It hardly seems a month since I last posted, but in some ways it seems much longer than that. What a busy summer we’ve had. At last count, I had travelled about 8000 miles, much of it by car, and all I can say is, I’m glad to be home.
Since I last posted, Donna and I drove south to our annual missionary get-together. Each summer, IMB personnel from all over Mexico come together for fellowship, worship, reports, and fun. This year we assembled at a revolution-themed hotel in the state of Querétero. For those of you who don’t know your Mexican geography, suffice to say, it’s a long way from Sonora. For the last few years, we’ve opted to fly to the meeting to save time. This year we thought it would be fun to see a bit of the country along the way, especially since the route would take us through some places we’d never seen.
The meeting itself was good, and the trip was trouble free. We ran into a few brief rainshowers as we parrelleled the Pacific Coast toward Guadalajara. However, most of the trip was sunny and mild. Donna enjoyed some brief shopping experiences in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Tonalá, and Guadalajara.
Not long after arriving in Hermosillo from mission meeting, I headed out for some specialized security training in the U.S. I caught a very handy shuttle in Hermosillo which dropped me off 5 hours later at the Tucson airport.
All I can say is that the training was intense, but beneficial, I think. Ten days later, I still dream about it every night. Hopefully that will diminish over time.
The work in Hermosillo is going well. In our absence, our national partners have carried the torch. We are so grateful to them for their faithfulness. This last week, we had nearly 50 in Villas del Sur and more than 50 in Las Lomas. We pray that as the fall approaches and everyone gets back into a routine, that our attendances will continue to grow.
Last night at Las Lomas, we had our end-0f-the-month celebration. In late July we started Sunday School classes for 4 different age groups. We wanted to evaluate the month and to recognize the students for their participation. Each teacher recognized the students who attended faithfully, brought guests, and answered questions during class. Our adult class was studying a six week unit, so their recognition will come in September, but I expect several to get diplomas for completing the class.
We are gearing up for some fall volunteer teams that will be here in September, October, and possibly November. We are also anxiously awaiting the end of the summer heat! Wow! Has it been hot this year!
On a final note, remember northwest Mexico in your prayers over the next 72 hours. Hurricane Jimena, a category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall on the Baja Peninsula soon. The U.S. State department travel advisory for Mexico stated that even Hermosillo can expect heavy rain and strong winds. The NHC hurricane track currently shows the storm passing 150 miles to our west, but that track has been changing since late yesterday. And it is turning toward us. I suspect in another 12-18 hours we could be in the middle of the track for the 3 day cone. I guess the rain will cool us off a bit!
