2007 Year in Review Highlights

2007 Turned out to be a great year for our family. We traveled to Mexico three times. Selene and I renewed our wedding vows on our tenth anniversary. We visited several churches (in our efforts to raise support) and went from around 10% of our necessary support raised and pledged to around 40%. We met and made new friends, rekindled older relationships and experienced God's rich kindness and mercy. What follows is a pictorial view of our family's 2007 highlights (along with written explanation). Pictured to the left are mountain peaks outside of Toluca, Mexico.

Our trip to Mexico in February was our first driving experience to Mexico. We traveled over 5000 miles (to and from and in Mexico) and visited several different LAM missionaries, friends and family. We also participated in the yearly LAM Mexico retreat. Pictured to the right is our family with Pastor Ignacio, his wife (in the pink shirt) and a family from the congregation he pastors in La Presa, a community north of Mexico city. We also visited with different LAM missionaries like Manuel and Laura Vivanco and their family (pictured below).

In March Selene and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversa-ry by renewing our wedding vows at our home church, Emmanuel Bible Church. A very close friend and mentor of mine, Bill Lawrence, conducted the ceremony and over 70 of our friends and family celebrated with us. Our dear friends Karen Rios and Donna Guzman did an awesome job of turning E.B.C.'s basement Faith Chapel into our wedding chapel! Both Selene and I agree that this ceremony was more meaningful than the original!


We "sealed the deal" after the brief (and wonderful) ceremony and posed for the picture on the right shortly after that. Selene and I are best friends, lovers, growing/maturing parents, ministry partners and closets confidants. We are so, so very grateful to God for the 10--going on 11--years of marriage He gave us. And we are so thankful for our three wonderful boys: Karl 10, Abe 8 and Zachary 5. We have learned so much from them! Doesn't Selene look absolutely stunning?! We kinda had a red thing going that evening!


July was a special month for us this year. During that month we celebrated Selene's 30th birthday on the 12th and made our second trip to Mexico. While we had an excellent time in Mexico it was not without a few bumps and bruises. On our way down to Mexico while traveling through southern Texas our van broke down. After guiding the boys safely away from the interstate we held hands and prayed for God's guidance and safety. Just minutes after that Dean (pictured with me to the right) pulled up next to us on an adjacent frontage road and began the process of getting us back on the road. By 2:30 the following morning the repair was complete and we were back on the road to Mexico. It was truly awesome for the boys to see God answer our cry for help so quickly! Our "good Samaritan" Dean is one more reason we are so thankful to God and His faithfulness to us this year. By the way, traveling over 5000 miles in a minivan can make you tired. Just ask these guys!



While in Mexico we visited LAM missionary Rebekah Meyerend (pictured below left in the red shirt) in Chalco--just south of Mexico city and...












...former LAM short-term missionaries Joni &
Deb Martinez and their family in Morelia.


We re-visited a house church in La Guadalupana (another community north of Mexico city) where the pictures below of Selene and several ladies and Jose Luis, myself and Gilberto were taken.















And of course, there were the children!
Here Selene is pictured with two girls that we met in Chalco while visiting with LAM missionary Rebekah Meyerend (pictured above). Our visit happened to coincide with their V.B.S. so we spent a little bit of time helping Rebekah out with the rather large group of children! She has worked in Chalco for 10 years.
Chalco is among some of the poorest places in Mexico and Rebekah spends her time working with children in marginal conditions.


Pictured right outside (pictured right and below) the carport that became my "sanctuary" are just a few of the neighborhood kids that our family spent time with--pretty much just playing soccer! Our impromptu soccer games were really challenging because of the altitude in Toluca-which is well over 8000 feet above sea level. However, we were able to connect with these children and share the love of Christ with them.

Just before we left for home from Toluca--during our last days there--we were able to give some of these children Gospel tracts and toys we had brought with us from home. After our last soccer game (as our family was walking away form the playground) one of the boys shouted out a question, "When are you guys coming back?!" We answered that we would try to be back in the spring and wished them a Merry Christmas!




Pictured to the right are Julio and Juliana and their family. Like Julio and Juliana many people come to Toluca from neighboring communities looking for work. Selene spoke with them for a little bit and we were able to give them milk and some fruit.





In November our family went to the newly opened Creation Museum just outside of Cincinnati with a group from our church. We had a awesome time and look forward to going back a.s.a.p.!

We are so thankful for all of you who prayed for us during this past year and for your faithful support. We look forward to another awesome year as we continue to grow closer together as a family, as we grow closer to God and as we prepare to serve Jesus Christ in Mexico with the Latin America Mission.

To make a donation:

Latin America Mission, P.O.B. 52-7900, Miami, FL 33152-7900 (with a note that it's for the Strittar family).

Or by internet: lam.org Go to donations/missionary appointees/Strittar family.Or click on this link to go directly to our LAM family bio:http://shop2.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/lam.storefront/EN/product/757716

Mexico--A Word Picture

Consciousness drifts in. I'm aware of a new day. Quiet prayers in my mind. The rest of the family start to wake up. All of us but Zack anyway, our youngest son, who is lightly snoring. We wrestle jeans on, search for other clothes to wear and last minute items to be packed, sip on coffee, consult Rand McNally for the best driving directions to the border--didn't like the Mapquest ones. There's excitement in the air, anticipation. We're driving to Mexico....again! Will the Froggy make it (our green 1997 Ford Windstar) without breaking down? Only God knows for sure. It's been to Canada three times and a prior Mexico trip. It should be okay. It's just a couple of minutes to the door now. Do we have the passports? Are we forgetting anything? Do you have the keys? Yes, no, yes! The van is loaded, the rear door slams shut. The boys start to settle in. Have we forgot anything? Our family pauses in prayer for a moment asking for God's safety as we travel. We're off!




We drive two blocks and remember we forgot something! We're thankful it was only two blocks and not twenty miles! We double back to get that pesky forgotten item and were off, again! The drive is long. Two days to the border and another day to Estado de Mexico--Mexico state. Quiet conversations between mom and dad. Pit stops for gas provide a nice little break. The boys wanna help clean the windows. "Papi, can I help you pump the gas?" We stretch for a couple of minutes and back on the road. Lunch breaks come later in the afternoon and are usually preceded by two hours of questions about when we're going to stop for lunch and what we're going to have. After two days of driving, questions, complaints, stinky emissions (not from the van!), pit stops, lost crayons and laughter we find ourselves road weary and at the U.S./Mexican border.




The following day we're up extra early. It's another 688 miles to Toluca, Mexico. The excitement's still there but tempered by the tiredness of two days of driving. Before we cross into Mexico we stop for gas. Several different men approach and ask us if we want to nationalize our vehicle making it legal for us to get Mexican license plates and to stay in the country. "Gracias, pero no gracias, Senor." ("Thank you but no thank you, Sir.") Ten minutes later we're in Mexico. As we cross the border we see a man sitting in a chair. He didn't seem too concerned about why we we're entering Mexico. He didn't even ask us to stop.




For hours we drive through deserts and up and down mountain roads. Every now and then a big black bull appears on a mountain top in the distance. It's the symbol for a cement manufacture in Mexico. We're convinced that the bull was following us. We pass slow moving trucks and are passed by quicker moving cars. We stop occasionally for gas at Pemex--the only gas company in Mexico. Our pit stops are different. There is no self-service. They pump the gas for you and usually clean your windshield. A bathroom break will usually cost you 2 pesos or about 20 cents. After the hours pass and we get closer to Toluca the altitude increases.







Our pit stops are more difficult now because of the dizziness brought on by the high altitude, about 8000 feet above sea level. In the deep "V" shaped median between the road in and out of Toluca we see several trucks overturned. Driving is very challenging in this part of Mexico. Speed-bumps fill the streets and sometimes traffic signals and signs are little more than suggestions. Over a two day period in Mexico state three people will die in traffic related accidents.




After the nightmarish drive through Toluca we find our relative's house. We unload the van and exchange warm greetings. Food is brought out. Laughter, love, questions about our trip and family back home. The altitude hits me the hardest. I can hardly sit up, let alone stand. I smile weakly, wave my hand and retire for the evening leaving my family to finish the meal and catching up. It takes two days to get adjusted to the altitude.




Before breakfast the next morning I make my way out to the front "porch" or what would be better described as a car-port area. It's enclosed by wrought iron and concrete (concrete's everywhere in Mexico, that crazy black bull). It has a corrugated plastic roof. During heavy rain or hail it's almost deafening to stand underneath it. It's relatively quiet this morning and I'm spending quiet moments in my mind with God. Occasionally the smell of Guayabas (a Mexican fruit), beans and eggs crosses my nostrils.




I look up out into the street to see a couple in their 70s making their way, arm in arm, to the market a couple of blocks away. After all these years they are still in love. I couldn't help but watch them as they walked. Somehow the lady sensed my presence and glanced over at me. Her face was wrinkled but still beautiful and her spirit was soft and warm. Our eyes met. I desperately wanted to blurt out "Buenos Dias" but for some reason I couldn't. She just looked at me with one of the warmest smiles I have ever seen. I smiled back. In a moment they were out of sight. Was she an angel? For a brief moment I thought so.




Later comes our own trip to the market. During the walk there I notice a woman on the roof of her house air drying her clothes on a line. The clothes sway gently in the breeze. Very few people have "real" dryers. That's more of a luxury for those with more disposable income. The market is an all out assault on our senses. People shouting. Music blaring. The hustle and bustle of business. The smells are incredible: flowers, fruits, urine, garbage, chocolates, tacos and onions cooking, raw meats, fish, leather. It's amazing. Pig and cow heads on display. Chickens are hung in a row lifeless ready to be sold. We enjoy our time there. It's almost like a date for us. I don't mind the stares. Not many Mexicans in Toluca have seen an American outside of television and the movies. Some say hello. Most just stare and try not to look like they're doing it. The children are full of questions and have little inhibition. They ask questions about a tattoo on my arm and find others sticking out under my shirt sleeves. More questions. They smile and laugh a lot and are exceptionally friendly. They enjoy our company and we enjoy theirs.




We visit so many people: friends, family, missionaries. Our visits take us over many miles and through several states. There are sad stories to hear and poverty to see. Sad stories and poverty go hand in hand. Yet in all of this it's impossible not to see God working in lives. We listen to Christians tell their story of how they came to Christ. We attend small house church services to worship with other Christians and listen to the Word preached. We're left with a feeling of deep gratitude towards God for allowing us to re-visit friends and meet and make new ones.




Back in Toluca I spend a few moments in what has become my sanctuary, my quiet place, the carport. It's late in the evening and dark. The mountain air is cool and crisp. I lightly grasp the iron bars that make up the entry door to the carport and peer into the sky. I notice light dancing on top of a wall that surrounds a house across the street. For a brief moment I am mystified. Then I realize that the light from a street lamp is passing through the glass shards cemented on top of the wall. They're there to keep people out. A soft chuckle later and I'm back to my thoughts with God....It's nice to be in Mexico again.