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

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

10 Memorable Moments in Oaxaca, Mexico (from Days 1, 2, & 3)

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.  Then, we'd pray for each other & for the ministry, praising God for the things that were the HIGHS & asking for help with the lows.

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 of you 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 1, 2, & 3:

* that God helped both of my laptops get here safely & Roy was able to fix the power cord that was irreparable (there are 2 because one is being donated to SIL)

* meeting the famous author of beloved children’s books, Harry Allard (I LOVE the Miss Nelson books!!!!)

* enjoying fellowship with 3 teachers from Oaxaca Christian School (toured a museum together that used to be the governor’s palace where we learned and played an ancient board game & saw beautiful murals, then went to lunch where I had my first taste of authentic Oaxacan food)

* sitting on a bed in Oaxaca, Mexico listening online to Pastor Joe’s Sunday morning message just a few hours after he had preached it at Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia = PRICELESS!

* visiting an impressive English Lending Library & ending up buying Thai food inside the library & enjoying it for supper (my first time eating Thai)

* relaxing with an iced mocha at The Italian Coffee Company, next to the beautiful Park of the Lions

* answering all of Rosa’s questions about my immigration paperwork in Spanish (It’s been 3 years since I’ve even attempted speaking Spanish & I was only a beginner even then…to say that I NEED PRACTICE is an understatement!!!)

* the encouragement and smiles that come from being able to chat online with Facebook with family, friends, & former coworkers  (IF you see me online on FB, FEEL FREE to open a chat ~ it's great to hear from "home" when I'm out of the country!)

* trying to keep a straight face when I got my pictures taken at a professional photographer for my immigration papers (He instructed me to be solemn, but I was giggling inside that I was an unattractive, sweaty mess with a swollen face and eyelids!)

* relaxing with feet up & watching the movie Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood with Julie & Roy (Although I’d seen it several times before, it was so much fun to watch it with people who’d never seen it before!)