Guanajuato is a colorful and historic city in within miles of the geographic center of the country of Mexico. At the end of June Colleen and Rachel Regner and the Rickert family flew down. Our first week was spent exploring a potential location for future teams at an orphanage in Puebla, Mexico and settling into our rented home away from home in Guanajuato. Let me just say that driving in Mexico is never boring! We enjoyed the excellent toll roads and seeing the beautiful countryside. The vision of the Orphanage, Esperanza Viva, was fantastic. The work they are doing with children, many of whom have been abandoned and roam the streets, is just life changing!
At the end of the first week, Rachel returned home and the Mehlhorn family arrived from Tennessee. Joey and Sandy Mehlhorn and Kris and Kendra Rickert attended Spanish immersion class together at the University of Guanajuato. When I say Spanish immersion classes I mean that EVERYTHING is in Spanish. I think there were times when we were completely overwhelmed, but looking back at it, we really learned a lot in a short time! The teachers did a good job, and they were very creative, making it fun to learn. Along with learning Spanish, we also got a taste of Mexican culture.
So while we were at class, Colleen Regner cared for our children. She set them up with a schedule that included 20 minute blocks of reading, math, history, Spanish, geography, journaling, etc. She designated classes to be taught by one child to the rest of the group. The kids didn’t necessarily love doing math, but they did love the chance to cook lunch with Colleen, to play games with each other, and to teach the other kids a class. This trip would not have been possible without Colleen!
One of the highlights of the trip was the interaction we had with a local church in the area! It is so alive! This church is one of just a few Evangelical churches in this part of the country. They had perhaps 100 people who regularly attend, and yet they support 14 missionaries. One of the Sundays we were there, one of their missionaries came to share about their work in Central Asia. Another Sunday they baptized five people. It was a treat to spend time worshipping with them and starting friendships.
In summary the team did very well. We learned many things about the culture of the area, the great need for the light of Jesus and how Catalyst might be part of spreading that light. For more information about joining us in this effort; or if you’re interested in partnering with an orphanage or other ministry in this part of the world please contact us.
Central Mexico - June / July 2009
A Catalyst team, representing three families from two states, will be in Mexico this summer (June 26 - Aug 1). The purpose of this trip is building relationships, investigating opportunities for future short-term trip involvement, and Spanish language study.
The city of Guanajuato, Mexico will be the primary destination for our team. Here Joey & Sandy Mehlhorn as well as Kris & Kendra Rickert will be involved with the Spanish immersion course at the University of Guanajuato. We will also be getting to know the community and looking for opportunities to build long term relationships for God's Glory.
Colleen Regner's love for children will be a large part of her investment in the team. She will be teaching and caring for the six children while the classes are going on at the University. This will enable the other team members to truly immerse themselves into their studies. What a huge blessing.
Another blessing for the team is that Colleen's daughter Rachel Regner will be accompanying us for the first week. This will be a tremendous help as the Rickert / Regner segment of the team will be arriving a week before the Mehlhorn family, and Rachel is fluent in Spanish. She just received her degree from the University of Wisconsin in Psychology and Spanish studies. Part of that degree was completed in Ecuador. We are so excited that she will be joining us and helping us get setup and settled in.
We will be visiting the orphanage and spending time with the children. Although it will be a brief visit this is a tremendous opportunity to share Jesus love. Matthew 19:13-15
We would love for you to be part of our prayer team. In Philippians chapter two (Philippians 2:19-23) Paul commends Timothy for taking a genuine interest in caring for people. This is what we are asking of you and thank you for in advance. Our desire is to do the work of the Lord without complaining and to have humble hearts like our Lord Jesus. Please partner with us in prayer.
Here is a list of specific areas that you can pray for our team.
· Pray for team unity
· Pray for safety as we travel to Mexico and within the country
· Pray for good connections with other missionaries and national pastors
· Pray that we will be able to pick up the language and hear the sounds we need to hear
· Pray for good relationships between the Rickert and Mehlhorn children
· Pray for good health during our time away from home
· Pray that our hearts would be open to the ways the Lord wants to teach and mold us to be more like Him
· Pray that we would be flexible
· Pray for Colleen to have strength and wisdom as she works with our six kids each morning
· Pray that we will be lights to the many people we will come in contact with each day
To experience the trip with us check the blog regularly. We plan to post pictures and stories regularly.
Our first week was spent exploring a potential location for future teams at an orphanage in Puebla, Mexico and settling into our rented home away from home in Guanajuato. Let me just say that driving in Mexico is never boring! We enjoyed the excellent toll roads and seeing the beautiful countryside. The vision of the Orphanage, Esperanza Viva, was fantastic. The work they are doing with children, many of whom have been abandoned and roam the streets, is just life changing!
At the end of the first week, Rachel returned home and the Mehlhorn family arrived from Tennessee. Joey and Sandy Mehlhorn and Kris and Kendra Rickert attended Spanish immersion class together at the University of Guanajuato. When I say Spanish immersion classes I mean that EVERYTHING is in Spanish. I think there were times when we were completely overwhelmed, but looking back at it, we really learned a lot in a short time! The teachers did a good job, and they were very creative, making it fun to learn. Along with learning Spanish, we also got a taste of Mexican culture.
One of the highlights of the trip was the interaction we had with a local church in the area! It is so alive! This church is one of just a few Evangelical churches in this part of the country. They had perhaps 100 people who regularly attend, and yet they support 14 missionaries. One of the Sundays we were there, one of their missionaries came to share about their work in Central Asia. Another Sunday they baptized five people. 
It was a treat to spend time worshipping with them and starting friendships.
A Catalyst team, representing three families from two states, will be in Mexico this summer (June 26 - Aug 1). The purpose of this trip is building relationships, investigating opportunities for future short-term trip involvement, and Spanish language study.
We would love for you to be part of our prayer team. In Philippians chapter two (Philippians 2:19-23) Paul commends Timothy for taking a genuine interest in caring for people. This is what we are asking of you and thank you for in advance. Our desire is to do the work of the Lord without complaining and to have humble hearts like our Lord Jesus. Please partner with us in prayer.