Chapala, Mexico Partnership

Chapala Mexico 2010! from Greg Kenerly on Vimeo.

Click HERE to see what's happened since we left! Also - click HERE to see what we were up to in 2008 in Chapala!

While We Were There - Our Updates

Mexico Update - Friday, July 30

Today was a great day - but an exhausting day! We worked from 8:00am till about 7:30pm but we got everything we had hoped to get done completed.  The new parsonage has all four walls up and a roof over head (at least most of it - we ran out of materials).  There is still a lot to be done on the home but we were able to give a great jump-start to the project.  We are all really tired and looking forward to some shopping and relaxation tomorrow. We will also be going to Mezcala and having authentic tamales made by some wonderful ladies at the new church mission there.  This will probably be the last update from Mexico, but we will be putting one more up after we return.  Pray for us as we relax and travel home.  See you Sunday night!

 

Mexico Update - Wednesday, July 28

The past couple of days have been filled with a lot of different things.  We worked a lot.  No cement though!  We have had a crew painting some rafters and a gate for the new building we are working on.  We have also been doing a lot of wall building on the second floor. We  hope to have all four walls for the second floor up on Thursday.  There will still be lots to do to it, but it will be very cool to see it all up!  We had the opportunity to head to the waterfall - and a few of us went all the way to the upper falls and it was an incredibly beautiful view (see the pics)! Wednesday evening we were able to go down to the shopping area for churros and some walking around. It was a beautiful night. Thanks for your prayers and support!  Talk to you soon!

 

Mexico update Monday July 26

Monday we hit the worksite!  and guess what...more cement to mix.  Yay! Actually we are so glad to be working there and doing anything we can to build the kingdom.  Other stuff happened as well! The second floor on the dining hall, which will be a parsonage, began in earnest today.  The back wall should go up tomorrow and then the other walls will soon follow.  We are hoping to have a roof on before we leave.  That would be an awesome thing.  Nate Wilson poured a floor in the back storage room and it looks great. We prepped the roof trusses for painting that will be installed later this week.  Jose, a little boy from two years ago, hung out at the worksite today with us and we had a great time with him.  All is well here, although it's been pretty rainy (a river runs down  the street by the mission!)  Once again, keep praying for us.  More later.

 

Mexico Update - Saturday, July 24

The second group arrived safely today (beside the fact the Bruce got pulled over by the federales!) and we are all here at the house tonight.  We were able to go down to the pier at Lake Chapala and spend some time shopping and taking in the culture.  We made a pretty good dent in the Mexican blanket supply and Guadalajara Chivas jersey supply! It was a lot of fun.  God has been so present in everything we've done and we've seen him on the faces of children and the adults we've met. This evening we had a time of worship and sharing with the ones that are leaving tomorrow and the ones that arrived today.  It has been a wonderful time and a blessing to be partnering with the beautiful people of Mexico. Pray for the safe travel of those heading home on  Sunday.  More later!

 

Mexico Update - Thursday, July 22

Today we once again mixed a lot of cement (the Mexican national pastime I think).  We were pouring the floor on the second floor of the building at Vida Nueva Church of the Nazarene and painting the main church building.  We arrived back at the mission to the smell of Chicken Enchiladas - which were amazing! Then we had homemade flan which was also amazing.  After dessert we went downtown for second dessert - once again amazing! We ate Churro's down by the lake and watched the sunset, heard some great live music and just had the opportunity to blend in with the culture - much like a rock blends in with a glass of water.  It was really fun. Check out the photos for the day. Keep praying for us!

 

Wednesday, July 21 Updates!

The past couple of days have been amazing!  Yesterday we worked in the morning and in the afternoon we traveled a few miles to a town called Mezcala (on Lake Chapala).  Out from Mezcala is a prison that was used in the early 1800's. We traveled by boat to the Island and had a great time hearing the story of the prison and seeing the sites.  Then we went to a brand new "church" (not really a church, but a group of people  that meet in a home to worship together.)  There were about 80-90 there in a tiny little walled" yard" (about 15'x40").  We ate homemade tamales (amazing!) , sang songs (amazing!) and met some really great people.  It is not an evening we will soon forget!  Today we worked hard all day - mixing cement, putting in a sidewalk, playing with kids, painting and several other projects.  We're beat - but happy!  We are having a great experience here and have had some wonderful times together worship and having devotions.  Keep praying for us!

 

MONDAY, JULY 19 Update

It's Monday and today we began our work project today.  We were at Vida Nuevo Church of the Nazarene all day today.  Our projects today included several things - almost all of which involved digging in the dirt.  There is no shortage of rocks here!  The entire front area of the church was tilled up and we were searching for rocks that will be used in building a wall and sidewalk. Some of the photos for today show a little of what we were working on.  We also did some painting (more of that to come later in the week) and sifting dirt to be used in mortar for another building we will be working on later.  We were able to hike to a nearby waterfall, which was pretty cool.  Tonight we were back at the mission for pizza, salad and chocolate cake (suffering for Jesus!).  Tomorrow we will be back a Vida Nuevo Church for half a day and then we will be visiting a 200 year old prison on an island nearby (we may leave a couple there!)  Keep praying for us! Also - I'm updating www.twitter.com/crosseyedinfo as often as I can (not a lot of Wifi though!

 

Mission Chapala! July 18 update

Today is Sunday, July 18.  We had a GREAT day today!  After getting into Chapala yesterday and working on some spanish  songs for kids, waiting for Bruce and Robin to arrive and getting all set up in the mission we had a terrific time of worship and sharing.  Today we were able to worship with two different churches (both of which we worked at two years ago) and had a wonderful time. We  were fed well at both places!  Some of our group  shared  their testimony and at the end of the service this morning a man and his some came forward to accept Christ.  Chelsea Kellum had the opportunity to pray with them! We will begin our work projects tomorrow as well as hanging out with some beautiful kids!  More later.  Don't forget to follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/crosseyedinfo)  as I will attempt to update our activity as I have access to WiFi.  Keep praying for us!