Aguascalientes

Whats good everyone, 

My wonderful time in Mexico continues and I continue to be introduced to new things. Two weeks ago I went to an italian restaurant here and I had THE best grilled salmon that I've ever had. It was topped with chives and this sweet sauce that was so delicious. Along with it I had a side of mashed potatoes that were so good. Not as good as down south but almost there yo. For desert I had a cheese cake that was fluffy in the middle and it was topped with chocolate chips nuts and a chocolate glaze. It was delicious. 

In other news I traveled to Aguascalientes this past weekend. It was wonderful.  A small town that is said to be the Heart of Mexico. It was so beautiful. We left Friday night around 11:30 and arrived early saturday morning around 6:20am. When we got there we went to the house of my friend's sister (it was her and her daughter's birthday that we went down to celebrate.) and had a wonderful breakfast. The shops are so interesting, we went to the local corner stores to buy the ham, eggs, frijoles (beans), and pan (bread). After doing some very exciting and informative touring of downtown (shopping as well) I got to attend the birthday party for my friend's sister and niece. It was great, I got a chance to see the families interacting with each other in a different way than in my host family. The difference was very evident. 

My friend Eliasib's dad reminds me of my Dad the way he alway compliments his wife and calls her Mi Amor and Bebito. Oh thats my love and baby. But he is very attentive to his family, praise God for godly fathers. I got a chance to talk to him about the joys of having grandchildren, a great conversation where he explained how he viewed them as a blessing and the greatest sensation. He is in love with his family and its very evident. Eliasib's brother in law Harrison as well. He loves his kids and its so evident in his interaction with them. Their family is so close knit which reminds me of my family. Thank you Lord for raising up godly men all over the world who love you and follow you as they lead their family. Seeing Eliasib's family love each other made it that much more enjoyable. 

Over all going to Aguascalientes was such a great trip. It made me want to learn constellations because it was so clear at night. You could see the stars perfectly so I'm interested to know what constellations I can see here that I couldn't see when I did night security at KAA this summer. God's creation is so awesome. In the meantime I've just been trying to hold it down for the Lord yo. Be praying for more opportunities for me to share my faith. True love is in Jesus Christ. 

Grace and Peace!!!

How are Classes?

So its been a while since I've written. It got kinda crucial with classes for a little bit. Alot of work at once. I think I've found that business is not where my passion lies. Normally I would say that it sucks that it took 4 1/2 years for me to figure this out and come to grips with it, but I don't think it sucks at all yo. I think that it has definitely been an opportunity for me to learn some good skills and concepts that are useful in life as well as if I ever do decide to do anything involving business. The classes are pretty interesting in set up here. They're very similar to the states however there is more class discussion and dialog. It does backfire at times because sometimes the students talk while the maestro/maestra (professors) are talking. Each time I get a little antsy because it gets kinda loud and because of how we're conditioned in the States I'm so not used to it. Sometimes I'm just waiting expecting the professors to flip out.

We have partial exams here which are pretty much the same as the chapter tests that we have in the states. The difference is they carry more weight, and there is a 2 week period that is designated for these exams. They're like mini finals. We also have a final exam in most classes. I was lucky enough to get one class where we won't be having a final THANK GOD!!! Most of my classes are business classes. IT seems that the information is pretty redundant because it all pretty much has to do with marketing. I'm so tired of the 4 P's!!! But yeah yo, Its not too much different from the states in set up. Most mexicans will admit that mexico is kinda little US. In certain parts. Not as much as you get further down south.  My grades are pretty good here though. Which is good cause that takes alot of stress out of class, knowing that I'm doing well. I'm excited I'm going to Aguas Caliente next weekend (Hot Waters). Then in November TULUM AND CANCUN BABAYY!!!!  But yeah I need to budget though cause I'm runnin out of money. Ohhh  Praise Report, my boy Jaime (Hi-May the spanish version of james) from my basketball team accepted Christ yo. Praise God. but yeah yo. Keep prayin for me. I definitely need it. True Love is in Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace!!! 

The Saga Continues (sorry for the Length Yo)

The next few weeks got really interesting here in Monterrey. My fourth week here my roommate Daniel and I found a church that we attend here and it is absolutely amazing. Its crazy how the commonality of the Holy Spirit brings people together yo, even in different countries. Daniel was born in Rwanda and now lives in Mexico, and its really cool that we're roommates because this summer one of the things that Moe Hafeez and I were praying for while we were on Impact Project in Missouri was that I would find some Christian friends to kick it with and hold me accountable while I'm here in Mexico. The Lord definitely one-uped me by giving me a Christian roomate. Banging right? But yeah yo, we're hanging out with Mexican Christians down here and its nothing short of the start of a good joke, A Mexican, and Canadian, and an American walk into the library...Whatever the punchline is...its going to be hilarious. But that was really cool finding fellow believers to kick it with down here yo. We have so much fun yo. I'm working on my spanish constantly because church is in spanish, so I get to listen and follow along with the spanish Johnny Mac (a John MacAuthor Study Bible for those who aren't "hip".), and my cell phone which, yes being the Jesus-Freak that I am I do have the Bible on there. Preciate it AJ.

I've seen some really cool things since I've been here though. The first week some friends of our host family took us to a museum that used to be a Fort on the top of one of the mountains here. Awesome yo. It was so beautiful cause you could see the whole city, a 360 view yo. Monterrey is the City of Mountains. It's called this because the city is surrounded by mountains. It is the most beautiful in my opinion in the morning time, because there are sometimes clouds that surround the peak of the mountains and then rays of sunlight shine through and hit the mountain just right...ahhhh sheer beauty yo. God is so awesome. It reminds me of scripture when the Lord would ascend upon a mountain. Of course I wasn't there....but if it was anything even close to that, which I'm absolutely positive that my experience pales in comparison, anyway, I know it had to be amazing. I need to see how I can work out adding a photo album, or something so I can share some photos with ya'll. I'll see what I can do and keep you posted.

I've also traveled to San Miguel de Allende and Guanajuato. Very beautiful cities. They are more traditional that Monterrey which is a pretty modern town, however Guanajuato being the most traditional of the three. But I loved walking the cobblestone roads, seeing the old style shops, eating at restaurants by the lake, it was wonderful. We went for the Mexican Independence day which they call El Grito. Actually I think the full name is El Grito de Dolores Its called this becuase of the battle cry given at the start of the Mexican War of Independence by Miguel Hidalgo in Guanajuato. Anyway, we were there for that and it was soooo great yo. Thousands of people in the street enjoying and having a good time. Tons of GREAT FOOD!!! Moe, you would have loved it bruh, you too Sandy. No spoonbread down here though:( but yeah yo, we toured some of the churches and the Cathedral in San Miguel, absolutely beautiful. They were so large and if you get into a little church history you start to think about why some of the catholic cathedrals were built the way they're built. Interesting stuff yo. I won't go into it now but maybe sometime. But yeah we had dinner in this restaurant  overlooking the Cathedral and the street by the garden called the Parish of San Miguel. It was a postcard yo.  The food was awesome too. I don't remember what I had but it was good. Ohhh and a quick note about food. If you don't eat your eggs in the morning with avocado and tomato, you're missing out. Bueno. The first day we walked around and tried different restaurants, did a little souvenir shopping, and what not. The town was so beautiful yo. We went to this little breakfast place and I had breakfast at 2:40pm. It was wonderful but everybody thought I was weird for eating breakfast food so late. That night we walked around and went to a local restaraunt owned a family that lives in San Miguel. Most of the trip I was eating so of course I loved it. But there I had a pollo de chipotle which was awesome. In Guanajuato we toured a torture prison that was used during the inquisition and is now a museum, it was weird because the mummy's that they had were real. The minerals that grow in Guanajuato help to preserve the bodies. Weird yo, interesting, but weird, they would do some sick stuff. Guanajuato is a big mining town and we also toured a mine. That was pretty cool cause we got to see some of the jewelry made there in Guanajuato. The last day was spent in San Miguel, it was the day of the holiday and I told you all about that already. To explain how many people there were though, we literally could not move from where we were. You could not push through the crowd without literally knocking a mass of people over. If one fell, we all would fall. It was like a bunch of brown crayons packed into a little box. It was great though. Minus the rain.

Its mad interesting being down here though, I've had people ask to touch my hair, if I was from Jamaica, Honduras, if I smoked weed (and being surprised when I told them no), I get stared at all the time yo. But its all good, its kinda cool being "one of those those real dark people that we saw on tv". I get to shatter some false perceptions and stereotypes. I've actually had a German come up to me and tell me that I just shattered all the stereotypes and prejudices he had about me. He said the first time he saw me he was like "yeah he smokes weed", then he found out that I didn't and I was a Christian and it was like he had just found out that Pluto wasn't a planet. (sorry for anyone who's world just got rocked with that info but yes...Pluto is not a planet, thats what they say anyway.) But yeah yo I'm sure I've talked your ears off...or typed your eyes out enough. More updates coming soon yo. True Love is in Jesus Christ. Grace and Peace!

This Rocked me yo

"I've been crucified with Christ so its no longer I who live but it Christ who's living inside your boy. Now my whole life's defined by dying, to the Praise of my God as I fight for Joy" 

Ok so I know I said that the next few posts would be catching up to the present but I just had to write this yo. The above are lyrics by Flame who is a Christian rapper with Crossmovement Records. Its from the song Hold On off of the album Our World Redeemed. Banging album, truly a praise and worship joint. I was listening to that joint today and it just rocked me yo. When we think about our life as Christians we rarely think of it as a definition of how we live life. Often times its a ritual, tradition, a belief but not to the point where it changes actions. I want to be able to say that every day of my life is defined by dying to the Praise of my God as I fight for joy, which is of course found in the presence of my Lord. Its personal as a mug yo. Every day is dying to the things of this world, the things that I lust for so that I can know God more yo. Ohh I know how I can relate it to bringing you up to date...wait no that won't work oh well...I guess that will have to wait till next post. Coming soon to a blog near you...whack, I know. sorry but real talk pursue Christ yo, and let go of anything that hinders the fellowship, not so you can be a better person, look good in front of people,or whatever,  but so you can Know God more. This walk is about intimacy people. I hope ya'll don't miss out on that. True Love is in Jesus Christ yo. 

Grace and Peace

Let's Spark This

Aight so this is my first blog post and honestly I have no idea where to start. I've been in Mexico now for about 6 weeks and its been wonderful over all. I realized how difficult this was going to be when I first arrived. I tried to catch a cab from the airport to Monterrey Tec where I'm attending school for the semester and they said it was $275. Now I only had $60 on me. So I spent like 45 mins in the airport trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do. I tried calling people but I couldn't figure out how to work the payphones...EVERYTHING WAS IN SPANISH!!! (You'd think that I would have know this was the case being as how I was going to MEXICO.) I don't know why but I was expecting some stuff to be in English. Anyway after I exchanged my $60 to about $680 MX, I realize that the $275 was in pesos. See they use the dollar sign as well so it was really about $26 USD. I was salty as a mug. The first few weeks were really difficult because I was so lonely yo.  I was coming off of a wonderful summer surrounded by believers and growing in my walk but I get down here only to be cast into a world where not only do I know no one, but I know no believers. I'd go to bbq's and house party's (early before everybody's drunk) and try to spark conversations about Christ. Everybody drinks so when you refuse them they ask why which leads to conversation. So I really had to learn how to rely on the Lord for comfort yo. He rocked me from the Psalms 16 and 63 yo and a new song came out of it. Its called "Lonely Desert" I feel you David. The Lyrics are as follow:

(Chorus) I just walked into a desert,

Filled with many people but its lonely altogether.

Bent knees, wet eyes, broken hearted,

Dry in this land I can see they’ve departed from you.

 

Verse 1: Yo what you doin tonight?

Homie I’m kickin it,

We’ll eat drink and be merry dawg

You know how I’m living it.

Get the girls here rockin to A Lil Bit,

And we’ll see whats going down in a lil bit.

That’s the story of a dead generation,

No living water they died of dehydration.

Many lights on,

All the clubs jumpin,

Keep the nights long,

And the drinks comin.

Still Empty, the drinks didn’t fill me.

Fill me up and never let me down, homie they tricked me.

There’s only one that can fill and never leave you,

But you ain’t tryin to hear me cause that last shot was lethal.

Wakin up, don’t remember the last night,

Church sermon’s pointing at your sin like a flashlight.

You got your hands scrubbed, but something’s still missing,

God ain’t part of your life, he’s just part of your traditions

 Chorus 

Verse2: O Lord you are my God, I’m on a pilgrimage

I’ll make your glory known, even while I’m in this wilderness.

I long for you seeking your face with all diligence,

So I can know and properly display you in these villages.

A foreign land

We’ve turned from your sovereign hand,

Best of men can’t get it right for chasing dividends.

Our heart is far from you,

Its called depravity.

Man is fallen, can’t escape it, sin’s gravity.

But despite all the weight,

You came to me for my sake,

Cause Lord knows I wouldn’t have come to you otherwise.

Whether asleep or awake,

On you alone meditate,

For those chasing other gods sorrows multiplied.

You’re the inheritance that’s filling my cup,

I’m at the brook like sho baraka yeah pourin it up.

Lookin at the state of the world it pains me,

But you are my portion O Lord you sustain me.

 

Chorus

 

Verse 3: I view the world as I’m staring off the balcony,

A race of people who’s hearts are filled with moral apathy.

Situational Morals in America,

And all over the world we’re all grouped together.

So my concern is for the world wide heart,

I can’t be on neighborhood watch concerned about my own yard.

Somebody said missions exists cause worship doesn’t,

God offers a proper view of himself but they don’t want it.

So as the world turns I pray they turn back to You.

That’s why the world system’s failing cause they’re lacking You.

With your protection Seek you out like I’m trackin you.

I’m just a sojourner, backpack packed with truth.

This is how I was feeling yo. But praise God for his grace, mercy, and comfort! I hope ya'll enjoyed this blog post. This one and the next 2 are probably going to be getting you up to date to the present. Let me know whats up. Holla at me. You can post here or email me at geraldrobertsjr@gmail.com. Also, if you want an email sent to you when ever there's a new post, email me and let me know. 

True Love is in Christ