Dear Friends,
We are back from Chihuahua. Alonso's funeral was a very sad
occasion. It was good to be able to attend and show support for the family.
Culturally, funerals are arranged very quickly and so many were not able to make it. Alonso will be remembered as a person who always thought of others before himself. He never passed you by without asking how you were doing, and you knew he really wanted to know and cared. He was very passionate about his family and about sharing his faith with others.
As mentioned in our previous update, Alonso was hit by a drunk driver as he and his team of cyclists were training for a cycling event. As the driver swerved around the support vehicle and was bearing down on the riders, Alonso instinctively placed himself in between the truck and the younger riders, taking the brunt of the hit and most likely sparing their lives. These have been difficult days for all of us who knew Alonso, but especially for his wife Natalie and their children, and her parents, Marsh and Joy. Continue to uphold this family in prayer. Alonso will be greatly missed! Alonso's life spurs us on to continue to fight the good fight and run the race.
On Thursday we as a team will be making our first move into the village. This is what we are calling the first stage of our permanent move. We will stay in Lajas for a full two weeks and then return to Durango for two weeks. We will then drive out to Lajas again and stay for a longer period before returning to Durango. Eventually, soon after Christmas, we would like to have extended our time in Lajas to six weeks before having a break in Durango. When I say "break" this means simply a break from physically being in Lajas. We will continue to study language and work with Tepehuan here in the city. This break will also allow us to buy fresh food again for returning to Lajas. And it will allow our kids to see friends and have some social time.
Madeline and Sophia have started gymnastics, and Madeline's teacher is
very impressed and wants her to move up to the advanced class. She looks like a natural, but if she ever made it to the Olympics, which of the 3 countries of which she is a citizen would she represent???
A couple of major things I need to get done immediately upon arriving in Lajas is to set up our solar panels. The sooner I can get it working, the sooner we can connect our portable freezer. If this fails, we will be eating a lot of meat in the first week, and then going totally vegetarian the next.
Our prayer is that this first stage will gradually get the Tepehuan used to our presence there and that they will get used us so that 6-8 weeks in their village won't seem such a big deal. Continue to pray for safety as we travel and for the time in the village. Pray our kids will settle into school with Candy and will find life to be enjoyable out there.
For Jesus,
Andrew and Anne Marie
...
September 2006 letter
