ARGENTINA!

After 7 years, I finally made it back "home"

to my childhood city, Buenos Aires!

What a trip down memory lane...the sights, the food, the people...it was fantastic! The kids and I went to visit with my mom and dad for just about two weeks this past November, while Jeff took care of some business in the United States.

We had so much fun! TnT and I arrived in time to celebrate dad's birthday with him and then spend a little bit of one-on-one time with them before my sister and her husband and my older brother arrived. From the time my siblings arrived it was go...go...go! We visited with old friends, toured downtown, rode subways, horses and tractors, visited shrines, admired tango experts, spent a day with the gauchos (Argentine cowboys), shopped, crossed the world's largest avenue, exercised our taste palettes (with gusto!), and enjoyed each other's company.
It was great to go back home and visit with my family. Everyone who prayed for our safe trip there and back, THANK YOU! The whole experience was wonderful.

We hope you enjoy the family pixs...

Congratulations, Jonny!

We are proud to congratulate our brother, Jonathan, upon the completion of army boot camp this past October-

Hooah, Juani!

In the middle of this coming January, he'll complete his final occupational training and from there he will receive his first official orders of service. We are proud of the brother, the husband, the father, the friend, and the solider that he is to our country.

We love you, Jonny! You'll always be our (my) "little brother".

Birthdays...and surgeons!

For those that don't know, my birthday is near the end of October. Although, I'm not officially a "Halloween baby", I still get a lot of teasing about being a ghoul or some other "flattering" creature. However, this year I really DID look like I could've been a candidate for Frankenstein's bride!

I had made an appointment with my dermatologist for what was supposed to be a simple consultation and wound up walking out from his office with stitches on my face and also my neck! (I'm still in the dark as to how it all transpired...let's just say that I'm definitely looking for a new doctor!) However, thank God, all the stitches have healed and only minimal scarring is left.

(For those left wondering...no, I'm no longer a candidate for Frankenstine's bride...and
NO-I'm NOT saying how old I am this year!)

Catching up from...October-November 2007

It's amazing that it's already Christmas time...and here I am trying to catch everyone up from our fall activities. Wow! Talk about a whirlwind of activities-I don't know where to start!

Hmm...let's see, to keep it as sane as possible for everyone, I've created several postings that are under different headings. This way you can individually catch up on the family's happenings.

Happy Reading,

The Carney Clan

Victoria's Seasonal Changes!

This fall, poor little Tori took a fall!

She was dancing in her bedroom when she tumbled over and accidentally fractured the growth plate in her foot. So, bless her heart, she's in a cast for the next five weeks. Through it all, she's been a great trooper! She gets along fairly well with her crutches, but when she's tired of them, she hops along on one foot.

Not only has she temporary lost the use of her foot/leg...
but she also lost another tooth and is in the process of losing her first top tooth as well! She was so excited to find out that the "tooth fairy" knew she had moved to Mexico.

She has been working hard these past several weeks to bring her math and phonics grades up a few points.

I'm proud to say that she did WONDERFUL
on her weekly test!

Her reading is also coming along well. Sometimes it's hard for me to know just what to expect from her (I am so NOT a teacher...Anne, Joanna, Julie, Rachel, Nancy...etc!). However, I am very pleased with her progress. She is doing excellent with counting by 2's, memorizing math families, counting American money, learning special phonic sounds and spelling. On top of that she learns poetry and also Bible verses.

Because of her broken foot, she has had to drop out of her swim classes...much to her dismay. At the time when her foot was broken, she had learned to swim under water and to stroke. (Before she started classes she would have NEVER dreamed of immersing her head under water...baptism was definitely out of the question for her!)

The other day she told me, "Mom, I want to have a real job when I get big." "Really", I replied. "What are you thinking about?" "Well, I want to be a veterinarian" "Oh, why is that?" I asked.

(It surprised me because although she loves animals, she HATES blood and we've explained that in that profession, she would be exposed at some time in her career to something open and bloody.)

"Oh, that's easy! Cuz I want to have one of those cool white coats to wear!"

Hmmm, not the response I was looking for. She definitely is showing signs of being "all girl'!

We love the fact that God has given us
such a wonderful gift in Tori.

What a blessing the children
are in our lives!

The Autumn Colors of I.B.P.

This past Sunday, October 7th, we celebrated 5 years of ministry in Iglesia Bautista Peninsular (Peninsular Baptist Church)! Wow! It's hard to believe that we've been ministering together with Jeff's family for five years now. We've seen many lives changed and families restored. It was amazing to see new families that have been added to the congregration within the past year...and even more encouraging to see families who were present with us from our first service back in 2002 and have thus far remained faithful!

We rented a lovely quinta (a building for a formal/party event) and had a special guest speaker, Doctor Shoemaker, head up our commemorative services.

The church members helped to provide the food, special music...and of course, many friends and family members.
Dr. Shoemaker delivered his messages in English with James as his translator. As a special surprise, Jeff put together a power point presentation of I.B.P from it's birth to its present state. It was fun to watch the people get excited as their pictures flashed over the screen.

The rain did nothing to dampen the people's excitement as we celebrated another year of growth together as a church family. It was a wonderful service that we wish you too could have shared with us. Start making your plans to be in Merida for our 6th anniversary next October. Trust me, you wont want to miss it!

Thank you for supporting the ministries of I.B.P. Because of you, there is a church that is being established.

Slowly but steadily we are growing and experiencing the glorious colors of an autumn harvest!


The Jeff Carney family

Tyler's Changing Colors!

Tyler has been growing by leaps and bounds this fall season!

Throughout his K-4 schooling, he has been learning to read blends, recognize and count numbers, and memorize scripture and poetry. By the while, he has also been practicing the fine art of skateboarding!

Likewise, this fall he has begun helping with chores around the house...from helping mom cook (he'd like to take chef lessons) to learning how to set the table and empty trash cans.
Now we're not going to lie to you...his attitude while preforming these various chores at times, well quite frankly, yea, it's pretty bad! Nevertheless, we've seen great improvement in his personal development.

As a matter of fact, the other day at dinner time I heard him tell Jeff, "No, Dad. Let me get the ice for the cups. You just sit down." I thought to myself, "Wow! He's becoming more mature about his chores!" Then I heard him mumble under his breath, "I really want a BIG allowance this week!" *Sigh* We've definitely got our work cut out with him-but we're loving every minute of it!

In September he started up with swim lessons and has been doing excellent with them. He really enjoys jumping/diving into the water and has been working hard to develop a stroke pattern. With it being so hot here, it's an added benefit for him to get to go swimming several times a week. He says he wants to be a: "firefighter, navy seal, police man, chef, soldier, ninja, helicopter pilot, astronaut, Nascar driver"...and the list goes on and on...!

It's a joy watching him grow and become the individual that God created him to be.

"Highlights"

September has been a great month for the youth ministry!

We've seen Samuel, the young man who made a decision for Christ, grow and mature in the Lord with his weekly Bible studies. He's never missed one...so far! As a matter of fact, he was baptized this last Sunday.

For the past several months we've been encouraging a young couple, Humberto and Marina, to come along side of us and help us with the youth. Well, this coming Sunday evening they've committed to helping us with our teen program. They didn't say how much they would be willing to commit too; however, they are willing to at least "see" what it's all about on the 14th! Please be in prayer that God will continue to work in young couple's hearts regarding youth work.

Because of the rains that we've been receiving, Jeff's weekly soccer matches have been put on indefinite hold. Nevertheless, last Tuesday (his "official" soccer day of the week) the sky was clear and he headed over to the courts with little hope of a decent group due to the inconsistencies of the rain. Much to his surprise, he said there were at least 30 or more present ready to play...many of them being un-churched, local community kids!

With the help of James, one of Jeff's younger brothers, the teens have become more unified as a group and there seems to be a better spirit among them. (Thanks, James...you really are a help and and encouragement to us!)

We've been averaging a solid, core group of 15 or so. What's so special about these kids is that they are coming on their own to church (we don't pick them up or take them home), they are paying for their activities, and many of them are coming without their parents. They're at church because they WANT to be there! We are still working with them to be consistent with daily Bible reading and prayer. They have a long way to go...but we are seeing them slowly mature. Several of them are involved in positions of leadership in the church as well. It's exciting to see God at work in their lives.

The changing colors of our ministry are bright and captivating! Please continue to keep us in your prayers this fall season.


The Carney Clan
Merida, Mexico

September 2007

September has come and gone and now we are officially into our fall season of the year when the leaves are beginning t change and the air is more crisp and cooler...Well, if you don't live in the Yucatan you are probably enjoying some of these changes!

The other day I unpacked our fall decorations and Tyler asked me, “Mom, what’s up with all of the orange, brown and red stuff?” “Well,” I replied, “We decorate with these colors because they remind us of the changing leaves and also of the changes taking place in nature. It’s called the autumn season.” He ran over to our sliding glass door and observed the emerald green grass (thanks to our dog’s economical fertilizing system) and the bright, waxy green leaves of our recently planted Ficus tree and said, “Uh, Mom. I think you got your fall colors messed up!”

Although our weather has only slightly changed
(Observe the inserted picture for proof of our "fall" weather!), our ministry and family have been constantly evolving. Because there are so many highlights and “lowlights” to share with you, we’ve decided that it would be too many to post for one “blog” entry. Therefore, you’ll see several postings listed from events that occurred in September. Then we’ve also posted our church’s 5^th anniversary here on the mission field that just took place last Sunday!

We hope that you enjoy reading about the changing colors of our family and ministry.

The Jeff Carney Family

Hurricanes, Rain and Fruit

Have you ever heard of having a "dry spell" in the middle of a hurricane? We sure have and let me tell you all about it!

Thanks to hurricane Dean, our climate has been rainy, muggy, buggy, sticky, stinky, (well, I'm sure you've got the picture now) while our weather spiritually has been in a mini drought. We've been faithful, but just haven't been seeing great results...until recently! (It's amazing how much you appreciate your fruit when you haven't been seeing much of it.)

This past week a teen boy, Samuel, placed his faith in Jesus. On Monday, Eddi, a young man with whom Jeff had previously shared a salvation Bible study, finally accepted Jesus as his Saviour. Then it just keeps getting better....Oso, a young adult in our youth group asked us to pray about possibly being involved in full time Christian service! It's awesome to see God at work in lives here in the Yucatan.

James, one of Jeff's younger brothers has been staying with us for the past several weeks and has been a big encouragement to us. Likewise, he was present for both Bible studies given to the young men.

In our off time, we've taken him to see a local cenote (sink hole) (see picture above), tour a Mayan museum and "see" some pyramids...

Be sure to ask him about the presence of horses there in Dzibilchaltun and the guards on bikes. Hey, come to think of it, he even knows the best spots to change after swimming in the sink holes! LOL

Keep us in your prayers as we continue to keep the ministry going in Dad Carney's absence.

Targeting Youth in Central American,

The Jeff Carney family

Birthdays

August is the month of
birthdays in our home.

Victoria celebrated her 7th birthday, Tyler turned 5 and Jeff...well, let's just say that I want to stay happily married.

Therefore, I will not be divulging his age! With so many birthdays, home school, ministry, and just life in general it seems like this month has been a whirl wind of activities. Nevertheless, everyone enjoyed their own special day, complete with decorations, the meal of their choice and their own birthday cake...I am so tired of making cake this month!

Thanks for the phone calls, the birthday gifts and all of the cards. We are so thankful for wonderful families and friends.

Until next August....

The Party Animals!

Ooh Rah

This August, the youngest of Jeff's siblings, John, graduated from marine boot camp!
He is now in the second phase of his training and was just recently promoted as a squad leader.


I'm sure that he has "no regrets..."

Ooh Rah, Booch! We're proud of you.

Tyler learns to share?

Thought you all would appreciate this little window into our daily lives...

The other day I overheard Tyler telling his older sister that she could have his G.I. Joe toys. Well, if you know anything about Tyler, he LOVES his army men and isn't very keen on even sharing them...much less has he ever given one away!

As my heart began to swell with motherly pride (Yea, I know pride is a sin...not to worry, God quickly brought me back down to my humble state!) over my child's "generous spirit" as I overheard him say, "I don't want to pick 'em all up, Tori. You can have them all and since they're yours now, put 'em all away in my room where they belong"!!

*Sigh* I think we've got to work not only on the sharing principle but also on the laziness as well!

Summer Part B

Towards the end of July, Victoria graduated from her ballet class. She participated in a recital which was held in a nice theater and done up in Mexican style! If you've never been to a Mexican "obra del teatro", I encourage you to go when the opportunity arises-you'll never forget it! Nonetheless, Tori did excellent and we were very proud of her achievements. Her classes will begin again in September; likewise, Tyler will continue with his Moo-du-kwan studies in September as well.

Speaking of classes...both kids started up home schooling in July. It's been pretty tough balancing the two different routines, but it's been coming together. Thanks to our friends: Matt and Debbie and Peter and Natalie, we were able to get our "home schooling station" established. (Thanks, guys! We really appreciated your help!)

Tomorrow will be our 25th day of clasess...and counting! They both seem to enjoy "video school"; however, Tyler does seem to struggle a little more with the "attention detail". (LOL...Are we really surprised at that??)

Enjoy the 1st day of "school" pictures!

Summer Part A

Where do we start? Wow! There's so much to tell you to bring you up to speed....
Hmm....well, let's start with our group in July.

We had a youth group come and stay with us for just about 2 weeks the first part of July. This was our second time to host them here in Merida and as before they are always so much fun! The pastor and his wife have become dear friends of ours and as you see from the pictures...Jeff feels quite comfortable with them! Not only did we help to build the church family through children and youth programs, but also we were spiritually enriched by the good friends that God sent our way. Peter and Natalie-we love you guys! Thanks for the awesome memories!

Summer Time

This summer has been busy, busy busy! Whatever happened to those long lazy days when it seemed like the sun never set? I can not believe how much time has passed since we've last updated our blog. I'm sorry for the tardiness; however, you should find some neat stories that we've accumulated to bring you up to speed on our "happenings".

Happy reading!

Tournaments...and Water!

Last Saturday was a pretty exciting day. Jeff hosted a soccer tournament as an outreach ministry for unsaved teen boys. There were probably 12-15 teen boys and young men from our church in attendance and the the other 50-60 present were all visitors!

It was very, very hot (not unusual for the Yucatan) and Jeff had appointed me "store keeper" for the duration of the tournament. My job was to sell bottled water, chips, cokes, etc. (We were thinking that it would be a great way to recoup some of our expenses from the tournament.)

Well, everything was going great until the players came up and started asking me to GIVE them the coke or bottles of water! (Of course, what's the purpose of running a store if no one wants to buy?)

Shortly after explaining to the boys that it was only for sale, a grandmotherly type woman approached me. She was irate and thoroughly scolded me. She felt that her grandsons should given free drinks I mean after all, they were HER grandsons...not just any ol' grandchildren. Her main point... "water is a "free" natural resource". (Sure it is , if you want to drink it from the tap!!)

So, what did I learn from last Saturday...? Just buy bags of ice and cups and let the nationals drink like nationals!