Being Prepared... Or Not...

This week I saw a side of me that has DRASTICALLY changed in the past several years - planning and being prepared.

On tuesday, we had a goodbye party for our friend Sarah, who has been here for 5 months and just left yesterday. The party was a my house, so I had a LOT to do before it started at 6:30. Thankfully, I had done the majority of house cleaning on monday, but I still needed to bake a cake, make punch, buy paper - cut and decorate that paper for friends to write notes to Sarah on to make a memory book for her, put up signs outside so people would know where our house is, and find some plastic chairs to borrow for the evening. Oh, and I was house-sitting a dog for a few days.

So, by 5:30pm, I still needed to bake the other part of the cake (I made a double layer one, with only one baking pan), put the jam between layers of cake and frost it, clean the mound of lunch dishes that we in the kitchen, rearrange the furniture to accomodate everyone, phone around to see if any friends had chairs to loan, go get the chairs, make the punch, make the "Sarah's party" signs for outside, and find pens, scissors and stickers for people to decorate their goodbye book pages with.

As you may have guessed, it is not humany possible for one person to do all of that single-handedly in 1 hour, which is what I needed to do. It was made even more complicated by the fact that I only had the car for about 15 minutes because JP had to go to his school practicum. But, I located some friends to loan us 4 chairs immediately (thankfully they live close by), threw the cake in the oven, went to pick up the chairs, rearranged the furniture, got stickers etc. for the book, washed all the dishes, took down the dry laundry, put the signs outside (as I found one friend wandering around the neighborhood looking for the signs I said would show the way...) and came back to find Sarah and a few friends waiting outside the house. So, by 7, I finally had the cake finished, and punch made, and was ready to hang out with the 10 or so people who had showed up so far (that in itself was amazing, as for parties like this, many people just come for an hour or so, anytime between 6:30 and like 10pm that they can). And everyone thought it was perfectly normal that I was still working on getting stuff ready for the party.

Yesterday night I still hadn't bound the goodbye book for Sarah, and was at a friends' house until almost 8... Arriving at home, I left to put the book together, and rushed to Sarah's house to give it to her and say goodbye. :)

My week has pretty much been that way... between discipling times, work at the church, housework, (I STILL haven't cleaned the sticky/muddy floor in the house after the rainy tuesday evening that we had about 35 people in and out of our home)... No worries, I was ON TIME and prepared for the discipling times, as those are some of the most important times of my week!

HE Lives

Last Saturday, my friend Sarah and I (she is a college student who is studying here for 5 months, and started coming to Horizonte Church) went to fulfull a school project that she had to do. That project involved going to an event having to so with Day of the Dead, celebrated on November 1 & 2. Sarah didn't want to go alone because of the sketchy and spiritually weird atmosphere of the holiday, so I went with her. We chose to go to an exhibit of altars and offerings. This seemed like the least creepy option, as there are altars set up in all the malls, and in various parks downtown, etc. So, we entered the exhibition courtyard of the public library and made the rounds looking at the altars. But Sarah needed, for her project, to explain one of the altars. We chose one made by a small group of Jr. High students. They began to explain the significance of the various parts of the altar. We didn't take the picture below, I just found it on the internet, but it's pretty similar to the one we asked about:

So, the kids told us that the altars should have representations of wind, water, fire, and earth; seven stair-type-thingies representing the seven deadly sins; a picture or representation of the deceased person receiving the offering; the favorite foods and the vices of the deceased... etc. I'd heard most of this before, and it always makes me angry because dead people are not going to come back for a day to eat little bits of food, drink alcohol, and put curses on you if you don't leave stuff set out for them. But I was REALLY horrified when the kid told us that three skull figures toward the middle of the altar represented the TRINITY!!!

Many Catholics in Mexico fully participate in the Day of the Dead, and Catholic churches set up altars. For them, Jesus is still dead (hence being represented by a skull). I'm not going to say anything about catholicsism in the US, but here in Mexico, there's just no way that you can say that Catholicsism is like Christianity. The entire base of the Christian faith is that Jesus rose from the dead! I don't have a relationship with a dead guy, but with Jesus who LIVES in heaven, and who's Holy Spirit lives in me and in all others who also have a relationship with Him. The kids showing us their altar made the altar as a "good deed" that is needed to EARN their way to heaven. People just can't (don't want to?) believe that you don't have to do all kinds of good crap so that God will let you go to heaven. I mean, we should do good stuff, but when we mess up, there's forgiveness directly from God, not from a priest of a saint. Sarah was telling one a young guy that lives by her that good deeds don't get you into heaven, but accepting forgiveness for sins from Jesus does. He looked at her weird, and pulled out a wallet-sized picture of the saint from his hometown with a prayer on the back, and told her that this saint would make sure he got to heaven... he hoped.

So, if you thought that Mexico is about as much of a Christian country as the USA, think again. I mean, morally, sometimes I think Mexico isn't as far in the hole as the US (and then sometimes I think it's the other way around), but as far as people who actually believe that Jesus is STILL alive after His ressurrection, and that they HAVE a relationship with Him... There's just not many. It's figured that 1.5% of people in Queretaro go to an Evangelical church regularly. So, how many people out of that percentage ACTUALLY have a relationship with Christ? We figure 1%, optimistically.

So that's why JP and I are here. And why we consider just the act of daily living as sharing the Gospel with others. LOTS of people here have NEVER heard the message of salvation!! (Like our friend Brenda...) In the USA, LOTS of people have actually heard the Message, they just choose to not accept it. But here, we have a huge opportunity to live the love of God in our daily lives, and explain Salvation to others.

Sarah and I were both on the verge of tears when the kids explained the skulls to us. It was hard for two gringas who grew up in Christian homes to even HEAR that the skulls are for the Trinity... Please keep praying for JP and I in our daily ministries, and for Sarah too, as she lives with and goes to class with lots of people who had never heard that Jesus is alive.

And, saturday, Sarah and I are going to the town of Guanajuato (2 hours from Queretaro), we're still seeing if there are any other girls who want to come with us, and I hope it's a good time of exploring the city and encouraging one another!

Sarah and our friend Amayrani:

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!

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.

Spring Break!

We've had a lot of funness going on around here in the week that JP was off school and Horizonte church staff was out of the office!

On Easter Sunday, JP and I went to the fair in the Centro. This isn't the big State Fair, but a smaller one, kind of like a county fair - no rides or anything.

One famous tradition in Queretaro (and some other cities too) is the burn a figure of Judas on Easter Sunday. I imagine that originally it was because we could say that Judas was responsible for Jesus' death, although we know that He would've died anyway even without Judas' involvement. Nowday, besides the statue of Judas, the Catholic Church - who organizes the event - also burns statues that represent people or problems that the church doesn't like. This year, figures of the "financial crisis," "drug addiction," and "violence" were burned.

It was hard to take pictures in the dark of a moving piñata-type figure, but here's one of the figures before being burned by fireworks:

Lots of people in one of the main streets of downtown watching the figures being blown up:

And our favorite part of the festival... the food booths! Jean Paul loads up on candies:

I love "antojitos queretanos" - typical street food from Queretaro! However, we opted for pizza instead this time, as my stomache health has been a little delicate lately...

Then last friday, we had a water-park outing with the young adult group at Horizonte Church! I LOVED this water park, the water isn't freezing cold like it is at most of the parks! There were several water slides, a diving pilar, a wave pool, and smaller pools for kids.

Alma in the funnel water slide:

Checo, Alma, Cinthya, Arturo, and Andrea hanging out in a pool:

Dany going off the diving pilar. Several people went up to the top but never got up the courage to jump... :)

And today I made "sopes" (SO-pays) for lunch! Sopes are "antojitos queretanos" also. I kind of guessed at how to make them, and they turned out great! Sopes are thick corn tortillas grilled with refried beans, cheese, meat (I used sausage), and salad on top. YUM!

Tomorrow it's back to the office for me! I'm excited to get back with the young adults group too, next week we are going to a physical rehabilitation center to do a small skit and invite the kids there to Kid Stuff (monthly theater and musical presentation for kids at Horizonte). This is one of the projects that the young adults suggested to reach out to our community a while back!!

More to come:

Easter month services at Horizonte

Maricela's baptism

Just Had To Throw This In Here...

You might be a missionary if you...

- Greet everyone in the room when all you need to do is say hello and sit down.
- Read a National Geographic magazine and realize, "I know those people..."
- Have to stop and think about what to do with used toilet paper...
- Keep switching languages when speaking with good friends.
- Shake hands with the policeman who stops your car.
- Think a 2 hour church service is too short.
- Can't finish a sentence en un solo idioma.
- Have 6 different varieties of ants in your house and you ignore all of them.
- Your children think it is acceptable to kiss strangers...
- Your kids can recite from memory the airplane safety speech but draw a blank on the "Pledge of Allegiance."
- Your woman's magazines are at least 6 years old, but you still pass them along to friends.
- Bring a bag lunch and a novel when you go to the bank.
- Know your height in meters and your weight in kilos.
- Are okay driving without brakes, but would never do so without a horn.
- Are surprised when the electricity has stayed on all day.
- Can't figure out how to turn the water on in a U.S. bathroom.
- Thought iPod was a disease.
- Think Bimbo means a kind of bread.
- Point with your lips.
- Miss getting junk mail.
- Walk into a church and are given 2 minutes warning that, not only are you speaking, but you are translating for yourself.
- Don't have any pages left in your passport.

Not all of these apply to me, but they are funny anyway! :)

Dental Adventures

I'm now unsure about where I would opt to have any future dental procedures done...

Jean Paul had two teeth pulled yesterday (had so many teeth in his mouth that they didn't all fit!). Since I'm not easily grossed out at medical procedures (as long as it's not happening to ME!), I decided to ask if I could go in with him and watch the teeth being pulled. The dentist had no problem, so I went in.

I was happy to see the use of novicane that would be used in the US - an ointment followed by several injections in the area to be worked on. No problems there. That was about the time I started to smell the very strong and hunger-provoking smell of pizza from the restaurant next door, and realized that the dental room was actually open to the busy street outside... Hmmm...

When the novicane had set in (No general anethisia was used, dentists don't use that here), the dentist got to work. I'm pretty sure I've seen the exact same screwdriver in my dad's tool chest. At least this one didn't actually say "Stanley" on the handle, and it was pulled out of the sterilizing oven before use... The dentist dug around the offending tooth with the screwdriver, then pulled out some pliers. These didn't appear to be construction grade pliers, so perhaps they came from a medical supply store...

Yes, the dentist, with JP's eyes wide open, and in full conciousness, put his left hand on JP's forehead to hold him down, then used the other hand to put the pliers around the tooth and yank. Hard. And again. And again, until the tooth popped out with a rather loud noise that sounded like the top being pulled off a glass-bottle Coke. The second tooth didn't come out quite as easily. More novicane was applied, and more "head-holding-down" was done. I seriously almost asked if he wanted me to hold JP's forehead so he could use BOTH hands on the pliers. JP said the procedure really didn't hurt, there was just pressure on his jaw, and, well, his forehead too.

Imagine a photo of two large molars laying on a paper towel. I took that picture with JP's phone, but he forbade me from putting it on the internet.

I was put to sleep when my four wisdom teeth were pulled. Now I wonder how necesary that was, but I also doubt my ability to consiously keep my mouth open while someone is putting pliers and my dad's flat-head screwdriver in my mouth.

You should really check out the book God Save the Eggs, by International Teams missionaries Woody and Sue Roland. There's a REALLY great story in there about a dental experience in Bolivia in the late 1970's. And a lot of really great missionary stories for those interested!!

Only Rich People and Missionaries...

In college, I had a professor who told of experiences during his time as a missionary, and described some of those experiences as "things that only rich people and missionaries get to do." So true! I'm so grateful for the many life experiences I've had, most having come to pass from being a missionary. I'm not rich by US standards (ok, not by mexican standards either!), but I've had the opportunity to travel and do some "exotic" (in the good sense of the word!!) things.
Here are a few highlights:

• Visiting a tribe in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
• Going to three famous sets of indigenous ruins (Teotihuacan in Mexico, Tikal in Guatemala, and Copan in Honduras).
• Burning cockroaches out of a toilet before using it in El Salvador (I said "exotic," that doesn't necesarily mean pleasant!!)
• Spending a month in the Amazon swimming and walking through the jungle barefoot. No lie, I went several days at a time without putting on shoes or even flip-flops!
• Having the chance to taste "delicacies," such as: monkey (used in place of ground beef in spaghetti sauce), cow intestine soup and tacos, chicken feet, pig hoof tostadas, corn fungus, cow head, curdled milk, and cactus. Some are tastier than others... :)
• Being "adopted" into a wonderful Honduran family.
• Sight-seeing in the world's largest city (Tokyo doesn't count, they cheated) so much that I know my way around Mexico City better than a lot of Mexicans.
• Going to a museum of dead people (mummies) in Guanajuato Mexico.
• Swimming in a natural wave-pool in the Pacific Ocean in El Salvador.
• Swimming through 1.5 KM of underground caves.
• Actually using frequent flyer miles from flying enough in Latin America...
• Getting "stuck" in a nice hotel in Nacaome Honduras while the bus and truck driver strike prohibited any traffic from leaving the country.
• Being on a hijacked bus in Central America. (oops, not sure if my parents ever heard about that one...)
• Being in TWO bus wrecks in L.A. county on the way to Mexico.
• Travelling the entire distance of Interstate 5 betweek Canada and Mexico TWICE in TWO WEEKS on a SCHOOL BUS.
• Seeing the Aurora Borealis.

Ok, so maybe most of my experiences aren't necesarily things that "rich people" really want to do, but they're unusual and exciting experiences none the less. Jean Paul always shakes his head in disbelief at the stories I tell, saying that they couldn't be true, but they must be because no one could make up stories as odd. Hopefully, we'll have the chance to have many more of these experiences TOGETHER in the future!! (although I think I lost JP for any future visits to Central America with the cockroach thing, but it's really not that big of a deal when you're actually facing the decision: a). burn those little buggers out of the toilet and do your business in peace; b). use the toilet with the cockroaches in it and chance them flying up at you; or c). hold it and risk going in your pants. Option A seems best to me!)

Preparing cactus for a BBQ:
At Teotihuacan:

Wonderful Honduran family!

Christmas Celebrations!

Yes, I'm finally putting up pictures from Christmas!

This was actually my first Christmas in Mexico! I spent my first two Christmases out of the country (2005 & 2006) in Honduras, then last year I was in Oregon.

Christmas in Mexico is celebrated mostly on the 24th. People work on the 24th, but get off by 6pm or so. I didn't think we really had any plans for the 24th, except to have my mother-in-law over for dinner. But JP decided that the three of us (me, him, and his mom) should go downtown in the evening. That was a GREAT idea!!

Here's me and my mother-in-law in front of part of the nativity display in the Centro:
Jean Paul and his mom in the Centro:

Around 8pm, a parade began. It started off with a bunch o paper-machet dolls walking past... Apparently, kids made the big dolls (out of the stuff we use for piñatas in the States), and they could be inside of the dolls, walking in the parade. Notice in the doll below, there's a rectangular hole where a kid is looking out of. They even stick their hands through the little face-hole to collect money from the onlookers!

Most of the dolls were recognizable famous mexican entertainers:

Then came the "Bible Cars." One tradition from Queretaro is to have floats of Bible stories pass through the Centro on Christmas Eve. Here's a car (float) of Adam and Eve, and angels singing behind them.

We also bumped into Gaby and her dad in the Centro! (Gaby is the lady I used to live with, with the two teenage kids)

Lots of people lined up waiting for the next Bible Car to pass. Every car stopped about every 70 yards to do a song or drama about the Bible story that the car represents. We didn't stay for very many cars, but we saw Adam and Eve, Moses and the 10 commandments, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, and some others.

Then came this Bible Car with a song and drama presentation:

The car said "The story of the brave Judith" on it. I was really confused. Who is Judith?! (Ok, my mother-in-law was standing right next to me, and HER name is Judith, but obviously the car wasn't about her!) :) I asked JP and his mom about it, and they were really surprised that I'd never heard of Judith. I grew up hearing Bible stories since before I can remember, plus I went to a Bible college... I should have a good knowledge of Bible stories!! Apparently, Judith is a book in the Apocrypha (the Catholic Bible has the books of the Apocrypha, but other translations don't have those books because it is harder to be sure that they really are God-inspired books). Judith lived around the time that Esther was alive (say JP and his mom). I believe Judith was also a queen. She saved some people (maybe the Israelites?) from a bad guy by cutting off his head and showing the head to the people of the kingdom so they'd know they weren't in danger from the bad guy any more. Mexicans learn this story along with Noah's Ark, Joseph, and all the stories that I've heard all my life too! Now I know another Apocryphal story!

We ended the night at our house with homemade chocolate chip cookies, vanilla ice cream, and... the movie "A Christmas Story" with spanish subtitles! JP really liked the movie too, which kind of surprised me, because it's very gringo. I said it's a good thing he likes it though because we'll be watching it once a year on December 24th for the next 60 or so years! :)

We slept in LATE on Christmas Day, and opened our presents. Presents aren't near as big on Christmas here as in the States. Lots of people get one or two presents in total. I got JP his favorite candy bars, and he got me a Monopoly game where the places you can buy are all things in Mexico! (We play table games a lot more now that we have other couples over to hang out, and doing things at home is a lot cheaper than going out to have fun!) We both bought new cell phones a couple days before Christmas too, so I wrapped those up and put them under the tree. (JP's old cell phone had the letters on the black and white screen turned upside-down, and the face fell off most times when he tried to answer it. My phone heated up a lot, and some of the buttons didn't work! He had his for 6 years, and I had mine for 3. We really did need new phones!!)

Sitting by our tree on Christmas morning!

College Group Christmas Party!

In Mexico at Christmas time, ADULTS get to do piñatas!!!
On December 11, we had our Christmas party for the college kids at Horizonte church... including a piñata! And no one can say this piñata had lame candy inside...


Piñatas can be made from cardboard, paper mache, or... a clay pot. I'm serious! And I bought a clay pot piñata!

We expected about 20 students to show, as some were still in final exams that week. However, most of our regular attendees came, and several people invited multuple friends! We had almost 40 people!! It was quite multi-cultural as well. Besides lots of mexicans, two gringos (Justin and I) and an australian (Phil) who always come, we also han a dutch guy (visiting a friend from college who comes to Horizonte), and swiss girl and two other gringos (spanish students of Maricela, a young teacher who attends our group).

And there was lots of good food, and excellent homemade hot cider!

Job stayed up on the roof of the church to hold one end of the piñata string to make it move...

Getting ready to break open the piñata...

Brisa taking a swing at either the piñata or the garbage can... Some of the other girls brought the can to make Bris think she was hitting the piñata!

My turn... Phil trying to trick me into thinking the piñata was the other direction. Good thing I didn't whack him a good one on accident!!

Justin beat up a plant thinking it was the piñata!

The party went very well, and was a good closing time for 2008 for the college group. We hope to see some of the new people who came get involved when we resume the group in January!

Christmas Vacation!

Well, JP and I didn't leave the country for Christmas this year, but we went to Mexico City for a weekend to visit his dad. We spend a good portion of a day at Chapultapec Forest at the Castle. I'd always wanted to go to the castle but for some reason never had. It really IS as cool as I'd imagined!

The outside of one wing of the castle...

View from the Castle that's on a hill in the middle of Mexico City...

Outside of another wing of the castle...

Inside the castle...

The Chapultapec Castle was built in the 1700's, and used my foreign rulers of Mexico, Mexican presidents, as a school, and now as a museum. (The president doesn't live there now).

That weekend, JP's favorite soccer team, Cruz Azul, was in the finals for the second time in a row. We ate gigantic fried quesadillas (kekas) in Coyoacan while watching the game on the tiny TV at the keka stand. Cruz Azul lost... also for the second time in a row. Oh well, we enjoyed the wonderful Coyoacan kekas!

Cheaply Healthy

Eating healthy in the United States can be EXPENSIVE. I was aghast last January when I went to WinCo to buy tomatoes and they cost like $2.30 per POUND!!! True, it was off-season for tomatoes, but good grief... And tomatoes are key to most mexican food...

Thankfully, fruits and vegetables are a LOT cheaper here in Queretaro (and cheaper still in other parts of Mexico). Since I'd lived with mexican families for until I got married, I didn't need to buy a lot of groceries, but always went to the grocery store when I needed stuff. Now that Jean Paul and I are married, of course we have a budget for everything, and I now must figure out the cheapest way to buy food for 2 people for three meals a day. We both ate in cheap restaurants and taco stands as singles, but it's always cheaper to eat at home. JP recommended that I find a friend to go to the market with me. I'd been to the markets many times for things like craft items, disposable cups and plates, etc. But I took a friend and went to the fruit and vegetable section of a market downtown. I was pleasently shocked at the prices! Things are MUCH cheaper than in the grocery stores... In fact, the other week, I bought all this:

Clockwise from the white thing by the apples: 1 pound of cheese, 1 pound of hotdogs, 4 apples, 2 pounds of limes (I make a mean lime-ade!), 2 pounds of potatoes, 6 bananas, 1 pound of tomatoes, hotdog buns, a loaf of bread, a head of lettuce, 2 pounds of tomatillos (excellent for enchilada sauce!), 4 pieces of chorizo sausage, and a cucumber.

All that cost less that $10 USD. Pretty good, no? And all that lasts us a good 2 weeks. (Of course I buy meat and chicken a other stuff too...)

Anyhow, I just wanted to brag a bit about actually being able to make yummy homemade foods for CHEAP! :)

Independence Day, and Passion 2008 Mexico!

I'm pretty much not keeping up real well with writing in this blog, please excuse me! :)
September 15-16 is Independence Day here in Mexico, and we celebrated in style at the house of our friend Job and his family, with typical Mexican soup, enchiladas, and traditional musica and dance!

Me, JP, Lalo, Phil, and Ruti enjoying the festivities!

Me with Mariana and Alan:

This week, we've been planning high and low for Passion, a hugh event for college students with the purpose of encouraging students in their relationships with God, and proclaiming His name in the city! We'll be taking 25 students to Mexico City this weekend for the event! We had a coffee and cookies fundraiser at church this past Sunday which went quite well, and the students are excited for Passion! Please pray that this will be a life-impacting event for our students - worshipping alongside thousands of other college students! - and that everything will work out logistically. Honestly, I'm a little nervous about taking so many kids to Mexico City, in the eyes of Mexican parents, I'm the only adult (you become an adult when you get married or turn 30), and only barely so! Phil has done an amazing job of organizing the event for the Queretaro students, I really haven't done much at all, so he's been on his own for the most part - finding a cheap/safe hotel, reliable transportation, event tickets, everything. Phil moved here from Australia in March, so organizing the Passion trip for our students has been a huge undertaking and good learning experience!

Again, we ask your prayers for our students and leaders during this event - this coming friday, saturday, and sunday.

I'll post an update when we get back! :)

Holy Cross Day

I'm gonna guess that most of you who think about mexican holidays this time of year would think primarily about 5 de mayo, which, by the way is NOT mexican idependence day. But there are a LOT of holidays all jammed into about 2 weeks. Childrens' day is April 30th (kids go to school but get to play all day). May 1st is Labor Day (no school, no work, no banks, no p ost office...). May 2nd is contructions workers' day (no work for construction workers). May 3rd is Holy Cross Day, which I'll explain later. May 5th is Battle of Puebla Day (no school, some people don't have to work). May 10th is Mothers' Day. So there's 6 holidays in about 2 weeks! And I'm waiting for some paperwork from the mexican government that I need by May 20th, and they said it would be ready in 10 "working days." Ooops.

Anyhow, I must add that yesterday, 5 de mayo, I saw no celebrations. I thought, "wow, people in the States are eating mexican food today in honor of a holiday that they have no idea what it is!" But that's ok, any excuse to have some enchiladas is fine with me!!

So on saturday night Jean Paul and I went to the little town of Pinto to go to a festival for the day of the Holy Cross. JP's friend Ruben and his family (who are Christians) live there. It was interesting to see all the festivities, and a TON of people clogging the streets!


Everything that you can imagine was for sale:

Including some really yummy breads:

To celebrate the holiday, a big tower was set up that had shapes of various catholic icons that would later light up with fireworks:

And this is the courtyard of the church in Pinto:

A lot of people just went to the festival for the same reasons we did - cheap food and lots of stuff for sale. But something that's sad to me is that many people come from all around the area walking barefoot or crawling on bare knees to the church as a penetence in respect of the Holy Cross. Then at night, many people get drunk. In the court yard pictured above, there's a band playing and many many drunk people dancing. Some of them even had on scary masks that supposedly scare off evil spirits. It was really surprising to me to see this going on in a religious area where just that morning people were paying penetences to the Cross. It's also sad to me to hear of people mistreating themselves in honor and maybe worship of icons that are not God.

Here's me and JP with Ruben and his son Gabriel: