Saturday, September 12, 2009

Lets Party Fiesta Forever

In the previous post I wrote that I was wanting to get to bed early last Saturday night since I was preaching the next morning. I laid my head on my pillow at 11:30 to the sound of my neighbors fiesta in her front yard, (our houses touch). Anyone that knows me very well can tell you that I'm a very light sleeper. I have woken up many times on youth trips catching teens preparing to spray me with shaving cream or attempting some other prank. So being a light sleeper has benefited me in the past, but not so much in Mexico. Since I wasn't going to get any sleep for a while anyways, I decided to take the dog, Rowdy, out to go "potty" again. As I stood there in the front yard with my dog shirtless watching the neighbors firing up a grill, two men walked by on their way to the neighbors party. One stopped to pet my dog and started speaking to me in English. As it turns out he is from Korea and is here working at the port, (Manzanillo has the largest port in Mexico). The other man with him spoke English also and is the father of one of Hudson's friends that has come over to play on several occasions. They then invited me to the party next door. So there I stood with my dog in nothing but my shorts tired and ready for sleep, the selfish part of me wanted to be back in my bed where my wife was already asleep and where I wouldn't have to step out of my comfort zone. But I knew that is not why we're here. I have said before and constantly desire to be a bond-servant for Christ to live for His glory not mine and this was a small opportunity to do just that. Of course I wasn't going to be ridiculed or tortured for going to the neighbors party and maybe none of those people will ever come to church, but regardless of how they respond I need to do what I feel is Jesus' will, not mine. So I went to the party, they pulled up a chair for me, gave me a 2nd supper for the night (I think it was beans with steak on top), and the men that knew English were very friendly and talked with me the whole time I was there. I was offered beer and tequila numerous times. I told them I was a missionary and that I was preaching in the morning, but they still didn't understand why I didn't want to drink. One guy showed up and started talking with me and the Korean, Jack, he told us if we wanted he could get us marijuana or peyote. I politely said "no thanks" while at the same time laughing. I eventually made it to bed at 2 am, the party was still going strong but by this time I was tired enough that the noise didn't bother me, or maybe it was because I didn't find the neighbors as obnoxious. Either way I went to sleep. The next morning Heidi said, "I couldn't hardly sleep last night, that party was going on till 3 am." I smiled and said, "I know, I was there."

Thursday, September 10, 2009

You bought what?

Last Saturday we went to a girl from the church's Quince AƱos birthday celebration. Shortly after we arrived here in Mexico she asked us to be Padrinos for her party. We weren't really sure what this meant, but were honored to be asked. We soon found out that it meant that we pay for half of her dress for the party. "OK", we thought, "how much can a dress cost? and we're only paying half." As time to purchase the dress came closer we found out that the other lady that was buying the other half of the dress lost her job, but would still pay $40 towards the dress. When it was time to take this young girl to buy the dress she had already picked out, we realized the price was $250 U.S. This was more than what we thought the cost would be. But after listening to an explanation from another missionary here, we agreed to do what we committed to do and buy the dress. Let me explain why we choose what we did. In the Mexican culture this is the biggest day in a girls life, 2nd maybe to her wedding. It is her coming into womanhood. And with this family, like several that we are working with, they have very little money. The dad works, the mom stays at home and takes care of the 6 kids while being pregnant with a 7th. When we went to pick her up for the party at her house we were able to see the inside for the first time. The whole house is one room about the size of a foyer at your local church with an outside patio for the kitchen. There is one dresser, and a bed pushed up next to a couch for the kids to sleep on. From what I observed they don't have a car. Every Sunday the girls either ride with someone else to church or take a taxi. This will probably be the one time in her life that this young girl will get to feel like a princess. What is considered poor in the US would seem more like middle class here. We are here for the people trying to show Christ's love with our lives. Do I think Jesus would have wanted me to buy the dress.... I honestly don't know. If I knew then what I know now would I agree to be the dress purchaser again? Probably. My guess is that I'll find out eventually as I am expecting to be asked again sooner or later.
The party was a lot of fun. When we sat down at a table all of the young people from the church came and sat with us, they even pulled up extra chairs. This was encouraging to us since our focus here is on them. They must like us! By the time we got home and put the kids to bed it was 11 pm. The next morning I was preaching so I wanted to get to bed ASAP, but that didn't happen. Details in the next post!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Mexican Life

Hudson has now been in school for 2 weeks. I think he's adjusting OK, he still struggles with the language barrier. When the teacher is teaching in Spanish he has no idea what is going on. Also the other kids don't speak as much English as we thought they would, so he has only made friends with one boy. At recess he still plays by himself a lot, this is hard for him because he loves being around people. Please pray that he will pick up Spanish quickly and make friends at his new school.
My dad has been home from the hospital for about a week now. Thank you for all the prayers. The internal bleeding has stopped, but they were never able to locate where the problem was. He is still very weak. Please pray for his recovery.
Brooklyn has not had any problems adjusting to life here in Mexico. We were worried about her asthma and allergies, but they have not been a problem at all. She is talking more in English and Spanish. She says, "Hola", to everyone we pass on the sidewalk. Brooklyn also gets excited and starts to dance when she knows that we are going outside to play.
Heidi and I continue to study Spanish and work with the youth here. Tomorrow is a girl in the church's Quince Anos and Heidi and I are the Padrinos. Then on Sunday I am preaching with a translator. I will write more about what a Quince Anos is and what our role as Padrinos means later.