Hello Summer!

My thermometer is telling me that it is 35 degrees out today, and that is in celsius in case you were wondering. What month are we in? Oh yes, the middle of May. It's funny how you can lose track of time when you live in a desert and not know what season you're currently in. Coming from Manitoba's four distinct seasons to here will do that to you.

At the center here we seem to have two seasons which somewhat correspond to the two season we have here in San Carlos: Summer and Winter. Summer of course being what it is, lots of hot, hot, humid weather with the occasional rain here and there. Nothing but shorts and showers! Winter being hot and nice with the occasional need to put on a hoodie (in the evenings only, mind you). Our seasons at the mission center: Super busy and not quite so busy! We are just heading into the not so busy season with the last missions team having left about a week and a half ago. Looking back, its hard to believe we are into the summer season. I think it has been one of the busiest seasons that we've ever had, not only with the amount of teams that we've had but also with the amount of big projects that took place over this past season.

I realize that I have not done a great job in keeping you all in the loop with everything that is going on and in the next little while I plan to do so, highlighting some of the great things God has done over this past year. For now I just wanted to check in and let you know that all is well and also ask for your prayers for a young man named Alex.

I believe I've written about him before (you read here) and I believe that a number of you have probably met him as well. He's a guy who has had a rough life in many ways, traveling around Mexico in a circus as a youth where he ended up staying in a small mountain town about 5 hours from here and "adopted" by a pastor working in a church plant. He eventually gave his life to the Lord, but through the years since then he has struggled, battling with things like alcohol and drugs at times. I believe the Lord definitely has plans for him and we've been encouraged to see him break free from the past only to see him fall back into it time and time again. We've slowly seen him change over the years and grow in the Lord but there lingers this pull and temptation from these things, these vices from his past and I would love to see him surrender these fully to the Lord and not only leave them behind one and for all but to see him truly seeking the Lord.

He's been hanging around the center a fair bit the last little while and is actually working here on a construction job (helping to build some more dorms here at the mission center). He has been making some good choices in the last little while but I've had it on my heart that we need to be praying for him, that God would grab a hold of his life. I appreciate your prayers and encourage you to send some up whenever you think about him. Gracias y Dios les bendiga a todos ustedes!