We move tommorrow!

We will offically be in our apartmento on friday the 29th of March. We had a table with six chairs given to us and we have been able to buy for cheap a extra bed and a dresser. It was wonderful to also get a vacuum for 30 dollars american because they run around $120 and up for them here. They are not a neccesity for people so they are expensive. For Easter this year we are blessed to be able to go and witness to people. We are goin to a place by the coast and telling them about this wonderful holiday and the true meaning of easter. At least down here we don`t have to compete against the easter bunny. People`s hearts and ears are open to hear the message of the cross and the blessed resurection. Please while you are celebrating easter this year don`t forget the real reason you are celebrating it. It is ok to put cute little bunnies all over but don`t forget to give credit where credit its do. Say a prayer of thanks to our Savior as family. Teach your children about the ways of the Lord and not just the ways of this world. Ask yourself if you know why you celebrate. Have this be a time of family growth and teaching time. When you go to church remember why you are going and don`t just go for tradition. Celebrate the resurection of our King. In Mexico they celebrate for a week long. The girls get two week off from school during this time. It is more than at Christmas. Thankfully this is also the time of the missions trip we are going on. Well better head out many blessings to all. We soon with have our own internet to communicate back and forth with people. We will also be sending out a newsletter soon. If you would like to receive a newsletter please email to rossandmany@yahoo.com within the next week we ould love to put new people on our list. Blessings Amanda

Responsibilities are beginning

well, we must be starting to learn the language a little bit, we are officially getting involved in the work that we came down here for. We went to the adolescent group tonight and we loved it. We are still getting to know people and building relationships. We have been able to share the love of Christ with many, many people. We are finding more and more that people are willing and eager to hear the message of the gospel. We are also getting involved in trying to start a children's ministry that is all day Saturday so that the parents of the children can go to Bible School and the kids can get a biblical basis at the same time. Currently the training center offerers the first two years of Bible training for free and then they have the training institute for the following two years for those that want to continue on. While the parents are at training, currently the children can't come or they are just left to run around the institute unchaperoned. We have been asked if we want to start up with the help of some local people a bible school for children during the day while the parents are in school. Also there is a missions trip twice a month to places around Mexico that they want us involved in if we desire. We are very thankful for the opportunity that God has placed us in at this time. There is so much work and so few hands here. We just have to remember that all is in His control.

On another note we still do not have our apartment but we hope that within the next week we will be in. We were at some friends house the other day and Mandy was washing her hands and the water got hot. This is normal for most but we have not really had hot water in a month now and the idea of it is beginning to sound strange. We heat water on a stove for dishes and we turn on a hot water heater for showers but it is propane and it sits inside with no exhaust, so we have to open all the doors to rooms with windows so we get fresh air when it is burning. We are praying that we have hot water in our new apartment. It has shown us what in life is really necessary though. It's kinda strange how God teaches us things. We were over at the other missionaries house yesterday and they turned on cartoons for the girls and the first thing Alyssa said was, "Wow these are in English" and I had to laugh because that is something else that you forget about. Tonight Mandy and I are having a date watching "A Cinderella story" in espanol. Take care and God Bless. Ross

Wow even the computers are different!

It has taken me about 20 minutes to figure out how to write to you today. The key boards are different than America and everything is in spanish. This makes for a good time. Please be praying that our computer is able to be fixed. I (Amanda) was walking and tripped on something and the computer unfortantly didn´t land so graceful. We just bought this computer so it is a life line to us right now for many things, but God is good and something will work out for the best. Today was one of the first times that I really got teary eyed since I have been gone. We were able to look at one of my nieces graduation invitations over email. I am really really sad that I can´t be there for her but my life is not my own. We have been very fortuante at bening able to talk to family back home so far. Our skype phone is wonderful. We may not be able to update as often because we are having a really hard time getting internet at our apartment. O the wines of a poor pityfull missionary. At least were are not having to care our coffins and our kids coffins with us like the old missionaries of the day had to do. We are very blessed to have all that we have. It is definately not America living but I would not trade it for the world. Our daughters are waking up every morning excited to get to go to school. Alyssa practicly flys out of her bed to go and well Zoe it takes a little longer to walk up but once she is up she is just as excited. We will be moving into our final apartment at the end of the month. We are very excited to finally be done living out of a suitcase. Everyone down here has been so wonderful to work with. We already feel like part of a family. We maybe soon starting to help out with a childrens ministry on Saturdays. We will be working with children who´s parents are also going to a missions bible school. What a blessing for our kids to be able to play with future missions kids. We are very excited to bebale to start to get into ministry down here. Thankfully you don´t have to wait thought for a opportunity like this to come up, we are able to minister in our everyday lives. It is great we are starting to slowly start to pick up more and more spanish everyday. Soon they will have to put earplugs in to try to ignore us!!HAHA Today we are going to be going to the largest university in the Americas. We are going to sign up for our spanish classes. The good thing about taking a spanish class in a spanish area is that the classes will be smaller than the regualr classes because everyone already knows spanish here!HAHA Go figure! This will be a good outting with the girls, if we don´t write again for a while its because we went insane!HAHA It will just be interesting and busy. Well I better be going now, it looks like I just wrote my first best selling book how long this blog was. Pray all is well back home. God Bless. Mandy the great
P.S. I thought my niece would get a kick out of this name!

new video

We have a new video on our youtube account. If you want to view it go to http://www.youtube.com/user/heartformissions and you can view it. talk later. Ross

hello everyone

It has been a little while since I wrote. We are all loving Mexico very much. We have not really even went through any culture shock. The first couple days where a little intence not knowing where we were going to live or not being able to talk to anyone but that went away very quickly. We know with out a shadow of a doubt that this is where we are suppose to be!! You can not feel this knid of peace if you are not walking in the Lord will. We are slowly getting things that we need know. The little necessities you need for everyday living (pot, pans, silverware,dishes,cooking utensels, blankets,est). The girls are loving school so much, Alyssa brought home a love letter from one of her boy classmates yesterday. It was Valentines yesterday and she got a whole pile of things from him. He drew her a card that had him holding her hand and a house with heart all around it. She got embrassed when she brought it home to her dad. Zoe is as happy as she always is. She is feeling better now. She still may using the bathroom a little more but she is doing well. I am also sleeping better thanks to the prayers that have been being prayed for me. Please be praying for our clasmate that are going to be going to Tanzania, Africa. They where supposeto be going to Kenya but there has been a lot of fighting going on over there so their plans have been changed for them. They leave in March. Also please be praying for our other classmates that are in Batom, Indonegia. I must go now I was invited to a mothers tea that the girls school is putting on. Hope I can understand some of it!HAHA This is a great way to start to build relationships with other women. I was also able to meet a lady that I happened to sit by in church. She has a new baby and also is away from her family. I am very excited to be able to go and visit with her. Ross was also excited, her husband can speak english and is also a business man. They will also get along well. She also offered to to give me some makeup. Her husband has a makeup business and often goes to China to sell it. That is always a help. Many Blessings to all of you back at home! Mandy

another day of first's

Ok I am going to be short tonight, but you have to see this spider that we killed in our apartment today. The only thing that came to mind was, "They dont make em like that in North Dakota!!!" This thing was huge. We posted pictures on our flickr photo journey link so you all will have to go check it out. talk later, Ross

Mexico's Earthquake

Hey, well it didn't take long for us to live through a genuine earthquake. Mexico got hit with a light earthquake but like always I didn't get to feel this one. I was told by some locals that the safest place to be in an earthquake is in the tallest building around. I guess that they build counter weights into all the tall buildings down here for that reason. I was disapointed when I found out that something happend literally under me and I didn't know it. We were getting ready for school when it happened. I guess it is better this way. We are really struggling right now with internet, so if we don't blog or call it is not because we are not trying. If you could be a fly on our wall you would see me walking around our house carrying my laptop trying to find a wireless signal. We do not have internet so we are relying on the signals from the internet cafe around the corner. It is annoying trying to stand in just the right spot to pull in a signal.
Other than that things here are going well for us, we are taking spanish everyday and focusing on learning that language. We have a guy living under us that does not know any english and he came up last night and visited for around 2 hours with us. We were able to talk to him with the little spanish that we know. That is very frustrating trying to talk. The girls are loving their new school, Alyssa has a boyfriend now she was telling me. I am thinking that it is time to get that shotgun out!! Just kidding! Zoe has been a bit under the weather so it has been harder for her the last couple days but today she is doing much better. Please keep us in your prayers for Mandy's sleep issue and for Zoe to get better. The enemy will always try and attack at your weakest point and that is usually our children. So we need extra prayer for there safety and health. Also we have to praise God for His provision for us. Today we talked to a lady that said, "she had an extra kitchen table with 6 chairs given to her and she was not sure what to do with it so she came to us asking if we would take it from her for free!!" Also the church donated bed frames to us for all our beds and a fridge was given to us, which in Mexico is VERY expensive. A little 4 foot tall fridge was over $500 American dollars. That is something that not everyone has. There is alot of weird things that we have noticed like milk and eggs are stored from a shelf not a fridge. This eliminates the need for a fridge. Anyhow God has really been providing for us. The missionary family that has taken us in also has been providing us with anything that we needed. We have been able to wash our clothes over there when the water is running and if we needed anything else they have been wonderful to help us. I had better go to bed now I am tired and just rambling on. Talk later. Ross

Mexico City

Another week has come and gone, and we are plunging into another week of language school, and help with the local church. We had to make a run uptown this weekend and we were able to see some sights and sounds of Mexico City that I cannot explain. We went to the city center and saw some huge church's, saw some beautiful castles, and other things that are only found in this city. We had fun seeing everything, but it is always nice to be back in a neighborhood that we are farmiliar with. We were offered some unusual things like Chili flavored Ice Cream, strange but true. I am finding that the need for Christians to come doen here is Huge.

We are starting to see what the need in Mexico City is. Like we told you a couple blog's ago there are many people that are coming to Christ down here. The need to disciple this new generation of believers is huge. Unlike America where most people are either Christians, or say that they are, people here do not say that they are Christians, and do not pretend to be. The people that are hearing the truth and accepting God as there savior are in desperate need of people showing them not only what the Bible says a Christian is, but shows them the lifestyle as well. We visited with a guy a couple days ago who said that he accepted Christ as his savior a while back and was looking for someone else who had that same fire for God in them. He prayed for someone and it seemed that there was noone there to stand with him. Mexico City is around 2% Christian and for saying that there is 26 million people here, that is not very many. We need to take the people that come to Christ and show them what a life in Christ looks like, and help them keep that fire alive. Jesus told us to go make disciples of all people. Not just converts, but disciples. If there is anyone that is bored, unemployed, or just wants a change of pace, there is alot of work here that needs to be done. The youth group here in the church has went from 1500 kids to around 120 because there is not enough help with people that care about the younger generation. Please keep us in your prayers as we start to take on alot of work with the next generation of believers that have the power to change the world for Christ.

Another Move

Hello everyone we are so happy to be getting comments from you guys. We moved again today to another apartment. We posted some pictures on our flicker account. You can look at them by clicking on our link on this page. We have now lived in three places since we have been here. We were in a hotel for a week. Then we were is the Christ For the Nations building and now we are in a warehouse apartment. The amazing thing is that they are all semi close to where we need to be everyday. What a blessing! We will be moving into our final apartment the 1st of March. It is a great place. We are right next to the girls school. Like attached to the school. We will hear the girls playing outside. Life is good!!!! We love this place God will really have to change our hearts to have us come home. We are definately meant to be here. Thank you all for your support we couldn't be here without it. We also love the Olson family here. They have made us feel at home. We are having people over tonight to watch the Mexico-America soccer match. Soccer is huge in Mexico. We will have lots of fun. Better go gonna go watch the game with some friends. Later Amanda

latest update

Well, we are starting to find our way around here. This city is huge and it is nothing like any city in the world. We were so blessed to have a warm shower this morning, this is something that we have not had so it feels wonderful to be clean again. We have only 5 gallons of hot water for all of us to shower so we have to be quick but it was still warm and nice. Also the girls started school today so you can be praying for them in a new enviroment and around all Spanish speaking children. Some of them know a little English but not much of it. They have made some wonderful friends right down the street and they are starting to talk in espanol already. We start class's today as well learing the language so you can be in prayer that we pick this language up quickly so we can be more involved in the work that we came down here for. We have been told that people are already talking and asking questions about why we are down here and that has been an open door for the locals to share that we are just here to show the love of Christ with them. I was thinking in my mind that everyone here has heard the gospel through all the Christian inuendo that is here, however, I was wrong. Last Sunday the message was about what Jesus did for us and how we need to follow Him and it will entail persecution, hardship, mockery and even being shunned by people closest to us. Then they asked about who wanted to follow this Jesus that they were talking about and there where between 300 and 400 people that came forward for prayer and further discipleship. Then they talked to the youth about sexual purity and asked if the kids that would make a stand for abstanence until marriage would come forward. There were around 500 teens that came forward making a stand for Christ and what He wants for them. This braught us both to tears as we looked out and saw a sea of faces that where willing to stand for Christ. This was like nothing that we have ever seen. I will comment more later but we have to get going now. Thank you all for praying for us and we look fowards to hearing from all of you soon. In Him, Ross J.
I also wanted to tell everyone about the large medical bill that I had when my ovary bursted has been payed in full by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A $3800 dollar bill was taken care of by the hospital. We got a bill in the mail a couple days ago that said that $1200 was do now. Ross called the hospital to talk to them and they told him that the bill had already been taken care of that there was no longer a charge.PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Blessings mandy
If any one would like to email us our email is rossandmandy@yahoo.com We love getting english emails HAHA.

where to start

Ross: Where do I begin? Things here are more than we expected, the driving is nuts, the food is good, but God is awesome! We have been able to meet some great people and share the love of Christ with them. We are working hard on the language but it is amazing how many people here know a little bit of English. With the small amount of vocabulary that we do have we are able to tell how Jesus saved us from hurt, pain and restored our lives. It is wonderful to be able to tell our story, it is the strongest thing that we have to fight the forces of darkness. We have to tell you about some of the miracles that have happened to us while we have been down here. The first was HUGE for us becaues it involved Zoe. If you know our busy body little girl she was in our temporary new place and was going outside to play with Alyssa. She had her finger in the door (hinge side) and the door was pulled closed behind her. All of a sudden we heard her start screaming and then a loud crack. You can probably figure out what happendher thumb broken. It swelled instantly and was hanging over. We came inside and began praying and then I ran outside to try and find someone that we knew. There was no one around. I can't tell you what was going through my mind as a father, helpless, in a foreign country, not being able to tell anyone what happend. I went back upstairs and we laid hands on her and prayed. We then grabbed our shoes and walked over to the missionaries house that we are working with. By the time that we got there we unwrapped her finger and it was perfectly fine, the swelling was basically gone. She is perfect now. God not only heard our prayers but answered them greatly. This is one of the big things that we are seeing being done here in Mexico City. We also found out that the place that we were supposed to move into is not available until a time yet undetermined and we were offered a free effeciency apartment until then. This is a huge blessing for our family. We have a fridge, and a countertop cooking stove now. This is more than alot of people that live in the city. We were just looking at these appliances tonight but they are very expensive here in Mexico. God provided us with something that is not a necessity and all for free. What an awesome God we serve. We look forward to being able to update in a few days about more of the goodness of God.

Mandy: Wow this has been one of the most tireing and amazing weeks ever. We have learned so much and so many prayers have been answered. I am on hundred percent pleased with the girls school, the teachers and the kids are so wonderful. The girls are going to fit in perfectly. God has just been making was where there seems to been none. We are meeting so many wonderful people and learning the language faster than I thought we would. We are definatly 100% summurged in the culture. We can't read anything, this makes shopping interesting. I have to laugh at myself or I would never stay saine. The driving is crazy here, I don't know if I want to say anything on here because our parents might not come and visit then!! HAHA We are at such peace with everything that is going on in our lives right now. We are lucky to have running water and a toilet. It is amazing how much you can live without. We literly have nothing but we are maniging just fine. God is providing when we need things. It seems like if we pray for something that is in need He deleivers it in awstriking ways. God truly uses other brothers and sisters in the Lord to help each other. We need to lean on one another to help make each others loads lighter. Before I go I would like to ask for prayer in: our apartment to open up in Gods timing, the laungage learning, for our family back at home and for us to hear the Holy Spirits voice in desition making. We love you and we will keep you posted. Thank you again for the people that made this ministry possible. Your finacial support is very much appreciated. You are helping keep food in our mouths and a roof over our heads!!! What more can we ask for? Blessings Mandy