Bienvenidos A Oaxaca

Welcome to Oaxaca! My team and I arrived in Oaxaca, Mexico, on Tuesday, August 20th. The city of Oaxaca is located in a valley and it is absolutely beautiful here. This picture is a view from the back porch of our apartment.

This is a view from the front of our apartment. It is currently the rainy season, but it usually only drizzles a little bit.

We were welcomed with open arms and lots of smiles by our field contacts and their families. They took us to this awesome Taco Stand called Taqueria Maxitablita for dinner when we got in on Tuesday night. I ordered Tacos al Pastor con Queso which I've been told is unique to Oaxaca. The pork is layered and then hung up and cooked slowly all day. 

Here's the whole team at dinner.

We have a beautiful apartment. Ours is the 3rd floor and there is a super awesome roof that we are quite enjoying!

Here we are in our apartment on our first night in Oaxaca. From left to right, Hannah Marie, Kat, Shelley, me, Jasmine, and Hannah B. I'm so blessed to be working with such sweet girls and I'm looking forward to growing with them over the next months.

On Wednesday we made our first trip to the grocery store. It was a fun and somewhat exhausting experience. They have many of the same things we have in the U.S. We made it out of the grocery with a buggy and half full that amounted to the equivalent of about $150.

Wednesday night our field contacts threw us a welcome party on the roof. We ate some pizza, met some neighbors, and played with these precious kids.

This is the room I share with Jasmine.

Our first bus ride. We will be using public transportation to get around over the next several months.

On Thursday we went downtown and toured a few of the old churches. This is in front of El Templo de San Domingo.

We got lunch at a restaurant called Restaurante Importador. I got tostados with quesillo which is a special Oaxacan cheese.

On Fridays we have team meetings and free afternoons. So, we went downtown to a market that they have in Parque Lleno every Friday. We kept seeing ladies holding bowls of this red chopped up food. I asked one of the ladies what it was and she spooned some into my hand. To my surprise they were grasshoppers! These Chapulines are a common food here in Oaxaca so of course we had to try some! They actually weren't too bad..very flavorful and crunchy.

We got these yummy drinks called Aguas Frescas at the market. I got the Crema de Coco which is Coconut and it was so good!

On Saturday we went to a village with our field contacts where we taught an ESL class to a group of kids.

After the ESL class we went to the house of one of our field contact's friends. They weave wool and cotton for a living and were gracious enough to show us how everything works. They make the most beautiful rugs, blankets, curtains, scarves, and bags. 

It's been a great first week. We are still getting acclimated and learning our way around. It's been a lot to process, but I can see myself really loving it here. We will be spending the next couple of weeks learning how to teach ESL and going through Community Transformation Training. I'm so grateful for the love that our field contacts and the locals have shown us, as well as the grace they have shown us with language barriers. The Lord has been so good and it's comforting to know that He is sovereign over these next few months, the people we meet, the work we do, and the things we experience.

Orientation in Lima

Here's a quick recap of our week of training in Lima, Peru. We had some long days of training filled with lessons from current missionaries serving in South America. One of the main things I learned was about Orality/Storying. The idea is that you learn stories of the Bible and teach it to others orally. An example of this would be to tell it to them a couple of times, have them tell it to each other, have them tell it as a group, have them act it out as you tell it, and tell it to them again. The repetition helps them learn the story. Then you open up discussion by asking them what they think of the story. It's a great way to teach the Bible to people groups that aren't literate or don't have the Bible in their own language. It's also good for personal growth and ensuring a solid foundation in Scripture.

Even though training took up most of our time, we did work in some fun! One of the missionary families invited the Oaxaca team into their home for pizza and games one night. We played Sequence! This is one of my favorite games so I was pleasantly surprised to be playing it in Peru! It was so special to be invited into the homes and lives of these families throughout the week.

One day we went to Wong's, the main grocery store, to get food for dinner. It was a fun experience. They had workers dressed up to match the products they were advertising. They had the best free samples!

Saturday night we took an open bus tour of the city. We scarfed down some sandwiches on the street before the tour started. 

The bus stopped at a water fountain park called Parque De La Reserva where we saw some of the biggest water fountains I've ever seen. I would love to come back one day when it's a little warmer and enjoy the fountains you could actually get in.

These are my table mates and friends that I met at our snack break on the Bus Tour. We pulled over at the Sheraton hotel and had cafe/juice with some cake and mini sandwiches. I was able to practice my Spanish with these 2 couples from Argentina and Colombia. They were so patient and gracious with me and it was so fun to practice Spanish with them.

On Sunday we went to church with one of the missionary families and then they took us surfing in the Pacific Ocean. That's right. Surfing! This was my first time to ever see the Pacific Ocean and my first time to try surfing as well. It was beyond awesome! We rented boards and wet suits from a friend of theirs for the equivalent of about $7-8. They showed us the basics of how to surf and then let us loose. It was not easy and the water was freezing, but it was so fun! I will definitely be trying it again!

It was a great week and I'm blessed by all that I learned and through all the people I met. Continue to be praying for my team as well as the other teams who are in Brazil and Peru. May He be glorified through us over these next months.

We Made It!

** This is a post I wrote on 8/14/13 after our first full day in Lima. Sorry for the delayed post, but the internet was a little patchy!**

Hola! My team and I made it to Peru late last night. We will be here for a week doing training with other students and then head out to our respective countries. It's been a great day of training, getting to know the other girls, and eating delicious food!

Hannah and I on the airplane from Atlanta to Lima...8/13/13

Our training group at a local Peruvian restaurant for lunch on our first day in Peru

We got to taste some delicious fruit that I've never had before. The star fruit was super sour but yummy. And I couldn't help but love the bananitas (mini bananas).

We went to dinner tonight and I was able to order my favorite Peruvian dish from when I was here 3 years ago...Lomo Saltado con Arroz Blanco y Papas Fritas (meat with white rice and french fries and vegetables). I had jugo de fresas  (strawberry juice) to drink and it was quite possibly the best juice I've ever had! Soooo good!

Today was jammed pack full of listening to and learning from different missionaries serving in South America. Please pray that we will continue to learn much and that the Lord would prepare us for what He has in store. 

Tidbits from Training

At the end of July, I was blessed to spend a few days of training with 8 other girls who are also being sent out on mid-term missions from my church. We were privileged to spend time with our pastors, some of their wives, church staff members, and a missionary who is currently serving overseas. I learned so much during these 3 days and I'm so grateful to the Lord for all that He taught me. I pray that we will all take what we learned and use it to be most effective in doing the work the Lord has called us to do. Please join me in praying for these girls!

Some things I learned/good reminders:
- Lower your expectations
- Think of yourself as a learner and not as much as a teacher.
- Your team is where satan will attack you.
- Be flexible and willing to change. Use unexpected situations to share the gospel with people you wouldn't have otherwise met.
- Expect great things from God and attempt to do great things for God.
- Cling to God's Word and be desperate in prayer.
- Walk in humility and do not be afraid to make mistakes.
- Spiritual Disciplines are an essential component of the missionary's life. These spiritual disciplines include relationships, worship, the Word, prayer/fasting, personal evangelism, Sabbath, reflection, celebration, health. Ask yourself where you are today and what needs to change.
- Journal everyday.
- "We must go out and live among them, manifesting the gentle, loving spirit of our Lord. We need to make friends before we can hope to make converts." Lottie Moon

I pray that as I go into villages in Mexico, that this quote from Lottie Moon would reflect my heart: "As you wend your way from village to village, you feel it is no idle fancy that the Master walks beside you and you hear his voice saying gently, 'Lo! I am with you always even unto the end!' And the soul makes answer in the words of St. Bernard, that holy man of God, 'Lord Jesus, thou are home and friends and fatherland to me.' Is it any wonder that as you draw near to the villages a feeling of exultation comes over you? That your heart goes up to God in glad thanksgiving that he has so trusted you as to commit to your hands this glorious gospel that you may convey its blessings to those who still sit in darkness? When the heart is full of such joy, it is no effort to speak to the people: you could not keep silent if you would. Mere physical hardships sink into merited insignificance. What does one care for comfortless inns, hard beds, hard fare, when all around is a world of joy and glory and beauty."