Thursday October 15

Awoke before the alarm but did not have the energy to get up. I finally did just before the alarm went off. Started the oatmeal and showered. While I was shaving the phone rang. It was Anna from Montana. It was pleasant to talk to her while I had my breakfast but we could not talk long. When you are working you have schedules to keep, places to go and people to see. The kids were great. We are studying rocks and minerals. I have two readers and two almost readers. Today one of our projects was to make a clay model of the layers of the earth, inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. They started with a small amount of red modeling clay which they formed into a ball. Next they fashioned a bowl shaped vessel out of yellow clay and placing the red ball inside proceeded to enclose it. The same procedure was followed with a larger amount of brown clay to represent the mantle. At that point the teacher and the students needed a break. The students begin with study hall. Then I read to them before they attend music. Next is Bible and then rocks and minerals until lunch. After lunch they have gym, learning street hockey, and finish with Art which this week is painting rocks.
At noon time one of the mother’s Priscilla invited a couple of teachers over for comida, the large mid day meal. I went to find the IT man Paul who was so helpful last year. He offered to come over to the apartment so I told Priscilla I would be a little late. It took Paul awhile to arrive but when he did he said it was one of the transmitters that is near my apartment that was malfunctioning. Disappointing as that was, I was happy to find out my computer was OK. The comida was delicious. It is so enjoyable to meet the families of the kids around the table sharing in the foods that they enjoy. I was able to contribute a couple of packages of Oreos for desert. They were purchased by my friend Debbie before I arrived. She knows how much I enjoy them but I also like to share.
I was not sure if The Wi-Fi in my apartment was back on so I stayed at the school to answer my email. I had been invited by one of my students to visit his mom and dad’s church service in Tlacalula. It is conducted in the native Zapotec language. I had attended last year and enjoyed it so after a light supper I rode to Tlaclula and enjoyed worshipping in a foreign tongue. My student played bass. His brother my helper played keyboard and mostly I clapped. We got home well after dark and I am just typing about it now before calling it a day.

Friday October 16th

This was a special day at FES. One of the missionaries who live in Oaxaca has had a fascination with gemstones since he was the age of some of the older FES students. While still in Junior High Dave joined a club of individuals interested in semi-precious stones. As soon as all the students arrived we prayed a prayer for God’s blessing on our day and set off in two vans for Oaxaca. We followed a clear set of directions which lead us to a steel gate with white numbers indicating we were at the right place. The gate opened and we were ushered into a beautiful yard garden area. The bougainvilleas were in full bloom and towered high over our heads beside a stand of bamboo. Near the back wall were flower beds of varying sizes with beautifully blooming flowers and shrubs. In one corner a stone waterfall issued a pleasant gurgling sound over the pastoral scene.
Dave’s office opened directly on to the garden so the younger group was ushered in first to learn about and handle many types of gems and semi-precious stones. At one point the students were introduced to the faceting machine that was basically two parts. Horizontally there was a turn table to which about a six inch diamond grit wheel was attached. Vertically was about a fifteen inch tower equipped to set a short metal arm at various degrees of inclination. Dave produced a short metal rod called a dop stick to which he had attached a marble with some sort of hot wax. The marble had been pre formed to have a point on the end away from the wax. The dop stick was inserted into the metal arm and tightened in place. The arm swung down until the glass marble was touching the diamond grit. To dissipate the heat, water was applied to the grit wheel with a small sponge. Soon a flat spot or facet appeared on the glass marble. As the children tried their hands on the machine the marble was rotated so that soon there were four flat spots or facets.
The younger group was soon dismissed into the garden yard area for a gem hunt. There were enough stones for each child to have two to take home. The older kids actually completed faceting a stone that Dave donated to the FES. Leaving that location the group headed for a park made out of an old stone quarry to have a picnic lunch and then head back to Mitla. Tenli a High School student who accompanied us on the trip because she is interested in pursuing a career in jewelry needed an escort back to school. Her mom had made arrangements with us to for me to be that person because I was interested in seeing the Oaxaca Christian School which I had heard so much about. I was under the impression we were taking a taxi but we saw a bus of the right variety and climbed aboard. Tenli sat and I stood as the bus became more and more crowded. By the time we approached our stop the aisle was packed solid. Fortunately a Mexican woman a row ahead of us needed to get off too so she spearheaded the impossible caravan toward the front door. Neither Tenli nor I had eaten lunch so we ate as we walked the remaining blocks to the school.
Upon arriving Tenli needed to get to class so I sat in the open area and finished eating lunch. Soon it was time for the last class of the day with Coach Josh so after finishing lunch I wandered out to where the kids were finishing the mile run. The next activity was a game of soccer during which an off and on pattern of showers developed ending with a downpour for the last few minutes. The plan was for me to walk out in this downpour to the bus stop with Mitla kids. I wrapped my camera safely in a plastic bag and placed it in an inner pocket of my backpack. I began struggling with a decision as to whether my pride would allow me to open an emergency yellow dollar store poncho which I carried to Africa and back without ever opening. As I tried to picture boarding a totally packed public bus with a drenched poncho I was thankfully informed that a office worker was headed to Mitla and would give us a ride. As we drove out toward the main highway we saw a teacher walking toward the bus stop. We stopped for her and somehow another body was squeezed into the already overcrowded van.
We arrived in Mitla just in time for a report meeting held weekly. Translators give praise and prayer request and after two or three have spoken we gathered in small groups to intercede on their behalf. I had been invited to a supper slash game night which is hosted mostly by friends Joel and Heidi. Beth also helps with the details. Since Heidi was under the weather it was held in a common room and everyone was asked to chip in for the chickens Joel had bought. Several contributed other items as well to supplement the fare . I brought a very popular bag of Snickers and a 3liter bottle of Coke that all but disappeared by the end of the evening. The group was a little too big for one game so some played Hand and Foot while the rest played Rook. It was very interesting to have the game explained in Spanish to my partner who had never played. I suggested that trump in this game was the colour supremo which everyone agreed was as good as any translation. I was happy to fall into bed after a long and exciting day knowing I could sleep in on Saturday.