Ricardo helping Donna in the kitchen.
Playing "Snake Pit" at special activity.
Lenn and Jeffrey.
The girls' team in water balloon volleyball.
Chuy taking a ride in a box.
A pitaya (cactus fruit)...I told you it looks like an orange brain!
Cuddly little critter Roxina found outside. 
Jackalyn. (This one is for you, Mom. Recognize that skirt?) 
Janessa, Mari, and Magdaly in the rain.Sunday, May 17, 2009.
I walked over to Vanessa's house this morning specifically to invite her family to church. But ten o'clock rolled around and they didn't come. I sat with Ana and kept an eye on Tita and Uriel since MariCruz was not there. I went to Mochiqui with the villagers and Martin and Alain. Alain told me he still knew all of the English he'd learned when he had been living at the orphanage. I didn't ask him to prove it. I spent my afternoon on the computer and talking with Janelle on the phone. Happy birthday, Janelle! Chispa, the Yoders' chihuahua (or part chihuahua...aka: yippy rat-like canine), started having her puppies and Donna stayed home from San Pedro to keep an eye on her. The rest of us had a hot, windy ride. Julian and Fransisca were very talkative and we stayed until almost dark.
I walked over to Vanessa's house this morning specifically to invite her family to church. But ten o'clock rolled around and they didn't come. I sat with Ana and kept an eye on Tita and Uriel since MariCruz was not there. I went to Mochiqui with the villagers and Martin and Alain. Alain told me he still knew all of the English he'd learned when he had been living at the orphanage. I didn't ask him to prove it. I spent my afternoon on the computer and talking with Janelle on the phone. Happy birthday, Janelle! Chispa, the Yoders' chihuahua (or part chihuahua...aka: yippy rat-like canine), started having her puppies and Donna stayed home from San Pedro to keep an eye on her. The rest of us had a hot, windy ride. Julian and Fransisca were very talkative and we stayed until almost dark.
Monday, May 18, 2009.
Monday was a day that nothing went particularly right or particularly wrong. I did language study in the morning and then took my practice sentences from my study over to Vanessa's house. They helped me correct the things I had wrong. I ate a greenish mango that made my teeth hurt. But I managed to avoid putting Huichol hot sauce on it, although they insisted that I try it. The blood in my veins is still from el otro lado (the other side) I guess. I read a book during my time off. I felt lazy, but it felt nice. We left for San Pedro in the heat of the day. I was covered in sweat when we reached the trench-riddled road of the village. Class was small. The wind blew great gusts of dust over us. When I got home, I washed my face three times before the grit disappeared. After dinner, I plopped down on my bed and was disgusted to see cat hair all over my sheets. Let's just say that I hate the cat even more than before. Give me a mouse or a cockroach any day. Janessa suddenly burst into the room to declare that it was raining outside. The big drops were heavy and cold...so refreshing. We stood in the rain with Magda and Mari, two of the neighbor girls, and bumped around the volleyball as thunder grumbled and lightning danced in the sky. I was cold enough to make myself a cup of coffee. Coffee and rain...two of my favorite smells in the whole world. Something else happened that night that I didn't find out about until the next day. Rosalina, one of the girls from the orphanage, asked Jesus to forgive her sins and to live in her heart. The angels greatly rejoiced in heaven...
Tuesday, May 19, 2009.
Our room still smelled like rain by morning. I made cookies and lunch and did my laundry (I wanted to wash the cat hair off of my sheets). In the afternoon, I worked on the invitations for the special activity on Saturday for the children that had memorized their verses. Rach and Rhonda came while I was still hard at work. Rhonda stayed for dinner. I felt like a German frau with my heaping plateful next to her tiny little salad. We had fun talking and talking. We moved outside eventually where it was much cooler. And then it began to rain again. Lenn stopped by to pick up Rhonda and I hopped into the van to give Rosalina, my new sister in Christ, a big hug. They're planning a baptism this Sunday before Rach leaves for the States. Pray for strength and wisdom for Rosalina; she's the first in her family to make this step. The electricity went out as I was cleaning my room. Outside, the air was cool, but the house was still muggy. The fan kicked back in around 11:00 p.m. and I slept good.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009.
I swept and mopped my floor. I had pretty much all day just to be lazy...and I took advantage of that. I spent time on the Internet and talking with my family. Then Rhonda came over and we walked uptown together. At both JLR and the dulceria, the cashiers talked to us in English. Rhonda was greatly comforted until I burst her bubble by telling her how rare the occurrences were. We walked up to the little ice cream parlor which is a Mexican version of Whit's End. The ice cream was delicious. When I withdrew money from the ATM, I turned around and saw the man behind me smiling at me hopefully; he probably was counting the bills in my hand. We had communion in the evening. The time together was refreshing. I felt like I could truly worship God through the Spanish songs. Afterwards, Rach and I went out for hot dogs and took them to the gazebo at the plaza. It stormed a little and rained a lot. Some other stragglers joined us under the protection of the roof. Rach and I were yacking away to each other when suddenly the newcomers began talking with us in English. After that, we felt a little nervous about continuing our conversation until they left. We bought [non-alcoholic] drinks on the way home and I drank my entire sugary Arizona fruit flavored drink before I went to bed.
Thursday, May 21, 2009.
Thursday, May 21, 2009.
Maybe that's why I was so tired this morning. I woke up deliciously cold and quickly took advantage of the situation to put on a sweatshirt and drink some hot chocolate. I worked on writing out verses, songs, etc all morning. By the time that we had lunch, I felt like falling asleep on my plate. I almost did, but I made it to my bedroom first. I slept my siesta time away and woke up as the Yoder family was leaving for San Pedro. Then I made desserts for fun night and wrote out more songs on posterboard. I walked to Vanessa's house to drop off her invitation for Saturday. It started to rain so I rushed home. Before long, the sun was out again as well as a huge rainbow. The colors were so beautiful and it reminded me that God always keeps His promises. I took a walk in the cool afternoon air and dropped by Marlen's house to chat. When I got home, the house was deathly quiet until the Yoders came home around 9:00 p.m.
Friday, May 22, 2009.
This morning it took all of my energy to pull myself out of bed. Dona Paula and Fermin from San Pedro stopped by during breakfast. I helped Donna in the morning with typing out verses and making the gift bags for the special activity. Marlen came by and stayed until after lunch. I walked uptown to buy a tortilla press and soon was surrounded by a big group of middle school girls. One of them remembered me; we met around Christmas, she said. So we re-made an acquaintance and her friend asked me for a peso to buy coke. I don't think she was too impressed when I laughed at her. After lunch I read my book and took a nap. When I got up, we left for Mochiqui. Maria and I had a nice visit with Ana and Rosa. Ana showed us many of her drawings; she is definitely an artist! At fun night, we celebrated (or mourned, depending on how you look at it) Rachel's leaving by eating her favorite dessert. After we cleaned up, we sat outside to watch the children play. I played tic-tac-toe in the sand with Leobardo. The evening was cool and peaceful.
This morning it took all of my energy to pull myself out of bed. Dona Paula and Fermin from San Pedro stopped by during breakfast. I helped Donna in the morning with typing out verses and making the gift bags for the special activity. Marlen came by and stayed until after lunch. I walked uptown to buy a tortilla press and soon was surrounded by a big group of middle school girls. One of them remembered me; we met around Christmas, she said. So we re-made an acquaintance and her friend asked me for a peso to buy coke. I don't think she was too impressed when I laughed at her. After lunch I read my book and took a nap. When I got up, we left for Mochiqui. Maria and I had a nice visit with Ana and Rosa. Ana showed us many of her drawings; she is definitely an artist! At fun night, we celebrated (or mourned, depending on how you look at it) Rachel's leaving by eating her favorite dessert. After we cleaned up, we sat outside to watch the children play. I played tic-tac-toe in the sand with Leobardo. The evening was cool and peaceful.
Saturday, May 23, 2009.
Ricardo came very early to Saturday school. When he got his invitation to the afternoon's special activity, he was elated. He exclaimed dramatically: "Yo voy a ir! Ya dije todos mis versiculos!" (I'm going to go! I said all of my verses!). Then with rasping fake sobs he flung his arms around the person standing the closest to him. I cannot be around him with out laughing. Something about him makes laughter sort of bubble up and spill over. I talked with Ana for a long time after class. I made quesadillas for lunch and set out leftovers. I determined not to sleep during my time off as much as I wanted to. Instead, I read a little and then walked uptown to pick up a little gift for Ana. When I came back, I helped get things ready for the special activity. Ricardo came early and wandered through the front door after he got tired of watching us at the window. He insisted on helping Donna stir the tostada sauce and then tattled on me when I tried to sneak some chocolate out of the fridge. We finally left with a truck load of people and things. I helped with one of the games, but just had fun watching the children play. They got along pretty well for the most part which was a blessing. I gave Ana the gift and she almost got tears in her eyes. It was worth every peso! We came home and Aile and Marlen stayed for the evening and played games.
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