Welcome Home

Well, this last post comes from the comfort of my own bed. I just finished uploading and editing all my pictures (which took about 2 hours!). I'm going to try to add at least one picture to every post on here tonight and then post them all on facebook tomorrow. My camera failed me miserably this trip (so many pictures were corrupted or blurry!) but I'm just glad to be home.

Monday night we had our final celebration...and this time it was for the helpers! We had a small bible study then many people shared blessings from these past 2 week of celebrations and also their blessings in life. We also got a call from Joshua (the Guzman's younger son) from Japan at the party. After eating dinner, they passed out gifts to everyone that participated and also did a raffle for some extra prizes. I won one of them, but I passed it up because I would not be able to fit it in my suitcase! So, my tiny crockpot went to one of the older ladies in the church. :)

We took pictures and said our goodbyes, then I went to pack my things at the Guzman's house. Another tradition I will miss are the Adios's. Upon leaving I received the standard kiss on the cheek, but the person also gave me a big hug and told me quietly into my ear about how they pray God blesses me in my life and how they hope I have a good trip and a Merry Christmas. And this was from everyone I worked closely with! It was wonderful. People don't use the term 'adios' as frequently as you think they would, because it is saved for more permanent and special goodbyes. The word literally means 'to God' (a+Dios=to+God) or 'until God', because we know that if we don't see eachother in the near future, at least we know that we will see eachother again in heaven, in the presence of God. How sweet is that?

Airports are so nice in December; everyone just seems so at ease because they're either going home or their going to visit ones they love. No one is on a business trip on December 23rd.

I love that when you return after flying to another country, your customs checker, after looking at your passport, says those beautiful words: "Welcome home!"

El Ultimo

Today was the last day of celebrations! I can't believe these 3 weeks are almost over. We went to Vina del Rey this morning, where there had a children's production for part of the service. They reenacted when the 3 wise men visited Mary and Joseph, they sang El Tamborilero and Campana Sobre Campana, and Nalleli and Jacquelin danced. After the service, they served lunch to all of the church members and a few of us hung around the church until it was time to leave for the celebration. It was just me, Johnny, Julian, Josue, Lulu, & Adriana, so we ended up just getting back on the stage and having a jam session for about an hour.

The final celebration was in a little alley between 2 houses in Alianza Real. There wasn't much room here, like in Valles, but it was still really good.

Good news! I found out that Maria went to Laredo yesterday, so I'll be able to get my packages and the letter that were sent to me! It's kind of late, and the packages do me no good, getting them the day before I leave, but it saves a lot of trouble. Now, I don't have to wait several more weeks for the mail and Maria doesn't have to send them back to Alabama.

Well, tomorrow is my last day. I think that the only thing on the schedule is a dinner for the helpers of the celebrations. So, my next post will probably be from the airport in Dallas!

Hay un Aire Navideno

This morning Jenny and I went to Amanda's house to wrap presents for the kids in Nuevo El Miguerre (the church in the mountain last Sunday). Amanda is a missionary kid whose parents moved to Monterrey when she was about 15, and she ended up getting married here and stayed while her parents moved to Ecuador. She and her husband run a store (papeleria/internet cafe/gift shop), and she also works for a company downtown as a translator. Anyway, we sorted through gifts donated to Jenny and organized them for each individual child in Nuevo El Miguerre. We got a lot done in about 3 hours: we sorted the toys and clothes, wrapped all the gifts, and made small gift bags out of the leftover toys for the kids who aren't "fieles" (regulars) who come to the christmas celebration.

Afterwards, Jenny and I picked up a quick lunch at Burger King, then picked up Josue and his dad to drive to Rinconada for the christmas celebration. This celebration was the most peaceful and laid back of all of them; I guess because the room was really big and there were only about 50 kids. Oh, and I officially have all of the songs memorized!! And I've learned 4 other Christmas songs from Josue and Julian. They're a lot cooler than mine.

After dropping Josue and his dad off, Jenny and I went to wal-mart and, since it was only 7pm, we went downtown to see some Christmas Festivities. There was a live Nativity set up in the park, so we went to that. It was really good! There were about 4 stations with actors at each one reenacting the Christmas story. They were only "lip-singing" (sort-of, but with talking) to a pre-recorded play, but still. It was better than seeing people just stand there dressed as Mary and Joseph in a stable! We walked around some and looked at the local artisan stands and dulcerias, then got churros and watched a highschool chorus sing on a stage. It was really fun! But, it doesn't feel like Christmas yet...not when it's 80 degrees at night.

I'm listening to one of Hillsong United's cds, "United We Stand," but it's in spanish! So, therefore the cd's name is "Unidos Permanecemos." Jenny has it and I was able to put it on my computer and listen to it. I'm so glad I'll be able to listen to this cd in the future and remember this trip.

Juarez & Valles

So yesterday we had another celebration, in Juarez, and today's was in Valles. All of the celebrations are kind of running together now, and they're pretty much all the same: hectic, wonderful, crazy, & such blessings. Today's was in the one-room shack with about 100 kids and 20 adults. It was crazier than ever because there was no room to even turn around, but somehow it was all managed. I held hands with Lulu, Adriana, Nallali, & Pati to make a barricade for the kids not to cross so that we might have a path for the kids to exit the room with their gifts. After driving back for about an hour & a half (Valles was far, and there was lots of traffic on Friday night), Jenny and I went to the mall for her to do some Christmas shopping and now we're back home.

Oh! On the way to Valles, Jenny got pulled over! She told me that he says she was speeding in a school zone, but basically it was just testament to the corruption in Monterrey. The real reason he pulled her over was because she has a Texas tag on her car, and that they know that people with Texas tags have money. Police officers here pocket the money they make from tickets. He told her that she was going to get her liscence taken away (since she's a foreigner) and have to pay $800 pesos ($80 dollars), but Josue got out of the car and talked to the police officer to talk him out of it. He got back in the car about 30 seconds later, with her liscence, and told Jenny to start driving. He then told us that he gave the officer $50 pesos (5 bucks!) and he let us go! It was unbelievable....we could not believe that he talked Jenny out of a $800 peso ticket for $50 pesos. Way to go, Josue!

There are only 2 more days of celebrations! I can't believe it's almost over. The first half went by really slow but this last half is going by really fast.

Feliz Cumpleanos a Mi!

Yesterday was my birthday!! And it was so wonderful to spend it here in Monterrey. I was busy ALL day, with Jenny and I leaving the house a little before 8 and walking back in the door at 11:45pm. She took me to starbuck's for breakfast for my birthday, then took me to the Guzman's house for me to go with them to General Trevino again. We were packed into a huge van- 10 people fit into about 7 seats, with the bags of gifts taking up all the other seats. When we got there Laura fixed us grilled hamburgers (they eat them with fresh avocado in Mexico!) and they just sat around the kitchen and talked until it was time for the kids to come. Laura and all the adults sang happy birthday to me at lunch, and when the kids got there they sang to me again! The celebration was great; it was kind of hectic when we were passing out toys (we forgot one of the bags) but it's hectic at every site.

We got back to the church around 5:30, where I just hung out and played guitar until it was time for the christmas party. The young adults were having a Christmas party at 7:30; most of them were ones that I had been hanging out with all week. The young adult group is a mix of youth, college, & career age; from about 12 years old to about 30. We had a short bible study then started playing some games. I didn't understand some of the instructions, but once we started playing the games I got it. Jenny got there in the middle of one of the games, so she explained the instructions to me from there on out. We then drew names and exchanged our gifts of a christmas card and a candy bar. We had pizza and spaghetti for dinner, Jenny brought cookies for us to decorate, and the Guzman's had a cake for me! They sang "Feliz Cumpleanos" to me, and I had to blow out the candles, then they were telling me something and Jenny explained to me that it's tradition to put your face in the cake or at least take a bite out of it with your mouth. So, I did! I just put my mouth in it though. We hung around, joked, and talked until about 11pm, where I went to the Guzman's to get a few more clothes, then Jenny and I went back to her house.

It was a good birthday!!!

Traditions

One of the traditions here that I have come to love is the way people greet one another. Anywhere I go, as soon as I or the other person enters the room, I recieve a kiss on my right cheek. It doesn't matter of they are children, teenagers, or grandparents. Kissing on the cheek is such a precious gift; it's like I am instantly welcomed into their family. And I am! They are my family because we are all part of the family of God. It doesn't matter where you go in the world, you have an instant bond with any brother or sister in Christ that you meet. I have found this to be true in every circumstance. To a lesser extent, it's like if you found yourself walking the streets of Tokyo alone, and you suddenly saw someone wearing a shirt that said "Roll Tide" you would instantly give a sigh of relief and know that you had found a friend because you have a great thing in common: your home. And that is what all Christians have: the same home. Sigh. How wonderful!

Yesterday we had a celebration in Zapata, and there were more children at this celebration than any of the other ones! Because there were so many guests, not everyone got thier own bag of presents. But everyone got something, even if it was just a bag of dulces (candy). Florencio and Jenny worked it out so that I will be able to go to, I think, all of the celebrations, and I am so grateful for the extra time and effort they are both putting into me being able to go. Today Jenny is taking me to meet Juliano, and he'll be taking me to the celebration.

SO Much Better

After spending saturday night and last night with Jenny, there is a complete difference in my breathing. My lungs are still weak, though; I get out of breath easier than usual.

Jenny and I got caught in traffic on our way to church (they closed off the main highway for a race) so we were a little late, so when Florencio prayed I jumped on stage to play bass. Also, Florencio forgot to tell me that the kids from Amilpa were coming to sing at church. Jenny had heard that they might be coming, but I figured that Florencio would have told me if I would be directing a children's choir on sunday morning. Nevertheless, they were there, and I hadn't brought my guitar or the copies of music that the kids were supposed to look off of. The band ended up playing another song while Florencio went back to the house (across the street) to get some more copies, then I borrowed someone else's guitar to lead the kids. I was so confused with everything that was going on. The band was up and down off the stage constantly.

Once that was all over, Jenny and I brought Esther (the daughter of Sarima, from Zapata) to eat lunch at Wendy's then we went to another church service where Jenny leads worship. I don't know the name of the village, but the roads and paths up to the church were so steep up the mountain side that the car wouldn't make it. We parked and had to walk about 1/2 mile uphill to the church. Jenny and Esther sang (my voice it pretty much gone from the sickness) and I ran the computer and sound, which was a lot of fun! I never get to do that. However, the church service was a bit different. I didn't really understand the sermon, but Jenny told me that he basically preached the gospel of prosperity, and that she had been hearing similar sermons for a while at that church. Not only is the prosperity gospel unbiblical, but it is so damaging and discouraging to these poor people. They are being taught that God blesses you with wealth when you are in His will; therefore they must be doing something wrong and living outside of his will since they are still poor. There were also some people "slain in the spirit", which didn't scare me, but I just didn't see the point of it and didn't agree with it.

Afterwards we went to a Christmas Concert put on by the youth of a church near Jenny's house, then she dropped me off at her house to fix some soup while she took Esther back to Zapata.

The next celebration is tonight, in Zapata I think, so we'll go to that and I'll have to talk to Florencio about staying with Jenny for the rest of my time here. Hopefully I'll still be able to go to most of the celebrations, but it depends on if they can pick me up at Jenny's house. It will be really out of the way since she lives on the other side of town; hopefully it will all work out.

A Calm Spirit

I woke up not being able to breathe well, but as soon as we started driving to the Celebration in Alianza, I started to calm down. The celebration went really well, and afterwards I rode with Johnny, Lulu, Josue to Jenny's house. Her side of town is really nice! Jenny and I went to the Caves, which is one of the tourist places that I had not yet been to. Afterwards we got some groceries, ate a spaghetti dinner, and now we're watching The Holiday. I'm still coughing and having some congestion, but my breathing is much better. Hopefully I'll be back to normal by tomorrow or Monday. I don't know if I'll get over the congestion, because of the dust and pollution, but at least I can breathe! Thank you to those of you who prayed for me.

1st Celebration

I had some more breathing problems today, but hopefully it will get better starting tomorrow. I'm spending saturday and sunday nights with Jenny (she has an extra bedroom), and If my breathing gets better at her house, then I might stay with her for the rest of the time I'm here! If it doesn't, then I'll think about getting an earlier flight. I'm especially having a hard time breathing right now, so pray for me if you read this tonight. Just one more night. I'm just really discouraged b/c of this asthma problem; I want to serve God fully and let that be my one focus, but I can't!

The good news though, is that today started the 1st day of the christmas celebrations! There was dancing, singing, puppets, and the passing out of presents! It was so awesome to see those kids' faces light up when their name was called to get their bag of gifts. I can't wait to go to the other celebrations.

Grande Cafe Mocha Nonfat

Today was awesome! Florencio said I didn't have to go out to the mission points today since we wouldn't be teaching the Christmas songs, so I had a free day. Tomorrow starts the beginning of all of the Christmas celebrations. Almost every night, from tomorrow until I leave, we will go out to a different mission point to distribute toys to the kids.

Anyway, so today Jenny picked me up around 4 and we went downtown to walk around and go souvenir shopping, then we got some fresh fruit juice (mine was pineapple) and tacos at her favorite place to eat (where the cilantro salsa is to die for), then she took me to Starbucks! Thank you large corporations that have to make your mark in every major city in the world! I'm so grateful to you right now! Oh and Sunday she has invited me to come home with her after church, where we'll go to another service where she leads worship at 3, then go to a Christmas Cantata that night, and I'll spend the night and we'll go to the celebration monday night.

Things are getting better, but I'm still sick. I just finished off the 200-count box of Kleenex that Maria put in my room when I got here. I used all of them in a week & a half. Gross. That's not even counting the 3 mini packets I've already used when I'm away from the house. I'm still having problems breathing at night, too. So, if it doesn't stop in the next few days, I might need to change my flight.

Tonight I went to the church and practiced with the band for Sunday. They have me playing bass...which is usually easy....but they don't use music or chord charts! They just go by memory, which is a bit difficult when you have never heard of the song. They also use Solfege (do, re, mi, fa, etc.) for learning parts, which is crazy! I tried to keep up though.

Fresh Air!

Today we went to General Trevino, and it was great! It's a small town about an hour from Monterrey. It was so great to get out of the city to be in a town where the houses have yards! It was just an easy, laid back day. After teaching christmas songs to the kids, I got to just sit in the yard and play guitar while other people were talking. It was nice. However, it's night time again and I'm having trouble breathing. I still need your prayers. At dinner Florencio brought up the option of me going home if I don't get better; I'm just glad he's the one that brought it up. So, we'll see in the next few days.

A little better

I went to see the doctor yesterday morning, and he prescribed all the things a US doctor would, so I was happy. But all day yesterday I basically rested. My breathing went back to normal, until last night when it got a little worse. I'm still kind of tight this morning, but hopefully as the day goes on my lungs will loosen up a bit. Thanks for your prayers!

I'm also getting a little homesick because of this asthma problem. I cannot stand being away from home when this happens. I've gotten upset a lot over the past 2 days.

a bit of trouble...

So, today has been not so good. We didn't go to any mission points b/c we needed to organize all the christmas toys. We got most of it done, though. But I've been having trouble breathing all day. Most of you know I have asthma; it's acting up and my medications don't seem to have it under control. Mom called my asthma doctor and he gave her several tips for me to do tonight, and tomorrow I'm going to either the clinic or to the hospital to get a breathing treatment and a steroid shot. This should help me calm down and get it under control for a few days, but if it keeps doing this I'm going to have to come home early.

I'm asking you to pray that God would keep my lungs open for the remainder of this trip so that I can do His work. Thank you.

I like to move it move it

This morning was church. I went to sunday school with the younger people; the youth consist of people from 12-30 years old. I understood everything the teacher was talking about; I could even find the verse he was talking about before he even mentioned it! At the 11:00 service the band was awesome! seriously, they're amazing. I had to speak a little about being called to Mexico (I had it all written out or else I would've stuttered like crazy in spanish), then I sang a song. I didn't know any of the band's songs until the very last one before the benediction. I was never so happy to hear "Friend of God" in my life. (Anyone from Mobile knows that that song is the bane of our existance)

Around 5 we left for Valles for the 3rd and final rehearsal of the children's choir. The traffic was pretty bad, so we got there about 30min late and all the children had left! So, after about 20min they rounded most of the kids back up and we rehearsed. I hear spanish christmas songs in my head all the time now.

I got the chance to do something different tonight...I got to go to the mall to eat dinner then I saw Madagascar 2! I figured it was going to be ok; I probably won't get the jokes cause they'll all be overdubbed in spanish...but it was in english with spanish subtitles! Hallelujah! It was awesome, too. You should go see it!

Game Day :(

So, today was a little better. I woke up really late, watched the only non-overdubbed american movie on tv, then we went to Rinconada and Amilpa. I got some advice from friends who are more familiar with choirs, to do vocalization (scales & such), and I implemented it today. I mean, I can't make all the kids fantastic singers overnight, but I know how to teach the basics now. AND, that was what Florencio wanted & expected. He's happy, I'm happy.

I wish I could've watched the game, and I'm convinced they lost b/c I couldn't watch it (and because I forgot to wear my gameday shirt!!!), but it's all good. In other completely unrelated news, my new favorite musician is a girl named Adele. It's like British-blues-pop....and it's awesome.

Florencio asked me to sing a song at church tomorrow, and the first song I came up with was one of Mandi Mapes' songs, "The One for Me." Since I've been in Mexico, every time I think of a song, I try to translate it into spanish, and I just happened to think of that one. It was pretty easy to translate, so hopefully it will go well tomorrow.

It's Friday

Today we went back to Valles, then home (for an awesome 2hr nap), then to the Metroplex, which is not as glamorous as it sounds. I took some pictures in Valles; I wish I could post them up. It is probably the poorest community I have ever seen. Most of the houses on the outskirts of this town are just one-room blocks made out of cement, I don't even think there is electricity in these houses. There are holes everywhere in these houses, which is great for the summer, but really bad for the winter. Right now the temperature is around 40, which is extremely cold for Mexico. At the Metroplex, which is a church located inside a house in a neighborhood, I taught Christmas songs to more children and helped Raquel, Pati, & Isaias make some crafts for the kids. They were so cute; If we go back I'm definitely going to take a picture of the home-made poinsettias that Pati came up with.

I am having some trouble with the language. I know it will only get better, but right now I feel kind of lonely without anyone to really talk to. For example, today we ate lunch at the church with Isaias, Pati, Raquel, Florencio, & Maria. For an hour or so, they carried on a great conversation, laughing histerically and cutting up, but I was completely out of the loop because I couldn't understand what they were talking about. I can understand single words, but not entire sentences. When I first arrived in Monterrey, I was getting kind of aggrivated because the Guzman's only spoke english with me. I was thinking that the only way I can learn is if I don't hear any english in the next three weeks, but I'm so grateful now that they speak english with me. I hope I get a chance to hang out with Jenny while I here (she's a missionary in Monterrey who's about my age).

I'm sad that I can't watch the game tomorrow, but I'm happy that I get to sleep in! It's still a busy day, but it doesn't start until lunchtime. Oh, and some other great news: I can watch last night's Office! I thought I wouldn't be able to, b/c they don't let you watch videos on nbc.com in Mexico, but I can download the episode from iTunes. so, Yay!!

The Choirs

Today was good. We went to Valles this morning, where the church and most of the houses were one-room huts, and back to Amilpa at night. At both places I taught Christmas songs to a group of about 20 children. I'm getting a little discouraged, though, with the children's choirs. Florencio doesn't just want me to teach the children some christmas songs, he wants me to teach them how to sing. And I have no expertise in that area. How do you teach a child how to sing, when probably the only music he has ever heard were the songs of his mother? How do you teach someone how to match pitch? How does you start from page one? I can teach people to sing better, because of the voice lessons that I have had, but I can't teach people how to actually sing.

Also pray that my sickness would leave me. It's not bad, it's just bothersome. I know it can't be narrowed down to one thing; it's probably a combination of a new location, the time of year (I always get sick in December), a dusty city, and living in a house with 2 dogs. I have some medicine, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

First Impressions

Well today was my first full day on the job. I went with Florencio to Zapata, and we picked up Raquel, Pati, & Isaias on the way. We sorted through and organized lots of bags of donated items. I think most everything was from a church in Marietta, GA. A lot of the toys were just junk that we had to throw away. I was kinda disappointed that a church would donate broken scraps of toys. But there was a lot of good stuff too, like 4 full garbage bags of almost-brand-new crocs! Those shoes are great for kids in Mexico.

We got lunch from the tienda next door, and let me tell you, it was interesting. Everyone knows that I'll try any kind of food at least once, but this was a whole new experience. It was just standard mexican tacos (which are absolutely nothing like the american version; they consist of soft corn tortillas, meat, homemade salsa, & 1/2 a lime squeezed on it), but the meat was definitely unidentifiable. It looked like some sort of cross between bones and calamari. I think it was pork, but I really have no clue. I didn't want to ask. Nor did I nor do I ever want to know. But I tried it! After that first taco I stuck with just the tortillas and limes.

We finished the organizing, loaded the truck with the gifts, and headed back to town. I was able to get a quick nap and practice some spanish christmas songs, then Florencio and I went to Amilpa. We met up with Raquel and Pati again, and I was thrown into my first experience leading a children's choir! And it didn't help that my first time was in another language. I taught a group of about 20 students 4 songs; 3 were ones I already knew (Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing), and the other one (Campana sobre Campana) the kids knew the best. So it worked out great. Plus, Pati knew all the songs so she helped me lead them and she translated my broken spanish so the kids would understand what I was saying.

When we got home Florencio took me to the church to meet Johnny's bible study (college and career age, I think) that was meeting.

It's been a busy day, and there are many more busy days to come!

Mariachis in the Garage?

Yep, you heard right. But I'll get to that later.

Today was my first day in Monterrey! I was a little nervous flying internationally by myself for the first time, but I felt like a pro when I knew how to exactly navigate my way around the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. I didn't start feeling ancy until my flight to Monterrey was delayed for about 40min, but we still arrived on time. Going through customs was a breeze too. It's amazing how easily you make friends with people when the customs sheet doesn't have an english translation!

After Florencio and his son, Johnny, picked me up from the airport, we went out to dinner for Maria's birthday. The restaurant only played american music, which was weird; I was humming along with KC & JoJo's "All my life." When we got home I called Dad to let him know I got here safely and as soon as I hung up the phone I heard this crazy loud mariachi music playing like it was in the same room with me. I went downstairs, and sure enough, there were mariachis in the garage!!! It was awesome!! I'm pretty sure they were there for Maria's birthday, but I didn't catch every word of the conversation.

I'm so excited about being here. Florencio is already putting me to work with the children's choir...I start organizing it tomorrow night! scary!