Still reading

He said, "I've only got seventy five years on this earth at best. I want to use them to give someone the Bible". But he didn't get those 75 years. He went to heaven, shot by a terrorist gun before he turned 30. I just finished reading Called to Die by Steve Estes. I couldn't put it down till I finished it. The epilogue says, "The goal of Chet Bitterman's life was to broadcast the good news of Jesus Christ...He reached his goal. Frustrated in his attempt to translate the Bible into Carijona, he preached instead to his captors. And through his capture and death the Christian gospel was proclaimed and lived out before Colombia's millions." It says a lot more than that, but you'll just have to read it for yourself!

I also read Victory by Susan Cooper the other day! Yes, I do other things besides read, but reading's my favorite! Victory, actually a young people's book (well, I'm young!!), tells of Sam Robbins, a farm boy kidnapped and forced to serve aboard HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's ship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It also tells the story of Molly Jennings, a modern-day English girl and her battle against loss and loneliness. You'll have to read it to see how Sam and Molly connect! Fascinating!

Six interns teach ESL in San Juan del Rio

Actually five interns and Kendra Cervantes (below with her dad who was on a different mission team!) came from five different colleges to learn as well as teach ESL (English as a Second Language). They taught with enthusiasm and did an excellent job. We've had a number of people ask, "When are they coming back?" Kendra Cervantes, recent Moody grad in the ESL program, prepared and trained the interns. She did a wonderful job and we're grateful to her for her commitment to sharing the Gospel through teaching English.

Crystal, Jonathan, Abby, Brooke and Emily

Crystal teaching.

Wow! What IS IT? And what's the green leaf hanging off the edge?? It's a MOLCAJETE, which consists of meat, sausage, chicken, a luscious sauce and the "green leaf" is a delicious nopal (cactus for the uneducated!)! After their first reaction, they LOVED it! Of COURSE!
How could you not?

Interns teach English in San Juan

Rather than repeating what my son in law Alan wrote and showed in pictures, why don't you go to http://noothernameministries.blogspot.com/ to see pictures of our interns and reports of their visit here in San Juan? Six young people have joined us for a week, Kendra, Abby, Jonathan, Crystal, Emily and Brooke, all either college students or recent grads. They are very committed and doing a wonderful job. Check out the No Other Name Ministries blog!

Great reading

Thursday afternoon I started reading False Impression by Jeffrey Archer. Thursday night (or was it Friday morning??) I finished reading False Impression by Jeffrey Archer. It was a "page turner", that's for sure! Yesterday I started reading a completely different book, but also a "page turner". It's called The Pianist by Wsladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew, who survived World War II and the suffering the Jews experienced during those horrible days. WHY do I read such sad books? I DON'T KNOW!!

Love readin'

As most of you know, I love to read. The latest is Mary, Bloody Mary. It's actually a young people's book, fiction, based on historical figures and events. As it says inside the cover, "Some details have been altered to enhance the story." I'm not sure what that means, but it was an interesting book, interesting enough to keep me up till midnight finishing it! It actually makes you sympathize with Mary, one of the bloodiest queens in history! If even half the events in the book are historically true, she had a rough childhood and youth, in spite of all the glitter and wealth that surrounded her. Check it out! You'll enjoy it!

Ladies from two cultures meet

While the Pontiac team was here, we held a fun evening for the ladies and young girls of our church. Activities included two crafts: stampin' and a tissue flower. What fun! Everyone, big and little enjoyed it. Several children were among us and they had as much fun as anyone, maybe more!

Minerva helps two of her five children make BEOOOTIFUL cards

Carmen and granddaughter Liz have fun stampin'.

Little people included Vanessa and Justin, who had a ball together - most of the time!

Two very creative sisters, Janett and Tania

Donna Hackett, part of the Pontiac team, gave her testimony while I translated for her. It was great! Thanks so much, Donna! You are a blessing to me!

Team #1 from Pontiac Bible Church, Pontiac, IL

Ten hard workers from Pontiac Bible Church joined us for a week of blessing - to us and to them! Rather than repeating what Alan has already written in his blog and in the No Other Name blog, why don't you just go there, and enjoy the descriptions and pictures? http://abcdmcmanus.blogspot.com/ is Alan and Beth's blog. http://noothernameministries.blogspot.com is our San Juan blog and Alan has some fascinating stories as well as pictures there. So, go ahead, look them up!

Sheared for summer fun!

Recently I posted a picture of Cameron and Dayton here in Mexico who got sheared. Well, here are two more - Quincy on the left and Calvin on the right! I hardly recognize them! When I last saw them in Pennsylvania in May, they had locks clear to their eyebrows and Quincy had lots of great curls! But now, with no hair to get in their eyes, they can swim and play in the woods to their heart's content! And they don't even have to comb their hair when they go to church! What a deal!

Victor and Susy

Victor and Susy got married last Saturday. The wedding started at 5 PM "hora mexicana" - that's Mexican time for 6:30 PM. The bride and groom were both very late and they came together! They were going to arrive in a taxi, but Susy's father finally went and got them! It's my first experience to have a bride and groom take a taxi to their wedding! Victor and Susy had a baby, got married in a civil ceremony and got married in this religious ceremony - all in that order. After the long wait, we enjoyed a beautiful ceremony with friends and family giving the usual wedding gifts: a Bible, the unity candles, the lazo, the rings and the kneeling pillows. We then enjoyed a delicious meal of carnitas (pork tacos), beans and rice. Alan took the pictures and got some nice ones, which we'll be putting in a book for the bride and groom. Since it was getting very late, and the hired musicians were setting up an ominously humongous sound system, we left even before tasting the cake! I guess the party lasted till 3 AM. No wonder the young people and ladies had a hard time staying awake and alert in Sunday school class!

Beyond the Wall

I just finished the book Beyond the Wall. Wow! In it I got acquainted with folks like Piotre, Frank, Anton, and Josef, all of whom have truly suffered for their faith. Beyond the Wall tells the story of the beginning of the Eastern European Bible Mission. It relates vividly how the Communist philosophy has tried to stamp our religion throughout the Eastern European Communist nations. Chapter IV started out like this:
"Students, can anyone tell me the names of the first people on earth?"
"Adam and Eve, Comrade Teacher," said young Ivan.
"Good, Ivan. And where did they live?"
"They must have lived in Russia," Ivan replied.
"Why do you think they lived in Russia?" the teacher asked in surprise.
"Simple, Comrade Teacher," Ivan replied. "They had no house, no clothes, but one apple for the two of them--and they called it paradise!"
Eastern European Bible Mission is now called New Hope Mission. Check them out on the internet! Read the book! It will change your life! It has mine - I'll never take anything for granted again, especially the freedom I have to worship and serve God!

Grandson Cameron is the big 10!

First job was to read all the great cards and letters his 9 Pennsylvania
cousins wrote to him! We all enjoyed those!

Even though it's hot these days, Cameron loves to wrap up in a blanket to watch TV,
so here's his OWN quilt! (No, I didn't make it!)

And of course the "10-year old" gift - a memory book of his first year on this earth! We had lots of fun looking at it, reliving memories of his birthplace, Honduras, and remembering Grandpa Hanna's participation in the special event!