Where you go, I will go; where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people for your God is my God.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Pillow Cases.

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As a gift I received two identical pillow cases with designs drawn on them.  The drawings are outlines for filling with needle and thread to add color and texture.  It is hours days worth of work.  Rafa’s great-aunt took one from me and worked on it for several weeks, showing me bit by bit her labor and asking for color choices.  A couple of weeks ago she finished the first one and is now diligently working on the second.   She does it because she enjoys it and it’s a way to show me her love.   

Saturday, June 25, 2011

The week…

This week I went to a funeral.  Something I usually try to avoid.   The lady who passed away was a distant relative that I had never met and chances are I will never meet her.   After the burial Rafa and I walked around the cemetery.  The only one in town from what I understand. The oldest person we found there had lived to be 99; the youngest only a few days old.   We stopped by where other relatives and friends had been laid to rest.  We listened to people begging for the soul of the one who had died.  I wanted to shout, “You have it backwards!  One’s eternal destiny is determined when they are living, not after their death.  Pray for the souls of the living, not the dead.”   You learn a lot about a person by the way they mourn. There is hope. His name is Jesus Christ.  

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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

A picture….

…that’s worth more than a 1,000 words. 

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One afternoon when my mom was here, my sugra and a host of others came over to our house to prepare the food for the empanadas and gorditas we would be consuming the next day.   The kids were in and our of the house and one of their favorite spots at my house is under the table.   Ximina, a sweet but very shy 7-year-old, was there trying *not* to be noticed.   My mom say her, looked at me, and said, “Do you think I could go down there with her?!”  

And she did just that.  

Making Cookies.

Yesterday evening, my 6-year-old cousin Guel came over.  We decided making cookies would be a fun thing to attempt.  Thanks to a friend of mine who sent chocolate chips down with my mom, I have plenty of them on hand.  Naturally we made chocolate chip cookies.   In the small-ish town where I live I have not been able to find chocolate chips, but it had never occurred to me that the kids here have never actually eaten chocolate chips.  I opened the bag before we began and offered a morsel to my cousin.   Have you ever seen someone eat a chocolate chip for the first time?   Pure DELIGHT.   My cousin is a chocolate lover and the chocolate chip was almost more than he could handle.   In the midst of stirring the batter, cracking eggs, and spilling flour all over the floor, I saw a little hand discreetly taking chocolate chips one by one out of the bag.   My mouth remained shut however.  After all, who am I to spoil the experience of tasting a chocolate chip for the first time?!   

Oh and I thought his reaction was grand when he had the chocolate chip.  You should have seen how large his eyes became when he saw the cookies!

Do you believe in divine appointments?

The other day after dropping my mom and Sarah off at the airport, we decided we would go back home a different way and pass by Xalapa.   It was going to be a bit out of our way, but there were a couple of things we needed to do their, Rafa had the day off, and their was a direct bus there.  And it was with a different company so the bus trip would include movies too.  Win. Win. Win. But that direct trip to Xalapa passes through, but doesn’t stop in our hometown.  We waved at our hometown as we passed by, discussing what we were going to do with our evening together.   A few miles outside of town we came to a halt.  The bus driver turned off the bus and stepped outside.  A roadblock.  And one that would not be letting up for several hours.   Rafa got out, spoke with the bus driver, hailed a taxi, and we started back to our hometown.  So much for the wonderful time we had planned.

When we were about halfway back, Rafa asked the taxi driver to stop, saying he knew someone who lived in the small town we were passing through.   And those someones sell tortas.  Pretty much amazing sub-type sandwiches.   So we stepped foot into an aging couple’s home.   The recognized Rafa immediately even though it had been several years since they had seen him.   He introduced me as his wife and the welcomed us like family.   Rafa ordered two tortas and bought a coke from the store next door.  La senora brought in fresh plums from her back yard.  When the tortas where ready, the couple sat down in the other two chairs at our table.   The whole time we were eating {and beyond!} we talked, shared and laughed.  Oh did we ever laugh!   With over 35 years of marriage under their belt, their shared what they had learned. We shared our story too.   La senora was full of jokes and riddles and told one after the other.  They told Rafa that if he ever needed someone to look out for me, he could always take me there.   We left with firm hugs, kisses on the cheek, and with the promise we would be back soon.

It was not the afternoon we had planned.  It was better. 

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Homemade Chocolate

Yes.  IMG_0526It’s true.  And yes, you should be jealous. 

Catching up.

It has been awhile since I have taken the time to write out my thoughts here.   Life has been busy, and by that I do not mean rushed, but different over the past few weeks.  The main highlight was having some of my family here in two rounds.  After spending a week in the mountains, Ashlyn came here for a couple of days.   The following week my mom and Sarah came to stay for a week.  The week was easy going.  Filled with go-fish, basketball, movies, and chocolate chip cookie dough.  We enjoyed showing them around our hometown and introducing them to our friends and family here.  And of course we spent some time at one of our favorite taco stands.   It was a sweet time.   My younger sister Sarah is no longer my “little”  sister.  She is still a few sizes smaller than me, but just as tall.   And she is no longer this little girl I carried around on my hip, but a  brilliant, athletic,lovely woman.   She turns 17 on Saturday.   Are you considered old when you vividly remember something like it was yesterday but it really happened over a decade and a half ago? 

These are the days of peace and quite for us.  Of just being and growing.  Can I ask you something?  Will you please pray for us?  Nothing specific and no “unspoken”.  Just that we will grow in love with Him, each other, and the people we encounter in our daily lives.  That we will have wisdom and discernment with the words we choose to speak and the decisions that we make.  That our lives will count for eternity.

Blessings and love. 

Saturday, June 4, 2011

A Favorite.

The son of a very dear friend of mine from the mountains.  The last time I had seen them was the week this little guy was born.  He is now 13 months old. Spending part of an afternoon with them last week was not nearly enough.  IMG_0494

Lunch Break

One of my favorite parts of the day.  In fact it high up in the running for being *the* favorite.  If the truth be known, I should call it “Dinner Break”  because it is the  largest meal of the day, and normally takes places around 3 p.m. (That’s a very subjective normally, mind you!)

Apart from the first hour or two after Rafa leaves for work, (normally around 9:30 a.m. or later if he got home late the night before)  the rest of the morning up to the afternoon is pretty much dedicated to preparing for the afternoon meal.  The house is picked up, blinds are opened to fill the house with sunlight, the day’s chores are completed, errands are run, the wife primped and the meal prepared. 

I am so fond of our dinner time because it means an hour and half, sometimes a little more, of uninterrupted  time together.  I will put the finishing touches on the table, while Rafa heats up the tortillas.  The events of the day are discussed, decisions made, and hearts shared.  Our foreheads lean in to touch other, our hands clasp, and we give thanks to our Savoir together for all He has done and is doing.  After the meal we will rest, play a game, talk some more,read or finish the movie we were too tired to watch all of the night before.  Then all to soon the phone rings.  Rafa’s ride will be here in ten minutes.  We gather his things, say our “Te amo”s and kiss goodbye.  He is off to work again and lunchtime is over.