Mexico: Lessons In and Out of School

While being down here I'm realizing what a weak person I am.  Not that I thought I was capable on my own.  But in very small and not so small areas, God is reminding me how much I need Him.  Prayers for humility and wisdom are appreciated :)

 On Thursday and Friday I had the opportunity of helping some first graders make a basket filled with food since they are learning the English words for cookie, hamburger, grapes, strawberries, etc.  I was excited that the teacher was doing a hands on project since it makes learning fun and effective. It's helped me reinforce these words in my Spanish vocabulary as well!  Thursday we traced/cut out baskets, then on Friday I helped this little boy draw and color food for his basket.

You may have noticed his very solemn expression.  He is quiet and serious and though I don't understand everything that happens in the classroom, I do think I've correctly observed that he is not included by other children as often as he should be, is a little behind in learning, and in general just a little bit sad.  So it was exciting when he smiled for me on Friday.  He really is a sweet kid and I hope things get better for him soon!!!

Maybe I'm biased, but his basket looked pretty swell by the time he was done!

A few of the gifts I've received lately.  That's just the remains of the huge heart red lollipop that really hit the spot one day.

So overall school things are going well.  On Friday classes get out early and the 5th graders were finishing up P.E.  They were playing hide-n-seek (a favorite game of many children here) and asked if I'd like to play with them after school.  For a little background, the 5th grade class has a handful of independent 10-12 year old boys that don't care much about English class.  The girls are more devoted but I mainly interact with one girl so I don't have much of a relationship with any of those kids.  Therefore, I was excited for the opportunity to get to know these kids out of school so we set the time for 4:00.  Turns out that 5 boys came and 0 girls which is funny since it was the girls' idea.  We played hide-n-seek for 1.5 hours!  I think we're friends now.

About the lessons out of school...

I was asked to go for a walk at 7:00 in the morning on Saturday with a woman from the church.  For several reasons that I will not take time to explain I did not one to go on this walk.  But Saturday morning rolled around and on the way to this woman's house I prayed that God would change my attitude and give me a deeper love for this sister.  He was so faithful!

The woman's daughter came along which was nice since her Spanish is a little more clear.  We began by taking a bucket of corn to a man so it could be ground into meal.  Then we walked down the back streets of town to a country road.  This area of Mexico is a huge producer of strawberries, so as we walked the sun began peeking out behind the mountains and leaving a misty glow on the strawberry fields dotted with bent-over workers.  I didn't take my camera so I don't have pictures to share :( .  We walked about 1.5 miles til we came to a bridge over a peaceful creek then took a rocky path off the main road.

When we had taken a little jog around a field we got back on the main country road and headed back into town.  We went to pick up the corn meal then they invited me into their home for breakfast.  It was probably the biggest cultural experience I've had yet.  First they mixed water with the meal, rolled it into a ball, then pressed it in this big wooden contraption and finally warmed it on the stove.  So besides watching the corn get ground, I got to see how tortillas are made from a bucket of kernels!  They made some into quesadillas and others we ate with refried beans (which thankfully I am developing a taste for) and salsa verde, or other salsas.  Everything was so delicious!  To finish it off, I got to try 3 different kinds of bread, all of which were sweet and very good as well.

So basically that morning was way more of a blessing than I deserved.  I'm glad we have such a patient, loving God.

On a lighter note...the rest of the day Saturday was pretty relaxed.  I took a nap then took Ivory for a walk.  This time I took my camera and snapped a few pictures.  I try to take them covertly as to not offend the Mexicans.

Laundry day.  Nobody has driers so wash is often hanging out to dry from balconies or roof tops.

Not sure what these boxes are all about but they ascend a hill at the end of our road.

On a finishing note I have to include a picture of some tacos.  Usually they are very small and have two tortillas each.  These are not from Mario's but they were still very delicious!

And now it's the beginning of another week!