I know I promised to continue the series on poverty and the story about the lady that knocked on my door asking for help.  I will very soon, I promise.  It has proven much more difficult than I thought it would be, but after wrestling to find the right word all week, I am almost there and Sam says it is half way decent.  So stay tuned, I think it will be worth the wait.  In the mean time, here are some photos of a recent mission trip two of our boys were priveleged to be a part of.  Both the boys bonded with the young MK who lives there with his family.

They drove about six hours into the mountians.  This included a lot of curves, dirt roads and some fog, donkeys and turkeys.

 Their objective was to help paint a literacy center.  People will be able to come and learn to read in their indigenous language.  This is very important, since many indigenous people in Oaxaca understand their heart language better than Spanish or only speak the indigenous language.

What a good looking group!  All photo credit goes to Donna Shaver and Anna Perez.

Looking Ahead

As 2014 draws to a close and 2015 is brand new, it is very exciting to be making plans for a medical clinic to the island region.  You can read about our first trip to this area by clicking here.  This will be a collaborative effort of the missionaries currently church planting on the island, our church here in Huayapam, and a local group of doctors that often do mountain medical clinics as part of their ministry.  You can also read our latest prayer letter by clicking here.

Church Planters!

We had the privilege of being a part of something very similar in March of 2014, that you can read about by clicking here.  The trip will help the missionaries and their church on the island reach out to their community.  “We are the bait that the fisherman use,” as one of the doctors likes to put it. It will be exciting for the church members here having the opportunity to be a part missions, we are praying they catch a vision and passion for missions and reaching the state of Oaxaca.  There is much planning, coordinating, and prayer that needs to go into this trip.  We invite you to begin praying with us on this.  

Translators!

How about you, what mission trips or Global Adventures ,as my BIL likes to call them, are you planning on going on this year?

A Mission Trip for Missionaries

I had every intention of posting this back in May or June, but pregnancy and morning sickness really caught up with me.  I am posting it now, obviously.  :) Our missionary friends are in the U.S. on furlough and we really miss them, especially this time of year.  The following is just one of the fond memories we have with them.  

Early May we were honored to be invited along by some fellow missionaries on one of their out reach efforts.  The goal was to assist and encourage a national church planter, as he and his wife live and labor among a very closed neighborhood.  The neighborhood has permitted their children to come for daily after school tutoring and Bible studies, but the adults have been very reluctant to engage with Manuel and Glenda in anyway.  We offered very limited services; a very basic eye exam, dental care workshop, barber (turns out you can trust a bald barber), and ear cleaning.  I was able to weigh a few babies and go over warning signs in pregnancy with some of the ladies in the waiting area.  

All this gave the community a better opportunity to get to know Manuel and Glenda and to speak to some about spiritual matters.  We are thankful to our missionaries friends for allowing us to join them in part of their ministry.  It was a great ministry trip for our visiting niece and our kiddos.  They helped out in lots of areas.  Glamorous things like hauling water, sweeping up hair, and examining and cleaning out ears.  However, the best thing they did, the thing I am the proudest of is, they showed themselves friendly. Well done my young people.  

What do you think?  What makes short-term mission trips successful or not so successful?  What was the most important way you helped on your last mission trip?

March 2013 Recap

Meme took the girls to a cooking class.  Where we got to go on a market tour and learn about traditional Oaxacan food.

March 2013 Recap

Oaxacan Coffee and Cup Giveaway

Oaxacan Coffee Giveaway (my first blog giveaway)! 

Update:  Giveaway over, find out who won here.

I promise to continue with the 2013 Ministry Recap very soon...think Thursday.  But today we wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little about our area and offer you a chance to sample some of the amazing coffee they grow here in Oaxaca.


When visiting Oaxaca, you don't want to miss one of the little pueblas just outside the city.  It is an easy cab ride.  Just tell your driver you want to go to San Andres Huayapam, or even just Huayapam (wy-yah'-pam).  He will know where you want to go and will probably ask if you are going to be trying the tejate (tay-ha-tay).  This is a cool, chocolaty drink made using flowers from a special tree we are told grows only in Huayapam.

A Few of My Favorite Things

We are now in a new area of Mexico and we have slowly been getting to know our new home.  There are still many, many more things to see and discover, but here are some things we love about our new home.

1. It's incredible rich and diverse culture.

The area is littered with ruins from Mexico's indigenous past.

Tejate is a yummy local chocolate drink.

2. Rainy season, which is accampanied by more greenery than we had seem in several years.  But seriously I love the sound of pitter-patter on the roof.

3. CafeCafe!  See the this post for more about CafeCafe!

4. Centro de Abastos, the large central market with all it's smells and colors and fresh fruits and vegetables.  It's so large that even though we've been there 3 times, we still haven't seen it all, not to mention you save a bundle of money shopping there.

This women was kind enough to show off her beautiful breads.

Can you guess this vegetable?

Sam carrying a whole crate of apples through the market for me. I made apple cider vinegar , which we can't get down here and yummy apples sautéed in butter, suger and cinnamon.

5. I'm loving attending pregnant moms and births again, with the added bonus of teaching.  No matter how much I try to suppress it or deny it, one of my purposes on this earth is to care for women during pregnancy and childbirth and I'm thankful for the opportunity to minister in this way.


6. This Tacos stand is owned by one of the brothers at the Baptist church.  They are incredible and trust me I've eaten enough tacos to know.  He has a beef taco, a pork taco and tacos de cabeza (meat from the head of the cow) all amazing!  Really it's his wife and daughters who prepare them, but I'm sure he helps.

Stay tuned for more mini tours of this amazing place we have the privilege of calling home.  I even considering changing the name of the blog since it feels like our "wandering" may have come to an end, such an unfamiliar concepts to this family.  However, even though we are making the city of Oaxaca our home, eventually we feel we will be ministering more and more in the vast unreached rural mountain areas that surround us.

Stay tuned, soon I will be posting about our new home we will be moving into this week.  It will titled "We Bought the Zoo: or in our case rented it".  Should be interesting!

UPDATE:  Before I could get this posted, because of our sporadic internet, the house we were supposed to move into fell through.  We are sad, because we were excited about all the ministry possibilities this building represented, but we are thankful for God's guidance and protection.  However, that leaves all 7 of us humbly accepting help from friends, as we "crash on their couch".  In reality, Sam and I have our own room with a private bathroom and our children are quite comfortable too.  Pray with us we find a house very soon, so we can be much more effective here in Oaxaca.

Novios!!!

My camera is back and even better!  YAY!

A little Spanish lesson today.  Novio means boyfriend, so novios is a couple.

Sam and I found this amazing coffee shop that sends Starbucks running off with it's tail between it's legs!  And at a better price to boot!  The coffee is grown and prepared here in the state of Oaxaca, and they know just how to grow it under the shade of the banana trees, not to mention the climate is perfect.  It's rich and flavorful, just like Oaxaca!  And as an added bonus, you can sit in comfy chairs and enjoy the view of the mountains out the open store front.

Sam and I are known to sneak over mid afternoon quite often, especially after a day at the birth center.  We sit and sip our amazing coffee, admire the view and enjoy the pleasant company (each other).  Usually we just order coffee, but occasionally dessert and maybe a sandwich if it has been an extra busy day.

One day after ordering our coffee and sandwich, Sam ran over to the cell phone store while we waited for our food.  The girl that had been our server several time before, came out to inform me that they didn't have all the ingredients for my "friend's" sandwich.  I chose another one, but I couldn't wait for Sam to get back to tell him she thinks he's my boyfriend!  Tehehe!  Mind you I was wearing my wedding band, which I have worn for the last 16 years, but wedding rings are not as big a tradition here as they are in US.  Later she got up enough nerve to ask Sam if I was his girlfriend and was surprised to find out, I was his wife and we have 5 children!

My honey and I in front of our favorite coffee shop, CafeCafe.

Recounting the story makes me smile inside.  Truly thankful I have a wonderful husband who treats me so well people thinks we are dating.  Just as it should be, right girls!