Our Float:
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Parade Time
Every February Autlan has a ten day event called Carnaval. All the streets downtown are closed during these ten days and are filled with puestos (stands) selling everything from tacos to sombreros. There are all kinds of events and traditions that go on during these ten days. To begin Carnaval each year they have a big parade all through downtown. This year, my dance team followed a float doing one of our dance routines in the parade. We danced for over two hours! It was so much fun! I couldn't believe how many people were there...it was crazy. Here are a few videos my dad took. I am the one in the very front in the center. :)
Our Float:
Our Float:
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Opportunities to Serve
Last weekend my family and I took a trip to Guadalajara to get our passports renewed, as well as do a few other things.
We were in Walmart one afternoon, and Morgan and Dane had to use the Restroom. I walked to the front of the store with them and waited right outside the entry way to the bathroom. As I was waiting there, two older men, probably about eighty years old, walked out of the bathroom, meeting who I am assuming was one of their wives, a few feet away from where I was standing. The lady was about the same age as the two men, and she was in a wheelchair. She as well, needed to use the restroom, so one of the men pushed her chair over by the entry way of the women's bathroom. There was a long hallway to the bathroom, and the old man went as far as he could, trying to push her chair for her with out entering, to get her to where she could walk the rest of the way to the stall. His feet got to the end of the line, and they weren't even half way down the hall. They were talking among themselves and the man said that she could walk a little bit, but it was still too far. I knew from the beginning as I watched the poor old man with his feet at the very edge of the line crossing into the women's bathroom, just trying to help his wife, that I should offer my help. But for some reason I held back. I'm not sure why, but I did. Once they realized that she couldn't make it down the hall, they decided to leave. As soon as they passed by me, a huge wave of guilt came crashing down over me.
I am constantly asking God to give me ways to serve, to be a light in the world and make a difference for Him. Then when he gave me the opportunity, and I could feel the Holy Spirit telling me that it was my time to make a difference, I hesitated. No, helping a 80 year old lady into the bathroom probably won't make her become a Christian, but even little things make a difference in peoples lives, sometimes even more than the big things.
The rest of the day that old lady was on my mind. It really made me think about how I should respond to the opportunities God gives me to serve other people, and most of all, to serve Him. I know that I made a mistake by not offering to help her, but I know God forgives me. I hope that I get to see that woman in Heaven some day. God has really taught me a lot from that situation. I am already eagerly waiting for the next opportunity He gives me to serve others, to share His love with the people in this world. I know what I am going to do next time, I'm not going to make the same mistake I did before.
Colossians 4:2-5
Serving my King, Jess
We were in Walmart one afternoon, and Morgan and Dane had to use the Restroom. I walked to the front of the store with them and waited right outside the entry way to the bathroom. As I was waiting there, two older men, probably about eighty years old, walked out of the bathroom, meeting who I am assuming was one of their wives, a few feet away from where I was standing. The lady was about the same age as the two men, and she was in a wheelchair. She as well, needed to use the restroom, so one of the men pushed her chair over by the entry way of the women's bathroom. There was a long hallway to the bathroom, and the old man went as far as he could, trying to push her chair for her with out entering, to get her to where she could walk the rest of the way to the stall. His feet got to the end of the line, and they weren't even half way down the hall. They were talking among themselves and the man said that she could walk a little bit, but it was still too far. I knew from the beginning as I watched the poor old man with his feet at the very edge of the line crossing into the women's bathroom, just trying to help his wife, that I should offer my help. But for some reason I held back. I'm not sure why, but I did. Once they realized that she couldn't make it down the hall, they decided to leave. As soon as they passed by me, a huge wave of guilt came crashing down over me.
I am constantly asking God to give me ways to serve, to be a light in the world and make a difference for Him. Then when he gave me the opportunity, and I could feel the Holy Spirit telling me that it was my time to make a difference, I hesitated. No, helping a 80 year old lady into the bathroom probably won't make her become a Christian, but even little things make a difference in peoples lives, sometimes even more than the big things.
The rest of the day that old lady was on my mind. It really made me think about how I should respond to the opportunities God gives me to serve other people, and most of all, to serve Him. I know that I made a mistake by not offering to help her, but I know God forgives me. I hope that I get to see that woman in Heaven some day. God has really taught me a lot from that situation. I am already eagerly waiting for the next opportunity He gives me to serve others, to share His love with the people in this world. I know what I am going to do next time, I'm not going to make the same mistake I did before.
Colossians 4:2-5
Serving my King, Jess
Blog Time
I guess that whole "updating my blog weekly" thing didn't work out so great. haha...oops.
Life here in Autlan has really picked up the past few months. I am now teaching four of my own English classes each week at Jazz Gym, the dance studio I attend. I am teaching some of the girls in my dance class, as well as my dance teacher and two of her daughters. I am praying that I can teach them more than just English, but also about the love of Christ. I'm still teaching level one at La Roca with my dad, as well.
I have dance class three times a week, and even though I'm still not that good at it yet, I am really enjoying it. I have become good friends with a lot of the girls in my class, and we have lots of fun together.
I help out at La Roca on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the kitchen, waiting on tables, helping make the coffee's etc. I really enjoy hanging out there. It's a great place to hang out and have fun, as well as get to know the community. I'm always meeting new people when I go in there, and constantly seeing familiar faces as well.
Please continue to pray for our ministry here in Autlan. For our unsaved friends that we are trying to share the love of Christ with, and the youth group at our church.
Seriously, life goes by so fast here. My life is pretty busy, between school, dance, La Roca, and everything else, I keep myself occupied. lol. I can't believe we moved here six months ago. I love Mexico. :)
Dios les bendiga, Jess
Life here in Autlan has really picked up the past few months. I am now teaching four of my own English classes each week at Jazz Gym, the dance studio I attend. I am teaching some of the girls in my dance class, as well as my dance teacher and two of her daughters. I am praying that I can teach them more than just English, but also about the love of Christ. I'm still teaching level one at La Roca with my dad, as well.
I have dance class three times a week, and even though I'm still not that good at it yet, I am really enjoying it. I have become good friends with a lot of the girls in my class, and we have lots of fun together.
I help out at La Roca on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the kitchen, waiting on tables, helping make the coffee's etc. I really enjoy hanging out there. It's a great place to hang out and have fun, as well as get to know the community. I'm always meeting new people when I go in there, and constantly seeing familiar faces as well.
Please continue to pray for our ministry here in Autlan. For our unsaved friends that we are trying to share the love of Christ with, and the youth group at our church.
Seriously, life goes by so fast here. My life is pretty busy, between school, dance, La Roca, and everything else, I keep myself occupied. lol. I can't believe we moved here six months ago. I love Mexico. :)
Dios les bendiga, Jess
Monday, December 8, 2008
Jazz
Shortly after we moved to Autlan in August, my sister Morgan joined a ballet class at a dance studio here. I saw that there was classes offered for my age, so in October I thought I would give one a try and see how I liked it. I went into the class for the first time not really knowing what to expect, but I had no idea what I
was getting myself into. It was totally hip-hop, high school musical type dancing. When my mom picked me up and asked me how it was, I told her what it was like, she just laughed. Everyone else I told about it that knows me really well laughed too. It is totally not something I would normally do, but for some reason I still really enjoyed it. I decided I would try it out for a month, and if I didn't like it I would be done after that. Even though I wasn't very good at it, I still enjoyed it for the most part.
I soon heard that we would be having a performance in December, and didn't know what to do. A performance? Are you kidding me? I didn't want to just quit, so I decided to do it even though I was pretty sure I was going to do mess everything up, just by doing the one song I knew.
On December 6th, was the first performance. I decided I was going to have fun even if I did mess up. I did almost all of the songs in the routine, and only messed up one time, well that was really noticeable anyway... :)That night was the funnest night I have had so far in Autlan. Even if I wasn't the best one in our group, it didn't matter. I got to know the girls on my da
nce team much better that night, and we laughed and had lots of fun together. It wasn't awkward to hang out with them, it all seemed so natural. It reminded me of all the fun times I had with my friends back in Salem.I am excited to develop a better friendship with the girls in my dance class. I hope that I can share the love of Christ with them and make a difference in their lives.
We have another performance on December 18th on the stage downtown, I'm excited. :)
Enjoy the pictures. I will post more after our performance on the 18th.
was getting myself into. It was totally hip-hop, high school musical type dancing. When my mom picked me up and asked me how it was, I told her what it was like, she just laughed. Everyone else I told about it that knows me really well laughed too. It is totally not something I would normally do, but for some reason I still really enjoyed it. I decided I would try it out for a month, and if I didn't like it I would be done after that. Even though I wasn't very good at it, I still enjoyed it for the most part.I soon heard that we would be having a performance in December, and didn't know what to do. A performance? Are you kidding me? I didn't want to just quit, so I decided to do it even though I was pretty sure I was going to do mess everything up, just by doing the one song I knew.
On December 6th, was the first performance. I decided I was going to have fun even if I did mess up. I did almost all of the songs in the routine, and only messed up one time, well that was really noticeable anyway... :)That night was the funnest night I have had so far in Autlan. Even if I wasn't the best one in our group, it didn't matter. I got to know the girls on my da
nce team much better that night, and we laughed and had lots of fun together. It wasn't awkward to hang out with them, it all seemed so natural. It reminded me of all the fun times I had with my friends back in Salem.I am excited to develop a better friendship with the girls in my dance class. I hope that I can share the love of Christ with them and make a difference in their lives.We have another performance on December 18th on the stage downtown, I'm excited. :)
Enjoy the pictures. I will post more after our performance on the 18th.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thankful for the Stars
Almost every night I find myself staring up at the never ending beautiful sky above me. Being captivated more and more every time I take a minute to look up at the stars.
We have a big open courtyard at our house, at night it seems like you can see every star in the entire sky by standing out there. It continually reminds me how small I am compared to God. Each star is a gift, to show both how powerful the creator of the universe is, and how much he loves me. I think I as well as most other people in the world, forget to look at the small things God blesses us with each day.
The other day I was doing my Bible study on my bed. I keep a list in my devotional book of people and things I want to remember to pray for. When it became time for me to spend some time in prayer with God, I realized that almost every single one of the things on my list was asking God for something. I pray for those things every day, and I didn't even realize that there were barely any things on that list I could thank God for until then. That doesn't make them bad things to pray for, but I was forgetting to thank God for the things he already has done for me also.
When you are in a big city, if you look up into the sky, the stars are much harder to see. Why? Because of all the city lights. However, if you are out in the country and you look up at the stars, it is like looking up at a completely different sky. There isn't all the city lights, all the distractions, blocking the view of what is really out there. We get so caught up in life asking God to give us more and more that we forget to thank him for all the things, big and small, that he gives us every day. Don't let the city lights block your view of the beautiful gifts God blesses you with. Next time you look up into the sky, thank God for the things he has given you and be reminded how powerful our Heavenly Father is.
We have a big open courtyard at our house, at night it seems like you can see every star in the entire sky by standing out there. It continually reminds me how small I am compared to God. Each star is a gift, to show both how powerful the creator of the universe is, and how much he loves me. I think I as well as most other people in the world, forget to look at the small things God blesses us with each day.
The other day I was doing my Bible study on my bed. I keep a list in my devotional book of people and things I want to remember to pray for. When it became time for me to spend some time in prayer with God, I realized that almost every single one of the things on my list was asking God for something. I pray for those things every day, and I didn't even realize that there were barely any things on that list I could thank God for until then. That doesn't make them bad things to pray for, but I was forgetting to thank God for the things he already has done for me also.
When you are in a big city, if you look up into the sky, the stars are much harder to see. Why? Because of all the city lights. However, if you are out in the country and you look up at the stars, it is like looking up at a completely different sky. There isn't all the city lights, all the distractions, blocking the view of what is really out there. We get so caught up in life asking God to give us more and more that we forget to thank him for all the things, big and small, that he gives us every day. Don't let the city lights block your view of the beautiful gifts God blesses you with. Next time you look up into the sky, thank God for the things he has given you and be reminded how powerful our Heavenly Father is.
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