Catching Up

Interested in seeing pictures from our day trip up on a volcano? Click here! 

And there's more than meets the eye in this post where I share about some relational struggles, spiritual warfare and identity in Christ.

Enjoy!

The Smallest Volcano in the World

Did you know that the smallest volcano in the world is located in Puebla?  I didn't either!  Now the smallest active volcano in the world is the Taal Volcano in the Phillippines, but it's huge compared to the Cuexcomate Volcano in Puebla.

The Cuexcomate Volcano in Puebla is only 13 meters high (about 43 feet)  and for the price of 10 pesos (80 cents USD) you can actually go down inside it!  We were surprised to find out that it's right in the city...even though it's inactive, apparently some people worry that if the Popocatepetl volcano were to really explode, then Cuexcomate might explode as well, since it's connected to the same system.

Popocatepetl erupting in April of this year.

Last week we had the chance to help take care of some other MKs (Missionary Kids) whose parents came to Puebla to attend a worldview course offered by Worldview Resource Group (I highly recommend it!).  Miguel had already taken the same course online, so when we heard that these families were coming and didn't have childcare, we offered to help out.

We took them to several different places, such as the ruins in Cholula, a fort where the Battle of the Cinco de Mayo was fought, a train museum and to the Cuexcomate Volcano, of course!

Here is the whole group (minus Miguel) in front of the volcano.

Going down!

There wasn't a whole lot to see at the bottom, except for this spring.  They say the water has a bit of sulfur, but it didn't smell bad and we even saw a fish in there! There was also the end of a tunnel, which apparently connects to an entire tunnel system that exists under the city of Puebla.

They say that ancient peoples used to throw live human sacrifices into this volcano...it was kind of creepy and sad to think about that.  As you can see, it would be impossible to get back out of their without that staircase!

So now you know...the world's smallest volcano is in Puebla!  What a fascinating discovery!

Life on Tochtli Street

We were recently offered another house to rent here in Puebla and we considered it, since our current house is a bit tight for our family of six (plus dog, turtle and snail).  But as I began thinking about moving to a different neighborhood, I realized how much we've made a home here on Tochtli Street and how much I would really hate to leave!

Our house is on the other side of 

that tall white one.

Within one or two blocks from our house, we have at least three little neighborhood stores that sell anything from diapers to candy to onions and tomatoes.  Prices are a little higher than at the bigger stores, but in a pinch, it's handy to have somewhere to buy a liter of milk or a half a kilo of eggs when we suddenly run out.  We also have a papelería two streets over...I have not visited the papelería, but they sell things like paper products, pens, pencils, wrapping paper and they also make copies.  Again, probably a little more expensive than a larger store, but nice to have in the neighborhood as well.  Other businesses in the neighborhood include estéticas (beauty shops), at least one lavandería (laundromat), a little gift shop and several houses on our street cook and sell tacos and other yummy Mexican antojitos (cravings, literally) most evenings.

We're getting to know a lot of the neighbors (and their children!).  The neighbors that live in the tall white house next door invited us to eat at their house a few weeks ago and we enjoyed spending some time with them.  They have an amazing house!  One thing that was really interesting was the large round window that separates their garage area from the living room area on the ground floor...I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before and it is really cool.  That top floor is a laundry room and the second floor has a really amazing play room.  They showed us how they installed glass stairs and hallways on the different floors so that the light comes down from the fourth floor all the way to the kitchen on the ground floor!  It is very common for  people to add on to their houses since the original houses are very small.  This is an example of how a small house on a small lot can be turned into a very large house with a little creativity!

We don't see these particular neighbors a whole lot, we usually just greet them as we pass in the street.  Their kids are very nice, but unfortunately don't play outside with the other kids very much so our kids haven't had much opportunity to make friends with them.  The other day, however, this neighbor's truck wouldn't start, so Miguel helped him find the problem.  We always like to look for ways to be good neighbors by helping out whenever we can.

I think it's the tallest house in the neighborhood 

and it can be seen from blocks around.  

Across the street from us there is a carpenter who has made a shop in his carport.  This is very common, we've seen many 'home carpenter' shops around.  He used to live a few houses down, but had to store all of his tools away every night since that house didn't have a front gate/fence.  Now they live in this house a few doors down with a gate, which is much more convenient for them, I'm sure.  The carpenter works all hours of the day and night and we often hear him still hammering at 10 p.m. or so!  Good thing he doesn't live next door to us!  Miguel has helped the carpenter deliver his finished pieces several times since he doesn't have a vehicle and once lent him some money to buy some varnish so he could complete an order.  One time his son had an ear ache, so we gave them some medicine for it.

Right next door to our house is a little kindergarten.  Classes usually run from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.  There are about 20 children who attend this school and they can make a lot of racket!  Most of the time, however, there is no one there and it means that we can park our van right in front of both houses at night (our van is longer than the house is wide and doesn't fit in front of our house!).  We used to park the van in our garage, but it is such a tight fit that now we just leave it outside.  Many people park their cars outside at night and it doesn't seem to be a problem.  On weekday mornings, we try to remember to move the van before 9 a.m. so that we don't block their gate when the kids start arriving.

Down the street, there is a lady who has a soft spot for animals.  She is always rescuing dogs or cats and also has a lot of parakeets.  If we want to have a conversation with her, we just ask her about her animals.  She also feeds the pigeons and other birds that hang around the neighborhood.

There are some neighbors that haven't been as friendly, however, such as the family that lives about five houses down from us who never, ever greet us.  They also drive their van down the street a little too quickly and we worry about the kids playing in the street sometimes.  There is also a lady that lives across the street who allows her rather aggressive dog to run loose sometimes.  This dog, named Lucky, has bitten Jojo and a few weeks ago also bit a friend who was here visiting Micah.  When Miguel and our friend's mom went to confront the lady about it, she denied everything and then began to tell us about all the bad things our kids have supposedly done to her house and car.  She even threatened to take us to court, but I don't think she was serious, I think she was just defending herself and trying to deflect attention from the real issue.  We have noticed that the dog hasn't been running free so much lately, so hopefully they will keep it restrained more in the future and we do hope we don't have any more problems with it!

Some other neighbors told us that this lady's older son is in jail for drugs and that her other son is a drug addict, which if true, is a very sad situation.  Her son does like to have really loud parties and crank the music up sometimes.  One weekend the music was on pretty much nonstop day and night.  A week or so ago, we began hearing really loud music again and we thought it was coming from this house, but it turned out to be a seafood restaurant that opened up one street over.  According to a Mexican friend, seafood restaurants have a fama (reputation) for playing their music really loud and this apparently attracts customers.  We haven't heard the music so much this week, so maybe it was on to announce the grand opening.

Two doors down, on the other side of the kindergarten, is a family who is staying there temporarily while they wait for their house to be ready.  They have a son who is about Gracia's age and our kids play with him often.  Sometimes we've given him drinks or snacks and he often borrows our kids' bicycles and scooters.  The other day, the dad talked with Miguel and told him how much they appreciated how kind we were to their son and that we had always treated them well.  They offered to take Gracia to Irish dance classes at an Irish dance school that they and their older son own and they aren't charging us anything for the classes.  So now Gracia goes to dance classes with them twice a week and is loving it!

Three doors down live our closest friends here on the block, Liberal and Gloria.  We've spent quite a bit of time with them and celebrated New Year's Eve with them and their extended family.

Liberal and Gloria with a Mexican dish cooked

in a traditional clay pot.

When we travel, we leave some house keys for them so they can watch our house.  Our kids often hang out at their house and they treat them like their own.  Liberal and Gloria have both been an invaluable resource for us regarding Mexican culture, Mexican cooking, prices, places to go, interesting cultural events and even neighborhood issues.  I often go visit Gloria and we keep an eye on the kids or enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee and talk about all kinds of things.  I have really enjoyed connecting with Gloria and I hope that our friendship can continue for many years.

A few weeks ago, we started noticing a young man carrying around some American football equipment, which was interesting since American football is not very common here.  It turns out that he lives at the end of the street and is the son of one of Gloria's good friends, Maribel.  Miguel has struck up a friendship with this joven (young man) and we are getting him some much-needed football equipment from the U.S. since it is hard to find in this area.  Maribel also has two younger boys who play with Jojo most afternoons.

Although our street is fairly quiet, there is quite a bit of movimiento (movement) every day...it begins around 6:30 a.m. with the bottled gas trucks making their rounds.  Each truck has a unique alarm, song or sound to let their clients know that they are coming and it's always very loud!  Throughout the day, there are other alarms or notifications of services, from the clanging bell that announces the trash to the drinking water trucks to the guy that rides by on his bicycle with a whistle (not sure exactly what he offers yet!) to the people selling tlacoyos (sort of a bean or pork rind stuffed tortilla), etc.  Every night there is a man who comes by selling pastries who has a very unique   (and loud) call/yell.  There is also a little Volkswagon van that faithfully shows up around 10 p.m. at night with the same announcement playing on the loudspeaker every time offering healthy, home-cooked food.  One night we happened to be out when it went by and we actually saw two little old ladies sitting inside cooking up the food!

Every morning when we walk the dog, we pass by this food stand located at the entrance to our neighborhood.

It is open Tuesdays through Sundays from about 7 a.m. to noonish.  It is run by a neighbor lady and we've been making friends with her since we often buy her quesadillas.  The corn dough is delivered fresh every morning and she has a griddle inside where she cooks the tortillas and gorditas and other items she makes to sell.  Our favorite quesadilla comes with a shredded tomato/chicken sauce, boiled potatoes and string cheese.  Each once costs 13 pesos, or about 90 cents.  Our whole family can eat well for around 80 pesos or about 6$ USD if we don't buy drinks...delicious!  Sometimes Miguel and I will sneak in a quesadilla or two in the mornings before the kids wake up...

We also like having the soccer fields so close to our house so that we can go walk the dog or throw his ball.  There are two full-size soccer fields and two smaller fields in this huge empty lot.  The kids like to go with us and ride their bikes or play while we exercise the dog.  Many people from the neighborhood walk their dogs or exercise at the campos (the soccer fields) and we're beginning to recognize some of them.  On Sundays the campos are really busy since a lot of soccer games and tournaments are played there on the weekends.  If we buy quesadillas on Sundays, we like to get their early before the rush!

In the end, we decided not to take the other house, mostly because of it's location.  It's all the way on the other side of the city and we prefer to stay on this side to be closer to our church and our friends.

And while I'd really love to have a bigger house, I think I'm rather relieved that for now, we'll stay in our little house here on Tochtli Street.

Snow-Covered Volcanos

Over the New Year, snow began appearing more and more on the volcanoes around Puebla.  Every morning when we go out to the football fields close to our house to exercise Schatzen (our five month old German Shepherd puppy), we hope that the weather will be clear so we can see this view.

Popocatepetl (Popo for short), the volcano on the left, has been smoking a lot more recently and has even had a few eruptions.  Makes us wonder what's going on under that snow-capped peak!

On our way home from a trip to Texas recently, I was able to snap this shot of Popo.  A lot more snow had fallen while we were gone!  It was good to see this familiar sight once again, even though we were only gone for a few days to renew our tourist visas and car importation permit.

This morning when I went out with Schatzen, I took my camera along, hoping to get some good pictures of him in action.  He loves his Kong frisbee!

For the last few days, the volcanoes have been completely covered in clouds.  It's been raining a lot lately, rather unusual for February, but the top of Popo was visible for a few minutes before the clouds covered it up again.  It looked a bit surreal, as if the mountain was floating above the city...I looked back a few minutes later, but the clouds had risen again and the volcanoes were gone.

Hint:  If you click on the pictures, you can see them a bit closer!  

The Days of the Dead

I've always been a little confused about what exactly is the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) here in Mexico and I assumed that it had something to do with the American celebration of Halloween.  I have learned a little bit more about this celebration, however, and have found out that the origin of Halloween is really All Hallows' Eve.  All Hallows' Eve is the night before All Saints' Day, which falls on November 1st.  And November 2nd is All Souls' Day.  

So while Halloween kind of has something to do with the Día de los Muertos, the American celebration of Halloween that I am familiar with and the Mexican celebration of the Día de los Muertos is a lot different (Mexicans do still participate in Halloween-like activities, such as dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating...yesterday I saw a little boy in a fringed cowboy costume made completely out of newspaper!).     Obviously, there is an entire history behind these celebrations and the customs will vary from place to place, but this year we have been doing our own culture study on this celebration and are learning from our neighbors and other sources here about their beliefs regarding the Día de los Muertos.

What we have learned is that these are days when families remember and honor their dead loved ones and it is traditionally a time to visit and decorate their graves.  While this reminds me of Memorial Day in the U.S., there is a lot more involved with the Día de los Muertos than merely remembering loved ones.

A Triqui woman pouring Coca-Cola on the grave

of a loved one, Baja California.

It is believed that once a year, the ánimas (souls) of dead loved ones come back from the dead to visit their relatives.  The souls of children and unmarried young people are believed to come on All Saints' Day and the souls of adults or married people are believed to come on All Souls' Day.  Ofrendas (offerings) are made on sometimes elaborate altars in homes or cemeteries to honor and receive the souls.  Candles are burned as it is believed that their light will guide the souls to the altars.  Brightly colored flowers with strong smells, such as marigolds are commonly used to also guide the souls to the offerings.  Incense, such as copal (tree resin incense) is also burned by some.

A trail of flower petals leading into a house.

A trail of flower petals leading to an ofrenda at a school.

Many different foods or other things can be included in the offering, such as pan de muerto (literally, the bread of the dead), whiskey and other drinks, tamales, cigarettes, mole (a traditional chile and chocolate dish), sugar skulls, toys and candy (for the younger souls), sugarcane, fruit and other items that may have been favorites of the dead loved ones.

Pan de muerto, topped with bone-like decorations.

While the Día de los Muertos isn't necessarily a state holiday, we have observed that the 1st and 2nd day of November are días festivos (festive days) and that schools are closed on November 2nd.  Many of our friends who are followers of Christ do not send their children to school around this time of year in order to avoid having their children participate in the celebrations they view as demonic and pagan.

The sign on the gate of the preschool next door to our house says: 

"Homework for everyone: bring a written skeleton for 

Monday and fruit for the offering.  Thank you."

An ofrenda at a town government office.

Another example of an ofrenda set up at a police station.

There is a sign on this ofrenda that says,

"Please don't take anything off of the offering."

An ofrenda set up inside a Catholic church.

Traditionally, on November 3rd families have parties where the offerings are eaten in honor of their dead loved ones.  It is believed that the essence or aromas and the colors of the food and flowers are 'eaten' or used by the dead and some would say that the food that is left has no nutritional value.  

I'm sure that there is a lot more to learn about the Día de los Muertos, but this has been an interesting glimpse into these traditions here in Puebla.  

First Days in Puebla

We spent the first few weeks in Puebla staying with Hiram and Cati, the pastor of our partner church, El Camino.  I think a hurricane affected the weather, because it seemed like it rained for days on end during the first week or so here!  We even had hailstorms, something we didn't really expect to see in Puebla, but apparently not all that uncommon...we've had plenty of sunshine since, though, which has been pleasant.  The days spent with Hiram and Cati's family was great, we had time to rest from our trip (we were way more tired than we thought!) and of course, staying with a Mexican family was very good for us to begin adjusting back to Spanish and the Mexican culture.  It has been so cute to hear the kids begin speaking more and more Spanish!

The Monday after we got here, another missionary from our church in Arkansas, Caroline, arrived together with her mom and Miguel went to Mexico City to help them catch a bus back to Puebla.  Caroline will be working with El Camino church for a year or so, helping develop their children's program.  Caroline's mom spent a week here and we took every opportunity we could to get out and about on the days it wasn't raining.  We spent a couple of days exploring the Cholula fair (we actually live in Cholula, a town on the outskirts of Puebla City).

Here we are with Caroline at the fair.

We also got to go and meet Franco and Barby, the missionaries who live and work up in the mountains...Barby was recovering from a surgery, so we were actually able to go visit them several times before they went back home.

Here I am with Barby...I hope we become great friends!

One of the most impressive sights around town is the volcano, Popocatepetl (we're still trying to figure out how to pronounce that word, mostly we just say "Popo").  Popo is an active volcano, about 17,000+ feet high and actually has a snow-covered peak...most days, however, it's covered in clouds.  The best time to take a picture of Popo is on a clear, sunny morning like this one.

Another interesting sight is this church that is built on top of an ancient pyramid...you can see the church and some ruins behind Miguel and I in this picture...

Every once in a while, I can spot this church from different locations in Puebla, it's pretty cool!  One day we climbed up to the top and had a look around, but that is a story for another day...

Miguel

Since Miguel didn't take a camera on his trip to Puebla, I'll have to wait to see all of the photos the rest of the team took. I have, however, seen a few from one of the families and I just loved this one of Miguel. He is so good with kids!