Ay ay ay ay

Instead of dogs barking or the occasional rooster, I woke up very early this morning to the sound of trumpets and a chorus of men's voices as a mariachi band played somewhere in the neighborhood. Oh Mexico. :-)

Going to the market

Today was the day I went to the Mercado del Abastos for the first time. A recent article describes this market as "a massive, frenzied feast for the senses where locals hustle and bustle, and tourists are few." That may be an understatement.

My British friend, Fiona (who works at the OCS library), and I tried to be optimistic about not getting lost on our adventure into this huge market. We did our absolute best to be aware of our surroundings and stick to the outskirts of the market.

We actually lasted at least 3 turns. After that all sense of direction was completely lost. We went inside, then outside, then inside again. We went down rows of wooden furniture, squeezed through tiny aisles filled with baskets and other weavings (on which I kept hitting my head), passed a whole flock of live chickens. Hammocks, shampoo, Christmas lights - it was amazing the variety of things being sold. At one point I could see the mountains and knew we were on the north side of the market. That was helpful... for a moment ;-).

An hour and a half later we found our way back to the side we entered on. I was a few pesos poorer, having bought a table cloth, a guitar key chain, and pumpkin seeds. I'm sure we only saw a very small portion of the entirety of Abastos. What an experience. I think it could easily take an entire day to see it all. And, by the way, I did not see a single tourist - well, apart from ourselves.

When I told my landlady about my day, she laughed and assured me that she has never ever gotten lost in Abastos. I think it is pretty much inevitable for me. So, if I ever plan another trip to Abastos, I will also plan on getting lost at some point. Exciting times, eh? ;-).

Here's a link to that article if you'd like to see some photos: Weekend in Oaxaca - although, I'd be surprised if you could capture the experience of Abastos in a picture.

Thanksgiving

Today I looked at all the names of those supporting me - financially, in prayer, with friendship and in love. And guess what... I am deeply thankful for each and every one of you! May you have a blessed Thanksgiving.

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Praise the Lord.

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I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

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Great are the works of the Lord,

studied by all who have pleasure in them.

Full of honor and majesty is his work,

and his righteousness endures for ever.

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He has caused his wonderful works to be remembered;

the Lord is gracious and merciful.

He provides food for those who fear him;

he is ever mindful of his covenant.

He has shown his people the power of his works,

in giving them the heritage of the nations.

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The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy,

they are established for ever and ever,

to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

He sent redemption to his people;

he has commanded his covenant for ever.

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Holy and terrible is his name!

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

a good understanding have all those who practice it.

His praise endures for ever!

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~Psalm 111~

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Revised Standard Version Bible, Catholic Edition

I wish I had my camera

At about 7:20 this morning, I was out on a corner with my neighbors (mostly older men) amid tidy piles of trash, waiting for the trash truck to come down one more block. The men began a lively discussion on how the truck was 20 minutes late today, why that might be, and how the neighbors on the next block just leave their trash out and don't meet the truck. As more people came up, we greeted each other with a "Buenos días." I smiled and wished I had a picture of myself, in the early morning, standing with my Mexican neighbors, holding my 3 bags of trash. ;-)

On the road in Mexico

Driving through Mexico is quite an experience. So, I thought I might post some pictures from the 8 hour drive from Oaxaca to Cuernavaca (and back), to give you a little taste of the journey.

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• In the photo below, you can see the volcano, Pico de Orizaba, in the distance. Only on a very clear day, such as this one, can you see Orizaba clearly.
• Also pictured is Pemex - the only gas company in Mexico. No need to drive around looking for the best price, they're all owned by the same guy ;-).
• You can also see The Italian Coffee Company. I think I am correct in describing it as the Starbucks of Mexico, there's one almost everywhere you go in a large city. Great bathroom stop on the road ;-).

• I call the picture below "A Traffic Jam with a View." This windy road through the mountains often has double-load semi's on it - thus making it a very slow and dangerous ride (people trying to pass on blind curves).
• I really love the mountains in this area because they remind me of mountains you might find on an island.
• That's Cindy Hoover's car in front of us, by the way. :-)

• Been on a pilgrimage lately? This truck was one of many who were traveling together to get to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Juquila. I recognize the name of this virgin, because many bus drivers and taxi drivers have her hanging in their window.
• There are many different versions of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic faith here in Mexico. A very simple explanation is that they are all essentially the Virgin Mary, but based on the different locations she has miraculously 'appeared' and the different people she watches over. The different Virgins tend to be a mixture of Catholic and indigenous beliefs. You can follow this link, if you would like to learn about the Virgin of Juquila.

• Below are two more mountains, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl. Popo is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico, having had it's last major eruption in 2000.
• One of the legends of these two mountains is that Popo was a warrior who greatly loved the king's daughter Iztac, but he had to go to war. Iztac was falsely told that Popo had died at war and she then passed away in grief. When Popo returned, he found Iztac dead, and knelt beside her and remains there to this day.

• Perhaps the close up of Iztaccíhuatl, below, will help you be able to imagine the mountain as the woman lying down - head on the right, feet on the left (at least, that's how I see it).

• And, we'll finish off with this picture of the bumper sticker on the truck pictured above. Yay for Rodriguez! :-)
• By the way, we were close enough to take this picture because we were stopped at one of the several construction zones between Oaxaca and Cuernvaca. The wait to be allowed to pass can last as long as 30 minutes. People from local towns walk up and down the row of cars and sell snacks.

The Scenic Route - Sugar Cane

Before leaving Cuautla to return to Oaxaca, Jo Ellen and I took a lonely road out to see sugar cane fields. So beautiful.

Tabasco Floods

As I did some final packing early November 1st, I saw something about flooding in Tabasco on the news. At the time, I had little idea where Tabasco was or why there had been flooding. But as about half of the capital remains underwater almost 2 weeks later, I have learned more. I'm not sure how much attention the Tabasco flooding received in the States, but it continues to be present in the news here.

A couple of the missionaries here with Medical Teams International (both Covenanters, by the way) have gone to evaluate how best to respond. The following portions of e-mails from them will hopefully give you an idea of the condition Tabasco is in

"A week of torrential rains has brought the worst flooding in 50 years to the area of Tabasco, Mexico causing Mexico's president to call it one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history. Reports say that there are over 800,000 displaced people in Tabasco due to the extreme flooding." (Adam Moore)

"The flooding has affected about half of the population of the state or about 1.1 million people. The streets of downtown of Villahermosa (the state capital) are flooded. People are getting around on boats. The government says that 15,000 businesses have been lost." (Chuck Perez)

Also, you can click on this Situation Report if you'd like to read more.

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The picture below is of a family passing through the high waters in the downtown area of a city. I'm using it as my desktop background to remind me to pray for the people of Tabasco. I'll keep the file size large, in case you would like to do the same:

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If you'd like ideas of what to pray for...

• The situation has been heart-wrenching. As we approached the city for the first time on Sunday, people who had to evacuate their homes because of the flooding were on the side of the highways flagging down the vehicles and asking for food and money donations.
• Most of the businesses in the main part of the city are under water. Some of the areas have 10 to 15 feet of water.
• We have met people from rural communities as well as people from the city that are being housed in shelters who have lost everything. Yesterday, we were in a shelter where there were 4000 displaced people. The families had gathered blankets, clothes, and other basic things from their homes before escaping or being rescued.
• One of the dangers is that there might be water-borne illnesses and cholera outbreaks after the water recedes. (Adam Moore)

To support the medical team with donations: If you would like to support with donations or would like to access more information (including our reports from the site), please go to Medical Team's website at www.medicalteams.org (Chuck Perez)

Show and Tell

This evening I was at the grocery store and I saw some of the students I work with at Oaxaca Christian School. As it is with most kids when they see their teacher out of the school setting, it was a very exciting and shocking event. As I checked out at the register beside them, I heard the young boy say that he was going to use me for his show and tell tomorrow - telling the class the exciting news about seeing me. So, tomorrow I will be show and tell, it's a hard job, but someone has got to do it. ;-)

Since we're on show and tell, I will share this photo with you:

It is of a baby gecko that I found on my bed this past week. To be honest, I didn't want to touch it, so I made - I mean, kindly asked - Jo Ellen to remove it from my bed. And then we had to take a picture, of course. :)

Richard Gere

Hello from Puebla!

You may have noticed that I have not posted for the past week or so. That's because I have had a busy, but wonderful time assisting a health mission team from Kansas in Colonia Obrera, in the state of Morelos. We met hundreds of people over the 5 days we had the health fair. It was a blessed week and there are many great stories to be told.

One thing I have to tell you is that I saw the 5-foot Mexican version of Richard Gere. Really! I took a picture to share, but that will have to wait to be posted when I return to Oaxaca. So, I will leave you with that teaser, as my time is up on this computer in the lobby of this hotel.

May God bless you according to His perfect will,
Laura

P.S. Please forgive any spelling errors, since this computer only checks spelling in Spanish. :-)

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Update 11-11-07

Ok, now this was not the highlight of my trip, but it was fun to see this guy - who I thought that for a Mexican man, looked an awful lot like Richard Gere. Several people onsite agreed with me. We can see what you think:

(above: Col. Obrera gentleman)

(below: actual photo of RG)

Yes? ;-)