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