October 11

Joel said they would be walking up the hill to a house church in the AM and invited me to join them. I of course arrived at the appointed time and was too early but we were soon on our way out the gate and up through a pasture toward the little MAF airstrip higher on the hill. I noticed that there were many red ants streaming along the pathway and saw several gatherings of them near rather large holes. Joel assured me that they could bite but said that there were no fire ants in this part of Mexico. I still had a little faster pace in the areas where the ants were more populous. Church was great. We were led in worship by a young man Isaac who played a soft acoustic guitar and the voices of the 20 or thirty folks gathered filled the home beautifully. The sermon was an internet download from a Cornerstone church in Southern California. It began with a presentation from an Iranian who described the great success of the Iranian church that is currently under great persecution but also reaping a great influx of new believers. The sermon that followed was perfect for me. It was about slowing down and listening more and talking less from I Peter. King David was used as an example in his dealings with Saul and with Shimei who was cursing David as he fled from Absalom’s rebellion. David refused to let his general Abishai kill Shimei because David said perhaps this was a test from God and that God would reward David for not seeking his own revenge.
I was invited to stay for lunch with Elly and Lila the missionary couple. They have kids in the FES who I taught last fall. Lunch is hardly a word for what we had to eat. The main meal is served at midday in Mexico and referred to as Comida. It was a hearty dinner of chicken, potatoes, corn, pasta salad, coleslaw and much more. After comida I walked home and did some more arranging of the apartment and then off to a meeting with the parents. Most of them I knew last year but had to be reminded of the names and the children’s connections. Some were on furlough last fall or unable to attend for other reasons. More time needed to be spent in the classroom preparing for the first day so that was the next stop. My major responsibility is with four children in grades two and three but Monday I was filling in for the fourth and fifth grade teacher so I was preparing for 12. Back at the apartment I finished typing out a work sheet for the larger group and went to bed.

October 12

There were too many things on my mind to get the best night’s sleep in my new surroundings. The alarm was set for 7:30 and by the time it went off I was ready to hit the snooze but resisted because I was supposed to be at the school room at 8:30. It is just a five minute walk across the rocky dirt road that fronts the Linguistics Institute but I had some things to do to get ready. Of course the oatmeal water goes on before the shower. The grains are poured in after and the pot is watched while I shave and dress. The oatmeal batch from the frying pan (the only sauce pan had not gotten washed) was delicious. Done to perfection, my complements to the chef! Once at the school I hung the last few decorations while proctoring an individual help session. During opening exercises I did my best to get the printer to spit out the work booklet I composed the night before. It had jammed a couple of sheets from the former document into accordion like fans which I managed to extract. Working with a temperamental printer that you have no former experience with can be testing but I could not get frustrated after yesterday’s sermon. I laid hands on it to no avail. All I got was one page left on the old document and a couple of blank pages. Fortunately I did not need the sheets until after my first class so Linda sent the print to the copy room back at the Institute and sent our German teachers’ aide Maja to bring them over. My first lesson was a slide show on my computer of famous rocks like Gibraltar and Mount Rushmore. After snack I used the booklet that was hot off the presses and that took us to lunch. We will be privileged to have the coach from the Christian school in Oaxaca teaching gym but he was not available so I filled in for him. The first session was with the younger kids while the older students had an Art class. Then I finished with the older children. It was basically a return to the mode of last fall when I taught all the gym classes. There were just a few missing a few new ones.
I dined alone on some of the food that my friend Debbie purchased before I arrived and after making preparations for Tuesday turned in.