Things I love about Mexico: Christmas Tamales

One of the many things I love about Christmas time in Mexico can be summed up in this word: tamales.

Tamales stuffed with pork and red chili peppers, tamales stuffed with poblano peppers and cheese, tamales filled with pineapple or strawberries - they are all delicious!

In northern Mexico, it's very common to see tamales served at parties and gatherings during the holidays. Some families even make them for their special Christmas Eve dinner. So far this December, I have had more tamales than I can count, but I can assure you, I enjoyed every single one. And so did the girls -



It takes a long time to make tamales. The first step involves making the filling, which usually consists of meat in a hot sauce. After cooking the meat and mixing in the salsa, the next part is to make the masa (dough). This consists of corn flour and manteca (lard) that is mixed together until it is light and fluffy - no small task!

After the masa and filling are made, the tamales have to be put together. This is done by taking a dry corn husk and opening it up, spreading the masa on it, adding the filling and folding the corn husk back up. After all of the tamales are ready - and it's not unusual to make 50 or 100 at a time - the stuffed corn husks are placed in a large pot and steamed for several hours. The result? A rich and slightly spicy treat...mmm...good.

- more posts on things I love about Mexico here

Merry Christmas from Mexico

Dear family and friends,

Feliz Navidad! Here’s a brief Christmas tale from Torreón, Mexico:

“Mira, mamá – un bebé!” Trinity was tugging at my arm and pointing to the stroller right next to us. I nodded and tried to distract her, but she was insistent. Heart sinking, I turned to my right and faked a smile at the image I'd been trying to avoid.

I had seen the baby when his older brother first wheeled him into place, right next to my chair. In the stir of people getting ready for the Christmas service at Cristo Rey (Christ the King), a church with only half a roof and a dirt floor, I looked at the baby in the stroller to my right. Our eyes met, and all of the surrounding noise faded away until it was just the two of us in our own world.

It was his feet that made me want to cry. Barefoot, sticking out of ratty red sweatpants, they were covered in dirt and the skin was cracking in a few places. The grimy toes belonged to a one-year-old with a sad, serious face.

His eyes were big and brown. No smile came from them - or his lips - during the service or the activities that followed. After his eyes, the other distinguishing feature on his face was his mouth. A ring of dirt, food, and other grit formed a circle around it.

While I stared at him, my heart breaking, he gazed back at me, only half-interested. A million questions raced through my mind. Where was his mother? Did he have any shoes? What health conditions did he have? And then, almost at once, I couldn’t take it anymore and turned away. That is, until Trinity guided my attention back to him.

And it’s a good thing that she did. Smiling and waving at him, she doted him with praise. Then the service started. Hymns, Bible readings, a children’s play, a closing prayer.

It was during the story of Jesus’ birth that I looked at him again. He sat strapped tightly in the stroller, his face still without expression...and yet I wondered: what about his heart? What about his soul? Were they expressionless too?

As Mike recounted Jesus’ amazing journey on earth and talked about the wonders of childlike faith, the little boy watched him closely. Images of the Holy Spirit at work came to my mind, and I thought of how God brought this little one to hear his Word that day. No matter what his living conditions were, how his parents treated him, or what his future held, both law and Gospel reached his little heart that day.

After the service and the meal that followed, I watched the two boys retreat. The big brother, about 10 years old, pushed the stroller toward home. The baby was fast asleep, his head resting on his shoulder.

I’ll be thinking about that little boy during the rest of this Christmas season. While he may not have many earthly possessions, he has heard about the greatest treasure of all: faith in Christ. A magnificent fortune awaits those who cling to the manger and all that it holds.



Family and friends, thank you for your continued support while we serve in Mexico. It’s for little ones like this boy that we are here and so motivated to continue. We want to reach the young, the old, and everyone in between with the Gospel while it is still day.

May the treasures these boys heard about on Sunday be with you during this Christmas season. Rejoice with us in the riches of our Savior’s birth, and roll with us into the new year with vigor to continue carrying out His work.

With love,
Mike, Rachel, Trinity and Noelle

The Christmas Services Begin

On Sunday the Christmas celebrations at churches in the Torreon area started. The first one was held at El Redentor (Redeemer) at 10 a.m. It was a special Christmas service in English, and followed the traditional order of service done at King's College in England every year.

Mike led the English service and it went well. After that, we headed to Cristo Rey (Christ the King) in Zaragoza Sur. Cristo Rey is the newest mission congregation in the Torreon area. The congregation had an afternoon service followed by some activities and a meal. Here are a few pictures from the day:

English service...



Cristo Rey service...

Piñata time...

Noelle takes a swing...



Eating tamales...



Getting bolos (bags filled with candy)...



Having a good time...



and Noelle's favorite part - cake!

Lutheran Women in Mexico Series: Señora Socorro

Welcome to the sixth installment of the series covering Lutheran Women in Mexico. Today we're going to talk about Señora Socorro.

Señora Socorro (pictured above, front row, far right) lives in Puebla, a city with a population of about 1.4 million. It's two hours from Mexico City. Puebla is home to three Lutheran congregations: Cristo Glorificado (Glorified Christ), Iglesia de Cristo (Christ Lutheran) and Solo Cristo Salva (Christ Alone Saves).

Señora Socorro first learned of the Lutheran church a little more than 10 years ago. A member of one of the congregations invited her family to come and hear God's Word. After studying for some time, Señora Socorro, her husband and their two sons became members of the church. They've been active ever since. "God has really blessed us," she says, looking back on the years she's been part of the Lutheran church.

Some of the activities she participates in involve visiting shut-ins and other members of the church. She helps organize events and keeps the church in good condition.

If you look a little deeper, however, you'll see that Señora Socorro plays a very important role in supporting pastors. About six years ago, her son Israel decided he wanted to become a pastor. He enrolled in the Mexican Lutheran Seminary, graduated, and now serves at the congregation La Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) in Monterrey.

Her nephew, Jorge Briones, also decided to enroll in the seminary. He has completed his studies at the seminary, and now will serve as a vicar during 2010. After that, he'll graduate and become a pastor.

Señora Socorro's husband, Sr. Gonzalo Rodriguez, has been a strong lay leader in Puebla for a long time. For two years, the couple went every Sunday to two missions in the Puebla area. They brought Bible studies and sermons to the people in those places, and encouraged them with God's Word. These two places have now become growing congregations.

Earlier this year there was a vacancy at one of the churches in Puebla. The congregation called Sr. Rodriguez to serve as their pastor, asking him to enroll in the seminary at the same time. He now serves as student pastor.

Whenever her husband heads out for church-related work, Senora Socorro almost always goes with him. "Being part of the Lutheran church has really helped me," notes Señora Socorro. "I get so many blessings from studying God's Word."

Thanks for playing such an important role, Señora Socorro, and we wish you and your family the best in the years to come. May God continue to use you to reach others with his precious Word.

*for the next two weeks we'll cover Christmas-related topics. This eight-part series on Lutheran women in Mexico will resume after the New Year.

**see previous articles from the series here.

View from Trinity's Window

Every morning when Trinity wakes up, we let her look outside her window. She spots the mountains on a clear day, and often checks for taxis passing by. We talk about what kind of a day it's going to be.

Nearly every day of the year here is sunny. On the occasion that it is cloudy or raining, it's big news. And it's sad news if it's raining or very cold outside, because it means she won't get to carry out her favorite morning activity - going to the park.

If you look closely, you can see the high walls that close in our yard. We have barbed wire on top the wall, and bars on every single window of our house.

These security features are pretty standard in our area. We've lived in other places that had tighter security (like Mexico City, where you had to get past a total of 5 locks - plus a doorman - to get into our apartment).

While the features might catch our adult eyes, Trinity doesn't even notice them. After all, that's all she's known since she's been born.

It's good for Trinity to feel comfortable in her environment and get excited by what she sees. It gives living here a new element for us too - watching her grow up amidst the sights and sounds of Mexico.

Oh, and her room doubles as a guest room, so if you come to visit us, this is what your view will look like!

Lutheran Women in Mexico Series: Señora Ibarra

Welcome to the fifth installment of the series on Lutheran Women in Mexico (previous posts from this series here). This week we're going to talk about Señora Wilma Ibarra. Señora Ibarra is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, but came down to Mexico in the 1940s. She's been here ever since. At 93, she is one of the pillars of the Lutheran church in Mexico.

You may be wondering how she got to Mexico. Here’s her story:

Señora Ibarra grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. There she met Juan Manuel Ibarra, a Mexican engineer who came to live in the United States for a few years. The two were married and in 1945, they moved to Mexico.

Shortly after arriving south of the border, Juan Manuel Ibarra decided to become a pastor. He studied for the ministry, and spent the remainder of his life working as a pastor. During this time, he founded the church El Redentor (Redeemer) in Torreón.

Señora Ibarra raised her family in Mexico. When her husband passed away in 1987, she decided to stay in Torreón. She now lives with one of her daughters and comes to church every Sunday.

Throughout her time in Mexico, Señora Ibarra has served as a mentor and source of inspiration for many women. Marlene Schlomer, a missionary wife living in Torreón, has known her for 17 years. “I have spent hours listening to stories of her amazing life,” Marlene says. “She has set a wonderful example of a Christian wife in her attitude of respect, love and duty toward her husband as he pursued his career first as an engineer and later his calling as a pioneering Lutheran pastor.”

At 93, Señora Ibarra is still a strong example to others. "She continues to show me, her family and friends the importance of faithful Bible study and worship as well as active support of the church, wherever God places you,” Marlene notes.

One of my favorite things about Señora Ibarra is that on Sunday, I never find her sitting alone silently. She’s always chatting with someone in English or Spanish. She's using her gifts and experiences to encourage others.

I recently asked her what her biggest blessing of being a Lutheran is. Her simple response says it all: “Knowing that my sins are forgiven and that soon I’ll be going to heaven.”

Thanks for encouraging me and so many others, Señora Ibarra, and may your light continue to shine.

Leadership Workshop

During the last two Saturdays of November, Mike held a leadership workshop for the members at El Redentor (Redeemer) in Torreón. Each workshop session lasted two hours. It focused on helping the members find ways they can serve in their congregation. It addressed the goal of taking worship to the next level and reaching more souls with the Gospel.

While I didn't see much of the workshop sessions (I was chasing our 13-month-old around the church property and the nearby park), I know that it had a positive effect on the members that attended. I got to talk to them when it was over, and they were all energized. They're already taking action to move their congregation to a new level.

Mike is going to offer leadership workshops to other congregations in Mexico during 2010. These training sessions are just one of the many steps toward building a strong church body in Mexico. The missionaries here work on forming congregations, building them up, strengthening the members, and training future workers. It's a process that God is blessing, and we pray he bring more leaders to the congregations in the future -

like this one.

Lutheran Women in Mexico Series: Patricia

Welcome to the fourth installment of my series on Lutheran women in Mexico. This time we're going to cover Señora Patricia, who is a member of Cordero de Dios (Lamb of God) in Sasabe, Sonora.

Patricia has been active in the Lutheran church in Sasabe since its early stages. "She was in the first class that we had for membership," recalls Missionary Ron Baerbock, who serves the congregation in Sasabe and others in the surrounding area. After completing the course, she became one of the first communicant members of Cordero de Dios.

According to Missionary Baerbock, one of Patricia's strengths lies in leadership. She has helped out with the efforts of Mission to the Children in the area. She is very active in her church.

Currently, Patricia is the treasurer for the ladies' group at Cordero de Dios. For the church's dedication last spring, she helped decorate the church and plan activities to celebrate the special event. When Missionary Baerbock comes to Sasabe, she always has a big dinner for him in her home. "She's a great cook," says Baerbock.

Being part of the church has been "a great spiritual help to us," says Patricia. Both she and her husband are active in the congregation. "We appreciate the teachings of the Lutheran church."

Patricia is just another example of how much women can, and are doing, here in Mexico. Thanks for all of your work, Patricia, and we pray that God continue to use you as a pillar in his church in Sasabe.

* find previous entries of the series on Lutheran women in Mexico here.

Things I love about Mexico: Torreon's Outdoor Christmas Market

During the holiday season, an outdoor Christmas market is set up in downtown Torreon. It runs the length of an entire block and consists of two long aisles of stalls. You can find everything you need to decorate your home for the holidays there, and the prices are among the best in town.

One of the market's most interesting features is the wide variety of things you can buy there for a manger scene. In Mexico, nativity scenes are a big deal. They can be very elaborate, featuring animals, bridges, wells, animals, people, and even live plants. Mike loves using nativity scenes to teach children the Christmas story.

Every year, we make several trips to the market. On Monday we headed there for the first time this season. Here's how it went -

Fueling up: we start with breakfast at our favorite gordita stand in town, just a few blocks from the market. Trinity gobbles up one-and-a-half gorditas - a new record for her.



Stables, grass, and plants for your manger scene...





Lights, lights, lights...





Nativity scene accessories...



Need some pigs or a snow-covered pyramid for your nativity scene...



or maybe a flamingo?


My shopper-in-training picks out a pack of gum...



Finishing off the trip with more of my favorite Christmas market foods - hotcakes drenched in cajeta (caramelized goat's milk) and lechera (sweetened condensed milk).



And the walk back to the van.



Gotta rest up so we can go again soon!

*previous entries on things I love about Mexico here.