I get up about 7:30 or so and do some devotions and maybe some reading.   I usually go run around in the basement of the seminary where I am living for 20 minutes and then eat some cereal for breakfast.  Then depending on the day I do some sort of work until evening.  In the evening, one of the missionaries either has the mission team from England to their house or brings dinner to the seminary.  They talk about what brought them to the mission field and their role here in Mexico City.  I have been tagging along because I like food and also am interested in their stories.  After dinner I usually hang out with the English team in my apartment and we play games and talk.

The English team is 5 people strong.  Their leader is returning next year with his wife to be permanent missionaries.  I really enjoy being with them a lot.  They are funny and I enjoy listening to their accents.  I don't know if they lack lightning storms in England, but about every night we have a large thunder storm with much lightning and they always get really excited and stand by the windows giggling in their accents.  The windows in the seminary aren't really water proof so every night when it rains my room floods.  I have devised a series of levies to divert the water away from my bed however tonight the storm was especially wet and my bed became a sponge.  The lightning also knocked out the internet so today we finally got it going again.

This evening the Mexico City Field Director (Christian) brought his family and dinner over.  It was really nice to hear their story.  During the talk I had to think that I have not been cut out for full time missions but I will continue to mull it over.

Throughout the days I have been learning more about OMS and what they are doing here in Mexico.  One thing I think they are doing really well is working at enabling the local Mexicans to reach their neighbors.  Instead of moving here from a foreign country and trying to make the Mexicans do Christianity their way, OMS is partnering with the local national church and helping them mature, develop and spread throughout the city and region.

Another project being worked on here is the ‘Drop in Center.'  From my understanding along the metro line at each stop there seems to be large groups of kids who live on the streets (kindof like gangs).  They are called the ‘street kids.'  OMS and the National Church is working at building a place where the kids can come drop in, get a shower, some food and have a place to belong.  Since arriving, I have been there a few times to help in the building process.

Last Friday I attended a home church about an hour away.  Colleen and I went over a couple hours early and picked up two women and we handed out some church pamphlets to people.  Then church started and it was pretty nice.  There were lots of little kids and we even had a new person come with her 2 girls.  After the service we had some tomales and cake because it was one of the boys birthdays.  Every Wednesday and Friday from now until I leave I am going to be taking a bus to the home to teach English.  Honestly I am pretty nervous about it.  First of all, I don't know if I can find the place by bus, it is probably and hour and a half away.  Secondly, I don't know very much Spanish and they know very little English so teaching will be very difficult.  This is not even taking into account I have never taught English.  I guess I will have to be using lots of charades.  Please pray that it goes well.

Today Colleen and I found that our cash on hand doesn't match what our accounting system says we should have.  I'm afraid I have caused the problem.  Now we have to go through all the transactions I have posted in the past couple days trying to find the error.

Two of nature's most spectacular forces produced an incredible brew in the skies of Chile as a volcanic eruption met a lightning storm. Tons of and ash from the eruption of the Chaitén volcano poured into the night sky just as an electric storm passed overhead. The resulting collision created a spectacular sight as lightning flickered around the dust cloud amid the orange glow of the volcano. The eruption was all the more spectacular because the Chaitén volcano, 800 miles (1,290km) south of Santiago, has been dormant for hundreds - if not thousands of years. The Patagonian volcano began erupting on Friday and the 12-mile-high plume has left vast tracts of land coated with a layer of ash.

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posted by Rob at 9:00 pm local time, via mobile (oklahoma city, usa)

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A mix of outdoor and indoor shots...

As we just finished rigging 14366 with my new sails, Pat points to the sky and say "keep an eye on the front to the West." 

Three boats made it to the line for the second night of the Canvasback Trophy.  The addition of a depth sounder to the Grady White made it easier for Ruben to set the line.  I guided Ruben to set the anchor upwind and drift back after setting the pin.  However, the SSE wind at 5 to 7mph was not strong enough to counteract the currents.  The current was flying down river and the committee boat was at the mercy of the Susquhanna and ended up sitting stern to the wind and Pat was able to move the pin to square the line.  The start was a little exciting sence Tom and I were 10 seconds early at the pin and had to gybe onto port and duck Pat.  Unfortunely the wind had shifted while shifting the pin and resetting the ollie to 3mins.  Pat was able to round the windward mark "HDGYC G" 1st without tacking. Lucky for Tom and I, Pat and crew had a twist in their spinnaker and we were able to sail over top of them.

 As we were manovering for the second race I looked to the west and saw two Lightning strikes in the distance. We quickly decided to abandon racing for the evening and headed for the boat ramp.  Pat dropped Don off on the committee boat and we pick up the pin and raced to get the boats out before the storm hit.

Results:

• 14366 - 1
• 14629 - 2
• 15131 - 3

The worst of the winds hit us as we pulled the boats and put them away. The front quickly passed just north of us and everyone was able to assist Pat and I with packing up our boat to head for the Dixie Districts in Annapolis this coming weekend.

As usual, we had a great social with the George Forman Grill and fleet members.  As we sat around a second front came thru and allow for some spectacular photos.  Check them out on the flickr site.

As always, I encourage everyone to add comments to the blog.