Small Victories and Surprise House Guests!
If you ever wonder what it looks like to serve God in the midst of a holy adventure, let us give you a snapshot of our week. Because saying “yes” to God’s call also means saying yes to snakes. And iguanas—in your toilet! It also means saying yes to meeting incredible people — people who care deeply about the health and well-being of families across Southern Mexico.
We’d love to share photos of it all — the laughter, the beauty, and the chaos-turned-grace — but since Kim lost her phone along the way, our visual memories are limited. Still, the moments are vivid in our hearts, and maybe that’s the kind of memory God wants us to hold on to.
We started the week at Festival Huey — a beautiful celebration of music, community, and the kind of joy that fills you to the brim. But by the end of the day, our “joy” came with a few hiccups: Kim's lost phone in an Uber, Pat's temporarily misplaced keys, and two days later, Kim left her ATM card in the machine. All gone. All at once. Someone on a spending frenzy. With no phone, that means no connectivity to cancel my credit cards or work with the bank because I couldn’t receive a 2-point authentication code. Ugh—technology is a blessing and a curse. Combine that with Kim’s language barrier made for some growth moments for her.
Then came the real surprise. While trying to obtain a new cell number for Kim's new phone (a simple task, right?), we discovered that TelCel issued a new phone number that was ironically assigned to someone at the same bank, so the bank wouldn’t allow her to use that number. What are the odds? The bank told us we were locked out of our account completely—as they only use cell phones, not emails for communicating. We had to go back to TelCel and request yet a different number. In the midst of searching for the required paperwork, Kim found the original SIM card receipt and was able to re-instate the original number. However, we also learned that ADDITIONALLY, without our permission, the bank had opened an investment account for us without our consent — and had been withdrawing money from our account without permission. (The same money we had transferred to buy a car). Apparently, this “investment” is a six-year commitment. But after seven months, we might be able to cancel without penalty. We are currently working with a co-worker’s nephew-in-law who works at the bank to help us with the situation, as we can’t buy a car until this is resolved. The silver lining were our friends Clara, Cata and Ivonne who assisted us with the language translation at the bank and TelCel. They dropped everything to come to Kim's rescue. We spent hours together in line waiting for our turn--giving us a chance to laugh and bond!
A few days later, we headed to the ranch for a quick 48-hour visit to meet with a local church and paint the original founder's straw bale house inside and out. (It looks fantastic, by the way — though it definitely needs another coat. The Mexican sun is no joke when it comes to fadingthe brillant, bright colors.) Then came the rain — torrential, glorious, and… apparently, reptile-inviting. We learned that snakes and iguanas love to sneak indoors to escape the downpours. So, we added two more snake skins to our growing collection. This experience nearly broke Kim, who is not a fan of reptiles! Thank God for insect nets!!!
Three days later, Pat confessed that the mysterious “fecal evidence” we’d found in our bedroom belonged to an iguana (not a snake) who had been living — quite comfortably — in our dry composting toilet. WAS being the key word. Pat to the rescue, helping the iguana find peace and rest — permanently. Hopefully the word will spread that we are the primary occupants of the house, not the snakes and iguanas!
We also found a Mexican-Japanese infusion restaurant--mexican sushi. Pat loved it; Kim not so much! But the ambience was cool!
Pat started driving the 15-passenger van — GYTTE's trusty combi. We use it to haul people, paint, supplies, and groceries all over town and across the state. And because no holy adventure would be complete without a little adrenaline, slid off the hill at the ranch into a ditch and had to have our team help us get it back on the road, AND we drove it home from the ranch through a torrential rainstorm. Picture this: white-knuckle driving, flooded roads, zero visibility, and lots of praying. But we made it. Because God’s got this, even when we don’t.
We also made a trip to a spine clinic for Pat. Supporting each other’s healing journey is sacred work — and it reminded us again how much strength God provides to care for one another. We humbly ask for prayers for Pat’s back as we make some decisions for repairing his ruptured and herniated discs.
Sometimes serving God isn’t always peaceful. Sometimes it looks like hauling people in a giant van during a storm, losing your ATM card, dodging reptiles, and painting until your arms go numb.Or sometimes it looks like trying to meditate and seek peace and having three ranch dogs interrupt you! But every moment, every mess, and every miracle — it’s part of something greater. This is what a holy adventure looks like: imperfect, unpredictable, and overflowing with grace. And yes, even in the stress… God’s got this.
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