TimAnnetteGulick: :-) this is tim
Gulick Rog: How were the 10 days of conferences you gave
TimAnnetteGulick: pretty good... we were in Acapulco and then Ometepec (both in the state of Guerrero) from last thursday til yesterday
Gulick Rog: Where there many youth leaders there?
TimAnnetteGulick: we had larger attendance than we had in the past (we've been to both the places once before - last year, in fact)
Gulick Rog : Why was it just pretty good.
TimAnnetteGulick: well... it's always interesting to see how - even after we do training - they pretty much stick to their "old" ways of doing things (teaching in boring sermon-like ways, not including the kids enough in interaction with the scriptures)
Gulick Rog: do they do some practice in front of you so you see they do it the same way, or do they tell you they do it the same way.
TimAnnetteGulick: and they always says stuff like - "We really liked what you taught us last year... it helped us a lot."
And when you ask then exactly what was helpful to them, they say something like, "that game we played"... or, "When you wore a blue T-shirt." Here's a picture from the first conference:
Gulick Rog: One probably get a couple converts to the interactive way, so not all is lost. I know, it is frustrating. Change is hard and takes time. Do you do an evaluation asking. So, after this conference what will you be doing differently. etc
TimAnnetteGulick: during our conferences we usually teach them using the methods we are trying to convice them are important and biblical, then we have a youth event where they put it into practice... they practiced in front of us before hand. But I was talking about now that a year has passed and it seems that they forgot (or didn't really incorporate what we taught into their ministry)
Gulick Rog : I'm sure there is a lot more impact then you think.
TimAnnetteGulick: but overall - we are very happy with the fact that all seem to use our materials (which really can't be used without them putting into practice a bit of what we teach because the lessons are interactive in-and-of-themselves)
Gulick Rog: Definately
TimAnnetteGulick: we have done evaluations every once in a while... we did them this last conference
Gulick Rog : Great! I'm glad you are back safely. We prayed. Any problems.
TimAnnetteGulick : no problems... lot's of road, but no problems ;-) thanks for your prayers!
Gulick Rog: How many of your team went with you? Or was it just the two of you?
TimAnnetteGulick: We were with Veronica, Nahum and Steve Young in the first conference.
Hey, here's a picture of Steve teaching - we always do seminars with him... he's a really good teacher and even nicer person
TimAnnetteGulick : Hey... let me send you a couple more pics from our trip... hold on
TimAnnetteGulick : make sure you maximize your window (hit F11 at the top of your keyboard) and see the photos... here comes another one
Gulick Rog : Where is that water?
TimAnnetteGulick :
Gulick Rog : That is a great picture of Annette and Vero
TimAnnetteGulick : Here's a picture of Annette, Nahum, Vero and Steve looking at the ocean from some lookout point. We had a half day off before our second evening of teaching and since the folks who invited us had freind who owned a hotel, we got to hang out their doing some planning for the conference, but mostly just relaxing.
Gulick Rog : Wow. What is the water. Is that the Pacific or the Atlantic or what?
TimAnnetteGulick : It's Acapulco wherte our first conference was. The Pacific - it's on the Pacific - west coast. Here is Nahum teaching on how to "grow your youth group" (it's basically about discipleship)
Gulick Rog : Looks interactive to me. It's so great to see your others doing the work. Just like it is suppose to be.
TimAnnetteGulick : We try (to make it interactive) ;-)
Gulick Rog : Do you love doing conferences.
TimAnnetteGulick : We do like doing conferences... though sometimes it's frustrating to see little change from year to year... like I mentioned above. Here I am doing outside games with them... showing them how games can create unity or help folks get to know one another
Gulick Rog : Very good...Dad here now too
TimAnnetteGulick : Here's where the leaders we've just taught put into practice what they learned... we had a big youth event - all Presbyterian youth groups in the city were invited... and the leaders we'd just trained guided the event. Here we are organizing the 90+ youth into groups for a rally thing we did
Gulick Rog : Looks like fun....lots of smiles
TimAnnetteGulick : Yes... this event went very well :-)
Gulick Rog : Where is this conference? They look involved.
TimAnnetteGulick : This, our first of two conferences, was in Acapulco. Here's a nice picture of us - it was at dinner after the big youth event. Dinner at 10:00 pm
Gulick Rog : Cute couple!
TimAnnetteGulick : the next to last photo - where you said they look involved is at the very end of the night when we were giving out prizes for the teams that won the "Most Valuable Scavenger Hunt"
Gulick Rog : What were the prizes?
TimAnnetteGulick : where you give them a peso and tell the group that they have one hour to go out and try and trade that peso up for the most valuable thing they can... one team got an old fan, computer, and chair
Gulick Rog : WOW! It must be cross cultural game, we used to do that hunt with kids here in the U.S. Once when we did that scavenger hunt, one of our teams came back with a rowboat
TimAnnetteGulick : no way! how fun! The winning team that night had a nice hubcap (not stolen), a table, lamp wicker chair and painting or framed window thingy
Gulick Rog : What does one do with a hubcap?
TimAnnetteGulick : Use it as a peanut bowl... i dunno. :-)
One team had a TV, but it didn't work
TimAnnetteGulick : here's a photo from that hotel where Steve Young and Nahum got to stay:
Gulick Rog : Nice accomodations... or at least nice view
TimAnnetteGulick :
It's a hotel that used to be owned by Johnny Weismuller and John Wayne and a bunch of other stars from a long time ago
Gulick Rog : Interesting!
TimAnnetteGulick : It's a famous old place but it has it's charms and they stayed cheaply there because the owners wife is a Christian and give's the church there a discount.
Here is what we did that morning that we had free:
Gulick Rog : Tough life - Was it as nice as it looks?
Gulick Rog : Who is the pale face in the picture?
TimAnnetteGulick : pale gut more like it! :-p
TimAnnetteGulick : yes... it was nice... oldish and I'd say a 3 star, but a 5 star view! Here's a panoramic photo from the balcony of their room (we stayed with a nice older Mexican woman at her house but visted Nahum and Steve at the hotel)
Gulick Rog : 6 star view
Gulick Rog : Where is Acapulco from the panoramic view. I remember our once there and it was a biggggg bay and we stayed about in the middle of it
TimAnnetteGulick : the hotel is on the outside (outside of the bay - Pacific view side) of one of the little peninsulas that close in toward the mouth of the bay that is Acapulco - think of the big bay you remember as being the inside of the letter "C" and the hotel and the view in the photo is on the outside of the bottom rising curve of the "C"
Gulick Rog : Gotcha... nice clear description.
TimAnnetteGulick : here's a darkish view from the hotel restaurant where we ate once:
Gulick Rog : nice
TimAnnetteGulick : here are some photos from Ometepec, Guerrero state. It's where we gave our second conference:
Gulick Rog : Not quite the Pacific beach.
Gulick Rog : Nice artistic work on the whiteboard
TimAnnetteGulick : as you can see it's a bit more rural... and I'd say only 1 in 3 who attended each afternoon were actually youth leaders. It was weird cause we made it very clear the first day that the training was specifically for "Those who have a responsability in the leadership of the youth group" but the next day even more young kids arrived
Gulick Rog : You are so good as teachers that they don't want to miss it
TimAnnetteGulick : Ha ha :-D I doubt that... but thanks anyway.
Gulick Rog : 1 star accomadations?
TimAnnetteGulick : right! :-D ha ha
Our sleeping arrangements were a bit basic... as you can see from this photo of Nahum above
Gulick Rog : At least you don't have to flip the mattress up against the wall each morning like some accomodations I have slept in in Toluca - ha ha :-)
TimAnnetteGulick : Hey! our bed is comfy :-) a bit low to the ground - or rather, on the ground, but comfy. And no cockroaches or scorpions like in Guerrero state.
TimAnnetteGulick : Here is a young missionary that we had been in touch with via email a couple of months ago... he's a friend of Annette's uncle (a presbyterian pastor in Wisconsin)
We happened to find out that he is based in Ometepec... which is incredible since it's smallish town of about 20 thousand in the hills of one of the poorest states in the country... and so we got in contact with him and had breakfast together.
Gulick Rog : Is he a church planter? What mission group?
TimAnnetteGulick : yes...He's with the Moravians... but evangelical
TimAnnetteGulick : Oh, guess how many Moravian missionaries there are in the world now...
Gulick Rog : How many? I know they were among the first, especially in the New World
TimAnnetteGulick : only 3! can you believe that?!
Gulick Rog : No! -- of course, there are only like 27 Moravians in the U. S. anymore :-D
TimAnnetteGulick : ha ha :-)
This next photo was taken from the hip, so it's not on target, but you get the idea... check out those toes. That's inner tube tires rubber he's using on the top of those huaraches
Gulick Rog : If he wore pointy shoes like I do, his toes wouldn't look like that
TimAnnetteGulick : Right, his toes would look even worse... all crunched up :-)
TimAnnetteGulick : Want some chicken?
TimAnnetteGulick : Here's another view of downtown Ometepec... it's Bishop is evil and has even shot and killed another priest in cold blood in front of a wedding service because the other priest was doing the wedding in "his" precinct:
Gulick Rog : Got it. Nice bishop. Did he get punished? Nice cathedral though.
TimAnnetteGulick : No he did not get punished. Well, at least he's still there. They say he carries a pistol under his robe
TimAnnetteGulick : Coconut saleswoman:
Gulick Rog : Big coconuts
TimAnnetteGulick : Little woman.
Gulick Rog : Just hope you could beat him on a quick draw. That is a bit scary to have the justice system like that
TimAnnetteGulick : I think this is my favorite Ometepec picture (from the hip again):
TimAnnetteGulick : note the machete on his side
Gulick Rog : Yes. So I guess you didn't tell him that his two shades of blue don't match
TimAnnetteGulick : ha ha - right. I'm sure he's very embarassed :-P
and here's some Amusgo indians that are waiting for something:
Gulick Rog : nice photo - When you are poor, there is always a lot of waiting
TimAnnetteGulick : Check out the way the woman on the left carries that cookie tray:
Gulick Rog : It does leave your hands free. Another hip shot...I can tell from the angle of the shot. What is the seated lady selling?
TimAnnetteGulick : I think pirated cassettes. Homemade mixes.
Gulick Rog : oh - interesting
TimAnnetteGulick :
here's a basic stick and mud design home on the side of the road.
Gulick Rog : With TV - They're sticking to the essentials of life :-D
TimAnnetteGulick : Right... ha... funny I hadn't even noticed the TV antenae - wow
We took our once-a-week day off down there at this little not-so-impressive beach. Annette took this while I was snoozing in the high heat of the day.
Gulick Rog : You look pretty comfortable. Were Vero and Nahum still with y'all?
TimAnnetteGulick : Vero wasn't with us any longer at this point. She had to return to work here in Toluca. But Nahum was with us - as you can see in the photo below. Steve Young also had to return to Queretaro where he lives because he had a meeting in Chicago the next day.
And there is lunch (above). Nahum had scrambled eggs and Annette had some sort of fried carbohydrate topped with coleslaw thing.
Gulick Rog : cute girl!
Gulick Rog : What mission is Steve with?
TimAnnetteGulick : he's with a U.S. based youth ministry training group called "Reach Out Ministries" (out of Atlanta) but he is in Mexico under World Teams
here Nahum is trying to make the ocean open up like Moses did. Really! however it didn't work :-P
Gulick Rog : :-\ at least Nahum tried. I think it only works on seas, not oceans
TimAnnetteGulick : ah.. I tell him about that little detail... it will encourage his faith :-D ha ha
TimAnnetteGulick :
Gulick Rog : NICE!! I've saved both good close-up pictures of you two. Did you take that one? If so...good job,
TimAnnetteGulick : yes... I took it with my arm outstretched (you can kinda tell)
here's one of Annette and Nahum looking at the sunset
Gulick Rog : Nice. It gives me the impression of the vastness of the ocean and the smallness of humans
TimAnnetteGulick : here's one just before it went down (that's annette in the shot):
Gulick Rog : I'm loving the pictures. I thought you said, "A not very impressive beach."
TimAnnetteGulick : I'm so glad you're enjoying them... it takes me a while cause I have to crop, color auto-fix, and size and save them before sending them to you.
It wasn't very impressive - I'm just a good photographer - ha ha
Gulick Rog : :-) and humble too!
TimAnnetteGulick : right ;-)
Gulick Rog : Crowded beach. A lot like Myrtle Beach :-D
TimAnnetteGulick :
last sunset picture... look at the left and you can see the end of the land (of this bay)
Gulick Rog : nice picture
TimAnnetteGulick :
When Annette and Nahum and I were at the beach it was really crowded... look here at all the other people on the beach. Here are all of them:
TimAnnetteGulick : a fisherman and his son
Gulick Rog : Nice
TimAnnetteGulick : now here's one going back to Ometepec (the town) this is a shot form our car window)
TimAnnetteGulick :
Gulick Rog : Why do I know the name Ometepec? Have we been there or is there another one near you?
TimAnnetteGulick :
TimAnnetteGulick : we live in Metepec, Estado de Mexico, and so it's sounds real close
Gulick Rog : :-p oops
TimAnnetteGulick : indian women walking past a icecream store
Gulick Rog : I want a coconut paletas (popsicle)
TimAnnetteGulick : here comes a classic sidewalk street corner scene
TimAnnetteGulick :
TimAnnetteGulick : good memory! :-) I want a coconut paleta too
Gulick Rog : Classic - Nice Mexican flags coming out of the wall of the building!:-)
TimAnnetteGulick : you do realize that that is coming out of the windshield of my car, right?
Gulick Rog : Silly guy...of course
TimAnnetteGulick : Here's another street scene... kinda dirty
Gulick Rog : not too dirty
TimAnnetteGulick : well.. it's not exactly hygenic looking. Look at the trash and stuff - but you're right, it's not too bad
TimAnnetteGulick : mainstreet Mexico:
Gulick Rog : Wish I had some pictures, but we haven't gone anywhere in a long time
Gulick Rog : Looks like Ometepec...you know the city where the bishop carries a sidearm
TimAnnetteGulick : very good observation skills... he does carry a side-arm... but I can barely see him :-D
TimAnnetteGulick : Now here's a classic shot!
Gulick Rog : Albertsons Grocery store? :-D
TimAnnetteGulick : ha ha - yes!
TimAnnetteGulick : Grocery store from 80 years ago
Gulick Rog : Would more people come in and buy, if it were all neat and straightened up? Or are they just re-filling the bins and the boxes will soon be gone?
TimAnnetteGulick :
TimAnnetteGulick : who knows... probably never even considered it one way or another (the owners)
Gulick Rog : Nice "parasol" on the lady on the right. It does keep the sun off... Not exactly a fashion statement ...though
TimAnnetteGulick : Oh, but it is a fashion statement.. it distinguishes her as an Amusgo Indian (and that is a shawl which keeps her warm in the evenings and turns into a "parasol" in the heat of the sun). Very practical, but I don't think it will cat on in Paris, Milan or New York.
Gulick Rog : Do you have a white suit like that guy in the middle?
TimAnnetteGulick : no white suit - sorry. That's actually called "manta" and is regular indian dress for men in most of mexico
Gulick Rog : ahhh... um, do you have a white hat at least?
TimAnnetteGulick : Glad you mentioned white hats... 'cause here comes the cowboy paraphenalia area:
A bit of window reflection too.
TimAnnetteGulick : and by the way, don't have a white hat either :-D I'm just so deprived (ha)
TimAnnetteGulick : by the way, see our rearview mirror on the right?... that's the only stoplight in town and it doesn't work
Gulick Rog : :-)
Gulick Rog : Are those oranges good?
TimAnnetteGulick : I don't know actually...
all i know is that they make great orange juice... we never had them in solid form
TimAnnetteGulick : hey... i better go... take a shower... bye. Love you both
Gulick Rog : ok great talking with you! Neat pictures
TimAnnetteGulick : show it all too Mom
Gulick Rog : ok, will do