Ten Memorable Moments in Oaxaca, Mexico (From Days 4, 5, & 6)

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 4, 5, & 6:

* I was blessed to be invited to join a Ladies’ Bible Study in the book of Colossians. They were just getting ready to begin the book, so it was perfect timing!


* Learning a Spiritual lesson while sitting outside the hospital room of a missionary man who is terminally ill


* Discovering a FREE museum about stamps from around the world with Julie


* My Canon PowerShot D10 miraculously turned back on after it would only display an irreparable error message the day before!


* The accomplishment of finishing the immigration application process that I’ve been working on for several weeks (This includes: Rosa FINDING me, after I was “lost” in the huge immigration building / Julie being available and willing to bring my passport & tourist visa down to the immigration office / And meeting Debbie, a single missionary.)


* Debbie bought me a churro, my very FIRST authentic Mexican churro!


* Joining a weekly prayer meeting with SIL missionaries


* Bonding with the students of the third and fourth grade class a bit during two days of observation at OCS


* Hearing a bit about the backgrounds and ministries of both the missionary family who is giving me a ride home from school & the Kindergarten teacher


* Finally feeling like a teacher again, as I spent the evening finding online resources and preparing a visual presentation for the third/fourth grade class about the Iceland volcano

Day Six Diary Page ~ A Day That Began With Me Looking Like A Monster From A Scary Movie!

Thursday, April 22, 2010
I woke up at 6:25 this morning with BADLY swollen eyelids & under the eyes. Apparently it is an allergic reaction, but I don’t know to what exactly?

Another teacher (who came here from the US two years ago) told me today that she gets it too. She said she thinks it’s because of the heat. Yesterday was 90 degrees, today will hit 91. She said that for a few days after it rains she doesn’t have any problems, but then it will come back.

We left just before 8. Julie drove me to the school. We got there at 8:20 & met in David’s office (the principal). He showed me around the school grounds, explaining each room…
I observed from 9 to 12 in Nancy’s class, the third & fourth grade class.

I bought lunch at the school. For 20 pesos, I got a cold hamburger with melted cheese, wilted lettuce, tomato, melted avocado, & salsa. But, I was so hungry that I prayed over it and gobbled it right up.

I spent about an hour and a half going over lesson plans with the Kindergarten teacher, seeing her room, etc… They only have Kindergarten two days a week. Her son is in the third/fourth grade classroom only on those two days.  Then, I was back to observing in Nancy’s class until 2:30, when school ends.

I sat at a picnic table to wait for my ride. I took pictures, watched the children playing, & just enjoyed the scenery. We left at about 3. My ride home was with a missionary family who has 3 kids at the school. The mother is the one who drives the kids to & from school. The father is a pilot/mechanic with Missionary Aviation Fellowship. Their boy is in the third/fourth grade class that I’ll be spending time in. So, it is really neat getting to know them all a bit on the ride.

The DELICIOUS supper Julie prepared was sliced ham, boiled potatoes, & broccoli with sliced strawberries & blueberries for dessert!

I spent the evening washing dishes, doing a load of laundry, hanging laundry, taking down laundry, uploading pictures to Facebook & Flickr, & watching a show online. I am SO disappointed that I cannot view any of the US shows online, like I could if I were living in the US. ABC & CBS both say that the episode videos cannot be watched outside of the US because of some legal permissions or something? NBC says the same thing, but I was able to see one show. I just assumed that I’d be able to keep up with a few of my favorite shows during my down time.

Then, Julie & Roy came back, telling me that I was invited to go with them to the house of another missionary couple who lives just a block away. So, I went with them. We enjoyed a few bites of coconut ice cream & an older movie about Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson. There were 2 other single girls there as well. One was Debbie, who I had met the day before at the immigration building. It was good to see them all & was fun to be out…  We got back about 10:30?

I spent 2 hours online, creating a Word Doc with links of several sites with news and pictures of the Iceland volcano & found Brainpop video clips on volcanoes as well. Then, I installed Google Earth on this new laptop & spent time exploring, putting pins in my home, in Oaxaca, & in the Iceland volcano so I could show the kids tomorrow.

Then, I quickly checked Facebook & was in bed at 12:30. (TOO LATE!!!)