Lunch and Washing Dishes

 God continues to cover me with His love and blessings.  I am still amazed that He would pick me to come to this beautiful place to teach English.  He gives me patience when everyone around me is speaking Spanish and laughing, but I have no clue what is happening.  :)  Usually someone explains in a few minutes.

Doesn’t today’s lunch look delicious? The chicken was tender, the vegetables (carrots and a few onions) tasty, the black beans good, and guess what the green vegetable is. The cloth with the colorful edge is keeping the basket of tortillas warm. They are included at every meal. Plus the Mexicans love to have a flavored water of some sort with their meals which the cook also makes. Often it includes a fruit such as melon or coconut; it's always delicious and a bit sweet. A favorite is one made from the hibiscus flower. It's a dark red/purple color and so good!

The students in the cross cultural training program (English students included) and their teachers plus a few others eat lunch together Monday–Friday.  The cook is so accommodating. She knows I can handle very little spice so she will sometimes put something aside for me, but a separate bowl of spicy sauce is always available for almost everyone else. I might add that the women, especially the older women, are invited to go first in line. It’s automatic.  Even the men who don’t speak English motion me to go ahead of them.  

Did you guess what the green vegetable is?  It’s cactus, and I love it!  The texture is a little different, but the taste is not that far off from green beans.  They tell me that it is very nutritious.  Once we had a cactus salad–a mix with onions and other vegetables.  It was spicier than I would have preferred, but it was so good!  Probably by the time I leave, my taste buds will be able to tolerate more heat.

Different cultures just do things differently, and that includes washing dishes.  It seems that everyone here rinses every dish and spoon first, washes the pieces individually with a soapy sponge (no dishcloths), and then rinses each piece under running water.  We take turns washing dishes, sweeping the floor, and wiping off the tables after our lunch.  What a view I had as I washed dishes this week! Note: I wash my own dishes in my kitchen inside my apartment.

I previously wrote about the chachalaca, the bird I described as a loud rooster with a sore throat. One day this week on my morning walk I saw one up ahead. I think it must have been a young one because it didn't fly off right away. (I have so much respect for the men who built the road on this mountain!)

Prayer Praises and Requests

• I am thankful for feeling safe and so well-cared for.

• I am feeling a little more comfortable planning lessons and anticipating what questions or confusion my students might have.  It all helps me prepare.  Yay!

• I am thankful you are praying and God is answering!

• Always please pray for my students.  They work so hard.  I learned this week that one of them dreams of being able to preach in English.

• Please pray for El Monte.  Like any ministry, there are always many challenges.

• Pray for the staff as the hours are long.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.  Deuteronomy 31:8

Water, Electricity, Grammar

 Thank you for your continued prayers.  It's been an eventful week!  Wednesday afternoon an elbow on a big pipe coming down from the cistern broke.  We did conserve as much as possible, but thankfully we had enough water to make it through by the time our always-busy maintenance crew could fix it.  By Friday the water situation was back to normal.  In the middle of this, the electricity went out, and we couldn't gauge how long it would take to fix, so the generators were hooked up. Someone joked that this was additional missionary training--little water and no electricity! By the time the generators were in place, the power came back on!😊

  Part of my responsibilities is to teach grammar.  Several years ago my grandchildren gave me a t-shirt for Christmas that reads:   Let's eat Grandma

                                          Let's eat, Grandma

                                          Commas save lives

I have always had a lot of fun with the shirt, and when I wore it this week, the Mexicans laughed too.

The view from my second-story classroom

My view over the treetops and into the valley on this morning's walk

Prayer Requests & Praises

• Neither the power outage nor the broken water pipe interrupted too much
• I feel so blessed to be here and part of this staff
• Pray for all of the staff, their workload, and the hearts of the people they are ministering to
• Pray for my students who have so much to absorb, understand, and apply
• Pray for wisdom for me in planning lessons
• Pray that I would honor God in all I say and do and that I would learn the lessons He is teaching

Thank you!

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.  He will never leave you or forsake you.  Do not be afraid or discouraged.                                                                                              Deuteronomy 31:8

Random Tidbits

 Again, thank you for all the prayers for El Monte, the staff, my students, and me.  I am grateful and thank God for you!

I did laundry this week using my phone.  :)  After I looked at the washing machine, I realized I needed the Google Translate app.  Frio=Cold, Tibio=Warm, Caliente=Hot, Enjuague=Rinse    The little laundry house is just steps away from my apartment door; I actually like hanging up clothes and do it at home.  You don’t find many dryers in Mexico since everything dries so quickly.  There’s no need for a door for the laundry house or glass in the windows; however, the machines are covered to protect them.  It all works very well.

I also cooked some oatmeal for myself one day for breakfast.  Even though I have made oatmeal before, I again used Google Translate just to be sure nothing was really different.  It wasn’t.

You might be wondering about the heat down here.  Just like July in Wisconsin, some days are beastly hot, but other days are more comfortable.  I can’t say that I have been uncomfortable, but then, I am not working outside.  There is no air conditioning, but ceiling fans are everywhere and run continuously.  Because I never shut my fan off, I wondered if it would burn out.  The answer was, “Keep it on 24/7”.  It is basically in the high 80’s during the day and 60’s at night.  I feel for the maintenance men who are working outside all day.  I have noticed that they always wear long pants (for protection as they are usually working with equipment) and often long sleeves to protect them from the sun.  One Mexican man even wears a hoodie with the hood up. 

June–October is the rainy season.  An interesting thing I learned about the zone we are in is that it rains only at night.  With the rain and heat, vegetation really grows quickly, but I’ll save that for another blog.

We are in a rather remote area.  Paul Q., Paul W., Roxanne, and I had a conversation about distances to the nearest towns and their sizes.  The closest nearby town is small; Rib Lake is small.  The next largest town is about 30 minutes away and has more shopping possibilities, similar to Medford.  The closest city (one million people) with the most shopping options is Cuernavaca, one hour away, just like Wausau (not quite one million people).  Being a bit remote is an advantage for this missionary training school.  Students live here in the apartment building and are more easily able to focus compared with having to drive home to another town with its distractions.  

Here’s one more pic from my morning walk.  I am really appreciating God’s beauty in this place.

Please pray with me.

Praises

• The students all arrived on time and are settling in.

• God has provided a beautiful mountain for this training.

• I continue to feel well and feel so cared for.  So thankful for how my body has adjusted in the last week and a half and for the staff's kindness.

Requests

• Pray for my students. Orientation was yesterday; classes start Monday.

• Pray for my continued understanding of this culture.  Pray I would learn to greet when and where properly.  It’s a big deal.

• Pray for me to develop a relationship with each of my students.  Trust is also huge in this culture.

• Pray for all of the staff.  They are so dedicated and stretched.

First Week

Already one week has flown by.  I am so grateful to the staff here at El Monte for their continued warm welcome; I have been introduced at two different staff meetings and included in activities.  I was in the office the other day learning how to print documents when Paul W grinned at me and said, “You are out of retirement now!”  No regrets whatsoever!  My little apartment is comfortable and beginning to feel like mine. This is the view from my door.

Sunday morning I heard a huge “POP!”.  Turns out a transformer across the road from the property blew.  We had been out of electricity for a few hours during the night, and now the electricity was out again.  Just like at home, the problem was reported, and no one dared to open a refrigerator.  By late afternoon the maintenance staff was putting generators in place for our refrigerators.  Someone explained that during the rainy season, power outages are not unusual.  Prayers were answered, and fortunately the power was back on by 6:00 or so.   I am understanding more and more why Mexico is dubbed Flexico.  :)

I have been going for walks each morning.  I say walks, but I should call it “climbs”.  Those of you who have lived in the mountains understand.  I am happy that each day I have been able to go a little farther.  One of the things that I love is hearing all the birds singing; it sounds like home, but not at all.  The “chachalaca" cracks me up!  He is larger than a chicken but smaller than a turkey, and I decided he sounds like a very loud rooster crowing with a sore throat!  He will call across the valley, and whomever he calls certainly hears!  

Please pray with me.

Praises

• I seem to be adjusting well on several levels. Thank you for all the prayers said on my behalf.

• Even though I have a long way to go, I am starting to understand the curriculum. 

Requests

• Students arrive Thursday, and we have orientation on Friday.  Classes start Monday.  Pray for God’s wisdom and blessing to have a strong start.  Always pray for the students when you pray for me.

• Pray for the staff.  They have so many responsibilities and work so hard!  

• Pray for my director and for me to understand each other.  We are both teachers, but we have taught in such different worlds.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid or discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8

First Days

Thank you for your support, encouragement, help, and prayers as I am now in Mexico!  I am thanking God for so much! Note: The picture placement did not want to cooperate; I will try to get it figured out for next time.

Tuesday, August 5

• Trip went smoothly and arrived safely

• Very nice coach bus ride from Mexico City to Cuernavaca
  

• Shopped at the biggest Wal Mart ever!  Bought groceries and supplies for my apartment

• The “boxed” milk doesn’t have to be refrigerated until after it is opened.  It tastes about the same as milk at home.

• Ketchup in big bags–who knew?

• Happy to see the gate at El Monte as I had been up since 2 a.m.  Warmly greeted by Paul and Roxanne and received lots of help getting things in my new home.

Wednesday, August 6

• Woke up to the sounds of birds I had never heard before; some made me laugh!

• Unpacked and organized my place.  Happy to discover deep drawers and plenty of room for things.

• Roxanne kindly invited me to a yummy lunch at 2; I am working on getting used to the new meal time.  I have some snacks in my cupboards.  ;)

• Paul and Roxanne took me on a tour of the grounds.  Beautiful.  Being from Wisconsin, I never learned to appreciate mountains.

• Still adjusting to Tuesday’s long day and the altitude.  Slept well again.

Thursday, August 7

• The slight headache I had yesterday from being overtired and adjusting to altitude is about gone.  I have been drinking LOTS of water.

• Went for a short walk and discovered the most beautiful blue and black butterflies and gorgeous flowers.  People here create beautiful buildings with all the rocks.

• My door is on the first floor, second from the right.

• Will work this afternoon with my director on what I’ll be teaching.  Anxious to get started.

Would you pray with me?

Praises

• Smooth trip–no problem with flight or going through security or immigration

• Getting good sleep

• Adjusting to altitude

• Staff here so welcoming

Requests

• Kindly pray for my students when you pray for me.  They are training to be missionaries.

• My continued good heath

• Wisdom in preparing for my classes and a strong start to classes

• My dependence on God.  I can’t do this by myself!

Almost Time!

Almost Time!

I am packed and excited to be on my way!  I will leave early Tuesday morning and would appreciate prayers especially for that day as it will be extremely long.  Thank you for all your support and prayers!  

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