Bienvenidos a la escuela IBERO!

            School started officially on January 12, 2009. We had two days of orientation the week before on Thursday and Friday which was a nice ease into our new schedule. Upon arriving at Ibero, I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit taken aback. I had this idea of what a Mexican school would be like and was thoroughly prepared for that. I clearly had no idea what I was getting myself in.

            La Ibero is NOT a typical Mexican school. Firstly, it is a private school. Secondly, it’s about an hour to hour and a half commute from my apartment. Thirdly, the people I go to school with look just as European as people in the States (better dressed though, for college students). Most of the people I go to school with have more money than me. Most of the people I go to school with have seen more of the world than me. Most of the people I go to school with know three languages. This is not what I was expecting.

            La Ibero is known as “muy fresa” meaning very very fancy. People call it the “pretty people school.” So you could say that this is not what I was expecting. I’ll just go ahead and give you a run down of my day:

            I wake up at six o’ clock and get ready to go to school. I’m usually out the door anytime between 6:45 and 7:05. I walk to the metro stop “Balderas” which is about a five minute walk from my apartment and I take the pink line to the furthest west terminal called “Observatorio.” After reaching Observatorio, I get in line for the micro-bus number 5 and take that all the way to my school, Iberoamericana. It’s about a 45 minute ride. So this whole process takes about an hour to and hour and a half. I get to school around 8-8:30. On Monday and Wednesday I go to class from 9-3 (three, two hour classes) and on Tuesday and Thursday I go to class from 9-1 (two, two hour classes). Later in the day I take a free salsa class from 4-6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

            Now in all of this chaos, what is my ministry? Well that is a grand question that I’m still searching for the answer. God has graciously showed me some of my sins. I’ve realized that I’m entirely judgmental of people who have excessive amounts of money and could care less about the people who don’t. I realize that I don’t even know how to minister to people like that. I realize that I have no idea of how to explain why they need Jesus when they have “everything” in the world’s standards. It’s confusing but I’m working through it with some amazing people I’ve been privileged to live with down here!

            Please keep us in your prayers. We’ll be expecting to see God move, because we surely can’t. Thank you

Dream: that which is not real, thought of in the recesses of one’s mind. A thought that has not, or may not come to pass.

In our case, I suppose you could say we’re living the dream. I’m living with two amazing women. Erika Salem is a beautiful young woman from Flagstaff, Arizona. Her heart is inspiring. She came to know Jesus as her savior just over a year ago. When I look at her, I see Him. Her heart is for the less fortunate; she’s that girl who would literally give you all that she was if she thought that your life might be a little brighter. Alicia Russell is a spunky, loving woman from Springfield, Missouri who wants to bring light to the nations. She’s choosing to live her life loud for the God of the universe who has saved her. Her heart is for the students, the young people who will rise up to be the movers and shakers of the world. Once again, I’m living with two amazing women.

Mexico City was a dream and through God’s divine will and unwavering provision, the dream he laid in our hearts has become a reality. I’m currently living at 106A, 89 Revillagigedo in the center of Mexico City. Our quaint apartment has a living room with a couch and dining room table. The kitchen in big enough for about 3 people (if you are standing shoulder to shoulder), a bathroom, and we have two bedrooms; a guest room and our bedroom. The walls are a welcoming yellow and the man we’re renting the apartment from left his artwork on the walls.

Our first week here has been filled with small adventures of revisiting friends and from the summer, meeting people around our apartment building and discovering the grandness of Mexico City. This City is huge. People in the street, selling everything from tacos to shoes fill every corner and create an atmosphere of constant movement and liveliness. The city is always awake and always welcoming. People are in motion at every hour and the warm feeling of a life expectant is here.

So, we are currently living the dream, but we will not settle for just that. The next step in our journey is to change; internally and externally, we want to see the city the Jesus does. The people here are beautiful here just as their culture. Though, it is not ours, we are desiring to fully embrace God’s chosen people. They are just like you and me, it’s only that they happen to live in Mexico.