Christmas in Juarez, Mexico

I had the opportunity to go to Juarez with my great friends, the Paulecs, for a Christmas outreach. Heidi's cousin-in-law Elmer has family from Juarez, though they are currently living in Greeley, CO, and they know a pastor in Juarez. We met at his church, not having a clear objective other than to minister to the locals and help hand out some food and clothing to people living in a poor neighborhoods.

On the first night we were there, I didn't have my camera, but we went to the neighborhood of an associate church and invited children in the community (via loudspeaker) to come and eat some food. Alex, Elmer, and Elmer's brothers Oliver and Daniel played some praise and worship songs and attracted a crowd, then some church members, dressed as clowns, put on a drama about Jesus being the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Afterwards, we handed out hot dogs and punch to the kids, as well as some gift bags with candy, coloring books, peanuts, and oranges.

I was able to go back later and get some pictures of the church. This is the associate pastor, Felix, in front of his church. He took me to the back of the church to show me where the children’s classroom is. He said he needs $3000 U.S. dollars to finish his building, so if you want to donate let me know.



This is the pastor of the home church, Roberto, talking with Elmer in front of Felix’s church.



Christmas Eve: The next morning, we went to the market in Juarez. We saw some interesting stuff. The statue is of Garcia San Francisco, who founded Juarez in 1659.



Sign on the door of a bar in the market: No gangsters, no guns, no drugs no minors.



This is Alex, rejoicing with Elmer at finding a store dedicated to himself, in the name of dollars:



After shopping at the market, we went back to Elmer’s aunt’s house to relax for awhile. I took a picture of Heidi wearing the hat that Oliver bought at the market.



That night we went to one of the poorest areas in Juarez. Most of the people in this neighborhood live in houses made out of tarps, cardboard and shipping pallets. We went door to door, wishing people a merry Christmas with a plate of food and telling them to bring their families out to our tables for a spaghetti dinner. Oliver and I went out together.



After all the food was handed out, Alex got to help give out some clothes for the children in the neighborhood.



I brought some candy canes from home to give to the kids, so I handed them out with the help of Alex’ boys Micah and Isaiah.



Micah and Isaiah had some wrestle time with uncle Elmer, then we went back to Aunt Rebeca’s house. After some impromptu praise and worship songs, we enjoyed a traditional Mexican Christmas dinner of tamales. Christmas Eve is the anniversary of Alex and Heidi’s engagement, so we took a cheesy picture to commemorate the occasion.



On Christmas day, after a very long church service, we took some pictures, the boys found some puppies, and we went back to Rebeca’s house to change and get ready for yet another Christmas dinner at her brother’s house.



Here are Oliver and Daniel goofing around, and Mia looking cute.



Here are some pictures from uncle Joel’s house, where I had cow tongue for the first time. It was actually quite good! The cute girls are all of Elmer’s cousins that live in Juarez. And of course, we sang some more songs.



This is one of the last pictures I took in Mexico. I just thought it was funny, because it looks like a combo meal at Wendys is $25. But of course, the number is pesos, and the exchange rate was roughly 10-to-1, so a double-cheese combo meal was around $2.50. Not bad!



We crossed the border that night, then got up late the next morning and drove to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. It just wouldn’t be a road trip with me without visiting at least one national park! We stopped at Target on the way and I bought headlamps for the boys, which they loved, of course.



A tripod, a tripod, my kingdom for a TRIPOD! It takes more than a steady hand to get decent pictures in a cave, but I managed to get a few that aren’t too blurry. I need to go back someday, because the caverns are amazing. You can’t really tell in the picture, but those stalactites are about 20 feet long, so the ceiling is probably close to 60 feet high.



So, that was my trip. We all wish we could have done more for the people in Juarez, but I know that we were appreciated nonetheless. I hope that your Christmas was as good as mine!

Steve ~ 11:18:48 PM

sweet pics dude. looks like a good trip. hope to see ya soon! Marshall on 1/5/2006 at 2:53:41 PM

By the way daddio, i tried your comment code in PHP, Xml, HTML, Java, etc, .... i couldnt ever get it to work for me, any ideas as to what im doing wrong? Marshall on 1/5/2006 at 2:54:43 PM

Is this Alex Paulec, brother of Lee Paulec, of Tulsa OK. If it is, Please contact me. Preston Cate Preston Cate on 2/13/2006 at 5:46:17 PM

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Gladgiving

You know what's impressive about the Rockettes? It's not just that someone is able to find so many women who are not only all the same height but who also have the ability to kick their legs up to their heads. No, it's that they are so precisely synchronized in the execution of the act. I'm just beginning to notice this. What's also interesting is that nobody claps or cheers until they get into their signature line and do the signature kick.

Yes, it's Thanksgiving morning and I'm watching the parade. It is simultaneously fascinating and sad to watch pajama-clad children and tuxedo-clad adults alike, all giving thanks to......nobody?

The opening number featured a bunch of kids enumerating the things that they are thankful for, from pies to parents, but it's funny that they never say who they are thanking. Is it possible to truly be thankful without actually having someone to thank? Maybe they should change the name of the holiday to Gladgiving, because that's really all they are doing.

As for me, I am thankful to God for all the many blessings that He gives me every day, from good health and good friends to the trials that build my faith and bring me closer to Him.

I hope you have a happy THANKSgiving!

Steve ~ 10:30:42 AM

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By popular demand, here are some pictures from Chris and Sara's wedding last weekend. Okay, really it was only Wendy doing the demanding. She's one of my few friends who likes to get her picture taken with people, so she helps me to capture everyone else, too. Thanks Wendy!

I don't have time to post them all right now, so I'll put some more up later. Check Xanga later this week for some pics from the Tulsa Run.

Steve ~ 5:08:48 PM

Type comment here Anonymous on 11/1/2005 at 6:55:27 AM

Type comment here Anonymous on 11/1/2005 at 6:56:34 AM

Okay Steve - I am official now - I have my own link.... Anonymous on 11/1/2005 at 6:57:19 AM

but as you can tell from the tree entries above - i have no idea what i'm doing yet - ha ha --- chin_girl Wendy on 11/1/2005 at 6:58:12 AM

and i also can not spell "three" -- urg Wendy on 11/1/2005 at 6:59:03 AM

Heya Steve. A group of us are going to see beauty and the beast at tcc on Saturday. Wanna come? Tickets are $16.25 Sharon on 11/1/2005 at 10:57:24 AM

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Long time no write. Again. I had a really good weekend, so I'm sharing it with all of you in this uber-long post.

Friday night, I went to my first opera. "Faust" is the story about an old man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for renewed youth. While it was kind of creepy at times, with imagery that although dramatized was still sometimes demonic, it was nevertheless a good story. The ending was very strange in that the eventual fate of the main character, Faust, is never fully explained. But another essential character is redeemed and goes to Heaven, with a chorus of angels singing "Christ is brought to life, Christ has been reborn".

The playbill contained some comments from the director that were somewhat amusing in light of the Christian theme of the story:

"For me, Faust comes down to a couple of big issues. One, be careful what you wish for and secondly, should you wish at all? Should we rely on a higher power, whether it's a power of darkness or of light or should we learn to be happy within the finite limits of our own lives? I think that's why it's relevant to us and our obsession with immortality, especially in our goal-oriented culture where life has become more about the destination than the journey."

So, in summation, the reason that Faust is still relevant today is that it is irrelevant, and to be happy we should not have goals or believe in immortality.

Anyway, here are some pictures that I took of the snooty opera-goers. Unfortunately I managed to improperly focus the camera before I set the timer (grrrrrr), but you get the idea.




Saturday night was the Second Annual Compass Bonfire. Woohoo! Chili + Fire + Friends = Good Times. So I guess that also means that Chili = Good Times - Fire - Friends. But that’s not important right now. Here are some pics:









And lastly, on a bittersweet note, I'm really going to miss Marty and Casey Urwin, as they are moving to Texas in a month. They have some great opportunities ahead of them, and I know that they will bless a new congregation with their musical talents and just overall coolness.

Steve ~ 7:02:04 PM

nice pictures - it looks like it was a good time - glad it went well Name here on 10/17/2005 at 6:50:06 PM

oh that last comment was me - forgot to add my name - ugh, this blog stuff is so annoying Brian on 10/17/2005 at 6:50:50 PM

Steve you are so talented with this camera - if only you would let me take more shots with you in them... Wendy on 10/19/2005 at 6:16:56 PM

Steve! Please please email me before tomorrow (friday). Urgent! Roseofsharon97@yahoo.com Sharon on 10/20/2005 at 12:41:39 PM

I agree with Wendy. More candid Steve-o shots are needed... I'd also like to have a little more cowbell... :P sievman on 10/21/2005 at 9:27:00 AM

Heh, and I'm glad someone blogged about the self-absorbed pontification of the guy who directed Faust. What a putz. Oops, I mean schmuck. Er, I mean... dangit. sievman on 10/21/2005 at 9:31:16 AM

Haven't you heard? It's The Great Pumpkin tonight at 7! Don't forget!! Come at any time. :laughing: Sharon on 10/25/2005 at 11:09:38 AM

smallville Anonymous on 6/22/2006 at 12:41:34 AM

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Last night I went to the TU football game with some BC people. We had a good time, even though TU was set to tie up the game with about 40 seconds to go and then fumbled the ball. DOH! Here are some pictures:

The glorious Skelly Stadium, home of the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes


Wendy giving me the finger


Now that is talent


Now Marc is giving the finger


Wendy taking a bite of Mike's hot dog


The rain held off, but Mike just really wanted to wear the poncho...and the finger


And lastly, the requisite picture of me with the hot chick



Friday night, God put on an incredible light show. I went out to the retention pond where I run to watch the show. There is a little gazebo to shield my camera from the rain, so I just sat out there in the wind for about an hour.





EDIT: I thought I got some better shots that night. It turns out that I stuck them in the wrong folder, so as I was going through them on my computer I was a little disappointed. But here are a couple of my newly found favorites. I love lightening. In fact, I think I would like to die by being struck by lightening. I know, it's a little cliche, but I'm okay with that.

Steve ~ 3:51:28 PM

I like life stories told in pictures Brian on 10/2/2005 at 6:27:07 PM

Sweet pics, looks like you kids had fun. What are you kids up to next weekend? That 3rd pic down is kind of freaky Marshall b. on 10/2/2005 at 7:24:09 PM

Those are great pics. thanks for sharing. too bad I didn't get to go to the game with you folks. I was going to but had a previous engagement. nice seeing you at lunch even though we didn't talk. angela on 10/2/2005 at 9:09:38 PM

I tried the finger thing is pic 3, and I can do it! Do I um... win a cookie or something? Lightning is cool. And if that's really what you want, well, then I hope it kills you too. I just want you to be happy, Steve. :P Peace out. sievman on 10/3/2005 at 10:46:21 AM

Postscripst - I really like the golf pics below. We need to do that again soon. It was really fun. :-) Marshall b. on 10/3/2005 at 12:44:26 PM

we got some lightning over here in weatherford, and i captured about 2 out of 100 or so.....must be a sucky camera. who knows famousamos79 on 10/3/2005 at 5:41:32 PM

steve check out my blog....i just got it up and running....you'll know me when you see me Amy on 10/3/2005 at 5:42:27 PM

nice lightning Anonymous on 4/29/2006 at 11:14:10 PM

i see lightning! Eric on 5/15/2006 at 4:40:37 AM

Hey there... i was looking for relient songs on the web and this page came up. And even though i didnt find what i was looking for... the relient k song playing on this site is even betterr, lol. I was just wondering... where did you find it?? I'd love to download it. Cristian on 6/2/2006 at 5:51:34 PM

las fotografías de los rayos son excelentes! Anonymous on 7/12/2006 at 12:19:13 PM

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