there's still no peace...
i got this email from joellen, the missionary we were working with in oaxaca. please continue to pray...
Hi-I thought it was time to send you an update of whathas been happening in my life since I left Oaxaca fourweeks ago. In the past four weeks I have been inPuebla, Mexico City and am currently in Monterrey,Mexico.But God has been good. I am much more at peace withwaiting to seewhat will happen. This weekend we will be havingmeetings to attempt to process all that has happenedin the past month and what things would have to looklike in Oaxaca before we can return.Depending on what happens at this meeting and whathappens on December1 in Mexico (presidential inauguration) we should knowmore after thisweekend. In the meantime, I go back to the Pueblaarea on Monday. If it looks as if we can return toOaxaca in January (the earliest we could go back),then I will just stay in Puebla with the Covenantmissionaries there. If it looks like it will be laterthan January, I will find an efficiency apartment tolive in -- either in Cuautla (where I used to live) orin Cuernavaca. Either way, I will still be planningand leading mission trips to Mexico--but to placesother than Oaxaca until things settle down.With encouragement from the mission, I have decided togo ahead with a trip to the U.S. to spend theChristmas holidays with my son, daughter-in-law andgrandson in Minneapolis.Just to update you a bit on the continuing civilunrest in Oaxaca—This past weekend the APPO (theprotestor's self proclaimed government) tried tore-take the center of Oaxaca from the PFP (the federalpolice). In the process APPO burned severalgovernment offices, broke into and trashed fourhotels, ruined gardens in a museum and broke into manysmall stores in the center of town. They retreatedback to the University which is near my house.Then about 3:30 a.m. this morning (Wednesday) thefederal police marched into the University area andtook apart a huge road block of burned out buses,cars, old tires, garbage, etc. They then continued onto the University. The APPO protestors shot somerockets at the police and then took off running intothe neighborhood. I am glad that I was not in my housebecause that would have been pretty scary hearing allof this commotion at 3:30 a.m.All of the legal paperwork, that had been pendingbecause of the civilunrest, on my van has been completed and a young manis going to bedriving my van to Puebla where I will pick it up thisnext week. He is also going to go into my house andpack up some things that I couldn't (or forgot to)pack when we left.So…we will wait and see how God will work this allout. Thankfully God is so much bigger and wiser thanhumansThanks for your prayers,Jo Ellen
the one where i apologize...
very sorry for the lack of promised posts.
since i've been back (less than two weeks) i've gone out of town for 4 days to be in a wedding and spent part or all of 7 or so days in the hospital with my aunt. slowing down when i get back? ha, i'm funny.
anyway. i did manage to get a good deal of my pictures on a website. instead of taking the hours it takes to load pictures on this monster, i'll just send you the email invitation. if you're interested and haven't seen it, email me. (there's a link to the right of this post for you less-than-observant) or, if you'd prefer, lets hang out. in my large amount of time sitting in the hospital i managed to get all of my pictures in an album already.
love you all.
home again...
i'm home. safe and sound.
it was very hard to leave, but now that i'm back i'm glad to be home. i still have another picture post but it won't be till next week. sorry!
love you!!
the one with all the pictures
we did the tourist thing at the beach this weekend and took a boat tour and everything. we got to go snorkeling, which was pretty cool. there were fish like 2 inches from our faces. it was a little creepy, but cool too. we also got to ride on a wave runner, which is one of my new favorite things to do. they go fast! i also got my first marriage proposal, which i had to refuse. ¡que lastima!
pretty ocean!
meleah and cynthia. this little girl is so cute. can't understand a thing she says, but we love her.
me with rosa at one of the kid's programs. she comes every time, and i can actually understand her when she speaks spanish. she's really sweet.
meleah's sad day. she lost her atm card and accidentally ordered this really gross lunch. :(
the goat that i almost bought for $2. it's a shame i don't have use for one here.
meleah and i at the huge oaxacan market.
thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. we can't wait to be back with the kids tomorrow, and back to our english classes with fredy and jessica.
much, much love to you all...
the market
a quick post, as pictures aren´t working right now.
saturday meleah and i went to the big market in oaxaca, which is only on saturdays. it is listed in the book 1000 places to see before you die...so of course we went. it is hard to explain, but it reminds me of a really big, really hot and loud and crowded, flea market. it was certainly the experience of a lifetime. they sell live animals, too, which is crazy.
this woman tried to sell me a goat for the equivalent of 2 us dollars. it was a little tempting, but i have no use or place for a goat. ¡que lastima! (what a shame!)
we´re off to the coast for the weekend, but i'll have a nice big picture post for you when i get back.
LOVE!
happy 4th of july.
last night i celebrated my first 4th of july outside of the us. needless to say, no one here really cared. our friends, jessica and fredy, who we are teaching an english class to every day, were nice enough to get us some sparklers. now, these aren't sparklers like i've seen before. they were BIG. we had some trouble getting them to light, but they eventually did. they were a nice way to follow our american dinner...macaroni and cheese (my favorite!), chicken nuggets, corn and pineapple. the pineapple might have been pushing it a little on ¨american¨but that's okay. :)
we've been here for almost two weeks, and so far, so good. i'm not miserably homesick, although i do treasure the moments i get to be in touch with people from home. i've written a ridiculous amount of postcards, and that helps. sadly, i am unable to send them because the only post office in oaxaca is within the strike zone of the teachers...so i can't go there. apparently, they've decided to spread out their efforts, and yesterday had commandeered 8 or 10 buses and blocked off the main road near our house. there's never a dull moment here....
the kids in lachigolo are great. we're getting much more comfortable communicating with them, though there is still a lot of ¨no comprende¨and ¨lo siento¨ we've been able to read them a bible story every day (or have someone else do it, to be exact), which has been neat. they get really excited when we come and sometimes follow us part or all the way to where we catch a taxi or bus...it's fun. it's good to see them have time to be silly and playful and maybe have a little less responsibility than they do the rest of the time.
i'm loving it here.
this beautiful church called Santo Domingo near downtown Oaxaca. it was built in 1529...making it officially the oldest thing i've ever seen in person. it's absolutely gorgeous inside...
the inside of Santo Domingo. i like this picture, but it's difficult to get good pictures inside because it's not very well lit and flashes aren't allowed. it's amazing. meleah and i are going to try to go to a church service there, doing our part to bridge the gigantic gap between the catholics and evangelicals.
our first day in lachigolo, where we're working with kids. i don't actually like this picture, but that's alright. that little girl was SPUNKY...i liked her.
our first full day in oaxaca, exploring (near) downtown. we can't go downtown right now because the teachers are striking and commendeering buses so they can drive them in to stores, and (maybe) shooting people. and they say our education system is in trouble!? the area near downtown is absolutely beautiful, and i hear the area that is blocked off is breath-taking, so i'm excited to see that.
one of the streets near downtown. there's no story, i just really like this picture. you can't tell so much in this picture, but there is a lot of spanish influence in their architecture.
i'm working on setting up a website with more pictures, but for now, this is what you get. :)
oh, and on a very important side-note, GO WHITE SOX!
much love-
sabrina
