Chris and Rachel Thomas Missionaries to Mexico God has been so incredible allowing us to be a part of things that we absolutely love to do. This month we started a bi-monthly activity with the Tarahumara indian youth at the Brickyard. We had 16 youth attend the first meeting where we carved pumpkins. The lesson was about God getting the junk out of our life so our light can shine brighter. It went really well. Please pray for us as we continue to build relationships with the kids.
New Youth Group at the Brickyard
Los Globos
An annual event here in Chihuahua is the Festival of the Globos. They had 25 balloons in the sky over the city. There were also numerous food venders and a small carnival type set up. It was a great time to see some Mexican culture and eat some wonderfully traditional food!
Los Globos
A Little Mexcian Culture
Our neighbors gave us tickets to the theater to see Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca. In the month of September, Chihuahua celebrates its heritage by having different performers and events every night throughout the month in the city. We enjoyed going to the theater and seeing the show. There were two guys who played classic guitars while there were three guys who sang. The main attraction was the dancing that was done by Soledad – a type of spanish dance that is similar to tap. What a blessing it was to have the priviledge to go! 
Tropical Storm Brings Flood Waters
Tropical Storm Jimena Brings Flood Waters
Two missionary families were evacuated due to flood waters from Tropical Storm Jimena last week. The family spent a night on the roof under a camper shell to escape the harsh rains that were coming down as well as rapidly rising. The house of one family had 7 feet of flood water that left 8 inches of mud, while the other family house had only 4 feet of flood water that left 3 inches of mud.
The families are now regrouping in Chihuahua. The evacuated area is still without power and running water – and until they are restored the families will be unable to return. Please keep in your prayers these two familes, which include 6 little girls, as they have to start from scratch.
If you want to learn a little more about these families go to the following site:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fntm.org%2Fnews%2F10052&h=0c388bb74fdb5cb7c66cd1034bb02d86
Flood Damages
Ministry at the Brickyard
Brickyard Ladies Go Bead Shopping
Rachel continues her ministry at the Brickyard teaching the Tarahumara Indian ladies how to make different types of more modern jewelry to sell. One day this summer, Rachel and a few other missionaries were able to take the ladies into town to shop for beading supplies. The money to purchase items for the ladies was provided by various churches and individuals. The donated money also purchases bead supplies and organizers for the ladies. The ladies were very gratiful for all they were given and are working hard to make more craft items to sell! 
Please pray for the ministies at the Brickyard. There is a weekly Bible club as well as literacy classes being held here. There is hope to start a youth group there as well! The missionaries who work at the Brickyard are constantly finding ways to improve the living conditions there; such as a water filter for clean water!
Celebrating Mexican Style
We were able to celebrate Chris’ birthday mexican style this year! Our wonderful neighbors contacted a local mariachi that came and entertained us for an hour. It was a great cultural experience! We invited a variety of our friends here to come share in the celebration. Our neighbor cooked a huge pot of one of Chris’ favorite Mexican dishes called pozole. It has pork and hominy in a chili colorado sauce. You eat it with bread or tostadas. 
For dessert we had Tre Leches cake. The tradition here is for the birthday person to take a “bite” of the cake. All is all, it was a birthday celebration that will not be forgotten!
Neighbors: What a blessing!
God has blessed us with a wonderful family as our neighbors. They are so loving, helpful, and forgiving as we are learning their language and culture. Antonio and Amparo have a beautiful home that they open up to us daily for our Spanish-English class! They have two daughters. Allison, who is married to Dany, and they have one son, little Dany. Alejandra is the other daughter and she is in junior high.
Amparo has taught Rachel how to make all sorts of good Mexican dishes! Last week we learned how they make Tamales! 
This week we went bowling together! How fun. 
Another huge fun thing that we have shared is making jewelry together. The ladies all love to make jewelry and Rachel gets a chance to practice all her spanish and learn new things! 
Please keep this family in your prayers as we continue to build relationships with them.
Opportunities to share…
God is so faithful! I have been given the opportunity to use my craft skills in making jewelry with some Tarahumara ladies that live at the Brickyard in the area. Although we have a language barrier, we were able to make some beautiful things! I have been learning some phrases and words to use the next time I go out to teach them! 
Praise God that He uses every opportunity and talent that we have in order to bring glory to Himself! I have enjoyed getting to know the ladies and look forward to what God has in store for this ministry!
A Dog Addition to Our Family
We are happy to introduce you to Gus…our sweet and adorable puppy. He is a 5 week old German Shepherd and he has totally stolen our hearts! It has been an experience attempting to train him.
The first day we left him a neighbor called us to come back and check on him since he was making such a ruckas!
Our main desire is to have him for added protection here in the city and then later out in the tribe. It is an added security measure! Of course right now he is cuddly and lazy! And we have had an experience teaching him the word “no!” We bought him some toys, but for some reason he likes to chew on most everything else! We are thankful for our new puppy and the joy that we receive with watching him grow and experience life!
Here is a more recent picture of our “puppy”!
- Gus is Growing Up!
Pretty in Pink
After two years of training and months of preparation, we are now beginning our Spanish culture and language acquisition in Chihuahua, Mexico. Packing was total chaos, but the border crossing and paperwork was smooth! We moved into our pretty pink house over a week ago. Pink outside and inside. Pink walls, tiles, sink, shower, and toliet. It is quite lovely! An added blessing is that despite the cooler weather, our little home has not required heating!
Another blessing would be all the new friends we are making in the mission and throughout the city. We are so excited to see what God is going to do in our lives and in the lives of those we are growing to love!
Keep us in your prayers as we continue to settle in and learn language and culture here. We would love to hear from you and know what God is doing in your life.