Much to my surprise, I am working as a medical registration clerk again. This time in a makeshift clinic in a Mixteco village high in the mountains. Yesterday, I sat in the yard with two nurses. They checked everyone's vital signs; I recorded the information, directed the patient to a place to wait for the doctor, and gave each patient a copy of the gospels of Matthew and John. There was a doctor in a concrete room and another doctor working on the porch.
The Mixteco villagers gathered under a shade tree to wait. They are quiet people. The men wear straw hats and button-up shirts with slacks. Most of the women wear cotton dresses or skirts and blouses, many with embroidered aprons and shawls. Nobody is over five feet tall.
At lunch time, some women from the village prepared rice, beans, and corn tortillas for us. Everything was cooked in big clay pots over a fire in the yard. I don't know if it was because we had been working all day, but those were the best black beans I ever tasted! Rod told me the clay pots give them that flavor.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Silent Monday
We visited a Mixteco village yesterday, high in the mountains. This was my first encounter with Mixteco people, and what impressed me most was the silence. Whenever we arrived at a different house, we were greeted, then a young woman brought chairs outside. The chairs were apparently hand-made, and they were short and narrow.
The family formed a circle, and conversation proceeded quietly. I lost all sense of time by the second house.
At one house in particular, Rod Johnson took the opportunity to really pull for souls. A grandmother, her daughter and daughter-in-law and several very small girls sat and listened with wide eyes. I couldn't identify the feeling in the air--tension? fear? It was intense and unlike anything I had felt before. Flies crawled all over us, from the grandmother to the chubby baby boy, who was also silent. The mood lightened when the subject changed, but the best we got was a promise to think about what Rod had said.
Rod told me the fear of their traditions causes change to take place slowly. These people still live in huts of cane or tin, sometimes block, with dirt floors. They plow with oxen and sacrifice chickens to ward off evil spirits. Those who become Christians are often persecuted. Sometimes the tribal leaders even seize their huts and gardens, driving them from the village where they lived for generations.
It's a lot to take in, and I am definitely in culture shock right now.
The family formed a circle, and conversation proceeded quietly. I lost all sense of time by the second house.
At one house in particular, Rod Johnson took the opportunity to really pull for souls. A grandmother, her daughter and daughter-in-law and several very small girls sat and listened with wide eyes. I couldn't identify the feeling in the air--tension? fear? It was intense and unlike anything I had felt before. Flies crawled all over us, from the grandmother to the chubby baby boy, who was also silent. The mood lightened when the subject changed, but the best we got was a promise to think about what Rod had said.
Rod told me the fear of their traditions causes change to take place slowly. These people still live in huts of cane or tin, sometimes block, with dirt floors. They plow with oxen and sacrifice chickens to ward off evil spirits. Those who become Christians are often persecuted. Sometimes the tribal leaders even seize their huts and gardens, driving them from the village where they lived for generations.
It's a lot to take in, and I am definitely in culture shock right now.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Pack Light
Pack light. You don't need that much stuff.
Oh, yeah?
I'm sitting in Houston airport and one of my shoelaces snapped through the hole that holds the shoelace. These are the only tennis shoes I brought. If another lace gets hungry and eats through its home, I will be hiking all over Oaxaca in either leather flats or a pair of strappy, high-heeled sandals perfect for special occasions.
Oh, yes. I packed light.
Oh, yeah?
I'm sitting in Houston airport and one of my shoelaces snapped through the hole that holds the shoelace. These are the only tennis shoes I brought. If another lace gets hungry and eats through its home, I will be hiking all over Oaxaca in either leather flats or a pair of strappy, high-heeled sandals perfect for special occasions.
Oh, yes. I packed light.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A Mysterious Certified Letter
My room-mate in North Carolina IM'd me this morning to let me know that I had received a certified letter, but the letter wasn't delivered because nobody was home to sign for it. She's going to try to pick it up at the Post Office for me. I hope they won't ask her for i.d.!
I'm pretty excited about this. I don't think the government delivers tax checks this way, so the letter is...what?
I'll have to wait a few days to find out, because she has to retrieve it from the Post Office, and then mail it to me along with the rest of my mail. I am psyched about this! I hope it's something good.
Maybe it will be notification that I won a prize for some writing contest. That would be AWESOME!
I'm pretty excited about this. I don't think the government delivers tax checks this way, so the letter is...what?
I'll have to wait a few days to find out, because she has to retrieve it from the Post Office, and then mail it to me along with the rest of my mail. I am psyched about this! I hope it's something good.
Maybe it will be notification that I won a prize for some writing contest. That would be AWESOME!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
In Limbo
July 15, 2010
I'm starting to think my tax check will never arrive--ever. I'm calling my CPA tomorrow to see if I can get some information.
In addition to the check situation, I'm waiting to see how things go with Grandma. Did I mention that? Grandma is having heart trouble and has been in and out of the hospital for the past few days. Every day or two, the family swings from "Let's all go to Missouri to be with Grandma" to "Grandma's going to be okay."
Ya'll pray for me, please.
I'm starting to think my tax check will never arrive--ever. I'm calling my CPA tomorrow to see if I can get some information.
In addition to the check situation, I'm waiting to see how things go with Grandma. Did I mention that? Grandma is having heart trouble and has been in and out of the hospital for the past few days. Every day or two, the family swings from "Let's all go to Missouri to be with Grandma" to "Grandma's going to be okay."
Ya'll pray for me, please.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Waiting, Waiting, Waiting...
The second leg of The Impossible Journey brought me to Richmond, IN, to visit my family before I leave. There are several reasons to stop here:
1. I just said, to see my family--namely my Uncle David's family
2. I'm leaving my jeep here with Uncle David in hopes he can sell it for me while I'm gone
3. To spend time with Grandma. She hasn't been doing so good, so why take chances?
4. I found a great price on tickets from the Dayton, OH, airport
Those of you who follow my other blog will be pleased to know that Con the Cat is doing well, and he has a beautiful, sparkly collar with a red, heart-shaped tag. He did great on the trip to Knoxville, but by the time we got to Indiana, he was pretty cranky. It took him a couple days to settle in and stop yowling every time anybody spoke to him.
A lot of people have asked me what day I am leaving. I don't know. The reason I don't know is that I am waiting to get my tax refund check in the mail. I had to file an extension on my taxes in April because some of my papers had been mailed to my old address in GA. So, as God knew I would need that money in JULY instead of APRIL--to fund this trip--I am sitting around waiting on my check.
The waiting is killing me. I had a migraine yesterday that made me beg God to skip Mexico and take me on to Heaven. But He left me here, and I'm glad because the headache is gone now. If any of you ever suffer with those things, you know what I am talking about! I need to calm down and trust God to handle the timing.
Odd--I can trust Him enough to leave my job, pack my bags, and drive away. I apparently do not trust Him to handle a simple thing like getting that check to me in a timely manner, despite the fact that the U.S. Government itself assures me I will receive it. I should be ashamed of myself, huh?
1. I just said, to see my family--namely my Uncle David's family
2. I'm leaving my jeep here with Uncle David in hopes he can sell it for me while I'm gone
3. To spend time with Grandma. She hasn't been doing so good, so why take chances?
4. I found a great price on tickets from the Dayton, OH, airport
Those of you who follow my other blog will be pleased to know that Con the Cat is doing well, and he has a beautiful, sparkly collar with a red, heart-shaped tag. He did great on the trip to Knoxville, but by the time we got to Indiana, he was pretty cranky. It took him a couple days to settle in and stop yowling every time anybody spoke to him.
A lot of people have asked me what day I am leaving. I don't know. The reason I don't know is that I am waiting to get my tax refund check in the mail. I had to file an extension on my taxes in April because some of my papers had been mailed to my old address in GA. So, as God knew I would need that money in JULY instead of APRIL--to fund this trip--I am sitting around waiting on my check.
The waiting is killing me. I had a migraine yesterday that made me beg God to skip Mexico and take me on to Heaven. But He left me here, and I'm glad because the headache is gone now. If any of you ever suffer with those things, you know what I am talking about! I need to calm down and trust God to handle the timing.
Odd--I can trust Him enough to leave my job, pack my bags, and drive away. I apparently do not trust Him to handle a simple thing like getting that check to me in a timely manner, despite the fact that the U.S. Government itself assures me I will receive it. I should be ashamed of myself, huh?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Journey Begins
July 9, 2010
I filled up on biscuits and gravy at a Cracker Barrel in Knoxville, TN. What a drive! Normally, I love the trip across I-40 from Asheville, NC, but this time, a two-hour traffic jam ruined the experience. I'm going to spend the night at my friend Rebecca's apartment in Knoxville before traveling on to Richmond, IN tomorrow.
What I am doing: Traveling to Richmond, IN to see my family before I buy my plane ticket
Where: Oaxaca, Mexico
Why: I feel like God has called me to volunteer with some mission work there
When: As soon as I get my tax refund check in the mail. Should be within a few days.
Who: Rod and Connie Johnson (www.oaxacamission.com) invited me.
How: By God's provision. I really have no idea how this is all going to work out, and the whole undertaking seems impossible. I've crunched the numbers over and over, but in spite of the math, I know I am supposed to do this.
I filled up on biscuits and gravy at a Cracker Barrel in Knoxville, TN. What a drive! Normally, I love the trip across I-40 from Asheville, NC, but this time, a two-hour traffic jam ruined the experience. I'm going to spend the night at my friend Rebecca's apartment in Knoxville before traveling on to Richmond, IN tomorrow.
What I am doing: Traveling to Richmond, IN to see my family before I buy my plane ticket
Where: Oaxaca, Mexico
Why: I feel like God has called me to volunteer with some mission work there
When: As soon as I get my tax refund check in the mail. Should be within a few days.
Who: Rod and Connie Johnson (www.oaxacamission.com) invited me.
How: By God's provision. I really have no idea how this is all going to work out, and the whole undertaking seems impossible. I've crunched the numbers over and over, but in spite of the math, I know I am supposed to do this.
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