Nearing Good-Bye Time in Guadalajara

We are nearing the end of our time here in Guadalajara, and so we thought that it was time for a little update.  Our main goal for our time here was to learn, as much as possible, the Spanish language.  If you have ever had to move to another country and learn to speak the language there, you will know that it can take a while (many years).  However, thanks to the Lord's provision, we can affirm that we have made some major strides.  Anne-Marie has just about finished all four levels of the language school.  She is doing very well, in my opinion.  While she still feels that fluency is a good ways away, yet she recently remarked to me that she has been given a very good base grammatically with which to build off of.  The language school program is laid out very well, and covers all of the 14 different Spanish tenses, as well as a lot of the little things that make up a language.  Anne-Marie also has a tutor named Teresa come once a week, who has come to be a dear friend of Anne-Marie.  She is a godly Christian lady, a grand-mother, who loves the Lord and loves to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with all those around her.  Quite an example for us!  You will have to ask Anne-Marie to tell you her story when we come back to Ontario, Lord-willing, in August.

I graduated from the school at the end of April, and so have had some more time to practice.  There are a number of ways that I've been practicing: via intercambios (half English / half Spanish) with university students, talking with the guards, leading a weekly Bible Study, visiting nursing homes nearby, reading in Spanish, and preparing for sermons.  All the different methods have helped in their own way.  Talking to students helps with the lingo.  For example, a common phrase in Guadalajara is: "¡Qué padre!" or "¡Padríssimo!"  Literally, that means "What a father!" or "SUPER-FATHER!!"  You might wonder what in the world that means, as I did too.  But basically, all it means is: "That's great!  That's cool!" (or something like that).  Talking to the elderly is helpful too, especially if you can find one who is a bit of a stickler with little things.  Don Raul is such a man, and is not at all inhibited about teaching a youngster the proper way to say things.  "You don't want people to think you're a simpleton!", he reminds me. 

Our biggest problem continues to be, not so much expressing ourselves correctly or intelligibly, but rather understanding others when they talk.  The two challenges there are training your ear to distinguish the sounds and also the vocabulary.  For both, practice is essential.  Both Anne-Marie and I can understand everything (or almost everything) from some people, but then we come across someone who it seems we can't even make out one word!  Thankfully, that's getting better for both of us with practice, but we still have our work cut out for us.  Learning a language takes a lot of patience and dedication!

I intended to keep this update short, but as I remarked to someone recently, "I have a problem with being brief."  :-)  I still haven't mentioned anything about Naomi (what a blessing!), church here, Tepic, or our future plans.  Basically, we're just about wrapping things up here in GDL.  We hope to move to Tepic the week of August 13 or so, so that we can get a bit settled before leaving for Canada.  August 24th is our date to fly back to Ontario for two and a half weeks, after which we will be going straight to Tepic.  We're looking forward to both very much.  We will most certainly miss all of our good friends and brothers and sisters in Christ here in Guadalajara, but it will be good to finally make our home, we trust, in Tepic. 

[From Anne-Marie:] Some of you might be wondering about how our little gal is doing.  And I'm happy to talk about her!  Naomi is now 3 months old, and is amazing us with the new things she is learning and doing.  We've enjoyed watching her discover her hands and her voice, and as of this weekend, she's starting to be able to move herself a little.  She has slept through the night for us for a few weeks now, so that is a huge blessing, especially with me going to school.  Her smiles brighten our day, and we feel very blessed with our precious little girl.  So that's our little Naomi update.  One other thing... Matt was quite generous when speaking of my Spanish above.  (He is still leagues ahead of me).  But, I am learning more each day and pray that will continue.  Please keep praying for our language learning.  How happy I will be when one day, God-permitting, I will be able to share the gospel with someone in Spanish.

So that's a brief update for you.  We look forward to seeing many of you when we come back to Ontario soon.  Thank-you for your prayers.  We know that you pray for us, and I thank the Lord for all of the doors that He has opened recently for opportunity to share the Gospel.  Please pray for grace and strength for us both (Anne-Marie's very busy with the school and the baby, though I help where I can), and for the Lord to work repentance and faith especially in those we meet here.  There is much dissatisfaction with the Catholic church here which provides many opportunities for witnessing, but I am growing in the realization that it is the Lord who brings people to Himself.  Thankfully, He is able to use our weak words and example, but ultimately it is His work.  That's what we need to look for, and that's what we need to pray for.   God's blessings in Christ to each and all of you!

Quick Dates:

• Lord-willing, Anne-Marie hopes to be finished language school on August 7 or so.
• We plan to move to Tepic during the week of August 13th, so that everything can be in place when we return from Canada in September.
• We hope to be in Canada from August 24th to September 12th.  We plan to be in Hope URC, Toronto on August 26 and in Immanuel URC, Jordan Station on September 2.   

Whirl-wind, Lightning Storm, Forest Fire, Volcano, Earthquake, and … Baby

Yes, each of the six above has been experienced here in Santa Ana.  A whirl-wind (remolino, also known as a dust-devil) whipped through our little neighbourhood, slamming doors and throwing a solid layer of dust over everything.  (My poor wife!)  Then a lightning storm started a forest-fire nearby, which burnt about 4 million hectares of land – 10% of the forest, as we found out.  And the forest is about the size of the city of Guadalajara.  The smoke from the burning forest then combined with ash from a sputtering volcano Popocatepetl (close to Mexico City) to provide a dense cloud of ash and smoke over the city for several days.  And to top it all off, we also had an earthquake!  The magnitude was 6.5, and the epicenter was only a couple of hours away in a neighbouring state.  Quite something!  Picture frames rocked back and forth, the telephone wires shook, and the dishes were rattling.  Nothing serious happened, however, for which we’re very thankful.  Only in Mexico do all these things happen in less than a month’s time!

But those things have had little effect on our lives compared to the most recent change.  I certainly can’t use the words “Natural Disaster” to describe this change, but perhaps “Act of God” would work.  Lest I steal the thunder from my wife, I’ll let you read what she has written below.  J  

Naomi Dora Van Dyken

“The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.”  - Psalm 126:3

Our baby girl arrived on Sunday, April 22, at 3:15am.  We were quite sure that her birthday would actually be the day before.  But she had decided that Sunday would be a better day to be born.  She surprised us with her size.  9 lbs, 10 oz!! No wonder she took 24 hours to make an appearance!  

What a gift! We marvel at God’s goodness to us.  A healthy little girl, to care for, and love, and teach the ways of our faithful Heavenly Father.  She has filled our lives with so much joy already!   

We were very well taken care of at the hospital.  There were three doctors (1 OB, 1 resident doctor, and a pediatrician) there just for us, waiting for Naomi’s arrival, as well as our amazing doula, Ceci.  And yes, Naomi came into the world swimming.  We did a water birth.  (For anyone considering this, I would definitely recommend it!).     

She is named after a very special person, her Grandma vP.  Speaking of Grandma vP, we should mention that we have had some very special visitors come. They kept us pretty busy, so that is our excuse for not putting up this post sooner!  Mom & Dad van Popta came to visit for two weeks, and we had a wonderful time together.

Naomi has had a busy first three weeks of her life.  Especially with Papa & Grandma here.  She would like to share some of the hi-lights.

• having the Bouts drive all the way from Tepic (3 hours away) to visit the day after my birth
• going to the airport to pick up Papa & Grandma.  I wasn’t sure why everyone was crying, but they did seem happy to see me.
• going downtown Guadalajara for an afternoon.  The others seemed to really like it, but I thought it was a little boring.  I slept the whole time.
• meeting Mommy & Daddy’s classmates and teachers at the language school
• going to the outdoor market in town and meeting some of the venders
• walking up the big hill behind my house. (Well, Daddy carried me in the super comfy carrier from my vP uncles & aunts.  I think I fell asleep).
•  travelling to the coast and going to the beach for the first time! I didn’t get to go boogie-boarding, but it was fun watching Papa, Daddy, & Mommy try to ride the waves. 
• The baby shower in Tepic – I got spoiled!

And the biggest hi-light was this past Sunday.  Naomi was baptized into the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We made vows to raise our daughter to know her Lord and Saviour to the best of our ability.  Pastor Richard baptized Naomi, and my Dad preached with Richard translating.  The passage he chose to preach on was our wedding text.  And it was even Mother’s Day.  A very special day! 

My parents left yesterday.  It was hard to see them go.  As we see the love our parents have for our daughter, we realize in a new and deeper way what it means to live far from our families.  Yet, in this, we acknowledge God’s place for us here.  His way is best!    

And now life will settle into our new normal.  I hope to start school again, maybe as soon as next week.  Naomi will come along with me (although she doesn’t really need the classes, being a mexicana and all).  I have recovered very well, and it sure helps that Naomi has had her days and nights sorted out from Day 4 on.  She wakes up to feed, and then goes right back to sleep.  So thankful for this!  Matt has finished the program at the language school and is keeping very busy writing sermons, meeting with people to converse in Spanish, applying for our Visa, and sorting out Naomi’s paperwork.  He also hopes to find a volunteer job to help immerse himself in the language. 

That’s all for now.  Thank-you for your patience!

Much love from the three of us. 

Matt & Anne-Marie & Naomi    

Pictures of Naomi Dora

Our first family picture.

Meeting Grandpa and Grandma for the first time.

One of the few awake-time moments.  (At the beginning, all Naomi wanted to do was sleep!)

Not just cute, but smart too!

Baptism of Naomi Dora in ELM Tepic, May 13, A.D. 2012.

Wearing the same dress her mom wore exactly 30 years minus a day before.

Only in Mexico (or as some people say, Only in Flexico):

These are a few highlights from our time here, compiled by two clumsy Canadians learning to live and enjoy Mexican culture. 

Only in Mexico do you get directions in terms of green houses, cuadros (blocks), and Oxxo's.  [Green because there seems to be some green paint factory nearby and so it's cheap, cuadros because the street signs are often non-existent, and Oxxo's, because, well, Oxxo's are to Mexico what Tim Horton's are to Canada.] 

Only in Mexico do you spend two hours finding a car place that doesn't exist.  ["Yes, yes, I know where that is... it's that way!  Only a short walk!"  We eventually did find another car dealership, but not the one we were looking for.  We could repeat this story many times over, and have since learned the advantage of doing a "Google Street View" trip ahead of time.  :-)  ]

Only in Mexico do you need to make a provisional gravity water drainage system due to driving rain and a leaky sliding door.  [I have since fixed the door.]

Only in Mexico do you need to open up the front door to warm up the house.  [Try that in Canada!  It's starting to get a bit hot now, but during the first two months Guadalajara couldn't have had more beautiful nor comfortable weather.]

Only in Mexico do you get popsicles of frozen Pepto-Bismol.  [I thought I'd try a new flavour, but that was exactly what it tasted like.]

Only in Mexico do you show up for your own baptism an hour after the service start time.  [We came to church for a baptismal service on a week-day, but thought we got the day wrong because no-one was there.  But we're starting to learn about Mexico time!]

Only in Mexico do you need to keep one eye peeled out for traffic, one eye looking up at street signs / Oxxo's, and your third eye looking down for those ever-treacherous topes (speed-bumps) just waiting to jump out and slam into your car wheels.  [Since we've come here, we've learned to always warn passengers to put their seatbelts on.  Passengers wearing seatbelts is not so common in Mexico, but more importantly, I have a bad habit of seeing the speed-bump at the last minute and slamming on the brakes which has had some surprising effects sometimes.  :-)  ]

Only in Mexico do you go into the right lane to turn left and into the left lane to turn right.  [The first is completely legal and makes a lot of sense due to the ingenious Mexican system of lateral lanes.  The second, however, is completely illegal but often happens at a red traffic light when people want to get past a line of stopped cars.]

Sometimes driving in Mexico seems to be like this.

I was going to write that only in Mexico does a wife repair her husband's hair with kitchen scissors after a failed attempt at communication at the local salon, but unfortunately that's not quite true.  The hair miscommunication saga has roots in Chicago, Honduras, but now it seems that Mexico should be included too!

 
And finally, only in Mexico can you find oranges sweeter than sugar, bananas that taste best fried, and people who love to spend hours chatting with you!  [People always have time for you.  What a blessing!]

Our baby, meanwhile, seems to be adjusting just fine to Mexican culture.  He/She (we still don't know) is packing on the pounds and making his/her presence known more all the time.  Here's our most recent family picture.

Weekends In Tepic

Yesterday marked two months that we have been here. Already! And at the same time, living here seems pretty normal now. Well… I thought that this time I’d write a bit about our weekends in Tepic. As this is where we hope to end up eventually, we have been visiting about every three weeks or so. It’s a three hour trip, but we don’t mind. The scenery is just beautiful! [Matt: we go by lots of rolling sugar-cane fields, steep dry buttes, and best-of-all, an old volcano. The volcano lava slide has jumbled black rocks piled helter-skelter in all directions – quite impressive.]

We are very happy to be getting to know the church a bit better, and are always so encouraged after a visit. To hear the heartfelt singing, to see the love that there is for one another, and to see the joy that there is in Jesus Christ as the gospel message works and brings new life. Yes, very encouraging! Matt has been able to lead a few Bible studies too. This past weekend was extra special. Matt preached for the first time since his ordination. God was gracious, and it went very well. The message was well-received by the people. [A lot of people commented on how good my Spanish was. Little did they know that Lisa, our language teacher, had spent several hours revising my manuscript and fixing the Spanish. Nothing like a compliment on someone else’s work, eh?  But the Spanish is definitely coming along for both of us.]

We always enjoy the time of fellowship with the Bouts as well. This past weekend, Pastor Richard & Angela were in Canada visiting some of the churches out west, so we were hosted by Rev. & Mrs. Bout and the children. We are sad to know that the next time we go to Tepic, Rev. & Mrs. Bout will be back in Canada. We have really enjoyed many good hours of conversation with them, as they have so much wisdom and experience to share about living in Mexico, learning the language and culture, the Lord’s goodness to them in the years they were here, and the Lord’s work in the lives and hearts of the people of Tepic. We will miss them!

We do look forward to many more weekends and visits with Pastor Richard & Angela and their wonderful children! And not just because they take us to beautiful beaches.  Yes, the other weekend we did stay one extra day and spent the Monday at the ocean. Hopefully we can include some pictures below.

BABY

A little update on our baby… We are very thankful to say that all continues to go well. 34 weeks! The baby is about 5 lbs now, 45cm long, and just needs to pack on a few layers of fat yet. We are excited to think that our baby is just about ready to enter this world. We, on the other hand, are not exactly ready.  A few things to get organized yet, and maybe a final decision on that elusive boy’s name… I think we’re settled on a girl’s name... I have a big Rubbermaid container of baby clothes from Angela to sort through. And tomorrow evening we go for our first prenatal class – in English! There is a lady connected to our birthing center who is willing to do this for us – something we didn’t think possible when we moved here! I’m doing well also… as long as I don’t make myself too busy. I’m still feeling comfortable, able to sleep at night (more or less), and the weather is not too unbearably hot yet. Ok, that was a little more than a “little update.” Time for a new topic…

A FEW MORE THINGS YET…

• I have a lady coming to the house now one or two times a week for a couple hours to converse with me in Spanish. She came for the first time yesterday, and it went really well. A wonderful Christian lady.
• Supper time around our house has become an increasingly happy time. Why, you say? Well, until then, it’s Spanish only between Matt & I! With two exceptions: Sundays, and the day our baby decides to make an appearance.  Ok, once and awhile, we do find ourselves slipping into English, as Matt explains a Grammar concept to me, or… when something needs to be said now! But for the most part… We started this a few weeks ago and it has helped me a lot. Frustrating at times, (the words: “no entiendo” (I don’t understand) can often be heard coming out of my mouth), but also very good. I do have to say, I have a very patient husband! Matt is also very good at figuring out what I’m trying to say, even when I use the wrong verb or verb tense, or make up my own words. [Don’t be deceived… Anne-Marie is actually the patient one. She has to put up with a somewhat persnickety husband, at least when it comes to proper grammar! ]
• There is another couple at the language school now who also hope to live and work in Tepic. This is exciting! He is a pilot with an aviation fellowship (similar to Missionary Aviation Fellowship) and they are planning to set up an air base just outside of Tepic. We are excited to get to know them better.

I think that’s enough for now. We continue to be thankful for the Lord’s care for us. At times we do feel the distance from our families, especially when something special is happening, or we can have a bit of a discouraging day, (for me, this is usually connected with my inability to communicate or understand at times). Yet, we are content here, and do continue to thank the Lord each day. For the little things too. The kind girl at the grocery store who takes time to make some simple conversation with me, the gentleman who took the time today to go along with me to find out where a building was… these little things can make your day, and we acknowledge them as precious gifts from God. Thank-you, once again, for your prayers, notes, phone calls, and interest. May God bless and keep each of you. 

 

Our beautiful beach, just for ourselves.  A mile long strip of palm trees, sand, and waves.

Yes, we were crazy enough to try Richard's canoe out in the ocean.  It actually worked quite well!

 

Josh, the king of the boogey-board.

Only in Mexico do you cut grass with a machete.  [I guess I should explain.  Clippers were 200 pesos, and a machete was 80, so I thought, hey, I can save some money and get a machete too!  :-)   ]

Our new car!  We're thankful for the car that God provided and thankful to Alfredo and Maria. 

A beautiful park in Tepic that we're looking forward to visiting again in the future.

They even have fishing there!

Just today, we went for a hike in a nearby nature preserve.  We enjoyed it, though we never did quite find the water in question.  :-)

A picnic at the top of the hill in the shade.  Just behind you can see a bit of the beautiful dusty golden rolling hills of Guadalajara.

And for the final picture... "Can You Find the Matt"?

ELM Winter Update 2012

 Dear friends and family,

We have a new update for you to read - a bit more of an official one.  Here is the link: ELM Winter Update 2012.  Enjoy!

    Matt & Anne-Marie.