The City is Still Big!!

Yesterday I just arrived back from Mexico City with 4 of my friends, Andy, Greg, Mike and Brian from Boulder, CO. Our purpose was to narrow down this megapolis to some reasonable neighborhoods for my family to live, interact and serve the city. Wow, what a task.

We arrived late Friday night after a 2 hour flight delay and headed out for dinner in the streets of Polanco (See the Starbucks on the right). Polanco is one of the swankiest neighborhoods in the city. The sports cars, style, clothing, fashion and homes reminded me of Beverly Hills. Most people would never guess that Mexico City is this nice and rich. I actually have read the cost of living is close to Boston and New York. Ouch!!!

Saturday morning after a few hours of sleep we ventured out on our first Metro experience to the south of the city near the University (Copilco stop) to Coyoacan (pictured right). There we had breakfast with the CCC local team serving at UNAM (maybe the largest University in the world). It was great to hear what God is doing in their lives, the battles they are going through, and the bold faith they have to believe that God will bring the Gospel to all the 250,000 or so students there. They are boldly going out on campus to raise up laborers that will in turn reach their friends, families and departments. They have moved away from a model that just builds big Campus Crusade meetings and clubs. I'm encouraged by their creativity and humility to only work with leaders who will multiply to other Mexicans. They are going for it with all their energy and spirit. I had the opportunity to encourage them and share a bit of the vision God is giving us on how to reach the whole city (1 million students and 28 million people). Then some of my friends encouraged them and we prayed for them to keep going, trusting God and believing in His power. It was cool to see my friends encourage and use the shepherding gifts they have to breathe life into them.

That afternoon I took the guys shopping at Ciudadela and then off to the Zocolo for dinner at Cafe Tacabya (the greatest Mariachi in the world) and hanging out in the 47 story building that overlooks the whole city.

Sunday morning we split our group. Mike and Greg joined me to look at houses with Irma, a local Rental Agent, and Andy and Brian headed off to a local church. The traffic was light on Sunday morning so it was a perfect time to drive in the city. We headed out west of Polanco to Herradura and Interlomas. Mexico City is sprawling so much and people, families, and businesses are heading out to the outskirts of the city to survive, live and work. We looked at 5 places out here. The neighborhoods looked nice, safe and quiet. All the needed facilities are out there. There are playgrounds, parks, shopping malls and even Costco. The downside is that this area is about a 30 minute drive to get close to the center of the city and the metro system. This brought up some good decisions to be made about where we want to live and serve, how we will interact, travel in the city and what we will be doing specifically. I kept hearing from those giving advice that our family needs to live in the suburbs for safety and comfort yet the commute will be horrific for me and the team. That afternoon I felt the weight of the decisions and needed to hear from the Lord. I'm just not sure what is best for us.

Monday I headed back into the city with Daniel (Mexican staff guy with CCC) and Jason (local UNAM CCC leader) to see other aspects of the city after a good hot dog and diet coke at Costco. No joke, the price was $1.50 and Costco is identical to the states. My friends took off to an orphanage to the south west of the city (more below). Daniel, Jason and I drove to AltaVista and San Angel near the University. My desire is to find a home or neighborhood that is safe, near the metro, and retail so that Christine and the boys, while in the city, are not confined to our house. Typically there are housing complexes called 'cerradas', gated communities that will provide this security and location in the city. Driving through the beautiful streets of San Angel we bumped into a beautiful little house/townhome complex that was gated off from outsiders. They were reasonably priced and had 3 bedrooms. After driving for hours throughout the city and looking on the internet with rental agencies I'm finding this city is expensive. A normal 3-4 bedroom home that is safe and centrally located is about $2,000-$3,000 a month for rent. Yowza!!

I believe God is calling us to live in the city, away from the suburbs, maybe with less comforts, and centrally located for travel and interaction with other students, pastors and ministry leaders. At the same time I need to trust God to provide the perfect place and be okay with wherever he calls us. The task seems impossible. We will wait, see and move out in faith to see what God has in store for us.

Tuesday I joined my friends at the orphanage. They spent all day Monday preparing and digging a massive hole to submerge a trampoline into the ground. They had to remove 6 cement flower boxes. That took them all day Monday and I joined them along with the local CCC team on Monday to finish the hole and provide drainage. Physically they were beat up and soon after my body fell apart to 'out of shapeness' and soreness. But about 6:30pm we finished our part and then hired a brick layer to finish the work this week. It was amazing to see the passion and love the workers, teachers and administrators had for these kids at this orphanage. A little bit of the love of God at work through many people. One of my friends Andy is in the process of adopting a child from this orphanage. It was a blessing to see the kids and be a small part of what God is already doing there.

The 5 days away with these friends was a huge gift from God. Andy, Greg, Brian and Mike are good friends and provided me hope, encouragement, challenge and insights into God's heart for me and for the world. I loved our discussions, arguments, honesty and love. I'm excited for the move, challenged by the impossibility of the vision and reminded that this is totally a God sized task that needs tons of prayer and dependence on the Spirit. I'll be heading back with Christine in July for 7 days to buy a car and find a house to rent. In the mean time: tons of prayer, talking with Mexican friends for options and mostly trusting in God.

Categories: MexicoCity