Day 6-drive to the beach

Today we drove from Hermosillo to Bahia de Kino on the east side of the Gulf of California (the Mexicans call it the Sea of Cortez).  Our group of 10 from Kansas, 3 from Aqua Prieta, and Pastor Ramon and his kids went.  It was about 1 1/2 hrs largely through the desert,  although there were a number of irrigated farms along the route.  Thankfully there were wide margins on either side of the road where slower traffic would move over for easier passing, and with a largely flat straight road the challenge of passing was far easier than on the mountain road a few days ago.

The farms that we passed included large trees (pecan??), grape, vines  and melon fields.  the trees were all staked on one side, and we could see later that afternoon on our return that the prevailing wind was from the west and the sea.  At lunch in town we ran into an American buyer  from CA. Who always came down for harvest season.

When we didn't see farms we saw impressively  large clumps of cactus and periodically a lone soul slowly riding his bike along the side of the road.  A number of hawks were soaring on the breezes.  There were also a lot of unfinished and apparently abandoned construction projects along the way.  I found these particularly puzzling.  Many were started in the middle of no where.  I couldn't figure out why anyone would start building anything in these locations.  I also couldn't always figure out what was being built.  Some looked liked a residence, others clearly were not.

Day 6-drive through town

The first night we were in town we drove  down one of the major streets in the city. I was startled by the massive number of familiar American retail stores and restaurants that we passed.  mcDs is never a surprise, but Chili's?  In Mexico?! Also Godfather pizza, Sam's club, Burger King, American eagle, auto club, and at least  twenty others that I can't recall now. Truly a shopping Mecca for anyone.

On our way out of town to the beach yesterday, we took a different route through town that was less affluent.  We passed a number of housing developments that were new or under construction.  there we like small condo units.  attractive, but very close together.  There were also a lot of large empty plots of land that were filled with weeds, dust and trash.  We were clearly on the outskirts of the city in places.  We did drive past a recycling yard (I had asked early on when throwing out trash if there was much recycling in the country). This lot however was not a sorting facility for municipal waste, it was a lot with row after row of huge shelving units with bike rims, old window frames, and unidentifiable items everywhere.  I'm very curious about who uses these discarded items.

 I love looking at signs as I drive, trying to figure out what they say.  We passed the Happy Burger" (in English) and then the Pollo Feliz (happy chicken in Spanish),  we passed a store with a sign Mofles y Radiatores...any guesses?  (Mufflers and radiators - aren't cognates great)

Road quality was bumpy to unremarkable.  Many new and old cars.  One well outfitted cyclist who was keeping pace with our van at 30 mph. Traffic was not too congested, although hazy air quality was icky (perhaps one of the reasons Delaney's cough has lingered)

Day 5-God moments

At the end of the day the group has gathered to share "God moments", times when we felt closest to God, or saw God in others during the day.  These are always special moments and its good to reflect back on the day this way as well as hear what others have experienced through the day.

One person shared that they particularly noticed that everyone was smiling today and that warmed their heart and made them smile too.

Someone else shared that they were not feeling well in the morning, but when they looked around and saw their team members working hard they were inspired to keep on contributing to the group's efforts.

Another member of the group shared that they had been in line at the store to buy ice cream when they realized they did not have enough pesos to pay.  They looked around but none of our group was visible.  They were in a quandary about what to do and they had no Spanish skills.  The clerk and others saw the problem however (she was smiling).  The guy behind our group member paid the difference.  So kind.

My own God moment was when I accompanied Jay into the neighborhood to extend VBS invitations.  He simply walked up to front gates and called Hola!  If someone struck their head out, he just explained  in Spanish with an open smile that we were inviting them to escuelita biblica with stories, games, crafts and snacks.  Some smiled back, some were clearly uncertain about us standing on their door step.  He thanked them all graciously saying "God be with you".

Day 5- strange experience

Jay and I had a kind of unusual experience tonight.  We decided not to go out for ice cream and just relax at the church.  One of the members struck up a conversation with Jay and he kindly included me in the conversation by translating.  The lady turned out to be a high school counselor/social worker.  She offered to take us by to see the local high school and I jumped on the opportunity.  I love to see parts of "every day life" when I visit other places.  She drove us 10 blocks to the school and told us that there are about 2100 students there.  Unfortunately it was after hours, so we didn't get to go in.

Then she offered to show us her house which was not far away.  Again, I was excited to get the opportunity to see inside one of the houses that we had walked passed in the neighborhood several times.  She had a garage on the front of the house along with a small xeriscaped garden.  She invited us into her living room which was open to the dining and kitchen area as well.  There were three overstuffed comfy couches in the living room, a very nice hexagonal glass table in the dining room, and a tidy, small kitchen, all tastefully decorated.

She had a small strange device in the middle of her living room floor.  She explained that it was a massage device for her back, then offered to show it to us.  I was invited to lay on the floor and place my feet in this machine that then proceeded to shake my feet back and forth.  (I felt like a toy that  the dog was shaking in its mouth!)  She also had a hand held massage tool that she gave us a brief back rub with.  It was kind of relaxing in the end, but also kind of odd from a virtual stranger.

Day 5-dog

Had a bit of a rude awakening last night...the pastor's dog decided to bark like the dickens at 3:30 am, and then against 3:45 am, just as we were all drifting back to sleep!  He is very territorial and decided he needed to tell a group of passing dogs that this was his territory.  He also has this message for every car that passes by.  There is a speed bump right in front of the building and every car slows down as it approaches, at which time the dog charges out barking like mad, and by some miracle doesn't get run over.

Day 5- VBS

Today we went door to door in the neighborhood with invitations to attend and had twice as many kids as yesterday.  It was a lot of fun.  I was a little worried about needing to keep kids inline after being tired from painting, and not having the Spanish vocabulary to direct kids' behavior, but the kids were very well behaved.  I helped with crafts again today and had many kids showing me their work for approval.  I was able to say bueno and le gusto (I like it) with a smile, so one little girl decided to strike up a conversation with me which was more than my limited vocab could handle.  At the end of the afternoon, she came running over to say goodbye to me and gave me a hug.  So sweet!

I did a little better with my songs in Spanish today.  It helped to be able to see the words on a song sheet!

The bible story today was the Good Samaritan, which we acted out as Jay did the narration.  Then Pastor Ramon presented a lesson.

The kids played Pato, Pato, gonzo (duck,duck, goose).  After a while they took to teaming up against the adults playing. By trying to hold them back as they ran around the circle.  It had everyone laughing.

Pastor Ramon giving the 'application' (lesson)

Playing pato, pato, ganzo

Kids playing relay games in the entry/hallway of the church

Day 5- Local neighborhood

I started my morning with a walk around the neighborhood with Matt.  We did a loop out to the main street and back around.  This area is a middle class area where most people own their own homes.  The homes are small, but mostly well kept.  It is notable that all the front patios as well as the lower floor windows are heavily barred.  It is not clear whether these are in use because there is a high crime risk, or simply as a deterrent to prevent crime because these people in the neighborhood have some things worth stealing. Many of the homes have dogs and we saw a few cats prowling around.  All of the dogs seem very territorial and barked like crazy as we passed by.  None of the homes have lawns (this is a desert climate), although a few have some nice potted plants out front.  We can see into the space behind a few houses from the church balcony, and there are a number of kids play things- basketball hoops, swings, etc.  There is a park down the street that has 4 swings, a slide, and is filled with dirt and broken glass.  A bit disappointing to see.  We have seen kids in uniform walking to school each day and I was told there is a high school nearby, which is another indication that this is a middle class neighborhood.

Many homes had a basket like this in the front of them.  Its for putting out the trash and keeping it out of reach of the many roaming dogs in the neighborhood.

Day 5- a great day

Today was a great day.  A good breakfast of fresh mangos and papaya with yogurt and cereal, then another productive morning painting in the sanctuary.  Those working on the exterior also made good progress.  It may not be possible to reach the highest part of the exterior wall though.

Pastor Ramon asked Ally if she would be willing to design and paint a mural in the room where the group has been sleeping.  This room had originally been the sanctuary before the new addition was complete.  It was now going to be a hangout space for the kids and youth.  He had several computers set up for an internet cafe area, and wanted to paint a decorative mural on the wall.  Ally asked what he wanted to paint and he requested Noah's ark, so she first sketched it on paper, then gridded it out on the wall.  (Pastor Ramon got her paint and on our last day she set to work painting as quickly as she could.  She soon got assistance from Chris, Joca, David, and a delighted Delaney.  They worked right through VBS on the last day and managed to finish.  It was an amazing creation, especially with such a tight timeline!)

Ally starting to paint

Delaney assisting with the waves

Joca, Chris, Delaney, David and Ally all working hard

Almost done...

The ladies who have been feeding us made chilli rellenos, homemade stuffed peppers.  Delaney wouldn't eat them and enjoyed another Nutella sandwich from the backup food supplies we brought :). But I loved them!  We were even served flan (custard) for dessert.  They are currently preparing a traditional meal from Tabasco in the South.

Cooking in the entry way where there is more room than in the kitchen.

Day 5-people

Our group has grown in numbers as we have continued our travels.  It was a little hard as a new comer on the trip to keep track of all of the names of the people that our group had met on previous trips. It is kind of neat to realize how many people have come together for the project from so many different places. Here is a list of all of the people we have met and are working with:

From Kansas:
Pastor Bill - El Dorado
Matthew - Bill's son
Pastor Jay - Bethel Presbyterian
Chris - Jay's son in law, also from Bethel
Nita - retired teacher from El Dorado
Terry - Westwood Presbyterian
Don - Trinity Presbyterian
Matt - teen from Coffeyville KS Presbyerian
Me and Delaney - Grace Presbyterian

From Agua Prieta (border town with Douglas AZ):
Pastor Rudolfo and wife Lorena - hosted us in Agua Prieta
Mark - American pastor working for Fronteras de Cristo in Douglas/Agua Prieta (didn't travel to Hermosillo with us though)
Miriam - Mark's wife

Joca-  graduate from Mexican Presbyterian seminary- ministers in variety of areas

Ally*-  intern with Fronteras de Cristo (originally from El Dorado Kansas)

David- band member from Lilos de Valles in Agua Prieta

In Hermosillo:
Pastor Ramon and his wife Ruth and their four children
Brother Fernando - foreman for paint project
Pastor Guillero - from church in Guaymas
Jose - youth from church in Guaymas

*Delaney took a real liking to Ally, who dances, and is also an artist.  I told Ally she was a role model for Delaney and she was uncertain about whether this was a good thing or not : )

Pastor Ramon (little Ramon), Pastor Guillermo 1, and Pastor Guillermo 2 (also known as Pastor Bill)

Day 4-seeking quiet

I felt the need today to seek out some peace and quiet.  We are sleeping the 10 of us in one room (as well as lots of time in a single van).  Fortunately many in the group seem to recognize a "quiet zone" when they enter it, so I've had time to blog in relative peace.

The kids have been running around almost nonstop.  Delaney and Matthew are getting on each others nerves, but there are other kids around to provide some buffers.  Delaney found one girl (Michelle) who is 11 who speaks some English and they have been having fun together.

It's interesting to see how many people just hang around the church compound.  I know the pastor has 4 kids, but I haven't figured out which four are his yet.  Some are helping with the paint project, others just seem to be sitting around and visiting.  This is my husband's paradise.

Day 4- running out of stream

It's been a busy day and after spending so much time in the van it was a relief to stay put, but I'm feeling pretty rundown at this point and Delaney is running on straight adrenalin.  She's had a few trantrums, but is somehow  keeping it together.  She really misses her brother and dad!

We are scheduled to go to an outlook at the top of the mountain overlooking the city tonight, but I think I'll stay in and try to catch up on sleep.  (The group shared the pictures below...)

Don

Joca, Ally, Nita

Hermosillo (pop approx 715,000)

Day 4- VBS

It was a fun afternoon with the kids for VBS.  The theme for today was Courage and the bible story was David and Goliath.  We started with songs led by Jay (Jesus loves the little children - Christo ama a Los Ninos todas ninos del mondo) and Jesus es la luz (Jesus is the light).  There is part of one of the songs that has a boom boom boom part to it where the chicos and chicas compete to sing it the loudest.  The chicas won today :)

We then told the bible story "kabuki style", with 3 people playing "puppets"  of Saul, David and Goliath.  They could only move when their puppet keepers moved them.  It was pretty funny to watch and got some good laughs.  It was kind of a challenge because the story was being narrated in Spanish, but not all the puppeteers spoke Spanish!  Delaney had fun playing the role of David.  Terry had fun taunting her as Goliath.

David es el rey (the king) and Miriam was his puppeteer

Terry was Goliath, and Don and Chris were his puppeteers

Delaney was David and Ally was her puppeteer, although as a puppet she was pretty independent minded.

Don helping with crafts

For craft time, the kids then made their own armour out of paper grocery bags.  Several of them chose to write scripture on them.  I found this a particularly nice touch because it was not part of the specific instructions that they were given.

One of the suits of armor made by the kids - "If He is with us, who can stand against us?"

Group photo from the first day of VBS

They played several games and then wrapped up with snacks and songs.  We had about 10 kids.  We are hoping to go door to door in the neighborhood tomorrow with invitations and get more kids to join the fun.

Day 4 - additional project

In addition to the painting, there was some carpentry work to be done.  There was a large hole in a wall between two of the downstairs rooms that needed to be filled in.  Don and Chris, our handymen, got assigned this job.  They decided to make the framing a built in storage unit facing one room, and then to sheetrock in the other side.  Chris noted that it was a particular challenge to do this project with the limited supplies on hand.  Don had brought his tools along, but they could not go to Home Depot and buy whatever additional materials they needed, they had to make do with what was already on hand, or available at the small ferretaria (hardware store) down the street.

Hole in the wall to be repaired

Chris and Don - our handy men

Day 4-meals

We've been provided with some good meals thus far:

Lunch for the road:  homemade burritos
Dinner out at restaurant:  every choice of grilled meat possible.  I got steak on an extra thick corn tortilla with yummy cilantro sauce.
Breakfast prepared by the church women:  eggs with veggies and refried beans
Lunch:  corn tortillas with shredded meat and pico and this strange lime seasoned Alfredo on spaghetti.  (Quite ironic since Delaney had just been sating that she wanted pasta!  She didn't care for the pasta, but did try the meat and tortilla and ate most of it.  I was proud of her!
Dinner:  crispy tortilla with refried beans and cheese with pico de gallo.

There  is a lot of blender use here for fruit drinks.  We've had cantaloupe and watermelon slushies several times.

David reading scripture for our devotional

Delaney trying something new to eat! 

Dinner at Voz de Desierto.  

L to R:  Jay, Don, Delaney, Miriam, ?, Pastor Ramon (back center), Bill (hat), Matt, Chris, Ally.

This was the hallway/dining area with our sleeping room at the rear and the kitchen to the right.

Church kitchen.  Three meals a day were prepared for 20+ people in this space.  Amazing.

Day 4-big paint job

There are two main activities that are keeping our group busy during our stay in Hermosillo...we are painting the interior of a brand new sanctuary at Voz del Desierto (voice in the desert), as well as the exterior, and we are leading vacation bible school in the afternoons.  The painting is a big job!  I worked on the interior and Delaney helped in both places.  She actually helped roll the high walls with the extension roller! There is a high ceiling that requires a long extension.  The exterior is actually a three story reach from street level.  Pastor Bill ended up standing on the top of the church van with a long extension roller to get to the top!

We had a brief scare this morning when one of the members of the church had a ladder slip from underneath him.  He was at the very top.  He was a bit bruised, but nothing broken (except the ladder). He found a couple of coat hangers and jury rigged the ladder so it could be used again.  Someone helped hold the bottom for him the rest of the morning so it didn't happen again.

It was very satisfying to make the brand new sanctuary look so nice and fresh with the paint.  I was especially thinking of my friend Laura today and employing all her good painting tips..  I can't wait to see what it looks like when we are finished.

Delaney

Delaney and Terry

Nita, Carolyn and Miriam

Nita scraping glue off the walls with a kitchen knife in preparation for painting

Miriam doing the high rolling.  Fernando is behind on his make shift ladder.

Delaney with the high roller

Bill working on the highest part of the exterior

Day 3 - Arrival at Voz de Desierto

After our long drive from Agua Prieta, we finally arrived around 8:30 pm in Hermosillo.  Thankfully we had decided not to try to worship with the church community that evening or they would have been waiting for us for a while.  We were several hours later than we planned.

We drove through town for a ways to go out to a restaurant that Pastor Ramon recommended.  I was totally astonished to see the number of familiar retail outlets that we passed.

We are staying in a large room that used to be the sanctuary before the new sanctuary was built.  It does have a working swamp cooler which we are very grateful for.  The pastor, Pastor Ramon, lives next door with his wife and four kids.  The new sanctuary has been built on the top of the existing building.  Its pretty ingenious how they have reinforced the walls/ceilings of the first story to support the second story.  They also added an extra storage space area on the first floor to allow the sanctuary upstairs to be just a bit wider.

Dinner out at a restaurant on our first night in Hermosillo

Church (R) and Pastor Ramon's house (L) with the new upstairs addition 

(accessible by ladder from the back of the house)

Our sleeping space with the collection of computer equipment for an after school study space for kids and teens

Room that used to be the sanctuary

front of the new sanctuary

rear of the sanctuary

balcony of sanctuary

Front of the church building with stairs going up to the sanctuary

Day 3-drive through the mountains

We drove another 7 hours south from Agua Prieta to Hermosillo.  The church had packed us a lunch for the road (bean or beef burritos).  After 4 different credit cards failed to pay for fueling the van, one of our Mexican partners took care of the charge...call to the bank needed.  The highway was mostly two lanes and took us through some beautiful mountain country.  The road was narrow and winding, but we were in good hands with Jay driving.  Some crazy drivers were passing on blind curves and there was a lot of truck traffic.

Headed into the mountains toward Hermosillo from Agua Prieta

Looking back toward Agua Prieta

Typical stretch of road, except you don't see a crazy driver trying to pass us...

Coming out of the mountains on the west side, not far from Magdalena

We were stopped at a check point by the federal police who were looking for illegal arms shipments and drugs.  They were polite and let us pass without difficulty.  We had another stop for customs.  All the passenger cars drove off the road onto the dirt and bypassed the truck traffic being inspected.  They made us open the trailer, but didn't delay us much.  Fortunately we had the correct license paperwork for the van thanks to the long initial wait at the border.

I would have liked more pictures of the security stops, but others in the van didn't think it was a good idea to be openly snapping photos.  They were probably right.

We made a pit stop at The equivalent of Quick Stop (called OXXO).  It had the cleanest bathroom we've seen since leaving Wichita.  Our second stop saw our first pay toilet, 5 pesos (approx 50 cents).  Unfortunately we had left the informal "dollar zone" and had not gotten any pesos yet, so our Mexican partners helped out again.  An effort to access the ATM (cajera) was unsuccessful (broken).  This made it kind of hard to pay the toll on the toll road > thanks again partners who saved the day!

The OXXO (pronounced Ox-O) stores were everywhere!  On every street corner.