An Eclectic Blurb

So last week was pretty cool. What a long week though. For real. I had meetings and Japanese and went here and there... And even when I was home I was working on lots of stuff.

I was kinda glad for a second there that tomorrow is Monday because in Mexico that would have been my day off... but alas, tomorrow is pretty full on my post-it to-do list. In fact, the whole week is.

One of the things I'm looking forward to (well, there are a few things) is: [blowing of trumpets] an interview! Woo-hoo! I'm really hoping I'll get the job... the hours are perfect and I heard from Pastor Debbie about the job. It's seasonal/temporary anyhow, so I'm not too concerned about the fact that I'll be moving in January.

Another highlight of the week is going out for coffee with Ms. Frankie... I'm looking forward to getting to know her a little more and helping her out with her small group for young girls. This morning, one of the girls was reading a Scripture on the lost sheep and how Jesus left the 99 to go find the 1. As I was picturing it in my mind, I imagined the sheep in some hard to find place, down, in some gutter type thing with its foot caught and all I could think of when I read it was-- no matter where you are, Jesus can and will find you. That was something that really stuck with me today and I thought, hmm-- Jesus will make it to any place to find and pull out His sheep... I can just imagine Him throwing it around His shoulders and walking back with a smile of relief and happiness that He found His sheep. Good to be that sheep.

Friday evening, since the Ice Cream Social is postponed (in case you didn't know-- it just turned out to be an inconvenient weekend for so many), I'm going to relax a little and hang out with Tammy and watch some Jane Eyre (because I love that whole period of movies and the stories)... I love, and I do mean love, all things Jane Austen (though Eyre is Brontë). I think Friday will probably end up being my day off this week.

One of my friends got home last week from overseas. He'll be in the States for about 6 months, doing the same kinda thing like me-- but he's been gone now for over a year. It'll be kinda interesting to hear how it goes for him-- everything from being back home in a strange world to raising funds. The whole being back home thing can be a weird experience that can be hard to articulate; but I hope it will go well for him so that he can accomplish everything he needs to.

Also on last week's agenda was a different friend's wedding- Grace. It was a beautiful, but untraditional wedding (Congrats!). I was going that day for a haircut anyhow and asked my stylist to put a little curl in the hair afterward to give it some pizzazz. She showed me how to do it, and this evening, I was trying it out (it's with a flat iron) and I burned my hand! I figured out how to do it, but wow-- that was painful!

Well, if you would, keep praying about the whole fundraising issue. Opportunities are coming up, and I'm eager to see them work out to get over to Japan!

Let's Make a Deal

So, I'd like to say thank you to all those who donated stuff for the garage sale and who helped out or baked cookies or showed up to buy! You guys were great and I appreciate so much your support.

We raised almost $500 for Japan, which will put a good dent into buying my ticket to Japan.

It's been a project I've been working on non-stop since I got back from Mexico and finished working on when I finally got home at 5pm today. Did I mention I left my house at 5:30am? Oh, I didn't? ;)

It was a lot of work, but it was great-- and thanks to those who hung around while I was attending another speaking opportunity that I had... that too went well! It was a great meeting and I hope to see some of these people again!

Anywho! I'm über-exhausted and need to get some sleep. Be seeing ya'll tomorrow! (or most of you anyhow)

Speedy Weekend

So, Saturday night I stayed up all night talking with friends-- in Mexico and online and thus did not get to blogging. Last night I had an unexpected horrendous headache... and I'm sure you get the point.

Let me catch you up to speed. Saturday I spent seeing all kinds of new people, eating lunch and dinner with different people and I went to a meeting that some of the teens from the church do together... Karen, one of the girls that I worked with gave the message on trusting in God. I was very, very impressed and the message was very relevant, using Paul as an example, lots of verses and examples. It spoke to me and challenged me in ways.

It was exciting to me to see what God is doing in her life, how He's speaking to her-- and to know that I was a part of something God did with her. You know?

Wow is all I can say.

Sunday I finished packing and Rosa came over and we (Karen, Rosa and me) played a few games of Dutch Blitz, hung out, ran to tiangüis (where they set up market blocking the streets), came back and said our tearful goodbyes.

And speaking of speed, as is the custom in Mexico, we were a bit late setting off for Perote which was where my bus was leaving from. It takes normally a half hour to get there... maybe 25 minutes if you're going pretty fast in a car. Well... It was 1:59 when we left Altotonga and my bus was departing at 2:30.

My heart only froze in fear once during the less-than-20-minute ride to Perote. And we got there with a few minutes to load my luggage, say more goodbyes and wave from my seat on the bus to them standing on the side.

It was sad not knowing when I will get to return to visit them.

The bus made it to Mexico City at 6pm and I got off and walked to where I had emailed a couple to meet me at in the bus station.

Let me back up a moment. The last time I came to visit Mexico City was to buy my JR Pass for Japan, and they told me to meet at the Dominoes in TAPO (the bus station) (don't you feel sorry for me). There are apparently 2 Dominoes in TAPO, and I'm sure you have figured out the rest of the story.

Well, this time I specified bien (good) where to meet... and somehow we still missed each other. I sat there and sat there, wondering how in the world I was going to get in contact with them and as I was starting to put that into practice-- I saw them. This was 40 minutes later.

Anyway, we left, laughing over the mistake and glad to see each (you have no idea how relieved I was); went to buy Idalia (the wife) a traditional dress for the Independence celebration and had dinner (tacos) while we talked about all kinds of things... Altotonga, Japan, etc.

I got back here to their house and we set up the mattress on the floor and as they went to their room, I got that terrible headache. I assume this was from sleeping a bit on the bus and my neck bending-- if I don't sleep on my neck right, there's a doozy of a headache in the forecast for Janine.

Now, just to reassure you- I did have my bag locked in every possible way and the straps would around my feet, and since I was sitting near the front, there was little chance of me getting my stuff robbed.

Well, I'll talk about today and other notes about the trip, etc., later since this one is pretty long.

PS- Pictures soon to be added to this blog. Check back in a day or two.

Deuteronomio

Today I didn't have bounding amounts of energy like I did yesterday; nonetheless, I did do some trekking and stayed and visited other people. Yesterday I did the bulk of visiting people and today I spent more time with those who I spent lots of time with before.

It's a mean cycle. I go to visit someone and I don't want to leave to go see someone else because I'm so enjoying being with them. I reluctantly say goodbye, and head out the door to go see someone else and when I arrive there, I'm so happy to see that person(s) that I'm glad I left and I don't want to leave and go see anyone else.

I can't even count the amount of people that I've seen in the past two days. Some of them, it's been very sweet-- we're talking and spontaneously they hug me and say-- I'm so glad to see you! But it's been very cool. Everyone thinks that I was already in Japan, but obviously I wasn't. Well-- the kids who were with me the most know the plans and everything-- but many of the acquaintances that I've made have wondered where in the world I am... quite literally.

Anyhow, tonight I got back to the house around 11pm... It was a great evening and it ended with some garnachas and lots of laughter with my old landlords.

And now I'm talking with one of the girls that I used to work with about trusting in God and a whole bunch of verses and what they mean. It's a good time for reflection and it's cool for me to participate in this-- to see how much she is understanding now and yet challenging her to dig a little deeper.

Anyhow, tomorrow is kinda a different day-- I still have to be sure to put plans to be certain-- I don't know if that made sense... I think I am meaning to say that I still have to put my ideas in order to make set plans.

PS- Today's title comes for the Spanish name for the book of Deuteronomy... which took me about 3 years to master that word.... they told me I couldn't leave Mexico until I learned that word. I told them that they had to learn how to say it in English. Funny thing is-- they still can't say it and I somehow learned it (though speaking a little bit slower). Anywho. Goodnight.

I still saw Alex Campos yesterday

Sigh. And yes, I have told EVERYONE here that I saw him yesterday.

So, last night, I got off the bus and got my suitcase out from under the bus and made my way through the station and down the hill, over a block (slightly uphill) and up part of another block. I reached up and rang the doorbell twice, like I always used to do and stood there expectantly thinking, oh, it will be good to see an Altotongüense!

Nothing.

So, I rang the doorbell again. Now they live far back in this place... It's like a series of houses (apartments, if you like), making an outline of a square, with the inside cut out and grass and even a pool (although-- really? swimming here?), though it's not that big and would be filled with a hose and not treated with chlorine, I'm pretty sure.

Still nothing.

Repeat this process for the next ten minutes, with the buzzes getting longer. I saw one of their neighbors stick her head out and look around. I felt pretty bad for them, because I could hear the buzzer outside, so I know they heard it.

Finally there came footsteps. As it turns out, they had confused the date and thought I was arriving later in the week. It's kinda dangerous to open the door at night, and even if it weren't, there are plenty of kids who go by and hit the doorbells just for fun and keep walking on.

Even though they weren't expecting me (last night, at least), I still got a warm welcome, and have continued to get warm welcomes from everyone today.

Today, I traversed through the whole city (and I feel it now) and have seen SO many people (I think more than I would have in a regular day when I lived here). From many people, even just acquaintances (think the lady at the post office), I received warm, sincere welcomes. It was nice. But it was great to go back to everyone today and see them, talk to them, find out how they're doing and what's going on with their families.

Overall, it was a most enjoyable day.

I even got tacos! The lady I'm staying with knows that I (well, everyone) love her tacos and so she pulled out the stops and made some for me today. Her daughter wants me now to come more often :)

It's so weird trekking through here, because it's like I'm home, but at the same time I don't live here anymore. It's been 5 months since I've been here and it's kinda interesting to view it all from the "outside" now that I'm not involved so much, ya know?

Anywho: 2 things I have forgotten since being here:
1- how irritating jeans wet half-way up your shins are (and the fact that they likely won't be dry for the morning)
2- how absolutely beautiful a warm shower feels at the end of a somewhat chilly day

Good night friends, I'm going to bed!!

I saw Alex Campos

Why did they even make that hour in the morning??

The last time I heard my alarm clock go off was at 3:30am, almost yesterday now. Getting up almost seemed painful, if putting my contacts in wasn't. What a long day of sitting in airports, airplanes, taxis and busses. And now, I find myself laying on my back with my knees up, typing this.

There isn't much to say but that I did get to sleep for about half the time on the flight from St. Louis to Miami (yes! Miami... flying over the city was cool; the airport was not near as nice as Dallas)... and an hour of sleep on the way to Mexico... and an hour of sleep on the 4 hour bus ride.

All in all, not too bad.

It almost seems surreal being back in Mexico... I've been so busy this last month that I haven't even had much time to think about it... but now I'm here and... I'm yawning.

So, I'll finish this later.

PS> Note this day as also the day that I will forever kick myself for: I saw Alex Campos in the airport and didn't talk to him. DOH.

The Camping Chronicle

So I bought a book for China yesterday, what did you do?

I visited Gracepoint church yesterday, and they were talking about China. The young lady who was presenting about it, a wonderful one that I happen to know, said something at the end-- We may be giving a few dollars to further the cause, but they are giving their lives to further the cause. I was like, wow. So many are! It makes a sacrifice of a few dollars (and in these days, those dollars can seem like quite a sacrifice) seem small. Not insignificant, but rather... more easily to give when you see and hear their stories.

We went camping this weekend for Labor Day. It was a full weekend with friends who accompanied us. On the way down there, we were all excited and ready to go... it seemed like the perfect weekend! The weather was perfect, the company was perfect, and we were ready to lay out in the sun... or at least the female portion of us were.

So, we got the trailer all set up and the cars unpacked and the tent set up. Dinner was cooked (pizzas on the pit! and they were good) and we hung around talking pretty loudly.

Then came the rain. Oh, it'll just pass. Well, it did pass. 14 hours later! The tent didn't even get used that evening and we all just crammed into the camper, boys sleeping on the floor and girls on the fold-out couch.

Even that turned out to be pretty funny, and the whole weekend we had a great time. There were garage sales going on in the area, so we went to some of them, and as well to Walmart (because it wouldn't be a complete camping trip without going to Walmart and the grocery store).

I suppose it doesn't sound so much like camping anymore. But, camping it was.

Anyhow, I came home early to go to church and rode back that evening with my grandma who wanted to go down and have dinner and sit by the fire. Then came home again so that I could get some stuff done today which included laundry and digging out some "Altotonga clothes".

I hope I haven't forgotten how cold it is there! I've packed layers to go and have emailed everyone to say, I'm coming! Hope to see you! Now all that is done and I just have tomorrow to go--

Tomorrow which happens to be a pretty packed day! There is small group in the morning, picking up some garage sale stuff, hanging out with a friend that I made in Japan (!), and Japanese class in the evening. Then it's get to sleep as quickly as possible because there are flights to catch at the crack of dawn.

Meanwhile, I'm going to bed. I'm tired from this long day and long mental to-do lists that I'm constantly trying to keep track of.

Buenas noches!

Writer's Cramp

So, apart from the millions of letters I wrote this week (and I do mean millions), and running for copies and to Japanese class (include studying here) and cleaning my granny-ma's house and doing my report and making phone calls and writing more letters, I had a few moments to kick back on the computer and take a few fun quizzes...

... in which I end up with Mr. Darcy out of all the Jane Austen books (of course! but, I might take Captain Wentworth as my back-up), find out I'm destined to have four children (not with Mr. Darcy), discover I'm worth 200 camels, and end up in New Jersey.

I disagree.

As you may have guessed, it's been a busy week for me. I've been preparing for a supporter event in October, preparing for a garage sale in mid September, preparing for meetings (and talking with the people over in Japan!) and all the while- realizing that I'm visiting Mexico NEXT week.

One of the cool things that I got to do this week is go over to a couple in our church's house and meet with them. He had studied Japanese and was in the marines and stationed in Okinawa some 30 years ago. So, he passed on to me first- a very cool Japanese Bible, Kanji memorization cards, a Japanese dictionary and other books for learning Japanese! I was pretty excited about it. We talked about Japan, the vision, our experiences there... it was a very enjoyable evening.

So, yes, next week I am visiting Mexico- to see everyone and how they're doing. I figure this is really one of the last times that I get to visit before I move to Japan, because after that, I don't think that I'll get to be visiting there much. The kids are pretty excited and I'm ready to see them after so long.

Pastor Debbie said something on Sunday which I've been thinking about... purity, simplicity and authenticity. Those words just sound so good, don't they? They should be the words that describe our lives... Hmm...

Anyway, I'm going to finish that report of mine so I can get busy to another full day of work tomorrow...