I’m Curious: WHY is it Cheaper for Someone Else to do My Laundry, Than Me?

From October 13th

I am SO thankful that I brought my BIG, hiker’s backpack with me to Oaxaca! I’m using it daily to inconspicuously carry my laptop case, lunch, & purse to and from school. I’m using it to bring groceries home in. And, I’m also using it to transport my clothes to & from the Laundromat.

Thanks, Jesus, for NOT letting anyone buy this backpack when I listed it for sale this summer!


Last week, I walked to the Laundromat, in the next neighborhood, that was suggested to me by another teacher. The girl who worked there didn’t speak a lick of English. So, after she & I figured out what each other was trying to say, I put my one load of laundry in the washer. She put in a scoop of soap for me & explained to me the temperature settings. When it was time, we discussed what setting I wanted for the dryer & I put the clothes in. Then, I folded them & I paid. It was 68 pesos total (about $5.50 US), for the soap, the wash, & the dry.


Since then, I had decided that the next time I needed to do laundry, I’d try the service they offer where THEY do the laundry for you. But, I needed to know how to ask for what I wanted. So, I went to my friend M.E. for help. She wrote down for me what I should say.


So, today, I came straight home, got my paper of what I needed to say, & walked to the Laundromat with my backpack stuffed. When I asked when to pick them up, & she told me “in the morning” ~ I was really surprised! It hadn’t occurred to me that their service would take longer than an hour or two. In my 2 loads were my kitchen & bath towels & my only bed sheets! I told her, “No, please, I need these tonight, to shower, and to sleep.” Thankfully, she looked at the time & told me I could come back in 2 hours. We weighed it all & it weighed just over 7 kilos (about 15 lbs). So, it would cost 110 pesos (about $9 US). Imagine my surprise when I realized that the cost for THEM to wash, dry, & fold my clothes was actually CHEAPER than me doing all of that myself!


Here are my 2 loads, nicely folded & squeezed into this plastic bag…

I was Alone & I was LOST...

From October 12th
I have never been so glad to be home as I am today!  I was lost, totally lost, in an unfamiliar neighborhood!  After school, I was getting a ride home from the Principal & his wife. We had to go the longer back way, because there was a blockade. So, we got about half-way home, to where they turn left onto their street & I need to keep going right. I got out of the car with my co-teacher, Nancy. We walked about a block to her street.


Before she left me, she told me the best way to get home from there is to first get in a “collectivo”. A collectivo is a taxi that isn't just yours, so the driver can pack as many people in as he wants. She said they could only go to the “bus terminal” ~ so that the driver would let me off there. She said THEN, I would get in a “mototaxi” to take me the rest of the way home. A mototaxi is like a small, 3-wheeled golf-cart. They are open on both sides. There is a small front seat for the driver & a seat in the back where maybe 2 people could sit comfortably. So, as soon as we saw a collectivo, she motioned it to pull over & told the driver where I needed to go. I got in the front seat, since there were already 3 people crammed in the little backseat.


He drove to the top of the hill & the other 3 people got out. I looked around thinking, “This doesn’t look like a bus terminal?” But, the driver graciously motioned for me to get out, that this was the last stop.


I immediately noticed there were no mototaxis in sight. This made me nervous, because I was carrying a purse & a laptop case in plain sight. Normally, every single day I carry both my purse & my laptop case INSIDE my huge hiker’s backpack, so they’re not visible. But, today, I THOUGHT I was getting a ride directly home, so I didn’t bother putting them inside the huge backpack. I knew I would certainly be a target to thieves of opportunity, since I was walking alone with these things visible.


So, I prayerfully got out, hoisted my bags over my head, so they were across my chest & on my shoulders. Then, I began walking. BUT, I walked & walked & the 3 or 4 mototaxis that did go by were all full. So, I kept walking. It was probably about 15 minutes of walking? I was dripping from walking in the sun. The wind was blowing my hair into my face & it was sticking because I was sweating.


Then, I got to a spot where either I had to turn left or go straight. I had only been back that road maybe 3 times? I didn’t remember if I was supposed to turn left or go straight. I was literally lost! I knew I was quite a ways from home, but had no idea which way to keep walking! I stood there for a minute, looking hopefully for a mototaxi to come past. None. So, I called Nancy’s cell phone, thinking she could tell me which way to go. But, no answer. By this time, my mind is crying out, “Jesus! I’m lost, Jesus! You do you see me here, right? Jesus!”


Across the street from where I was standing, there was a little food stand. An older man there was apparently also looking for a mototaxi for an elderly woman, with a cane, who I assumed was his mother? As I was dialing the phone number for Nancy’s house, I saw him whistle loudly & gesture to a mototaxi that had just pulled out of a street up the hill & was driving away from us. Suddenly, the driver turned it around, drove down the hill, & pulled over. Just as Nancy answered the phone, the man helped the elderly woman in & then gestured for me to come across the street & get in. I hesitantly walked across & asked the driver if he would take me to my neighborhood. He nodded & I abruptly got off the phone with Nancy, saying, “Never mind.”


The lady got out a block later, just around the corner.
Fifteen minutes & fifty cents later, I was on my street corner, walking towards my apartment, praising Jesus for picking me up out of a scary situation & getting me home safely!  Aren't you grateful that we are never truly alone?  I'm so thankful for God's continued protection!   
(Sidenote ~ since then, I've found out that it would have been ok to go either left OR straight!  Both ways lead home!!!)

Tried to Kill Ants, but Nearly Killed Myself!!!

From October 11

I don’t know the exact definition of RESPIRATORY DISTRESS ~ but, I think I might have been in it????
I couldn’t breathe. My throat was burning. My nose was running. My eyes were watering, The roof of my mouth was swelling. And, I couldn't stop coughing!
IF you’ve read THIS POST about Visitors ~ you know all too well that my apartment has way more ants than I’m comfortable having!

I’ve done everything I could to get rid of them: I have scrubbed the counters with Clorox water. I have swept the floor. I have wiped down window sills. I have even kept certain windows closed. But, they still get in! So, since I’m tired of squashing them with my shoes & I’m tired of seeing them come IN windows that are closed, I decided it was time to spray them! I’d looked at cans of Raid in the store, but didn’t know which one to buy. (mostly because I didn’t know the Spanish word for ant.)


A couple days ago, my friend M.E. volunteered to pick up a couple things for me at the large grocery store on the other side of town. One thing I asked for was a can of spray to kill the never-ending parade of ants! When I went over to her house to pick it up, I asked her to read the directions to me (since the can was in Spanish). It didn't have any directions on it - only warnings about not spraying it in your eyes & other crazy stuff like that. It was all just common sense, so I figured I’d be fine.

Well, I opened every single window & began spraying the cement window sills & the metal window frames. A minute or 2 later, all those symptoms started.
I thought, “Well, when you’re painting, you ventilate the fumes by opening windows & turning on fans.” So, I turned on the fan, but then my eyes started stinging really badly!
So, I went outside, left the door open, & sat there on the steps, guzzling my water bottle. As the water was going down my throat, it felt like my throat was closing up & that the lining of my throat was burning.
I was gasping for breath & it hurt when I tried taking a deep breath.
It got to the point when I was literally scared & I started praying. I couldn’t think straight, so it came out mostly as, “JESUS!! JESUS!!!”

Here is a picture of the results:(Update: It was several days until I could take a deep breath again! But, I believe all is well now! I’ve used the spray since then to kill some roaches. I only had minor symptoms those times, because I didn’t spray as much & I held my breath while spraying, then I’d run into a different room…away from the dying roach!)

On a MUCH ligher note ~ When I was a kid, I'd watch bugs, pick them up, admire them...even gross other kids out with them.  But, the older I've gotten, the less I want bugs crawling on me, on my furniture, near my food, etc...  Here’s a funny video about ants in your pants & spraying ant spray!
CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO

A Delightfully Blessed Sunday!

From October 10th
1. Today I went to an awesome neighborhood church with my landlord (& about 500 other Mexicans). She had invited me this past week & told me it started at 11. When I knocked on her door, her brother told me he’d be driving me there because she had to leave early to set up for communion. It was a short drive (would probably be a 10-15 minute walk). The people of the church were very welcoming. I knew 2 of the songs they sang, so I just sang along in English! The rest of the time, I was just blessed by listening & looking around at hundreds of my brothers & sisters in Christ, worshipping Jesus! I’m so glad that I brought a bi-lingual Bible with me, so I was able to at least follow along with the many Bible passages the pastor used.


2. I read an entire Karen Kingsbury novel, that I had borrowed from the school’s library. Oh, how wonderfully relaxing that was, to just spend several hours reading! For anyone who is not familiar with her writing, she writes great Christian fiction that encourages you, challenges you, makes you laugh, & makes you cry…  Here is a link to the book on her website.


3. M.E. had volunteered to pick up a couple of grocery items for me today, since they were driving down to Sam’s Club & the big Soriana (grocery) store. One of the things was eggs. So, I made eggs for the first time here. I LOVE eggs! They taste so yummy & they’re SO cheap, compared to other proteins! But, I love ketchup on my eggs & I hadn’t bought any ketchup yet. SO ~ I had them with barbeque sauce instead!


4. I officially met a missionary couple who lives on the same street as me. It’s great to know they’re just down the street!


5. I was told today that I’m going to be loaned a tv! WOW! What a blessing!!!


6. All weekend long, I was putting off my lesson planning. When I finally sat down to do it, I was inspired to create a website list for students/parents for this new Science chapter. I spent about 2 hours looking at & downloading video clips of the solar system, seasons, earth’s rotation/revolution, moon’s phases, lunar & solar eclipses… The class LOVED the ones I found for the last 2 Science chapters, so I’m sure this will be well worth the time spent! I just wish I would have started earlier in the weekend, so I wasn’t falling into bed at midnight on Sunday night!

I Was Inspired Today

From October 7
If you scroll down & look at the right hand side of my blog, you’ll see the list of about 2 dozen blogs that I “follow”. This means that whenever I sign on to Blogger, the title & first few lines of the latest from these blogs shows up. Whenever I have some time, I read them & they’re a true blessing to me. One of them is hosted by Operation Mobilization. They’re a wonderful mission organization that I was blessed to take 2 short-term trips with. Here is their site.  The blog I’m talking about though is devoted to quotes about missions. Here is that blog.


There are a lot of things that I’m struggling with here in Oaxaca ~ part of it is adjusting to living away from “home”, in a new culture…part of it is adjusting to a new place of employment & the way they do things there…There is just a LOT that is daily tugging my focus away from my ONE reason for being here = I’m here because God opened the door & provided the finances, making it clearly evident that He has a purpose for me being here. I am here to serve the families of missionaries by teaching their children. It’s not about me! It’s not about what’s bothering me! It’s about Jesus & serving others!!!!  BUT, I need to be reminded of that every day, because the enemy is a liar & thoughts come into my mind daily that I need to squash!!!!


So, in light of all of that ~ The quote I read on that blog today REALLY spoke to me! It is from Jim Elliot. He is considered a “modern martyr” as he lived from 1927-1956 & was killed by the people group he was trying to reach for Christ.  Click HERE to read a short biography of his life & ministry.


He said: “Wherever you are, be all there. Live life to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” Although his life was not a LONG one, it WAS a FULL one!


Dear Lord, may my only ambition always be to fulfill Your will for my life, Lord…Let my desires & my dreams, my hopes & my plans, be planted & approved by you. Your Daughter, Jenn

Three New "Firsts" For Me:

From October 5th
Today, I experienced three more FIRSTS, here in Oaxaca, Mexico:
1. I’ve been living in this apartment for a week & a half & today I ran out of gas. No, I’m not driving here! I mean the gas I need for cooking on my gas-powered stove & for heating the water. So…at least I had a good reason for putting off doing the dishes! A few times a week I hear gas trucks driving down my street. (For those of you who don’t live here, let me quickly explain the word “hear” ~ The gas trucks don’t just drive down the street. They either drive down the street playing one tune extremely loudly OR they drive down the street honking their horn & dragging metal chains.) But, I didn’t know when the next gas truck would be going by. AND, I didn’t know WHAT to buy from him. AND, I didn’t know how to get it up on the roof. So, since I wasn’t sure what to do, I walked down the street to my landlord’s house. She calmly told me she would call the gas man. She walked in the house & came out a minute later to tell me he would deliver gas tomorrow morning. Of course, that presented a problem, because I’d be in school at that time. She offered to let him in, so I gave her the money.
(Update: when I came home from school the next day & turned the knob on the stove, there was gas.)

2. I was invited, by my Mexican landlord, to her church. When I rented this place, I knew she was a Christian believer. (That was ONE of the deciding factors for me to rent this place.) But, it was just so neat to be invited!


3. I cried today. I’ve been here in Oaxaca almost a month & I haven’t cried… Today, the landlord’s brother was asking me questions about my family. I pulled out the big family picture I brought along & was pointing to each one. He asked a few questions & I answered them, with a smile. Then, he asked me if all of them were Christians who loved Jesus. That brought tears to my eyes…for a few reasons... 

Have Internet, Will Communicate!

From October 5th:
After being here in my apartment for 11 days, TONIGHT, the internet was hooked up! My friend M.E. had called the company for me, to get the prices. Once I decided on a package deal, we made an appointment for the cable salesperson to come to my house. I THOUGHT it was all going to happen on that day. But, it was not so. All he did was explain to me the prices that we already knew (or should I say he explained to my landlord’s brother, who was there with me, helping me to understand everything?) Here, we needed to go down to the office to fill out paperwork. Well, the landlord’s brother volunteered to do that for me! What a blessing! I gave him the money & later that day, he returned with the paperwork. The contract said it would be 10 – 12 more days until they installed the internet! I knew that 2 teachers at the school (who are roommates) had been waiting almost a month for someone to come hook up their internet! One day, I asked M.E., “So, do you think 10-12 days means DAYS or business days?” She replied back something like, “Don’t even speak it.” (because, honestly, there was no way of knowing how long it might take.) Well, it has only been a few days & I now have internet! I am so blessed to have gotten it installed much earlier than the 10-12 days stated on my contract!  
These pictures are what the hooked up cable looks like on my roof: