Earthquake

I'm eating fresh strawberries from the mercado and pondering the events of this past weekend.

On Saturday I made my delicious peanut butter cream pie but I wasn't feeling too well so Gary, Nathaniel and Bethany went to the Christmas party without me. Carlos's father and aunt were visiting from Mexico City and we were invited to share in the festivities. They had a hamburger cookout to celebrate the season!

Towards evening they all left the roof terrace and went into Carlos and Susana's apartment to play with their new interactive video game. They were all jumping, dancing and going on adventures with the video game. I could hear them down here LOUD and CLEAR as I tried to rest on the couch. I was feeling kind of lonesome as I heard my family and my best friends having so much fun upstairs.

Around 7:30 I went into the office and sat down at the computer for a little bit as the thumping and jumping went on upstairs. At 7:47 I heard a massive amount of noise and my first, split second thought, was that my family and friends had jumped too hard and were coming through the ceiling onto my head! Within a few more seconds my brain registered the reality of the deafening roar and I knew that there was a major earthquake going on.

Upstairs Gary and Susana were playing with the interactive video when it hit and Carlos was recording. Here is the first 8 seconds of the earthquake and then it got worse!

Downstiars I was very frightened and felt very much alone. I ran from the computer and didn't know where to go or what to do. We have never studied (until now) earthquake preparedness so I didn't know what to do. The power shot out as the blast of the earthquake continued.  It was after dark so everything went black when the power blew out. It was a very bizarre feeling. We were so near to the epicenter that the quake bounced the house rather than swayed it. Up and down and up and down everything went with a raging fury and a defining roar.

I ran into the living room and fell flat on the floor. I didn't know where to go but I thought the walls were coming down. Finally, I ran into the square hallway space between Nathaniel and Bethany's bedrooms and the bathrooms and just began to pray and pray and cry out, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus".

My family flew down the stairs into the apartment and into my arms. We were sobbing and shaking as we ran outside. Everyone was crying. Susana began to faint and we grabbed her baby and toddler from her hands as Carlos caught her and helped her down to the ground. Camila was in my arms crying, "Mama, Mama, Mama" and through my own tears I was kissing her, rocking her and speaking comforting words.

When Susana woke up we sat her down on a chair that we brought out from the house. There was a lot of tears but not outright panic. Camila wanted "Mama" so I took baby Sebastian and soothed him as he fell asleep in my shaking arms.

We had no power and no phone service but Carlos was able to get through on his blackberry. He phoned his family in Mexico City and everyone was safe. He was able to give us information on the quake and so we discovered that it was a 6.5 (some sources say 6.8) quake whose epicenter was located just south of Taxco. 

We stayed outside for a long time because we were all braced for aftershocks. We huddled under blankets and held each other. Nathaniel was a very strong prayer warrior as he began to pray for everyone who was frightened and full of the horror of the night. His prayers made a huge difference to all of us.

After a couple of hours we decided to go back to our individual homes and snuggle in for the night. We lit candles and sat in the living room and talked, cried, and prayed.

It seems as though Susana and I were the most shaken, even more than the children. For me, I was so traumatized from being alone and not having any information of what to do.  (We now are studying as a family what to do in an earthquake!) Also, a large part of the terror for me was being separated from my family. I didn't know what was happening to the structure and I didn't know if they were safe. The roar of the earthquake was awful and it seemed as though the whole building was going to crash to pieces like a little pop-cycle stick house that a child might build. I just wanted to know that my family was alright, yet I was downstairs all alone and that was very difficult for me.

As we sat there in the candle light pondering  the possibility of a large aftershock, Nathaniel thought it would be a good idea if we each prepared a bag to grab if we needed to evacuate the building. So there we were, armed with a candle in each bedroom, as we dug through our clothes and put together and emergency over night bag. Gary got our passports and visas and our cash on hand. We got water bottles, a bar of soap and a package of Kleenex to stick in our bags. Of course we put together a change of clothes as I pictured living in what I was wearing for several days. (Ugh!) I wish I had a pocket sized Bible with me in Mexico for my large Bible was too big to stick in my bag. I think when we put together an emergency kit I will buy a small Bible to include. We certainly needed the comfort from God's word during such a time.

So there we sat, looking at the candles with our over night packs right by the door. Typically, I am a fairly resilient person and can find a measure of humor in any situation. In this circumstance I felt differently. Gary and the kiddos enjoyed telling the story of the first few seconds of the earthquake. They initially thought that they had jumped too hard during the interaction of the video game! As they described their first few seconds of thought, there was a measure of humor in it all but I could not respond with them. I just sat there in the darkness feeling like at any moment my world was literally going to come crashing down around me with an aftershock. Also, I am a nut for wanting the power to go out. Bethany and I always want the electricity to go out so that we can sit around as a family with the pretty candles lit and enjoy the adventure of not having power. However, we couldn't enjoy this "adventure" in the slightest.

Thankfully, the power came on after 2 1/2 hours so we at least had the normalcy of lights to ease the evening's events. We dragged all of our mattresses into the living room and sacked out together for the night. There was no way that I was being separated from my children when the threat of a major aftershock was very real.

On Sunday we were all subdued. It's difficult to get the memories of those horrible minutes out of our minds. I think earthquakes are more terrifying than other natural disasters because there is little or no warning available. There is a warning system when a quake begins on the coast as the warning sirens let you know one tiny minute before it hits! Which of course would be the time it would take for the quake to get from the coast inland. But this earthquake began inland so there was absolutely no warning. There are no storm clouds as there are with a tornado. There is no tracking system such as what exists for hurricanes and tropical storms. There's not even the warning time to evacuate an area such as when a Colorado forest fire hits. There's nothing, absolutely no warning at all for an earthquake. One minute your happily reading on the couch and the next minute you are flat on the floor as the earth decides to slam dance!

I remember hearing stories growing up about the Johnstown flood in Johnstown Pennsylvania. I suppose an earthquake can be compared to this type of flood. One minute the sleepy friendly town is going about it's life and the next moment a dam breaks and all hell lets lose. We had a family friend who lived through the flood and her stories made an impact on my little ears. I think the biggest impact upon me is the realization that one moment we can be solidly on this earth and the very next moment we could be swept into eternity. I believe those "wake-up" calls have been a foundation stone in my life and have challenge me to walk closely with God because we are never promised that there will be a tomorrow.

Luke 12:19-21
And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, "You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?" Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."

 The earthquake was a very powerful reminder of the fact of the frailty of our lives. Yes, I was afraid but I knew that should the building colapse, that even though I was alone for a few seconds, that Gary, Nathaniel, Bethany and I would join hands and worship at our savior's feet and spend all of eternity together with Jesus. This is the hope of our salvation. It's not a list of rules. It's not a cultural thing where we are Christians because we are Americans. It's a living, active and loving relationship with our Father God. Nothing can separate us from him. Nothing! We are forever grateful for the cross of Christ and for the blood of Jesus that allows us to enter into this child-like relationship with God. What a message of hope to the world, what a message of hope to our hurting and fear prone hearts.

For me, this is also a reminder that my emotions are not something to be trusted. Yes, I felt afraid and yes I felt alone. But my feelings are not what I trust in. The facts are that God was right there with me and that he was thoroughly in control of the earthquake. I was taken by surprised but he was not. In my human emotional response I was afraid but in the depths of my spirit was the abiding faith in God. In a moment of crisis our emotions may rush to the surface but we neither live by our emotions or trust them. We live by faith and trust in our God who is able and mighty to save!

We are humbly grateful for his power, not only to protect our frail human life but to save our soul, which is eternal and will live forever with him!

Home and Ministry Center

Today it is surprisingly cool so I am sitting here sipping a cup of hot chocolate enjoying a cloudy cool evening in southern Mexico!

Gary and I were at the house all morning and early afternoon, scrubbing walls, windows and ceilings. We scrubbed the upstairs landing along with the windows, our bedroom, bathroom and Bethany's "tower room". These rooms are now totally 100% clean! I would let my children eat off of the floor if they so desired. Given the filthy mess it was when we acquired this house, that statement is filled with a great sense of accomplishment.

This afternoon, as I stood soaking wet in our bedroom, mop and cleaning bucket in hand, I had a vivid awareness of peace and joy. This home and ministry center is going to be such a wonderful place for our family and for others who come into our lives. It is bubbling over with an atmosphere of peace and joy! The many windows that we have had to clean give the home a cheerful outdoor feel, yet it is also very tucked in and private.

We don't know why we've had such a difficult time in this apartment. Maybe the sense of unrest has been the nudging hand of God pushing us into the house that we are restoring? Maybe, despite certain aspects of beauty, apartment life just isn't for our family? Maybe we've felt hemmed in by people?

 Even though we dearly love Carlos and Susana it is difficult living so closely together. They hear us sing in the shower as we hear them blow their nose! Who knows what else they may hear of our daily personal lives!

And then the other neighbors can walk by and look into our kitchen any time they please. One early morning, Brijido was looking for Gary regarding some tile work he is doing on the house and he leaned into the kitchen to get my attention, meanwhile I was in my nightgown sipping my morning coffee! The lack of privacy really eats at us like a every growing migraine that won't go away.

In any case, despite our best efforts, this apartment has never felt much like home. With its steel bedroom and bathroom doors and industrial Sam's Club construction, we've really struggled to feel at home within the confines of the apartment walls.

But our house is so very much different. It is warm, cozy and inviting. Also, it has so many varying aspects, depending on how God is leading and what we are doing at any given moment.







The "basement" is very public with it's large arched windows and huge doors opening just inches from the road. This is the place where we can hold church, fiestas, vacation Bible school for the little kids and free meals for our neighbors and friends.

The main floor, is semi private with a nice balcony to wave to friends and chat as they walk by. The kitchen, dining and office have a sunny sense of cheerful openness but are private from the casual neighbor or child selling tortillas. The living room is very much tucked back, so when we are exhausted from ministry and want to put on our sweats and relax, we can do so without feeling exposed and out in the open.

The upstairs backs to the hill and forest behind our house. So even with 24 windows in the hallway and enormous windows facing the front mountains, it is extremely private. This area is where we will do home school and where our bedrooms are located.

So level by level this home offers a total extroverted and ministry area as well as totally introverted private areas. It's an amazing layout and I cannot imagine a better home and ministry center for our family.

Gary and I have always felt that our home would be the center of our ministry. We have a vision for a  "Labri" type of setting where children would fill our living room, adults would be sitting at our table, hanging over a counter or relaxing on a couch, while learning about the deep things of God. We know that we are teachers and disciplers but we have never seen that as being institutionalized. I think this is why we see the gift of hospitality (and cooking) flowing so easily and naturally out of our lives.

 We envision people being in our home, any time of the day or night, receiving counsel and learning about God. Yet, what does a home, that is also a ministry center, look like? It certainly needs to have a lot of space but what would it look like? Well, the best picture I have is the picture of our new home down the road! Lots of living space but with different areas that can contain vastly different activities.

This is a house where a Bible study can be going on in one section while a prayer session can be going on in another and yet a teen game night could be going on in another area of the house. It's simply an amazing home for the purposes that we are called to and we are able to rent it for significantly less than we are paying for this apartment! We stand astounded at what God has done and praise him for his mighty work and blessing in our lives! 

The first floor is COMPLETED!!!!!!

 

We began painting the downstairs one week ago today. With every graffiti filled wall that was covered we felt as a family a sense of triumph and victory! The painting itself was very grueling. For some reason, the ceilings in Mexican homes sour to an extreme height. A lot of our walls stretch to a lofty 12 feet! Therefore, even with a ten foot ladder we had some difficulty in maneuvering corners and the precipice over the spiral staircase. 

As a family we endured sickness, frustration, discouragement, a mistaken color in the living room resulting in a need to repaint the most difficult room in the house! And  of course we endured exhaustion!

But today, Wednesday November 16th, we celebrate that we have reached the finish line of cleaning, scrubbing walls and windows and painting the first floor of our new home!

(A short disclaimer about these videos. Occasionally it sounds like I have a mouth full of marbles (or a large set of false teeth!) Neither of these is the case! LOL Also, the paint in the office and kitchen look much more accurate in the photos than it does in the video. It is a very pleasant rich golden yellow and as I said, the photos depict that better than the video.)

It's not only important to share with you all the incredible differences  of the "before" and "after" aspect of our house but it is also significant as an encouragement to our family to press on to the finish line. When we see the completed beauty of our new home and ministry center, we have the courage to pursue the same sense of accomplishment with the upstairs that we have on the first floor.

These first three weeks have not been without difficulty. Gary was sick early on with a nasty cold and cough and then Nathaniel and Bethany both got very sick with a fever, severe sore throat, stuffy nose and body aches. I was left with trying to take care of sick children, an apartment to maintain, laundry and dinner to prepare, while still painting at our new house. To say that I am thoroughly exhausted today would be a huge understatement.

Gary and I both have been pushing ourselves to our physical limit. We know that we cannot continue this way indefinitely but we have certain time goals that are important for us to keep. For one thing, we want to get the first floor complete and the second floor walls and windows scrubbed prior to Thanksgiving. This will enable all of us to have a slower pace of work from that time forward. Gary and Nathaniel will be able to focus on setting up the whole house for electrical service while Bethany and I take care of "home and hearth".

Bethany and I will slowly move furniture to the new house but she and I will mostly be taking care of the guys as they wire the house together. We also will be getting ready for the holidays and making it possible for our family to have a Thanksgiving and a Christmas celebration.

Gary and I felt it was important to have this first month long surge of heavy duty work so that the rest of the time would be easier and more relaxing, particularly in light of the upcoming holidays. Well, here we are at the 3 1/2 week point of our four week surge and we all are about to collapse! Thankfully we are at the final stages of our goal and should be on schedule and ready to take it easier just in time for Thanksgiving!

Gary and Nathaniel will be taking four weeks in December to wire the house and then in January we will all paint the upstairs and finalize moving our belongings, while a hired plumber works at his trade throughout the house. The essential items should be complete by the end of January, just in time for our official February first move in date!

This house project can still feel overwhelming but just one look at the "before" and "after" photos gives us such a sense of accomplishment and hope for all the work that still lies ahead.

Living room before restoration

Living room after restoration

Living room after restoration

Office before restoration

Office after restoration

Kitchen before restoration

Kitchen before restoration

Kitchen after restoration

Dining room before restoration

Breakfast/dining room after restoration

Living/dinning room after restoration

We are so thankful for the grace and strength that God has given us so far in this project and pray for his continued presence as we continue on to the finish line!

As things were intended to be.......

It's always kind of a scary thing when a writer has something on her mind! One never knows exactly the direction this might take me and how it will all play out but something is stirring deep inside of me and when that happens the natural thing for me to do is write!

Since we have arrived in Mexico I have been thinking a lot about my family, not Gary, Nathaniel and Bethany but my parents and sister. This all has come as quite a shock to me as I wanted nothing more than to get away from the thickness of dysfunction and the pain of living in such a close proximity to them. So why this sudden pondering on my only sibling, my dad and my mom?

I think the main reason is because it is natural to want our parents to be proud of us when we've accomplished something major in our lives. For me, this move to Southern Mexico, leaving everything I know behind and beginning a new life, has been an incredible accomplishment. For some who have been raised with a more international mindset and who have traveled extensively, this type of move wouldn't be such a big deal. However, my whole life has been one huge hurdle after another and this move to Mexico is the culmination of a lot of adult education, tremendous work, and struggle to get beyond the limitations of who I was when I was born. To think that Rachel, who has a difficult time with English grammar is now studying a second language is amazing! Here I am, just a simple girl from the small town of Butler, Pennsylvania, shopping in a Spanish speaking Mercado, entertaining Mexican friends, and living out my life 4,000 miles from where I was born. To me that is an incredible accomplishment!

Rachel at age five

I suppose deep within my nearly 46 years of life, I still look for that "Mommy and Daddy" smile of approval and the longing to hear them say, "I am proud of you."



We won't discuss how, at this stage of my life, still hoping for that is like wishing the Niagara would flow backwards or that suddenly the Rocky Mountains would flatten like Kansas! It just will never happen this side of eternity.

Yet, God has given me a gift within the horribly painful saga with my family. That gift has been an ability to see them through the eyes of Jesus. To see them as they were created to be. To see them without their own childhood of pain and suffering and to know them apart from dysfunction, pain, and sorrow. I will admit that I only get glimpses of who they were created to be but it has given substance to the forgiveness in my heart and has given me a love for them that otherwise would be impossible.

My Dad as a small child

I don't want to go into too much of the detail of how I see them, apart from the abuse and dysfunction. It is a gift of God and a gift of the blessing of forgiveness but it isn't a place where I am supposed to live. Living in that world would be living a life of fantasy and illusion, which is not healthy in the slightest.

I think one thing that I ponder is how much I know my dad would love Taxco and especially our neighborhood of Casallas. So as God created Dad to be, he would love it here. He would love the country atmosphere. He would do his best to gab with the elderly man who lives on the hill below us and help him harvest his corn and plant next year's crop. He would chop wood with him and help him build his morning fires to cook his food on. I think he and "Don Ruis" would be great friends! They would sit together and Dad would play his guitar and sing his English songs while Don Ruis listened politely and maybe clapped along.

Dad would also love the Mexican children. He would be free to tickle them on the combi and joke around with them, something he never was able to freely do in the states, for fear of being thought of as a dirty old man ready to abduct a woman's child from her. (Sad) He would walk around this neighborhood and easily make friends with the country men and women who live here.

My Mom in 1932

My mom would be a mighty woman of prayer. She would pray blessings and protection upon Gary. She would sit on her blue rocker and intercede for our children as we live out our lives in Mexico. She would miss us terribly but be proud that her daughter and beloved son-in-law were following hard after God and being obedient to him as missionaries. Mom would be thrilled to hear how the Mexican people love us and would celebrate each victory of salvation in the hearts of our friends and neighbors.

Yes, it saddens me to know that this will never happen. I realize deep in my heart that it is a blessing to be able to see my family in the light of Jesus. Satan may have the victory right now but he is ultimately defeated and one day we will all be changed, our tears will be wiped away and we will see clearly the things that have been but shadows on earth.

My sister in the year of her birth

My sister, would come visit us and help out in our ministry. She would remember the few Spanish words that she learned in Mexico City 20 years ago and build on that to develope a base of the Spanish language during her visits here. She would have so much fun with Nathaniel and Bethany and as their aunt she would spoil them rotten! Yet, she would also build into them wisdom and maturity in the Lord. She would help them grow into young men and women of God who would treasure her wisdom and advice for the rest of their lives. We would probably take a camping trip to the National Forest just north of here and experience the mountains and nature of Mexico and possibly have a few lasting adventures that we would laugh over for years to come. Our conversations in our later years would be full of, "remember when???" as we talked about our crazy adventures during her visits to Mexico when Nathaniel and Bethany were young teens. We could have a great relationship and cherish each other long after our parents had passed on. Sadly, this picture of our relationships is but a shadow of what could be, the reality that the enemy of our souls controls on this earth will never permit that type of relationship from happening.

C.S. Lewis talks about the Shadow Lands in book Seven of Narnia. That last triumphant book always hits me in a deep place in my heart and sends me into tears of joy. It's Revelation, its the culmination of all the pain on this earth, its' the victory of Jesus, it's eternity and living in God's presence day and night! No wonder my emotions react with tears of joy! Everything that we see now is but a shadow of the reality of Christ, the reality of Heaven, and the reality of our eternity with him. Everything will be made right and we will all see clearly whereas now we see as through a dim glass.

So on this earth I deeply mourn the pain I've experienced with my parents and my sister. At times the ache in my heart has been excruciating. There is always before me the reality of abuse, dysfunction and pain. Yet, one day I will see them as God created them to be. There will be no pain, no sorrow and no tears associated with our relationship. I rejoice in that fact and I rejoice in God's grace and forgiveness that flows through me towards them. There's nothing human that could have accomplished such a mighty work in my heart. What a wonderful God we serve! I praise him for his mighty work of forgiveness and grace!

Yesterday was Gary's and my 17th wedding anniversary! We took a first class bus to Cuernavaca and only spent $20 for both of us round trip. I was amazed at the luxury of these buses. Nothing like Greyhound that's for sure!

We had a wonderful time together. Our plans were to go to Wal-mart, Home Depot and then a nice restaurant before heading back home on the bus. Wal-mart was a disappointment. It was like any other Mexican department/grocery store, with the same limited stocked shelves that we have in Taxco. We still couldn't find my much needed dry measure cups and oven thermometer. Also, the "feel" wasn't like Wal-mart in the States. It looked more like Super Che or Aurrera (the two grocery stores in Taxco) than Wal-mart in Loveland.


So onto Home Depot we went where Gary planned on buying all his electrical service needs for our new house. I wasn't sure how I would feel but when the taxi pulled up to the doors I nearly lost it right there in the parking lot. The sun was shining and the day was hot and dry. The parking lot and the store felt so much like Loveland.  Between the warm and dry weather and having the exact same layout of the store, I had the instant feeling of a warm spring day when Gary and I would tromp for the 80th time to Home Depot and Lowes to get something for our new house in Loveland. The feeling of sameness was so complete that I had to go to the bathroom three different times and cry. I just couldn't keep the tears back. Lowes and Home Depot represent all the good times in our family life in Loveland. The planting of flowers, the digging of trenches for the sprinkler system, pulling up sod, shoveling rocks, and doing major landscaping. I half expected to jump in our Subaru and head down Eisenhower to 29th and walk into our house in Loveland!

It was a very bitter sweet moment. It was painful because gardening and working the land is exactly what we've really missed in our apartment here in Taxco. Yet, it was a time of joy because now we are back at Home Depot, this time in Mexico of all places, buying stuff for our new house in Taxco. It was just a very weird experience.

Here in Southern Mexico the garden center was in full swing, so I ignored the Christmas isles and headed straight for the seed packets and the potted flowers! Knowing that we had to ride back on the bus limited my purchases but I was able to buy Nathaniel and Bethany two blooming lilies for them to plant at our new house!

Gary was busy in the electrical department. He was able to find most everything he needs to set up electrical service to our new house. Gary bought pigtails, circuit breakers, a breaker box, service drop, a fishtail and all kinds of other things that living with an electrician I have learned to understand a little bit about. He was thrilled with his purchases and I was happy with my gardening tools and seed packets!

And then we were ready to take a taxi to the restaurant. I sort of felt like the Beverly Hillbillies with my flowers, garden tools and electrical supplies heading into one of the fanciest restaurants in Cuernavaca! We tried to be as inconspicuous as possible but without a car to stash these things we had to take them into the restaurant! The staff was gracious and helped us find a place to stack them near to our table. UGH! Oh well.......

It was a beautiful restaurant with impeccable service and amazing food! The patio dining looked out onto beautiful gardens and palm trees. There was light jazz playing in the background as the garden water fall cascaded over a stone wall. It was just gorgeous!

Gary and I spent two hours dining and talking with one another. What a relaxing and romantic culmination to our day together!

I would like to say that we talked about classical music, world peace, and art but in reality we talked about electrical wires, paint colors and getting graffiti off of kitchen tile walls! So much for culture! But regardless of where our interests lie we greatly appreciated the gentle romantic abiance of this restaurant and were so thankful for this special time to celebrate our 17 years of marriage!

Relationships verses plans, schedules, and deadlines!

Today marks the two week point on our house. I will admit I am not easily able to go the distance with a project like this. I am sanguine and we like instant gratification and immediate results. But as I said in one of my videos, this project will help "the kids" develop perseverance and patients! Yes, I need those character qualities more than anyone!

Last evening Gary and I sat down with a pen and paper and figured out our finances. In one of the books we've read about house renovation in Mexico, the author says that at one point he had pesos in a Cheetos bag and was nearly tossing pesos in the air while everyone grabbed what he owned them. In many ways we are beginning to feel like this. We owe the kitchen tile man, we owe the man who cleaned out the cistern, we paid the guy to remove the huge metal doors from the living room, we will owe the plumber and so on and so forth. Long term this house will be a great financial decision. Actually, within six months all the repairs will pay for themselves in money we save on rent. Yet at this point, while we're still paying rent at our apartment, we may need to  join the blind man who sits on the street holding a tin can and singing! (Do you think our voices would command many pesos???? LOL don't think so!)

In the past two weeks we have accomplished much: Gary and Nathaniel, along with our friends cleared the overgrown jungle from the driveway, the back "yard" and the front of the house. Bethany and I have thoroughly cleaned the entire house including the downstairs walls and windows. (We need to tackle the upstairs walls and windows next week!) We have had the cistern cleaned, the kitchen tile repaired, the kitchen sink has been replaced (expensive!!!!). We have had the metal doors from the living room removed. Gary and Nathaniel have gotten an amazing amount of trash and debris out of the basement. They have cleaned it and stacked neatly the remaining items. Gary made us a make-shift electrical wire running from our apartment to the house so that when necessary we have electricity to run drills, saws and other manly items. He also hooked up a water hose running from the spring to the house so that we can clean with a garden hose rather than carry buckets of water down from our apartment. (Bethany and I did this for two days and we were NOT happy campers in the process!) Gary has discovered how the plumbing system works from the pump house to the cistern and has begun to discover the electrical system. Gary and Nathaniel carried about a billion very heavy wooden and glass display cases from the office and stacked the ones in the basement.

I want to show you all these beautiful "after" pictures of the things that we have accomplished but right now the "after" pictures look more like a tornado hit! Yes, Bethany and I have cleaned rat droppings, human excretions, and every sort of vile filth imaginable. The house smells and looks clean but now there is dirt from the men tromping through in their work boots, the kitchen is a wreck from the guy working on the tile, and there are a thousand wooden display cases in the driveway waiting to be moved to the basement. So there has been a lot accomplished, but right now we're kind of in the middle of the mess where we've done so much but visually we don't have a lot to show for our work. It is humbling to see the wreck that the house is still in after we have worked so long and diligently these past two weeks.

In all of this difficult work, Gary and Nathaniel in particular have been meeting a ton of neighbors, speaking totally in Spanish and even having an opportunity to sit down and talk with the man who is repairing the tile in the kitchen about the things of God. Bethany and I have been covered in bleach, (we both have burns on our arms from the bleach filled water dripping down past our rubber gloves!) soap, water and falling cob webs in remote parts of the house while the guys have had a more public presence in the neighborhood. It's been thoroughly exciting to see how God is opening doors to relationships and ministry while we sweat and work on this house. It's been so different than working on the farm house in Pennsylvania. People have come from far and wide to meet us and to spend time talking with us. We could not have planned a better way to get to know people in this area, talk to them and share God's love with them. It's been amazing.

On the flip side, in our isolated task driven American ways; Gary, Nathaniel, Bethany, and I have been challenged to set down our shovels, brooms, and buckets and get to know the people who come to our door. This has been a difficult aspect to learn as we work on this project. In all honesty this is the first time we've been slammed in the face with a cultural difference that we couldn't just smile at and enjoy. Yet, we want to change and be more relational focused even during the restoration of an old house. I think the most difficult aspect for Bethany and me has been Gary taking people through the house and introducing them to us as we stand there in soaked work clothes, messed up hair, and looking like something the cat dragged in. I think for the guys it has been more difficult to have their work interrupted. They have had to lay down their shovels, hammers, and brooms and talk to people, sometimes for hours!

In our hearts the cultural value of people before projects, is one of the main aspects that we love about Mexico. So far  during our journey in a foriegn land, we've loved the relational quality which is deeply ingrained in everyone that we meet. When Carlos and Susana met us at the store so many months ago and took four hours out of their Saturday to spontaneously help us get our washer and mattresses home to our new apartment, we loved the Mexican fact that relationships come first.  When Oscar and Silvia took us under their wings and loved us and cared for us when we first arrived, we deeply treasured the heart felt focus of love and friendship in this amazing place that we now call home. We have been on the receiving end so many times and we LOVE this aspect of the Mexican culture. However, now we are on the "giving end" of sorts. We are giving friendship and love to our neighbors in the midst of our work and that is something we welcome but it does not come easily. Through this God is teaching us how to be a part of the relational Mexican culture rather than just observing it. Also, it is much easier to adjust when we can look back and see how many times we have received incredible help and love, which "interupted" one of our Mexican friend's day of rest or work. This is a good aspect of the culture and one that we want to learn from and not reject. It is wonderful to be learning how to be more like our Mexican friends and put them before deadlines and schedules!

Loss and Blessing!

I'm up early crying, praying, and thanking God for my children. Unusual start to a morning, well maybe not so strange as I typically get up early for prayer and I am always thankful for my family. Yet, this particular morning is a bit different. Let me explain:

Yesterday we went over to the house in the early morning to work as we have done for the past ten days. And in typical fashion I took my camera along to chronicle the progression of work. The problem with this has been that I have been so busy that on most days I forget to take pictures and certainly don't take much time to record videos. Yet, I keep taking my camera in order to not miss a special moment in house restoration history.

What I wasn't expecting was that our house became Grand Central Station yesterday. For some reason, everyone and his brother (children, cousins and dogs included) seemed to stop by the house. Even the police were there yesterday! Thank God for a husband who can explain our presence in Spanish!

In typical sanguine fashion I didn't think of the detail of my camera but was focused on what was going on around me (which in this case happened to be the many people walking through the house) as well as the enormous cleaning project of scrubbing down the walls that Bethany and I were undertaking. When we left for comida, Berto and his sons were down stairs working and one of our neighbors and his son was working on the kitchen tile.  The front door was wide open as well as the gate to the driveway. We left with a hearty, "see you later we're going to get some grub!" (in Spanish of course) and never thought about my camera.

When I came back from cooking dinner and doing dishes my camera was no where to be found. I don't think it was the monetary value of the camera that upset me as much as the betrayal that the theft represented. Even though my camera was only a year old, it has been through a lot and has lost most of it's initial value. I always have my camera with me, stuck precariously in my purse or even in my jean pocket. I never want to leave it at home because there's always the perfect video or photo just waiting to happen. Because of this my camera has been dropped onto the Mexican tile floors, three times since we've been here! It has not fared well in these circumstances. Also, because of the dust and dirt of the dry season it had many dust spots on the lens.

Yet, having said all of this, it is the only camera I own and I did highly value it and rely upon it to record our family life. Never the less, it wasn't the price tag that mattered in this theft but the betrayal that it symbolizes.

I think what is dangerous in situations like this is trying to figure out whole stole it and placing blame. Most times it is the character in the mystery novel that we least expect! As an example, one day last week I was defrosting a bag of cooked beef from the freezer. It was double bagged and sitting on the counter. I just happened to come by the kitchen for a cup of coffee when I heard a rustling outside the kitchen door in the outdoor little patio that goes to the rest of the outdoor property. I was shocked at what I found. A cat had my bag of meat and had taken it across the wall of the patio and was about to carry it up the stairs and have a grand steak dinner! I could not believe that this little Siamese cat had come into our house, climbed on my counter, grabbed my bag of meat and carried it out the door and up over the wall! Mexican cats are amazing!

What struck me in the mystery of the stolen meat was how dumbfounded I would have been if I hadn't caught the cat in the act of stealing my steak. I know I would have either thought I was totally loosing my mind and in a moment of grand senility hadn't gotten the meat out of the freezer in the first place (this is of course what my family would have thought!) OR....that our neighbor boy, whose little house backs up to our apartment and who we've had some trouble with, had taken it! My my how wrong I would have been. I would have blamed the neighbor boy when somewhere in Taxco a cat would have been licking his chops after a luxurious  beef dinner!

Now of course I don't think a cat snatched my camera and is proudly recording photos of her latest litter of kittens to show her mother! But what I feel we do need to realize is that things are not always as they seem. And as I said, in a mystery novel the person responsible for the crime in question is usually the last person or animal, that anyone would suspect!

The blessing in all of this is how my family has rallied around me. Bethany so sweetly offered to lend me her precious camera that she bought before we left for Mexico. And I woke up early this morning to find Nathaniel's camera on my desk as a present. Nathaniel has three loves in his life, Legos, coin collecting and.....photography.I collapsed into a bundle of tears as I read the note of love that he had written as he gave me one of his most prized possessions! I went into Nathaniel's room at 5:00 this morning, waking him up in a bundle of tears and gratefulness. What wonderful children I have! Okay, I'm going to start crying again!

I think the long- range plan is to borrow Nathaniel's camera until I can buy another one. With the next camera I will try to remember the hard tile floors and be careful not to drop it as well as keep in mind that we aren't exempt from petty theft anywhere in the world.

But for now I will rest in the ongoing protection of God and the love and honor of my family. I am a blessed woman to have such amazing children who would both give so sacrificially from their hearts!