This has been such an exiting summer visiting new places and seeing new sights! The past couple weeks have simmered down a bit, though. Dwight made a trip up to Huatabampo to take care of some paperwork regarding the selling of the property up there. Afterward, he went up to Oregon to do some engineering for a couple weeks. Kristi and I have settled down to a normal routine of coming to the shop to work about 8 hours a day and resting in the evenings and weekends.
Our normal tasks are design work, customer service, packaging and shipping, creating new material, and working on the new CD for 2012. The task of customer service and packaging and shipping has fallen to Kristi and me for the time being until we find a local to hire. We have shipped 57 orders since the beginning of July (including the orders we'll send out tomorrow). Clients call Kristi at any time any day ordering material, and we ship out the paid orders every Tuesday and Thursday.
My main job has been design work for the 2012 curriculums. I've finished the VBS design work: 5 books, CD and DVD and DVD box labels, posters, flyers, certificates, and a website. I've also created a poster and banner for the 2012 tour, the book covers for all 3 units of 4 age groups of the 2012 Sunday School curriculum, and some supplemental material.
Last Saturday we visited the center of Mexico City. We saw an old Aztec museum, the Mexican equivalent of the White House, and all the famous statues and buildings down the main street. Afterward Kristi and I fought over who paddled the boat harder on a gorgeous lake in a park near the zoo. Sundays we take a day of rest unless we're on tour. This last Sunday I was ready for it.
I encourage myself that it may seem ho-hum to do office work for weeks on end, but it's exciting to remember that next year thousands of churches will be using the products I'm making right now!! Wooot! Praise God!!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
We have returned!
Wow, our trip to South America was awesome! Apart from our visit to Caracas, Venezuela, we also had a lovely layover in Bogota, Columbia! We had about 6 hours between flights, so we decided to go check out the city. It was beautiful! We took a cab to the city center, walked around a bit, checked out the nifty knicknacks (a must) and had lunch. After walking around a bit more we took a cab back to the airport and had another hour before boarding. One long flight later, a long walk to the metro with heavy bags, a busride and a taxi ride and we were back home!
Today we packaged some orders that have accumulated over the week and they are ready to ship. But we're pretty tired. We still have to press through tomorrow, then this weekend hopefully we get to rest! :) Next week Kristi and I will shift gears from production and tour to writing and designing new material for next year! We'll still have to ship out all the orders, but that's a small Tuesday/Thursday project.
Today it rained all day. It reminded us a little of Oregon, but without the drizzle part. It poured. All day. Some streets had little rivers running down them. Crossing the street from the car to the bread shop meant wading in a few inches of water. Strangely enough I wore flip-flops today... probably not the best idea. ;) We discovered that the shop has a few leaks in the roof. Luckily, nothing really important was distroyed. We'll notify the landlord at some point soon. Anyway, that's what's going on down here in Mexico!
Please keep us in your prayers! I only have about one month of productivity left, and there's a lot of work to do.
Today we packaged some orders that have accumulated over the week and they are ready to ship. But we're pretty tired. We still have to press through tomorrow, then this weekend hopefully we get to rest! :) Next week Kristi and I will shift gears from production and tour to writing and designing new material for next year! We'll still have to ship out all the orders, but that's a small Tuesday/Thursday project.
Today it rained all day. It reminded us a little of Oregon, but without the drizzle part. It poured. All day. Some streets had little rivers running down them. Crossing the street from the car to the bread shop meant wading in a few inches of water. Strangely enough I wore flip-flops today... probably not the best idea. ;) We discovered that the shop has a few leaks in the roof. Luckily, nothing really important was distroyed. We'll notify the landlord at some point soon. Anyway, that's what's going on down here in Mexico!
Please keep us in your prayers! I only have about one month of productivity left, and there's a lot of work to do.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Venezuela Gig, day 1!!
Woot! The conference is going awesomely!! The site is a previous cinema tucked away in a mall. It's complete with colorful walls and a running escalator. The main room is nice and huge, and about 200ish people attended. What an exited group of people! The songs were a blast, teaching them our sweet moves. ;) They totally got a kick out of it all, laughing and enjoying themselves. The group who asked us to come and are hosting the conference is ministerio CONELIN. It's great working with them. They have been working really hard to get ready for this conference and have decorated the place beautifully. It's an amazing team putting this together. Kristi did a fantastic job speaking all day. She kept the crowd engaged and exited, just like she always does. :)
Our host has been distributing Pro-Vision material to the churches in Venezuela. Currently most churches have been using the Lab de Lucas program. One church's childrens ministry has grown from 30 to 60 kids while using that program. She also told us that this is basically the second ever childrens ministry conference in the nation, the first being earlier this year. It's pretty exiting, and it feels like an open door. Lord willing, it will continue to grow.
Looking forward to tomorrow! Please pray for Venezuela, that God changes the nation!!! Woot!
Interesting tidbit: Bananas and Plantains. Lots and lots of them. At least half of our meals have come with a side cooked plantains. It's a fascinating flavor, definitely banana-like with some savory and the texture is similar to squash. In Mexico a banana is called a platano, but in Venezuela a platano is a plantain and a banana is, well, a banana. Confused? Me, too.
Our host has been distributing Pro-Vision material to the churches in Venezuela. Currently most churches have been using the Lab de Lucas program. One church's childrens ministry has grown from 30 to 60 kids while using that program. She also told us that this is basically the second ever childrens ministry conference in the nation, the first being earlier this year. It's pretty exiting, and it feels like an open door. Lord willing, it will continue to grow.
Looking forward to tomorrow! Please pray for Venezuela, that God changes the nation!!! Woot!
Interesting tidbit: Bananas and Plantains. Lots and lots of them. At least half of our meals have come with a side cooked plantains. It's a fascinating flavor, definitely banana-like with some savory and the texture is similar to squash. In Mexico a banana is called a platano, but in Venezuela a platano is a plantain and a banana is, well, a banana. Confused? Me, too.
<- again, totally cheating,
but this is what it looks like where we are.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Hello from Venezuela!!!
Wow! Venezuela is awesome! We arrived via airplane yesterday (with a connection in Bogotá, Colombia). Today Kristi and I went with a couple ladies to a radio station where Kristi and the conference host were interviewed! It was a really cool experience. We´re in the city of Caracas, the capital and largest city in Venezuela. We took a bus and the metro, a fun experience for me. :)
The scenery outside the city is just like in the movies! The lush, green mountains rise into the mist. In some areas colorful houses blanket the hillsides. When it rains hard some homes slide down the mountain. :( Here in the city are tall buildings and lots of traffic. I saw some clothing hanging on a line at least 20 stories high. Sometimes I have to really concentrate to understand what people are saying... not unusual, but it´s worse here ñ= - that was a happy face. :)
Tomorrow the gig starts! This afternoon we´re going to head to the building to prep.
Oops! 2 minutes left on this computer before time runs out! Hope to post again soon.
God bless!
Suki
The scenery outside the city is just like in the movies! The lush, green mountains rise into the mist. In some areas colorful houses blanket the hillsides. When it rains hard some homes slide down the mountain. :( Here in the city are tall buildings and lots of traffic. I saw some clothing hanging on a line at least 20 stories high. Sometimes I have to really concentrate to understand what people are saying... not unusual, but it´s worse here ñ= - that was a happy face. :)
Tomorrow the gig starts! This afternoon we´re going to head to the building to prep.
Oops! 2 minutes left on this computer before time runs out! Hope to post again soon.
God bless!
Suki
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Crazy day!
Wow! What a weekend! We cranked out lots of material last week, and drove it all to Veracruz on Friday. Upon arrival we met our host and set up the shop (10 tables-worth of material). Afterward we grabbed a cab and went to the beach for the evening. I can now say I've been to the east coast! :) It's strange how the sun sets behind you on that side of the continent, when we're so used to it's setting into the ocean.
The gig on Saturday was awesome! About 280 people showed up from 62 churches! And the crowd was very responsive. Kristi did a great job speaking for four hours! During the coffee break everyone was invited to check out the store. It was a mob, and everything sold like crazy! More supplies for the Sunday Schools in Veracruz!
After packing up we hit the road for Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas (or just Tuxtla). The next day we met with the regional childrens ministry director for one of the denominations and gave her a bunch of material to distribute to the churches... enough for 5,000 children! She told us that there are many towns up in the hills accessible only by horse trails. She also told us of the rebellion group that made war with the government only 10 years ago and of the piece of jungle no one can venture into. The hills we saw while driving down the road were amazing, like the hills in movies. So were the mountains that lead up to Mexico City!
Since it was our first visit to the state of Chiapas, we checked out the local sights. They have an amazing canyon with cliff walls up to 1,000 meters high on either side! There's a cute little town near Tuxtla on a small river that reminded us of what the Amazon might look like. In the town center of Tuxtla every night from 6pm to 8pm bands come and play marimbas while people dance around the plaza. It was a fun sight!
We drove home yesterday. Today we crammed to get eight orders shipped, and tomorrow we go to Venezuela!!!!! The next update, Lord willing, will be from Venezuela! Again, I hope to post pics one of these days. :)
<-- Ok, I'm totally cheating...
But there will be more pix! :)
The gig on Saturday was awesome! About 280 people showed up from 62 churches! And the crowd was very responsive. Kristi did a great job speaking for four hours! During the coffee break everyone was invited to check out the store. It was a mob, and everything sold like crazy! More supplies for the Sunday Schools in Veracruz!
After packing up we hit the road for Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas (or just Tuxtla). The next day we met with the regional childrens ministry director for one of the denominations and gave her a bunch of material to distribute to the churches... enough for 5,000 children! She told us that there are many towns up in the hills accessible only by horse trails. She also told us of the rebellion group that made war with the government only 10 years ago and of the piece of jungle no one can venture into. The hills we saw while driving down the road were amazing, like the hills in movies. So were the mountains that lead up to Mexico City!
Since it was our first visit to the state of Chiapas, we checked out the local sights. They have an amazing canyon with cliff walls up to 1,000 meters high on either side! There's a cute little town near Tuxtla on a small river that reminded us of what the Amazon might look like. In the town center of Tuxtla every night from 6pm to 8pm bands come and play marimbas while people dance around the plaza. It was a fun sight!
We drove home yesterday. Today we crammed to get eight orders shipped, and tomorrow we go to Venezuela!!!!! The next update, Lord willing, will be from Venezuela! Again, I hope to post pics one of these days. :)
<-- Ok, I'm totally cheating...But there will be more pix! :)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Hellooooo from Mexico!
Waahoo I made it! Things have been going great... and really really busy! We have a gig this weekend in Veracruz, followed by a large delivery to Chiapas. We leave on Friday, and we don't have all the material ready yet! We're working hard on printing, collating, CD and DVD burning, packaging, and keeping up with the online orders. Phew! Crazy, I tell ya!
Kristi had a live interview with a radio station in Venezuela this morning to promote the gig next week! Ha! It's gig after gig. We leave for Venezuela on Wednesday. Interesting fact: The difference between Venezuela time and Mexico City time is 1/2 hour. That's a 2 and 1/2 hour difference from my home in Scappoose. We'll be flying and can't bring all the material with us, so the people working with us down there are producing material for that gig. Thank God we don't have to worry about that, tooooo! :)
The house Dwight and Kristi are renting down here is very pretty, and the current shop is nice and big. The temperature is great most of the time. Today is a little on the warm side, though. There's lots of fruit stands in a town between the house and the shop. Dwight and Kristi's house is in Axapusco (Aha POOS co).
Well, there's an update for ya! Sorry I don't have any pictures this time. I'm hoping to post another update next week! Please pray for us that we can get all the production done before Friday, and all the orders shipped! Please pray for the gig on Saturday in Veracruz and the Friday-Saturday gig next week in Venezuela!
God bless,
Suki
Kristi had a live interview with a radio station in Venezuela this morning to promote the gig next week! Ha! It's gig after gig. We leave for Venezuela on Wednesday. Interesting fact: The difference between Venezuela time and Mexico City time is 1/2 hour. That's a 2 and 1/2 hour difference from my home in Scappoose. We'll be flying and can't bring all the material with us, so the people working with us down there are producing material for that gig. Thank God we don't have to worry about that, tooooo! :)
The house Dwight and Kristi are renting down here is very pretty, and the current shop is nice and big. The temperature is great most of the time. Today is a little on the warm side, though. There's lots of fruit stands in a town between the house and the shop. Dwight and Kristi's house is in Axapusco (Aha POOS co).
Well, there's an update for ya! Sorry I don't have any pictures this time. I'm hoping to post another update next week! Please pray for us that we can get all the production done before Friday, and all the orders shipped! Please pray for the gig on Saturday in Veracruz and the Friday-Saturday gig next week in Venezuela!
God bless,
Suki
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Update!
T-minus 3 weeks and 4 days and counting!!!!
I'm so exited, believe it or not! Things are going very well, thank God! So far I've been given about $2000 out of the $3000 that I need. Besides the conference in Venezuela, a new gig in Veracruz (Mexico) has been scheduled for June 18th, five days after I arrive in Mexico City. Bring it!!!
I'm so exited, believe it or not! Things are going very well, thank God! So far I've been given about $2000 out of the $3000 that I need. Besides the conference in Venezuela, a new gig in Veracruz (Mexico) has been scheduled for June 18th, five days after I arrive in Mexico City. Bring it!!!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Plane tickets!!!!
Tada! I bought plane tickets today! I'm leaving Monday, June 13th, and I'm returning Tuesday, August 2nd. :)
Friday, May 6, 2011
Mexico 2011 is coming up!
T-minus 1 month and 1 week and 1 weekend or so! I'm going to Mexico! I'm going for six weeks this summer, but one of those weeks will be in Venezuela! Dwight and Kristi with their ministry Pro-Vision produce Sunday School curriculum and other materials for over 1,000 childrens ministries throughout Mexico. Churches from other countries have found their website and have begun to use their material as well. A national children's ministry organization asked Dwight and Kristi to come put on a conference in Caracas, Venezuela.
For the remainder of the trip I'll be helping Dwight and Kristi work on the 2012 curriculum! Last year I designed book covers, posters, logos, a website, and more! This year I suspect will be similar, except that it'll be in a new environment.
Dwight and Kristi have recently moved near Mexico City, to a place called Axapusco (Aha-POOS-co) . Along with the tour and design work, I'll be learning the new area and the culture that comes with it. Speaking of culture, the pyramids of Teotihuacan (Tey-oh-tee-WHAH-cahn) are near Dwight and Kristi.
For the remainder of the trip I'll be helping Dwight and Kristi work on the 2012 curriculum! Last year I designed book covers, posters, logos, a website, and more! This year I suspect will be similar, except that it'll be in a new environment.
Dwight and Kristi have recently moved near Mexico City, to a place called Axapusco (Aha-POOS-co) . Along with the tour and design work, I'll be learning the new area and the culture that comes with it. Speaking of culture, the pyramids of Teotihuacan (Tey-oh-tee-WHAH-cahn) are near Dwight and Kristi.
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