Uncomfortable.

I love to think of the church as a bunch of messed up people figuring out how to do life together while learning what it means to adore the God of the universe- as big and infinite and unfathomable as He is.

 Or at least that’s what I would love to see the church become: a safe place for the broken and the sinners (by the way, that’s you). A place where the weak can come, be weak, and then become strong.
But we hide our brokenness or our differences from other brothers and sisters or we keep ourselves away from the “ungodly people” of the world, and we limit God’s power because we distrust that He is bigger than our money, or our language, or our city, or our country, or our safety.

We keep our hands clean and our houses in order and our hearts on the most superficial level we can.
And we feel safe.

What I’m trying to say is that we’re scared people. We don’t believe that God can be moving and present in a conversation between ourselves and someone who speaks French, or Portuguese, or Spanish or any language different from our own. Or we don’t believe that we’ll “be effective in ministry” (whatever that means) with people who live in a different country- cause they’re just too different. Or with people work the streets- cause they’re too far-gone. As if they are beyond God's reach. 

We don’t believe that God can make the places outside our comfort zones feel like home.

When did Jesus ever say to stay put?

To shut up?

To lock our doors, keep others out, or keep ourselves safe?

The church needs to be a place for people who are in every single way different than you to feel in the thick of family. And that might make us feel uncomfortable. 

This is what God has been teaching me the past semester in Mexico. And I am starting to realize the gravity of what it means to follow this crazy, out of control, wild about me, wild about you, loving, perfect, God in human-form named Jesus Christ.

As I prepare to return to my beautiful California for Navidad, I leave behind (don't worry, I'm coming back in January) a church here in Mexico called Vida Abundante or Abundant Life; a small church with a wonderful vision to seek and save the lost. 

Vida Abundante, México: your church, your sister, your brother, your father, your family.

How great of a God we serve who gives us family all over the world through our worship of Him!

During this christmas season, if you are looking to give a year end donation, I would invite you to consider giving to my church here in Mexico. We rent out a small building weekly and have very modest equipment for our worship team.

Another awesome opportunity to give during this year end is to support me as I continue my ministry here in Mexico City. You can follow this link to donate toward my Year Out.  http://www.uwm.org/give/

To give to my church Vida Abundante, please contact me!

I look forward to seeing many of you and my beloved In-N-Out burger as I return home for Christmas in 6 days!

Abrazos!
Kaylie 

My wonderful Mexican/Chilean family- minus papá. 

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
John 10:10

Prayer November Edition

Hey friends and family! 

I just want to give you all an amazing opportunity to join me in prayer for a few things going on here in Mexico!

I am involved in a ministry here called The Well- which is a home for young women rescued from the sex trafficking industry. Once a week, I have the opportunity to go and teach a music class for an hour and spend time with the girls. 

I invite you to pray for these young girls that they would see God as a father figure that is protective and trustworthy. You can pray that their little hearts would open up to hear the word of God and to take steps forward in their new lives, freed from this horrible industry. You can also pray for Carmen, the woman who is the director of the home. 

Another amazing opportunity you have to pray is for an English club called CUR that I help out with on Fridays. CUR (which I have no idea what that stands for) is a Christian ministry which gives English classes for free at UNAM (one of the huge universities in the city) twice a week and has a bible study once a week. Lots of non-christians attend this club, because it is a free opportunity for them to practice their English. I have been meeting some awesome people through this club I would love for you to pray that God gives me the wisdom and opportunity to share the gospel with these friends as the time comes.

You can also pray for my church and my pastor as we continue to grow and serve God in the community! 

It would also be amazing for you to pray for me and that I would be open and willing to do what God calls me to everyday. Pray for energy and good time management and that I would take hold of every amazing opportunity that God gives me!

Thank you for your prayers and support, friends!
Until next time,

Kaylie   

El Día De Los Muertos

My mom sent me a text last night that read "What do people do in Mexico City on Halloween?"

I immediately felt overwhelmed by this question and I still haven't replied to her message.

(sorry mom, I'm writing you a blog post instead)

What do Mexicans do for Halloween. Good question, mom. Great question actually. 

First off, I would like to clarify that I am not Mexican (if that wasn't already incredibly obvious). And for me to explain Mexican traditions feels to me like a dog trying to explain what it's like to be a cat. Or like Santa Clause explaining what it's like to be the SuperMan. I can explain what I have observed here but this part of the culture will never be apart of me like it is for many Mexicans. 

Second. In Mexico, there is Halloween and there is El Día De Los Muertos. And they are different. Halloween is October 31st (samesies) and the Day of the Dead is November 1st and 2nd. 

As a Northern North American, when I think of Halloween, I think of my family, favorite friends, trick or treating, watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, and eating candy. I think of the most clever costumes I have seen people wear and the inevitably cliché costumes that more than 50% of the kids are dressed up as each year. 

And if I ever saw someone dressed up as something scary, it was my opinion that it was because they weren't creative enough to think of something cool. 

Never in my childhood have I thought of Halloween and at the same time thought of death, or dead relatives, or really anything other than my favorite candy. Which are gummy life savers and swedish fish, for the record.

ahem. 

Here in Mexico, this time of year is much different than my childhood experiences with Halloween. Although, many of the Halloween traditions that we see in the States are "practiced" during this time. You know, trick or treating and all that. 

But here is the difference that I have observed with Halloween. 

It is less of a celebration of how much candy you can get and more of a celebration of death.

Now, the Day of the Dead is another thing in itself. This day focuses on remembering the dead- those who have passed on to another life. People (and by people, I mean like almost everyone minus most christians) put up what are called ofrendas (which are essentially altars) in there homes to honor their loved ones. 

Here's a picture of a typical ofrenda which, to be honest, I just googled so I have no idea who that lady is. 

These ofrendas are adorned with flowers, candles, skulls made out of sugar and with food and drinks that the deceased enjoyed during their life. The traditional belief is that during these days of the dead, those who have passed away can revisit earth in the form of a spirit and that they eat and drink the what was left for them on the altar. 

One of the iconic symbols of this day is this chick and pretty much any image or costume that resembles this:

Tons of people dress up like this and it scares the crap out of me. 

El Día De Los Muertos is a very unique tradition and I was happy to be able to be here in Mexico during this time of year to see what it's like.
This time of year (although now it's over- bad blog updater award) is a great opportunity for us to pray for Mexico. Pray that there will be a great revival, a great revolution of the name of Jesus Christ rather than the name of death and the destruction that comes along with celebrating it.
Well, thanks for checking in, folks. I am alive and well here in DF.
Still stumbling along with my Spanish like a drunken sailor, but I'm alive and well. 

If you want find me, I'll be out celebrating the LIFE that Christ has given me. 
None of that death business. 

I believe in a thing called Love.

If I speak in eloquent Spanish and have an excellent range of vocabulary but don't love, I am nothing more than the noise of a busy city street. 

If I perfectly proclaim all the wonders of my God and reveal all the mysteries of His word and if I have the faith to say to the pyramids, "Move!" and they move, but I don't love, I am nothing. 

If I give every peso I own to the beggars in the metro stations and take the clothes off my back for the children in the streets but have not love, I have done nothing but take steps backwards. 

So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love. 

"Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end."

God, I would love nothing more for you to let this resonate constantly in the furthest corners of our hearts and within our own circumstances.
by day

by hour

by minute 

let this be our song. 

  

Almost.

I can almost taste the tacos.

                                                    I can almost hear the mariachi music.

I almost feel claustrophobic in crammed metros.

I can almost not breathe from the insane amounts of smog. 

I can almost pretend to understand what everyone is saying. 

Because in three days from now, at 11:27pm, 

my plane will touch down in

MEXICO CITY. 

And my life will be changed forever.

If I could, I would lasso the moon for every person who has supported me financially and emotionally and for every person who has uttered words like, 

I am praying for you. and

I'm so excited for you.

Thanks doesn't begin to cover it, but thanks is all I've got. 

So, I'm off to new places and new adventures...

almost. 

I may or may not be moving to Mexico.

Here I am to welcome myself into the blogger sphere, the blogging world, the blogger face, the social blogia, the blog space, the world wide blog...

Might need to update myself on the lingo.

This is my first official grown up blog that I am going to attempt to write all by my little self.
My reason for not starting a blog in the past was because I didn't want to be called a hipster never thought I had anything interesting enough going on in my life to write about.

UNTIL NOW. 

Are you ready for it?
I don't think you are.

I'll ease you into it. Ok, no I won't. I can't wait any longer:

I'm moving to Mexico!

"Oh wow! I bet it's gonna be so hot there!" - everyone

Aaaactually... in Mexico City, where I spent my summer and where I will be spending next year, it rains quite a bit. For a few days this summer, I actually forgot what the sun looked like.

What people think all of Mexico looks like. 

Actual real live photograph of an average day. Cold.  

I was freezing cold in July for the first time in my entire life. 

Mexico City, surprisingly enough, resembles nothing close to a desert and almost everything close to an actual city.

Photo cred: google. 

This blog is where I hope to gather some of my thoughts, share some of my experiences, and make some of my memories become your memories- the good, the bad, the funny, the stupid, and the awkward.

(Because if you have ever met me, you know there will be plenty of awkward stories.)

To share all of my experiences from the past two months in DF would just be silly and #aintnobodygottimeforthat.

What I can say is that two months ago, I was a completely different person. And two months ago, if you would have told me that I would be spending a year in Mexico City... 

well, we all know how that sentence ends.

Thanks in advance to all who are and will be joining me on this wild adventure called Life in Mexico City. 

* I have quite a lot of fundraising to do for this trip and if you would like to partner with me financially, you can follow this link: http://www.uwm.org/missionaries/kaylie-weathers.