Missionary Retreat - some renewal time on the coast

         

     

A New Song

As I was getting ready for the evening, I heard these lyrics coming from the main bathroom "I want to know you more so I can love you . . .."  But these words weren't coming from the radio or a stereo or an MP3 device.  It was our 9 year old's own song of love to his Lord.  As I picked up my Bible (on my cell phone) I began my reading for the day.  It just happened to be Psalm 98.  It begins "Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things . . .."  

How good you are, Lord, to remind us of your Word, both written and in action.

With some church friends at the zoo

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? 

The Ruins in Yucatan

Most states have attractions that draw tourists or field trips or become vacation destinations.  The state of Yucatan is no exception. In fact, it is a fairly well known tourist attraction because of its rich history and the geography of the region.  And when you call a place like this home, you have to make an effort to see it as the cultural jewel that it is and experience it as if for the first time.

This spring we invited our Yucateco friends to Chichén Itzá, one of the modern 7 wonders of the world in our own "backyard." Although they had visited it in the past, they had not in recent years, so for their kids it was like going for the first time.  We chose a crazy, chaotic day to go - the Spring Equinox - when the shadows formed by the sun on the main pyramid, Kukulkan, form the body of a serpent.
We waited for what seemed like forever in the line to pay for our ticket to enter into the ruins.  Mexicans pay a minimal amount to get in, and foreigners like us pay a slightly steeper fee. Students get in at a reduced price. So as we chatted to pass the time during the heat of the day, the kids occupied themselves with various games.

Once on the grounds, you follow a pathway that winds its way past the many structures built by the Maya people.  The main attraction is the pyramid, but there are also a ball court, buildings with columns, and a cenote with an altar built in front of it where it is believed that sacrifices were given to various gods.  Because of the attraction it is, many vendors line the walkways with trinkets and souvenirs, t-shirts and hammocks, all to commemorate your special time in the Yucatan.

One vendor sells wooden figures.

On the far left is the serpent's head,
and the light in between the shadows
forms its body.

Here are some fun shots of our time there:

As you can see, we all had a fun time together enjoying this "modern wonder of the world." 

Settling In

So it is October now - 10 days into it in fact. I have made a few changes on the website to represent some of the changes we've gone through as a family over the past 4, yes 4, months. I went for simple (black and white) with hints of Mexico (palm trees) in the background. My kids are my focal point as we home school here in the States. The picture of them was a fun one, taken in St. Louis, MO the day after visiting a church in the area. We took in some history, too, as we traveled up The Arch in a tram and viewed a film about Lewis and Clark.

Here is a collection of some digital collages I created from our experience that day.

Underground, in addition to the IMAX theater, there is a Mercantile Store which sells items from an era gone by - the boys had fun spinning wooden tops while Bekah perused the various books of dress and recipes from the 1800s.

We have traveled past The Arch, also referred to as the Gateway to the West, several times. We have even stopped to see it, but this was the first time we ventured inside to get a bird's eye view of the city.

Stay tuned for our next great adventure!

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 ;-)

Fun with Science

The Rocket Project

I was inspired to make and post this video after seeing how much fun the kids had.  Also, I know all of you who read this and live far from us appreciate seeing them from time to time.

Enjoy!

Answered Prayer

I have to share what happened yesterday afternoon.

As the kids came home from school, each puts his/her backpack in the front hallway and brings the lunch box into the kitchen. Then it is time to put in some time on homework before we eat.

Yesterday wasn't much different except that Jonathan was dancing in the living room and singing. This is what I heard:

"God answered my prayer. He is so good. He answered my prayer . . . I don't have any homework . . . He is so good."

I got the biggest kick out of hearing the joy and seeing it demonstrated in song and dance.

Ah, to become as a child - when is the last time I broke into song and danced over anwered prayer? Thank you, God, for this lovely reminder.

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. :-)

First Day of School

The time has come again for school to start - but, oh, the preparation beforehand! I have never prepared for public or private school in the States so my "firsts" have all had a Latino flare to them. Sure I remember my own school days - new back back (at least new to me), lunch box, maybe a new outfit for the first day, and I'm not sure what else. Mom, fill me in here. But, really, the majority of the "school supplies" were provided by the school itself - all that great tax money put to good use. Here, the government provides the books for the basic subjects - regulated across the country. Other than that, the parents fund the purchase of books, paper, supplies (glue, white out, erasers, crayons, markers, etc.), school uniforms, the proper shoes, you-name-it. So, entering school is a big deal and a big cost, not only to us (who chose a private school) but to every parent with a school age kid.
Here's a picture of the kiddos this morning - ready for their first day of school. I might add that they were all ready before Dave and I even woke up this morning - lol.

Work Day

The kids got into the yard work with Dave on Friday. Me? Oh, well, I worked inside and took pictures ;-)
The yard looks great - tons less in the weed department. Usually Dave is the one to spend a morning or afternoon working on things. This time, with school still out, Bekah got very involved and took things pretty seriously - she even got bit by an angry ant. Jonathan found joy in the work (as usual), picking me 2 flowers (you know, those beautiful weeds . . .), and Joseph, well, he had fits and starts. He was looking for the profit in all of it - what was the reward?
Well, he didn't get to "go out" which Joseph has been asking to do lately. But, they did get to hang out with their Daddy, eat peanut butter chocolate sandwiches and ice cream, and listen to another chapter in The Magicians Nephew by C.S. Lewis.
Me, well, I went to a baby shower and only heard about the fun evening they had ;-)
Maybe next time . . .

Camp Time

Wow. We're in July. Actually, we're nearing the end. I should probably post about the vacation Bible school held at our church last week. But, I'm going to show you what we're doing this week instead. Yesterday, we started camp here at home. It's my way of spending time with the kids and getting back into routines and good habits this summer. The kids wake up happy and ready to go, exercising and eating meals from the 4 food groups and implementing routines while receiving motivation from a star chart and family activities. Yesterday, they decorated and made their own canteens from OJ bottles.They called the camp "Camp Animal Power" and named their cabin "The galloping horses." Here's a picture of them exercising this morning. We started with some warm-up exercises, then walked/ran around the park trail 3 times, which is 0.6 miles. (Joseph did 8 loops!). Rebekah and Jonathan worked on a sand castle afterwards while Joseph tossed around the basketball with Dave and me. He also tried his hand at photography . . ..

All in all, we had a very nice morning. We plan on eating what Joseph picked for lunch today - chocolate/peanut butter sandwiches on wheat bread, red fruit yogurt, and mangoes - yup, bread, protein, dairy, and fruit - all 4 food groups.
Later on we'll try s'mores a la Mexico - marshmallows are different here.
Well, I'm off to the showers. We've got more planned today :-)

Happy Father's Day!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

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.

Mother's Day Celebrations

Here in Mexico we celebrate Mother's Day on May 10th every year, whichever day of the week that falls on . . . and it seems to be a pretty big deal. On Friday, the kids put on a presentation which had a Hawaiian theme at school for all the moms. They prepared songs and dances that were both fun and touching. Looking at the photos, you might not know that this was a Mexican school. You have fair skin to dark skin, blue eyes to brown. You can also tell the kids really enjoyed this presentation. I'm interested in what they have planned for Father's Day . . . Saturday, we didn't really celebrate anything. Although, if we had wanted to eat out or something, we would not have found space! And Sunday the kids also presented songs, poems, and gifts to their moms at church. Dave couldn't be there, because he had commited to a service in another church, but I went and was "loved on" by my kids.

I love my kids and they had fun showing me their love this year on Mother's Day - I am truly blessed!

A day away

Recently our family had the opportunity to spend just under 24 hours outside of Mérida for a little getaway. This past weekend our kids had a few days off of school to make it a 5 day weekend, but between homework, parents' work and church we couldn't really relax until the very end. So what do you do when you live in Mérida? Head to the beach! No, the waters aren't crystal clear like they are near Cancun. But they are just as wet and just as salty and the sand is just as soft. So, after church and a late lunch with the pastor and her family, we drove to Celestún, a fishing city on the gulf coast where flamingos can be found, at times in the thousands. Once there, we checked into a hotel for the night and went straight to the ocean. The kids ran and swam and played in the water as the sun set, making for a very beautiful and relaxing evening. Afterwards, the kids rinsed off under a very powerful spray of water from an outdoor shower. Although they didn't want to come out of the water, our hunger compelled us to find a place to eat along the beach. We found a restaurant that had fresh fried fish - mero - which in English is the fish known as "grouper". Very yummy - I couldn't finish mine, but Dave said that my fish was larger then his was and he helped himself to some of my dish :-)
The following morning we ordered room service. You know, I don't remember EVER getting room service anywhere. Anyway, we were brought coffee, eggs, toast, hotcakes and juice. I'm thinking that, including the tip, we paid about the same (or less) than we would in any American restaurant for breakfast. After that, we had scheduled a boat tour to see the flamingos and a water hole along the coast. Our guide, Don Louis, picked us up at the hotel along the beach and we boarded his boat for a 2 1/2 hour tour. It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be on the ocean and enjoy God's creation. Don Louis took us to a place they call a petrified forest, which is really and area where the trees are preserved because of the salt water. We got out and saw dozens, maybe hundreds of little crabs called "violinists" - because with their larger claw raised (which is actually attracting the female crabs) it looks like an orchestra playing their violins. Rebekah and Joseph picked some up and I captured what I think is a pretty cool picture of a female crab (the female does not have the enlarged claw like the males do) on Rebekah's finger. Later, we went on to see the flamingos and other birds that call this place home during part of the year, at least. This is actually not the "season" but we were blessed to not only see a group of young flamingos, but also to catch them in flight. We heard that, just one day before, all the tourists who came saw only 1 lone flamingo. Can you imagine?
Next on the agenda was visiting a water hole. On the way we maneuvered through "los manglares" (mangroves) and saw huge termite nests in the trees and got the feeling that we were in Costa Rica again during our getaway on the Atlantic coast a few years back. After this short passageway through the trees we arrived at the final stop called an "ojo de agua" which literally translated means "water eye" or "eye of water" - which we had heard was fresh water found along the coast. My guess is that those who called it fresh water did not jump in and try it out because it was definitely salty, although not as salty as the ocean. The water was very clear, like you would find in a cenote or a water hole along a creek, and it was full of fish. The whole family tried it out, but we didn't stay very long since it was deep and not even Dave and I could touch bottom in the majority of the pool. Here is a picture Dave took of us sitting on a fallen log in the water. Then it was time to head back to the hotel. We had to be checked out by 1, but when we returned to check out they said we were free to enjoy the beach and use their area for changing. Bonus! So, we packed up, but returned to enjoy the ocean waves, sun and fresh mango on beach. Of course, our stomachs got the best of us, and we were craving more seafood. Don Louis had been talking about jaiba which is a type of crab and also shrimp that they served along the coast, and he also suggested some restaurants. He did not let us down. I now have a new favorite - jaiba a la mexicana - basically crab meat served Mexican style. Oh, was it delicious! In the picture, that is shrimp that you see closest, of course, then ceviche with mixed seafood (crab, shrimp, fish, and octopus), and on the plate near Dave is the crab meat. Did I say that is my new favorite seafood?
There are always people selling things on the beach, even inside the restaurants, so we had to get some local sweets as well. Dave got an almond cookie, of sorts, picture almonds laid side to side in circle, held together with a caramelized sugar. Rebekah got something similar, but with other ingredients, kind of had a Cracker Jack quality to it. Jonathan picked a coconut treat and Joseph and I went for pure sugar in what is simply meringue (basically egg whites and sugar, slightly baked) - just a baseball size treat that is crispy on the outside and soft in the center. Can you tell who has the sweet tooth in the family?
Well, that, in a nutshell (no pun intended, Sky), was our 24 hour mini-getaway. I couldn't have asked for anything to work out more nicely. I count it a blessing to have experiences like this and a double blessing to be able to share it with family and friends who are far away. We miss all of you.