Hola, Como Estas?

I may repeat things that I have wrote about before for two reasons 1. I have a bad memory : ) 2. It's something God put on my heart and wants me to share again. I already knew this from when I was in Saltillo and Reynosa, but am reminded again of how spoiled we are in the United States and how selfish many of us are, myself included! How we can be wasteful too! Many of the people here in Mexico have very little, but yet are so happy. I know I often find myself back home wishing I had this or that. It seems we are often wanting bigger and better. Why it is so hard for us to be happy with what we have and be in the moment. I will give you a few examples of things I, maybe you also take for granted. Water from the faucet, we have to drink bottled water here and even use it for brushing our teeth. We can use it to wash hands, but not for drinking. Toilets/toilet paper-some of the toilets here do not have seats and most public places you have to bring your own toilet paper. Baths-both places I have stayed only have showers. Cleaning fruits and vegetables-all fresh fruits and veggies need to be soaked in water with a special solution for 20 minutes. Space/yards-houses here are so close and many don't have yards. These are just a few examples! As we have been getting ready for school, the teachers create everything they decorate their classrooms with. Teacher friends, you will understand this. That takes time and creativity! I am amazed at what they can come up with. Of course they may look for ideas on line, but whip it right up. What we may think would be trash, they can use to create a display for the room. I was thinking I should've brought some of the bulletin board displays that I had on my sale. Many of them were in English, but I bet they still would have loved them! All this to say be thankful for all that you have! Be content! Be creative!

Last Friday, I headed back to Joe and Corinna's and was able to spend the weekend with other missionaries. I think I only got 2 pictures the whole weekend. I never got a picture with Chrissy, Eferain, their little girl and nephew. It was good to be with other missionaries. We even played some cards Saturday night. Another little piece of home as a I love games! They introduced me to raspados (shaved ice). There is a place nearby where I live, so that may become my new favorite treat : ) They spent some time praying for me before I left Sunday morning. Such a blessing! I still think about if I came last year, Joe and Corinna would not have been here. Love how God knows each and every detail.

Last week we had teacher meetings and this week we finished meetings and have been getting the rooms ready. I think I may have shared this in my last post, but going to share it again incase I didn't : ) Those of you that know me or are a teacher, know how crazy and stressful it can be before school starts. I do not have that feeling here in Mexico. They are way more laid back. They don't cram all kinds of things into a couple days of meetings. Obviously different from the American culture. There are so many laughs during our meetings and I have felt so much peace. You would think not knowing the language or not knowing entirely what I am doing that it would be crazy and stressful, but it's not. I think about when I am in meetings back home and how I leave with my head ready to explode. Not the feeling here! Another example, yesterday we started working on stuff for the room and they were full of stuff. If that was back home, I would've stayed late and gotten things moved and still probably went home stressed. Not here! Just such a different feeling. Indescribable Peace! I have not been at school later than 2 any day the last 2 weeks and I haven't brought work home. So weird, but again so peaceful!! These teachers are very hard workers and so creative. It's fun to help them put things together. I am reminded that I am not a very creative person. I would just go buy it because that's easier! I would also get rid of something if it was missing a month or letter, but here you create a piece to fit in. Using what they have! I am blessed to be apart of such a great team of teachers, director and pastor! They say they are blessed and excited to have me, but they don't really know what they are getting : ) Be sure to check out the difference in the rooms from Tuesday until today. Amazing! Also check out their creativity!!

As we were working on things at school, God convicted me of how I am still trying to be a perfectionist and to let that go. I made a cloud and got Liz's approval before making more. Of course the cloud was just fine. I thought I had let go of some of that perfectionist since I started teaching, but see it's still lingering. Even when I was working on lesson plans, I wanted to make sure they were just right. Not just with school stuff, but with life in general I need to let that go. My friend Margie reminded me that God is the only perfect one. Jenny shared a saying she heard, don't let perfect rob you of doing something good. Both were just what I needed to hear! I also continue to think why God would choose me to come here to Mexico and He reminds me that I am His daughter, I am enough and He will equip me for what He has called me to do. He created me just for this! Thankful that God continues to work on my heart!

Sunday I was able to come back to church here and it was only 2 hours long : ) Last week it was 4 hours because of an anniversary celebration, so 2 hours seemed short. Again, I didn't know everything that was being said, but I could feel God's presence and that He was at work. It was just so peaceful!! I got lesson plans done Sunday and was able to zoom with the family. That was good for my heart and soul. My family got to meet Ricardo, Michelle and Marlen via zoom, so that was fun. Plus I gave my family a little tour of my home here. We had Little Ceasar's and Fresca for supper-more pieces of home : )

A huge thing I have had to do while here is obviously rely on God, but rely on others too! Those of you who know me know how very independent I am, so that has been stretching for me, but I am doing it : ) Back home, I will usually just do it myself! I do not have a car, so if I need to go anywhere by car, I need to ask. I need to rely on others or google to translate for me most of the time! Jenny always tells me that I a rare unicorn because of the things I do. I feel like Norma is a rare unicorn. She is always making sure everyone else is happy and has what they need. She has such a big heart! I get to sit back and watch her be the rare unicorn : ) Those of you who know me, also know I am almost always on the go back home. Not so much here. The evenings are much quieter and calmer, but again that has been great.

I have been so blessed since I arrived here. You always think when you are going on a missions trip, you are going to change people's lives, but often your life is changed more. I love how God works through others! Still working on learning the language, so be praying for that as well as continued prayers for guidance and direction. Of course continued peace and comfort as I miss family, friends and Wadena. So thankful for the church and school I get to serve with, all the people here that have shown love, the family that took me in under their wing, technology, new experiences and culture, opportunity to grow in my faith, prayer warriors, support and encouragement from afar!

Tonight marks one week with my family here in Mexico and I am grateful and blessed!!

That's all for now : ) Enjoy some photos! I often take photos to help me remember what has been happening and photos are fun : )

Supper with Joe, Corinna, Teresa and Greg