this is my prayer these days...

Slow me down, oh Lord, slow me down
Help my heart to hear Your sound
Speak into my life, Lord, speak now
Slow me down, oh Lord, slow me down

Clear my mind, oh Lord, clear my mind
Bring me peace that I cannot find
Take my worried thoughts, break my pride
Clear my mind, oh Lord, clear my mind

Wake my soul, oh Lord, wake my soul
With this mess I’ve made make me whole
Of this life called mine take control
Wake my soul, oh Lord, wake my soul

(song by Robbie Seay Band)

My love came over & woke me up with balloons & birthday cake...

La mordida ("the bite"), a Mexican birthday tradition...

And J, who I'm teaching how to read & write, made me this this card all by himself.  I'm so proud of him!

Megan in Mexico update: January 2012

This is a special edition update... it's 3 pages, but I'd encourage you to take the time to read it... it has some exciting news as well as some important ministry and support updates!

PS - If you don't think you'll make it to page 3, I would at least like to share a special financial need with you...  The retreat for LAM Mexico missionaries is March 8-11. LAM has invited Armando to come as well, in order for him to get to know the LAM President, Personnel Director, Member Care Director & of course LAM’s other missionaries in Mexico. This will be so important for Armando to feel like a fellow LAM missionary, versus just the husband of one! However, I currently do not have the funds to attend myself, much less for Armando to come along. We would need an estimated $500 for the retreat itself & another $800 for transportation from Tijuana to Cuernavaca. If you feel led to give special gift to help us attend this LAM missionary retreat together, you can do so at http://www.lam.org/missionaries/megan-riggott!

PPS - Wondering who Armando is and why he'll be the husband of an LAM missionary?  I told you that you should have read the update!

yes, it's true...

...I'm engaged!  Armando "officially" asked me to marry him at our church's anniversary celebration on December 18th.  (He asked me in front of my parents over Skype that morning too... and had already given me the ring earlier that week... and had pretty much proposed the day we started dating, so... yeah, it's official now!)

a few of my favorite things

These are a few of my favorite things...

Mexican hot chocolate, donated peanut butter (that didn't really mix together as it should have), and pre-toasted bread... almost as good as cocoa and hard toast on this very cold morning!

Our Jesse Tree... I've wanted one since the days of the felt one at CCS, and my long-time wish finally came true when Jenna and I made them this year!  The kids come over each day to read the reading and find the day's magnet to hang on the tree...

a few of my favorite things

I'm always trying to come up with ways to share with you more about my life here in Tijuana... so I've decided that every once in awhile, I'll post pictures of a few of my favorite things.  They are of course just that - things - and may seem like rather small details, but I hope that these posts will give you a better feel of my life here in TJ!

I hope that this can also serve as an exercise in gratitude for me, of remembering my many small blessings (Sound of Music style!):

"These are a few of my favorite things...

When the dog bites,

When the bee stings,

When I'm feeling sad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel so bad..."

So without further ado, a few of my favorite things from today:

My new (to-me) rain boots!  While I was in MN this past spring I spent months looking for boots just like my mom's, which I thought would be perfect for Tijuana's rainy (and thus, very muddy) season.  I found nothing that was quite right.  My mom finally took pity on me and gave me her boots and they have been just wonderful at keeping my feet dry and warm.  Especially on days like today when I spend the morning trekking through the rain, walking through mud and puddles to take a neighborhood kid to the dentist...  Thanks Mom!

My onion chopper!  I'm cooking a lot more often these days, and trying to learn how to cook more Mexican food, so chopping onions is a must.  I like my onions chopped very small but it seems to take me forever to do this by hand (especially because I don't have very sharp knives), so when my friend Jenna's family was getting rid of some of their kitchen things, I decided to give this device a try.  It's been great!  The kids have fun using it and I don't have to worry so much about they cutting a finger off while they're helping me cook.  Today I used it to chop the onion for some Potato & Spinach Soup with Gouda that I'm trying out in my crockpot (another one of my favorite things!) on this chilly day...  Thanks Jenna and family!

Mail in my PO box!  I was by the post office today, so stopped in to check my mailbox, which is usually empty... but today there was a note from a friend from my church back in MN!  It's always such a blessing to get real hand-written mail from back home...  (If you want to send me some, my address is: Megan Riggott, Apartado Postal 569, Tijuana BC 22000, MEXICO.)  Because, mail is definately one of my favorite things!  Thanks Cathy!

Want to support our children's ministry here in Tijuana but don't have any extra cash lying around?

Help me win a BluTrack racetrack for our children's ministry here in Mexico!

As you probably know, a big part of my ministry here in Tijuana is relationship-building with the neighborhood kids. That said, I'm always looking for sturdy low-maintanaince toys that encourage creativity to have on hand at home for the kiddos who are over all the time!

So head on over to Life in a Shoe where there's a bunch of ways to enter this giveaway, and if you were to win but don't want/need the prize yourself, you can donate it to us here in Tijuana!

let there be light! (and a new LAM website)

So, after 3 weeks of no electricity* after my house fire, it’s back! Which means a) I can be there after 5pm without feeling like I’m in a romantic candlelit restaurant and b) I have internet again! Though it was kind of fun at times, especially cooking Thanksgiving dinner by candlelight and playing Rummykub while we waited out a storm...

In other exciting news, LAM (Latin America Mission) has a new website (still found at http://www.lam.org/) and you can now set up your recurring monthly donations online! Many of you have mentioned that this would be very helpful, so if you are someone who was considering giving monthly but haven’t done so because the process was either too complicated and/or you just keep forgetting, just head over to riggott.lam.org and click on “support this missionary” at the bottom of the page. I’m still a bit underfunded each month, so if you’re able and willing to support my ministry in Mexico through a monthly donation, I would GREATLY APPRECIATE it!  Or, you can give a special gift online to help increase the balance in my ministry accounts (all gifts are tax-deductible).  So please check out the new website and/or giving options, and let me know what you think!

* Do you like the rhyming title? Thanks, so do I :)

** Which, by the way, was immediately FOLLOWING the 1 week of no running water and FOLLOWED by 2 days of no water. Just in case you were confused about the order of utility issues...

Megan in Mexico update: November 2011

The past week or so has been difficult...

Read more in my November update...

¡feliz 1er cumple Gioner!

Today is Gioner's 1st birthday!  I remember very clearly the day he was born... a bright spot during a very dark and difficult time.

How much has changed in my life over the past year... and how much my Gioner has grown!

¡Te quiero mi Tolonsito!