Gringas, Crayons, and Circuses

Jaciel- Little Tarzan

Brian- crayon and chechi boy

Santos- very creative (likes to create his own rules for everything. LOL)

Fernando- what a cutie!

Miguel, Kedric, and Dietrich

Tita and Carla- sisters

Tita- full of energy and fun

Leobardo- concerned about details unlike most boys

Uriel- during hide&seek he wants to hide in the same place every time

Yovani- cute smile on a little gentleman

Marlen- "mi nieta"

Like Frog and Toad, I looked into the mirror on Sunday morning and thought I looked brave. So I wore short sleeves to San Pedro. I thought maybe my confidence would confuse the bugs into thinking that I was invincible. (Of course, what wasn't covered with clothing was covered with a thick layer of bug spray.) Anyway, we bounced our way to San Pedro for the morning service. After we picked up three people in Aguajito, I graduated to a little gray stool which bounced much more than the bench seats. In fact, I went airborne a few times which would have been much more fun if the landing hadn't been so uncomfortable. Rod preached his first sermon in Spanish. I hope I can speak Spanish that well after only one year of living in Mexico! After the San Pedro service, we went back to Rod and Christa's house for lunch. The afternoon was long and lazy; Ian, Sam, Stacey, and I read children's books. Sam found Frog and Toad books very mentally stimulating (I think that's what he said). I enjoyed the afternoon of doing not much of anything... After the Choix service, Stacey and I went back with the Mochiqui people in the back of Loren's truck. The poor truck could hardly move! We were packed in like sardines! Poor Salvador was holding Jaciel and kept loosing his balance and bumping against other people. Stacey and I went home, and Donna sent food along with us. Note: crispy [Mexican] flour tortillas with butter and brown sugar are really REALLY good!

Monday, I looked into the mirror and thought I looked brave again. Then, as much as I hate riding bike, Stacey and I biked uphill to Mochiqui. Ana and Rosa greeted us and gave us chairs. Rosa was grinding corn. Ana led us into the little shack she shares with Jesus and served us potatoes wrapped in flour tortillas. Yum! Then we became the spectacle: two gringas making Mexican corn tortillas. Under the close supervision of Ana, Stacey and I mixed, pressed, and cooked over an open fire. We had an audience: Ana's mother watched through the hole in the tarp and made lots of "gringa" coments. I must say that despite the varying sizes, we did really good! And they tasted wonderful too! I carried them home in the backpack, making the bike ride even more suffocatingly hot. I ate cow stomach for lunch. Yes, it was unintentional. And I can't even report how disgusting it was, because I don't remember what it tasted like. I think I innocently decided it was a noodle. It was cleverly disguised in some sort of not-very-nice-tasting soup. In the afternoon, we made another trip to San Pedro with Rod and Christa for Kid's Club. This was the first Kid's Club in San Pedro and eleven children came. Eleven new children with eleven new names. I know I've only been here a month, but there's no end in sight with this name-learning business! The adults colored the pictures and devoured the chechis along with the children. After San Pedro, Stacey and I ate dinner with Rod and Christa and then headed home to relax for a little before our verb class.

Stacey and I went with Loren on Tuesday morning to pick up Ana and Rosa in Mochiqui. We were ready to reciprociate. These two young and beautiful Mexican ladies had never baked a cake before in their lives. I found the most chocolately cake recipe I could find and then picked out my favorite fudge icing recipe. Despite the gas running out as soon as we started our project and the tempermental oven baking our cake in 20 minutes instead of 45, the cake tasted pretty good. When Ana and Rosa left, Stacey and I bravely attempted to make our own homemade tortillas. The tortillas worked better over an open fire than on a stove and we ended up making the entire house smell sort of burntish. The tortillas themselves tasted fine, but they were definitely "gringa" tortillas.

Then came Wednesday. Wednesday was not exciting, eventful, or delightful; it was just good. We made cookies in the morning--wait, I take back the part about the day not being delightful. Cookies are EXTREMELY delightful. Stacey and I worked on our project quilt. I hate sewing; let's leave it that. During lunch, the Yoders tried to guess my middle name which was very humorous: "Agatha! Ariel! etc." During our time off in the afternoon, Stacey got news from home that her aunt passed away after battling cerebral palsy and surgery complications. The news was sad, but Stacey was also releived that her aunt no longer felt the pain she had learned to live with. We helped with the Kid's Club at Rod and Christa's. I was able to practice my Spanish with several of the children (who seemed relatively unimpressed). After dealing with lots of energy, we ate dinner and went to prayer meeting. No one from Mochiqui came for the meeting, so we had our meeting in English. It was so fun to speak and pray freely in English. Stacey and I walked home and decided to climb up on our roof. We stayed until long after the circus music had died down and we could actually talk without shouting. The night sky was gorgeous with millions of tiny stars dotting the vast blackness. Seeing the hugeness of God put my petty problems into perspective.

Another day off was most welcome. I greeted it with open arms. Since we are currently curtainless, Stacey had the bright idea to hang a blanket in the window so we could block out the morning sun and hopefully sleep away the wee hours of the morning. It worked sorta... We cleaned our house, made brunch (hotcakes with peanutbutter, bananas, and syrup) and chilled out all day. I tried to catch up with all my emails and everything else. Debbie, Suzanne, Bri, and Rachel all stopped in during the afternoon. The evening came and went and so did the water supply. Fortunately, both Stacey and I got our laundry done before the water was off again.

We spent Friday morning in the kitchen, baking muffins for the youth group that's coming on Tuesday. It was so fun to try out the new recipes. I ran to SuperChoix (a grocery store) during siesta time and guess what! I found a cereal other than cornflakes that was about the same price as cornflakes! It tastes better too... We left for Mochiqui around 4:45 and went straight to Salvador and Henriqueta's. Poor little Jaciel had bronchitis and looked miserable. The nice thing was that when I held him he couldn't really even cry; it sorta came out as a hoarse little moan. Stacey and I played hide&seek with a bunch of little girls and Uriel. Uriel would grab my hand and we would hide together (the same place every time). I love how the Mochiqui children play their games to have fun, not to win. After we left Mochiqui, we went to the orphanage for "fun night." We ate nachos loaded with everything good and chocolate/cream cheese cupcakes. We talked for a long time and eventually the men started singing hymns. We sang for quite a long time and I was so blessed to be able to sing those old familiar songs! We came home and, low and behold, the water was still not on and we had to skip showers. Sometimes I miss good ole Illinois!

Now it's Saturday. We had Saturday school in the morning. The temperature was about 88 degrees and very pleasant. It was a nice break from some of the hotter days we've been having. After Sunday school, I helped Bella put together a puzzle. Bella is an adorable little girl from Mochiqui who is deaf. I don't worry about what my Spanish sounds like with her because we don't talk with words. Stacey and I made lunch- potato soup and salad with chicken. After lunch we went back to our house and I called home and hurt Mom's feelings because I only talked with Dad and Michelle. LOL. Although I am living in the middle of Mexican culture, my day felt very American. Not only did we eat American food for lunch, but we also baked American food: cinnamon rolls and cappucino muffins. So like a typical American I consumed much sugar today. Hmm...maybe that's why I feel so happy right now. Or it could be that I just had a shower. Back to that... After our American pizza for dinner, Stacey and I walked home with a firm faith that our water would be working again. Surely the city wouldn't turn off the water for more than two days. But, as usual, we had more faith in the Mexican economy than the Mexican economy has in the Mexican economy. (No water.) So we packed our shower items and headed over to Loren and Donna's house. Which is where I am now, writing for this humble blog. Good night, world!