Thankful

In just week, it will be time to celebrate Thanksgiving again.   I wanted to share with you one of the things that I am thankful for this year.  Time with my family.  Yes, I moved to Mexico, but I actually moved closer to my mom and sister.  Heather is living in San Diego and my mom is just 2.5 hours away in Yuma, AZ.   I have been able to see my dad twice already, and soon will have one more visit over the Thanksgiving week.  I am thankful for each of them.  They have been very kind and encouraging to me as I transition to this new season of life at Baja Bible School.  Here are a few photos from our recent adventures together.  

A few weeks ago, Dad, Gwen, and I spent a day together in Tijuana.  

It was a cool fall day, so we were all bundled up.

Dad and I at the beach in Tijuana

Mom came over for a day with Heather and I this past weekend. 

 It was a beautiful fall day.  We had a great time.  

Mom and Heather

WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR TODAY?

El Refugio

This is El Refugio, La Casa Para Ancianos.  This is one of the nursing homes found in Tijuana.  Ancianos is the spanish word for elderly.  I like that this one is named "the refuge".  I have been spending Wednesday mornings over there this fall.   Part of my job this year  (as we prepare to open in September), is to become familiar with the city and to establish relationships with local ministries.  Next year the students will be working with local ministries and serving the people of Tijuana.  I hope some will have the opportunity to serve at El Refugio.  

At this point, over 100 ancianos live here.  It is a Christian facility, so I have enjoyed seeing the the presence of Christ's love in a place that can be lonely and often lacking kindness.  The facility was started as there were many older people on the streets with no place to go.  Now they are given shelter, warm meals, and a family.  

Last week I enjoyed watching the ancianos be spoiled.  Lots of groups come through to serve, doing things like shaving, bathing, cutting fingernails and toenails, or simply cleaning the facility.  One of my favorite groups thus far is a group of ladies that are from a local gym.  They are probably just a bit older than me and they come to visit once or twice a month.  This last visit was great as they brought Birria (a shredded beef), warm tortillas, and papaya.  Oh... people were very happy!  In addition to the good food, they brought live music.  So at one point, one of my favorite ancianas, was wheeled up to the singer and just started dancing in her wheelchair.  It was such a sweet sight.  She had a huge grin on her face.

My favorite couple at the Refugio happens to be from China.  They do not speak much Spanish, or English, but frequently talk to the staff, and to me in Chinese.  They are very sweet, and the Senor is such a hard worker.  He was helping the staff with chores this past week.  

A word of wisdom from one of the women at the nursing home.  God is love and nothing will we need.   Just a good reminder that we have a great Father in Heaven who loves us a lot, and He takes care of His kids.  Gracias a Dios!

Meet the Staff

Here we are, in our first official staff photo. I would like to introduce the Baja Bible Family to you.  Starting from the left side:  Dan and Lyndsay Silver, Ryan and Stephanie Sorensen, Kelly Hinz, Addie Horn, Me, Paul Baughn, Andrew Bjorkland, and Oscar.  

One of our staff meeting times.  This happens to be the beginning of Spanish class.  

Sunrise from the Castillo.  Stephanie took a great photo that captures well one of my favorite times of the day.  We have been getting up early to exercise in the morning and it certainly has it perks.  I have missed the beauty of the Oregon Coast, but God has graciously provided beauty of another kind to enjoy in Tijuana.

Baja Bible Staff Retreat

Last week we headed south from Tijuana for our Baja Bible Staff retreat. We visited an area called Laguna Hanson. What a cool place to visit.  In just four hours, we found ourselves in a whole new world from the city that we live in.  We were surrounded by trees, cows grazing in the fields, and the calming silence that comes along with the camping life.  At night, you could see thousands of stars which in itself was an extraordinary site.  During our stay there we spent time as a group getting to know one another better, preparing for the year ahead, and we also did some exploring.  I took a multitude of rock pictures as I have not seen so many interesting rocks in one place before.  Enjoy the sites of Laguna Hanson and another part of Baja California Norte.

This one I am going to call Little Rock 

Steph and I out exploring

Our home at the campground

Other visitors at the lake

I like to call this one Whale Rock

Early morning by the lake

Adventure in the forest

Los banos

Steph, Lyndsay and I out enjoying some rock climbing or as we called it scrambling

For the first time

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the chance to do some new things in Tijuana.  So I thought I would share my list with you.

For the first time I...

*went to a quinceanera.  Stephanie and I joined our friend Ruth Gollings and we celebrated Sarai's 15th birthday.  It was a beautiful celebration, much like a wedding in the states.  There was a ceremony in the church to start and this was followed by a reception.  Throughout the ceremony she was presented with gifts from her family and friends including her first pair of high heels!  I think this had to be my favorite part.  It was a sweet moment as her mom and dad took of her sandals and placed the high heels on her feet.  The pastor had her take a turn around the chairs to prove that she was ready to walk in them :-)  In addition to the sentimental value of the moment, I am just impressed with Mexican women and their ability to wear high heels.  Whether the terrain is good or bad, they look lovely and walk well.

*celebrated Independence Day in Mexico.  September 16th is Independence Day in Mexico, and the eve before is the time to celebrate.  The Baja Staff went over to our church for dinner and games and we ended the night at the Palacio Municipal.  Here we found thousands of people out celebrating with music, food stands, carnival rides, and probably the biggest pieces of cotton candy I have ever seen.  It is traditional to yell !Viva Mexico! at midnight, but we missed the offical grita (yell).  I have heard that the best place to celebrate this event is in Mexico City.

*ate a hot dog in Tijuana.   A friend of ours has been claiming to know the "Best hot dog stand in Tijuana" and so we headed out as a group one night to give it a try.  I admit it was good.  Beans, salsa, onions... and much more than that all on a hot dog.  Pretty tasty.

*have my own functioning bathroom.  That is right, this past week I had the first flush and first shower in my new bathroom.  The water was officially turned on.

Stephanie, Ruth and I joining Sarai at her quinceanera.

The site of one of the best hot dogs in Tijuana!

Staff laundry day at the Castillo

Duane and I working having fun sanding the walls

Another view of my little room and the functioning bathroom in the background

Welcome to Tijuana

Hi from Tijuana!  I made it home from language school and have been settling in at the Castillo.  I returned from Chiapas to find my new room waiting for me.  I have really enjoyed making it my new home for this next year.  As you can see in the photo, I have a view outside of my front door, and then a ladder to take me up to my loft.  It is currently a storage loft, but a loft none the less.  

The current projects at the Castillo have involved working on dorm rooms and finishing housing for the incoming staff members.  This year at Baja Bible there will be 8 staff members living on site and preparing for the upcoming school year.  It is our hope to open the school to students in the fall of 2009.

I have been learning some new construction skills, so here I am learning how to tile sinks.  The other highlight that day was learning how to use power tools... a tile cutter.  That was a new one for me!

Here is a photo of the current staff living at the Castillo.  We took day to visit the beach after church last Sunday.

It has also been a neat time to have guests visit the Castillo.  We had the Baja Bible board meeting this past weekend, which meant friends from Oregon were here to visit. I enjoyed catching up with Becky and yes true to our days at Ecola, we had some coffee together.  Michael is also on the board and was able to stay for our beach/Starbucks outing.  It was refreshing to see good friends from home.  

My Family in San Cristobal

Here are a few photos of the people that helped to make my time in San Cristobal very, very special.  

This was my last day in the city, so we had a special lunch.  In this photo, Jorge (my teacher), me, my good friend Merideth who moved in my last week, and Reynaldo... the dad of the house.  In the back row is Coco, my Mexican mom :-)  She was a wonderful hostess.

This is a photo of Merideth, Ricardo, and myself enjoying a good lunch in the backyard.  Ricardo was visiting for two of the weeks that I lived with the family.  

Merideth and I visited La iglesia de San Cristobal.  This was one of the two churches that sits at the top of many, many stairs.  We climbed to the top one day to visit the church during the festival of San Cristobal.  

And finally, this is Yoli.  She works with Coco, and was one of my favorite people to speak with.  I miss her!

LAS RUINAS

PALENQUE!  I finally made a trip to Palenque.  Palenque is the site of well known and often visited, Mayan Ruins.  It is set in the jungle, and has a humid/hot climate.  It was quite a change from San Cristobal.  I left San Cristobal on a Saturday morning and made the five hour bus ride to Agua Azul.  This is a park filled with waterfalls and many places to swim and cool off.  After taking some pictures and waiting out a rainstorm, I joined a group of backpackers and headed to Palenque.  We arrived in El Panchan which is a place well known on the backpackers circuit.  It hosts many hostels, cabanas, and restaurants.  I ended up staying in my own little cabana which was very comfortable.  It had two beds, a bathroom, and well screened windows to protect against the mosquitoes.  I slept great in my little cabana, and enjoyed listening to the sounds of the jungle as I headed to sleep.  On Sunday morning, it was time to visit Palenque.  I arrived early to enjoy cooler temperatures and fewer tourists.  All I can say is that it is an impressive place to visit.  The work of the Mayans is amazing.  I wandered through the park for a few hours, visited the museum, worked on my Spanish homework, and then once again waited out a rainstorm with a nice couple from Guanajuato.  (This is another state in Mexico)  It was a full day as I returned to San Cristobal at 11:30pm.  I was very happy to home!  I missed my Mexican family and was ready for a  post jungle shower!  I must say that the buses are the way to travel in Chiapas... much nicer than the Greyhound.  They have reclining seats, movies, and they gave us a complimentary beverage as we boarded the bus.  

Lluvia...it was a weekend of rain here as we experienced some of the effects of Hurricane Dolly.  It has been a bit cooler in San Cristobal and wet, but nothing compared to some of the other states in Mexico.  We have been watching the news in the evenings and there is a lot of flooding and damaged cities.

El Palacio...the main center of the ruins.

Me and the ruins... I drank A LOT of water!

My favorite pictures of the day!  The leaves from the trees were huge and this little guy was helping his sister stay cool.  People were using the leaves as umbrellas and hats.  

Waterfalls at Agua Azul

Welcome to El Panchan!  I stayed at El Jaguar.

My Cabana!  I stayed in only part of this building... the stairs are leading to my room.

MY DAY AT TONINA...Tonina is a smaller ruin compared to Palenque.  It has menos turistas (fewer tourists), but it is still a beautiful place to visit.  I headed to Tonina two weekends ago.  It was a good lesson in the cultural practices of public transportation.  I left San Cristobal on a colectivo and headed to Ocosingo a city just over 2 hours away.  Many, many curves and many, many speed bumps.  My biggest traveling dilemma has been several boughts of car sickness.  Oh well...Once I arrived in Ocosingo I headed out on colectivo number 2.  This dropped me off at the ruins.  It was a very quiet place as there were about 10 tourists visiting this huge ruin.  I wandered around for a couple of hours and then headed back toward San Cristobal.  On my trip back, I met a couple from France that just happened to be Spanish teachers.  I talked with them a bit, and then joined them on the colectivo to San Cristobal.  It was a cozy ride as I was in a seat reserved for four persons!  It ended up being me and three men.  Uses of space are very different here in Mexico, and this was a very good opportunity to learn about that!  Below are a few photos of the ruins at Tonina (Toe-nee-na), and the views of the surrounding area.

Daily life in San Cristobal

Here are a few photos from my life in San Cristobal.  Many different colored buildings and a variety of churches to visit.  I think there are over 16 churches listed on my map of the city, and I have two more I still need to visit.   

A few things I have been learning about the culture in the city... walking on the sidewalks.  Well, some of the sidewalks here are very narrow.  Really, there is just space for one person to walk.   In most cases, the younger person moves to toward the street when a older person is walking toward them.  This  is a sign of respect.  Also, if a man is walking toward a woman, it would be respectful of him to move to the outside and let her pass by.  These courtesies are not always followed, but I try to move to the outside of the sidewalk as I approach the more mature people of the city.

Doing your laundry in San Cristobal... well they have shops called lavandurias that wash and dry your clothes for 10 pesos a kilogram.  The first time I went, I dropped off most of my clothing and it was only a little over 20 pesos.  That is essentially $2.00.  When you go to pick it up, you will find your clothes neatly folded and packaged.

I have been visiting the markets during the week as there are many people to observe, both vendors and buyers.  One of my favorite things to buy has been roses.  They grow beautiful flowers in a village not too far from San Cristobal.  I hope to visit it this weekend.  The roses are 4 pesos each, and at some markets they are 2 pesos each.  I have enjoyed having fresh flowers in my room, (just a few) as they are a bit more affordable here.

Chedraui... this is the plaza in the city that has a movie theater and a large grocery store.  It is a bit like being in the states as you go here as they have McDonalds and a Dominoes Pizza.  I have gone to visit there a couple of times because movies are just $2.50 on Wednesdays.  I am trying to learn to use public transportation, so I headed over by taxi, watched WALLE, and then headed home on a colectivo. 

This is a city that is great for lots of walking.  Everything is relatively close, and there is a lot to look at.  The street filled with people (in the photo below) is called Miguel Hidalgo. It is a street for pedestrians only and goes through the main center of the city.  It is usually full of people during the day and in the nights as well.  

I hope you enjoy seeing a few of the sights from San Cristobal...