A Weekend in Pictures

I got to go to Mexico City this weekend, as well as some other places nearby Mexico City... Here are some pictures of the weekend!
Here we are at the Central Plaza of Coyoacan, a part of Mexico City. The people in the picture are: Emil, me, Raul, Nury, MariaLuisa, Ingrid, and William. Emil is my friend from Honduras who lives in Mex., the rest are his co-workers. Raul, Nury, and William are also from Honduras, MaLuisa and her husband (the one taking the foto) are from Costa Rica, and Ingrid is from Dominican Republic. How nice it was to be able to speak Honduran spanish this weekend! Although my language teacher didn't think so when I got back to school... hehe!

Here I am in Puebla Mexico at the fortress where the battle of 5 de Mayo was fought. Pretty cool to be there!

Jose (Emil's little brother who is visiting Mexico) and Emil wearing their Rey Mistico masks from the Mexican version of WWF wrestling.

The Aztec ruins of Teotihuacan!

I am in front of the gigantic Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan

And here I am climbing down the steeeeep stairs of the Pyramid os the Moon

Jose and I in Teotihuacan

So yes, I had a rather eventful weekend! I LOOOVE being able to travel around Mexico for cheap!

Classes are going well, I am in the middle of my third week of classes. I'll be here in Guanajuato studying next week as well, and possible for a fifth week too.

Have a good one!

YAAAAAYYYYY!

I know this is a few days late, but,
THE SEAHAWKS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!

I have officially decided that they are my favorite NFL team, sorry 49ers, but the loss in Azteca was pretty rediculous, and Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl!!

Weekends!

Hi again from Guanajuato!
Things are well, school is challenging but good. Being here in Guanajuato with four hours of classes daily, and not much else planned has given me time to explore the city, as well as travel to other nearby cities.

Last weekend I went to Leon, a larger city about an hour away by bus. My Honduran friend Emil, who works in Mexico City, met me there. The busses are very inexpensive, it only cost $2.50 to get to Leon! Leon is a rather commercial city, not as much historical and cultural things there as in Guanajuato or Querétaro. But we did go to two really great museums (that were free!!) and to the ZOO!! I LOVE zoos!


Sunday in Guanajuato was the day of Our Lady of Saint Juan del Lago. I believe she is the patron saint of Guanajuato. Anyhow, there was a parade through the town on Sunday, it went through the town for about 3 hours! There were the typical parade events – marching bands, dancers (dressed like Aztecs) and colorful costumes.


This parade, at the beginning also had several scary-looking characters. I was later told that these characters represent the seven deadly sins. There were also a lot of little girls dressed in wedding dresses. They were on their way to their first communion at church. Wow, there is so much I don’t know about Catholicism, and it is such a huge part of Mexican culture.


So, this weekend I’m off to Mexico City and Puebla. I LOVE cheap bus transportation! I think at some point I’ll also go on a guided tour of the colonial cities around Guanajuato. SOOO nice to be able to travel during my time here at language school!

Greetings From Guanajuato!

I have just finished my first week of language classes in Guanajuato Mexico. It’s actually been quite difficult! Which is good, because I was worried that I wouldn’t be challenged enough being in a class instead of with a personal tutor. My class this week was me, a lady from New Mexico, a man from Tennessee, a lady from Finland, and a girl my age from Brasil. They are really nice, but REALLY liberal. We’ve had some interesting conversations in class, mainly regarding United States politicians, and the fact that in the United States and Northern Europe we don’t “have to be subjected to traditional religion.” Like in Mexico most people are nominally catholic. I also met some people from Guanajuato (GTO) the other weekend at a ministry conference in Querétaro. There are three young people and a missionary lady here in GTO who are beginning a university ministry in the next couple of weeks. I have been meeting with them to get and share ideas. Tomorrow I will go to Leon, a city about an hour from here, with some ladies from school. My Honduran friend Emil (who now works in Mexico City) is going to meet us there and hang out. So, I haven’t been incredibly busy – classes are only from 9am to 1pm – but I really enjoy walking around the city, it’s really pretty! I’ll take some more pictures this weekend, as I have taken exactly TWO since I arrived last Monday…

Greetings From Queretaro

So, I’ve been in Querétaro for a week now! It is a beautiful city, with wonderful people… at least the people who I’ve met are wonderful! I’ve gone to the Centro (downtown colonial area) a few times, been to a couple of malls, the WalMart, and several restaurants. I went to my new church, Horizante, last Sunday, and I think I will like it a lot! The first few days, I stayed with Julian and Whitney, and their little daughter Micaiah. But Whitney and Micaiah went to the States this week, as Whitney is having a baby in about a month. So I am now staying with Martin and Mayte, and their daughters Yetzi and Isamar. Wonderful!

I met my new Mexican family today – the family who I will live with when I return from language school. The family is a woman named Gabi who is about 40 years old, and her two kids, Roberto who is 15, and Gabi who is 12. They are all really nice, I think we will get along well. I want to try my best not to put expectations on them that they should be like the Delgados – NO ONE can be as amazingly awesome as my Honduran family! But, I do certainly hope that this family will be amazingly awesome in their own way!

Monday, I move to Guanajuato for language school. The amount of time I spend there is pretty much up in the air… Before I came, I was scheduled to stay 3 months. Then I came, and they thought 2 months should be good. Today, my team is thinking that maybe I will just stay for 1 month, then come back to Querétaro and study a couple hours a day with Sandy, a girl on our team who studied to be a Spanish teacher. Either way works fine for me!
Me and Yetzi by one of the many fountains in Queretaro
Jeff and Jenny (with little Micaiah) who came from North Point Community Church in Atlanta to meet with the pastors at Horizante, my church here. North Point and Horizante are like partner churches.
Whitney and her daughter Micaiah
Me and the arches of the aquaduct in Queretaro

And Now.... On To Mexico!!

I am here!!!!!!!!!!!!! I arrived in Queretaro on Thursday. I will be here for a week and a half, then will move on to Guanajuato for 2 months for language school.
Thursday night, we had a welcome party for me and for Justin and Lluvia, a couple who had been in the States for over a year raising more financial support after getting married. Here is a picture of the guests at the party:
Back row: Paulina, Isamar, Mayte, Me, Whitney, Estefani, Yetzi, Micaiah, Alvaro, Martin, and Julian. On the couch: Luis, Sandy, Justin, and Lluvia. Julian and Whitney (daugther Micaiah) are the team leaders, and are expecting a baby in February. Isamar and Yetzi are the daughters of Martin and Mayte. Luis and Sandy are married and are expecting a baby in 6 months.

The Last Week in Honduras

My last week in Honduras was a great one! I won't bore you with intricate details this time, but will do some pictures instead...

This is the family of Pastor Marvin from Santa Rosa (a small community outside of Tegus). They have been praying for me for a year and a half in my preparations to go to Mexico, and are continuing to pray for me now! They ask that I please pray for them as well, for direction in their ministry - be that pastoring in Santa Rosa, or starting a new church in rural Honduras. This is an amazing family, I was able to visit them twice while I was in Honduras, and ran into Pastor Marvin one day on the bus, and his wife Perla on the bus another day. I think I randomly run into more people that I know here in Tegus than I did in Salem!

This is Alejandra and Alma. Alejandra used to live in Tegus, but her famimly moved to Siguatepeque a year ago. I had wanted to go there to visit them, but didn't get a chance too. Alejandra randomly showed up at my house the day before I left! Yay!

I went to the Centro or Comayaguela (the market area of Tegus) almost every day for the past week. Here is Karlita, Amalita, and Flor in the Central Plaza of Tegus.

My little brother Rondald and I. Ronald is going to be a pastor. He wants to go to a seminary in Siguatepeque, but it's expensive. We are looking for sponsors or financial help for him, so he will be able to follow the Lord's leading to the ministry!


I also got to visit with my missionary friend Michelle the last full day I was in Honduras. She was in the States until the end of December, then went to visit a family in another town for a few days after arriving here. We had a good long talk and it was great to be able to learn from a somewhat veteran missionary and hear more about what is going on in Honduras!

Happy New Year!!

I had a wonderful New Year’s celebration here in Honduras. I spent the afternoon shopping in the market with my friend Luisa and her mom. In the evening, I went to the grocery for Suyapa (my Honduran mom) and while I was waiting for the bus, my friends Emil, David, and Francisco from another neighborhood drove by and gave me a ride home. So we hung out at Luisa’s house until time for church.

Lots of people gave testimonies of what the Lord has done in their lives this year. There were two men who became Christians this year, and they shared about how the came to know the Lord. It was amazing to hear my cousin Alexis’ story. I didn’t know him before this year, but I knew his brother and sisters. Their mom, Amalia, was really sick last March, and in the hospital. They thought she was going to die. But her kids all came and prayed for her, and during the time that they didn’t know if Amalia was going to live, the siblings all prayed for Alexis too, that he would have the peace that they and Amalia know in the Lord. He accepted the Lord, as did his wife.

At midnight, the head of each family lit a candle off one that Delmer (my Honduran dad and the pastor of the church here) had, and all the families gathered together. I got to be on the stage with the Delgados. After that, everyone hugged and kissed everyone else, and wished them a happy new year! I seriously think I was greeted by everyone in the entire church that night, like over 100 people! I LOVE holidays here!

We had dinner at 1am, in our home with most of our extended family, which is A LOT of people! We did fireworks, and I found out why fireworks are supposedly illegal here. Fireworks in the States are incredibly safe! We had lots of little fireworks that made explosions, and the neighborhood boys like to throw them at each other! Yikes! Our neighbor, Pipe (PEE-pay) set off a bomb type thing that seriously is what I would think it would be like to set off a large stick of dynamite! I was standing like 25 feet away, and I got showered with rocks, and it felt like I got pushed by someone because of the force of the bomb! Anyhow, it was fun!!

I still have a lot that I want to do while here, but there will still be people that I had wanted to see that I didn’t get to, and things that I had wanted to do that I didn’t get to. I leave for Mexico on Thursday morning. I will write more then! Until then, happy new year, and God bless!

Family enjoying New Year's at our house

My brother Ivàn and I at church

My brother Franklin and I
My friend Karla and her baby Carlitos. They say that I am Carlitos' aunt now!

Super Nativity Scene

The other day, I went to see a gigantic Nativity scene with my friend Emil. Actually, it's lots more than a Nativity scene, it has clay depictions of the stories of the Old Testament, and up until part way through Jesus' life. Then, there's also another scene that is a gigantic Honduran village. It is so detailed! I would have thought it would have like a little market, houses, a church, etc. But it also included the traditional things about Honduran culture that I never knew about. For example, it had a "Duende" - a midget that robs and tricks kids, the Honduran small-town version of the Ghost of Sleepy Hollow, parades with strange characters, and other things that are mildly disturbing. Emil explained each of the things to me, so I got to know a lot more about Honduran culture than before.
The Nativity/Bible scenes were amazingly detailed too. The first picture is of Noah and the Ark, there was on the wall behind it lightning flashing, and they had rain coming down on it too.

The next picture is of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus' birth. This is not just your average Nativity set!

Here's me with the Honduran village scene.

More Photos of Christmas!!

My Honduran family and I on Christmas Eve in their home.
Mi familia catracha y yo en la Navidad

The youth group sang a couple of Christmas songs at Christmas Eve service at church

Cantamos el grupo de jovenes en el culto de la Navidad en la Iglesia

Franklin and other neighborhood boys doing fireworks on Christmas Eve

Franklin y otros chavos haciendo cuetes

Mauri lighting a firework for me

Marui e yo haciendo cuetes
Me and Vivian... Would you ever have thought that I'd wear a COAT in Honduras?!

Mi amiga Vivian y yo

Christmas Outings!

The other day, the youth group at the church I attend here in Honduras went on an outing as our special Christmas event. we had dinnerat the food court in an expensive mall... I had a Quiznos sandwich! Yum! My friend Luisa had a sub sandwich for the first time at my recommendation. We looked in a bunch of stores, but they are all so expensive that none of us can buy anything at that mall. But it was fun to be in a foreign mall at Christams time!

Me and Luisa on the third level of the mall... there is a Christmas tree behind us too!

Me and my brother Franklin

Our crazy kitty Toti climbing in the Christmas tree!

El Salvador Trip Part Two - Wonderful People!

During my weekend in El Salvador, I stayed with my friend Elsy and her family. They are soooooo hospitable. Elsy and I went to a way cool water park, and to a wedding. I met quite a few of her friends from her mission agency, and also was able to talk with another missionary couple who I met like 4 years ago. It is always a blessing to visit Elsy and friends/family!
She spoke in church about her ministry to those of false religions in Asia, so I was able to hear about that. I think I have it so easy being in Latin America – I can wear the same type of clothes as at home, the food is pretty much familiar to me, I can already speak the language to a large extent, and the thought pattern of latinos isn’t terribly different from friends in the States. Also, there isn’t a whole lot of persecution among Christians in Mexico, I am going as a missionary and we are allowed freedom of religion. Elsy on the other hand must wear different and rather uncomfortable clothes, eat weird foods, learn an entirely different language that doesn’t even have a familiar alphabet, and adjust to a completely different manner of thinking. Where she is going, she must not let it be known that she’s a missionary – that’s illegal. And she would likely get deported if she were caught teaching the Bible! Wow!
It’s really been amazing to hear about her ministry and go through the whole support-raising process to leave for missions with her. She leaves in March!
Now I’m back in Tegus (Honduras) loving it here too!


Carolina, Rene, and Elsy

El Salvador Trip Part One - The Strike

This past weekend I went to El Salvador by bus to visit my friend Elsy there. En route, I had a very Central American experience… We got almost to the Honduras El Salvador border when the bus stopped for like an hour and we didn’t know why. They told us that there was a strike. The public transport busses (not what I was on) were protesting to the government about the $4 per gallon ridiculous gas prices, so they blocked the highway with their busses so no one could get in or out of Honduras to El Salvador or Nicaragua. Thankfully, we were stopped right by a nice hotel, and the hotel let us hang out in their patio area, and the bus line fed us lunch. There was a group of young people going to an Herbalife convention in El Salvador, and I hung out with them at the hotel. We walked down to the strike and sure enough, there were lots of busses parked all over, with the drivers napping in hammocks under the busses. We had left Tegus at 6am, and finally arrived in San Salvador at 10pm. It’s normally a 7 hour ride! But such is life in Central America, it was definitely a test of patience! Hehe!

I couldn't fit many of the busses in a picture all together, there were probably like 50 of them!

Me, with Samuel and Katy who were on the bus also.

Happy Day!!

Yes, I have arrived! Safe, sound, and SUPER happy!
Despite the snafu with the airlines the other day, I arrived at the same time that I had told everyone that I’d be here. Unfortunately, the guy who gives permission for Suyapa (my Honduran mom) and family to enter the secured area was gone and they wouldn’t let them in to help me with my 4 suitcases. So that was rather difficult to carry all those! Last night I went to the birthday party of Pipe (pee-pay) who lives behind us. All the little kids, most of whom I don’t recall ever meeting before, always want to play with me, and show me their pets – cats, dogs, parrot, and the smallest rooster I’ve ever seen! I LOOOVE being here!! I leave tomorrow for Friday through Monday in San Salvador El Salvador. Then on to Christmas time with the Honduran fam!

Whoa!

Ok, so I am writing again from Oregon... I almost had a tradgedy! Which I'm embarassed to admit! I got to PDX and was checking in, and the lady with Alaska Air told me that my ticket was for YESTERDAY evening!! I was soooo upset with myself for mistaking that date - sure enough, my e-ticket said december 12! Ahhh! But I now am extremely fond of Alaska Air, they rebooked my tickets for free, I have basically the same itinerary, only I'm leaving a half hour earlier from PDX (where I'm writing this now), and that's fine with me! AND, my flight to Seattle, my seat is in the 5th row, sounds like first class to me, but maybe not... AND they waived my extra baggage fee beause they felt sorry for me! God is good!!!!!

I'll be passing through Seattle and Miami and then will arrive Wednesday in Tegus. I'm sickened by the fact that I could've (and should've!!) spent one extra day in Tegus and I got the date wrong! Oh well, it all worked out as good or better as I would've thought!!

All I Want For Christmas...

Is for my luggage to not be overweight! Not really... Well, I don't want it to be overweight, but that's not my Christmas dream! haha!

I woke up this morning at 4:45 and couldn't go back to sleep. So I got out of bed at about 6am, and here I am. I soooo wanted to be able to sleep in, as I'll be flying through the night tonight. Ha! It seems like everytime I fly somewhere, I'm so excited that I can't sleep. Oh well, in 29 hours, I'll be greeted by the smiling faces of my honduran family in Tegus! Of course I have to go through leaving my real parents first, that will be sad. But we'll live, and they're coming to visit me in March! So, I'm off to Honduras TODAY, and then on to Mexico January 5th!

Next time I write in my blog will be from Tegus!!

Bakery Party!

Yay! I went to the Great Harvest Christmas party tonight. It was a blast to hang out with my former co-workers, and in a casual setting! We had some super excellent food, and good conversation. I won a Starbuck's gift card... hmm, I'll either have to use it all right now, or "re-gift" it to someone who will be in Starbuck's land for longer than 2.5 days! Wheeee! I'm leaving in 2.5 days! Ok, so here are a few pictures from the party.

Carter, Mike, Andrew, Julie and Lauren

Erin and I. We used to both work mornings together, some of our favorite customers used to call us partners in crime. Pretty good description...

Great Harvesters and spouses at the party!

Mmmmmmmmm, Packing

Mostly-used gift cards… Clothes that are too small, but might fit me if I just lose a few pounds… 8 pairs of gloves… Jeans with a hole in the knee… Punch cards for various stores… Coupons... A half used bottle of shampoo… Old Navy generic flip flops in 4 different colors…

All these things have one thing in common… That is that I’m trying to get rid of them. The too-small clothes and the gloves can go to the Union Gospel Mission, and I just sent my mostly-used gift cards to Apryl! Ha! I think I’ll donate my punch cards and random coupons to people at work. And my mom can use the shampoo… Already gave her my old socks… Yeah, I had this grandiose idea of taking X amount of things with me to Mexico. Well, 5 suitcases with a 50lb weight limit on each doesn’t go nearly as far as I’d like! I can FIT everything in suitcases, but they’ll WEIGH too much! Argh! So, if there’s any doubt as to whether or not I should take something, it doesn’t go.

Yes, it’s been a busy week. Last week I took LOTS of time to relax. This week I’m starting to wonder if I can finish my list of stuff to do before leaving (which, of course, includes visiting with or calling lots of friends!). But it will all come together. I remember a few months ago saying that I could be ready to leave with 2 days notice. Yeah, if I wanted to spend the next year stressed about loose ends back home, and spend a ton of money buying things in Mexico that I already have here! Two weeks was a good amount of time though, and I knew the date I’m leaving like a month ago. It’s certainly not enough time to get bored, but still enough time to get things done!
I’m off for another day of fun! 50% off sale at Mervyn’s, Internet, post office, fabric store, WinCo… I’m getting quite familiar with the South Commercial bus route! Hehe!

Responsibility

In the midst of the collage of randomness that has been my life for the past week, I have found myself laying on the living room floor each morning, in front of the fireplace, reading the Bible. It's a good place to find myself!
I'm on the last month of a "Bible in a year" schedule. Today's reading was Ezekiel 33. Here is an excerpt:

7 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8 When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. 9 But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.

Does that strike anyone else the same way it does me?! I know that this passage is God speaking to Ezekiel about prophesying to Israel, but wow, does that apply to us now too?? I believe it does. I believe that the Lord at certain times lays it on the hearts of His children to speak to a non-believer, be it about salvation, sin, etc. And it's not an easy thing to carry out that task! But just read that passage again, it's pretty self-explanitory of God's command concerning obeying what He asks us to do.

Thanksgiving

My mom carving the turkey ~ Mi ma arreglando el pavo

Ahh, Thanksgiving. The day I possibly consume an entire block of cream cheese. This year was just as wonderful as ever, filled with food, naps, food, naps, and food. The Lanes and Anita came over to our home for Thanksgiving this year. My last holiday in the States for a while!!

Trenton playing with an olive ~ Mi sobrino adoptado Trenton poniendo una oliva en el dedo

Jobless!

I am no longer employed. Today was my last day at work! The week of Thanksgiving is always crazy at the bakery, and this week was no exception. Not bad crazy though, just really busy! Last night, we baked 511 DOZEN dinner rolls. Miranda, Jill, and I packaged 191 orders. Starting at about 10am today, I'd guess we had 5 or more customers being waited on or waiting to be waited on. I left at noon! I got the easy shift! My almost two years at Great Harvest were "great" (haha)! I'm glad I only had one holiday this year though, Christmas is pretty stressful. Although I'd MUCH rather do a Christmastime at GH than at a department store or somewhere! I will now proceed to spend the next 2.5 weeks sleeping, packing, sleeping, getting my bank/financial stuff in order, sleeping, cleaning, sleeping, and finishing packing. See a trend here?? hehehe! Oh yeah, and tomorrow I'll EAT lots too! It will be nice to have a 2.5 week vacation, followed by a 3 week trip to my favorite place on earth (thus far) Tegucigalpa Honduras!

Me with a rack of orders!

Jill bagging rolls

Bob, Erin, and Sarah making rolls

Bye Thunder-Chicken!

I saw my car drive away for the last time today... leaving only the huge grease stain on the street. haha! Hey, I had that car since I was 17! It served me well, even if we did have to replace pretty much the entire electrical system (over the course of 4 years), fix the driver side window, never have use of the rear defrost, and not use any part of the air system for the past 5 months (due to the dysfunction of the heater core!). I will miss it.
Today I leave the car, Wednesday I leave the job......
Two more days as a "Great Harvester."

Yes, It's True........

I'M LEAVING!!!!!
Yep, December 13th at 6pm I will see Oregon for quite possibly the last time for two years! That day, I will be going to Tegucigalpa with most of my luggage to stay for Christmas, ending up in Queretaro Mexico like the 5th of January!

I promise I will write more this weekend, but ever since I found a cheap ticket (sitting upstairs at work using the Sip wi-fi connection on my laptop), called the Delgados, got "permission" from little brother Ronald that December 13 is a good day to come, booked the ticket, excitedly twittered around the bakery, came home and twittered around some more, I'm kind of tired. And, seeing that I've been nastily sick for the better part of this week, I'm taking the liberty of going to bed. Just wanted to pass on the good news! hehe!

What Country Do I Live In Anyway?

Hey! I had the greatest weekend! It was great after my not-so-cool news of last wednesday. I'll leave eventually for Mexico, just not in the next month or anything. So here's the lowdown on me:

Friday Evening:
I went to Iglesia to help the 4-6 grade sunday school class with a food drive. It was pouring down rain, so I wasn't too much looking forward to it. Only 3 kids showed up, so me, the kids, and Nora (the sunday school teacher) set off in her van. We first went to houses/apartments of people we know from Iglesia. We started off at an apartment complex where the tenants are mostly hispanics. The kids were shy at first, and at the first house where they encountered an english speaker, they were like, "Uh, hi, we are um.... Yessica!!" So I came over and explained what we were doing - collecting canned and boxed foods to make Thanksgiving baskets for those who don't have enough food to eat. We went to more houses, including a few more people from the Iglesia. After the initial apartment complex, the kids got more bold, and would each go to separate houses to collect food, even the two who have a more difficult time with english. By the end of the evening, Nora was saying that she had to get back to the church for worship team practice, and the kids were like, we just want to finnish this block! And then they'd move on to the next block too! They were having such a good time even though it was so rainy. Nora says it's a good example of why Jesus said that we a supposed to become like children to serve Him!

It was quite a cultural experience as well, and I saw things that the kids did that I don't think non-latino kids would do, and how the english speaking people act that is rude in Mexican culture. At all the English speaking homes, people closed the door and left the kids outside when they went to look for canned foods in their pantrys. The kids were pretty surprised at that! At the hispanic homes, the occupants left the front door open while they went to get food, and made sure the kids weren't in the rain. The kids liked to run across peoples' lawns and flowerbeds, and knocked on windows if no one came to the door but they could hear that people were home! So I certainly learned a lot that night too - about cultural differences, and about being a servant and making serving fun!

Saturday Evening:
We had the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda coming to our church for the Sunday morning service, and I got the privilige of hosting some of them in my home! My parents were gone this weekend, so we had a spare bed. Alyse (24), Gloria (8), Charity (8), and Dorothy (7) stayed at my home. We didn't get home until about 10pm, but we stayed up talking for about an hour. English is the second language for each of them - Luganda is their first. They are extremely polite, and the young girls call me "Auntie Jessica!" We prayed before we went to bed, and Gloria and Dorothy prayed in english, Alyse and Charity in Luganda, and me in spanish. It was cool to be able to share our languages with each other! They found it strange but cool that I can speak a language that they've never heard before! I fixed them Baleadas for breakfast - that is a flour tortilla with cheese, beans, and eggs in it - a traditional Honduran breakfast. There was cinnamon chip toast, apple sauce, and fruit salad also, just to make sure that they had enough to eat if beans for breakfast was too weird!

Charity, Alyse, Gloria, and Dorothy at my house

It was GREAT to see their concert at church! There were 18 kids and 4 adults in the concert, and it was just really cool, if Watoto comes to this area again, definitely go see them!!


Charity, Gloria, Me, and a Watoto boy at church after the concert

Sunday Afternoon:
After Watoto and then service at Iglesia, I headed out North to stop by Oscar & Lety's home in MacMinville. They'd asked me over for lunch before, but it's just so far away, I never went... We ended up in Lafayette at Lalo and Tania's home for dinner. I LOVE hanging out with people from Iglesia, they are just so hospitable and don't show frustration with me when I don't understand everything! I ended up going to 5 homes of people from Iglesia this weekend, counting those on Friday, the people who were home brought us in their homes while they gathered their canned goods.

Anyhow, all activities of this weekend were either Mexican or African, I LOVED every minute of it! How was I born white? haha! My parents wonder that too! What other country can you live in and be involved in 3 different cultures over the couse of 3 days!?

Nooooooooo!!!!

Today I got bad news. I can't leave ASAP for Mexico. I still have donors who have pledged support but not sent it in, and I guess they all need to have sent in money for me to count them as donors. So I need to talk with people to see if they really are going to support me, or if they aren't able to.

That was a big blow to find out that I can't leave the beginning of December. My last day at work is the day before Thanksgiving. I'm not sure now either how or if going to Honduras will fit into this anymore. So that is even sadder, I don't think I could handle having to tell people I'm not coming. My Salvadoran friends ask me every week when I'll be there, and if I can stay for a few weeks, etc. Fran keeps telling me he's ready right now to move out of his bedroom so I can stay there, and that he'll sleep in the hallway room if necesary so I can stay as long as possible. It's certainly nice to be loved! I was never planning on staying there too long for Christmas, maybe 3 weeks, and I'm not sure what will happen now, I'd have to get a round trip Portland to Tegus ticket which was not what I had planned.

My team leaders are leaving Mexico for the States the middle of January for a 2 month furlough, so if I'm not there by the time the leave, I may have to wait until they return. But that's not too likely, as some other team members could find someone to host me (the team leaders are the only ones who have an extra room for me to use). So the problem would just be me getting 4 suitcases on a bus from Mexico City to QRO, and I'm guessing that if I went on a weekend, Emil (honduran friend who lives in Mexico City) may be able to take two of my suitcases as his own and just be in QRO for day or two.

So that's where I'm at right now. Confused? Me too!! Please keep praying for me!

Police Raid

I was escorted out of church yesterday by police. So were many other church members. They didn't like that we were singing songs about God.

Weird you think? Did I mention that the "police" were three high school boys headed up by our mission president?!

So this month is prayer for the persecuted church month. For the beginning of the service (this is at Nazarene church not Iglesia) we had no hymnals, no cross, the buletin had no mention of any religious stuff, and our Bibles were taken away. We were not able to sing any songs that mentioned the LORD (we tried, that's why we were escorted out). Why in Oregon? Because a picture was being painted of how people in other countries go to church... except that they have real threat of being hauled off to prisons that are way worse than ours here. We had things REALLY comfortable yesterday, but it was a small demonstration of others around the world. We totally take for granted the fact that we are able to worship freely, read the Bible, teach our children the Word, and fellowship together. It would be SUPER hard to live in a country where we didn't have that freedom. In Mexico, we'll still have the freedom to do that. My friend Elsy, she will have it hard in Asia in a country where they are not allowed to proselytize. She's leaving for her country in January!

Anyhow, it's amazing what other believers go through to meet together and study the Word in countries where it's illegal. A good book about that is Safely Home, by Randy Alcorn. I just read it. It's a fiction book, based on true circumstances, about Chinese Christians and a non-believing UnitedStatesican who goes into the Chinese Christian community. I highly recommend it!

At Iglesia yesterday, even though the message wasn't specifically about persecution, the main point was "Fiel hasta la muerte." Faithful until death. How much are WE willing to suffer for Christ?

Sooooo......

The day is quickly arriving for my departure. I put in notice of my last day today at work - my last day is Nov. 23. Monday I will call International Teams and see if I have the okay to leave in December... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!