Day Fourteen ~ Breath-Taking Scenic Views & Meeting 45 Missionary Ladies

Friday, April 30, 2010
On Monday, I was told by a brother in Christ that he was looking forward to seeing how God was going to surprise me financially. (This was after I was in tears between the reality of a tiny bank balance & faith that God will somehow provide for this trip & for my next step.) Well, then the very next day, Tuesday, I got an email telling me that someone had anonymously PAID my $75 dollar fee for this weekend's ladies’ retreat! I would say THAT sure qualifies as surprising me financially! I am reminded of Ephesians 3:20-21, which says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”

Friday ended up being a day off from school, celebrating both the Day of the Child (April 30th) and Labor Day (May 1st). I have nothing written in my journal for Friday before getting to the retreat. So, I honestly don’t remember what I did all day, except probably laundry so that I could pack up for the retreat.

Johanna’s family came in their car to pick me & my luggage up for the retreat. Her husband, Juan Carlos was driving. They had me get in the front seat. Johanna & her 3 kids were in the backseat. I am constantly humbled by the actions of other believers here, as they go out of their way & are willing to be uncomfortable just to help me out!

As we were leaving the section where I live, there was something going on at the end of our street. Since I don’t know WHAT was happening, I will just describe for you what my eyes saw: crowds of people gathered, a pick-up truck with like a dozen policemen jumping out the back, black ski-masks on the policemen, HUGE guns in the hands of each policeman… I said, “LOOK!” To which the rest of the people in the car just said, “yeah, uh-huh…” like it was absolutely no big deal! They said it was probably something about drugs or another teacher’s strike demonstration…

To get to this retreat, we literally drove up the side of a mountain for like 10 minutes! It was a cement road, not just dirt or anything, but still, it was really steep! I don’t remember if their car was stick shift or not, but, I DO remember thinking, “I would NOT want to try to drive these roads with stick!”

When he parked in front of a place that said “Hostel” – I was surprised. I’ve had unforgettable experiences staying in hostels in Rome & Paris… I didn’t expect to stay in one for a Ladies’ Retreat. Plus, I had checked out the hotel’s website earlier in the week & it sure didn’t look like a hostel. So, I was pretty confused as we walked in.

When I checked in, they told me I was in “The Party Cabin” ~ when I got to my room, I realized what that meant was that there would be like 10 of us in one room. It was 4 or 5 bunkbeds & one single bed. I had to take the single bed, because it was next to the only electrical outlet in the room. (I have sleep apnea, so I have to use a CPAP machine nightly.)

There was also a dorm-style bathroom of 3 toilets & 3 showers. Ok… So, I unloaded my bags, looked at the schedule, & picked up my camera to go explore & capture some sights.

When that evening’s session began, we sang several worship songs that I was familiar with. There were times during the singing, when I just paused…and listened…to my sisters in Christ singing to our Father God…sisters who were called out of their life of comfortability in the United States (& Canada & Europe) and obeyed the call to minister in Oaxaca, Mexico ~ for such a time as this. I was truly humbled to be standing in the midst of these dozens of full-time missionaries.

The first thing I wrote in my journal from that evening’s session was the reference Psalm 121. Of course, NOW, as I am reading through these notes, a month later, I wonder – WHAT exactly IS Psalm 121. So, I have copied & pasted it here for you, and for me…
1 I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The LORD himself watches over you!  The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.
7 The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
8 The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

After that reference, I have written a couple lines of lyrics from a song that I absolutely love. The song is called “I Will Lift My Eyes” & is written by Bebo Norman. Here are the lyrics:
God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt
Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in
I will lift my eyes to the Maker Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You
God, my God, let Mercy sing Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring Is all of me
'Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
'Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now

You would be tremendously blessed if you would take a few minutes to watch the music video of this song here.

Here are some pictures of the decorations that greeted us when we went to our first session, Friday night.  The retreat planning committee REALLY spent a LOT of time & creative energy on decorations all weekend!

Day Thirteen ~ Immigration, Card Games, Hawaiian Hamburgers, & an Old Movie…

Thursday, April 29, 2010
I excitedly woke up today with a smile on my face, because TODAY was the day I would go finish the paperwork to receive my FM3 visa. This is what I needed to be able to stay here in the country as a teacher.

At 9:20, when Julie dropped me off at the immigration building, I was so pleased to see Nate’s friendly face, waiting for me. (If you read my entry about last Wednesday, you know that my first visit to the immigration building was a very traumatic one. This was mainly because I did not meet up with my contact person until after I’d been there nearly an hour & I just felt so lost & helpless while waiting!) So, this time, since Nate was already there waiting for me, I jumped out of the van with assurance that everything was going to be okay! We waited a little while for April, who was making copies that she needed for immigration. Everything at immigration went really well! We did paperwork, went to the bank on the corner to make another payment, went to the copy shop on the other corner to make copies of the receipt, & back into the office to finish the paperwork.

When I was putting my thumb on the ink pad, to press my fingerprint onto my FM3 visa booklet, I noticed that it said the expiration date was April 23, 2011. I was REALLY shocked by that! You see, I thought I was only applying for a 7-week allowance to teach here. Before I had come to Oaxaca, I had been told that if I decided to return for next school year, THEN, I would need to apply for a year-long visa. And, THEN, I would need my birth certificate, my college diploma, & my college transcript. Not only would I need those original documents with me, but I would need to have them apostilled in Harrisburg & scan them & email them down to Mexico to be translated before I came. When I was sitting in the very same chair, a week earlier, presenting all my official documents, the official had asked me for my birth certificate. But, Rosa had told her no, I didn’t have it, because I was only staying for 7 weeks. So, again ~ I was pleasantly surprised that it is for a year. This gives me an open door to return…if God calls me to it…

After we were finished at immigration, we walked around the Zocalo a bit, looking for some Diet Dr. Pepper for April. Then, we waited at least 10 minutes at the parking garage, while the attendant attempted to get April’s car out. I didn’t take a picture – maybe I will next time I’m down there… Basically, you need to imagine a building with no roof, big enough to hold about 7 cars side by side & about 5 cars deep (in front of each other). So, cars are just parked in there, side by side…and, when you come to retrieve your car, the attendant needs to jump in like a dozen different cars & maneuver them out of the way, so that he can get your car out. It reminded me of those little plastic puzzles. Do you remember? They had like 9 moveable pieces & one open space. So, you would need to move the pieces around, one at a time, until you got all the pieces in the right spot to show the puzzle’s picture.

All 3 of us came back to Roy & Julie’s house together in April’s car, because April wasn’t sure of the way, but Nate was. Julie had invited April for lunch. (I don’t remember if Nate stayed for lunch & then left, or if he left as soon as he got us back to the house? I actually didn’t have anything written in my journal for this day until I just started typing this. So, I’m trying to remember details.)

Then, Julie, April & I played my card game, Scrabble Slam. We had lots of fun, so much fun that both of them decided they wanted to buy the game for themselves. We played my card game Dutch Blitz too. April had played before, but it was new to Julie. That was fun too! I was glad for the opportunity to get to know April more. She’s a really neat girl! She’s a few years younger than me, single, from Texas & was a teacher. Now, she has linguistics training & is taking steps to work in Bible translation here in Oaxaca.

It was decided that April would take me with her for a movie night at Hannah’s. Hannah is a missionary kid who returned here as a missionary. She is almost finished with her year here. Then, she’ll go back to the states for the summer, to attend classes at SIL. On our way there, we decided to stop at the grocery store, because the one near where we live HAS Diet Dr. Pepper in stock, but the ones on the other side of town, where April lives don’t have it. We had great conversation in the car, found out more that we have in common.

We stopped at the place where April lives, so she could drop off the sodas & get changed. (we had been dressed up from our trip to immigration) To get to her room, you need to walk up these stairs.  Going up wasn't too bad...going down though was a little more difficult...because they're a tiny bit wobbly & you can see through them.

They have at least two dogs at the place where April stays.  One of them had a face that reminded me of my 3 nieces' dog, Beauty.

Then, we went to Hannah’s. As soon as we walked in, I smelled heaven!!! She gave us each a brownie!!! YUMMINY-YUM! We talked for awhile, just relaxing with fellowship.

Then, we decided that for supper, we’d take a walk that ended with a run across 4 lanes of highway, so that I could experience my very first “hamburguesas hawaianas” (Hawaiian Hamburger). They were grilled right in front of us at a little burger stand on the side of the road. It was SO worth it!!! I didn’t want to risk the fresh veggie toppings, so I just had mine plain = burger, slice of ham, & slice of pineapple.  They don't wrap it in foil, they stick it in a plastic baggie & twirl it around, so the ends twist closed.

  April has been here longer, so her digestive system is more used to "stuff" - so, I think she got every possible topping they had!   

Then, we watched the old Cary Grant movie, An Affair To Remember.  I had never seen it before, but parts were familiar because they were quoted & shown in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. I am not ashamed to admit it, I was crying by the end of the movie… It was a fun night!

Day Twelve ~ The Faith of My Grammy Noll...

Wednesday, April 28, 2010
This morning, I did NOT want to get up & out of bed! Finally, I got out of bed & was ready in 20 minutes! I took “breakfast” with me, to eat in the car. It was a granola bar & a banana.

Last night, we had received an email announcement that there was a blockade scheduled for 7:00. Since we normally leave at 7:30, Miriam said she’d come 10 minutes early to go a different way to school. Well, it turned out that there was no blockade – or, at least it hadn’t started that early in the morning. So, we got to school at 7:45. Interestingly enough, according to the school handbook, that is the time teachers are “expected” to arrive. But, it seems as though everyone arrives between 7:55 – 8:05.

I helped with math groups & reading groups in the 3rd & 4th grade classroom until morning snack recess.

For morning snack, I had some of my sugar-free yogurt, with a packet of Splenda, on a PLATE! (I couldn’t find any bowls & didn’t think to use a cup…)

I bought lunch there. It was a spaghetti type pasta with some kind of pink sauce. With a few bites of that came 2 corn tortillas with some shredded chicken inside, then dipped in a green sauce. All of that was $1.25! For me, it still seems like a teeny tiny lunch, finishing the 10 bites in about 5 minutes. Also, there’s never a fruit or vegetable served. But, it was still yummy AND VERY inexpensive for a meal!

Nancy left at 1:30 today. I used my new laptop to show the class my findings online about volcanoes and the French & Indian War. They were interested in volcanoes because I had brought up in class that flights in and out of Europe were cancelled because of the Icelandic volcano. And, the French & Indian War is what they are studying in Social Studies class. But, because there is not a computer in the classroom ~ everything they knew was just rote knowledge from the textbook. So, I was thrilled to be able to find some powerpoint presentations on it from pppst.com, some video clips from PBS, & some interactive online quizzes for them. I just love doing that ~ finding cool ways to extend the learning, so it jumps out of the book & comes to life for them!

So, school is over at 2:30 & we live 20 to 25 minutes away. Depending on when my ride is ready to leave the school, I’m typically back home by 3:00 or 3:15. Well, it turns out that the scheduled 7am blockade either happened later in the day & caused lots of traffic. OR, just the news about the scheduled blockade created lots of traffic? I don’t know if there ever was, in fact, a blockade or not? But, because of the traffic, I didn’t get home until 3:45! That’s a long time to sit in traffic…

I immediately got changed & got online. My sister Jackie was on Facebook, so we chatted for about 10 minutes. Then, Julie called up the stairs to tell me that my FM3 visa application had been approved by Mexican immigration! I told Jackie right away, using Facebook chat, & asked her to spread the news to the family there. Then, I called the school principal, David, to tell him, so he would know that I could officially begin teaching now.

Then, the first person I wanted to tell about it was my Grammy Noll, my Daddy’s Mom. The reason I was so excited to tell her is that this was such an answer to prayer! When I had gone to apply, there were two other single, American missionary girls there who were going through the application process & both had been going through it for quite some time. The government official that we had submitted all the documented paperwork to had told us it should take between one week and three weeks for it to be approved or denied. IF my application was denied, that would mean that I would have to leave the country right away. My Aunt Jane (my Daddy’s sister) had told me that when Grammy heard this news, she simply said, “Well, we’ll just pray and she’ll get it approved quickly.” She didn’t say that she would pray THAT this would happen. She had faith enough to say that it WOULD happen! And, it turned out that God’s favor allowed the visa application to be approved exactly a week from when we had submitted it! So, using Roy & Julie’s VOIP phone, I called Grammy Noll. She was SO shocked to hear from me! Her first question was, “Where are you calling from?” Since I have never called her from any other mission trips, & since I was thousands of miles away, in a foreign country, you can imagine her surprise to hear my voice over the phone! I told her my news & we rejoiced in God’s faithfulness together. We are so blessed to have her in our lives! We ended up talking for almost an hour!

Supper was pulled chicken with peppers and tomatoes, black beans, white rice, & hard roles called ______. Then, there was fresh pineapple for dessert.

15 minutes later, we left for Wednesday night prayer meeting. Last week’s was at our house. This week’s was at David (the OCS school principal) & Donna Shaver’s. It was 9:15 when we got back & I did some journaling.

Day Eleven ~ Art Class, Maps, Staff Meeting, & a Phone Call

Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Breakfast was a banana & a half of a ham, cheese, & lettuce wrap. Yes, I know, that sounds more like lunch than breakfast. The truth of the matter is that I have still really been struggling with allergies in the mornings & I'm just not pulling my body out of bed early enough to get a proper breakfast!  (Can you see my allergy eyes here?)  :(

Well, anyway, I’ve been eating “on the run.” Miriam is a Mexican who quickly became a friend when we discovered that not only are we the same age, but we have a lot in common! She is one of the Spanish teachers at the school & lives just a block away.  She is my morning ride to school 4 days a week & she’s gracious enough to allow me to munch on my “breakfast” while she’s driving & we’re talking.


Today, I observed/helped in the 3rd/4th grade classroom. I observed that same class while they were in art too. It was fun! They were making Mother’s Day cards out of special watercolor cardstock & crayons to resist the paint. What a neat craft that was! So, yeah, I made one too! Of course, I have no way to actually get it to my Mommy for Mother’s Day ~ she’ll have to wait a month until I’m home!

Then, I learned the inventory procedure in the school’s massive library & helped inventory the fiction section for about an hour. For a school of only about 50 students, the library is HUGE! I can’t even estimate how many books are in there…I’ll have to ask someone in charge…

Today, David gave me a map he’d bought for me & took the time to show me on the map where the school is, where home is, landmarks, & bus routes.

From that map, I found out that the house I’m living in (Julie & Roy’s) is “downtown” ~ you know how whenever you look at a map, the “city center” or “downtown” part is always magnified in the corner or on the back of the map? Well, on that magnified part of the “downtown” ~ it has their street! So, I guess I live in downtown Oaxaca City? Who knew? Certainly not me! I’m SO disoriented! But, this map should be a big help!  (The circled spot is where I'm living.)

There was a staff meeting after school (2:45 – 5:15) & I was invited by David. When he told me about it, he told me that there would be food. I had to laugh out loud when he explained that the food was “mainly for the single guys”. The meal was chicken and spicy rice. Sure enough, there was a single guy at my table & he ate & ate & ate, through the entire meeting! I was glad to be included in the meeting, because it allowed me to get to know the teachers a little bit more. Because the school is Kindergarten through twelfth grade, the breaks teachers have are at all different times. So, you can easily go an entire day with only seeing 1 or 2 other teachers…

Even though I live on the total opposite end of the city, David had volunteered to drive me home, so I wouldn’t have to take the bus. He was also driving Brian (math & Bible teacher), Sarah (school secretary), & Stan (science teacher & also a W.A.). Most of the way home, we discussed the possibility of me returning for next school year & the variety of roles I could fill IF I did feel led to return.

Supper was half a chicken breast & black beans, with the leftover spicy rice from the meeting.

I did a load of laundry & hung it up. The amazing SPEED that the laundry dries on the line is just unbelievable! At home, I’d typically wait about 3 hours for a load of wash to dry. Here, it’s totally dry in less than an hour! Yes, it IS THAT HOT!!!

I called my sister, Jackie, & talked with her and her 3 precious girls for an hour and a half after finishing the laundry.  (The people I live with have what is called a VOIP phone.  It is Voice Over IP ~ meaning, it goes over the internet signal.  It has an Arizona phone number, so it can call anywhere in the US without it being an international call!  Amazing!!) 

Then, I created a blogpost for Day 8 until midnight.

Day Ten ~ Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillars & the Tuna Cactus

Monday, April 26, 2010
I never did write anything in my journal for today except: “In Kindergarten all day / Colossians Bible study from 3 to 5”

By the end of the day, I was just plain exhausted!!!!!!  But, it was one of those good exhaustions, one where you know that you have done well & accomplished lots!

The Kindergartner’s theme of the day was Caterpillars. The big word they learned was Metamorphosis. I had such a blast playing with them & watching them learn so quickly!

There are only 4 little girls in the class.  One of them just turned 4 years old.  From what I understand, the main reason she is in the class is to encourage her to speak English?  That was easy for me to do, since I didn't understand most of the Spanish she was saying anyway!  I would just say to her, "English only" or "Again, in English".  They are all adorable, but that little 4 year old really "took to me".  If I was sitting on the teacher chair reading to them, she didn't want to sit on the mat with the other girls, she wanted to lean on my lap.  If I was sitting on a chair at the table with them, she would put her hand on my arm.  So cute!  :)  

They loved all the activities: the cutting, pasting, coloring, singing, sequencing, storytime, math chants, etc…

But, they especially liked Larry the Caterpillar ~ he was my fuzzy wuzzy my yellow finger puppet, created by rolling a fat pipe cleaner around my finger! Larry the Caterpillar taught them about the 4 stages of Metamorphosis, along with motions for egg, caterpillar, cocoon, & butterfly. It was especially fun for them to wrap each other up in a cocoon, using a small sheet! They each got their own fuzzy wuzzy caterpillar too, which they carried with them all day ~ took them off to eat snack and lunch, put them back on, took them off for gym class & put them back on again… SO CUTE!

Here are some of their smiling faces!

We also went to see the 2 roosters that came to our school today.  We talked about what they looked like & if maybe they were friends or relatives of each other.  

 

After I dropped them off at gym class, I tried to capture the beauty of my favorite plant on the school's campus.  I was told it is called the Tuna? (that's in Spanish, not at all related to the fish!!!)

And, these are some smiling faces AFTER gym class, potty, & drinks of water!

Memorable Moments in Oaxaca, Mexico (From Days 7, 8, & 9)

On past missions trips, our team would meet together at the end of each day to regroup & decompress, with what we called "Highs and Lows" ~ this was a chance to share what God had taught us that day, what really made us smile, OR what made us cry, or was bothering us.
I decided that I'm going to share with you my HIGHS & just keep the "lows" to myself (only to be shared with God & with those who ask).
So, these posts of HIGHS are for:
     * those who want the "short" version, instead of reading each day's diary page I've posted.
     * those who are interested in the HIGH points of my trip so far
     * those who just want a quick glimpse of what it is like being a volunteer missionary here in Oaxaca, Mexico

HIGHS of Days 7, 8, &9:

* Julie made DELICIOUS Belgium waffles, served with strawberries!
* Watching a Scottish Terrier prancing up & down the street, fighting with a cat, while I was waiting for my ride to school
* Eating my very first Mexican tamales
* Being blessed to be here for the Oaxaca Christian School’s Cultural Arts Festival ~ it was SO amazing ~ the kids’ artwork was stunningly beautiful, so varied, different mediums = just amazing

* experienced my first grocery store shopping trip (including super cheap carrots, an entire wall of yogurts, only 2 kinds of cottage cheese, BEAUTIFULLY decorated cakes, & a variety of fruits & veggies I’ve never seen before)
* a big charcoal-grilled hamburger, complete with all the trimmings
* seeing a mannequin hanging from a wire across the sidewalk

* was blessed by being taken to the movies to see Dear John with Julie, Roy, Nate & Abby ~ was even treated to a large Diet Pepsi
* getting to know missionaries Nate & Abby (and Roy & Julie) more over Red Baron frozen pizzas with extra cheese and mushrooms added & nice cold Coke Lite
* realizing it has been exactly one week since my plane landed at 8:15pm
* getting a high score of 415 on a free trial of Yahtzee on my laptop
* trying some kind of cantaloupe drink that was absolutely amazing
* getting my picture with Harry Allard, who has been in Oaxaca, Mexico for 21 years

* buying a bag of hydroponic lettuce from a lady at church for 35 pesos, already carefully washed & disinfected
* the sermon of Rev. Steve at the Anglican Church ~ his shared his experience that week with the taxi strike, & reflections on Psalm 23
* finally getting caught up on my journal when I had an hour and a half to sit with nothing else to do

Day Nine ~ The Day I Bought Lettuce At Church

Sunday, April 25, 2010
It was so nice to sleep in this morning! I got up with the alarm at 8:40. Breakfast was a piece of whole wheat toast, scrambled egg, black beans, & coffee.

Another missionary, named Jo Ellen, picked us up for church at 10:15, we got there at 10:45, with just enough time for Julie to set up the flowers.  They looked so pretty!  

The service had an emotional tone to it because a missionary couple that is good friends with Roy & Julie are leaving tomorrow for the states due to his deteriorating health. He was sitting on the couch next to me, so I was mindful of it the entire service.

After the church service, I bought a package of possibly the most interesting lettuce I’ve ever seen. It was almost 3 dollars for this bag of “hydroponic lettuce, already washed & sanitized” ~ I’m going to treasure it on my ham and cheese sandwiches this week! Another new missionary told me, “Good job finding the good stuff!” Of course, I’ve got to give the credit to Julie! Lettuce was on my shopping list, but she told me not to buy it when we were at the grocery store because her friend sold this kind. Sure enough, her friend brought a large cooler of lettuce to church with her. It looks super crisp & I’m sure it will be yummy!

There was fellowship afterwards again. Miriam had brought a bag of tamales to the house this morning, ones from the place she had told me about & had told me I just had to try. Well, Julie had just made black beans the day before, so she took them & the tamales to add to the fellowship food. So, during the fellowship time, I had a slice of marble pound cake, a glass of super yummy cantaloupe juice, & half of one of the tamales with mole. It was REALLY good! It was completely different than the ones I had from the school, on Friday. They had a different texture, different taste, had more filling, & they were rolled in a banana leaf instead of a corn husk. But, both were good.

After the time of fellowship, a congregational meeting was scheduled. My favorite children’s author, Harry Allard, who attends the church, was leaving. So, I asked if I could get a picture with him. He was happy to.  He made me giggle because when we were deciding WHERE to take the picture, he suggested in front of the cross, because it would make us look more pious.  :)

At 1:00, the meeting started. I sat out in the living room/sanctuary area, writing in my journal & observing my surroundings.

The meeting was over at 2:30. We got back to the house at 3:15.

Supper wasn’t until about 8pm? It was spaghetti with meat sauce. I didn’t know that the after-church-fellowship was actually lunch. So, I was super hungry all afternoon & evening. Someone told me this week that it is very often that a missionary goes hungry...