"Es Asombroso!!!"

I found myself using the same adjective over and over again this week..."Wow, that's AMAZING!" I went to my handy-dandy Spanish/English dictionary and found out how to express myself in Spanish..."Hijole, es asombroso!!"

We've had some pretty big coconuts fall to the ground these last few weeks. They say more people die from falling coconuts than from shark attacks. Since we have inherited four huge coconut trees, we thought we were pushing our statistical luck, so Bern had been on the hunt for someone to harvest the coconuts. On Monday three "strapping young guys" sauntered in to cut down our "cocos". I wondered how that was going to happen since all they had with them was a rope and a machete...Where is their ladder? Where is their machinery to harvest these dangerous nuts??...A bit leary of their intentions, I sat back and watched..."Hijole, fue asombroso!! You would not believe how they scampered up our 12+ meter trees barefoot, and protected only by a single rope tied around their waists. All this happened in about 10 seconds flat. While they sat on the crown of the tree, the rope was untied and wrapped around a bunch of coconuts. The machete created a huge whack and the bunch was lowered to the ground. The rope was pulled up and the exercise continued until about 30 coconuts were hauled away as their great spoils. I have NEVER seen anything so amazing. I asked if one of them had ever fallen out of a tree. A sheepish grin came over him and he said, "Not yet, but I've sliced my leg with the machete a few times." When asked if they would sell the cocos they said, "No, we'll drink the water. It's very good for the body." Ivan whacked one open for us, and it was YUMMY. Some cocos are sweeter than others. They left us with three to enjoy, which I'm sure is more than enough. I gave strict orders for Logan NOT to try their tricks at home!!!!The next amazing adventure of the week came as we hunted down Logan's school uniforms. It would be JUST TOO easy to go to one store for the two uniforms. NOOO, we have to travel to two different TOWNS!!! You must remember, street signs are useless, even if they are on the corner. So...off we go to La Mira, about 10 minutes from Playa. Bern's excellent homing instincts got us right where we needed to be...Amazing. Buying Logan's Physical Ed uniform, we met Fernando who was labouriously studying his English text book as we walked in. He was delighted to get to practice his English with us. We plan to visit again and invite him to our FriendSpeak classes when we get them going...which we are thinking will be very soon!! Next, we head for Lazaro Cardenas for the daily uniform. Again, Bern got us there with little problem, but we walked out amazed...We spent the equivalent to $42 Canadian on two shirts and one pair of REALLY ugly pants. How do the Mexicans afford that??? They must have a system of hand-me-downs...Wish I were in on that system...perhaps next year!!
Actually, we are fairly amazed every time we go to the store. Most of the weekly items we buy cost around the same, or more than what we paid in Canada...so much for living cheaper in Mexico. We have found a nice veggie stand where we get some of our produce cheaper than what we can get in the supermarket. I often wonder how these blue collar, working class Mexicans afford the prices.

The most amazing experiences of this week have been the home groups. Bern attends the Wed evening group led by Malcolm where Salvador and Georgina are mentored to lead the Thursday group in Feliciano. We travel an hour to Feliciano to be with a clan of three families in Pedro's home, what most of us would call a shack. We are heartily welcomed as everyone comes out freshly bathed and clothed...It's a chance to worship their God!!! We begin with song after song. The children take turns standing in the center leading their song. Salvador and Gina lead the study to which they had been exposed the night before. Good discussion and encouragement abound. We close with heart-felt prayers as this "poor" family thanks God for all their personal blessings...AMAZING!!! We've just about decided that they don't really need us for long. With a bit of mentoring and teaching, they will be able to continue this work on their own. Santiago told us about his dream to build a place of worship on his land. I couldn't help but think of David and his son, Solomon. We go to encourage them, yet we are the ones who walk away amazed!!!
After our study in Feliciano, we head back to Lazaro Cardenas for an hour of shopping, then we head to Rigo and Yessy's home study. Rigo and Yessy were the first Christians of the baby church. They have been Christians for a year, and THEY study and lead the discussion each week. We are amazed by the wisdom and faith that come from their hearts and mouths. They yearn to know their Master better, and share Him with those around them. Again, we go to encourage, and walk away amazed.

On the lighter side of amazing things...Have you ever seen about 200 HUGE roaches crawl out of the sewer??? It indeed is an amazing sight. Even MORE amazing is watching my husband kill them all as he does the Cucharacha Dance!!!! Before Belinda left, she off- handedly said, "Oh, you'll have to lift off the sewer caps every now and then and spray." I dismissed the thought as something to do "later". Well,"later" came today as hundreds of roaches came crawling out of their nasty little holes....Don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight.


ROACH-BUSTER BERN


Until next time,
Bernard, Alicia and Logan Krogsgaard