Familia Dyrst

Enrique, Lupita and David

We made a trip to Cuernavaca on Saturday and spent a wonderful afternoon with our former co-worker and dear friend Enrique, his wife Lupita and their son David. It meant so much to us to be able to talk and spend time together again. They are doing well and expecting a baby boy the end of December. Special times indeed.

Basketball

Still playing basketball.

Farewell/Brithday Party in Teticic

On Friday our family went to Teticic and had an afternoon of fun, laughter, and great food with friends. These women were part of the "year 1" garden groups. We talked about all kinds of things, laughed so much my cheeks hurt, and shared a delicious meal together. It was a beautiful time of reconnecting and just being together.

Day of the Saints and Day of the Dead

We were inspired by all the alter making in town to make our own at home for Oma (Martin´s mom) and my grandma. The boys and I worked all afternoon. Isaiah declares this alter our best one yet!

Everyone is setting up alters to remember the saints and those who have died. There was an alter competition between the schools yesterday. Amazing.

Rancho Bonito

Yesterday all 4 of us went to Rancho Bonito in the afternoon. After a wonderful meal of handmade tortillas, beans and salsa, the adults sat around and talked while the kids played outside. I´ve mentioned before that we´re doing some impact evalaution in a number of communities. So I asked the group some specific questions and then we just talked. The women are very interested in trying to have a small garden during the dry season. They have friends and relatives in nearby Teticic who participated in the garden program two years ago. There was an incredible amount of energy in the room as they talked about what they can do now that they have cisterns to store water and don´t have to spend so much time each day collecting water. More women feeling empowered and thinking about the future.

And this is the time of year when people make alters and remember those who have died. Part of this includes making Tlachcallis, a cornmeal cookie. They were in the middle of making the cookies when we arrived, so we got to each some hot, right out of the oven.

More Chiles

It´s been very cloudy here for a week or so. While I´m enjoying the cooler weather, the chile farmers are trying to dry out their chiles and it´s not going so well. Earlier in the summer there wasn´t enough rain. Now there isn´t enough sun.

Sitting Pot - Contle Atl Yehuatoc

There is a group of 24 people in the nearby community of Chiaucingo who got organized and turned in a project proposal for 24 cistern to the Canadian Embassy a few months ago. Last week they found out that their project was approved! They are thrilled. They invited my co-worker Manuel and I to talk with them about the next steps. One of the steps includes opening a bank account for the group. Yesterday the committee came to Olinalá and I went with them to the bank. Here they are proudly signing the necessary forms.
Then we went to the internet cafe to check their email and send the bank information to the Canadian Embassy. (This is their first time using a computer.) Finally they mailed the signed contract.

It´s very inspiring to listen to these women talk about their hopes and dreams for the future. And what they will be able to do both with the water they can store in the cistern and with their increased confidence in themselves and what they can do when they work together.

(Sitting Pot is the name of their project - they chose a Nahuat´l name.)

Happy 8th Birthday ISAIAH!

We finally got a chance to celebrate Isaiah´s birthday this weekend. (He was sick in bed on his "real" birthday.) On Friday he took a cake to school. And on Saturday we had a birthday supper and piñata. ¡FELCIDADES ISAIAS!

From October

Martin and Micah in the kitchen.

Isaiah has done a lot of school work this month

People are drying their chiles - this is a common site for me as I visit different communities.

Missionary Month

October was Missionary Month (in the Catholic Church) and since the boys go to a Catholic school, they got to parade through town last Wednesday. I love how much people here parade through the streets to celebrate. Complete with a band and police escort.

Impact Assessment

This month we´ve held some community meetings and talked with people about how the appropriate technologies (cisterns, dry latrines, family gardens, fuel-saving stoves) have impacted their lives. We´ve asked them to talk about what changes they have experienced. It´s been a lot of fun.

Cisterns in Tlaquilcingo

In October, the group in Tlaquilcingo finished their 18 cisterns. These cistens were funded by the Canadian Embassy and the group managed the project. Here are just a few pictures of the finished cisterns and the group working together with our co-worker Manuel on the final report.

Goodbye Kiara

In October we said goodbye to dear Kiara. Thanks for everything Kiara. We have been blessed by you and are grateful our paths crossed. God´s grace and peace as you embark on the next part of your journey. We love you!

Our New Home

Here are some pictures of the inside of our new home.

October Festival

At the beginning of October, Olinalá celebrates it´s parton saint - Saint Francis of Asisi. Each year there is an art show featuring the traditional craft this town is known for, with prize money. Here are a few pictures from the art show, the boys posing for a "traditional" picture, inside the church, and processing in the street with the saint.

Palenque Ruins

Well I haven´t blogged for some time. As many of you know, we´re wrapping up our time here in Mexico. On November 9th we start our journey back to the U.S. This has been an incredible journey and we will be forever grateful for this experience.

I want to post some pictures from the last while. In September we had team meetings in Chiapas and our family took a quick trip to see some amazing ruins. (Unfortunately our camera stayed in Chiapas, so I only have this picture of a postcard!) We had a great time.

Goodbye Merideth

Last night our dear friend and co-worker Merideth left Olinalá to embark on her next adventure.
We will miss you greatly Mer. Millions of thanks for everything you have shared with us. We are grateful that our paths crossed and look forward to the next time we can be together.
God's blessings to you.

One Sunday

As I´ve mentioned before, our friends Chuchi and Malena have a shoe shop. Every Saturday afternoon they set up their stand in the town square (along with lots of other merchants) for Sunday´s market. They spend all day Sunday in the zocalo. Isaiah has helped them in the past. The other day he decided he wanted to ¨work¨for them. He told me this on Saturday night before he went to bed. Sunday morning he got up at 7am all by himself. Got dressed, made breakfast, and rode his bike to their shoe stand. He worked well into the afternoon. He helped set up, ran errands and according to them was helpful. He came home proud as a peacock with $25 pesos in his pocket.

Our Latest Favorite Cookies - Thanks Tia Su!

The original recipe for the mint chocolate chips comes from Mollie Katzen's Still Life with Menu, but I've adapted it a little. These cookies also freeze very well, and make great ice-cream sandwiches.

Double Chocolate-Mint Cookies

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup/6 oz) butter
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and extracts. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Stir flour mixture into butter, then add chips. Drop spoonfuls onto lightly greased cookie sheet, and bake 10-12 minutes.

Organizacion Pubelo Indigena - Chiaucingo

This week some people in Chiaucingo formalized their work group and chose a name for themselves, wrote up a constitution, documented their internal rules, and applied for funds from the Canadian Embassy to build 24 cisterns. The committee invited me to share about the application process, as a consultant. We also talked about what makes a strong group and I help them verbalize/document their group's mission, objectives and potential problems. We did some "group dynamics" games, worked in small groups, worked as a whole group, brainstormed, listened to each other, and laughed together. I was so impressed with their participation and willingness to spend a significant amount of time working together. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Another Birthday

Thursday we celebrated Chelly's (Malena's younger sister) birthday. All the traditional birthday songs, cheers and shoving your face into your cake as you take the first bite rituals. And a pinata of course. Micah had fun moving it around, making the whole game more fun for everyone.

What to do after the pinata is broken? Use the rope and jump! This was a first - and everyone was really into it. We all jumped rope the rest of the evening :) Just one of the many things I love about this family...

House Blessing

Our friends Chuchi and Malena had a house blessing the other day. The padre (priest) came over and led the ceremony, sprinkling holy water all over the house. Afterwards we ate and laughed.

Malena, the Padre, Malena's brother Pepe

Hanging out afterwards

Making Seed Murals at Home

So we were inspired to make our own seed murals after our trip to Tepotzlan.

Tlaquilcingo

I took this picture on my way home from Tlaquilcingo the other day. They mountains are still amazing to me. Something about growing up in Kansas.

Creating at Home

Liam, we thought of you the other day when the boys came home with treasures they found on a walk and got busy.

Time with Friends

Here are some more pictures from our time with Ian, Caitlin, Anita and Michael. Our friends Aquilina, Placido, and their son, Placido, were able to travel with us for a few days. We first stopped in Cuernavaca for a bit, then on to Tepotzlan. The next day we saw some Diego Rivera murals and the pyramids at Teotihuacan.

We said goodbye to our friends after a wonderful time together.

Then Aquilina and I went to the Canadian Embassy to meet with Jillaine, the person in charge of Canada Fund. Aquilina was excited to meet Jillaine. And Jillaine glad to meet Aquilina too. I see this as a bridge-building / sharing of knowledge / working myself out of a job kind of thing.
And on the way home we stopped for a quick swim at Paplutla of course! It was Aquilina's first time to be in that much water.