Road Trip, Mexican Style

Recently, we had to drive to the border of Mexico and Texas for a few work-related things. Although I had driven this way once before (when I first arrived in Mexico about a year ago), I think I was more observant this time around. I thought I'd share two things with you...

On our way up to Texas, I was struck by how mountainous Mexico really is! The Sierra Madre mountain system has some very large mountains. I tried to take a few pictures of the mountains from the car, but the pictures really do not do the grandness justice.

Also, crossing the border itself is always somewhat fun and exciting. One thing that is neat is that on one part of the bridge, there is a sign that shows the exact dividing line between the two countries. So, the people in the front of the van can be in the U.S.A. while the people in the back of the van are still in Mexico! :)

the mountains in Mexico

on the road again...

crossing the border...

Mexican Money

In Mexico, the currency they use is based on a peso. Currently, one U.S. dollar is worth about 12. 3 pesos. So, one peso would be worth less than a dime but more than a nickel. I usually try to estimate in my head about how much things cost. For example, if an item costs 120 pesos, I know that's about $10 U.S. dollars. Tonight I went out to dinner, and my meal cost $87 pesos or about $7 U.S. dollars. One fun thing about the money is that the bills are all different colors. You can see a few different coins and bills below in the picture.

Dia del Amor y Amistad

A few weeks ago, we celebrated "Día del Amor y Amistad" (Day of Love and Friendship) here in Mexico also known as Valentine's Day. On Sunday afternoon, February 14th, we had a big party for all of our Club kids to celebrate God's love. We had a lot of fun doing all kinds of activities with them: face-painting, a coloring craft, relay races, singing, and more. At the end of the party, we had a special drama to the song "La Niña de Tus Ojos" ("The Apple of Your Eyes"). The song is based off the verse Psalm 17:8 that says "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." Here are some pictures from the day...

Me, with Chely, Alondra, & Juliana

Some of the 5 and 6 year olds coloring their craft

About 150 Club kids!

Elizabeth, Oscar, y Fatima begin the drama

Club Christmas Drama

Every year, there is a Christmas Drama that all of the Club kids are invited to participate in. We have two practices, and they have to come to one of them in order to be able to be a part of the drama. Their families are all invited to the drama, which was on Sunday afternoon, December 13th this year. The 3 & 4 year olds and 5 & 6 years old are all sheep, the 7 & 8 year olds are shepherds, the 9 & 10 year old girls are angels, the 9 & 10 year old boys are wise men, and there are a few special, speaking parts as well. It really is a precious and beautiful sight to see so many children gathered together joyfully singing about Jesus' birth.

The ovejas

Practicing our song, "Maria Tuvo Un Bebe"

The Club Christmas Drama

Thanksgiving in Mexico

Since Thanksgiving is about the Pilgrims giving thanks after they survived their first winter in America, it is not celebrated here in Mexico (obviously). However, that did not stop our team of American missionaries from celebrating it in full fashion! Last week on Monday, we had a huge Thanksgiving meal with the Americans on our team here in Fresnillo. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, carrots, cranberry sauce, corn pudding, macaroni and cheese, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and more. It was quite the abundant feast. On actual Thanksgiving Day (Thursday) morning, my roommates Karen and Elizabeth and I went running and called it the "Fresnillo Turkey Trot." We even made shirts for it so it would be official. :) It was a lot of fun and reminded me of home. Later that morning, we drove to Zacatecas and celebrated with our team of Americans plus many other American missionaries who live in Zacatecas. We had another delicious meal and even had the opportunity to watch football there, thanks to satellite TV! All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving!

Dia de los Santos y Dia de los Muertos

In Mexico, they celebrate two holidays near the time of Halloween in the U.S. On November 1st, they celebrate "Dia de los Santos" or "All Saints Day." We had a party at church for the kids for Dia de los Santos and explained to them that saints are followers of Jesus. The children could come in happy costumes (no scary ones), and we played several fun games, gave away lots of candy, had a costume contest, and also sang some songs and had a short lesson.

Dia de los Muertos or "All Souls Day" is November 2nd. For this holiday, people honor the memories of loved ones who have died. Often, families will put out special picture frames of these loved ones. They also will go the cemetery and bring food and flowers with them.

For both of these days and several days before it, a lot of people dress up and walk around to houses and stores asking for candy or money. So instead of trick or treating for just one night (like in the U.S.), they will do it for several nights!

Here are two pictures from the party we had at church for Dia de los Santos:

All of the helpers for the Dia de los Santos party

Mareli & Bryan (sister and brother) and their great costumes

What I Do...

Sometimes, people want to know what I do here on a daily or weekly basis. Each day is a little different, so I will give you a "snapshot" into a typical week here.

Monday-Our day off! Some of the things I do often include sleeping in, catching up on emails or phone calls, washing clothes, cleaning my room, hanging out with my roommates, visiting people, running errands, relaxing, and spending time with God.

Tuesday-We have chores in the morning from 9 AM to 1 PM. Then, we have a big team lunch with our American teammates before having team meeting in the afternoon with our whole team (Americans and Mexicans). At night, I go to my cell group from the church which is like a small group.

Wednesday-We plan for "Club" (a weekly Bible Club for Kids) and work on future lessons. We also spend time praying for Club. After team lunch, we set everything up for Club and then invite the kids on foot or by vans. Club itself is from 4 to 5 PM, and then we visit one of the children in our class afterwards.

Thursday-We invite kids to Club and have one Club from 10 AM-11 AM. Afterwards, we visit a Club kid and then have some down time to eat lunch or rest. At 3:00 PM, we start inviting kids to the afternoon Club which is from 4:00-5:00 PM. After that, we do another visit before calling it a full day!

Friday-Every other week, we have team prayer in the morning. Then, we spend the rest of the day doing various miscellaneous tasks for the ministry. I also often have Spanish lessons on Fridays. We can also spend Fridays visiting more of our Club kids.

Saturday-We have Torta (a free feeding program for kids and youth) every Saturday. This takes a lot of time to prepare for and clean up from. It is neat to get to help feed over 300 kids sometimes though! If it is not my turn to help with Torta, I work on more of my other ministry tasks. In the late afternoon, I help with the youth group from our church.

Sunday-We have church at 11:00 AM each week. In the afternoons and evenings, I like to go out to eat or over to people's houses and enjoy spending time with families from the church. On Sunday nights, we often will watch a movie or do something else fun since the next day we get to sleep in! :)