Feasts and Floods

The past two weeks have been...intense.

Understatement.

I can honestly say, though, that during the course of Master's Bible School, I only had two mini-meltdowns, one temper tantrum and one crying fit. I think I did very well, all things considered.

To be honest, the event was not more intense than I expected. I even got to bed before midnight most nights, which is different from most youth events we host! Ten days, though, is a long time. My flesh and I had a few disagreements (most of them happened around 4:30 a.m.).

One thousand, eight hundred plates of food.

Praise God that I didn't have to do it all alone.

One night we served re-fried beans with flour tortillas. (A regional favorite and a personal favorite, too.) Joaquin and Luz prepared 8 kilos (about 20 pounds) of flour. That's a lot of tortillas.

Here are Joaquin, Oneida, Brisa and I. We were the outside team cooking on a disc. Luz had another team inside the house cooking on the stovetop.

Me and my tortilla. I'm at the point now in my tortilla-making that they generally turn out round. Luz still says they're too thick, but...que será, será.

On Wednesday (which happened to be another day when the power was out), classes came to an end. The morning dawned gray and overcast with a sharp, cool breeze off the ocean. It reminded me of Oregon.

It rained intermittently all day -- never very hard, but enough to keep the day rather dark and dreary-looking. The mood in the conference center, though, was anything but dreary!

As teams made their final presentations for the Oral Bible class, the rest of the students listened, encouraged, and critiqued (and in some cases, heckled).

The mood stayed pretty light, though, as everyone was excited to be so close to finishing the course.

After the final class, Tito prepared a fritanga (fish fry) for all the students.

And then...

...everyone left.

Poof!

And I cried.

Yes, I cried. The house was absolutely silent without even the hum of the refrigerator to keep me company. (Remember, the power was out.) Doug and a couple of kids had run to Boca to return tables and chairs. Other kids were upstairs finishing their Inductive Bible Study final.

Everyone else was...gone.

It was just too quiet.

So I cried.

Then I made a cup of coffee, curled up with Tozer, and I was better.

Andrew came in, then Luis came over, then Doug came home and the noise in the house got back to an acceptable level.

And then, God sent this...

Gen 9:12-16 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."


Thanks for reminding me, God, that You're there in the flood of noise and in the flood of silence, too. Don't ever let me forget that!!!

Reflections on a Compost Pile

Compost is, by definition, gross.

According to Wikipedia, compost "is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment". It's garbage. Really old garbage.

Yesterday my menfolk took off for the day to help prepare to put a roof on the church building in Tecomate, Guasave. Sarah, Evie and I took the opportunity to finish a few "pendientes" (that's the "to do" list, in Spanish!). Sarah scrubbed the staircase and put on a fresh coat of varnish. Evie cleaned her room and helped do all the boys' chores.

I went outside and cleaned up my compost pile.

I've been putting this task off for quite some time because, frankly, I was dreading it. My biggest problem is that I didn't do it right the first time, and the wrong-ness of it just grew and grew until I really no longer had a "compost pile", but rather I had a huge area where people have been throwing their garbage for a couple of months. Gross.

Not to mention the fact that I planted a beautiful nopal cactus border on that side of the yard and it really loves the compost area. Note to self: Don't plant cactus as a hedge to any area you ever intend to work in. Even the flowers have spines!!!

Another little pest also is very happy with my compost area.

The huachapoti. I have no idea how to spell that. You pronounce it "watch a POH tee". Evil little products of the curse they are. Very difficult to remove from fuzzy socks.

So while I was shoveling half-rotted kitchen debris and fighting with cactus and cockleburrs, my mind wandered to deeper waters.

I found myself thinking that my life sometimes feels a lot like my compost pile: Spread out and sprawling in every direction, lacking focus. Full of stickers and spines. I wonder if I'm really accomplishing anything. Will I ever see changes? Progress? Growth?

As I dug deeper, though, I saw that nature had been doing its thing in spite of me. Under the surface, away from view, rich soil was beginning to form.

Isn't that just like God? It seems that He does His most beautiful work out of sight -- down deep, where no one can see. And we won't notice until we dig in and really start removing layers of garbage.

So, I built actual walls to contain the compost and will be caring for it as I should now. I'm excited to see my garden growing (frustrated when the duck returned from exile and began eating it again, but that's a different post). I'm anxious for the day when we get to harvest.

And I think of the spiritual parallels and thank God that He does His work in secret, and I don't have to stress about it.

And I am sure of this: that He who began a good work in you will bring it about to completion at the day of Jesus Christ! -- Philippians 1:6

Alive and Kicking

To prove that I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I am posting today. Hurrah!!!

Today is Saturday and it just happens to be the second Saturday of January. Therefore, tonight is youth night at our house. Very exciting. This will be our second youth event since we finished the conference center behind our house. Caleb is downstairs fixing something on his drum and preparing the games. In an hour or so, he'll start firing up the brick oven so we can burn a few pizzas.

Tonight Sarah will be sharing from the book of Luke about the cost of discipleship. She mentioned to me the other day that so often God puts a topic on her heart, and she just can't get away from it. I know what she means. It seems that when I am really seeking God and digging in to hear from Him, He says the same things to me, over and over.

Could be because I'm so hard-headed that it takes me hearing the same lesson a dozen times before it sinks in.

I prefer to think that it's because He's constant and unchanging and truly desires me to give everything over to Him, so He doesn't quit telling me the same thing until He finally gets me where He wants me.

I like that.

But I am pretty hard-headed.

So, as the topic for Sarah at this time is "The Cost of Discipleship", my topic seems to be "In Everything, Glorify God". I'm finding that if I can just keep reminding myself that all glory and praise belong to God, I don't struggle (as much) with my own selfishness and pride. I say "as much" because, as I mentioned -- I'm very hard-headed. I do catch myself now, when I'm being a jerk, instead of just reveling in my own foolishness, thinking I'm wise. I think that there's hope.

I've started reading Tozer's "Pursuit of God" and have found it very encouraging -- and challenging! Monday I start an online Bible study on Ephesians, which will probably make its way onto this blog in some form or other.

God isn't finished with me yet! Praise HIM!!! So glad that He's not content to leave me where I am.

I'm also glad that I'm not content to stay where I am!!!

Have a blessed weekend everyone!!!

The Mystery of History, Volume 1

Finished.

We chose to homeschool almost 20 years ago. I knew when I started that I would have challenges, simply because of who I am. I’m a bit scattered. Really. When I nag Caleb, my text-book ADD child, to focus on what he’s doing, he quips (respectfully) that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Ah, so true.

I’ve tried, over the years, to fix myself, but I finally have just come to grips with the fact that I am not and never will be super-organized or completely on schedule.

My homeschooling style reflects my personality.

Eclectic.

That’s a very kind way of saying hodge-podge, seat-of-your-pants, sporadic.

But I try.

Homeschooling is a struggle. Homeschooling while being missionaries in Mexico is a struggle of a whole new level. We take one- or two-month breaks every six months, a month’s vacation at Christmas, time off any time there is a mission team or evangelical crusade or VBS or other church event and school is canceled as soon as it gets too hot to concentrate (usually about two months of the year) and if anyone stops by to visit, we generally have to stop classes for the day.

That happens a lot.

Sometimes I wonder how we ever complete anything! Oh, I’m such a whiner!

Once in a while, though, I feel like I’ve really succeeded at something. The Mystery of History is an example. Never mind the fact that we started Volume I (a one-year class) the year that we moved into this house.

We have finished. We ALL took the massive 30 page final and EVERYONE scored in the 90th percentile. I feel that we have really accomplished something. Yes, it took us almost 4 years to get through a one-year course, but we DID finish it and we really learned a lot.

On our dining room wall hangs a wonderful timeline depicting history from creation to the crucifixion of Christ. As the author of the textbook states, the timeline reflects the personality of those who built it.

Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today and Forever

The Powers of Mesoppotamia

Israel Falls to Assyria

Many of our timeline figures are quite "tongue in cheek", some are plays on words and some are really silly, but if it helps us remember the event…

Lot's Wife

The Great Wall of China -- note the skulls and bones built into the wall. Kind of morbid. Believe it or not, Evie made that one! And I just noticed that I spelled Colossus wrong. hehehe

You'll have to read the book of Malachi to understand why this one is funny.

This is Sarah's personal favorite. If you have to explain it, it's just not as funny.

The guy in armor on the right is Alexander the Great. The guy with "censored" across his buttocks is Archimedes. Do you like the little guys with wiggle eyes in the middle? Those are Alexander's 4 generals.

Our timeline has been quite a conversation-starter. Many facets of history (such as creation) are simply not mentioned in the public schools here, so kids who come over are understandably curious. Not only has this course helped our family to put Biblical history in its place with the history of the ancient world, but it’s been a great way to share with our neighbors.

What’s next? Volume II! But I’ve promised the kids that we’ll be finishing it in a year! Absolutely!!!

Here’s a question for you: Do you ever struggle with finishing what you start?

Autumn - Otoño

Fall is really my favorite season. The smells and the feelings, more than the sights and sounds, evoke memories from my childhood -- freshly turned soil, burning leaves, chilly morning air, heavy fog. In Oregon, I savored the turning leaves in red, orange and yellow. Here in Sinaloa, fall brings the vibrant rainbow colors of bougainvillea and the bright green of corn, milo and wheat fields. Autumn in Oregon brought mornings of dense fog which sometimes didn't burn off till midday. Foggy mornings are part of autumn here, too.

Long-sleeved shirt, warm socks, hot coffee.

I do love autumn.

Here are some "Autumn in Sinaloa" photos. Enjoy!

Maria nibbles grapes at our friends' house in Tamazula.

My $1 pumpkin -- found at Wal-Mart. Pumpkins sell here before Halloween for about $2 per pound. I got mine for $.10 per kilo. Goooooooooooal! I see pumpkin swirled cheesecake in the near future.

Ramon arrives to deliver milk in the morning.

Making fresh butter.

Freshly baked apple coffee cake -- made, with love, by Seth.

Feliz otoño a todos!
Happy autumn, everyone!