Viva... MEXICO! And Honduras! And USA!

What? What am I talking about, you ask?

Yes, I know, most of my readers are "gringos" from the US, and put "soccer" in the same sports category as water polo and lacrosse. But it really shouldn't be that way you know... Soccer is the most popular sport in the WORLD - it should be embraced!

Especially when MY THREE COUNTRIES are going to the World Cup!! South Africa, 2010.

In Mexico there wasn't too much celebrating going on when we won the game that clinched entry to the Cup. Most people just automatically assume that Mexico will go... although I have to admit that two months ago, I betted two people 1liter Cokes that Mexico would NOT go, as they were playing so horrible... But that's beside the point.

My brother, Franklin, in Tegucigalpa, sent me video footage of the celebration the night Honduras won entry to the Cup. And footage from the airport when, what seemed like the entire 2million people of Tegus, came to welcome the Honduran team back from El Salvador, where the victory was won. In both of the videos, you may be surprised to know that some Hondurans were toting around not only the Honduran flag, but also the USA flag. This is because if the US hadn't tied or won their game against Costa Rica, Honduras would NOT have gone to the Cup. But USA and CR tied, so CR is out, and Honduras in.



And speaking of Hondurans carrying around the American Flag...

It makes me think back about my time there and the way people treated me, being a gringa. I honestly never felt anyone bad-mouthing the USA, nor discriminating against me for being from there. True, there were store and bank atendees who tried speaking to me in broken english - either thinking that I can't speak spanish, or wanting to practice their english - I prefer to think the latter. And I may or may not have been ripped off at stores, etc. for being a gringa. But in general, people were at least OK with me.

Now, in (Queretaro) Mexico it's a different story. I'm not saying that gringos are treated badly, but frequently people make comments about the US government (can't blame them) and the country in general that rather irritate me. I don't go around saying bad things about Mexico... But what really gets me is the "being ripped off for being a gringa" part. I've been here almost 4 years now, and my spanish is actually quite good. And STILL I have people in stores, taxi drivers, and market vendors trying to make me pay outrageous prices for things, because I'm white so I have money right?? hehe. It usually does change things a bit when I throw in some mexican terms while telling them I won't pay that ridiculous price...

And then, there's being a Mexican in Honduras. "But you're NOT a Mexican!" you say. Well, because of said "mexican terms" that are now a very well-used part of my daily vocabulary, and the fact that women on mexican TV shows are tall and blonde, I very easily pass for a Mexican in countries south of Mexico. The last 2 times that I went to Honduras, I was frequently asked if I was "from Mexico." I always said yes. (I actually DID come from Mexico to Honduras...) And that good attitude toward "Jessica the gringa" that I mentioned above, abruptly disappears. "Yesica la mexicana" is attended to in stores with glares, and given rude comments about my country of residence. Suyapa says it all has to do with soccer. I can see that soccer plays a part in this, but I can't believe that it would make up ALL the animosity of Hondurans toward Mexicans. It could have a lot to do with the fact that some immigration offices in Mexico treat CentralAmericans very badly when caught illegally in Mexico (you think I'm joking, but Mexico treats illegal CentralAmericans as bad or worse than the US treats illegal mexicans...) If any Central American is going to get caught illegally in Mexico, shoot for Queretaro. Our immigration office feeds them a choice of KFC of Pizza Hut, and actually treats them like worthy humans (as all humans have the right to). I see this because of my visits to immigration for my residency...

The famous "Caballero taunting Cuautemoc" in one of the games that Honduras won against Mexico... Cuautemoc is NOT a favorite of mine...

Anyhow, I'm glad that Suyapa and family were able to come visit Mexico last year. They fell in love with our friends Luis and Sandy, and were able to break the sterotypical "mexicans are lazy wife-beaters" mindset that was mentioned to me right before I started dating JP. Franklin even wants to come here for a month or so to visit... he'd LOVE all the art museums and going to the lovely towns around QRO! I'm still a little wary about taking JP to Honduras some day, and he's not exaclty jumping-up-and-down excited to go either. But someday we'll go, and (God willing!) he'll love it despite a few nay-sayers and their comments...

So, I'm not sure what the point of this entry is... MY countries are going to the World CUP, and I LOVE being in all three of said countries... I love living in Mexico, but I miss the warmth of the Honduran people, and their beans and quesillo and crema de mantequilla; and the grass, carpet, and chinese food of the USA. But, when outside of Mexico, I miss all my friends, and the world's most yummiest cuisine, and the excellent weather in QRO... And here we'll stay until God says otherwise!

Adventures in Disicipling

As many of you know, a lot of what I do in ministry here in Queretaro is discipling young ladies. This is also my favorite part of ministry!

Recently, I've been meeting with Cristina (pictured below in the green shirt). She's the same as as me, and grew up in a Christian home, but spent years not following the Lord. After several years of bad decisions, a year in the US, and returning to try to pick up the pieces to her life, Cristina has decided that she can't go on without the Lord. So we're walking through the process of learning exactly what is a relationship with the Lord, and that, while He always forgives us and forgets our mistakes, He doesn't necesarily take away the consequences.
It's been great to see how Cristina relies more and more on the Lord every day, and is seeking Him in her decisions!

About a year ago I had been meeting with Ere. But she kind of dropped off the planet for a while... I called her frequently, but was discouraged that she never wanted to make time to meet. So about two months ago, Ere came to me and asked to talk. We went out to lunch, and she told me that she hadn't been feeling well (emotionally and spiritually) recently. I asked her why, and she, very honestly, replied, "because Ere is most important in my life, and not God." She decided to begin the process of changing who's number ONE in her life, so we are beginning to meet regularly to study the life of Christ together! It's great to be able to learn and grow alongside another young lady! (Ere and I are pictured below)

And, not all discipleships go as planned. I was meeting weekly with Carmelita, a young lady from an extremely difficult financial and family background. It was a challenge for me to relate to her, as I have never even come close to experiencing many of the things she's gone through. But she seemed to be willing to open up to me about the hard times.
Carmelita frequently asked me for money. At first, I was not hesistant to give, as JP and I aren't going to starve if we help her and her family out a bit. And we SHOULD help the less fortunate. But, the asking was getting to be more demanding than asking, more frequent, and also extended to various other church members who also thought they were the only ones helping this family. Carmelita is out of high school and does not go to college or work. This posed a bit of a problem for me... After talking to our church staff and another trusted Christian friend, I slowly began to talk to Carmelita about the asking for money, and the fact that she's not studying, working, nor even looking for a job. I felt like it went over well in that moment. I even volunteered to drive her around to look for jobs, and to help her put together a resume. During this entire conversation, I never told her that she MUST go work, but I asked several times if she would think and pray about what the best way to support her family is (morally, spiritually, as well as financially). We left knowing that we would both be praying about how best to be in support of her family.
But since then, Carmelita has avoided me completely! I'm rather surprised about this. As I mentioned, I felt like that sensitive conversation went over quite well. So I hope to see Carmelita soon, although I don't want to pressure her to meet with me if she doesn't want to...

Independence Day... A Tad Bit Late

We just want to share a few pictures of this years' Independence Day celebration! We begin celebrating in the evening of Sept. 15 (the official holiday is the 16th), and this year we went to Horizonte Church for food, fellowship, fun, and MORE food!

Pile of three different nationalities! Marica (Costa Rica), Jessica (USA, STILL not a mexican), and JP (Mexico)... Oh! And that bluish-colored tamal* is blackberry flavored! VERY yummy!!

Ladies serving up pozole, tamales, elotes, tostadas de tinga, fruit cider, and lots of other Mexican foods, especially typical of Queretaro!

Face painting and goofing off! (Hey look, I'm not the blondest gringa here!)

My friends: Sarah, Amayrani (have fun pronouncing THAT name!), Brisa, and Ana!

It was a great night!!

* "TAMAL" is the singular for TAMALES (tah-MAH-lees). So just one tamal is "tah-MAHL." Oh the fun facts about Mexican cuisine... :)

Stay tuned for: Adventures in Discipling (the good, the bad, and the well, less than desireable...), A short trip to Mexico City to visit JP's dad, Young Adults' ministry... etc.

Thank You God for Mexico!

Although I've been here in Queretaro for almost four years, (yeah, it's gone by REALLY fast!) there is still so much to learn culturally! I frequently that the Lord for sending me to Mexico - besides the fact that I met my husband here - it's really not been that difficult for me to adjust to living in this country. The thought process of Queretanos is somewhat different that growing up in Oregon, but nothing too strange. I seriously think that Mexico is home to the world's best cuisine, and Queretaro is an excellent place to enjoy that! The dress of the middle-class society is basically the same as middle-class Oregon, with the exception that not many women wear shorts outside. But that's not a problem. The list of subtle differences goes on. I've been thinking about this lately, as my new friend, Sarah, who is in Queretaro from Kansas studying at the State University, frequently asks me about cultural things.

I recently met with my CostaRican friend, Yami. Yami and her husband are missionaries from CostaRica to Queretaro. They have opened the Mexican regional offices of an organization that sends Latino Christian workers to restricted-access countries. Yami and her husband had prevously lived in one of these countries - a predominently Muslim country. She told me about many of their unpleasent experiences with immigration, having to leave the country at least once a month in order to live somewhat legally in the country, having the police come to their home looking for them to question them in a language that they didn't speak very well, and many other things. (This conversation started as we talked about how frustrating Mexican immigration in Queretaro has been this year - complaining about the $250 per person to renew a visa, and the 3 months it took to GET the visas renewed. After what Yami told me about their experiences in the other country, I'm pretty thankful for the $250 fee and a 3 month wait. I live very peacefully here, and have all the same rights as a Mexican, with the exception of voting.) Anyhow, Yami told me that their experiences overseas were NOTHING compared to what some of their missionary friends went through. I seriously won't put those things on this blog because it would make you sick.

I have a friend, Elsy, who is from El Salvador, who went to the same country as the stuff I won't mention. Elsy, in my opinion, comes from poverty. I've stayed a few times at her family's home. It's very small - about the size of my parents' kitchen/dinning room - and 5 people live there (I'm the 6th when I go). The two girls sleep in bunk beds that must've been made for midgets - I was 15 pounds lighter than I am now when I stayed there, and my hips hit the metal sides of the bed when I laid down... Elsy and her sister shared the top bunk when I was there. The wall between the girls' room and parents' room is a tarp. It's interesting to have a random elbow poke you from the other side of the tarp as you go to sleep! And the bathroom, well, you go down a really narrow, and constatly wet, staircase to where there is a hose that comes from the neighbors' home. That's the shower. And the toilet is a concrete tube sticking out of the ground.
Anyhow, I would have a hard time adjusting to living more than 3 or 4 days at a time in those conditions. And when Elsy moved to the restricted-access country, she said the poverty was so horrible she couldn't stay for the 2 years she'd signed up for. A few times she mentioned some of the living conditions, and mainly rituals that happen there, and it's just hard to believe that there are people who live how she described.

Jean Paul and I went out to dinner with one of his teachers, Alejandro, who gives world culture classes in his school. Alejandro had just returned from China. We were eating BBQ pork tacos during this dinner, and we asked about the food in China. Alejandro grimmaced and asked if we get grossed out easily. We don't. So he told us about the schishkabobs he saw in China. Schishkabobs are pretty common in Mexico - chunks of beef, onions, green peppers, and other vegetables on a stick and BBQ'd. Well, in China, Alejandro saw a guy with two kabobs, each with two recognizable RATS on them! The skin was the only thing missing from the rats! Jean Paul and I thanked God for Mexican food right then!

All in all, I feel like we have it very easy here in Queretaro. True, many people are VERY resistant to accept ANY religion, much less a relationship with the Lord. But they are generally not hostile toward Christians. Here is a nice place to live!!

Pork Tacos...

Side note: The other day I was walking and, after seeing something funny that I'll mention in a moment, thought about some of the weird store combinations here. For example, near our house there is an office-supply store that also sells foods like ham, cheeses, and many things other than snacks and pops. There's also a famous muffler shop that sells tacos. No one would think anything of it if you invited them to lunch at the Chavez Muffler Shop! And, while walking, I found another really interesting store combination that I don't know how I'd missed before, as it's about 3 blocks from my house. It's a hardware store that also sells cleaning supplies (mops, pinesol, bleach, etc.) That doesn't seem weird at all. But this is a hardware and cleaning supplies store, that also sells lingerie! hehe.