I woke up this morning to realize that I have been here 21 days. I only have 5 more weeks and I know that time will pass quickly.
I am really enjoying myself here. I absolutely love Mexico and it's hard to think about leaving. This past week I got to work with a small group from Arizona. We did work projects at a church in the city and then we did a VBS in a poorer colony. I had so much fun just hanging out with the children. I also feel that my Spanish skills have improved. Children are a lot more difficult to understand but by the end of the week the kids and I were communicating just fine.
I am happy to report that I have recovered from my sickness and am doing well. I think this experience is good for me and my spiritual state. I feel as though I see the glory of God more often here. Mexican Christians are so passionate and they find their comfort and security in Him. Often in the U.S. we seek security and comfort from available sources that we have like money, food, nice home, hospitals. But here, those sources are not as readily available to the common folk. For example, when someone gets seriously hurt we think "get them to the hospital" but here, as I've witnessed, they stop what they are doing and they pray. ALWAYS!!!
Sometimes when I get to thinking I wonder why I am actually here in Mexico. It is hard for me to believe that I am here. But I am confident that God has a plan for my life and I am confident that he has a plan for me while I am here in Mexico.
Please be praying for me this next week. I will be helping coordinate a group that is coming to Agua Viva for the first time. I will also be doing more translation this week. My group will be doing construction at camp and then we will be doing a sports ministry in Ensenada.
Once again, thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Finally.........Pictures!
So here are just a few pictures. I hope to take lots more this next week and update you all a little more!
This past week I worked in a very poor neighborhood. This is just a snap shot of it. I worked at a church that was called Agua Viva. The church building was no bigger than my living room at home. We had about 50 children of all ages.
This is one of the darling little boys I got to work with. His name is Fernando and his sister is Mirian. You'll see a picture of her below. They are beautiful!
The kids love having their picture taken but it's so hard to get the older ones to smile. I felt quite successful when I asked them to make silly faces for the camera and they did!
These are two of the little girls who would not leave my side. This Jqueline and Mirian. We had lots of fun playing hide and go seek and hop scotch. The children here are beautiful and they teach you so much. And..... they absolutely love having their picture taken. It was hard to say goodbye, I don't know if I will see them again.
This past week I worked in a very poor neighborhood. This is just a snap shot of it. I worked at a church that was called Agua Viva. The church building was no bigger than my living room at home. We had about 50 children of all ages.
This is one of the darling little boys I got to work with. His name is Fernando and his sister is Mirian. You'll see a picture of her below. They are beautiful!
The kids love having their picture taken but it's so hard to get the older ones to smile. I felt quite successful when I asked them to make silly faces for the camera and they did!
These are two of the little girls who would not leave my side. This Jqueline and Mirian. We had lots of fun playing hide and go seek and hop scotch. The children here are beautiful and they teach you so much. And..... they absolutely love having their picture taken. It was hard to say goodbye, I don't know if I will see them again.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Reptiles and Insects, oh my!
So the weather is getting warmer here and the snakes are beginning to appear. I have yet to see one for myself and I'm praying that I will not be introduced to a Rattlesnake. My fellow summer staff had the pleasure of seeing a snake that was 5-6 ft long!
This morning I was jolted awake by my roommate who was hopping around the room screaming. There was a humongous bug crawling around the room. I started freaking out and I told her to kill it. So what does she do? She grabs MY shoe! After she killed the bug we smelt a lovely aroma, she had killed a stink bug! Yuck!
Anyways, I have always found flies annoying but they are quite frequent here. They buzz around you all the time and they never leave you alone. When I first arrived here I thought they were bees so I would frantically run around trying to escape them. People looked at me funny. Now, I just put up with them and I let them land on me. They're still gross but there are way worse things here....
This morning I was jolted awake by my roommate who was hopping around the room screaming. There was a humongous bug crawling around the room. I started freaking out and I told her to kill it. So what does she do? She grabs MY shoe! After she killed the bug we smelt a lovely aroma, she had killed a stink bug! Yuck!
Anyways, I have always found flies annoying but they are quite frequent here. They buzz around you all the time and they never leave you alone. When I first arrived here I thought they were bees so I would frantically run around trying to escape them. People looked at me funny. Now, I just put up with them and I let them land on me. They're still gross but there are way worse things here....
2 weeks down...
I can't believe that I only have six more weeks to go. Each day seems to drag on but overall time is flying. Today is my first day where I have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do. Sadly, I woke up this morning to discover that I am sick. =( Most everyone has gone into town to hang out but I'm still at camp taking it easy.
Well this past week was my first week in which I worked with an American group. I definitely have some improvement to do, but it was a good experience. My favorite part of the week was doing the vacation bible schools. I love spending time with the children! I'm looking forward to this next week. We will be working at a church in the morning and doing a VBS at one of the poorer colonies.
Please be praying for my health, Spanish, and trust in the Lord.
Well this past week was my first week in which I worked with an American group. I definitely have some improvement to do, but it was a good experience. My favorite part of the week was doing the vacation bible schools. I love spending time with the children! I'm looking forward to this next week. We will be working at a church in the morning and doing a VBS at one of the poorer colonies.
Please be praying for my health, Spanish, and trust in the Lord.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Spanish/Graduation/Shopping
I don't know what my problem is but today has not been a good day. For some reason I cannot think or talk in Spanish. This morning I had a few people talk to me in Spanish and I just kindly smiled and looked around for someone to help them. Later, I had three young Mexican girls following me around. They were quizzing me and I was not able to leave until they were called away. I loved talking to them but my Spanish was definitely not here today. Then, this afternoon we went into town and since I was driving I had to get gas and I had difficulty communicating with the lady. Some days Spanish is exciting and I feel like I'm learning so much and other days I feel completely hopeless. Today, I felt hopeless.
The summer staff graduated from training today. It was relaxing and fun. We had a feast on Nachos. We put sombreros on and marched around the table while everyone hummed the graduation song. =) I've been a bit quiet today and my coworkers have noticed. I don't know what's wrong.... I guess I'm feeling a bit inadequate for this job and my role as an ambassador for Christ. I've really struggled with my identity in Christ this last year. Please be praying that I will gather strength from God and put my hope and trust in him.
Today after graduation we went into town. We visited a Zapateria and the other girls bought shoes. It's weird they don't sell half sizes which makes it difficult to find shoes that fit. I drove around town a bit and I drove back to camp. Tomorrow we begin ministry at 3:30. Be praying that we get all of the work we need to get done prior to the groups arrival. Thank you so much for all of your love and encouragement! I hope to keep you updated with what's going on. I haven't quite got the hang of this blog thing yet. =)
The summer staff graduated from training today. It was relaxing and fun. We had a feast on Nachos. We put sombreros on and marched around the table while everyone hummed the graduation song. =) I've been a bit quiet today and my coworkers have noticed. I don't know what's wrong.... I guess I'm feeling a bit inadequate for this job and my role as an ambassador for Christ. I've really struggled with my identity in Christ this last year. Please be praying that I will gather strength from God and put my hope and trust in him.
Today after graduation we went into town. We visited a Zapateria and the other girls bought shoes. It's weird they don't sell half sizes which makes it difficult to find shoes that fit. I drove around town a bit and I drove back to camp. Tomorrow we begin ministry at 3:30. Be praying that we get all of the work we need to get done prior to the groups arrival. Thank you so much for all of your love and encouragement! I hope to keep you updated with what's going on. I haven't quite got the hang of this blog thing yet. =)
Adventures
After only being in Ensenada for 2 days we (the summer staff) were told that we would be driving into Ensenada and driving back. It's like a half hour each way. Anyhow, I got stuck with driving back in the dark. I don't think it would have been so bad if we hadn't been driving a huge truck that had horrible steering! It was a slightly scary experience. But now, we now how to navigate around town and we'll be exploring tomorrow.
This past week has been training. It has been a lot of fun and we have had some amazing experiences. One of the things we did was we ate with a different staff member each night. So we would go to their home (a mexican family) and we would eat dinner with them and spend a few hours there. Each time we walked into a home I had a lot of difficulty understanding them, but when I left I was able to understand most everything. It felt so good to be able to have good conversations. They are so encouraging with our spanish! I feel that my listening skills are improving a lot!
The Food is wonderful! I love Mexican food. But...... I don't think it's the healthiest. Next week we'll have stuff that is a bit more American but I really like the food they serve here. A thing I learned. Anything that is water based is called "agua" (water). So if you really just want water you have to be specific. You could very well end up with yucky flavored water.
There are a lot of ranch animals around. We had some goats and they were a bit scary but they just got taken away today. Right now, there is a large Mexican group in camp so I cannot find my "gatita."
I have had a lot of fun and stretching experiences here. It's so hard to believe that I am actually in Mexico, but I am and I am learning so much. I'll try to write more later..... I have not really had anytime to journal so this is a bit disorganized.
Please be praying for me. This next week will be our first group of Americans. We will be doing a VBS and construction project. Pray that we will get a better idea of our role and that we will be more comfortable in our position. Please pray for strength through the lonely times.
This past week has been training. It has been a lot of fun and we have had some amazing experiences. One of the things we did was we ate with a different staff member each night. So we would go to their home (a mexican family) and we would eat dinner with them and spend a few hours there. Each time we walked into a home I had a lot of difficulty understanding them, but when I left I was able to understand most everything. It felt so good to be able to have good conversations. They are so encouraging with our spanish! I feel that my listening skills are improving a lot!
The Food is wonderful! I love Mexican food. But...... I don't think it's the healthiest. Next week we'll have stuff that is a bit more American but I really like the food they serve here. A thing I learned. Anything that is water based is called "agua" (water). So if you really just want water you have to be specific. You could very well end up with yucky flavored water.
There are a lot of ranch animals around. We had some goats and they were a bit scary but they just got taken away today. Right now, there is a large Mexican group in camp so I cannot find my "gatita."
I have had a lot of fun and stretching experiences here. It's so hard to believe that I am actually in Mexico, but I am and I am learning so much. I'll try to write more later..... I have not really had anytime to journal so this is a bit disorganized.
Please be praying for me. This next week will be our first group of Americans. We will be doing a VBS and construction project. Pray that we will get a better idea of our role and that we will be more comfortable in our position. Please pray for strength through the lonely times.
My first week in Ensenada!!!
Many of you are asking silly questions so I thought I might just update you on a few things and give you some info. Here are some random things I've discovered and learned that are different:
1. Toilet paper is called trash paper (@ Agua Viva).
2. You throw trash paper away, NEVER EVER flush it!
3. You can only drink water from those big water jugs called "Garafones."
4. At taco stands you are not asked what you want. If you want something you must push your way to the front and ask for it!
5. Lunch is served later and Dinner is served around 8pm.
6. Mexican homes are very tiny.
7. Mexican children remain with their parents until they are married. Relationships are very important.
8. Ice cream is not called "helado" it is called "nieve." It tastes good and is cheaper.
9. Animals are not "a man's best friend." They are kicked and treated poorly.
10. There is only one gas price, because there is only one type of gas station in Mexico.
11. People don't take turns at stop signs..... it's who ever takes initiative and goes.
12. You can actually sees tons of stars!!!
There are so many things but I'm starting to become accustomed to them so that I do not notice them as much.
1. Toilet paper is called trash paper (@ Agua Viva).
2. You throw trash paper away, NEVER EVER flush it!
3. You can only drink water from those big water jugs called "Garafones."
4. At taco stands you are not asked what you want. If you want something you must push your way to the front and ask for it!
5. Lunch is served later and Dinner is served around 8pm.
6. Mexican homes are very tiny.
7. Mexican children remain with their parents until they are married. Relationships are very important.
8. Ice cream is not called "helado" it is called "nieve." It tastes good and is cheaper.
9. Animals are not "a man's best friend." They are kicked and treated poorly.
10. There is only one gas price, because there is only one type of gas station in Mexico.
11. People don't take turns at stop signs..... it's who ever takes initiative and goes.
12. You can actually sees tons of stars!!!
There are so many things but I'm starting to become accustomed to them so that I do not notice them as much.
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