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2006 Mexico Mission Diary |
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People and Places Even though we broke into small work teams much of the day, we came together for meals and for a devotional time each evening. These were good times.
We fixed most of our own meals. Lunches and dinners included chili, pot roast, chicken and noodles. Breakfasts included biscuits and gravy and pancakes. We invited the mission workers to most of our meals.
Every evening, we met in the cool breezes of the veranda to sing praises to God, to pray, and to listen to a devotional someone had prepared. George did a dramatic devotional Sunday night about the need for salvation. Rob Wilkes did devotionals Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday about spiritual disciplines. He asked me if I'd do Wednesday's devotional about a spiritual discipline, and I agreed. Sanille brought her guitar, prepared a songbook for us, and led us in song every night. We sang many familiar tunes, and she taught us a new song based on Psalm 9: I will praise
I will tell
I will sing praise to Your Name, O Most High
The vendors by and large speak decent English. One of the vendors' English wasn't quite adequate when she wanted to tell me that I looked to her like some famous Mexican singer. She had to get another vendor to translate for her. In the photo at left, most of us are shopped out and waiting for the rest of the group to show up so we could head back to the misson compound.
It is wonderful to see how much Albina and her family have made of this place, especially since, frankly, there are a ton of mistakes on this house. Whoever laid the block didn't leave space for the windows, so someone sledgehammered holes for them, which left huge gaps that had to be filled with cement. And don't even get me started on all the mistakes we made applying the stucco. We were definitely a rookie crew. Who knows how many times Albina may have cursed our names for some of the work we did. But she has certainly made a great deal out of what she was given.
Jair and his wife Norma came out to eat, too, as did Abner and his family, including his father and his sister and her children, who were all visiting from the United States. I talked with Abner's father for a while. He has lived everywhere from Baltimore to Abilene and had some interesting stories to tell.
Abner and his wife tried to adopt Jacqueline, but were denied. Apparently there is a cultural resistance in Mexico to Mexicans adopting Mexicans.
This is all of us. We were a small group this year, but I trust that we were mighty in God's hands.
Row 1: Erika, Sanille, Dawn, Connie |
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the road • the Lord's day • computers • children • work • people and places |
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One of the ways we came
together as a group was at mealtimes, and we sure laughed a lot there. Here, Sanille and Tammy are talking, and as seemed to happen
so often on this trip, Jim is caught in the middle.
Ed Wilkes' birthday was Tuesday,
I think. Here he is blowing out candles on his cake. One day during the 2004
trip was Gary's birthday, and Ed had us all sing Happy Birthday to him at
every meal that day. Paybacks are sweet, though; Gary had us sing Happy
Birthday to Ed at every meal the rest of the week.
I'm not
sure what Sanille is trying to communicate to Rob here, but it sure was
funny at the time.
As usual, we went to the market on
Thursday afternoon. The market is full of junk that tourists buy
— blankets, mass-produced handcrafts, belts, traditional
Mexican dresses, and the like. You can also buy vanilla there, which is
supposedly the best you can buy, and darn cheap at about $3 a pint. The
vendors expect you to haggle. I bought a couple blankets for myself and some
gifts for others and spent maybe $20.
Thursday
night we drove to Albina's for dinner. Albina is a member of the Vida Nueva
church. Her house was destroyed in a flood a few years ago, and crews from
many mission trips built a new house on her property. In 2004, I was on a
crew that applied stucco to the exterior, while another crew installed
windows and another crew built the roof. It's great to go back and see how
much work Albina and her family have done since then. When we visited last
year, the house was finished and they built a taco stand on the corner. This
year, the old taco stand was replaced by a new, larger one, and a stone wall
had been built along the front of the house.
The taco stand
seems to be pretty popular. We were certainly a huge customer that night,
but even while we were there cars stopped and ordered things, and people sat
at the window and ate. We sat outside at makeshift tables as the tacos and
burritos kept coming until we were stuffed. Albina brought out some freshly
cut apple, orange, and papaya for us. I'd never had papaya before. It's
really good, with a mildly sweet and somewhat earthy flavor.
This little
girl, Jacqueline, is an orphan who lives at the mission. She had just
arrived before last year's trip. She's grown considerably and is just
adorable. She likes to be the center of attention!