An online web journal (weblog) of Mike & Vanessa Allbutt.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
2009 Underway
It's great to be able to praise God for His provisions and care. We have several reasons to praise Him:
MaNe
After a few months of planning, praying, writing, fund-raising and shopping, we have the first (as far as we know) Mexican Mothers group/Playgroup up and running, called MaNe ('Mamás y Nenes', which is Mums and Bubs). It's been great to see eight different mums come along, mostly with children 2 years old and under.
After five weeks of meeting, the children are warming up to the place, the routine and the other children. It has been encouraging to see the variety of mums, some are Christians, some are not; some Mexican, some foreigners. It's also good to see them interact and share experiences.
One of the goals of this group is to get mothers thinking about how they raise their children, and to expose them to Christian values and beliefs. So this last week we invited Myra (a mother of four, also working with us in the surfing community), to share her experiences of mother and wife. We also want to incorporate book reviews and maybe evening discussion sessions. The options are several, and we look forward to seeing how God uses this time.
Having MaNe at our house has several advantages, as well as disadvantages. It has been a busy time for Vanessa, preparing, setting up and cleaning up. But the mothers are now getting more involved in this process, as they also get used to the routine. We have also decided to employ a lady to help clean up the house, which will allow Vanessa to do other things.
Visas
I think we must hold the record for how long it takes to change a visa from tourist to religious worker. We began the visa process in April last year, and we will pick up the visas this week, all of 10 months later! But Praise God it's done for this year!
Now we can go ahead and do all the things we need to do: get number plates for our car, register Olivia, get her a birth certificate, register her as an Australian citizen and get her passports!
Land Purchase
In April last year we decided to purchase two small blocks of land adjacent to each other here in Puerto Escondido. The value of land here is skyrocketing, so we thought it would be a good investment in the long term. We have just recently finished paying one block of land, which we are excited about. (Photo taken standing on our land.)
We are hoping the sale of Mike's website business will provide enough to pay the remainder. We would like to eventually build our own home here, but for now we continue to enjoy the house and awesome view that God has provided.
Website Business
Mike has found a potential buyer for the website business. Even though the economy has changed, we are hoping that the sale will still go through. Mike doesn't have the time to invest into commercial websites, and we would like to see all the responsibility of it off our hands, as well as paying the land off.
Family
We all continue to be mostly well. We have all been sick with colds and coughs, Olivia included, but we are slowly getting past that. The children continue to grow, both in size and learning.
Priscila's Spanish has improved a lot, even though she says she still doesn't like school. She did have a nice time though on her first school excursion the other day when they went to see iguanas, turtles and crocodiles.
Joel has started to make some more sounds, and a couple more words. After getting some feedback from a Speech Pathologist, we hope to see him expand his repertoire of animal sounds and grunts to include helpful words, like drink, food, yes, no, mummy, daddy, please, thank you..... :)
Olivia is four months old now (time flies). She's bigger than the average Mexican baby, as well as whiter and balder. But she has a huge smile and bright blue eyes that Mexicans just love.
Mike's Spanish has also improved, but his teacher has changed jobs, so he no longer has that regular learning time. We need to find another method of learning for him that fits with his lifestyle and needs, whether it be with another teacher or regular practice/reading times.
By having a house helper Vanessa is enjoying not having to sweep and mop the dust out of the house regularly, or wash, hang and iron clothes, wash the fridge or stove, clean the bathroom, or change the bed sheets and towels. With three small children, she has enough to do in a day sweeping crumbs, mopping up little accidents and spills, wiping faces and hands and changing nappies, not to mention cooking meals, washing up, and acting as police, judge, doctor, teacher, evangelist and mother. She feels as though a third of the weight has been lifted off her shoulders..... or maybe a quarter! :)
Ministry
We continue to be involved in several ministries here. Vanessa attends the ladies Bible Study, which has really grown into a prayer and support group for each of the women. We also take part in the Surfers Bible Study each week, helping with food, taking the study or running the children's program.
Mike continues to go to the local beach break each morning, sometimes surfing, sometimes just talking with the surfers. It's important to us to see each chat as an opportunity to deepen the relationship and to share what we believe. (View some photos of Mike surfing.)
Mike continues to help several people with computer/website related issues, with the same goal in view: to develop a relationship that will lead to sharing his life experience and the gospel with them. We've been able to do this as a family as well, as we've met other families with young children.
We also praise God for the recent arrival of a young married couple Andy and Olivia (from England and Austria) who will be here for the next six months, learning Spanish and helping out with Christian Surfers, as they seek God's leading in their life.
Our daily schedule is about to get more busy in coming months as we will be involved with a number of short-term teams who will be coming to Puerto Escondido to work on various projects. These are always good times, but require more energy and time.
We apologise for the lengthy letter, but we trust you enjoyed the read and the photos, and that you can join us in praising God for what He has done and will continue to do.
Adios from Mike, Vanessa, Priscila Joel & Olivia.
P.S. The vehicles are doing well apart from being unregistered.
P.P.S Checkout the brand new Surfistas Cristianos México website.
[ 10:15 AM ] Read...
I trust that this Allbutt Journalings helps bring you up to date with what I have been up to recently. If you want to contact me then click here. Thanks for reading some of my thoughts. If you want to read some of the older files then they have been stored in the archives here.
