Clam Digging!

Today the group invited me to go with them out to Gaston's beach (which I had only been to once before and only inside the restaurant).  So after I finished my chores for the day (i.e. cleaning my house and washing my filthy car), I grabbed a towel and headed off to the beach with them.  As we drove up, we noticed the beach seemed to be a lot closer than Judy and Paul (Erma's daughter and son-in-law) remember it......*insert loud game show buzzer sound*  It was not the beach.  Apparently, ever since the crazy floods last February, there has been a giant stagnant "pond" sitting between the road and the beach which you have to walk about 1/4 of a mile around just to get to the beach area.  Fortunately it was a lovely day so we didn't mind the walk.  Seeing as it is January, the water was frigid, so a few of us decided to take a walk instead.  As we were walking along we noticed a few boys standing next to a pile of something.  As we approached we recognized that they were clams that the boys had just caught.  The guys with me asked me if I could see how much the boys wanted for their pile of about 40 clams or if they were even willing to sell them.  As soon as I asked the boys got these huge grins on their faces and quickly blurted out "Un dolar!"  An older, wiser clam digging boy had overheard and ran to their "rescue" to help these little guys get more than $1 for their mountain of clams (he, of course, expected his cut from the little rascals but they were not about to share in their earnings for their work).  Anyways, we negotiated and ended up with 40 more clams in our hands and 60 less pesos in our pockets.  The boys were ecstatic.  As we were negotiating, I noticed there was an older man in the water who appeared to also be digging for clams.  Once my part was done in the negotiation, I ran in the water and hastily asked this older gentleman to teach me how to find my own clams.  After about a 3 second lesson, I got the hang of it and found my very own clams!  Unfortunately some guy claiming to be the "game warden" came by, dressed in rags mind you, and told me I could not keep them because they were too small.  He showed me the size they needed to be so I throw those back and headed in again.  In less than 5 minutes I ended up with 2 of my very own (quite beefy) clams.  I was and still am very proud to say that I learned how to dig for clams today!  :-D

SUCCESS!

Success!  The orientation went really well last Monday night. The group arrived, got settled a little, and as they sat down for dinner, I began my speech.  I told them they were my guinea pigs, so a few of them come up to me after and assured me that I did well :]  Also, Erma made sure to let me know that I did a really good job and that she's glad we are doing this now.  SUCCESS!  :-D 

I've been having a lot of fun with the group.  Two of Erma's kids are in this group (Judy and Jim), so it's been really neat to get to know them better as well.  This group is so sweet, they keep inviting me over for meals and to play games with them and just to hang out.  I've also gone along with them and helped translate (which I'm not fluent, so it's not perfect, but hey it's something) for a tour of a hospital, getting some "disposible cellphones," ordering meals at restaurants, purchasing from vendors, etc.  It's definitely been a challenge, but it's been a really good experience and fun too :]

A Blanket of Sadness, But Comfort in God's Divine Workings

I regret to report that due to a family emergency Abe and Emily have been forced to cut their trip short this year and fly home to Canada this coming Monday as opposed to the original plan of April.  They are wishing that they could stay here and finish out the winter as they have done for the past five years, but we have all come to accept the importance of them going home during this time.  I am going to miss them immensely as they have been an irreplaceable support for me, a comfort to have nearby, and a diverting escape where Ted and I enjoy Canadian home cooked meals, new games, and plenty of laughs.  Even though their time with us was cut short, their presence here for these past couple months has meant so much to me and I am grateful.

Please pray that God would grant Abe, Emily and their family peace and comfort as they finish packing up and return to Canada to tend to these pending affairs.

My Newest Project

Now, I understand that I have not written on here for about 3 months.  There have been many things going on in my life those past few months, but I just didn't feel right about sharing all of them publicly.  Also, I've been really busy and haven't really had time to share anything either.  This year, I hope to get on here more and share, even if it is just a short post here and there.

My holidays were great!  I went home on December 18 for Christmas with my immediate and some of my extended family and stayed there until December 30 so that I could be in Mexico to ring in the New Year with my wonderful missionary friends, Hannah and Melissa.  On New Year's Eve, the three of us decided to recount month by month the blessings, heartaches, and pastimes of this year.  I was able to look at my life and truly see how God has brought me so far in the "growing-up" process.

Since I've been back here in Mexico, I've started a new project for this year: Group Orientations for the Erma Fennell Foundation.  Currently, we are the only ministry around here (that I know of) that does not hold an orientation with groups when they arrive.  As this occurred to me, I decided to take it upon myself to fix that.  I've gathered information from friends at other ministries and driven around town collecting information and resources to give our visitors a pleasant and informative greeting when they arrive.  In my spare time, I've also been helping prepare our facilities for guests and emailing back and forth with them, answering their questions and doing my best to help them get prepared to come down here.  I've been really excited about these orientations I'm going to be doing with groups as it will give me a chance to meet and be slightly more involved with them.  Also, I believe it will be helpful and a comfort to them as well.  The past couple of days I have been getting a tad nervous too though, as I am prone to stage fright.  Please pray that the Lord will help me over come this.

Well, it is good to be posting again.  I hope to post more often so that you all can have a better idea of what I'm to, since I'm not home to personally share with each of you.  I love you all and thank you so much for your prayers and concerns about me!