The Head of ALL Orphanages in Mexico is visiting, Raymond the Missionary

Here are a few things from some of my last days

  I finally got some nachos! They were awesome

Today was a visit from some government officials that oversees EVERY orphanage in the state (the head guy came). They were here to find out why this orphanage group was so good. One of the leaders here said "We will tell him we have Jesus, that is why we are so blessed!".

I attended a very, very small church service at one of the homes (Esperanza) that is 30+ minutes from the main ones. The house father preached. There were 10 adults and 10 kids. It was awesome (but not understood).

Here's a video of my friend Raymond. He's a missionary from California and absolutely loves being here with the kids. It gives his life meaning and he is welcomed here by all.

Haircut day, Upon death which car is better?, Dinner on the roof and I got to ride a horse!

 Just another relaxing unexpected day:

Haircut day

We replaced some skylights

Fixed some water shutoffs

Which would be best to be carried off to my resting place?

This one?

Or this one?

There was a nice dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the main square

The Moon, Jupiter and Venus were lined up in the sky

And of course we finished the night with Churros

Wow the Churros had a lot of sugar in them

Trip to Manzanillo, Green Flash of the sun

 Trip to Manzanillo

Today I took 2 missionaries (that normally live in New York) to the port town of Manzanillo. The girls have been here a year and their Temporary Residence Permits were about to expire. They work in a couple of the orphanages taking care of the kiddos. The school that the orphanage runs was in need of an English Teacher, so they asked one of the girls to do it and she agreed! She has never been a teacher before, so it's a new experience for her and she is enjoying it.

It took us just over an hour to drive to Manzanillo. It took over 4 hours of waiting around (just like a government office at home) once we got there. They finally got it all approved and they are good for a few more years.

The port town of Manzanillo is the largest port south of the US boarder. It's super busy with things coming in from all over the world and going out to everywhere.

Manzanillo is a beautiful coastal city

Like many towns with ports, there are some things that go on here that make it dangerous, however we weren't worried in the slightest (of course it was daylight which is way better than at night).

Afterward we walked along the shore to a restaurant and had some Ceviche (a Latin American dish typically made from fresh raw fish cured in fresh citrus juices, most commonly lime or lemon). There was a cool ocean breeze that was blowing through the restaurant. One of my absolute favorite things to do is to eat at local places and enjoy whatever they have.

Stages of the Green Flash

I was doing a little research on the town (you know that's what you do when waiting at a government office) and found out that you can see the Green Flash of the sun here. What? I had never heard of that! 

Here's what Wikipedia says about it:

The green flash and green ray are meteorological optical phenomena that sometimes occur transiently around the moment of sunset or sunrise.  When the conditions are right, a distinct green spot is briefly visible above the Sun's upper limb; the green appearance usually lasts for no more than two seconds. Rarely, the green flash can resemble a green ray shooting up from the sunset or sunrise point.

Green flash occurs because the atmosphere causes the light from the Sun to separate, or refract, into different frequencies. Green flashes are enhanced by mirages, which increase refraction.

We didn't stay long enough to see the sunset because there's always work to do at the orphanage.

Upon returning, I did a quick measurement for replacing 4 skylights at a couple houses, a couple of quick games of volleyball (there's a net at the orphanage), then it was off to relaxing in my room.

Prayer requests:

• Finishing strong. As I'm in my last week here, I would love to complete my To Do list
• And would love to deepen relationships

Praises:

• We're grateful for a safe trip to Manzanillo and successfully getting the girls Residency Cards

Who needs to turn off the power? Should I buy a Paraglider?

 Today's excitement:

Standing on a ladder, in a staircase with power at the light socket

Sometimes (well most times) things are put together so they work here. Sometimes by well meaning volunteers (like me). This light switch had the neutral leg on the switch and the hot wire constantly on. If you don't know what that means, well it means when you turn the light switch off, it DOES NOT kill the power. Luckily I've worked with that kind of stuff before and just didn't touch the hot wires when installing the new light fixture.

Fish hook toilet fix

When my 18 year old friend (that lives at the orphanage) volunteered to fix my toilet that wouldn't flush, I thought ok great. Thank you. I thought that he had limited mechanical ability, however he fixed it way faster and easier than I could have! Look what he did, he used his fishing line and a fish hook to replace the broken cord to the handle BRILLIANT! That was 2 weeks ago and it's still working great.

This is one of the things I absolutely love about coming to Mexico: A different way of thinking.

The thing I preach all the time to the people that are considering joining us on our mission trip each year is that one of the most important things that you can do for your kids or grandkids is to get them to a different country. It will teach them to think differently and have an appreciation for what they have.

La Cumbre (the summit)

Ken (Michigan Missionary) and I took a drive to the summit of this mountain and enjoyed the view

This is astroturf that the paragliders take off from

Luckily there's this sign at the top to show you how to do it.

How convenient, perhaps I should go buy one and try it!?

I wonder if they sell them at Walmart?

With a sign that tells me what to do, how hard can it actually be?

Prayer requests:

• Safety as I drive 2 Missionaries (2 girls from New York in their 20s) to Manzanillo (60+ miles) to the immigration office to renew their visas.

Praises:

• That I'm smart enough not to go buy a random Paraglider and try it!

Knocking on deaths door? Wow, that's a big cockroach! Taking a shower with Ken?

 Just another exciting day!

There are a few exciting things about this picture, first there are drinks here that come in bags. You just bite the corder of the bag and suck it out. It feels like there's less plastic used and I like the drinks.

Second, this is the motorcycle that I rode around town today! It's my first experience riding a motorcycle in Mexico. I know, you're thinking "Dan, you're knocking on deaths door doing that!". Well, I'm ok with dying, we've already discussed that in previous blog posts. Truth be told, I'm kind of excited about death. I'm not sure my family would feel the same about me dying though and I would hate to leave them.

So let me tell you about the motorcycle trip, it was AWESOME!!! Well except that the gears shift down instead of up and it dies when you stop sometimes because the clutch doesn't pull in far enough and it's hard to ride because there are no mirrors (you really need to watch everyone here because people weave in and out and use multiple lanes that aren't really lanes). So it was super exciting on the highway when I down shifted into a lower gear, then couldn't get the thing to upshift cause the engine was revving so high. Anyway it was an AWESOME DAY!!!

I've been wanting to buy a motorcycle here and then just leave it for someone to use while I'm away. With 10% of my year being spent here, it seems like an appropriate purchase. But not his year.

Good thing I was in the girls bathroom, because when I saw this cockroach I screamed like a little girl!

Then maned up and pushed it away to complete my repair to the sink drain. Girls hair are the worst for sink drains!

Ken (a missionary from Michigan) has been coming here for 18 years. He's a huge help in fixing things around the orphanage. Today we worked together to put this shower rod and curtain up for the older girls. We were trying to avoid drilling into the tile so we put it high, but the next day we had to lower it cause the girls couldn't make it slide.

Of course I had some time playing with the kids and giving hugs. 

You've probably wondered why I haven't posted many pictures of the kids. Well, Mexico has privacy laws just like the USA. You are discouraged from posting closeups of kids faces. I think I can throw an occasional one in and be ok though since this is a private blog.

Prayer requests:

• We haven't had any water coming from the city for a couple of days. We have a water tank in the ground and a water tank on the roof, so there has been water, but it is just about out. We will call a water truck if needed, but the prayer would be for water delivery.

Praises:

• One of the homes did start receiving some water from the city line today. So that's a praise.

We take so many things for granted in the USA. Like running water, clean water and water on demand. I love coming here and being reminded of the basics.

Repairs, Horses, kids, and an intervention by the Secretary of Health

 Another few days of rest and relaxation:

There were repairs to an outdoor sink

Repairs on the roof to the water tank

We had to put a kid in the tank for the repair

Repairs to a kitchen sink drain

Random cowboys just going down the street

Raspados (think shaved ice with flavoring)

My Amazon came in 3 days!

This is my first Amazon order in Mexico, I was so excited!

This father is helping his son learn to use a hammer to pull nails.

I remember when my boy was that age. It's a special time in a fathers life.

This boy needed no help using my sharp weatherman to open up his orange.

Previously I noted that these octagon shapes on packages are some kind system to tell you how good the contents are. My last post had 2. This box had 4 and it was awesome!!!

If you can't read the picture, it says: The secretary of Health warns that this box contains:

• Excessive Calories
• Excessive Sugars
• Excessive Saturated Fats
• Excessive Sodium

That's Spanish talk for YUM!!!

Prayer requests:

• That I would quit eating so much of those yummy packages with black octagon shapes on them
• A balance of focused purposeful time and relaxation

Praises:

• Rest and relaxation

Kids make crafts, Some missionaries cook, some learn to drive stick, some just eat gas producing food

Another few days just hanging out:

One of the ladies here is embroidering with the kids

A missionary from California is making Beef Stroganoff for several of the houses

This is my friend's boy, he like Guamuchil

"Pithecellobium dulce" is a tree that produces flowers which produce a pod. It then turns pink when ripe and opens to expose the seed arils (covering) which is a pink or white, edible pulp.

The boy also knew that I liked Guamuchil, so he brought me some.

Everyone here will know if you eat too much of it (like I did), due to the gas you will produce!

Look at this boy! William even knows how to use a lime squeeze thing!

He helped me get lime in my Pozole (soup made with chicken or pork and hominy) and it was awesome!

Later that night, William's mom brought me fresh corn with butter. I had 3, they were the best!

The next day William's dad and I ate at a taco place that had a car door for their sign.

It was very good carnitas (pork).

I helped my friend Manuel clean the solar panels on the roof.

He does this every 2 weeks. Can you see how dirty the ones to the right are?

I also helped a missionary from New York learn to drive a stick shift.

Just another normal random day.

Prayer Requests:

• I will drive 2 (twenty something) girls from New York to the immigration office an hour + away on Thursday. Prayers for safety and alertness would be appreciated.
• Better communication to allow better relationships (they aren't bad, I just always want better)

Praises:

• Warm weather
• That I finally got to drive here
• Many people being so helpful with my Spanish

I thought I was gonna DIE!

 There have been multiple ways that I thought that I was gonna die in Mexico:

Here are a few:

• Stepped on a rusty nail
• Ran a red light and screeched to the middle of the intersection
• Got shot last year (by a paint ball gun)
• This year I got on carnival rides! It was probably the closest to death that I've ever felt here.

Roller Coaster

Ate Carnival Food

Rode this crazy thing that was 10 million miles high and twisted and left you hanging upside down!

My head was full of blood and about to explode!

The top questions in my mind was "Are carnival rides safe anywhere in the world, much less in another country?"

My friend Collin from Virginia got this awesome cowboy hat for $13

Here's a video if you'd like to know more about this great young man:

Prayer Requests:

• Continued health
• Continued safety as I become more and more relaxed in this potentially unsafe city (just like any city can be unsafe when you aren't from there)

Praises:

• Thanks for safety on the crazy ride
• Thanks for fun with my friends
• Thanks for allowing me to get to know Collin

Concrete day, That's not leprosy, A video view of the area

Today's events

We've rented a concrete mixer

By the early afternoon, most of the rock will be gone

The base of this wall and footers doesn't look like much, but trust me, it was work

That's not Leprosy

We got the broken basketball post replaced and concreted in

My friend turned 29

It was the best Tres Leche (3 milk) cake ever!

Happy birthday Gabriel, you have a beautiful family

Here is his son and another boy at the "Adolescent Boy's House"

Yep, 2 of the 14 or so boys have broken arms

I know what your thinking, teenage boys, I'm surprised there aren't more broken limbs

Of course there was a ride in the back of the pickup as we returned the rented concrete mixer.

You can't hear the sound, I'm basically saying, "Here's what the country side looks like"

Prayer Requests:

• Safety as my birthday friend and another travel into town tonight to watch something with horses (yeah, there's still a language barrier. I'm not quite sure what we're doing yet)
•  More time purposefully studying the Book of Romans

Praises:

• Complete healing of my body
• Good sleep
• Zero mosquito bites the last 2 nights (I've been fighting this since arriving)