Market with Carmen

I went to the market the other day for my weekly grocery shopping trip... 

 

 

 If, by some strange turn of events, I were to leave Mexico, this will be the fruit I miss most. Nanche. 

They are like cherries in that they have a big seed in the middle, but aren't similar in taste or texture. They have a unique and inexplicable flavor. I just asked Nicole to describe what they taste like and she replied, "Ummm...barf?" 

I'd have to disagree with that. LOL. However, I am the only one in my family that likes nanches.

Sis. Carmen had been raving about tacos de barbacoa (in this case it was goat barbacoa). She wanted to take me to the place in the market that had the best ones. 

 

Raw meat...and a few inches away, our cooked barbacoa. This is where one sincerely prays, "Lord, don't let me get sick!"

 Fresh hot tortillas being made...

 

The tacos were ok...goat meat has never been my favorite, but Carmen sure did enjoy it! 

 

Back at the produce side of the market, I ended up buying a cauliflower, honey dew, cantaloupe, strawberries, figs, green beans, peas, broccoli, tomatoes, limes, lettuce, spinach, quinoa, carrots, and Oaxaca cheese...

It all came to about $18 USD.

This little guy came sluggin' out of  my lettuce...think about it though. How many of these do we eat in a lifetime?? Now THAT is BARF....

How to soak your produce in bulk: 

Pull out the drawer in your fridge and fill 'er up! 

 What a very *productive* day...heh heh...

~Bethany~

Outreach in Puebla

Lately we've been going to the center of town and evangelizing. Dad and Valentin go on their own a lot and pray for sick people and beggars, talk with street vendors and people selling stuff. On the weekend, the church people go out to different places around the city to invite people to church and to tell them about Jesus. It seems like each family has their favorite area they like to go to - Dad's is Puebla's historic downtown.

If you look closely, you can see Dad, Mom...and Austin crutching down the walkway.

There are always crowds of people to be found in this area of town.

Bro Valentin passing out fliers

WARNING: There are two really gross pictures coming up. If you can't stomach that kind of thing, then scroll down quickly with your eyes closed!! 

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A couple months ago, Dad and Valentin met a beggar that has sat in front of one of the popular cathedrals for years. I remember when he first was there - his leg was broken and torn up terribly. His leg wasn't in a bandage and he had the open, raw wound visible for passersby to see. 

A few years have passed since then and the skin on his leg has healed up, but he was left crippled. 

So like I was saying, Dad introduced himself to this man and started talking with him. He found out this man hurt his leg while on the job. He asked what happened to get his leg to this stage and he said that they had operated on it and it didn't heal correctly. Dad asked him what the name of his surgeon was. Turns out it was Dr. Rojas, the SAME doctor that operated on Austin's broken leg earlier this year and messed it up. We were blown away to hear of this injustice! What a tragedy! Austin was able to go to the U.S. to an American doctor that knew what he was doing and get his leg fixed. He has recovered wonderfully!
This man however is now left to beg in the streets with gangrene with no recourse.

Austin's leg was broken in almost this same spot and his doctor in Mexico put in these same plates and screws. If you look closely, you can see the metal plate in the open wound on this man's leg. Dad said the wound smelled terrible, like death. Flies and gnats were trying to get at it and his leg was obviously extremely infected.

We now have found out he is going to have to have the leg amputated. This injury and botched operation could very well cause his death. 

Dad felt a very strong burden for this man seeing that our family just went through this trial a few months ago. He prayed for the man, witnessed to him, invited him to church. The man responded positively so Dad went to pick him up for church that next Sunday. It was then that this beggar man told Dad he couldn't go to church on Sundays because that was his biggest day for alms. Isn't that astounding? We couldn't believe he would prefer to make money over having Jesus heal him and save his soul. 

Dad has continued to visit this man and try to work with him, but he does not seem interested. He doesn't realize the danger his life is in and that the solution to all his problems is right in front of him.

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Mom and I walked this busy bridge back and forth many times passing out fliers and inviting people to church.

There was an incline to climb the bridge which made for good cardio...

Come down the other side, stretch your legs and go back up again...!

The things you see on outreach...

~Bethany~

Mexico City Bible College

This year Elder Wakefield has traveled to Mexico City each Monday evening to teach a Bible class at Pastor Isai's church. The Bible class focused on how to study the Bible. 

Sometime he'd go alone, but most of the time Sis Wakefield would accompany him or the Garcia family. I also was able to go a few times when I had school off. 

A sign they had on the front of their church that I liked - the plan of salvation, very clearly explained.

Setup ready for class

Before class, my friend, Lety, taught an hour of guitar lessons to a couple of ladies from the church in Cuautla.

Pastor Isai and Elder Wakefield

The first time I accompanied Grampa to his Bible class, I was so happy to see my friend Lety. We hardly ever get to see each other, only at conferences, so when we do, there's a lot to catch up on! We sat together and before the class started we chatted a bit. She happened to ask me if I ever get called out by Elder Wakefield in church. The answer to that is yes - it's actually kind of a common occurrence. 

Class started and we had our papers to fill out to go with the lesson. Lety and I would each say the word we thought was going to be the answer before Elder Wakefield announced the correct one. I guess Lety jinxed us by her previous question and as we tied, Grampa put a stop to our competition. So I guess Lety and I are equally knowledgeable about the Bible...! And equally unable to cover our snickers of competitiveness.

 Sometimes there'd be little surprises in the lessons - emojis that went along with the subject matter.

This always got an amused laugh out of the students! 

Talking about the devil - LOL

After class, the church always served a snack. This time it was coffee and sweet bread. I always enjoyed this time to visit with Rosa and Lety!

I miss these girls so much and wish I could see them more often! One more reason to look forward to conferences and special services.

~Bethany~

Watermelon Surprise

Emphasis on the surprise. 

The other day I was making frozen watermelon bolis (kind of like a popsicle but in a little baggie). I'd taken the lid off the blender and was trying to scoot it back when...whoopsies. I bumped the lever. Talk about SHOCKING! 

Watermelon juice went everywhere and into the air....

...as you can see.

It was one of those moments when you literally have to make a mental decision to either laugh or cry. I chose the former, along with some picture-taking so my friends could also get a laugh out of my clumsiness!

~Bethany~

Santa Cruz and a Trip Down Memory Lane

This summer we took a trip to California. There was nothing unusual in that, but this time we ended up going all over the place, doing all kinds of things. We had a wonderful time!

One of the main reasons for this trip was that I had to get my passport renewed. Do get this done quickly, we went straight to the embassy in San Fransisco.

Pier 39

 This place makes me so happy! I was born in the Bay Area and we were always going to SF on the weekends. This all brings back so many good memories!

Had to get some salt water taffy! 

Alcatraz there in the back

 Lunch - fried shrimp and some kind of seafood sandwich....

This guy invited himself to our picnic on the peir.

We were egging him on, coaxing him closer and closer...

In the end, he received his reward! 

After taking care of business in SF and doing some sightseeing, we headed up towards Santa Cruz. 

Parasailers... we pulled over and watch them for bit.

 We kept stopping at random beaches we drove by...

It was so so so COLD...as you can see - HA!

LOOK AT THAT HAHAHAHAH

 Dad said to act like it was hot...

 

 We spent a couple days at the beach in Santa Cruz and also went to the amusement park on the boardwalk. Super fun!

 

We rode the "ski lift"...beach lift? 

Look behind us ... hahahaaaaa!

Dad was having a good ole time. 

Creeper....

(It's soda.)

 Dinner!!

A huge fat hunk of lard...

 We passed an Episcopalian church in town - do you see what I see?

A homeless looking lady came running up to mom when we were in town and gave her a big hug and these flowers. She said she was "spreading the love". 

 

Breakfast - carrot cake and soda. 

Yikes :-/

I had my FILL of cherries during this trip. Man oh man! Is it possible to have too many or get sick of them?

 We came back to Yuba City after our little beach vacation. We got to spend time with my sweet grandparents that we hardly ever get to see!

Me and the Grampers

The grandpa, the grandma, and their two onery little troublemakers

Uncle Gary, me, Mom, Austin, Grampa, Gramma

Austin finally met his match in Uncle Gary. 

 

This sight just filled me with joy. 

 

We set a pool up in the backyard and it provided many hours of entertainment...

 We celebrated Mom's birthday while we were there...

 Austin went to his appointments at UC Davis...

Mom and I went up to Antioch one day to see our old stomping grounds...

Silvia's. I remember going there after church many times and ordering a side of maraschino cherries. It was the highlight of my life as a five year old. 

Our old house

This is the street I learned how to ride a bike on. Unfortunately, our house was on top of a hill and I didn't know how to work the brakes. I remember flying down the hill and having to make a life or death decision. Crash into the sidewalk on the side of the road, or continue down the street where cars might be passing by and crash there?

I remember careening down the hill and thinking, "This is going to be the moment when I break a bone." I chose to crash into the left sidewalk in this picture. I went over the handlebars and the bike came crashing down on top of me. 

That's all I remember, but apparently I did survive, and I didn't break anything.

 Back in Yuba City, we got donuts for breakfast early one morning...

It is a must when we are here.

 Main Street

Good times! 

~Bethany~