Transitions Year Two

You know this week has really been hard on me. I realise that change affects all of us. I also realise the need to put on a happy face and help the kids move along in their transition is so important and to find a time when it is appropriate for me to work through my own emotions and feelings.
It started this week for me with after watching a You tube commercial of a Mazda 5. We were looking for a van to purchase but since there is no physical way it will fit into our apartment parking stall we have to change directions. Anyways in the commercial I saw yards, and trees and little homes and street lamps and all the sudden I was hit with a longing to be in Canada. Up until now I can honestly say I haven't really had homesickness and today makes our one year anniversary of leaving. My emotions stumbled from missing the neighbourhoods to the people we know. I think I am moving through my "funk". It does help that we love our place and are excited to start language once again and ministry work. But I also want to recognise the importance of grieving. This is not a extended trip, we are not returning in the next year to live back in Canada, so then in that sense it must be O.K. to feel that loss. Why not I am Canadian and Canada is one awesome place to live. So to miss it only means I appreciate it. Right?

As I have been struggling a bit lately I have been so thankful for good girl friends that have emailed and skyped to check up on me. I realise with me being such a people person and Andrew being so.... introverted that we will both transition differently and that is O.K. One way isn't better then the other. So thanks to my wonderful friends who let me cry over skpye and let it all out as only my woman friends can. I wonder in heaven if we will all be extroverted introverts / people persons with of course all our needs met.

This Pslam has been a great little mantra for this past week.
Psalm 9:9-11
v.9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
v. 10Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You , Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.
v.
11 Sing praise to the Lord, enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations what He has done.

What great truths in these verse. I find it interesting the order of them as well. Only when we KNOW God, can we TRUST Him. Only once we have TRUSTED Him and come out of our situation can we truly PRAISE Him.

We are here

Here is our new contact information
Calle San Borja,
908 San Borja
8 th piso, Col. Del Valle
Benito Juarez, District Federal ( or DF )
Home phone 5562-3502-94
Email claudandsamb@gmail.com
Blog martensspanglish.blogspot.com

I want to include some pictures of the view from the 8 th floor

All in a 24 hour clock

Ok so it started when visiting my sister and Andrew was attempting to use their bathroom. Once inside when he touched the electrical switch it instantly gave him a shock and then blew right off the wall. It also shut down the power bathroom in the bathroom until later when a electrician could be brought in.

First thing the following morning while waiting for my sister to make breakfast. Only she had two young helpers in her kitchen and one of hem accidentally turned the gas on in the oven. Side note here all our stoves are gas and require your special attention. So it was about 12 minutes into the prep of the morning where we heard and felt a loud BOOM! We actually saw a orange cloud travel from the kitchen to the living room and blow the curtains. The next thing that happened when Sandra my sister walk towards us or rather stumbled towards us with
her eyes as wide as saucers and shaking. Apparently she bore the brunt of the small gas blast. It actually blew the bottom wood panel on her stove at her legs. We evacuated the kids to the front of the apartment building and waiting for the men to descend and tell us when it was safe to return upstairs. This was great since in this culture it is offensive to leave your house and not look like you had showered, primped and prepped and put on something nice. And so the next 20 minutes was most uncomfortable as we sat barefoot, in PJs, hair unwashed, unbrushed and just plain looking awful. My sisters family lives on the 4th floor and the hirer up you live the more you feel earthquakes, and at one point the door man / guard came to ask us if we had felt a earthquake. We of course said no and then in all humility made our way back upstair to hide from our embarrassment.
Then once we left there we arrived to where we were living at the time, the Alliance Ministry Center. Only there were workers there painting and it made it hard for Sam and I to breath so we tried to stay out of the center as much as possible. So once we arrived that morning we realized that somehow our bedroom door was locked and here it comes there were NO KEY to unlock it! And we had everything of importance behind that door, $, clean underclothing and clothes in general as we just finished sleeping on a air mattress at my sisters and were returning home to get ready for the day. So after waiting around 2 hours and going through about 50 spare keys the ministry had we were given permission to hire el hombre de llaves. The man who works with keys that is always at the park. So after finding him and hiring him and watching him wrestling with the door for about 45 minutes we are able to get in and grab a change of clothes as it was then time to meet-up with a team member who graciously offered to take us to see 3 apartments that afternoon.
What did I learn from that day.... you never know what is going to happen next and you need to accept what comes at you with a clear head and just go with the flow. Oh ya and NEVER NEVER ALLOW CHILDREN TO HELP IN THE KITCHEN WHEN THERE IS A GAS STOVE INVOLVED.

Remember the logical decision that God knows what He's doing

You know I love these chapters in Job where everyone shuts up, and God gets a chance to remind them who He is. So often we make God out to be who we can understand, who we can blame. Or we come up with really organized theories that help explain what God is up to. But then eventually the confusion is to much, or the pain too unbearable and we buckle under it. We start taking polls of public opinion of what God might be doing and try and pick the conclusion we prefer. But after that we finally stop, sit, cease from speaking and then He speaks. I find myself wishing that the Lord would always speak these reminders to us in such a obvious manner. But then I stop talking long enough to realize that this is the point of these chapters in the book of Job. If we dwell on creation long enough God's voice is loud and clear. I know for sure if we are listening He has something to say. Now....to be quiet enough to listen that is often my challenge.

Job 40
7 "Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
8 Will you even put me in the wrong?
Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?
9 Have you an arm like God,
and can you thunder with a voice like his?

Chapter 41
11 Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

Chapter 42
Then Job answered the LORD and said:
2 “I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
3 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

Let's help each other remember that the Lord is for us not against us. He is for us! Although we can not always see the whole picture at time in our life.
His plans are to give us a hope and a future! Only sometime it may take walking through confusion, loss or pain first. For some reason these things help tune our ear towards the voice of God like nothing else can.

We are here

Well I think one word describes how I feel today.... Tired. The altitude here is very high and we have been told of the need to drink water and eat bananas to help our systems adjust. We were just informed via note on the gate that as of 11 pm tonight we will be electricity free until Wednesday and then Wednesday we will be water free for the day. So it is looking like we will be staying at my sisters until Wednesday some time. We have 3 appointments or citas to look at some apartments.

Monkey Droppings

That is the name of the cookies Andrew gave the cookies I just made that he refuses to try. So they don't look amazing but they are so good.

Ingredient & Directions

1 can chick peas with fluid in can.
4 egg whites.
Mix in blender till smooth.
Pour in bowl and add:
1/2 cup apple sauce
1cup sugar, you can use brown our white
1tsp vanilla
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1tsp cinnamon
1cup dark chocolate chips, you can use semi sweet too
3 TBS coco powder
1 TBS maple syrup
2 Yuca flour ( it called for wheat flour)
1/2 cup pumpkin flour( use any squash or quinoa flour)
1/4 cup quinoa
Mix all together
Should make 24 cookies

Spray cookie sheet with non stick spray ,or wipe with oil

Per heat over at 360
Bake middle rack for 20 min

Morning Thougts

Isaiah 30:20-21
New Living Translation (NLT)
20 Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
and suffering for drink,
he will still be with you to teach you.
You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
21 Your own ears will hear him.
Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
whether to the right or to the left.

I received this verse this week from our wonderful Latin American Developers. I am so thankful for the timing of it. It amazes me how words written so long ago can be so powerful and so timeless .
I saw the dr this week. I am on more Antibiotics as my lung infection still hasn't cleared in one lung but is well on its way. Unfortunately some of the meds leave me tired and lacking on the immune system side of things. For this reason I have been reconvened to go to half my Spanish classes. So we are heading in the right direction just a wee bit slower then one might like.

We leave for Mexico City August 13, and I need to begin to wrap my brain around beginning to repack and sell
household items we have collected along the way. I am excited to see where the Lord has us set up a home there. It has been far to long since I have been allowed to move furniture around and try and make things cozy.

Well thanks for reading and will write more later.

All my love,
Claudia