Mexico: Church Events, The Weekend, and School Days

In a previous post I mentioned something about explaining church happenings here.  I don't have any pictures yet of church activities, but I'll give a little explanation of what a 'normal' week might hold.

• Sunday church begins at 11:00.  The first service is more like a Bible study and is led by different brothers in the church.  Then there's a fifteen minute break and a second service preached by either Marshall or Matt.  At 5:00 there's a singing and sometimes volleyball afterwards.
• Tuesday evening is Bible Study at 5:00. Men and women rotate so last week was women's, this week men's.
• Wednesday evening there is a Bible Study in Zomora (about 30 minutes away) which I have not yet been to.  There are a few people that either were members, are members or are just friends who can't make it to midweek services so this Bible study is a neat opportunity to fellowship with them.
• Thursday evening is church at 5:00.
• Saturday they have Jovenes.  It's geared towards young people ages ~10 and up.  The evening begins at 5:00 with some outdoor activity then we sing for about 20 minutes and split into older kids and younger kids for a Bible study.  There are some youth who come from the community that don't regularly come to church so it's a neat way to interact with them.

Hopefully I'll have pictures of Jovenes sometime soon that I can share.  But for now that gives you a little idea of what the church activities are.

This past weekend was a bit extended since there were no classes on Friday or Monday.  On Thursday Jan suggested I invite a few of the church kids and some of their friends to come play on Friday.  I asked Jana (Hana) if she'd like to come and she showed up with her two brothers and a student that lives right across from the school.  We played hide-and-seek, Candy land, Caballo (horse basketball), and other fun games.  Jana, Tito, and Andres ate with us and went home around 4:30.  It was a fun filled day and now I'm glad I know those kids better.

Andres hiding under a van.

Later I was informed this barrel is used to wash cars so this probably won't be happening again.  They sure had fun though!

On Saturday a woman from the church came to clean Sunday School rooms so I took three of her little darlings on a walk.  Jonathan is a very content baby.

Matt and Ruth Gerber invited me over for comida (the big afternoon meal) on Sunday after church. While Ruth was preparing the tostadas, her son Caleb and I prepared for an imaginary trip to the Antarctic.  Caleb is about 5 and has an incredible imagination and loves taking imaginary trips.  We spent nearly an hour packing for the trip before lunch and then an hour on our big trip after lunch.  The lunch, by the way, was delicious and not to be unmentioned.  Tonight after I spent some time with Caleb while Matt and Ruth took a walk, they took me to Mario's for tacos.  They don't live on the compound so I don't see them as often but they are a huge part of the school and church!

On Monday, Grant and Hannah invited me to go to Zomora with them to run some errands.  It was perfect because my flip flops have been wearing thin very quickly so I wanted to get some new ones that would last a little longer.  We walked through the market and got produce and I found shoes.  A lot of their sandals have backs so it took a little while to find what I wanted but Hannah was very patient and now I have comfortable sandals with more durable soles :)

The fresh produce was just amazing! I bought a few plums and starfruits.

Hannah and Ivory enjoying some watermelon.

After the market we went to Walmart for more groceries while Grant got pizza.  The median of the main road nearby is raised in the middle with a path for bikers, walkers, runners, etc.  On the sides there is grass and trees kind of like a park.  Just a very long park.  It was a nice shady place to eat and relax before hitting our last stop, Sam's.

By the time we were done, we were all very tired.  Grant was recovering from a hard hit of the flu, and Ivory was so exhausted she fell asleep before she finished her bottle.  But it was a great experience and now I have been to Zamora.

Tuesday it was back to classes.  We started having music class at the end of the day for which I am playing the piano.  Yesterday 1st and 2nd grades practiced together, today it was 3rd through 5th.

Here are some pics from the 1st and 2nd grade classes this morning.

Ummm, I don't know all their names yet.  They same them quickly and not so clearly.  But these are some 1st graders.

If you didn't take me seriously when I said classes are just a bit more relaxed, I now have proof.  Today the 2nd grade class was a little more relaxed than normal, but it isn't abnormal to have kids sitting or lying on the floor while doing their homework.

The girl behind me in this picture goes to church as does the girl in the grey and pink hat.  Maybe it's because I have a sister in second grade that I enjoy these girls so much.  Or maybe it's just cause they're stinkin adorable.

Today one of the girls asked me where I live and so I told her Indiana which didn't seem to tell her much.  I started telling her it was very cold and there was snow and she replies, "I want to go there!"  Like Mom told me, she'd probably get bored after one day of no school and want to go back.  Probably true. ;)

Have a good week!