First Night at Our House on Mango Avenue

Today we officially moved into our new home. This afternoon, two men from the local water committee came over to check out the 95-year-old stone water storage tank in our back yard. It has some cracks in it and we are interested in fixing it, and using it, as there is no water here at our house. They agreed to let us use the tank. It will hold about 5000 liters of water. (The cisterns that MCC helps build in the communities holds about 17,000 liters of water.) We will have to buy all of our water from a water truck. During the rainy season, we will collect and store water.

There is work to do on the house. Thank goodness Martin came along! We will send more pictures of the interior and surroundings as we progress.

This evening, 5 kids from the neighborhood where we used to live came over to visit. They stayed and played with Isaiah and Micah for a while.

At about the same time, a woman and her two daughters who live just up the hill from us, came over with a bucket full of hot, chicken-mole tamales. We bought enough for our family and the kids. We all sat around and talked for a while. Our neighbor said good-bye with the promise to bring atole (hot, breakfast drink) by at 7am tomorrow morning. I walked the neighborhood kids home and they wanted to know when they could come back tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday. For now, we have a play date with them this Saturday at 10am.

On the way back home, I met another neighbor and her daughter walking towards town. They are so glad we have finally moved in and want to know when we can come over for a meal. They invited us to church on Sunday.

We feel blessed to have found this home on Mango Avenue and look forward to the many adventures ahead. As we got into bed, Martin looked out the window above our bed and said, “There is Orion’s belt! It’s right there! So clear.”
And so we go to sleep, looking at the stars, listening to the cattle mooing, and feeling a cool breeze.

We welcome you to come visit us on Mango Avenue.

Off To School

Isaiah and Micah are back in school. They are now attending the Catholic School here in town. Their teachers are warm and friendly, their classrooms are bright with lots of student work on the walls. Each room has a small classroom library. There are student-size tables and chairs – set up group style. There are a variety of materials accessible to the students. There is a play area with trees and some climbing structures. They spend time playing outside. Everything is in Spanish. They have friends. And most importantly, they are happy.

(In this picture: Lukas (3-year-old MCCer, Micah, Isaiah, Martin)

Making Toilets

Here is a short description from Martin:
“Making composting toilets to save water.
Making them now for the community in Refugio.
We have the mold – a new mold – the old mold was very crude.
The new mold is made out of fiberglass.
This is the first time we have used it.
It came out with a glass smooth finish.”

Description from Micah:
“Pee in front, poop in back”

All in a Saturday

In the Morning:
We made tamales (see pictures) with the neighbor's family, visited a potential house, had a wonderful lunch that Martin made.

In the Afternoon:
Visited the town swimming pool - there are actually two swimming pools, each approximately 25 meters long.
There is also a large trampoline there. Micah and Isaiah played with their new friends (who live in the compound) Marcos, 6 years old and Melissa, 3 years old. On the way home we stopped at the park because there was fundraiser being put on by a group of parents who are colleting money to fix up the park. We made some contacts and plan to attend their next meeting.

In the Evening:
We ATE the wonderful tamales with the neighbor's family. Liz got invited to join a women's basketball team. Practices are every morning at 7am. Liz and Martin listened to Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me, a great news quiz on Chicago Public Radio.

Ahhhhh.... what a day.

Why? in Olinala

Why does the rooster outside our door crow in the middle of the night?
Why are there piles of horse manure in the park?
Why are there two armed guards riding on top of the Coca-Cola delivery truck?
(Sorry Isaiah, but those are NOT nail guns, like you think.)
Why does a church bell ring at 11pm and again at 6am?
Why does everyone’s “black water” empty into the barranca that runs through the middle of the town?
Why are there so many unfinished homes?
Why does the preschool teacher give her students so much candy?
Why does the popular candy covered with chili power have lead in it?
Why are there tiny scorpions resting in the space between the wall and the ceiling?

Why are the people here so incredibly friendly towards us?
Why is the air so crisp?
Why are the stars so brilliant and bright every night?
Why are the mountains so breathtaking?

First Outing to Teticic

Martin accompanied Derek (MCC co-worker) to Teticic this week to install electrical outlets in the soon to be Internet Café. Francisco (MCC co-worker) helped write grants to acquire government funding for this project.
Yes, an Internet Café in a town where most people are cooking on an open fire and ride donkeys.

In Olinala

Dear Ones,
We are now in Olinala. In the coming weeks and months we will elaborate and share more specifics. Below are just a few snapshots with words.

Arrived Sunday morning after a 9-hour bus ride. The bus was crowed, so we each held a child on our lap for most of the trip.
For now, we are living in the apartment upstairs from Derek and Ana and Lukas, the other MCC family here in Olinala.
Ana is an amazing cook.
The three boys have lots of opportunities to use their words and practice sharing.
(Isaiah 5years old, Lukas 3 years old, Micah 2 ½ years old.)
We are still in the process of investigating schools and deciding where to enroll our kids.
Still looking for a home. Two hopeful possibilities.
Liz has made friends with the local librarian. (YES, there is a Public Library here!)
People are very friendly here.
Other people walk and run for exercise – some in the morning, some in the evening.
The outdoor market has a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
We have high-speed Internet access, hot showers, indoor toilet, and a washing machine.

Good-Bye Cuernavaca

We were sad to say good-bye to Cuernavaca the end of January.
Our (3rd) host family was kind and generous. We learned lots at Universal (language school). Isaiah and Micah had a wonderful, rich time at preschool. Isaiah even went on his first “play date” at his friend Brisa’s house the week before we left.

Friday – Our last day in Cuernavaca
The teachers and students at the boys’ school, The Buena Tierra, had a wonderful farewell party for all of us. We sang songs and danced together. Isaiah and Micah gave each student a little notebook and small box of colored pencils. Their teachers gave them a gift, a big hug, and many tears. The school as a whole gave us some much needed kitchen items. We felt loved and blessed.

In the afternoon, Isaiah’s friend Brisa, her mom, and her little brother went with us to a nearby ecological park. We rode a small train, ate, played in the park and looked at a variety of animals. Our friends Martha (fellow athlete) and her son Allan (5 years old) met us there. We had a wonderful time together.

We spent the evening relaxing at home with our host family. How wonderful it is to have friends.

P.S. If you want to financially support the preschool Micah and Isaiah attended, La Buena Tierra (Good Earth School), consider becoming a Global Family member. See MCC's website at mcc.org for more information.

A Bit about the Current State of Mexico

Last week I went to a presentation by Ross Gandy at Universal, the language school where we are studying Spanish. Below are some notes I took during the presentation on the current state of Mexico, from his perspective. These are just a few notes I took. To get a clearer, more in depth perspective, I recommend reading some of Mr. Gandy’s books. He has written 10 books about Mexico.


2/3rds of the multi-national companies in Mexico are U.S. companies.

In 1998, President Zedillo privatized the railroads.

In Mexico City, there are 4 ½ million cars and 25 million people. (That is ¼ of the people in the entire country live in Mexico City.) There are so many cars in Mexico City, the traffic barely moves. It takes most workers 2 ½ hours each way to commute to their
factory jobs on public transportation. Many do not see their families in the daylight.

Mexico City is an environmental catastrophe. There are 4 million people in Mexico City without a toilet. Big corporation leaders are now part of Mexico’s Environmental Protection Agency, so they will now regulate themselves.

10% of the people are “rich”
20% are “middle class”
70% are “poor” or marginalized

The daily minimum wage is 50 pesos, or 5 dollars.

30% of the people in the country can buy the high quality consumer goods in supermarkets, etc.
The other 70% of the people in the country are marginalized.

Jobs: the 3 biggest exports in Mexico are: tequila, oil, and Mexicans (at the rate of 1 million a year.)

With all of the multi-national corporations now, there isn’t much to do (job-wise) in the countryside.
40 million people (out of the total 100millon people in Mexico) live off of remittances from the U.S.

Last month there was a secret meeting between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to unify their security systems into one big unit.

School – students have to buy their own textbooks, at 20 to 30 pesos each.
Schools are falling apart.
2 out of every 10 university graduates goes to the U.S.

Mexico has no tax base. Few people pay taxes. The government has no money because they don’t tax themselves. Here, tax evasion is not a serious crime.

The government controls T.V.
4% of Mexicans ever buy a book. There are very libraries.
2% of the people buy newspapers.
Social movements can’t get on T.V., so they can’t get their message out.

Mexico is at the bottom of the Human Rights Abuse list, with China. Abuse and torture are common with the police (forced confessions).

Sky Running

Martha and I participated in a 14km race last Sunday, most of which was uphill. We ran up two different mountains in Tepotzlan. It took us 2 ½ hours (and we weren’t the last ones either!). Most of the race was on a narrow dirt path, along the side of a mountain. There were a few times when I had to use both hands to climb up rocks. About 200 people participated. We had a great time. Martin hung out with Isaiah, Micah, and Martha’s son Alan while we ran. They had fun cheering. Isaiah spotted me as I approached the end, joined me, and we crossed the finish line holding hands.

A Friend!

Luke 2:36-38 - 36,37 There was a very old prophet, a widow named Anna, daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She had been married for only 7 years and was now 84 years old. She never left the Temple; day and night she worshiped God, fasting and praying. 38 That very same hour she arrived and gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were waiting for God to set Jerusalem free.

What wisdom might Anna hand to us as we seek to widen the circle of our community?
From Sacred Journeys A Woman’s Book of Daily Prayer

One Sunday morning, I woke up thinking about end of the Christmas holidays, the emotional ups and downs of the previous week, with being asked to leave our 2nd host family’s house, parental patience levels being tested, missing friends and family…. I decide to go for a run. That morning, another mother of a young boy was also out on a run. Our paths crossed. “Where are the kids?” She asked me. “Oh, they’re at home with my husband” I replied, trying and trying to figure out where I knew her from. She read my thoughts, “I saw you at Las Posadas, at the church. That’s how I know you have children.”
I asked her for suggestions about where to run, and she invited me to run with her. We ended up running together for about 1 ½ hrs! We mad connection after connection. She had a 5-year-old son, so we talked about the joys and challenges of parenting. She is a school teacher WHO BIKES TO WORK, so we talked about teaching and biking. She lived in Chicago for 2 years. So we talked about the city. But mostly, we talked about marathons and triathlons and adventure races. And then, she invited me to participate in a race in a nearby town the following Sunday, with her. Martha is her name. Her five-year-old son’s name is Alan. Yippee!