Rally!!

Juarez, Mexico... going back again!!  Our students got so much out of last year's spring break trip that they are already planning for this year's trip.  We will be taking students to work with Casas por Cristo where they will build a home for a very needy and deserving family.  This partnership gives our students the opportunity to serve and help people in THEIR country.  There is already a lot of excitement about trip, however, there is also a lot of money that has to be raised in order to make this happen.  Our students know and understand this and THEY planned and implemented their first fundraiser... it was great!  

Last Saturday, a holiday in Mexico I might add, 3 of our student leaders decided to host a Rally which ended up being a group scavenger hunt. Each group had a car and was given 2 hours to complete all the items on the list. (and of course each car had to pay to enter the Rally with the first place team winning the grand prize... that's right, Money!)  The day was filled with costumes, lots of pictures, hanging out with horses, driving all over town, decorating 

cars, getting stuck in traffic, random questions and great bonding.

I did participate in the event which was an absolute blast. All of our student really got into it and there was a lot of fellowship and friendships that developed in the course of the 2 hours everyone spent together in a car.  Oh, did I mention there was free food afterwards... that's always a great way to get college students interested in something.  

We don't know who is going to Juarez yet, but because 3 students are passionate about it there is already several hundred dollars waiting for them.  I can't wait to see what else God lays on these students hearts, to see their creativity come to life, and to experience them taking ownership of such an amazing trip!!

It's Retreat Time!!

About a week ago we went on our fall retreat to a wonderful resort called "Oaxtepec". This place had at least 5 different pools and oh yes there were diving boards. And not just your normal diving boards: they had spring boards from different heights and a 5 meter and 10 meter platform... talk about a day of fun (and of course lots of people were sore the following days, a few with some nice bruises. Who knew water could hurt that much)!!

So of course you always want a lot of people to come on retreats but there is something to be said about having a small number. We only ended up with 35 people going, but it was truly amazing. The community the entire weekend was unreal. These students created true friendships, there were great questions asked, and lots of good discussions. We even had 6 students come with us who had only come to the Casa Verde the week of the retreat AND they all came back the following week for all our events. They are now regulars and everyone knows who they are.

One student, Raul, told one of our staff members right after the retreat that he doesn't really know what he believes, but that's why he wants to come to the Casa Verde. He is searching for the truth and wants to learn and hear about Jesus. His roommate, who is a Christian, says that in the last 2 weeks he has seen a huge difference in Raul. Raul now wants to read his bible and is starting to change his attitude and behavior. God is truly working in Raul's life right now and it is such a joy to watch and be apart of.

And of course our retreat speaker was fantastic and it was fun to watch our students fall in love with Phil and Merran Tatum. El Pozo was blessed to have Phil and Merran hang out with us for a week before the retreat. This was great for our students because they were able to build friendships early in the week which enabled them to really opened up to these guys and develop respect for them. When we returned from the retreat on Sunday, a few of us were going out to eat and one of the guys on the retreat drove past on the street and yelled out Phil's name out of all of us. Phil, the guy who was only here for one week made a huge impact on the students of El Pozo.

God is doing some pretty amazing stuff right now at El Pozo. Please continue to pray for the ministry and all our 'new' students. Pray that we will be able to build relationships with them and share God's love in a way that makes these guys realize how powerful, mighty, and loving God truly is.

Much Love,

Karen

The boys are back in town... and girls too!

As I walked in the door at the casa verde my heart was filled with joy to see 2 students hanging out playing x-box, 1 getting help with english homework, 3 helping cook for dinner later in the night, and all the staff running frantically around trying to get ready for En Vivo (bible study).  It's a an amazing thing to see the house filled with activity again and God's will being done.  Summertime in Puebla is great: everything is more low key and there is a lot of good fellowship with the few students who are in town.  But there is just something about the start of a new semester and lots of students back filling the campus house. 

Our semester began not quite as planned, but God was in the midst of all it.  Our planning time was absolutely crazy with several unplanned trips to the states by staff members for various reasons and Frizz, our member from Chile, getting delayed on returning.  But we had a great team retreat to begin the semester and have been super busy ever.  We have 2 new interns and 1 exchange student ready to pour themselves into El Pozo.

Our first two weeks of the semester have been filled with parties, bible studies, devotional lunches, leadership night, several trips to the movies, soccer games, and lots of great fellowship.  I am continually amazed with the amount of new people who continue to get involved at the Casa Verde.  It brings a smile to my face to see all the old and new faces take over the casa verde every Tuesday night and Thursday and see friendships develop. 

I can't wait to see what God has in store for El Pozo this semester and to see how the hearts of students are changed.  

Thanks for all your prayers and support.  Please continue to pray for us and the ministry God has called us to.

Much Love, 

Karen

SummerScope

SUMMERSCOPE

Let me start with what SummerScope is: Every year we pick one week during the summer and invite everyone we know (churches, individuals, youth groups, etc…) to come down to help out at El Pozo and in the community for a week. It’s a great time for lots of work to be done and for others to gain a better understanding of what we do down here in Puebla, Mexico.



Last week we hosted 22 people from 4 different churches and it was INCREDIBLE.

It was incredible to watch the 11 youth and 11 adults work on projects together.

It was incredible to see all the different people from different backgrounds and churches build friendships with one another.

It was incredible to watch our Mexican students work side by side with ‘the gringos’ and to give up their entire week to help improve their ministry.

It was incredible to see the love and thankfulness pour out of one of our students after we installed a much needed bathroom door on their house.

It was incredible to watch 28 people get on an already overcrowded bus and truly experience public transportation.

It was incredible to look at the end result of the week and see the sense of accomplishment in everyone’s eyes.

It was incredible to watch the rain pour down and see our brand new drainage system actual work. (no puddles were formed in the walkway or yard… hurray)

It was incredible to baptized 2 of our Mexican students at the end of week and for everyone down here to experience and participate in such a joyous occasion with us.

It was incredible to see lives changed by people giving up one week of their summer to help others.

It was incredible to see a 65 year old woman shoveling gravel all week.

It was incredible to hear everyone at the end of the week singing a praise song in Spanish that they knew by heart.

It was incredible to see the tears of joy for what had been accomplished and the tears of sadness of having to leave what became so comfortable.

It was incredible see the joy that came at reaching the top of the pyramid and the various reactions to eating the traditional grasshoppers at the top.

It was incredible to see the reactions from people experiencing their first cathedral.

It was incredible to watch our summer interns (who are only here for a month) work so hard.

It was incredible to see God work in and through everyone who participated in SummerScope… it was a truly INCREDIBLE experience for all involved.

It's Summer!!

So I know that it has been a while since GS Puebla has updated everyone, but here is the scoop on what's been going the past 2 months...

END OF THE YEAR

We finished another great semester with our annual End of the Year Banquet.  It was  night full of great food, remembrance, laughter, superlatives, a visit by spandex man and good-byes!  

We had 10 students graduate moving on to bigger adventures. 

We said good-bye and thank you to our amazing intern Harold who gave so much of his time and heart to the ministry of El Pozo.  

We also said good-bye to our dear teammate Sarah who is going back to school to finish her seminary degree.

And we temporarily said good-bye to our team leaders Nathan and Erin McDade who are now officially on furlough until December!

It was so wonderful to see all these students gather together in fellowship.  It's amazing to see God's love pour through them as they interact, support, comfort, laugh, and cry with one another.  

MONTH OF MAY

Celebration : 

Our semester ended a bit earlier than usual because all the staff headed back to the US (except the Stryker's who were very pregnant) for the annual GloabalScope Celebration in Tybee Island, Georgia.  Celebration is a week where all the GS ministries come together for a week to share, brainstorm, and relax.  This was my first Celebration and it was a truly amazing time.  I am still astonished everyday how similar ALL college students are no matter where you live.  They truly are struggling and dealing with the same stuff.  I also got to meet and hang out with lots of really cool people who I have heard about for years!  I was able to learn so much through this one week spent at the beach in Georgia.

Golf Tournament: 

This year we had our annual El Pozo Golf Tournament at the end of May and it was one of the biggest we have ever had.  We even had one team dress in costume/uniform this year.  Our tournament is growing more and more each year and I think is becoming more fun.  It is even great for those who may not be the greatest golfers because yes there is a prize for last place.  And you better bring some strong competition for this prize because Heath and I pretty much have it sealed up each year.  Heath has won this prize for the last 3 years!!  All in all it was a great day of golf, food, fellowship, and praise for God and His amazing love and provision.

SUMER HAS BEGUN...

This year we decided that since we are now 3 years old and have a solid presence on the campus of UDLA that we would actually have events.  So every Tuesday we have dinner and a time of fun just hanging out.  We've done things from going to a movie to playing Rock Band to having a ping pong tournament.  We even have a few small groups going on this summer.  I've only been back in Mexico for 3 weeks, but it's cool to see the campus house filled with people each Tuesday when the town is essentially empty.

Stayed tune for more happenings of the summer...

Thanks for all your support and prayers.

Much Love, 

Karen

Casas por Cristo

Casas por Cristo: Juarez, Mexico

So I've been on Juarez trips lots of times before, having experienced four with Georgia Tech CCF, one with Southwest Christian Church, and then an entire summer of Casas when I interned there in 2006 (I'm returning this summer and for the future to work there as well). But to lead a trip from El Pozo...that's never been done before...across Mexico...this was going to be an adventure.

We left Sat. March 15th, the first day of Spring Break here, and return Easter Sunday, the 23rd. After taking off in our 11 passenger van that treated us very nicely, we made it up to Juarez from Puebla in two days, stopping in Torreon along the way. Once in Juarez, we met up that Monday with our friends from GTCCF in Atlanta and built two houses for a couple of families that really needed them. I led the construction of one of the two, and Michael West, a Georgia Southern alum and former El Pozo and Casas intern, led the other. By Wednesday, two more houses stood in Juarez (along with 27 more, actually, a Casas single-week record), and the students at El Pozo had gotten a taste of humbling yourself for others, getting multiple days of good hard work, and roughing it for a bit by sleeping on the hard floor in a church in inner city Juarez and eating foreign food, including the first peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for some of them, if you'd believe it!

On the way back from Juarez, we stopped by the beautiful city of Chihuahua for two days, the magnificent Copper Canyons in the SW corner of Chihuahua state, and the gorgeous city of San Luis Potosi. Some amazing stories came out of the trip, students talking about how this changed their perspective of how the view "necessities" in life, how others live - even in their own country - and even one person, Malena, decided to apply to intern at Casas this summer! THANK YOU SO MUCH to those of you who helped to support the trip; the students already can't wait to go on next year's trip...and that's exactly what we needed, was to get a group of students at El Pozo motivated about it to make it a yearly tradition.

Make sure to check out the video from the trip (in Spanish) online at YouTube! Here's the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLg4o8ruf1U. Harold

Beach Retreat

Let me tell you what I love about retreats, especially beach retreats to Veracruz.

I love that we crammed 55 people onto a bus to travel 5 hours together.  It is such a great time of bonding and fellowship.

I love that the weather was perfect and we stayed literally right on the beach.

I love that the speakers shared personal stories that our students could relate to and learn from.

I love that college students are crazy and stay up all night long playing games, hanging out, and talking.

I love that we were able to play a game of flamingo football where the girls scored two goals for the boys resulting in the boys winning 4-2.  

I love that the sand castle contest theme was inspired by Jack Stryker!

I love that there was a song competition between the girls and guys at the campfire Saturday night.  It was so much fun to watch songs being sung between the two groups both in English and Spanish and the competition that arose from it.  (the girls did win this!!)

I love that the first student ever baptized at El Pozo was able to baptize another student in the ocean at night... what a joyous occasion.  

I love that we didn't have to cook our own food; thank you hotel!

I love that if you walked too close to the pool you would definitely get pushed in!

I love that students who barely knew El Pozo have now found a home and friends.

I love that one student that came with us had no idea what would be going on at the retreat and at first really wasn't that into it.  But when given the option he choose to stay with us, make friends, and see what he could learn. (and has come to weekly activities at the campus house)

I love that a student, who is Jewish, now wants to read the bible with one of our exchange students.

I love that we stopped at Costco to eat with 55 people on the way back home.  Talk about fun chaos!

I love retreats: the bonding, the fellowship, the way God works in lives of the students, and what they learn about themselves, others, and God.  Retreats are great!

Events, Events, Events

We are only at the beginning of week 2 of February and El Pozo has already had lots of events which means lots of great student hang-out time!


SUPER BOWL...

We held our first ever "Courtney Wilson Knee Memorial Super Bowl Party" this year. (Since Courtney is still back in the states recovering from her knee surgery, she didn't get to join us for one of her favorite forms of outreach: football!) So instead of having the fiesta at the campus house, we packed about 30 people into Becky and Courtney's house for a great night of food, fellowship, and football.


POKER...
This year we are also sending our first group of students to Juarez, Mexico during spring break to work with Casas por Cristo building houses. Harold, our wonderful intern, planned a great night of Poker at a local bar to raise funds for this trip. The tournament had a great turnout, with wonderful prizes, excellent food, and we were able to rasie some money for Casa por Cristo. Our final four players even consited of three ladies and only one guy... with Sarah Cruz winning the big event! We have another tournament planned for next month, so all you guys better bring your 'A' game if you want a shot at winning.


JAZZERCIZE...

Last weekend we had 20 ladies attend our Women's Health and Fitness Day. The afternoon consisted of two great talks about our bodies and how we are uniquely made, a professional fitness instructor led our afternoon in none other than 'Jazzercise', and ended with a very yummy and healthy lunch! The day was fun, fun, fun with lots of great female bonding. (If you've never done Jazzercise before I highly recommend it. It will also bring a good laugh!) We had several ladies really interested in learning more about taking care of their bodies for themselves and focusing on God's great plan for them.


There is lots more going on down here with en vivos, devo lunches, Valentine's Party, and the Beach retreat coming soon. More to come soon with the great things God is doing in Puebla, Mexico. (and hopefully more pictures too, assuming it will allow me to upload them!)


Much Love,
Karen

A quick update from south of the border...

Hey everyone, so I am now the official GlobablScope Puebla blogger! You can expect to get regular updates keeping you informed on all the great things happening in Puebla, Mexico.


I have included the McDade's last email update which paints a great picture of all that's happened recently... so sit back and enjoy.


This afternoon I’m leaving with a couple of friends for a quick backpacking trip. If all goes well, Sunday at dawn I’ll stand on top of a 17,000-foot mountain and wonder at the power, creativity, and goodness of our God.

But I don’t need the mountain.

Because I also see Him in the continual growth of my teammates.

I see Him in the 90 or 100 faces at our semester kickoff party – many of them the same faces we’ve seen for three years now, many of them brand new to us.

I feel Him in honest and mature conversations with other believers, based in trust.

I watch Him work through my wife as she patiently talks to the outcast kid who would otherwise be sitting off in the corner by himself – or walking out the door.

I see Him smile as He continually pours out inexplicable blessings on Erin and me – from the tiniest, silliest of things, to huge, massive signs of His love and faithfulness. He’s so obviously there in all of it.

I feel His presence at our invitation dinner for 34 student leaders – young people all over the map in terms of their relationships with God, but all fired up about learning, serving, and growing closer to Him. I see the momentum building in each of their lives and I can hardly contain my excitement.

I stand in awe of Him when I hear a girl ask to be put in a different leadership group than her best friends because she knows it will challenge her to grow and reach out more.

I praise Him for giving two of our best student leaders the opportunity to go to Africa this summer with CMF’s REACH internship program and share their love, encouragement, gifts, and beautiful stories of faith in an ever-present God with those affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS.

I hear Him sing in the U2 lyrics playing in the background.

I hear Him whisper when I read Scripture and those “almost Scripture” types of books written by folks like Willard, Foster, Buechner.

I hear Him narrating in the emailed words of some of you, at work in the stories of your lives. I see Him as an artist when I watch “Planet Earth” from the comfort of my couch, without having to hike anywhere.

I even see Him in the way Lucho, our little housecat, somehow always knows when Erin doesn’t feel good and breaks character to snuggle right up to her, soothing her when she needs it most.

And I see Him in this story that just came across the phone lines a few minutes ago: One of our buddies, a student named Samantha, finished up here a couple of months ago and headed off to work at Disney. Now if you know Sammy, this makes perfect sense – constant smile, lots of energy, a joy to be around. In a recent email, she told me she was bringing me some Mickey ears but still hadn’t decided what to get Erin. Well, a little while ago, I learned that Sammy was at GTCCF, in Atlanta, sitting in Rick Harper’s office. She’d gone up from Florida and attended CCF’s weekend retreat (no doubt invited by some former Puebla exchange students), and as a result of her experience, she wants to be baptized. And as an extra treat for those of us down here, she said she wants to wait a short while in order to be baptized here, with the El Pozo community. I’m getting misty-eyed at the thought, knowing that that moment when she comes up out of the water will not only be a seminal moment in her life, but also in the lives of who knows which other young men and women who will be inspired by Sammy’s faithfulness to take another step forward in their own faith journey.

And on and on it goes – light in darkness – truth amid lies – joy alongside pain – Christ at work in this world, here, now. And we get to be a part of it.

Thanks for the part you play, and the ways that that makes it possible for us to play our role here as well.

With love and best wishes for 2008.

Nathan for the McDades

Please continue to pray for the ministry of El Pozo. God is doing amazing things here everyday!!

Karen

From GA to Mexico and back again(for a bit)

Just wanted to check in with all of y'all - we are currently in the US on furlough for a half-year, and have really been enjoying the chance to visit and reconnect with friends, family and supporters. We are currently based in Peachtree City, GA at the fabulous Gronner manse (otherwise known as Angie's parents house :) )

This Sunday Angie and I are going to present/preach/generally get the word out about what Globalscope is and what God has been doing in Puebla - all in an hour at Angie's home church, 1st Presbyterian of Peachtree City. Feel free to drop in! Later this month our sweeping (& ever expanding) tour will take us to the much-ballyhooed CCF Gatlinburg retreat, Washington DC via Fayetteville NC, and perhaps the Dwarf House.

Anyone who has spent much time with me knows my love of a good restaurant, and so any suggestions you all have for unique places to eat on our travels around to see supporters are most welcome. We'll check in again in March, when we will travel out west to visit supporters and friends in Colorado and Utah. The picture is of my dad and Jack playing with a euphonium during a recent visit to NC.

- Matt