Simple Things

Something that I am learning about living in a foreign country is this: absolutely nothing is simple.

For example: Tuesday's are the day of the week that we usually spend at a local children's home. However, this week everyone who is allowed to drive in Mexico is not in Mexico. So we decided to ride the bus. But here's the things about Mexican buses. You never can be entirely sure where they're going. So we rode one bus to a central area, and then waited for other buses to drive past, hoping that we would get lucky and find one headed in the right direction. Let's just say we still don't know for sure if you can get to the children's home by bus.

And then there's grocery shopping. When we don't have the luxury of using a car, in order to get groceries we must ride a bus, then get off and walk ten blocks to the nearest grocery store. Then we play the "will we get away with having a backpack today" game. Usually we lose. Then comes the fun of translating labels and deciding whether we can handle spending multiple hundreds in cash for groceries (even if it is in pesos). Then we have to make sure we have enough money to tip the bagger and to pay for a taxi home. There's no such thing as a quick trip to the grocery store.

Now, just to be clear, these are some of the things that I love about being here. Yes, I hate shopping and would love to be able to just run to the store, grab a couple of things and move on with my life. And yes, I do wish we could get places without playing eenie meenie miny mo with the buses. But if that were the case, I wouldn't have a reason to celebrate successfully buying groceries. I would never discover new places around town by getting lost and having to figure out where to go next. So today, I am giving thanks for the (not) simple things.

I usually get lost

Hello friends!

So I'm not really sure what all any of you would like to know about my adventures here in Mexico, so I'm just going to write random facts and if you get bored, don't worry, I won't be offended.

I live with three other girls, Anna, Natasha, and Jennifer. We are in a third floor apartment and also are able to spend as much time as we would like on the "palapa" or, roof. That is where our hammocks currently reside,and I absolutely love it up there. It's a great place to relax. I'm even getting used to the jinks, beeps, shouts, songs, and random recorded messages that sound all day long. Oh yeah, the barking dogs too :) It's a really, really nice place. We live in walking distance of pretty much anything we could need, including a van where we buy fresh bread once in a while.

One of the creators of the most adventures here is the bus system. Unlike the bus system I am used to at home, although the buses here do follow routes (sort of),they don't have specific stops, so trying to get somewhere is a bit like playing fission roulette. You never know how exactly it will turn out. Add to that the fact that we travel together, a group of white American girls. Apparently that makes us fascinating, because we are stared at wherever we go. I'm beginning to get more used to it, so if when I get home I'm constantly worried about people watching me, you'll know why.

Now I must sign off, because I have a busy day of tutoring, market shopping, and ESL planning to get rested for. Please keep me and my friends in your prayers as we try to serve in this completely different context!

adventures and other things

Hello from Mexico! Now that I have been out of the jungle for almost a week, and have had a few days to experience the new culture that I'm in, I've decided that I should list a few of the things I've experienced over the past 41 days with you. Let's start with the jungle.

1. Riding in a plane with ashtrays.
2. Riding in a plane where every seat (all 10 of them) was a window seat.
3. Hanging a hammock.
4. Falling to the floor when trying to test my hammock because the rope snapped.
5. Waking up on the floor a few nights later to realize that my hammock rope had broken, again.
6. Bathing in the river.
7. Washing my clothes in the river.
8. Sharing a house with roaches as big as my hand, and a pink footed tarantula.
9. Having a lizard crawl on my back.
10. Riding in a boat on the river instead of in a car on the highway.
11. Bucket flushing the toilet.
12. Drinking frog/sludge water without realizing it.
13. Being told I was loved by a drunk jungle native.
14. Getting a Chaco tan in January.
15. Finding out how small the world is (3 times!)

Mexico (thus far)

1. Fitting 9 people in a car best suited for 5.
2. Being stared at by EVERYONE for being white.
3. Seeing a police officer with a machine gun strolling around the grocery store.
4. Leaving for church 10 minutes after it's scheduled to start.
5. Hearing "call me maybe" while in Wal-Mart (weird)
6. Eating amazing food (mole, tacos al pastor, chocolate filled churros)
7. Meeting my nephew "Toby" over Skype :)
8. Good bonding time with my 3 roomies.
9. Hearing parties on the roof until all hours of the night.
10. Buying bread from the back of a van (aka the peetamobile)
11. Hanging Christmas decorations.
12. Defeating (hopefully for good) my friend the parasite.
13. Making friends with Canadian tourists.
14. Using my fifth type of currency for the year.
15. Speaking Spanish!!!

As you can see, I am having some pretty awesome experiences. God has blessed me to allow me to see so many things and meet so many people. Please be in prayer for Jennifer, Anna, Natasha, and myself (or Jane, as we have decided to call ourselves) as we serve this community, that we will put others´ needs before our own and will also grow in our relationships with others and with God.

Thank you for your prayers!

Un(en)titled

Here i am, back in the "real" world. Not to say that I was kidnapped by aliens and taken to a different world, just that I was rather disconnected from many of the people who make up my world. Speaking of those people, let me just say I am incredibly blessed by everyone who God has put in my life. It was overwhelming to get on the internet and be inundated with messages from people telling me they've missed me and have been praying for me. It means so much to me that people are taking the time to pray for and encourage me.

Another person God has blessed me with is my new friend Natasha. She has been a great encouragement to me as we have worked (and slept) side by side these past few weeks. I'm excited to get to know her even more over next few months.

Another one of my blessings has been God's protection over me. Despite being surrounded by snakes, tarantulas, malaria ridden mosquitos, piranhas, and who knows what else, God kept me safe and healthy through everything.

One other blessing I want to praise God for before I try and sleep (for about an hour before we head out) is my little nephew Hudson. I'm sorry that I won't hold him for a few months, but that will just make it so much sweeter when I get to officially meet him in May :)

God is too good to me, and I praise for the amazing things He has done in my life.