A Whale and Cooking Class. . . .

Nope, that is not a giant beached whale - that is me at 30 weeks and counting. It is hard to believe how much I have grown! I feel like a giant beached whale but I know that our little sweetheart is in there just a bakin' away and that makes it all worth it!

This week I had a cooking class with some of the ladies from our home church here in Mexico! They taught me how to make traditional Mexican rice, beans, and a meat dish made with pork ribs. It was so much fun and a neat experience to cook the way they do!

Here are Jess and I below picking rocks out of the beans. I don't know how they get in there but there are rocks in the beans when you buy them and you have to pick them out before you cook them or you might get a surprise when you take a bite!

Below are the finished products. Sure wish you could have tasted all the yummy food!

Now, if you are looking for some yummy Mexican food, don't head to your local Mexican restaurant - look me up and I will hook you up with the real deal! I am already schedule for another "cooking class" in a couple of weeks!

Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about . . . .

Sorry we have been a little quiet lately - we have had lots going on and now have lots to talk about!

Here is somethin' to talk about: 6300 gospels distributed last week to many homes, business, and individuals in Mexico City with the group from Greenstreet Baptist Church!!!! What a wonderful week we had last week! We were priviledged to host a group of 12 college students, teenagers, and adults from North Carolina.

The group was a great group and we enjoyed so much partnering with them. Part of the reason they were so great was because 3 of my favorite people got to come with them - my Mom, Dad, and youngest brother! It was such a great week! We went out every morning and participated in door to door gospel saturation and every afternoon/evening had games and candy for the children as well as a type of "service." We saw God work in awesome ways as we were able to encourage local churches and reach out to communities in Mexico City.

This week, Travis, as well as a few from our home church, have been partnering with our local Mexican church to help them expand their current worship facilities. This church has grown and grown and GROWN until they are now completely out of room. The guys this week have spent time tearing down walls and pouring concrete to expand the worship space for this growing congregation.

Now for a little in baby news . . . . my, how I (and baby) have grown! On Monday, I will hit the 30 week mark of my pregnancy. We can't wait to meet our little bundle of joy in about 2 and a half months! We went to the doctor almost two weeks ago to check in on our progress. The doctor says our little butterball is doing great. He is measuring over two weeks ahead of schedule! She says not to worry - she doesn't think he will come 2 weeks early - just to expect a big baby. He weighed in at almost 3 pounds at 27 1/2 weeks. No wonder I am so hungry all the time! We are so happy that he is healthy and loved getting to see his little features on the ultrasound. We think he has Mommy's nose and Daddy's chin. He is moving around lots and lots and sometimes I can even see the movement when he kicks my belly. He keeps me up frequently at night but I absolutely wouldn't trade it for the world. We know many of you are praying for our little sweetheart. We apppreciate so much your prayers and are feeling them as he continues to grow healthy and strong. Please continue to pray as we will be traveling home at my 36th week of pregnancy. Pray that he will not try to make any surprise early appearances and that the flight will be a smooth one for both Mommy, Daddy, and Baby.

Ode to a new Dad this Father's Day week - My husband always takes such good care of me but has been especially attentive during my pregnancy. This picture shows just one of the millions of reasons I love my husband. Now in the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy, it makes it almost impossible for me to tie my shoes much less paint my toenails. Without hesitation, he jumped in and took over the job. He is a precious, precious man and I thank the Lord a million times a day for giving him to me. He is a wonderful husband and I know that he is going to be an amazing father!

Prayer Requests - Please continue to pray for us in the next couple of months ahead - we have one last team coming to partner with us on July 17th from Queens, New York and then will be heading home about a week and a half after they leave. Can you believe it is only 6 weeks until we arrive back in the states?!! (Chick Fil A - I hear you have a peach milkshake now. You better be prepared for us.) Please pray for us as we pack up, say our goodbyes, and then land to a new environment in the U.S. and try to prepare for our bundle of joy. We are excited to come home but at the same time sad to leave our friends and ministry here. Please also pray as we are still planning to move to Southeastern Seminary in January of next year. We have lots to do to prepare for this transition and while we know God is going to provide, it still kind of scary at times.

We appreciate your keeping up with us and as always, we appreciate all your prayers and support.

Lots of love,

Travis, Danielle, and Baby Boy

How Time Flies . . . . .

So sorry it has been such a long time since we have blogged! Sometimes we get busy with things and forget that people want to know what is going on with us!

We have almost completed the second trimester of pregnancy! Mommy and baby seem to be doing well and we are so excited to meet our precious little boy in about 3 months!

Travis just finished another semester of seminary classes - he worked hard and did well. We are so thankful he had the opportunity to take two more classes last semester.

We officially have plane tickets and a leaving date! For those of you who are unaware, after much prayer and discussion with IMB authority, we have made the decision to end our term a little short. We will be ending our term with the IMB and flying home on August 5th to get ready for the arrival of our little boy! We can't wait to see you all when we get home and appreciate your continued prayers that all will go well with the pregnancy so we can make it aboard that plane!

In ministry news . . . . About 8 weeks ago, Travis and I met a young man named Victor during English Club at the university. Victor seemed very interested in learning more and more English but more importantly very open to talking about spiritual things and learning more about the Bible and Jesus Christ. He and Travis set up a time to hang out and have been meeting about twice a week almost every week. Travis has given Victor a Bible and he has already read the gospel of John and continues to read in other parts. He is very very open and continues to ask lots of difficult questions. Please pray for Travis as he continues to meet with Victor. Pray that Victor would see the need in his life for Jesus Christ.

This Tuesday, we went for what we thought would be our last English Club at UNAM since the semester was ending. We showed up and waited for 30 minutes. After no one came, we decided to head home. On our way off campus, we got a phone call from another young man who has been working with students there, he told us that there was a group waiting to practice English with us! We went back to the school and there were several news people - all people who worked at the school- waiting to learn English. We decided to partner up and I ended up with a lady named Marcela. After talking briefly for a few minutes, Marcela really opened up to me and told me that she had this wonderful job, a wonderful family and friends, but that she was missing something and looking for something in her life. I told her that I knew what it was she was looking for - a personal relationship with Jesus Christ! I shared with Marcela for a time and she seemed very open to what I had to say. I then asked her if she had a Bible - she told me she did not. I promised her that I would bring her one this Tuesday when we meet again. She made sure that I had her phone number and that she had mine for our meeting on Tuesday. Please pray for Marcela. She is obviously searching. Pray that our meeting next week would be fruitful and that the Father would speak through me to her heart.

Next Saturday, we have a group coming in from my parents church in High Point, NC. Please pray for this group as we will be working with a local Mexican Baptist Church and three of their church plants. Pray that the gospel would be spread and for health and safety for the group while they are traveling and here.

We appreciate so much all of your prayers and will try not to make it so long again before we update. A couple more prayer requests for this week . . . .

- Energy for Danielle and health for her and the baby - All you mom's out there know just how tiring just being pregnant can be. We have several ministry things going on and two more teams to host before we head back to the States. Please pray that her and the baby will remain healthy and that she will get the appropriate amount of rest that she needs amidst the chaos.

- Our Future plans - After much prayer and seeking God's direction, Travis and I feel that God is leading Travis to finish his seminary education full time, on campus at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. We are continuing to pray that God would work out all the details - finances, housing, etc. so that we can make a move there and Travis can begin classes on campus in January. Please pray with us that we will follow God's will in all of our decision making regarding this.

Hasta Luego - Until Later!

Travis, Danielle, and Baby Boy

Baptismal Service

This Sunday, Travis and I had the amazing priviledge to participate in a baptism service with our home church here in Mexico, Casa de Oracion. It was an amazing day and an experience we will never forget. The baptism took place out in the middle of the woods in a freezing cold river. There was a worship service beforehand and then afterward a picnic and Travis taught the guys a little American touch football. The only bathroom around was a bush and the water was like ice but the people came. Travis was asked by the pastor to assist in the baptisms and together they baptized 8 people! It was such a sweet time that we will never forget. It made our hearts so joyful to see people willing to follow Christ in obediance even in circumstances that were not necessarily comfortable. One of the men who was baptized came to the church from our gospel saturation events the week before. God is so good!

Wow! We have had a truly incredible month! At the end of March we had a group from Gray Gables Baptist Church in Callahan Florida where we were able to really make an impact on a couple communities, we found out our little sweetheart is a boy! And then we had a group from our Sunday School class at Brainerd Baptist come to partner with us and our Mexican home church Casa de Oracion. Talk about an incredible week! With these two groups in the past 3 weeks we gave out over 10,000 gospels!!!!! God is so good!

Please pray for us as we are still struggling over the discouragement of two teams who were coming this summer calling within one week and both canceling. We know God is in control but we were so looking forward to these groups!

Also, please pray as Travis is still working hard at school.

Keep praying as we are seeking God's wisdom in finding a job for Travis - he feels a strong call to vocational ministry and is seeking where God would have us serve Him.

Pray for the health of Danielle and Baby Boy! Twenty weeks on Monday!

Pray for us as we, along with the IMB, have made the decision to return to the States in August instead of October as originally planned due to the expected arrival of our baby boy sometime at the end of August or first of September. Please pray that everything goes smoothly with the transition and that mommy and baby are healthy enough to fly out at the appointed time.

We praise God for each and every one of you!

God bless,

Travis and Danielle

It's a . . .

Somethin's gotta give

This is something we just had to share with you today - We love Mexico but sometimes things happen here that warrant even two blogs in one day.

We live on a street that connects two main roads in Mexico. There is always traffic on our road but what makes it worse is that the road is through a residental neighborhood with lots of apartments and so on. Because of this, on this two lane road, there are always cars parked on the street on both sides. Well, tonight about 6:30, we started hearing continuous honking on the street below our apartment ( nothing abnormal) but as it kept getting louder and louder I looked outside to see if there was anything going on or if it was just the normal traffic. Now, let me preface what I am about to say with telling you that when it comes to traffic in Mexico City it is literally every man for himself and Mexicans are notoriously stubborn about letting anyone over or giving up their spot. Well, on our street tonight, there was a huge fuss because two cars had met coming in opposite directions. There were so many cars on the street that they both couldn't pass through at the same time - one of them would have to let the other over. Well, each car refused! They sat outside in the street for a good twenty minutes not budging while traffic continued to back up and people started driving down the sidewalks! You can't tell that great in the picture but the taxi and the Explorer were the ones causing the commotion. Welcome to Mexico, my friends. Welcome to Mexico.