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!

Hot water, Tortillas, and Bobcats

View of the mountains.

Our house (view from front door).

Beautiful palm trees.

Tita, Alma, me, and Ricardo.

Loren and Donna's street.

Loren and Donna's house/church in Choix.

SUNDAY: No bugs in San Pedro but lots of mud. The wind and rain from the hurricane threw the entire state of Sinaloa out of whack. (The event reminded me of Illinois during a giant snowstorm.) Therefore, the Internet and phone stopped working and Sunday morning the electricity was off. Stacey and I went to the San Pedro service with Rod and Christa, barreling through the mud in the big van. During the service, I had a hard time sitting still, imagining little bugs crawling up my legs and leaving big red welts after feasting on my blood. Not only that, but I had put on so many layers to ward off the nasty little critters, that I was sweating too. Sunday evening after the Choix service, I rode in the back of Loren’s truck to drop off the Mochiqui children. The mountains were covered in long shadows with only a dusting of remaining sunlight; their majestic peaks were buried in wispy white clouds. Absolutely beautiful. Sunday evening, Marlen, Stacey, and I played golf (the card game) with Loren and Donna’s family. It was fun to sit around a table and enjoy each other’s company. Playing golf also brought back memories of the days that Wendell and I used to line up 50 cards instead of 4. Ha ha ha! Remember that brother dear?

MONDAY: We still didn’t have phone or Internet service. We Mexicans started to get a little nervous since our quarterly financial reports were due on Wednesday. I started to wonder if my family was reading about the hurricane in the news and trying desperately to contact me with no avail. Other than that, having no communication was almost…freeing. In the morning we wrote out songs and verses on poster board for the Kid’s Club at Rod and Christa’s starting Wednesday afternoon. In the evening, Bri and Rachel joined us in Choix to go out to eat at Pollo Mayo. Having so much meat in front of us was a little overwhelming, so we finished up the rice and beans and saved the leftover chicken for later. When we got back to our apartment, we climbed up onto our roof (most houses here are entirely concrete) to see the nighttime view. That’s when I noticed that we have a palm tree in our front yard. Having so many new experiences is making me unobservant, I guess. At 9:00 p.m., Donna picked us up and we headed out to the orphanage to attend Ian’s verb class. The class was a lot of fun. But I have so much to learn before I can communicate properly!

TUESDAY: Beautiful day. Perfect temperature. Stacey and I made lunch. Btw, Stacey makes the best red rice and the best guacamole. In the afternoon, I forced myself to sit down and write about some of the new experiences I’ve had recently. In the afternoon, we passed out tracts in one neighborhood (one of the richer neighborhoods). Mexicans are much more receptive to literature than New Yorkers! People would actually stop and ask for one if I didn’t offer it. No one intentionally ignored me!

WEDNESDAY: Bradley’s 19th birthday. Another family birthday that I missed. That’s three so far, and I still have three more to go. At least I won’t miss mine. LOL. Our tank ran out of water in the morning, and the city had the water turned off all day. Welcome to missionary life, Tricia and Stacey. The nice thing was that we had a good excuse not to do dishes. We made cookies, studied Spanish, and hard covered some books. In the afternoon, we walked to Rod and Christa’s for the first Kid’s Club. At first, only a few children came. We weren’t surprised since it was the first day. Eventually twelve children came—a huge group! What an awesome blessing! However, twelve children from a neighborhood that is new to me equals twelve new names that I need to memorize. Yikes. We walked back to Loren and Donna’s to quickly eat and attend prayer meeting. All day, I had been asking God to give us phone service long enough to call home and talk to Bradley on his birthday. God answered my prayer… I might have gone to bed showerless, but I went to bed happy.

THURSDAY: Day off. The city water was on, but our tank up top was not filling up for some reason. We cleaned our house, washed our clothes and made brunch for us and Rachel. Some of the orphanage skills Stacey acquired came in handy when we had to flush the toilet with a bucket full of water. In the afternoon, we walked around town and took pictures of interesting things. We were tourists in our little town—very conspicuous “gringa” tourists. Our water was working when we got home. Not only did I get a shower, but God turned on the water heater and I had a HOT shower (the first one for a little while). I told God, “No, this is just too much blessing right now. I don’t know how to handle it!” And then I called home and got to be on speaker phone while my family celebrated Bradley’s birthday.

FRIDAY: Such a good day. So many new experiences, I’m not sure where to begin. First I called Grandma in the morning. It was so good to talk to her again! While we were studying Spanish, Marlen stopped in because she didn’t have school. She invited Stacey and I over to visit her grandma (who just recently had a stroke). So after lunch, we walked to the house where Marlen lives with her grandma and her uncle. We heard her talking about us as we approached the house, and she excitedly answered our knock. We met her aunt, cousin, and grandmother and had a good chat despite the language barrier. I called Grandpa later that afternoon…again, it was so good to talk to him! Oh, I should mention one thing: right before lunch, Loren answered the local phone and tried to figure out who was on the other end—someone who spoke such fluent Spanish. “Some Antonio from Chicago who wants to talk to a Treesa Kennell.” Very surprised, I hestitated before I figured out that it was actually Tony from Metamora. Okay, now back to my story see…(LOL, family)…We went to Mochiqui in the evening. Stacey and I visited Ana who had just came back from the river washing her clothes. We sat for a while, watching the laundry drip, drip, drip and talking about trivial things (about all we can talk about in Spanish yet!). Her sister Rosa started making tortillas, and I asked how they always end up so perfectly round. Ana took us over to the fire and had us each set a ball of dough into the tortilla press. Amazingly enough, our tortillas turned out perfectly round too. Once they were baked, she gave us each one to try. I don’t think I can describe the taste. Let’s just say that when I get home to Illinois, tortillas there will make me cry. We got to hold baby bobcats. Note: they have very sharp claws! But they were so cute! We played games with the little Mochiqui girls: a modified version of drop the hankie, and Doctor, Doctor! When it was time to leave, Alma clung to me and refused to let me go. I can’t say that I was too excited about leaving either. Somehow playing innocent games on a dusty road between two rows of barbed wire was so appealing.

SATURDAY: Saturday school. I pulled out my camera and was suddenly the most popular item in Choix. The children LOVE cameras, and it’s fun to get them to pose for me. Alma kept hugging me and telling the other girls “Es mia, es mia.” Stacey and I made lunch…sort of…we heated up some water and poured them into the instant noodle lunches. In Mexico, they sell the spicy shrimp variation, which I think is probably better than the regular. Loren was felt so guilty for whining about the meal (and getting potatoes and eggs instead) that he felt obligated to share his cookies&cream ice cream with us. (I’m putting this in here for his benefit, because he will probably be reading this). After lunch I was a complete bum. I laid on my bed and read a book full of inspiring stories from a missionary to Mexico. We left to go eat pizza at Loren and Donna’s around seven. The pizza wasn’t quite ready so we praywalked our way down to Marlen’s house. She greeted us warmly and we spent a little time with her uncle and grandmother in front of the TV. After a few minutes, Marlen said something we didn’t understand, disappeared into her room, and come out dressed to come along with us. She followed us to Loren and Donna’s house and stayed for pizza. Stacey and I walked her home before coming home ourselves. Stacey is making chai tea now…It smells so wonderful!

Bugs, Cocos, and Hurricanes

Saturday school.

MaryChuy and Lenn and Debbie's youngest, Jeffrey.

The view of the plaza from the clocktower.

Marlen and Stacey after wading through the river to the rock.

Janessa's 14th birthday. L-R: Kyle, Suzanna, Maria, Janessa, Kedric, Regina, and Caleb.

Stacey, Marlen, and I with our coco...Yuck!

Stacey and I joined the group traveling to San Pedro for the Sunday morning service. The morning was hot, but the wind in our hair on the ride helped to chase away the mugginess. We squished in the backseat of Loren’s truck traveling over bumpy roads and smooth roads, slowing down for burros and cows. Driving in Illinois was never this exciting! Julian, a man in San Pedro, hosts the service on his front porch every Sunday. We unloaded chairs and set up for the service while exchanging “Dios le bendiga”s. Meeting an entirely new group of people was exciting and a little overwhelming. While Loren gave the message from Matthew, I consoled myself that what I missed in this service, I would be able to catch in Choix. After the service, three women accepted Christ as their Savior. Stacey and I weren’t able to communicate or understand everything, but we were blessed to witness this event. In the evening after the service in Choix, Marlen, Magda, and Mari came to visit as well as Julian and his family. We ate really good popcorn and drank really good lemonade and talked (the best we knew how). I went to bed very exhausted and itchy.

But I didn’t realize just how itchy until Monday morning (my Mom’s 45th birthday…hee hee). Apparently I have an allergic reaction to San Pedro bugs…especially with eighty bites on my lower legs. My legs itched like crazy and swelled up so that eventually my toes no longer touched the ground. I’m sure I looked hilarious, although it didn’t feel hilarious. Monday at Loren and Donna’s we sorted clothes, studied Spanish, and wrote out Spanish songs on poster board. Thankfully, the day was not too stressful for me as I tried remedy after itching cream after remedy. On Monday nights, Ian Miller started a Spanish verb class for the gringos who need help with their conjugations. Unfortunately, I had to send my regrets… Monday night was a tiny bit restless; okay who am I kidding? It was A LOT restless.

Tuesday was fairly uneventful, I believe. Stacey and I cut out quilt blocks for comforters, made lunch, and studied Spanish… very uneventful for life in Mexico. So uneventful, in fact, that we had to walk home on a different street just to add some excitement to our day. However, I maintain that our day was still more exciting for us than for the ants that incessantly meander along our walls and build forts behind our pictures.

Wednesday morning I got to make cookies. Donna quoted some verse about not muzzling the ox when he is treading grain(or something a little more biblical sounding). I figured that verse gave me adequate (and biblical) excuse to eat as many cookies as I wanted. Only the fear of another stomach ache held me back. After prayer meeting that evening, I was attacked by three little girls who didn’t want to let me go when they left. Alma, Carla, and Tita smothered me as I tried to put them into the back of Loren’s truck. I could hardly breathe, but it felt good to be so loved. One of the Mochiqui boys asked “What is your name?” (in English). I answered, “Me llamo Tricia.” He laughed and laughed because he had asked me a question in English and I had answered him in Spanish. Ah, life’s simple pleasures. When Stacey and I walked home, we met our neighbors who mistakenly thought we knew Spanish. I caught the words “cortar, arbol, arriba” and proudly deducted what he meant (but had no clue how to answer him).

Thursday was our day off. Stacey and I had water so we did laundry and cleaned our house. I’m not sure if I mentioned before that the city turns off the water probably about 50% of the time. We have yet to figure out a schedule to be able to work around. Also, we now understand why every house has a tank on top of its roof. I fried hot cakes (pancakes in the States) for brunch. In the afternoon, we bought ice cream at Oxxo, and spent the hottest hours at our apartment. Rod and Christa Swartz got back from Tucson in the early afternoon, which meant that Stacey got her laptop. Hooray!

Friday was Janessa Yoder’s birthday, our day to go to Mochiqui, and fun night at the orphanage. Stacey and I made cookies for Saturday school the next morning. Suzanna, Regina, and Maria came over to help celebrate Janessa’s birthday. We had ice cream cake…what a marvelous way to celebrate! In the afternoon, Stacey and I walked uptown and ran into two girls that Stacey knew vaguely. We invited them over to our house next week… hopefully they come; the girls in Choix need positive role models. In Mochiqui, Donna brought along her used clothing items and shoes for the families. Lots of people came; people I’ve never seen before and whose names I will never remember. It was almost dark when we headed over to the orphanage, just in time to eat with them. We ate, talked, played piano, looked at books, and watched a Creation Museum video. I rode home in the back of Loren’s truck, with the wind in my face, fifty pesos in my pocket, and a happy heart.

Saturday, the air was thick with the smell of rain. Every Mexican was talking about “llover.” We gringos were excited that God was finally going to cool the earth once again. At Saturday school, Leobardo and Carol sat beside me. Carol played with my watch while Leobardo gave me shy looks and waited patiently for my approval of everything he did. After the children left, Stacey and I made lunch—potato and egg burritos (no fears, I was true to my taste buds and skipped the eggs). Marlen visited us in the afternoon and we walked to the bank and JLR. We practiced our pathetic Spanish once again with our little tutor. On the way home, Stacey got the brilliant idea (notice that I’m giving her all of the credit…or blame) to stop and get a coco (coconut) at a little coco stand. Hooray, right? First the lady chopped it open and drained all of the juice into a little plastic bag with a straw. Then she chopped up the coco meat and put it all back inside the shell. Marlen ordered everything on it…which we soon found out meant lemon juice, tomato juice, chili sauce, cold hot hogs, little pieces of sour candy, and nuts. We brought it back to our apartment, realizing that we were experiencing the Mexican culture. So we ate it and took lots of pictures to prove to the world that we are some serious missionaries.

*I’m sorry this was so long in coming. It was almost finished in a Word Document while the hurricane blew through and knocked out the Internet and phone service for several days.

Rice, Beans, and Chocolate Milk

I've survived a whole week in Mexico which is an excellent sign that I will continue to survive. But more than survive, I've had a chance to LIVE.

My week started by waking up in a strange place. It was Sunday morning and I was in Sinaloa, Mexico. For breakfast we had cornflakes and chocolate milk (which I soon learned is in the norm around the orphanage thanks to the generosity of DIF, the Sinaloa welfare program). Church didn't start until 4:00 in the afternoon so Sunday morning was relaxing for me, the jobless floater. Several people at the orphanage were suffering from stomach illness, and I felt so sorry for them... But I was loving the food. Corn tortillas and tajin are my favorite right now... Loren Yoder holds a service in San Pedro (about 20 minutes away) every Sunday morning and comes back to Choix for an afternoon service. I met many new people at the service, but I was overwhelmed with names and don't remember many of them from that day. I was delighted to be able to understand most of the sermon. (hint: native English speakers are easier to understand when they speak Spanish than native Spanish speakers.) In the evening, I swung the jump-rope for the children at the orphanage until my arm was too tired. It was fun getting to know them a little.

Monday morning I came down with a stomach ache. I was out of bed and eating, but stomach problems combined with the heat wore me out quickly. My theory is that my stomach was simply adjusting to the water. I helped with laundry and lunch in the morning. In the afternoon, Stacey, Brianne, and I rode bike into town (mostly downhill about a mile) to Loren and Donna's to use the Internet and the phone. Fortunately, Loren gave us a ride back to the orphanage and saved us the trip back uphill.

Tuesday my stomach ache was worse, but I did my best to ignore it. Rachel, Brianne, and I headed into town on bike to tour Choix. It was so HOT, even in the morning. Brianne's bike gave out when we got to town so we borrowed Loren's bike. Rachel took us to the plaza (a park area with lots of palm trees) the post office, the bank (where I walked in with $80 American cash and out with $860 pesos), the clock tower (which gave us an excellent view of Choix), several little shops, and then to Rod and Christa's. Unfortunately, after we left Rod's, Loren's bike gave out and we all three walked our bikes back home in the sweltering heat. Oh! I almost forgot to mention that we stopped by the apartment Stacey and I were planning to move into the next day and the landlady let us inside to look around.

Wednesday was moving day. Maybe I should explain why we moved for those of you who have no idea. Stacey originally was working at the orphanage, but agreed to help with the ministry in Choix when I came. By living in town, we will be more accessible to the people we are trying to reach. We will stay at Loren and Donna's house for most of the day and for all of our meals. Anyway, our apartment contained much hope under a thin layer of grime. Donna came along to help us, armed with her cleaning supplies. The apartment is very nice for Mexico, and oh so colorful. We cleaned and rearranged until the evening prayer meeting. We didn't finish, but we were happy with our work. We trotted off to JLR (the closest thing to Wal-Mart in Choix) to buy breakfast cereal and REAL milk- not little boxes of chocolate milk. Side note that has nothing to do with the above paragraph: the boys at the orphanage make the absolute best peanut butter in the world. Come visit me, if for nothing else, then for the peanut butter!

Thursday was our day off. It convieniently fell on the day we needed most. My stomach hurt worse than ever and it brought its best friend, Headache, with it. We finished our cleaning and unpacked in the morning. I was delighted to be able to spread out my belongings for the first time in six weeks. Donna made delicious spaghetti for lunch with real hamburger. We managed to make our house look like a home. Rachel rode bike into town from the orphanage to use the phone at our new house. Afterwards, she took us out to Papa's for dinner. That was fun to hang out.

Friday was the first day of our real "job" here in Mexico. We got to Loren and Donna's at 9:00 a.m. to begin the Rosetta Stone language study. Afterwards, Donna had us cover Spanish children's books. For anyone who cares- she has Francis books! and Curious George books! and Mike Mulligan and His Steamshovel! in Spanish! Okay, I'm done now. As we walked home, we came across a man selling three watermelons for ten pesos... so we bought three watermelons to take back to our apartment. Granted, they're not very large... We ate watermelon with Brianne in the heat of the afternoon. That evening was our eveing to go to Mochiqui. Donna, Stacey, and I headed out (me not having any idea what to expect). Some of the roads in that little village are hard to walk on and almost impossible to drive on. The poverty of the village was overwhelming; many of the people don't even have four walls under their roofs. Someone described the living situation as a giant campground, but most campgrounds in the States are better than the living conditions at Mochiqui. Chickens wander in and out of bedrooms. Cats climb up on the wobbly "kitchen" table. Yet, I was so encouraged at how happy the people were who lived there. These people had very little if any access to technology and yet they were so happy. My new little friend, Alma, made perfect corn tortillas over the fire. I got to babysit her little brother, Jaciel (who looks like a baby Tarzan). I petted their dogs and tasted their fruit. As we climbed back in the vehicle to come home, I felt incredibly dirty, but very happy. I felt that some of the joy had rubbed off on me- the affluent American. Loren bought hot dogs for dinner, so we had the Mexican hot dog all doctored up with avacados, tomatoes, cheese, onions, etc...

Instead of Sunday school, the church here in Choix has Saturday school. The children came to Loren and Donna's house (also the church) around 9:30. They sang, colored, and read verses, and listened to stories. The new little friends I had made in Mochiqui kept me busy. Alma even colored her picture just like mine. Stacey and I made lunch after the children had left. Tomato soup and cheese sandwiches made me a little homesick *sniffle*. We had the rest of the afternoon off, and Marlen, a 12-year-old girl from the community came to visit us at our apartment. She dressed up and sprayed on perfume before she came; she looked so pretty. We fed her some of our watermelon. Afterwards, we went for a walk to a nearby river. We got a little excited and started splashing each other- it felt wonderful in the heat of the afternoon.

That was my week. I've had to make adjustments, but most of them have been good. Let me know how your week has been!