La Feria (The Fair) By JenJe

     Hello! This is my first time doing a blog and I'm very excited to share with you. It has been a good two-or-so months. Life in Mexico has been very interesting.  There are definitely things I miss here, but I know God can use everything for His glory.
     It has been really nice to be together as a family all the time. During mealtimes with Maykon (who we count as part of the family) we can have the funniest time. The language we speak together is called Spanglish. Ok, so that's not really a language, but with the little bit of Spanish we know and the little bit of English Maykon knows we can communicate fairly well in Spanglish.
     We had heard that there was going to be a carnival coming to Matachi. Sure enough, a bunch of trucks came with rides and trailers. They started setting up at the plaza which is a short block from our house. We saw a Ferris Wheel go up. All the streets around the plaza were packed with booths, tents and food vendors. We went on Saturday and saw that they were selling everything from plastic toy guns to intricately beaded jewelry. That night none of us slept very well, because somebody was playing very, very loud Mexican music like you would hear in the Mexican restaurant. None of us are big fans of the tuba anymore.
    We went again on Monday with Maykon. We looked at all the booths again. Then we came to the rides.  Jevor and Maykon went on a ride and when they got off Maykon was slightly green. Dad and I went on the Ferris Wheel. It was the fastest Ferris Wheel I have ever been on, the most fun and the only one I've seen that powered by a tractor. Yeah, you read right. The tractor wheel was what made it go. Welcome to Mexico!
     They also had this bungee thing where you were strapped into a harness and were (for the lack of a better word) boinged, up and down. Jevor, of course, thought it looked fun and decided to try it. He, of course, had a great time. I nervously decided I would try it, too. I was strapped into the harness and there I went. Here's the video of me, boinging:

I did not want to do a flip at top at all. I tried to kick my legs to regain my balance when I felt like I was going to lose my balance. It worked every time except one. I told mom I was glad I did it,but I am never, ever doing it again!
     After that, We ate a really good dinner of burritos, tacos and gorditas, which are little pockets of bread stuffed with meat. We bought a few things and then finally walked home and after some winding down on Jevor's part, (Ok, Ok it was me too.) we went to sleep grateful that the dumb tuba music wasn't as bad as the past couple nights.
     Anyway there's a little glimpse into a Mexican Feria. Here are some pics of our night:

The view of the fair from our balcony. You can see how close we are.

The ride Jevor and Maykon went on. The next picture speaks for itself.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

The Mexican version of a carousel. You can't see it in this picture, but one of the little kids on it had a cowboy hat and boots.

Jevor and Maykon in front of a food stand near the rides

Me and dad on the tractor Ferris Wheel

Eating gorditas

These are called tacos al pastor. Mom ended up eating them and Jevor ate the other half of my burrito grande.

My burrito grande, before.

My burrito grande, after.
( Just kidding! It was really good.)

The salsa inspired fear in the hearts of Maykon and Jevor.

Jevor wanted me to put this video on. It is his boinging experience. I think it's safe to say that he enjoyed it more than I did!
     Well there's my first blog! Thanks so much for your prayers as we keep learning more about our new culture.

Nuestro Primer Mes (Our First Month)

It's hard to believe that we have been in Matachi, Mexico for a little over a month now.  We are learning a lot.  Our Spanish is getting better, but communication continues to be a challenge.  The area of Mexico where Matachi is located is so beautiful.  We are surrounded by mountains, and the sunsets are remarkable almost every night.  Also, at night the stars can be seen in the full glory that God intended.  Here are a couple of picture of what we get to look at almost every day:

This picture was taken from the balcony of the school  that overlooks our courtyard.  We love to sit up here and look over the mountains. 

The town of Matachi is not that large, but it has plenty of heart.  The people that live here have a great deal of pride in their small town as is evident by the "100% Matachi" stickers that we see around town.  There are small "abarrotes" (grocery stores) everywhere. One particular street has three to choose from within a block. Unfortunately, there are nearly as many "salones" (bars) and "tiendas de licores" (liquor stores) as there are abarrotes.  We were a bit shocked by the liquor stores in Mexico because most of them have drive-through service.  There aren't any fast-food places in Matachi, but they have drive-through liquor stores.

Adjusting to life in Matachi has not been too difficult.  We have learned to live with the laid-back pace of this town.  For example, in Greencastle, if we had some of the issues with the water that we have had here (such as the lack of water pressure, or no water at all at unpredictable times of the day) the people of Greencastle would not have put up with it and demanded that things change.  But, we are in Matachi now, and that is just the way things are around here, and that is not a bad thing.

Here are a few pictures that we have taken around town.
   

Plazas are the center of Mexico towns.  There are beautifully landscaped and maintained.  In Matachi, the youth gather in the afternnon and evening to play basketball or just hang out in the plaza area.

In the plaza

The main Catholic church in town sits across from the plaza.  In most towns, the Catholic church is the best maintained building.  They are beautiful buildings.  In Matachi, the Catholic church also has a school.  From our experience, there is much friction between the Catholic and the Christian (non-Catholic) communities.

Maykon and Jevor walking down a street in Matachi.  This one happens to be paved,. but most are not.  To the right you can see a dirt road, which is more the norm.  This is across the street from the plaza and Catholic church.  You can see the abandoned house with a $ sign, which means it is for sale.  Most of the buildings are made out of adobe bricks.  Some houses our finished with cement and painted, but others are just the brick.

This clock stands in another small park area down the street from the plaza.  The clock is only correct twice a day.  You can see the flags on the light poles in the background.  The town put those up to celebrate Mexico Independence Day.  They had dancing, bands, and school programs to celebrate in the plaza.  There were also random fireworks.

This picture is dedicated to Papaw because men will actually drive their tractors to the grocery store.

This is the other elementary school in town (besides the Catholic one).  You can see the children practicing their dance routine for Independence Day. 

This particular grocery store is very colorful.

This is another small park.  The green building is the local funeral home.

This building is big and beautiful.  It is the future hospital, but it's been under construction for a long time.

This is a drive-through liquor store.  Many of them are more open than this and much larger in size.

The aqua colored building on the right is a small hotel.  Some mission teams have stayed here when there hasn't been enough room at the Institute.

This is a preschool down the street from the Institute.  This one decorated with Warner Bros., but usually you'll see Disney characters everywhere.

This is our street: Hidalgo.  The Institute is on the right.  We are looking down the street towards the plaza.  The basketball courts are straight ahead.  A small hamburger stand is open down there through the week.  A bar is to the left, but it usually isn't open every day.  If you go in the door under the sign of the Institute, you walk straight into the dining room.  The classroom is where the little white fence is.  All the dorm rooms are upstairs. 

Finally, the people that we have come in contact with over the last month is what has really made the month wonderful for us.  Here is just a sampling:

On our first Sunday, we had several people join us for a time of worship and fellowship.  They include from left to right - a couple of young men from Matachi, Jose (a graduate of the Institute now living in Chihuahua) Maykon (our current student), Fabian (Matachi native and student in Chihuahua) Aleesa (former staff member of the Institute, now teaching English at a school in Parral) Adrain (brother of Fabian and a student in Cuauhtemoc) and Andy.

On our second weekend, we were visited by the Vicuña family.  They are friends from Chihuahua and wonderful supporters of the Institute.  Karen (on the far left) stayed with us for a few days to help us get acquainted to the school and Matachi.  She is a former intern of Hillside Missions in Richmond, VA.

Maykon is getting some assistance with putting on the protective gear that Adrain and Fabian wear while participating in the rodeo.  This was a fun afternoon full of laughs as many of us tried on the gear.  If you missed it, there is a hilarious video of Andy putting on this gear on the last blog entry or it can be found in his Facebook videos.  From left to right: Christian, Maykon, Adrain and Fabian

The Gil family in Chihuahua have donated a drum set to the school.  We are taking suggestions for a name for our band.  By the way, Maykon does not play guitar and Andy does not play the drums, but Jevor always looks that cool.  On Sunday's Adrian (not pictured) plays the drums during our worship time. 

One Sunday afternoon, Adrian (right) took us up one of the mountains just outside of Matachi. Apparently, it was orange-shirt day.

Fabian (left) and Maykon (middle) came back one evening with alfalfa.  Fabian made a drink from it by putting the alfalfa in a blender and adding water, sugar, and lemon to it.  Andy gave it a try.  He says that it is an acquired taste.

Maykon (middle) and Andy's first rodeo in Cuauhtemoc.  Only Adrian (left) rode in this one. Fabian (right) did not get to ride in this one.  You can see Adrian's scary ride in Andy's Facebook videos.

Lastly, we want to say how much we appreciate the prayer and financial support over the past month.  You will continue to be a valued part of our ministry as we adjust to life in Mexico and Matachi over the months to come.