In blender, blend red chile, water, and garlic salt until thick and smooth.
• When meat is done (about one hour), add chile mixture.
• Add hominy and bring to a boil.
• Turn heat down and let simmer 10 minutes.
• Serve with chopped lettuce, sliced radishes, cream and tostadas.

Church This Morning

This morning in Sunday School, we continued our study from last week about personal finances. There were several good comments about teaching children responsibility in the home.
In the morning service, I continued preaching from Isaiah 40, working through verses 12-31 about the greatness of God. The service was similar to last week. Here's the bulletin from this week's service.

Sunday School children's class

Bekah got the chance to sit in on the children's Sunday school class this morning. Reme did a great job teaching the class for all the children while the adults had their Bible study. The four oldest Goldfuss children made up most of the class, along with Davíd and Adriel, the sons of Guille and Alejandro.

Cheri

Cherith Hope is the youngest Goldfuss. She will be one year old in just a few weeks. She likes to eat and eat and eat (I suppose if you're the youngest of five you have to be able to eat when you can!).

Matthew

Matthew Josiah is two years old and he is always working on something. He likes to build with his trucks and move dirt around the yard. Matthew loves his little sister Cherith and is very gentle and loving with her. He likes to read books (especially his favorite, Scamper Sam).

Carissa

Carissa Grace is five years old and is going into first grade. Her favorite part of school is writing her name on the paper and doing math. In school, she likes to cut things out and glue them on her paper (although she says she sometimes gets sticky doing that). She likes to climb to the very top of the trees that are on the property. We have also found out that Carissa is a veritable fish in the swimming pool!

Cristi

Cristiana Faith is the Goldfusses' oldest daughter. She is seven years old and will be in the second grade when school starts in a few weeks. Cristi likes to draw with markers (and get them all over herself and everything). Anything that has to do with crafts she loves. She likes to play with Mrs. Bekah's hair and try to braid it. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, she goes to gymnastics class. She likes to play around the yard with her brother and sister, climbing on the walls and trees. Here is a picture of Cristi with her younger sister, Carissa.

Mikey

Mikey is the Goldfusses' oldest son. He is nine years old. He likes to play with his army men (that must be why he wanted the game of Risk). Right now, he likes playing basketball, and he plays for a team called Villa Olímpica. They practice on Mondays and Wednesdays. Mikey likes the Mexican soccer team Cruz Azul. A big event for him was getting to attend Camp Peniel a few weeks back which he is still talking about. Mikey is tearing through the Hardy Boys books, reading them every chance he gets. He will be in fourth grade in a week or two. His favorite subjects are History and Math, but he says he doesn't like English class.

Back from a Mini-Vacation

We just got back into town after a few days. My wife and I took the Goldfusses on a little mini-vacation to Acapulco for a few days. It was nice and warm and very relaxing. I took my computer, but didn't have any access to do any blogging from there. We left Acapulco at 12:30 PM and we were sweating and it was warm and muggy. We arrived back at the Goldfusses house around 5:00 PM, about 10,000 feet higher and many degrees cooler!

The City of Hope

As Bekah and I walked around the downtown on Wednesday, we noticed a bunch of billboards that call the city "The City of Hope." It seems that this is the government's slogan. That really got me thinking quite a bit about what hope really is and if there is any true hope here in Mexico City.
My mind ran to 1 Timothy 1:1, where Paul speaks of "Christ Jesus our hope." Titus 1:2 speaks of the hope of eternal life which God, who does not lie, has promised us. Those who lose loved ones in death sorrow because they do not have any hope (1 Thess 4:13).
So it seems hard to imagine that Mexico City can in any way be called a "City of Hope." The only hope for Mexico City and its people is Jesus Christ. The only way to be reconciled with God is through the sinless, wrath-appeasing sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. This hope is not limited to this life (1 Cor 15:19); Jesus Christ is also our hope of future glory (Col 1:27). Social programs, human government, and better living conditions are a far cry from the true hope which those who have trusted in Christ enjoy.

The Front Door is In!

On Wednesday, they finished up the front door of the Goldfusses' house. This is a picture of the door from the inside and the outside. Mike bought the door from some carpenters down in the little town of Santo Tomás for 4,100 pesos (about $400). He sanded, sealed, and varnished the door himself. We thought it looked great and wished we could buy a door like that and take it home for our house!

Electricity in the Big City

Electricity is a little different here. The electric company hasn't gotten meters installed this far up the mountain yet, so the electricity is free. (As you can see, it's kind of a free-for-all as well.) These wires are 220V, but Mike says about all he can draw is 40 amps. These are called cables colgados (hanging wires), because someone just puts up a ladder and hooks on their wires to the wires on the pole and your electric hook up is done.
The luz (electricity) bill must be paid in cash at specified locations (banks and other such places). There are no online payments or automatic withdrawals here. The electricity has been fairly constant since we've been here, although last Saturday night it was out for several hours.

Money in Mexico

This is one way to get money in Mexico. Here's an even better way:

A Delightful Treat

Tonight after church, we took the Goldfusses out for tacos. Bekah and I are both agreed that nothing beats good Mexican tacos! These kind of tacos are called tacos al pastor, and I’m not sure exactly how that translates, but I’m a pastor, and I like these tacos! The meat (pork) is placed on a vertical skewer and roasted with a gas flame. Using a large knife, the guy cuts off the edges that are cooked to a golden crisp. He cuts them onto two little corn tortillas, sprinkles a mixture of onion and cilantro on top, and finishes it off with a slice of the pineapple you can see at the top of the skewer.
It may not look too great in this picture, but they are wonderful! All of the Goldfusses love tacos, so we all had a great time. We also enjoyed bottles of Boing!, a fruit drink. Mikey and I had the guava flavor, and the rest had mango. The server brought a large paper menu up, and Mike marked down how many tacos of each kind we wanted, and then he brought them up to us. The rest is history.

Prayer Meeting

Prayer meeting tonight began by singing several songs (about ten or so). I played the piano and we sang the first and last stanzas. Then Mike took requests, and everybody wrote them down on little half-sheet prayer lists that he handed out. After taking requests, the men and women divided up for prayer. The men sat in a circle and each one took one or two requests. There were several visitors there this evening, workers who were in the area doing some work in underground telephone cable. Some prayed, but before we began, one man said, “Those three men aren’t going to pray because they don’t know the Lord.”
After the prayer time, we met back again in the main room, and I preached from Isaiah 40:1-11. You can read more about the message at my blog. At the close of the service, we passed out pictures that Bekah’s dad made for us of Isaiah 40:8. The people really enjoyed that.

A Trip into the Big City

Today Bekah and I went downtown Mexico City. We left about 10:00 this morning, walked out to the end of the Goldfusses’ road, and waited a few minutes until we could catch a pesero (bus). We rode that for about 45 minutes down the mountain and got off and hopped on another pesero which took us to the starting point of the Metro’s green line, Ciudad Universitaria (or Universidad). We rode the Metro up to the red line, changed trains, and rode one stop to Villa Basilica, where we got out and looked for soccer jerseys. We ended up buying two for my nephews and one for us, had a quick pit stop at McDonald’s, and got back into the Metro.
It was a little more crowded by this time, but we retraced our route back and got off at Juarez, where we looked at ties (bought five silk ties for $N150 (about $14.40), looked at watches in some more street stands, and walked through the Alameda, a park in downtown Mexico City. We sat on a bench and watched and talked a bit, and then walked up to the Latin-American Tower. After the tower, we had lunch at Sanborn’s and walked back the way we came to the Ciudadela, a sort of market of “Mexicanish” stuff for sale. Bekah bought a silver bracelet, and we headed for the Metro again.
The Ciudadela is right at the Metro station Balderas, and we rode the green line all the way back down to Universidad. There we got in another pesero (after some trouble finding the right bus), and rode it back up. We got off two blocks from the church building, and arrived there with about twenty minutes to spare before prayer meeting. It was a fun day with lots of walking, lots to see, and we were thankful for God’s protection. We did see this one interesting sight and thought we’d pass it along.

An Anniversary of Sorts

Since we got engaged on the observation deck of the Latin-American Tower over four years ago, we wanted to make sure we got a chance to see it again. They have remodeled some of it, so the exact place wasn’t really there, but it still was fun to remember back. We also had a nice lunch at Sanborn’s across the street, just like we did then. The significance of this picture is that four years ago, I gave Bekah an engagement ring on the tower (and then put it back in my sock for the trip back), and today, we left our rings at home to be as safe as possible!

McD's

This afternoon while we were out and about, I needed to find a bathroom (most bathrooms in Mexico City aren't too great and you have to pay for them). You can always count on good ol' McDonald's. We bought a small orange pop, used the bathroom, and then hurried on.

Scamper Sam

One of Matthew's favorite things to do is read (or be read) his favorite book, Scamper Sam. Bekah reads the book, and at the end, instead of reading, "Good night, Sam," she inserts Matthew's name. This brings a howl of "Me not seepy!" followed by "Again, again!" Repeat the entire process.

View from the Roof

Mexican Doors

A Mexican front door is a little different than front doors in the United States. Most homes have brick walls around their yards, so the street is lined with everybody's walls. Sometimes the walls have wrought iron spikes or broken glass on top to discourage would-be burglars. This is the Goldfusses' street, Camino Viejo al Maninal. Their house is number 10B, as you can see the arrow painted on the wall in front to alert the construction trucks. The street itself is paved, but there are several large holes that must be avoided. It is also rather steep.
The Goldfusses' front gate looks like this. On the right is a smaller door with a latch that you can walk through. The two main doors open with a modified garage door opener so cars can drive in and down the driveway. With most houses having gates and doors like this, it makes door-to-door visitation a little challenging.

A Special Treat for Dinner!

Not exactly authentic Mexican cuisine, but as you can clearly see, Tuesday is buy one, get one free (two for one) day at Domino's in Mexico too! We got two large pepperoni and sausage pizzas for $N149 (about $14.30).
With our pizza, we also got one of Bekah and my favorites: Manzana Lift, the Coca-cola brand of apple pop.

An Interesting Import

As you drive up the mountain toward Ajusco, where the Goldfusses' live, the scenery changes from densely populated city to beautiful pine forests. The road winds up through the woods and there are many parks in the "green area," a sort of forest preserve. The latest additions to all the stands offering horseback rides, restaurants, and go-carts are a bunch of paintball places. I guess people like to go out in the country and unwind here too.

Why?

Maybe you've been wondering why someone would go to another country and endure various difficulties in order to minister. Oftentimes, the Lord would have us "bear the iniquity of the people."

An Early Morning Delivery

Mike and I were painting last night and we ran out of paint for the dining room and stairwell. So this morning, Mike called up the paint store and ordered 19 liters of #306 Blanco Chantilly. This guy delivered it to the door about an hour later.

D&D Alert

My favorite donut and coffee shop finally made its way to Mexico City. I caught sight of it when Faith and I were heading into Sam's Club just across the way.

Too Strong for My Own Good

I was chopping wood today in the Goldfusses' wood pile. They are hoping to get a lot split and stacked for the winter time, as it gets rather chilly (and even more so up here farther up the mountain). I was making good progress splitting and stacking wood, when I took a mighty swing, buried the head of the axe into the log, and splintered the handle. (No, I did not hit the handle on the wood.) I guess I'm just a lot stronger than I had thought.

A Trip to Sam's

To keep the kids from getting soaked in the aguacero, Faith dropped me off with Matthew and Cherith at the door of Sam's Club. I was concerned that I would not be able to find a dry carriage while trying my hand at juggling two little ones. A very considerate employee selected a carriage from his "carriage train" that was not only dry but also equipped to store two younguns' side by side in the front of the carriage. I was so thankful for his help!
I gave this man at the register a chuckle to see an American tourist taking pictures in a grocery store! I just wanted to show ladies that Sam's Club is very similar to the ones in the States. Actually, I thought their check out was more efficient than ours. Faith had run out of a few supplies so we went to Sam's while Mikey was at basketball and Cristiana and Carissa was at gymnastics. It worked out pretty well, except that we had forgotten that we had dropped off Faith's glasses to get repaired until we had picked up the kids from their various activities. =-p

Pintando (Painting)

This morning, Mike and I began to work on painting in the house. I quickly found that painting bare concrete is a lot harder than painting drywall! First, we began by spraying a "sealer" that looked like glue watered down one to five. Fortunately, Mike has an electric sprayer that made the job go a lot quicker.
Next, we began to prime with Comex primer. Because the concrete surface isn't completely smooth, it was quite a difficult job. We did the edges of the outside and the ceilings and walls in the dining room and living room inside as well as the stair well.
Then we painted the outside of the front entryway area of the house black. It went on really nice and looked great. Here you can see before and after pictures.