Lent and what goes with it

Bible reading plans, local celebrations, fasting, repentance . . . just to name a few.

About 2 years ago, I began using an app called YouVersion.  It is actually a Bible app with several extras.  One of those added features connects me to several different reading plans, allowing me to daily see a devotional or which chapters of the Bible I should read to complete a "plan" by a certain date or after so many days.  I am currently using 2 - a parenting devotional and a Bible-in-a-year plan. They'll even send me e-mail reminders.  Because Lent was approaching, I received a notice at the bottom of my app asking me, more or less, if I celebrated Lent and if I wanted to browse their reading plans for the occasion. I answered (silently) "no, but I'm interested in seeing what that involves." Browsing the plans, I noticed that one was 46 days.  Strange.  I thought Lent was 40 days.  So I looked it up.  Thanks to google, the answer was at my fingertips - yes, 40 days, not counting Sundays, between Ash Wednesday and the Saturday before Easter.  That clears things up a bit.  But there is more surrounding this holiday.

Here in the Yucatan, the days leading up to it involve something called Carnaval which is like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, LA.  The Evangelical church here is diabolically opposed to this "celebration" as it basically puts the bar and club scene out on the streets of Mérida for several nights.  My hubby reminded me of a conversation we had with a family who saw it as a time to basically get your fun in, then repent on Ash Wednesday, no harm done. Needless to say, we didn't take part in this aspect of Lent.  But it raises my curiosity.  What goes on in the life of these individuals during Lent?

Traditionally, I found out through the trusted Wikipedia site, people are expected to fast in some form, generally giving up meat products at least on the Fridays as well as Ash Wednesday during Lent as a form of penitence.  However, there are several Protestants who also choose to observe some form of fasting during this time through giving up some particular food or habit.  This is done more out of choice than obligation.  Even popular healthy living sites are using this as a motivational tool.  

This morning during breakfast, Dave shared with me and article he received from sparkpeople.com about this very topic.  In it, the author listed 14 ways to improve your health during the season of Lent not only for observers but also for those wanting to support friend and family members who "do without" during this time.  This peaked my interest.  What could I do?  Some areas mentioned in the article were things we already did - drinking enough water, daily walks, eating 3 servings of fruit a day . . ..  I guess I was feeling gutsy.  I suggested something to Dave and Rebekah during our morning walk.

 "I think I want to give up white flour and sugar." 

Now, this wasn't an out-of-the-blue thing.  Earlier this week I was listening to my missionary friend's thoughts on how her family is eliminating carbs from their diet when they're in the form of white flour and high fructose corn syrup.  They are even trying to eliminate corn in general from their diet because of what it turns into in the body when not expended by daily exercise.  My Mom has also said for years how badly white flour and sugar affect her system.  Of course, if I was choosing to give these things up, that didn't mean my family had to as well.  I just wanted them to know my plans, but that they were welcome to join me if they so chose.  Imagine my surprise at dinner today - lentil soup - when my 13 and 11-year-old kiddos chimed in that they also wanted to participate!  I clearly said NO white flour or sugar, mind you.

So, here begins my/our journey.  There will be major changes, moody days, cravings, and frustrations.  But there will also, hopefully, be a sense of togetherness, improvements in health, more energy (eventually), weight-loss(?) and growth as we investigate and move forward in this new endeavor.

Do you celebrate Lent?  Are you giving up something or adding something healthy to your routine?  Maybe you've tried to give up white flour and sugar - any advice? 

Singer or sandwich? (a little snippet from our day)

We were sitting at the breakfast table this morning listening to Phil Collins as we ate.  His voice is well known to my kids, made popular to them by the movie Tarzan.  The song True Colors, came on and they said "what is this?"  To their question I replied, "It's Phil Collins, but a different song he sings." Dave threw in, "and it's also sung by Cindi Lauper."  Not having ever heard this name, Jonathan pipes up, "Silly Whopper?!!!"  

Silly Whopper . . . funny how the message sometimes gets misconstrued bases on our previous knowledge and exerience.  We could ponder that one for awhile . . .

I love our kids - they continue to bring us joy and always give us a fresh perspective on life ;-)

Comfort Foods

I can understand why people (me included) are emotional eaters. So much in a family is linked to foods. Great moments together and memories of childhood days seem to always contain some element of it. When we return to my hometown for holidays or visits, my Mom always asks what she can make. My thoughts go to things that I ate growing up - pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy, city chicken, spaghetti with mushrooms, ground beef and Prego, and desserts like apple pie. Memories of my Dad and I watching a football game or western on TV included eating Doritos and bean dip. There were special moments with my Mom and Grandma, picking strawberries, making canned jams, and homemade pastries and cookies.
It is no wonder that a person feels good when eating (and remembering) these foods - they're linked to love and acceptance. Yesterday, I had a good day. The kids seemed to have a good day. My hubby had a good day. Plus, thanks to him, I had an especially clean kitchen. And do you know what happens when I have a clean kitchen? I want to bake :-) So, I did. I found a recipe for old-fashioned strawberry shortcake, made the recipe that was 8 servings and divided between the five of us! Words can't describe how delightful it was creating it and how delicious it was as we enjoyed it around the kitchen table while Dave read the first chapter in 'A Christmas Carol.' Making memories. The tradition continues - food, family and great moments together.

Trying to Jump Start

Waking up early to read the Bible and your daughter (who also woke up early) needs your help putting some finishing touches on an assignment. Studying for an exam and not being able to follow through with it because your son threw up during the night and has diarrhea to boot. Taking a morning shower to start your day right and there is no hot water. Leaving an event a little early because there are some things that need to get done before an evening service at church and you're involved in an traffic accident. This final one is what happened right before I stopped blogging . . ..

All these are part of the rhythm of life, I suppose. For this, we have sayings like "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." So, with my little guy resting on my bed watching Playhouse Disney, I am trying to jump start my habit of blogging (among other habits that have fallen by the wayside).

This weekend we attended a friend's family birthday party for her daughter who is Bekah's age. As we waited for other guests to arrive and interacted with the kids and other family members I was struck by the humble thought at being invited to this home. As far as I could tell, we were the only "non"-family present. I felt truly honored. And, as an honored guest, it is truly important to partake in the food offered on this special occasion. The appetizers were Cheetos and chips with bean dip as well as Jamaica to drink (a very yummy drink made with dried flower petals). Later, the main course was brought in with 2 items on the menu. The first looked like a healthier version of corn dogs - they were actually hot dogs on a stick with a breading much like you would see covering chicken or fish. These may have been mainly for the kids but I asked for one as well as "one" of the second dish which was a bit different. They were tacos, but the contents seemed a bit hard to stomach for me as I was watching my friend prepare a plate of 4 for my hubby. I, however, trying to be a good missionary and friend, cleaned my plate which contained one of these pig-ear tacos. Yes. And Dave cleaned his plate, too. Later I found out that our sweet girl also had one but discretely offered the remainder of hers to her friend (and birthday girl) who loves them. We also enjoyed the ever popular Coke to clean our pallette and prepare for the party cake.

It was a great afternoon of hanging out with friends and, might I say, family. :-)

New places

Last Sunday Dave was invited to speak at a church in the state of Campeche. The city is called Calkiní and sits just across the Yucatan/Campeche border, about an hour drive from here. It reminded me of our days itinerating, visiting churches in the States for services on Sundays and Wednesdays, mainly, to share our desire to minister in Mexico and our need for prayer and financial support. It is always a blessing for me to go new places and meet new people. I had the opportunity to talk with the pastor's wife Tili at length which was a welcome change to the activity that sometimes overtakes our time with people. They seem to be very forward thinking and have worked hard to overcome some of the legalism that permeates the church culture in this area. Between services, one of Dave's students took us to eat at a restaurant in the city. Interestingly, it had a pool which apparently you could swim in before or after eating. We, of course, didn't come prepared to enjoy that aspect of the location :-P

But I did get some cute pictures of the kids while we were there.
The kids are always ready to have a good time. So, instead, they played tag on other side of the pool, and they got friendly with the waiters and played with them using the walkie-talkies that were at the waiter station. Before we left, Jonathan returned to the counter to find his "friend" in order to say goodbye!

In the evening after the night service we went to an outdoor taco place and had "tacos al pastor" which is Dave's favorite meal here. It is a seasoned pork with onion, cilantro and small pieces of pineapple on what most Americans would call a soft taco - either flour or corn, take your pick. (The hard curved Taco Bell tacos just don't exist here!) After the kids finished, they ran to the nearby park - you know the kind with metal equipment, with railings missing at the top of the slides, etc. - to enjoy a few minutes of playtime before the drive home.

Since coming to Mexico, I think I have loosened up as a parent. I know I will always feel protective, but I have felt the need to "allow" my kids to be in less than safe environments and more than an arm's length away. Raising kids teaches you so much. Every day is a learning experience and I have SO far to go. I'm very thankful for me 3 blessings.

The Little Things

The other day I was in a well known grocery store that sells a whole lot more that groceries here in Mérida. Have you ever heard it said that the tendency in this type of store is to buy more than you come in to buy? Has that ever happened to you? Well, I have learned that when you live in a foreign country and you see something new or something that is sold in the States but not here, it is a good idea to buy it (evaluating the need/cost, etc., of course). Why? Because tomorrow or next week or the day you have planned to make it a part of your dinner, it won't be there!


Ok, so I'm walking through the store and what do I see but Dr. Pepper. I know, you're saying, "Dr. Pepper? What's so big about that?" - Here's the thing. I've NEVER seen Dr. Pepper here! They don't seem to know what Root Beer is either, but I haven't been so lucky as to find that one. Anyway, I just had to buy some cans. That led me to thinking about snacky foods and movies, so we enjoyed a movie night as a family with popcorn and Dr. Pepper - great family memories :-)
You can tell that the kids thought it was pretty special, too! You can almost hear them from their looks in the picture "It isn't every day that Mommy gets us our own can of pop!"

I remember stuff my Mom did when I was a kid, too - like buying the "sugary" cereal when she had a coupon and getting the big, crisp shiny apples and large juicy oranges to put in my Easter basket on Sunday morning. Thanks, Mom, for the memories and the example to do "just a little extra" when you could.

3rd Day Detour - Cancun

We had incredible plans for Tuesday during our vacation. We planned to go to an ecotourism Disneyland-type place called Xcaret - very expensive but "totally worth it!" However, our plans were turned on end when Joseph woke up with worse asthma symptoms -mainly a deep cough. Plus, he just "looked" sick for those of you who know the look of someone with allergies acting up. So, although we were all pumped up to spend this incredible day in the sun and water, we traded it in for a trip to the doctor and then a trip to Wal-mart to buy some medicine and a nebulizer.
We didn't want this bummer of a morning to spoil our whole day, so we made a point to enjoy the pool at the condominium and then splurge (and I mean Splurge!) on dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp - Cancun.

Cancun3

Jonathan increased his confidence in the water, showing us he could indeed hold his breath under water and also jump into the arms of his new friend, Brandon, in the deep end of the pool. Bekah strengthened her ablility to float on her back and played games with her new friend, Stefi. And, Joseph turned his sadness into smiles using his goggles to see and swim underwater like crazy.

Prayer Requests:

Jonathan right now is in his 3nd day of having a fever. Being in a tropical climate, we treat fevers with a little more diligence than if we were in Missouri. So, we went to the Dr. on Tuesday evening and were told that it is likely a virus (possibly Rotovirus - but no definites) and to treat it as such. He did lose his supper Tuesday night while at the Dr.'s but hasn't since. Please pray that whatever is attacking him would BE attacked and that he would experience a complete healing - thank you.

Rebekah, as of today, also has a fever and complains of a headache. I imagine that it is the same as what Jonathan is suffering from. She is always so active and positive and her mood has changed dramatically today.

Joseph deals with allergies/asthma - please pray that his reactions would weaken and that the climate/environment here in Mérida would not continue to hinder his well being or our ministry here in Mexico - thank you.

On top of all of this, Dave is currently taking graduate Bible classes in Spanish for the entire month of June - it is very time consuming for him yet very rewarding and beneficial. Could these events all be connected on a spiritual level?

Thanks for staying connected with us through this website and Dave's ministry website.

Blessings,

Kelly

Shark!

Ok, things are getting kind of fishy down here in Mérida. Guess where we were able to travel last week??? The beach! A family from church was planning to visit the coast with relatives - minor problem, one car and 10 people. They would have sent their kids on with an aunt and uncle, but we thought, "hey, we have a car and a few days with no plans - how about going together?!"

I love when good ideas become a reality :-)

We traveled to San Felipe, a small fishing town - a 2 1/2 hour drive from Mérida. There we rented a newly built one bedroom house that we shared with our friends. Yup, shared a one bedroom house with no beds and no kitchen installed yet. We strung 5 hammocks up in the "bedroom" and they put 3 hammocks in the "living room" each of the 2 nights we were there. Their relatives, who live in the place next door, had had their home destroyed by hurricane Isadora and were in the process of reconstructing their own home. So, despite the fact that their living room was in the remains of their wooden home, and the kitchen in the new part of their home didn't have a roof - they welcomed us with open arms to share in their life on the coast. The dad, Chucho, caught fish as well as a "small" shark, with which they prepared meals for all of us while we were there. The food was delicious but very different from any type of seafood I have had in the past. The mom, Martina, made a salsa of chili jabanero and garlic - yum!

The beach itself is not right on the mainland. The family took us on their fishing boat to the beach which was a 5-10 minute ride out where the water was blue and there were grass huts on which to hang our hammocks (boy, those come in handy!). All of us experienced a lot of sun (can you say "peeling"?) and waves. While in the town the second day, we stopped to buy "bolis" which are homemade ice pops made with fruit/water or chocolate/milk - yum, yum!! We saw the carcass of a horseshoe crab in the water, much bigger than the one we saw in Progreso, but instead of calling it some type of crab in Spanish, they call it a "cucaracha del mar" - know what that is? A Sea Cockroach! What an "aha! moment" when I figured out that one :-)

The highlight of the trip (as much as I love the beach) was spending time with these families. Our kids played with theirs, we shared food together, played on the beach, relaxed together - it was just good to be there. They plan to visit Mérida in June, and I am looking forward to the chance to reciprocate the hospitality and genuine love we experienced during our brief vacation in San Felipe. I pray that our "adiós" (good-bye) is in reality an "hasta luego" (until later)!

Traditions

One thing that creates memories in a family is tradition. Since coming to to Mérida, we have formed some new traditions through our weekly routines. We learned that a common breakfast here consists of some things rather strange to most people living in the US - pork sandwiches! Yes, as a kid, I would have the occasional cold pizza from the night before or at times heated up spaghetti, but normally my breakfasts included cereal and/or fruit and on special days eggs or pancakes.
Here, every Sunday, one of the kids and I go to the "Cochinita Stand" (our name for it) which I found out has an official name - "El Tio" - which means simply, the uncle. Cochinita, however, is the name of the pork meat that we ask for in a sandwich with onions. The stand is outdoors, and located a mere 4 blocks from our house. They've come to expect me every Sunday and I'm addressed as "reyna" which means queen in Spanish. To be honest, it's nothing unique. It's a way to address most married female customers - but I like it, anyway. Last week I asked if I could take their picture and they happily obliged :-)
Click on the photo to see more pics . . .

"El Tio"

Here is Joseph near the "cashier" - he has a way of being close money - he also enjoys seeing how things are done. Just to the left of where Joseph is standing, a young guy is making guacamole - a dip made with avocados. I told Joseph to watch carefully so that we could make it at home ;-)
The kids take turns going with me to the stand - part of that one-on-one time that kids need. It's amazing the conversations that start and the doors that open when I have my kids with me - what a blessing they are!