Gran Ancira Monterrey

... had signs up for a Monterry-Chicago Fire soccer game. As it would turn out, the two teams were playing in the finals of some minor tournament. The game was in Chicago, but there were no shortage of viewing options in Monterrey, and we settled in to watch amongst a crowd that cheered at all the wrong times :) In a very close game, Monterrey won in a shoot out. <br><br>So that was Monterrey. And then we got back on a bus. <br>

The whole stay here has just been strange. The first morning here I preached in a church - in spanish! First time since 2006! Even though I took out my guages and put in clear spacers, they asked me to take them out, as well as my eyebrow ring. They said I need to be "all things to all men" although that is not what it is talking about. The ministry gave us a nice little apartment for 5 days (full of cockroaches) in a ...

... instead of singing - and off tune to add) the worship songs. I looked to my right and Rob had dissappeared. At the time, I thought he went to the bathroom but really, he was being told all the things he had to change in order to minister - in a back room. He came back about 15 minutes later with huge shriveled holes in his ears where his guages had been. I already started to get bad feelings. <br> As I try my best to ...

... a boat trip around the lake in a boat belonging to Evers' friend Jimmy along with his son also called Jimmy (who also entertained us with their brilliant family band and some great rock and roll!). All in all, Monterrey as great fun, it was great to meet with a familiar face and be shown such a good time with great people. Thank you Ever, Laura and all the Garza family!

... most of the other people were wearing t-shirts and jeans. Got through immigration and customs, which took so long that both my baggage and I almost didn't make it to Monterrey on time. Thank God we did. Monterrey is breaktakingly beautiful. It is surrounded by the mountains, la Sierra Madre. Everywhere you look, there are mountains. You can also easily see the influence from its northern neighbor. Just about everything ...

... the weather was not as i expected and rain was everywhere the car was almost under water, this was the 50 year flood that i ever so carefully time to arrive in, The local river was flooded peoples house were underwater and shops were empting out there stores. Meeting the family was sweet, i still wasnt 100percent with my spainish and here they spoke even faster and was tht much harder to understand, and realised who hard it is venturing into another 'world' alone ...

... i seen caves of this size before. we saw stalactites and stalagmites, in one place even the two meeting right in the middle! in one room of the cave there was a hole in the ceiling 200 or so meters up, and below was a stalagmite called the Christmas tree, decorated with lights... it was pretty amazing. Rodolfo, a friend of ours, said that a path that went off from where the guide was guiding us went to a lake inside the ...

... only get a shot of the mother because the babies were off before we could get close. she was very curious though. the hotel was gorgeous with an amazing view right from our window we had a fireplace that the hotel staff set for us while we were having dinner at the fabulous restaurant. the next day we went for a drive to the markets downtown... the first market i didn ...

Wonderful to see big Jon's smiling face at the airport. Elias and Myrna Valdez also were here to meet us. Jon had just arrived from Houston. Monterrey is a sprawling city of 3.5 million. third largest in Mexico, but by far th most advanced. A 45 minute drive takes us to the home and convention grounds. Very special to have a night with Elias &amp; Myrna, and her sister Angelita who lives with them, plus E. &amp; M.'s ...

So week one at Tec is coming to an end, which means an end to orientation, and what an adventure that was. This school is a little different than others, not in the actual academics (though those are different), but in the campus itself. For example, Monday we all went on this campus tour where we saw things like ducklings, reflection ponds, small jungle-like areas, and peacocks... and to them, that's completely normal. It's kind of like walking through the zoo ...