No time for a post today - that will come tomorrow!
I just wanted to say that I just finished reading the comments from everyone and they truly made my day!!
Your friendships, love, support and prayers are making a world of difference in my life this summer! Thank you so much! I have the biggest smile on my face because I love each of you so incredibly much!
Danielle
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
¡Que interesante!
Week three has by far been the most interesting week yet.
On Wednesday I once again visited the village of Yucanama, with my leader Angela and fellow interns Julia and Kenny (a girl.) While in Yucanama we:
visited a woman named Juana, and she gave us fresh miel y galletas (honey and crackers)
next she pounded the grey, paper machi type beehive on the table and all these dead grey larvae fell out, and she handed us some...to eat.
Yes, bee larvae is in fact a delicacy in Yucanama because it is full of protein. And yes, I ate them...
Next the other girls and I helped Juana tow her stubborn donkey up a mountain to gather fire wood for her stove. While we were gathering wood she found a live beehive. She tore large chunks off and instructed us to eat it. Now in Mexico, you can`t ever refuse food because that would be extremely offensive, so Julia, Kenny and I were stuck eating paper machi beehive with little bits of honey in it. And then we realize that we were also eating LIVE wiggling bee larvae. That yes, must be chewed because if you swallow it whole, you can feel it squirm in your throat. Seriously, I think I will be prepared for Fear Factor by the end of the summer!!
On Wednesday I also herded sheep up a mountain. . . in a skirt! Got butted in the hiney by a baby burro (it was my fault, I did whistle to get it to follow its mom), stepped on a cactus (luckily it didn´t go through my shoe) and ate pine tree sprouts. The people here think it tastes like lettuce. It does NOT taste like lettuce.
And amazingly, I was not sick on Thursday, praise God!
This week has made me realize that this trip truly is an adventure! I have continued to work on community service projects and make friends in Tlaxiaco, and my Spanish skills have been growing tremendously! Every Sunday I go to a Mexican Baptist church where everyone sings delightfully off key and I can sing as loud as my heart desires. It is simply beautiful. Today they had me take up the collection and pray over it in Spanish! It was amazing to fully understand the message today even though it was in Spanish - it is so exciting to know another language! Especially because everyone knows how much I love to talk! Haha.
Yesterday I climbed the mountain that I live at the bottom of. It is a beautiful, tree lined mountain with lush valleys between the forests of pines. The top is jagged red-rock and even from the bottom the sight of this mountain truly steals your breath! Hiking up the mountain took almost 2 hours and was an amazing team building experience! There was no trail, and the face was so steep that our group of 12 was often on all fours, clawing our way up the slopes. We would have to support each others feet as we tried to grasp the pine needle covered ground; no easy task. When we reach the peak, the view was astounding! You could see for hundreds of miles it seemed, mountains upon mountains with beautiful, lush forests in between the fields of corn. It was almost like my view from the airplane flying into Oaxaca. I`ll have plenty of pictures to post once I return to the states!
I can`t believe how fast the time is going now, barely more than a month remains of my trip, and although I am exstactic that I will return to those I love in the States, I know I will really miss the amazing people I have met through my internship, and the women of Tlaxiaco. So many of the women remind me of my grandmothers, and I truly value the friendships I have made, especially with the women in the market place. They understand the simple life, free from materialism and appreciative of the blessings they have received.
Thank you for the encouragement for everyone. Take care and God Bless!
Danielle
On Wednesday I once again visited the village of Yucanama, with my leader Angela and fellow interns Julia and Kenny (a girl.) While in Yucanama we:
visited a woman named Juana, and she gave us fresh miel y galletas (honey and crackers)
next she pounded the grey, paper machi type beehive on the table and all these dead grey larvae fell out, and she handed us some...to eat.
Yes, bee larvae is in fact a delicacy in Yucanama because it is full of protein. And yes, I ate them...
Next the other girls and I helped Juana tow her stubborn donkey up a mountain to gather fire wood for her stove. While we were gathering wood she found a live beehive. She tore large chunks off and instructed us to eat it. Now in Mexico, you can`t ever refuse food because that would be extremely offensive, so Julia, Kenny and I were stuck eating paper machi beehive with little bits of honey in it. And then we realize that we were also eating LIVE wiggling bee larvae. That yes, must be chewed because if you swallow it whole, you can feel it squirm in your throat. Seriously, I think I will be prepared for Fear Factor by the end of the summer!!
On Wednesday I also herded sheep up a mountain. . . in a skirt! Got butted in the hiney by a baby burro (it was my fault, I did whistle to get it to follow its mom), stepped on a cactus (luckily it didn´t go through my shoe) and ate pine tree sprouts. The people here think it tastes like lettuce. It does NOT taste like lettuce.
And amazingly, I was not sick on Thursday, praise God!
This week has made me realize that this trip truly is an adventure! I have continued to work on community service projects and make friends in Tlaxiaco, and my Spanish skills have been growing tremendously! Every Sunday I go to a Mexican Baptist church where everyone sings delightfully off key and I can sing as loud as my heart desires. It is simply beautiful. Today they had me take up the collection and pray over it in Spanish! It was amazing to fully understand the message today even though it was in Spanish - it is so exciting to know another language! Especially because everyone knows how much I love to talk! Haha.
Yesterday I climbed the mountain that I live at the bottom of. It is a beautiful, tree lined mountain with lush valleys between the forests of pines. The top is jagged red-rock and even from the bottom the sight of this mountain truly steals your breath! Hiking up the mountain took almost 2 hours and was an amazing team building experience! There was no trail, and the face was so steep that our group of 12 was often on all fours, clawing our way up the slopes. We would have to support each others feet as we tried to grasp the pine needle covered ground; no easy task. When we reach the peak, the view was astounding! You could see for hundreds of miles it seemed, mountains upon mountains with beautiful, lush forests in between the fields of corn. It was almost like my view from the airplane flying into Oaxaca. I`ll have plenty of pictures to post once I return to the states!
I can`t believe how fast the time is going now, barely more than a month remains of my trip, and although I am exstactic that I will return to those I love in the States, I know I will really miss the amazing people I have met through my internship, and the women of Tlaxiaco. So many of the women remind me of my grandmothers, and I truly value the friendships I have made, especially with the women in the market place. They understand the simple life, free from materialism and appreciative of the blessings they have received.
Thank you for the encouragement for everyone. Take care and God Bless!
Danielle
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Week Two
These past 7 days have been much much better than the first 4. In the beginning it was such a struggle to get used to a new language, and although I still can`t follow most conversations 100%, I usually understand what the people are saying and they are pretty nice about it when I accidentally say something totally inappropriate! The culture is extremely different here than in the United States and each day is a learning experience.
The area is so beautiful that words cannot describe. It rains most afternoons, but yesterday there was a large thunderstorm that although terrifying, was beautifully cleansing as well. The thunder here is the loudest I`ve ever heard it and it rolls from mountain top to mountain top. And there is no time to count between lightening strikes and and thunder; it is a constant cannon of light and sound.
The people in the town of Tlaxiaco are very open to friendship, and there are already at least 4 women between the ages of 30 and 60 that are offended if we don`t come visit at least once a day (except weekends!) I love these women so much and they have been such a blessing to learn Spanish from! It is not strange to wander into a shop and have a conversation or make friends without any intent of buying anything, and honestly it seems so rare for shops to actually sell their merchandise that I haven`t figured out how they stay open.
On Wednesday I visited a village called Yucanama with my leader Angela and another intern, Julia. This was an amazing experience! One of the women from the village has been sick for quite some time, and although she has believe in idol worship most of her life she has began to ask Angela (who has known her for at least 1 year) and now us, about Jesus, and she wants to know if we believe he really healed people. She reminded me so much of when I was in the hospital, and unsure of how my life would turn out, and unsure if the doctors would ever find out what was wrong. My heart hurt for her because I can sympathize with the look of hopelessness she wore. I was startlingly bold and asked her if it was ok to read her a story from the bible and she was excited to allow this. So I read her a story from the Gospels about the Miracles of Healing Jesus performed. She wept and thanked me, because although she is still ill and in pain, she said her heart felt comfort to know that people love her and wish to see her recover. It reminded me very much of when my Grandma was sick and many people from our small town came to pray for her and show their love. I am sure that not all of you reading this believe in miracles, or believe in Christ, but I write my experiences in confidence because of the healing I have experienced in my own life.
It is hard to not count down the days until I will be back in America because I miss my family, especially my Mom and Dad so much, but I am learning and growing so much from this experience it is indescribable.
This week I also helped dig a well for a woman that was in need of water for her corn crops. Which seems ironic since I just learned from my Dad that my home in Ohio hasn`t had rain since I left! ... But digging wells is one of my favorites parts of this trip. It is hard work, but the group of guy interns specifically requested my help because I did so well the first day, which made me feel really good about myself and my abilities. I am so excited to help provide water for people that truly need it. I also helped build a water purifier, designed by an engineering firm called Equip. Clean water is only found in bottles in Mexico and water purifiers are a new concept to this area. Being in Mexico has made me aware of so many blessings I have in the United States and overlook daily. Especially clean water. And showers. It is not rare to go weeks without a shower here...and I have been lucky to get 2 showers a week!
Thank you SO MUCH to those of you that have sent emails! I have read them all and hearing from my friends and family truly makes me smile and knowing I`m in your thoughts and prayers keeps me going throughout the week when I have no contact with those I love in the States! Keep the emails coming! Especially the words of encouragement- they mean more than you could ever know!
The area is so beautiful that words cannot describe. It rains most afternoons, but yesterday there was a large thunderstorm that although terrifying, was beautifully cleansing as well. The thunder here is the loudest I`ve ever heard it and it rolls from mountain top to mountain top. And there is no time to count between lightening strikes and and thunder; it is a constant cannon of light and sound.
The people in the town of Tlaxiaco are very open to friendship, and there are already at least 4 women between the ages of 30 and 60 that are offended if we don`t come visit at least once a day (except weekends!) I love these women so much and they have been such a blessing to learn Spanish from! It is not strange to wander into a shop and have a conversation or make friends without any intent of buying anything, and honestly it seems so rare for shops to actually sell their merchandise that I haven`t figured out how they stay open.
On Wednesday I visited a village called Yucanama with my leader Angela and another intern, Julia. This was an amazing experience! One of the women from the village has been sick for quite some time, and although she has believe in idol worship most of her life she has began to ask Angela (who has known her for at least 1 year) and now us, about Jesus, and she wants to know if we believe he really healed people. She reminded me so much of when I was in the hospital, and unsure of how my life would turn out, and unsure if the doctors would ever find out what was wrong. My heart hurt for her because I can sympathize with the look of hopelessness she wore. I was startlingly bold and asked her if it was ok to read her a story from the bible and she was excited to allow this. So I read her a story from the Gospels about the Miracles of Healing Jesus performed. She wept and thanked me, because although she is still ill and in pain, she said her heart felt comfort to know that people love her and wish to see her recover. It reminded me very much of when my Grandma was sick and many people from our small town came to pray for her and show their love. I am sure that not all of you reading this believe in miracles, or believe in Christ, but I write my experiences in confidence because of the healing I have experienced in my own life.
It is hard to not count down the days until I will be back in America because I miss my family, especially my Mom and Dad so much, but I am learning and growing so much from this experience it is indescribable.
This week I also helped dig a well for a woman that was in need of water for her corn crops. Which seems ironic since I just learned from my Dad that my home in Ohio hasn`t had rain since I left! ... But digging wells is one of my favorites parts of this trip. It is hard work, but the group of guy interns specifically requested my help because I did so well the first day, which made me feel really good about myself and my abilities. I am so excited to help provide water for people that truly need it. I also helped build a water purifier, designed by an engineering firm called Equip. Clean water is only found in bottles in Mexico and water purifiers are a new concept to this area. Being in Mexico has made me aware of so many blessings I have in the United States and overlook daily. Especially clean water. And showers. It is not rare to go weeks without a shower here...and I have been lucky to get 2 showers a week!
Thank you SO MUCH to those of you that have sent emails! I have read them all and hearing from my friends and family truly makes me smile and knowing I`m in your thoughts and prayers keeps me going throughout the week when I have no contact with those I love in the States! Keep the emails coming! Especially the words of encouragement- they mean more than you could ever know!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Week One
I stepped of the plane into Oaxaca City, Mexico Wednesday before noon, and couldn´t believe what a trip I´d had already. I managed to get my Passport in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon, make my flights without too many worries and arrive safely in Mexico.
My first day in Mexico was mostly sleeping. I hadn´t had more than an hours sleep since 6am Tuesday, meaning I´d been awake over 24 hours.
Thursday was my first real day as a missionay here in Mexico. In the morning I helped build a solar cooker. This summer part of my job is to perfect the solar cooker design so we can make them cheaply and then sell them to the locals. This is much needed because so many of the women have eye problems from stiring the fires all day, and wood is very expensive.
Most of my time is spent in the town of Tlaxiaco, about 30,000 people. The people here are so amiable and kind, the culture here is so open and inviting.
At the same time, language is still a small barrier for me, but the people are very understanding and just happy I am learning their language.
My favorite moments so far have been when the people ask me to teach them English. I know plenty of Spanish to teach English without question, and these times are so encouraging. I can´t wait to graduate and become a full time English teacher!
This summer is going to be a struggle; not talking on the phone with my Parents and Michael is going to be really difficult, but I am so excited for how much I will grow in my faith this summer!
I will post more details next weekend about my internship! Please keep me in your prayers, I miss you all!!
My first day in Mexico was mostly sleeping. I hadn´t had more than an hours sleep since 6am Tuesday, meaning I´d been awake over 24 hours.
Thursday was my first real day as a missionay here in Mexico. In the morning I helped build a solar cooker. This summer part of my job is to perfect the solar cooker design so we can make them cheaply and then sell them to the locals. This is much needed because so many of the women have eye problems from stiring the fires all day, and wood is very expensive.
Most of my time is spent in the town of Tlaxiaco, about 30,000 people. The people here are so amiable and kind, the culture here is so open and inviting.
At the same time, language is still a small barrier for me, but the people are very understanding and just happy I am learning their language.
My favorite moments so far have been when the people ask me to teach them English. I know plenty of Spanish to teach English without question, and these times are so encouraging. I can´t wait to graduate and become a full time English teacher!
This summer is going to be a struggle; not talking on the phone with my Parents and Michael is going to be really difficult, but I am so excited for how much I will grow in my faith this summer!
I will post more details next weekend about my internship! Please keep me in your prayers, I miss you all!!
Monday, June 4, 2007
A delayed start...
As many of you already know, I have yet to arrive in Oaxaca (Wa-HA-kaa) Mexico for my missions internship due to passport troubles. Despite having applied for my passport in February and being in contact with both my Senator and Congresswoman, my passport was not finished before my flight was scheduled to leave June 2nd. This was decidedly a blessing in disguise; I've been fortunate to spend several more days in Clifton spending quality time with the people I love, and also becoming more prepared for my trip.
To make a long story short: I am taking the MegaBus to Chicago at 1:30am Tuesday, and miraculously I have obtained an appointment at the passport agency in Chicago at 9am!! Continental has been an amazing blessing and they graciously scheduled a flight without a hefty charge. I feel so blessed that I know the area in Chicago well and not only can I get around the city on my own, but I can stay with my sister until my plane leaves on Wednesday.
This is a delayed start to my trip, but I feel it could not be more perfect. I am so excited to start my journey, and I plan to keep everyone posted through this blog and email. Over and over, I have been amazed at the difference between my planning, and the plans God has in store for my life. Thank you all for your prayers and support, I appreciate them more than you can imagine and they will make all the difference this summer!
To make a long story short: I am taking the MegaBus to Chicago at 1:30am Tuesday, and miraculously I have obtained an appointment at the passport agency in Chicago at 9am!! Continental has been an amazing blessing and they graciously scheduled a flight without a hefty charge. I feel so blessed that I know the area in Chicago well and not only can I get around the city on my own, but I can stay with my sister until my plane leaves on Wednesday.
This is a delayed start to my trip, but I feel it could not be more perfect. I am so excited to start my journey, and I plan to keep everyone posted through this blog and email. Over and over, I have been amazed at the difference between my planning, and the plans God has in store for my life. Thank you all for your prayers and support, I appreciate them more than you can imagine and they will make all the difference this summer!
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