Summer, part 2

The summer of 1998 was so great I wanted to do it all over again in 1999. By the grace of God, I did! I preached through the book of Jude in Spanish, continued with the youth group, and gained more confidence living and traveling around Mexico City. I even celebrated a birthday there (replete with the traditional dunking of the birthday boy's face in the cake).
Another highlight of the summer was helping the Goldfusses host another team of high schoolers from Bible Community Church in Mentor, Ohio. I thought this team showed a lot of maturity and flexibility, and I think they received a real blessing from their time in Mexico City.
I do remember the struggle of feeling like I was getting a handle on speaking Spanish and then getting slapped in the face every day with a million and one words and phrases I didn't know. Language acquisition is a tough cookie--- pray for your missionaries. Pronunciation is also a struggle, and it didn't stroke my ego when the preschool-aged missionary kids knew what to say and could pronounce it perfectly!

The Whole Summer

During my first year at Northland Baptist Bible College, I began thinking that I would like to spend more time in Mexico City--- a lot more. I wanted to spend the whole summer there. The question was, would the Goldfusses want me to spend a whole summer there? When I finally worked up the nerve to ask, I found out that they too had been thinking of having me for the summer as a sort of intern.
So in May of 1998, I traveled again to Mexico City and spent eleven great weeks there. Some of the things I did that summer was man a literature table in the weekly market (oh, the stories I could tell!), preach through the book of 2 Timothy (in Spanish, no less) on Sunday evenings, and hold youth group meetings on Saturday afternoons. I was also able to receive credit for this summer of ministry as a Missionary Apprenticeship Program for my major in Missions.
I learned many things that summer, but the biggest difference was getting past the "tourist phase." I wasn't just visiting for a week or two anymore, and I started getting used to life in the biggest city. I read several books, some of which greatly influenced my thinking. I specifically remember reading the autobiography of John Paton, the biography of William Borden, and In Pursuit of Purity, a history of American Fundamentalism. What a great summer.

Back again

In July of 1997, I spent another two and a half weeks in Mexico City. This trip was made more difficult because of some family circumstances, but the Lord allowed me to make the trip. During this trip I was able to preach for the first time in Spanish, an amazing message entitled "¿Qué debo hacer?" (What should I do?) from Acts 16:31. Really, I'm sure it as painful to listen to it as it was for me to prepare for it. What a great opportunity though!
Also packed into these few weeks was the opportunity to help with Vacation Bible School, where I sported a floppy hat and magnifying glass as the ubiquitous Explorador Enrique. Nothing grabs the attention of the kiddies like a humongous gringo in a ridiculous hat.
I also had the opportunity to help the Goldfusses as they hosted a team of young people from Trinity Bible Church in Greer, SC. I really appreciate the great philosophy of ministry that the Goldfusses have about missions trips. They actually see hosting missions trips as part of their ministry. I enjoyed meeting the team from Trinity and hopefully lightened the Goldfusses' load a bit too.
This trip just went too quickly, and I began thinking about staying a little bit longer.

You gotta see this for yourself!

When I got back from Mexico City in May of 1996, I told my parents: you've got to come down and see this for yourself! The Goldfusses even echoed those sentiments. Amazingly enough, they agreed, and in April of 1997, my parents and sister and I spent a week in Mexico City. One of the exciting parts of this trip was Mikey Goldfuss' first birthday. The Goldfusses had a party and invited all the neighbors and the result was spectacular!
I had the opportunity to renew friendships I had made with some of the Goldfusses' friends, and continue learning more about Spanish and Mexico City. It was a great trip.

A first time for everything

My first visit to Mexico City was in May of 1996. Just out of high school with a year of Bible institute under my belt, I was ready to see what kind of challenges might await me on the mission field.
I almost didn't make it there. I was told in Dallas that I could not board the plane for Mexico because I was a minor traveling alone and I did not have a notarized letter from my parents stating that I was allowed to do so. Finally, they decided that since I was 18, I was no longer a minor, and I was permitted to board the plane.
I spent two weeks in Chihuahua, a city in northern Mexico which is the capital city of the state by the same name. I had a good time there, staying with several missionary families, seeing different works, and even speaking at a teen meeting through an interpreter.
From there, I flew to Mexico City on Aeromexico, which was the worst flight I have ever taken. I was met at the airport by Mike Goldfuss, and I spent the next week with his family in Mexico City.
Many things struck me about Mexico City: it was huge, sprawling, full of people, and full of pollution. The smog hung like a thick gray curtain over the city, like fog that never burned off. The people were friendly and open, and they also spoke Spanish much more slowly than those in the north (which I appreciated very much).
It was a great week. I enjoyed the city, the Metro, the Goldfusses, their little colonia, and I couldn't wait to go back again.

Mexico City, here we come!

For those who may not know us, my wife and I have a special place in our hearts for Mexico City. In a few upcoming posts, we will tell you some of our stories about Mexico City.

The reason we're so fired up about it all of the sudden is that we get a chance to visit Mexico City and GFA missionaries, the Mike Goldfuss family. Our church, Westerville Bible Church, is sending us down August 11-22.

We've been there before: I have traveled there six times! I was there one week in May of 1996, one week in April of 1997, three weeks in July of 1997, eleven weeks during the summers of 1998 and 1999. In May of 2001, the two of us spent five weeks there.

Who knows exactly why, but I have always loved the big city, and there aren't too many (if any!) cities bigger than Mexico City! I love to ride the Metro, see the people, and breathe that rich, thick smog!