Meetings, Meetings, and More Meetings

Dietrich's photography skills of half of the San Pedro crowd on Friday night.
Luis, Yesi, and their grandmother.

Sergio and Jorge arm-wrestling.

Carol trying to lift Jaciel.

Church in San Pedro was small...but where 2 or 3 are gathered together, God promises to be there in the midst of them. We came home from church and then I gathered up my Bible, a songbook, and my journal and off I went to find some place to sit in the shade. The outside air was muggy and the spot I chose was not very accomodating. I switched positions several times and made myself endure the hard concrete because I had found a place where I could sit unmolested. The only man that spoke to me was someone who delighted in showing me that he had a English/Spanish parallel Bible with him, just like me! I meandered home to drop off my things and go prayer walking. I shortened my route thanks to the thick, tepid air. After the Choix service I climbed in the truck with the Mochiqui villagers. Loren did his little "Tricia es la jefa" (Tricia is the boss) speech again and it worked like a charm this time. We came back and played a bit of volleyball in our homemade court in the backyard. It was fun minus the fire ants that caused unnecessary pain. Ouch! I was reading on the front porch when Rojelio, his sister, and a friend came bounding up to the window. They played for quite awhile... Salvador showed up for a little too; just to pop in and out for some water.

I felt like all that I did on Monday was laundry. I started in the morning, but the water and electricity were, eh, struggling. I deserted my task for the finer things in life like my usual morning Phase 10 game with Vanessa and Lupita. I won for the first time! They enjoyed the Spanish instructions I had written out for them. When I got back, Kedric and I walked up to the hardware store for spray paint. And there I saw the hugest Mexican I have seen so far. He filled the entire doorway! Caleb was a darling and painted all of the crafts for me. We had some extra help with Lupita, David, and Aile around too. There was lots of action around the house until we left for San Pedro. After Kid's Club, I helped Yesi memorize her verses until she said all of Salmo 23 (Psalms 23). We came back and Kyle (as I affectionately call pollito, or little male chick) tackled me while I looked through a cookbook to decide what to make for Tuesday's lunch. Then all of the Yoder family left for a birthday party and I stayed behind to drink hot chocolate, read, and go to bed early.

Tuesday was a day that I'm glad does not happen every day. Yikes. Tuesday was Dia de la Bandera (Day of the Flag) and a parade started in the morning while we were eating breakfast. We went running outside and ended up racing all of the way down to the hospital to get ahead of the parade. The funny thing was that neither Kedric nor Kyle were wearing shoes...and Caleb was carrying his cereal bowl and shoveling cornflakes in as we walked past crowds of people. Janessa prepared to die of humiliation while I laughed uncontrollably. We made our own little parade! I got another box today from my dear friend Alissa with Cheerios and dark chocolate!!! Diego, the post office man, told me when I walked in the door: "I no speak English," when he actually speaks very good English. I asked him if there was a box for me and he said no....with a big stupid grin on his face. "Let's see; Treesa Kenal." When I got back from the post office, Loren told me that Julian, Fransisca, Gris, and Briancito were staying for lunch. I was trying a new recipe which was not working out well. After spilling grease on my clothes, having Janessa run for extra food, and talking to people who were asking me for money, it all turned out fine in the end. A drunk sat on our porch for a good part of the morning, upset with the world and talking to his imaginary friend beside him. He tried to tell us that he was not drunk and encouraged Loren to drink some of the "water" in his bottle. The poor little soul finally wandered off to find someone who might believe him. People were in and out all morning and by the time that dishes were done, I was ready for a break! After break, I finished the craft project and made the desserts for Wednesday lunch...when the gringos would be together again since the DNI board is visiting Mexico. Then we ate and planned on going to Caleb's game until we found out that his game had started at 5:00 instead of 7:00 and was already over. I called Alissa and talked to her as long as her cell phone service permitted (not very long). I changed the light bulb in our room as I was talking to her...It got a little tricky but at least I could stop bumping into things as I paced. I thought the day might end there, and it almost did. But someone came pounding on our door asking for a gringo to translate for another gringo who had collapsed and didn't know any Spanish. Loren and Caleb rushed off to the hospital and came back with phone numbers of the man's relatives. Donna tried calling and only got ahold of one man named Slick (nice name, huh?) who gave us conflicting information from the gringo himself. Loren ended up running to Los Mochis to stay with the man until his family could come. Whew! What a day!

All of Wednesday morning, I was incredibly draggy. I was tired and a little grumpy, if I must admit it publicly. My cold felt like it had invited a friend over. I baked lots and lots of cookies and even burned a few for people who stopped in. How nice I am! I took a plateful over to my old landlady's house and she received me with delight. The poor lady is very lonely since Stacey and I moved out. We talked for quite awhile. I struggled with my Spanish, but she was very forgiving and understood surprisingly well. I feel that God gave me so much grace in that hour as we communicated at a level we never really had before. Pepe whined at me across the fence, but the landlady shut him (her?) up with: "Si, tu conoces a ella, pero ella no te quiere" (Yes, you know her, but she doesn't want you). I barely got back in time to jump into the Rod's van and head out to the orphanage for lunch. We had delicious chicken casserole thanks to Rachel. I sat between Rosalina and Roxina to keep them from fighting. We didn't stay long, but it was short and sweet. The ride home was short too, but not so sweet. The van was suffocatingly warm. I called home and talked to my sister until my brother cut into our conversation. So I talked with my brother until my mom cut into our conversation. Yes, I have quite a rude family. After siesta time, I walked uptown to Marlen's house to take her some cookies. Once again, I felt God's grace with the language as I talked with Marlen, her grandmother, and her uncle for over an hour. The uncle only ate one cookie because cookies were so sweet. Yet, he was drinking a coke that he said was better in Mexico than the States because of the extra sugar in it. I had such a good time and left so late that I only had time to quickly change before Rod arrived and we headed for San Pedro. We picked up people in their villages and packed them in like sardines. Allen Roth had the message. After listening to him speak English for five weeks in NYC, it was funny to hear him open his mouth and rattle off an entire sermon in perfect Spanish. After the service, most of the little kids delighted in calling me Salchica. We drank coffee; Fransisca saved out a cup full of black coffee for me before she ruined it by dumping milk and tons of sugar in. We stayed and visited for awhile and then headed home, dropping people off in their respective villages.

On my day off, I woke up early, but I enjoyed laying in bed just thinking and relaxing. I showered, did laundry, and then went souvenir shopping (I'm almost done!). I walked up to the plaza and was impressed to see all sorts of little shops set up....maybe for the beginning of Lent (???). No one bothered me and I relaxed peacefully with my Jungle Doctor book and my journal. When I got back, I had a meeting with the DNI board. Janessa informed me that I should be nervous, but I wasn't really. After the meeting, I was very hungry and ate a bowl full of beans. Mexico is changing me. Loren picked up the people in Mochiqui and we left for the San Pedro service. I sat on a stool during the entire service which was highly uncomfortable. Allen Roth talked about the trinity, a very interesting topic... After the service, we had bread, coffee, and Mexican corn (on the cob with mayo, cheese, and lemon). We got home late and I crawled into bed dirty.

All of Friday morning, Janessa and I worked on craft projects for Sunday and made lunch as Loren and Donna met with the DNI board. We had tostadas for lunch with lots of delicious toppings. In the afternoon, all of the workers met with the board to discuss policy changes, etc. Brianne and I biked back into town. I showered and got ready for the evening. We picked up Mochiqui and Colexio people in Rod's van, resulting in twenty-five people in a fifteen-passenger van. More people came to Friday evening's service than the previous nights, PTL. Allen Roth talked about the family...a worthwhile topic of discussion in Mexico. I sat between Diego and Miguel who fought over holding my Bible and tried to steal my songbook. After coffee and animal crackers, Sergio and Jorge talked non-stop on the way home. The rest of us were tired and tried to ignore them, but it was impossible. I got home before the Yoders and was ready for bed when they arrived home.

We had cornflakes for breakfast and then got ready for the morning. The children for Saturday school were early as usual and we let them in to terrorize the backyard. I bought groceries for lunch and then worked on the pile of dishes until class started. After class, I made bean burritos and guacamole for lunch. Allen stayed for lunch and entertained us with Spanish culture stories. I was still being entertained when the phone rang and my mom was calling me. I talked to her while I did dishes and then walked up to the plaza to read. Silly me forgot my water bottle and had to walk back home after only an hour. The day isn't over yet, and I'm not sure what the rest of it will hold for me. Pero Dios sabe! (But God knows!)