Update

I am going to refer all of you to our ministry website for the latest news on what's going on down here - from the flooding to what Abner and I are working on.

Go to web.mac.com/abnerandkelly or click on my link to the right of this blog.

There are pictures of the flooding in Villahermosa that Abner took, as well as info.

Jenny, thank you for your concern and prayers. We're all ok. Please check out the site. More later!

We're Here!

Well, we've arrrived in the great state of Tabasco - our new home city of Comalcalco. We've been here exactly three weeks and have already been put to work, which is great! This Monday we will begin practices with the newly formed Praise and Worship team, and hope to be up and running for services in two weeks. We are also in the process of starting a cell group to win other musicians for Christ. Life is busy at home as well. The house is not completed and there are still workers coming in almost daily to do one thing or another. So dirt and mud and all kinds of soiling goes on constantly. I'll write about my domestic adventures some other time (complete with antecdotes from our in-house zoo).

We're adjusting fairly well. It has been raining and humid most of our time here, but thankfully God sent us a reprieve this week with a very cool front! It's been lovely for the past three days - we've even turned off our fans in the house.

Melodee and Kaitlyn are quite at home down here. No illness or strange behavior. (smile)

I'm doing alright. There is certainly some paradigm shifts going on with me, but I'm praying for His grace to guide me through it. I am TOTALLY excited about the work we are, and will be doing with the church. I'll be starting some English classes this next week, and tutoring for some of the young people in the church in the following week.

Our internet service is spotty and limited, so I will update when I can. I love hearing from all of you, so please drop a comment or send a email!

Pray for us that God will continue to give us wisdom and inspiration as we begin to work in our calling. We need divine insight and ideas to accomplish His desires. Also pray about our financial situation - many of our pledgers have not fulfilled their commitment for this month, and we need God's provision. Thanks for your love and support!

And we're off!

First thought: Why do the green-colored parts of my page appear neon on a pc? Our Mac shows them as a nice mellow hue, but this is atrocious! How does it appear to y'all?

Second thought: We're leaving this Wednesday for Tabasco. Feeling just a teensy bit nervous about the plunge. But excited. And intimidated by the packing of personal belongings again. Please pray for us, and if you're interested in checking out our ministry website, go to web.mac.com/abnerandkelly.

Last thought: We've been pondering a name for our ministry. During our passport trip to Houston this weekend we brainstormed. Didn't find anything that fit just right. Here's a silly one that made us laugh after about thirty minutes of "Such and such" ministry or "this and that" ministry -

THE ONLY Ministry HA!!!

Only a joke, guys. Only a joke.

I'll post sometime next week probably. We have a two day drive Wed and Thurs.

Love to you all.

New Name...for now

I'm renaming my blog. Read "Mansfield Park" for further enlightenment. I'm not confident that it's the perfect blog name for me, but it'll do for now.

Long overdue

I crave a few moments of quiet, just to myself. And then when I get them I don't know what I should do. Tackle the mountain of laundry? Get in a few chapters of reading? Take a nap? Update the blog and website? Hit the paperwork that still needs to be done before we leave? Write the Thank You's and How Are You's that are waiting. It's like living in Vegas. Gambling my time.

A few weeks ago I read a devotional for moms that reminded me that soon enough the girls will be pretty self-sufficient, and I'll be longing for the days when "Mommy" was interrupting my quiet moments. I wish I handled life with more grace and genteel-ness (is that a word? if not, then I'm inventing it) than I do. I feel like such a klutz as I stumble and grumble through situations and daily grind. I am forever fighting against my grumpy attitude. Sometimes I don't even want to be around myself. Where did my cheerful disposition go? Where is the quick wit and silliness that (I think) I used to have?

Enough of that moaning.

We're leaving for Tabasco in two weeks. I'm ready. There's still so much to do, and Abner has had a stomach bug for much of this week. So it's going to be a race to the finish to get everything done before Sept. 30. I have a feeling it would have been like that anyway, though. When do we ever have everything done right before a deadline? By His grace we'll have the important stuff done. Check out the Mac page if you haven't already. I put up the July Mexico trip pictures, and started a ministry blog. Here's a few for you to enjoy here.

Safe Return

We just returned from Mexico on Monday after a two week stay. We had to take Abner's sister to the ER yesterday - apendicitis, and she had surgery last night. Doctor said it had ruptured. Please pray that she has no complications and that she can go home safely within a week. I'll give a full post in the next couple of days (with pics) about our experience in Tabasco. Thanks for your prayers for safe travel - and grace to deal with a two year old and 3 month old. Things went really well. More in a few days

We've Moved

Our Kaitlyn is growing, and getting more and more beautiful






Melodee's first experience holding kitties.






Here's a picture of us on our last official Sunday at our church. Thanks to Pastor Tommy and all of our friends there who have been so supportive of us!









We've finally moved out of our apartment in Harlingen and in with my uncle Ray and aunt Cyndie (aka Tio and Tia) in Brownsville. They have been very generous in allowing us to live with them until we leave in September, and with a (almost) three year old and two month old - that's no small thing.

Getting out of the apartment was quite a feat because of all the end of the year stuff going on at Abner's and my schools. We moved out by Thursday, May 31st, and the last day of school for us was that Saturday, June 2nd. It was very, very hectic and stressful. But by the grace of God and the help of Abner's brother and sister-in-law, we were able to clear out and make the place spotless just in time. Thank you George and Eliza and kids! Besitos!

We still have a large collection of stuff in storage to weed through, but incredibly, all four of us are living out of one room with the barest necessesities - and doing just fine. It's actually something of a relief to have downsized our lives! There's a sense of freedom that comes with fewer things. I'm really feeling your comment about the simple life, Abu D...

We also have gotten the camper put on our truck! Thanks to Hosanna (our church) and New Life Outreach (my dad's church), we were able to order and pay off the camper completely. What a HUGE blessing. We're planning a trip down to Comalcalco the first week of July, and it'll be great to be able to take things down in the back of the truck with no anxiety. Here's a pic of the truck and camper:



We want to let you know about our other website - web.mac.com/abnerandkelly
The mac site will be our ministry webpage, and I'll dedicate this blog more towards personal stuff. So please check out our other page this next month as we post pictures, video (hopefully), and info about Comalcalco and Tabasco.

Thankful

Another praise to report this morning...we sold our piano! We had a beautiful ebony Yamaha upright that Abner has reigned over since we moved into our apartment. There was no way, however, that we could haul it all the way to Tabasco without risking serious damage. We put an ad in the Bargain Book (a free publication in the Valley that lists services and items for sale), hoping to get a nibble or two. A gentleman called last week, but our contact was hit and miss. Abner called him again yesterday with the off-chance that he'd still like to come see it. Lo and behold, he calls at 10 pm last night that he's at our apartment complex with his family. They come in, we all chat (very lovely people), he says "Let's close the deal", he writes a check for the piano, and VOILA! Done! He and his wife are both doctors, so I think the check will clear (smile). He said he rarely ever looks in the Bargain Book, but he did on a "whim" last week. Hmmm...thank God for divine "whims", eh? *chuckle*

Another major concern crossed off the moving list!

Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere...

Ok. So does anyone else out there in cyberland care to take more of our stuff off our hands? Just when I think I'm making great progress in clearing out the house, I find there is infinitely more beneath. Now we're getting down to the small knick-knacky stuff that is tedious to deal with. I'm about to throw it all in a box and drop it at the Salvation Army's front door. Actually, we've already taken a giant load to our local S.A. store. -sigh- At least I'm not having to PACK it all just to UNPACK it later. Thank the Lord for small blessings.

In family news - we're heading up to Pleasanton this weekend for my youngest sister's (Kathleen) high school graduation. Melodee is pumped about seeing Gramma and Grampa...not to mention her aunts (and Uncle Taylor) who spoil her rotten. Now we have Kaitlyn to spoil too! It will be great fun. I should have some nice photos to post next week.

The school year is almost over (do I hear a colletive Hallelujah echoing out there?)! I am strangely calm and serene about the usually stressful end of year procedures coming up. Maybe not so strange since it's my last year to deal with them. I will certainly miss my close friends and coworkers, but I know it's time for me to leave. Teaching ESL in Mexico is getting more and more exciting, and I find myself inspired again! It shouldn't take long for me to get some sort of program started in the church. My hope is that it will quickly turn into a free or minimal-cost program for the community, also providing a platform for relational evangelism.

"Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received, and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work."
- Mother Teresa
Amen.

Be blessed, ya'll!

Check it out...

For those of you who, like me, are accutely aware of the increasing presence of Islam in our country and the world, I suggest you check out the blog "Islam and Christianity" I have listed under Favorites. The blogger is a friend of mine from college who has a missionary's heart, is well-versed in Christian apologetics, and who lives in the Middle East. I respect him immensely, and I am certainly the better for having read the provoking thoughts and questions that arise.

If you find, as I have, that you are to some degree or other ignorant about Islamic belief systems and traditions, you may discover that his site is a great starting point for further discovery. He has many links to interesting articles and websites, while discussing important folks involved in the world's dialogue on Islam.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this blog to all of you. We need to be informed in order to have any ability to participate in the discussion with or about the Muslim world. And how can effective evangelism happen unless we know what we're dealing with?

Just A Thought

"We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?"
- Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451, 1953)

Starting Over

THIS IS MY FAVORITE PICTURE OF MEL

I have begun in earnest to clear out the apartment for the big move. We are selling, throwing, or giving away nearly all of our belongings in order to reduce the load and possible complications of taking a household into southern Mexico. We plan to start fresh once we get down there.

Moving Day #1 will be the week of May 28th. This is when we will be leaving our apartment and moving in with my uncle and aunt for the summer. Our lease was up at the end of May, and rather than spending even MORE on rent this summer (because of the month-by-month cost increase) we decided to save the money. We'll also do some traveling to visit family and friends before we go.

Moving Day #2 will come sometime in September - either the beginning or end. We're trying to figure out the vaccination schedule for Kaitlyn. If we can get them done in Mexico then we'll leave in early Sept. But if we have to get them here we'll leave at the end of the month.

Thanks to our church family at Hosanna, and our families' churches (New Life Outreach and Iglesia Del Pueblo) for helping us with the purchase of the camper for our truck. Hosanna will be pulling together a dynamite BBQ plate fundraiser the first Sunday of June (Thanks for grilling, Brother Juan!) and we're scheduled to speak and minister at Iglesia Del Pueblo on the last Sunday of July. Of course, we'll be popping in to my parents' church New Life Outreach throughout the summer. What a blessing to have so many friends and family supporting us in our ministry and this call. We love you guys!

"Back to Work"

I've returned to work this week. Kaitlyn has been doing really well - gaining weight, going potty, eating well...doing everything she should be. For those of you who were not filled in, she was born at 35 weeks and had to spend two weeks in the Neonatal ICU for oxygen, feeding, and jaundice problems. Thank God she was off the oxygen in about 3 or 4 days. Her little lungs started working full speed on their own. Her sucking reflex, however, took a while to kick in. Her inability to eat well caused her to lose weight (which I know is a normal occurance in any newborn), but it also produced some higher levels of jaundice. There were IV's and feeding tubes being put in and taken out in cycles as she was able or unable to eat on her own.

But she's been home for three weeks and has really gotten the hang of it all! We are so thankful that she had very minor issues compared with so many other premature children. I've been asking God to give me a greater compassion for people. I realized towards the end of Kaitlyn's hospital stay how God had used this situation to do just that. Walking through a Neonatal ICU can be heartbreaking as you see parents coming in and out - sometimes days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months - to see their baby who in some cases is struggling to just survive. It was so difficult for me to turn Kaitlyn over ENTIRELY to the One who created her, and my heart went out to the parents and children who had their own wrenching struggle. As I began to be familiar with some of the babies and parents we saw there on a regular basis I began praying for them and their battle. My eyes were opened to the plight of so many - those who are bedridden or homebound, those endlessly confined to hospital beds, the families of those who are ill ... I have realized due to personal experience why the church must reach out to these. They need special grace and strength to fight and endure. They need the encouragement and support of those whose faith is strong and ready to stand with them in battle. I pray that God continues to open my heart towards others in new ways.

I'm going to try AGAIN to get a picture up of Kaitlyn. For some reason my photos are not uploading to the site. If anyone has any suggestions please share!

Love to all

Kaitlyn Rose Rodriguez

Our new baby girl has arrived! Kaitlyn Rose Rodriguez was born on March 27, 2007. Yes, she came quite early - three weeks premature. I'll post again a bit later with details. But for now, here's a picture of our girl...

Praise

Well, God has already answered one of our highest-priority requests: We have a buyer for one of our cars!! After service Wednesday night, Abner spoke with one of the members of our church about selling the Malibu (which he was driving that night). She looked it over and said, "I'll buy it - and pay cash." Short and simple. Holy-moley!!

Things have been a little tense at times about the car situation. We're trying to walk in faith, and not try to force things ourselves. This was certainly a God-ordained answer to prayer, and we're so thankful that He moves at just the right moment.

In the personal arena, Melodee has finally recovered from a long fever/coughing/runny nose marathon - and now Mommy has it. The yucky, achey part is over, but the wrenching cough is in full swing. Not much fun hacking around all day, making my very-pregnant tummy very sore. BUT - at least I'm not puking or having fever/chills issues! Praise the Lord! Should be back to normal in a day or two.

Interesting quote to leave you with:
"Thinking is what a great many people think they are doing when they are merely rearranging their prejudices." - William James

The Mexico Move

Preparations continue for the Mexico move. We are working on Abner and Melodee's passports, since the new travel laws for land/sea border-crossing will take affect 1/1/08. We are also praying that God will show us what to do about our two cars. We need to get rid of the two payments, and want to buy a used truck that will be more appropriate for the travel and conditions of Mexico. We will certainly need supernatural intervention in this area, since we've had our Honda CR-V for only a year. Kinda' hard to sell directly to a third party.

We're also getting ready to welcome Baby 2. The sonogram at the doctor's on Wednesday seems to indicate that it will be another girl. The sonographer didn't seem totally sure, though, so we'll be prepared either way. Now to come up with a girl's name that is as wonderful as "Melodee Joy"! What a challenge. We have until April to work on the possibilities, though. So if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop a line.

Abner will be performing his senior recital sometime in late June or early July. He has been finished with his classes since this summer, and began working for Harlingen CISD as the choir accompanist for two of the middle schools. He's excited about finally completing the requirements for his Piano Performance degree. He's certainly worked hard for it.

Melodee is going to be two and a half at the end of February, and seems ready to be a big sister, as well as a missionary. Lately she's started saying "I wanna go t' Mexcio!" Last week she even began crying that she wanted to go. I'm not sure if she's thinking it's a store or restaurant to go to, or if there is some deeper spiritual thing going on. It's really sweet, though, to hear her talk about it.

As for our mission: We are going as missionaries, and though we don't know where all of this will lead, we are open to a short or long term calling. We will be moving to Comalcalco where Abner's brother has started a church, and begin assisting him in developing a worship team and musicians to lead in services and outreaches. We are also expecting God to move us out of our comfort zone as far as ministry opportunities - moving us beyond music into other areas. We are planning to be in full time ministry, although we are both open to supplementing our income with teaching, recording, etc. I am excited about eventually starting free ESL classes through the church for its own members as well as an outreach for the community. Abner also plans to continue working on recording projects. I'm sure we'll be busy, busy, busy!

Though we have our plans, we know that God's Will will be done . We trust that He'll show us our next steps more clearly as we get closer to the day! Thanks for your prayers and for sharing in this exciting journey. God bless!

Crazy Things

Well, here we go...jettisoning out onto the super-highway of the internet. I always thought myself somewhat computer savvy, but all I can say is, "Thank God for templates!" I hope I'm not in over my head in this effort to be up to date in technological communication. The plan is to join the blogging community so that all of our family and friends can keep track of our soon-to-be wild ride of a life. I hope it's interesting, inspiring, or at least entertaining. Happy reading!