Language School
I hope you all had a great summer. We have been in language school in Guadalajara for two month now. We are learning a lot, and studying like crazy.
In those two months we have learned something like six new verb tenses and 1200 new vocabulary words. It has been really intense. We are working on midterms this week, and expect to finish the level at the end of the month. Though rigorous study has taken its toll, we are excited about the things that we have learned and are looking forward to using them in ministry when we return to Bucerías.
In class
Centro Guadalajara
Guadalajara
It has been interesting exploring the city during the weekends. We went to the Regional Museum in centro (downtown) Guadalajara. The building itself is 311 years old (the US is only 236 years old). We saw regional textiles, bead work, ancient statues, jewelry, and fossils, including a full wooly mammoth skeleton. Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico with 5 million people. There are lots of festivals and markets every week. We attended one street festival/open-air concert with 12,000 other young people. We usually buy our groceries from a street market called a tiangues where things are very cheap and fresh. Venders set up tables overflowing with produce, dry goods, clothes, kitchenware, meat, fish, pets, bootleg dvds, and toiletries. We hop between paving stones in the often-flooded streets to do our shopping. I will certainly miss that when we leave.
Finances
The last few months, things have been tight for us financially. Even as we cut back every expense we could, we still had to dip into our school money to cover living costs. If our monthly support does not improve, we will have to return to the states in the next few months. If you feel let to donate, please see information at the bottom of this email. We are very grateful for the support that many of you have given us. We feel privileged to be able to do what we have been doing. Please pray with us that God will supply all we need according to his great riches in glory (Phil 4:19)
John's new hobby: slacklining
Return to Bucerías
Tentatively, our plan had been to finish one more level of language study before retuning to full-time mission work. Through several very recent circumstances, we feel like God is leading us to return early and continue language study in tandem with our work in Bucerías. We are planning to return the first week of October. We are very excited to go back to the work and the relationships that God has given us there.
Peace be with you,
John Mark & Moorea Holmes
Please send donations to:
The Church of Glad Tidings
1630 Eager Rd
Yuba City, CA 95992
Make checks out to The Church of Glad Tidings, and include our names in the memo
