Today is Kirt’s 57th birthday. My good friend, Nancy, who shares the same birthdate, sent me a note expressing gratitude for God’s faithfulness, and offering the reminder that Kirt is celebrating his first earthly birthday in heaven, an awe-inspiring thought.

I made plans (not that it was necessary to plan) to fill the day to capacity with activity in order to avoid the temptation to dwell on the melancholy.

First, I invited the team of church leaders in charge of organizing the tamale feed following this year’s upcoming Christmas celebration to come to the house for a “tamale breakfast.” We all tried samples of chicken, pork, green corn, chili strips with cheese, strawberry, pineapple and coconut tamales from several different tamale makers, and I made a pineapple-carrot coffee cake for dessert. The decision was a “toss-up,” and we all agreed that we should have another tamale breakfast in a couple of weeks to make the final decision. Everyone is complaining that I've lost too much weight... I can't imagine how that has happened!

Then I invited pastors Martin and Nacho and their wives and kids to go with me after school to Burger King for lunch to celebrate Kirt’s birthday with “Happy Meals.” Kirt adored those kids and their parents, and they adored him; and I couldn’t think of a better way to remember his special day.

After lunch, Erén went with me to the cemetery, not to visit Kirt since we know he’s not there, but to repaint the engraved lettering on the marble headstone. The rainy season left the words nearly illegible, and the whole point of the lettering is the testimony of the verses inscribed. Most all of Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead on November 2, and it is important to me that those who hold to that tradition are able to read the acknowledgment of God’s faithfulness: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. II Timothy 4:7, 8
We got halfway finished, and it started raining! What’s up with this rainy season? It’s supposedly over the end of September. We had no choice but to leave with plans to meet again early tomorrow morning to finish the job.

After I got back home, I met with Carla, Melina and Marisol to work out a piano-violin arrangement for Sunday’s offertory. We put together a medley of “Sing Alleluia” along with “Great and Marvelous Are Your Works.” It turned out beautifully. Kirt would be so proud of the girls. He insisted they take piano and violin lessons in order to have instrumentalists in the church, and after one year of practicing when they played their first special in the church Christmas Celebration, he gave Melina and Marisol the violins he “loaned” them. Now they accompany the congregational singing every Sunday.

Picachos - Phase 3

Here’s the latest on the building project in the Huichol mountain village of Zapote de Picachos.


We took a trip to the village last Friday along with 6 visitors from North Village Baptist, Ben and Karley (They were here to join in the 14th anniversary celebration of the Iglesia Biblica Bautista de Tepic this week.), and several from the Tepic church to help celebrate the milestone of Phase 3, the walls. The brothers and sisters of the Picachos village are beaming with joy that their church is nearly finished. They could hardly wait for us to arrive. The brick walls are up, the floor, doors and windows are in, and all that’s left to finish is the roof. The bricks were transported by truck to the lake, then by boatloads to the landing that is nearly a mile-long hike from the village. The men, women and children from the Picachos church, and several from the village of Los Aires who came to help out, stationed themselves from the landing to the village, and bricks were passed in bundles of 4 from one person to the next until they were placed at the construction site. That means that every member of the church old enough to participate has handled every single brick that is now in the walls of their church.

I never saw myself in the role of “construction contractor,” but it’s kind of a fun challenge…and I have help from the great family of believers who surround me in rounding up the supplies and coordinating people to get them to the worksite.

The men from the village have dismantled the roof in the 1st Picachos village, and they have carefully carried the trusses and galvanized sheeting on their backs down the mountain to their new village. Several men from the Tepic church are prepared to begin welding and assembling the trusses for the additional section of the new church (which is 1/3 larger than the original). We will transport that in sections to the village along with additional sheeting as soon as the welding project is finished, and we hope to have a big inauguration bash the first week in November.

Click here for a slideshow of more Zapote de Picacho shots.

September/October 2005

September-October 2005

Dear Friends,

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place.” (II Corinthians 2:14)  How vitalizing it is to know that we are not alone in the battle and that we are more than conquerors through Him.


Our Tepic Awana (Oansa) club started off this year with 68 children on the first Saturday afternoon and a pile of leaders chomping at the bit to lead the little bundles of energy in the “paths of righteousness.” Several of the children in our club come from families that are extremely rooted in the traditional religion of Mexico, but they have allowed their kids to attend simply because they love coming!  Already, some of those children have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.  Please pray that these children will be instrumental in presenting the Gospel to their families.

The first week of October, six visitors from North Village Baptist Church, along with our son, Ben, and his wife, Karley, made a trip with me to help celebrate the completion of Phase 3, the walls, of the Huichol church building in Zapote de Picachos. Six months ago, this milestone was only a dream. The brothers and sisters of the Picachos village could hardly wait for us to arrive, and they are beaming with joy that their church is nearly finished. The bricks were transported by truck to the lake, and then by boatloads to the landing that is nearly a mile-long hike from the village. The men, women and children from the Picachos church, and several from the village of Los Aires who came to help out, stationed themselves from the landing to the village, and bricks were passed in bundles of 4 from one person to the next until they were placed at the construction site. That means that every member of the church old enough to participate has handled every single brick that is now in the walls of their church. The brick walls are up, and the floor, doors and windows are in. The final phase of the building project is in progress at this moment. Before dawn this morning, six men from the Tepic church left with two power plants, tools, and the final materials necessary for welding the trusses and installing the roofing material. Pastor Manuel from Picachos has proven himself an exemplary man of God and leader of his flock. He has led by his pattern of faithfulness and personal sacrifice, and God has rewarded him with a new building and a congregation of brothers and sisters ready to grow and serve. A group of Mexican believers from the Tepic church will be going with me to the village on November 2 for an all-day celebration, with our Huichol brothers and sisters, of the completion and inauguration of the beautiful new building.

Meanwhile, the Iglesia Bíblica Bautista de Tepic celebrated our 14th anniversary on October 2.  Pastor McKeown from North Village Baptist gave the message, “Peace—Not As the World Gives,” while Ben interpreted. The church was filled to capacity and beyond with more than 220 people, and everyone present heard that only the Prince of Peace can provide the peace that passes all understanding that we have experienced and for which everyone longs. Several life-changing decisions were made at the close of the service

Again, “We are forever grateful for your love and care that allows us to be here sharing God’s love.” Thanks again for your sensitivity and supportiveness of the work here in Tepic.