Sorry for all of you who have been eagerly waiting for this post...
I really appreciate knowing that people back home care and are praying for me. I am feeling better physically and everything else has been going great so keep the prayers coming!!
The past week has been pretty busy, it goes a little like this...
We moved into new apartments last Sunday. Four of us are living in two rooms close to town and another 3 live in a different apartment a little bit further away. I have loved getting to know the girls on my team through living with them and spending time with them. It´s a totally different expirience then living in a Mexican home! During the days we spend time together as a team, us 7 girls and the 5 guys. Mornings are prayer from 6-7 then breakfast and worship and then we have different teachings and bible studies. Last week we all shared our testimonies and it was cool to see how God brought each of us here through different circumstances. Almost everyone has a heart for missions and learning about the unreached people of the world has been eye opening for all of us. If you are interested in that or never knew that there are people who have never heard the gospel you should check out joshuaproject.net.
We also spend time during the day working on our community developement projects, water filtration and improving life here for the people, it´s still in process but I am excited. English classes should be started soon too, we are doing that through the government for a barrio which is like a neighborhood here. The ciriculum is very hands on and fun so that will be cool.
In the evenings I spend time with my Mexican friends in town, talking and hanging out in their stores. Im hoping to build relationships to the point where I can start talking to them about their faith and the Bible and stuff. I am praying for those òpporunities too. Pam, one of the long-term church planters here actually just baptised a couple who decided to follow Jesus recently. Home churches are starting and we are seeing people from villages accept Christ even through persecution. These people literally are beat up and torn down for their faith. We have it so easy in the states and yet they are more willing to share their faith with their neighbors.
After my time with friends and language learning I usually spend the nights with the group, we have fun cooking and playing games and just hanging out at night.
Now that the overview of what we will be doing for the next five weeks is layed out I would like to get more specific in my posts. Its hard to describe what Tlaxiaco is like. It´s not really what you would picture Mexico to be like becase we are in a city, but its not a big city like Mexico City or anything. Any of you who have visited Northern Mexico are probably picturing that as you read my posts but from talking to the people here it is a very different culture, even the language is different. So, with that in mind I am just going to try to describe as best I can and hopefully you can get a picture of life here.
Every day for lunch we have 40 pesos to spend, about 4 dollars, for lunch. We go in pairs to the same ¨comedor¨to eat and are working on building relatoinships with the owners. Comedors are like tiny restaurants where you dont have to order. When you sit down in the cozy little room you can see the women cooking in the kitchen right there near you. Usually its a mother and her daughters or a couple employees. They will bring out soup or rice with tortillas and a fruit water to drink. After your finished they bring out the main dish which is usually a type of meat, sometimes kind of scary, and beans. It definately varies but those are typical situations. It is important to eat it all since we are trying to build a relationship and get to know the people. Food is a love language here and if you rejet it they WILL be offended.
Me and Elizabeth decided to venture off our first day, last tuesday, to fine some good home cooking. We walked down a busy road in the city for a couple of blocks looking here and there for a cute comedor without scary men inside, ha. We found one with some women that was empty and decided to give it a try. The women were so welcoming and sweet and we had a pretty fantastic homeade lunch. The rice was delicious with onions and carrots and a great flavor so we raved about how much we liked it. The owner, a sweet Mexican mother, offered to teach us how to make it and invited us back on Friday. Me and Ellie were thrilled. So we went back on Friday and made rice and fresh tortillas and sopillas and got to know a bunch of girls who worked there. I am excited to see how God will use the situation, we will be going there 3-4 times a week to eat and talk to them so I am praying that some doors will be opened to talk about the gospel with the girls. It seems like everyone here is dying to have something to believe in and they usually turn to Catholicism because it is the most popular thing. It is sad though, their faith is not their own and there is a lot of corruption in that religion here.
This weekend we had an amazing opportunity to go to the mountains here and camp out. We spent all day saturday in prayer, confession, fasting and silence. It was amazing. Setting aside that time really felt like great preparation for the rest of our time here. It was a gorgeous atmosphere and im so glad we had that time to seek God´s face.
Mondays are our Sabbath day and we are going to try to make some American food, the food is great here but sometimes you just want some Chicken ALfredo Pasta without tortillas and salsa haha. It will be interesting to see how it works with what we can buy here...
Thats all for now...
Hasta la proximo vez
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Family Fin
I am approaching my final days with my host family here in Tlaxiaco. It is weird that in two days I will be saying goodbye to the people I have lived with and seen non-stop for 2 weeks. It has been such a learning, growing, stretching expirience. I grew really close to my host mom and sister through this time and will really miss them when I leave. The guys of the family have been great too, they remind me a lot of the guys in my real family back home. I am supprised at how much we opened up to each other and shared with each other. They have truly been a generous, loving family and I am blessed to have had these past two weeks with them.
Luckily, my apartment in the city is only a few blocks away from their house so I will be able to visit when I have free time in the next 6 weeks.
My past week has been spent being sick and building relationships. I am feeling better everyday but the food is definately at war with my stomach, which wont stop my host mom from stuffing food down my throat. :-) During the days I spend time with my family, do whatever they do and observe a lot. I have learned a lot of the language from them as they are the most patient with me and helpful. Sometimes it does get hard speaking Spanish ALL the time (nobody speaks Spanish here). Its funny when they ask me how to say something in English and I cant remember cause my mind is in Spanish. haha.
I usually hit the streets around 3 to make my rounds to my friends in town. I have several friends who own or work for small shops or food vendors. We chat for a while & bordar (i dont know how to say this is English but its a sowing thing that all the women do here) and so far I have gotten pretty close to a few of them.
Today I met one of my friends father. Their family owns two clothing stores in the city square and seem like a great, hardworking family. Me and the father talked for about 20 minutes about God, cathocism, faith, and the people here in this area. It was interesting to see his view as a local who atends the catholic church but is really seeking the Lord. He wants to see people here catch a glimpse of the love of God too and is trying to be a light here but he told me its hard and usually he is called crazy. I explained to him how our ministry is trying to disciple christians here in the city who can minister to others until all the areas around here in Oaxaca are hearing the Word of God. There are actually people groups right around this city that dont have a church or any connection to Jesus. GFM uses the same method Paul did in the Bible, enabling locals to reach others they have contact with and spread the Word.
So until Sunday evening I will be spending the rest of my bonding time with my family and friends in town and then on to the next part of my time here. Thanks for the prayers!
Luckily, my apartment in the city is only a few blocks away from their house so I will be able to visit when I have free time in the next 6 weeks.
My past week has been spent being sick and building relationships. I am feeling better everyday but the food is definately at war with my stomach, which wont stop my host mom from stuffing food down my throat. :-) During the days I spend time with my family, do whatever they do and observe a lot. I have learned a lot of the language from them as they are the most patient with me and helpful. Sometimes it does get hard speaking Spanish ALL the time (nobody speaks Spanish here). Its funny when they ask me how to say something in English and I cant remember cause my mind is in Spanish. haha.
I usually hit the streets around 3 to make my rounds to my friends in town. I have several friends who own or work for small shops or food vendors. We chat for a while & bordar (i dont know how to say this is English but its a sowing thing that all the women do here) and so far I have gotten pretty close to a few of them.
Today I met one of my friends father. Their family owns two clothing stores in the city square and seem like a great, hardworking family. Me and the father talked for about 20 minutes about God, cathocism, faith, and the people here in this area. It was interesting to see his view as a local who atends the catholic church but is really seeking the Lord. He wants to see people here catch a glimpse of the love of God too and is trying to be a light here but he told me its hard and usually he is called crazy. I explained to him how our ministry is trying to disciple christians here in the city who can minister to others until all the areas around here in Oaxaca are hearing the Word of God. There are actually people groups right around this city that dont have a church or any connection to Jesus. GFM uses the same method Paul did in the Bible, enabling locals to reach others they have contact with and spread the Word.
So until Sunday evening I will be spending the rest of my bonding time with my family and friends in town and then on to the next part of my time here. Thanks for the prayers!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
For those of you who are praying for me pray for my health.... I was sick in bed all day yesterday and Im feeling a little bit better to day. From the beginning it has been allergies and stomach aches but yesterday was really bad. It definately isnt fun being in another country when your sick, but Im grateful that I am feeling better today. Another girl in my group is sick too so if you could just pray for the whole mission, my team, and me. I know that it must be a shock to our bodies to all of a sudden be eating all this spicy and different food.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Hace una semana!
So tomorrow will end my first week here in Mexico. Usually on a missions trip you are starting to say goodbye at this time and in a sense im ready to just go home and be done. BUT i have 7 weeks left, and im really excited. I feel like I have learned way more then I can handle, with the language and culture change I am overwhelmed. BUT I am ready to learn more and expirience more. Yesterday was my birthday... I thought I would be sad and miss home a lot but it was actually pretty great. The family im living with and other friends in town knew that it was my cumpleanos so they were prepared. :-) At "comida", dinner, they kept reminding me that they were going to shove my face in a cake after. I thought they were kidding. After we finished eating they brought out my faviorite, tres leches pastel, and sand two different songs (not your typical feliz cumpleanos either) and after chanted for me to take a bite without a spoon. So, wanting to fit in with the culture I fell for it and got my face shoved into a massive amount of frosting and cake. So with laughter all around and frosting up my nose I had a great birthday. ha.
Today, saturday, was "market day" basically the whole center of the city is taken over with stands of fruits and vegis and other foods and clothes and electronics and all types of venders. It was crazy! I went with one of the girls here to buy the food for comida and was a little overwhelmed with the amount of people in a small space. (Dad would have freaked).
To answer some questions... my house is made of two stories, some of my host dads family lives upstairs and downstairs is his bakery and house. When you walk in the front door there is a hallway and to the right is the house door. Its literally three rooms connected, you have to go through the first two to get to mine. There is a small kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room off the master bedroom too. And the parents room is also used as a TV room and hangout place. Its pretty cramped but fun, except that its NEVR quiet. I literally go to bed before everyone else at 12AM!!!
DOwn the other end of the hallway is an room for the mixer and the ovens and a table to eat at and then another room where they make the cakes and another bigger kitchen. Its a little bit shocking for an American actually, everything is a lot less clean and a lot smaller but its just part of the culture. Today I helped cook "mole" which is a really popular sauce made of herbs and stuff and pig and rice. It was delicious. The food is AMAZING.. fresh and delicious. The family has been asking me lots of questions about america and usually they say that they like how they do stuff better... viva mexico! haha. But then why do they all want to come to america? literally all of them do. These people really just want to see it and work and make some good money there. Its crazy the stories I have heard about people walking days to get into the US and working for a year or so at McDonalds or construction. I feel for them though,all they do is work and a year in the US working hard could provide for 5 years here. They also feel like we Americans are lazy and ignorant to how easy we have it. I think they are right though. So, a lesson is, next time you encounter a Spanish speaking Mexico, illegal or not, your job is to love them and treat them like a person...they are just trying to provide for their family.
Bastante, si!
Hasta Luego!
Today, saturday, was "market day" basically the whole center of the city is taken over with stands of fruits and vegis and other foods and clothes and electronics and all types of venders. It was crazy! I went with one of the girls here to buy the food for comida and was a little overwhelmed with the amount of people in a small space. (Dad would have freaked).
To answer some questions... my house is made of two stories, some of my host dads family lives upstairs and downstairs is his bakery and house. When you walk in the front door there is a hallway and to the right is the house door. Its literally three rooms connected, you have to go through the first two to get to mine. There is a small kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room off the master bedroom too. And the parents room is also used as a TV room and hangout place. Its pretty cramped but fun, except that its NEVR quiet. I literally go to bed before everyone else at 12AM!!!
DOwn the other end of the hallway is an room for the mixer and the ovens and a table to eat at and then another room where they make the cakes and another bigger kitchen. Its a little bit shocking for an American actually, everything is a lot less clean and a lot smaller but its just part of the culture. Today I helped cook "mole" which is a really popular sauce made of herbs and stuff and pig and rice. It was delicious. The food is AMAZING.. fresh and delicious. The family has been asking me lots of questions about america and usually they say that they like how they do stuff better... viva mexico! haha. But then why do they all want to come to america? literally all of them do. These people really just want to see it and work and make some good money there. Its crazy the stories I have heard about people walking days to get into the US and working for a year or so at McDonalds or construction. I feel for them though,all they do is work and a year in the US working hard could provide for 5 years here. They also feel like we Americans are lazy and ignorant to how easy we have it. I think they are right though. So, a lesson is, next time you encounter a Spanish speaking Mexico, illegal or not, your job is to love them and treat them like a person...they are just trying to provide for their family.
Bastante, si!
Hasta Luego!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Voy a la universidad!
Hey guys!
Right now I am at the Technological University with a couple friends. They wanted me to see their school and go to their English class and stuff. It hasnt been too eventful but its cool to see what their life is like. The school is pretty similar to a tech back home. Im sitting with about 10 kids my age while they do homework. Its fun trying to talk with them but I find that its easier to talk to adults because they talk slower. haha. These two girls that I am friends with are workers at my host familys cake shop *Pasteleria Genesis*. They are catholics but I have a great opportunity to witness to them with my actions and words because we have equal respect for each other. I think its definately respected to be an AMerican learning spanish and ackowledging that there are other cultures out there. The fact that I am open to learning from them makes them open to learning from me.
The family that I am living with is a perfect fit for me. There are three kids undet the age of ten. Two boys and a girl. Its been fun playing with them and getting to know some Spanish slang or play words. The parents are very nice people, liek i said before they own a cake shop, actually three. They hire a couple girls who make the cakes right at their house. So I get to be around girls my age and a family all the time. The parents are definately striving to serve the Lord, they are Christians and adopted their three kids. THey go to baptist church but its very unpopular to be a Christian here. Catholics are prevalent and it is not the same type of catholicism that is respected in the states. Catholics here worship the saints a lot more then Jesus and the concepts of faith are different.
Overall I am loving Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico. It is a great city with tons to see and expirience as far as culture and language is concerned. I am learning so much!
Got to go!!
Right now I am at the Technological University with a couple friends. They wanted me to see their school and go to their English class and stuff. It hasnt been too eventful but its cool to see what their life is like. The school is pretty similar to a tech back home. Im sitting with about 10 kids my age while they do homework. Its fun trying to talk with them but I find that its easier to talk to adults because they talk slower. haha. These two girls that I am friends with are workers at my host familys cake shop *Pasteleria Genesis*. They are catholics but I have a great opportunity to witness to them with my actions and words because we have equal respect for each other. I think its definately respected to be an AMerican learning spanish and ackowledging that there are other cultures out there. The fact that I am open to learning from them makes them open to learning from me.
The family that I am living with is a perfect fit for me. There are three kids undet the age of ten. Two boys and a girl. Its been fun playing with them and getting to know some Spanish slang or play words. The parents are very nice people, liek i said before they own a cake shop, actually three. They hire a couple girls who make the cakes right at their house. So I get to be around girls my age and a family all the time. The parents are definately striving to serve the Lord, they are Christians and adopted their three kids. THey go to baptist church but its very unpopular to be a Christian here. Catholics are prevalent and it is not the same type of catholicism that is respected in the states. Catholics here worship the saints a lot more then Jesus and the concepts of faith are different.
Overall I am loving Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico. It is a great city with tons to see and expirience as far as culture and language is concerned. I am learning so much!
Got to go!!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Aquie en Mexico!
So here I am, in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico. It´s actually pretty weird typing in English because I am starting to THINK in Spanish. I cant speak any enlish right now. I am living with a family of 5. Three children that are 10, 8 and 4. The parents are very nice people and so far it has been a great expirience. The family owns 3 Cake and dessert shops in town and they are actually a fairly wealthy family compared to others. The city is exactly what you would expect of a Mexican ciudad. Stores line the rodes and there are always people outside and cars driving around (I would die if i was driving here, its crazy!) This is my first full day with my family and we are getting to know each other very well. I am suprised at how much I can speak and even more suprised at how much I cant. But the people here love that I am learning and trying SPanish. Today I helped cook and bring the kids to school and I just got back from going on the street and practicing spanish with the ladies in the stores. They are all very friendly and happy to have a conversation with me. So for those of you who are praying for me, pray for mental strength- I am already tired of having to think so much! Also that I would be able to demonstrate a realtionship with Christ to the locals and to my family. I have to go now but hasta luego!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
I am getting excited, nervous and anxious for my trip to Mexico. I fly out very early Saturday morning the 7th of June and spend all say Saturday traveling to Oaxaca. The map will give you a clue to where I will be. Not exactly where you may have gone on vacation last spring break. :-)
Most people don't understand why I am going to Mexico instead of just staying home and enjoying the summer with family. Although that would be great I have to say I know it was a God thing that I am going. I found this organization online simply by searching for internshipopportunities. After getting accepted I was hesitant but through a process of prayer and contemplation I decided to GO! It has been confirmed over and over that this is the perfect way to spend my summer. Not only will I be immersed in the language (I am working towards becoming fluent), but I will also have a chance to minister, get hands on opportunity with teaching English and living with missionaries to experience that lifestyle.
Although I am excited for the experience, the fun, the adventure,and the learning, I also have to say that I am ready to be used too. I know that God has a plan for putting me in Oaxaca and I want to be able to be his "hands and feet" there. So, on that note, here is some information of the people I will be building relationships with, living with, and loving on....
What does it take to reach an unreached people group? An unreached people group, by definition, is a group where there is no local church to spread the Gospel. This means that to reach an unreached people group, someone has to do cross-cultural mission work—they have to learn another language and/or set of customs and learn to share the Gospel in a way that people of that ethnicity can relate to. Without cross-cultural missions, the Gospel never spreads to a new people group.
With that in mind, GFM's vision is to reach those {UNREACHED} people, on a personal level, building relationships and establishing trust, meeting their needs, and also providing them with the much needed gospel. It's so cool that I will be a part of that!
Some pictures and information have been taken from Global Frontier Missions website. www.globalfrontiermissions.com
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