Toothpicks, Peaches, and Tarantulas

Sunday, August 9, 2009.
I’m so tired of being hot. We were a little late in getting around this morning. I cleaned up the kitchen while the kids set up for church. Ian had the sermon about the creation. After church, I tried to watch busy little Chuy and talk with Ana. I’m not a very good multi-tasker. I went along to Mochiqui to keep the boys under control. Jorge, Santos, Omar, and Neto had fun tormenting me while the girls looked on in amusement. After we dropped everyone off, we went up to the boys’ dorm to get a tank of well water to haul it to MariCruz’s house. Miguel and Lenn joined us in standing out in the boiling sun as we waited for the tank to fill. We took a drink from the hose and Loren purposely splashed water up my nose. We went into Mochiqui and unloaded the water. We got home late for lunch. I tried to take a nap which turned out to be a “think” because I didn’t sleep. I did my email and we left for San Pedro. The ride was full and the service was full. Yesi basically laid on top of me and Carla was pressed up against my other side. When we stood for prayer, we all had to stand together if we managed to get up at all. It was HOT! Julian preached his first sermon. He felt self-conscious, but he did good, in my opinion. I spent most of my time after the service talking with Doñas Paula and Artemia. Sitting with a fan blowing in one ear, I had a hard time hearing Paula’s low, gravelly voice and Artemia’s soft one. On the way home, the sky was holding a bright rainbow just over the mountains.
Monday, August, 10, 2009.
We all got up early and actually set out for Los Mochis within five or ten minutes of our goal. We had to beat the morning rush of visitors. I decided to be a tourist, and had fun taking lots of pictures. Our first stop in Mochis was a trashcan. Someone had left a bunch of balloons in their trash and I snapped a family photo for Caleb’s 13th birthday celebration, complete with balloons! Janessa was about to faint from embarrassment. We stopped at a Christian bookstore where I gleefully left behind some money. Next, we went to the park. I was totally lethargic because of the heat so Janessa and I went on a lethargic walk which ended with our sitting lethargically on a bench and watching other lethargic people trickle by. Caleb chose to eat at a Chinese buffet for his birthday (after some input from Loren: “I would love some Chinese food! Caleb, you get to choose where we eat today! Chinese just sounds so good!”). I can’t complain; I’ve been craving Chinese food for weeks and weeks. The Chinese buffet was clean and the staff was as excellent as the tea and the food. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed sweet and sour until I tasted it again. Mmmm… Only the dessert bar belied the fact that we were in Mexico: mango, chili sprinkled on the watermelon, and flan. Loren tried to use his kabob stick as a toothpick. Janessa about fainted from embarrassment again, especially when Loren pointed out the versatility of the long wooden stick to our waiter. The waiter took the hint and kindly brought us a container of toothpicks. The Yoder family went bowling and I sat and read a book and laughed at their shoes. We walked around in the mall for a little and then went to Soriana. Big places like Soriana are such a culture shock to me. The array and the options…. Wow! Our last stop was Wal-Mart where I’m proud to admit I have not been to since February the 3rd. I am living proof that someone can survive with low doses of Wal-Mart. We had a long ride home, but we got to slobber on juicy peaches, a Wal-Mart purchase. We got home late and I crawled into bed dirty.

Trashcan birthday party!
That's a really scary slide, Janessa.

The cool palm trees at the park.

I couldn't help but laugh. Other people have to do this too!

The yummy Chinese food.

Loren's "pica de dientes."

Kyle bowling.

Wal-Mart, just a little Mexicanized.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009.

I got early to take the shower I’d skipped last night. I started my laundry and ate a quick breakfast. I made a birthday cake for a little girl which was doughy in the middle and burnt around the edges. The rest of the family was gone helping a lady from church change houses. But I wasn’t alone; Junier, Esteycy, and Johan hung out on the porch for a good part of the morning. Esteycy passed the time looking in the window and demanding from me a narration of every move I made. Also, a drunk man joined us after a while. He stood at the window and made motions to his mouth that I assumed meant that he wanted food. I told him “No, come back later,” but he didn’t take me seriously until the third time I told him. Then he grumpily sat on the front porch and gave me hungry looks through the window. I made cookies for the prison as well as lunch. We had a late lunch when everyone got home. I mopped my floor, finished laundry, and did the dishes. I started stamping tracts before I had my time off and finished after my time off. I had to help Janessa with dinner, since she didn’t decide what to make until about fifteen minutes before dinnertime. Two exciting things happened tonight. One was that the dogs were barking wildly (not so unusual, right?)… at a man in our backyard. He apparently had climbed over the fence and was wandering around. Janessa came into our room with a “the-sky-is-falling” look. She looked so nervous that she almost made me nervous. Anyway, the man was drunk and claimed he wanted food or something. Next, Loren found a tarantula in the alleyway and called us out to see it. It was cool, but he killed it with a screen frame before I could get digital proof. I know I live in Mexico, but I must live a sheltered life, because that was the first tarantula I’ve seen yet.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009.

The storm from last night made the world cool again. Unfortunately, the electricity blinked off and on all morning. I’m not really sure why… it is just something that always happens on my day off. I drank tea in front of a fan, pretending that a cool breeze was blowing and wishing I was cold. Donna was sick. Kedric asked her, "Mom, are you sick because you're pregnant?" (She said no, in case you're wondering.) I worked on the computer and then casually meandered uptown to go shopping. I bought gifts for upcoming birthdays along with a few souvenirs. I tried in vain to withdraw some money. Instead the machine blinked a vile message at me "YOU CANNOT WITHDRAW MONEY!" I shuffled out, giving onlookers a sheepish smile. I'm not sure what the problem was; hopefully nothing a week won't cure. When I got home I talked on the phone and then *gasp* studied Spanish verbs. I have a slight working knowledge of all fourteen tenses. However, looking at them in the textbook and trying to use them in conversation are two different aspects. Ana came to prayer meeting. She presented me with a gift, a drawing of flowers with our names on it. I was so honored that I wanted to cry. On the ride to Mochiqui, the truck was so full that we could hardly breathe. Rosa's hair was flying into my mouth. I decided it was better to not talk and keep my mouth closed from flying hair, even though Carlos, Santos, Jorge, Sergio, and Neto were pestering me again. Why am I so pesterable? We took Marlen home and then I came back to talk on the phone some more. Donna brought me a smoothie while I lounged lazily across my bed.

Thursday, August 13, 2009.

Today was such a blessing. Roxina became a Christian today. At the orphanage, my job was easy. That was a good thing since I had at least twelve kids underfoot. Suzanne excitedly went through the last Bible study lesson with Roxina which ended with Roxina accepting Jesus into her heart. She came inside and gave me a shy smile with her face aglow. "Tricia-" she stopped and I gave her a bear hug. I was thrilled to see her so happy. She is planning on being baptized on Sunday with the three others. During lunch clean up I tried to convince Miguel to come to the States with me even if he'd have to go without papers. I was teasing of course, and he knew that. I took time off in the bodega and had a little alone time before Rhonda and eventually Suzanne and Chuy joined me. I finally went inside to change a very stinky Chuyito. I didn't do much in the afternoon except entertain Chuy and Jeffrey, two busy little boys. The kids were playing "wedding" and took turns getting married to various grooms who most of the time were female. The scenery on the way home to Choix was beautiful. The green mountains were bathed in sunlight against the dark and rainy sky. A brilliant rainbow hovered over it all, shining reminder of God's faithfulness to us.

Carol, the bride and Roxina, "father-of-the-bride."

Friday, August 14, 2009.
Roxina didn't want to just help with the laundry, she wanted to do the laundry. She rapidly sorted the piles, throwing rags in with dishcloths and underwear in with denims. (It might not have been quite so bad, but I had to check through the "sorted" laundry when she was done.) I didn't mind that she wanted to lift the heavy water containers. However, she eventually saw how much fun the other kids were having inside the house and opted to desert me. That was okay. In between loads I read my book, talked with a few stray kids wandering by, and gave a massage. Next was lunch and then Regina and I walked over to Mochiqui to drop off groceries at Doña Aurora's and do a few rapid visits. I was hot and thirsty when I got back. I was dreaming of a Coca-Cola, Fresca, or a Fanta. Soon after we got back, we went into town to pass out tracts. After walked up streets and down streets under the blazing sun for more than an hour, I was getting the overwhelming feeling that usually only comes from opening an oven door. I was so glad to get home and sit in front of a fan and drink water. Oh, but one interesting thing happened; I was setting a tract on a front step when I looked up into the eyes of an unfriendly German shepherd. My first thought was "What a beautiful dog!" and my second thought was "Uh-oh." He barked and I ran. Fortunately, the street was nearly deserted save one passerby who laughed at me. Roxina asked me in broken English, "Porqué you spooky dogs?" The singles went out to eat at a "fancy" restaurant. They had spacious tables, AC, and a big screen TV. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves and it was fun to relax and hang out. My drink came in a big goblet and looked pretty alcoholic, much to my concern. We went to Yoders' and tried to play Phase 10, but nobody was really into it, especially after Scott went to buy coke for everyone. We saw another tarantula. Johan killed it with his sandal. I'm starting to think we are infested.

Johan, Rhonda, me, and Scott (Sam took the picture).

Gotta love the mustache!

Saturday, August 15, 2009.

One month from today and I'll be on my way home. I woke up way too early but managed to stay in bed after I should have gotten up. We'd hardly started setting up for class when the first children trickled in. After class, Suzanne gave me instructions for next week when I'll be living out at the orphanage. I went to the store with Rosalina and talked with Ana. We had forty-two people in the van on the way home. Rhonda and I discussed next week as we made lunch. After lunch clean up, the kids listened to music and drew and colored. I was completely chillin' minus the millions of questions Fernando kept asking me. Chuy was strangely silent when I got him up, he just stared and stared even while he was eating his puffies. I took my time off in the air-conditioned bodega. I woke up cold from my nap and turned off the AC. I helped a tiny bit with dinner prep and then we ate and did clean up. Today wasn't too exciting; pretty mundane... but if every day was exciting, exciting would become mundane. Does that make any sense?