Recently I was skimming through some past emails, and I was reminded about what a major, constant issue our visa paperwork was. Especially 2017 and earlier.
Another form!
Well, Nathanael’s visa has been taking up some of our time lately, but nothing like it used to! Nevertheless, because he is under 18, he still needs to renew twice more.
We would appreciate your prayers as we travel and as we go through the renewal process this week. Please pray for safety in travel (we have to go to the other side and Mexico City, and then on to another city – Toluca, which is the capitol of our state), and that the renewal process will go smoothly.
We’re very thankful that we’ve come so far in this process, and that we’re able to live here in Mexico and continue the ministry. Please continue to pray for the work of the Lord here. This week I saw in the news that a young man had (apparently) hung himself on a tree branch here in Ixtapaluca. Satan is hard at his murderous, lying work. Please pray that God’s light would shine, and that God would send more workers into the harvest.
First, I have to admit that we did not go to the dental office that you see below. But it is from the same area near us, and it looked so cute I had to take a picture. According to the helpful “writing on the wall”, they even do surgery in there. Nice!
Anyway, we did go to a (different) dentist, for regular checkups and cleaning and all stuff like that there.
Teeth in the waiting room
I was trying to think about what might be different from your typical dental office up in Canada. Actually, for this kind of thing, the differences were not major. Maybe the biggest thing is just a typical thing for a temperate climate like we have in Mexico City – the office is not sealed in as it would be in Canada. There was a wide-open window (with a screen, I think?) in the room as we had our teeth checked.
The dentist also gave me a good look at my own teeth after she had finished, like a barber showing me the back of my head. I don’t recall dentists in Canada doing that very often. Except maybe showing an x-ray on a computer screen.
Speaking of x-rays, Nathanael and I went to another lab nearby to get his panoramic x-ray done. In a few minutes we came out with a large envelope with a lovely picture of his jaw and teeth. Very fast and efficient. So Shari dropped the envelope off at the dental office, and we’re waiting to hear the official news. But let’s just say, I think Nathanael’s adventures with the dentist(s) are not over yet.
We have some other medical issues we need to deal with in the next few weeks, but that’s not all that’s on our minds. We’re also preparing to get Nathanael’s visa renewed. We’re trying to get Nathanael’s textbooks for the beginning of a new school year (with a little help from our friends!). We have a few things to get done in the city. The van needs some work. Well, let’s just say there are a lot of things that have been piling up that we need to get to!
So I’d better go and get some work done, while we wait for the call from the dentist…
There are a few things in our house that run on gas – that is, liquefied petroleum gas (LP gas), a mix of propane and butane. It heats our water, heats our dryer, and runs our stove and oven. All of which is common here (ok, except most people don’t have dryers, and rarely use their ovens).
We usually have a lot of gas on hand – in fact, enough to last for weeks. But once in a very blue moon (maybe once every year?) we run out. Completely.
We can either go somewhere to get the tanks filled (and there’s a 24-hour place in Ixtapaluca) or wait for the gas truck to come. Well, we’ve been waiting for the gas truck to come. We were listening for it over the weekend, but we just never caught it.
So, on Tuesday morning, Nathanael and I went to the 24-hour gas place – only to find a sign that said: “Opening at 7 pm”. Then we went to another gas place. Closed – and lines of gas trucks outside. Hmmmmmm.
With a little research, Shari discovered that there was, indeed, a strike.
And it’s actually a long story, an ongoing story. But essentially, it has to do with rising gas prices, government control, and organized crime. So you can imagine.
Anyway, of course this would be the one time in years that all our gas was gone, right at the beginning of the strike, which began on Tuesday.
So, I checked the news (often) today, and found that the strike was (more or less) national. And then the President got involved. And the second day dragged on.
But later this afternoon, I checked Twitter – let’s face it, Twitter is great for things like this – and discovered that the strike had just ended. Like, minutes earlier, as far as I could tell. So I dashed downstairs, and hopped in the van, and went to a nearby gas dispensary to see if the line was already ridiculously long.
Lined up to get lp gas
Well, I must have got there very soon after it opened. In half an hour (of standing in the rain – but just a light rain), I had one tank of gas.
Meanwhile, the gas truck also came by our house, and by the time I got home, Shari already had another gas tank connected (and clothes drying in the dryer, I might add).
Filling a gas tank
Looking at the way things are going, I would guess that gas troubles will continue in the months ahead. But for now, we’re good for a few weeks! As as we always say when our gas is close to running out – we’re never going to let it get that low again. Well, at least not this year. Right?
Last week we took a long journey, although we ended up in the same state we started in (our home state), and took a few days off.
Not much to say about that at the moment, except that it was a nice change. However, I did want to share this video with you.
While we were out of the city, I took several walks in the forest. There was one sound in particular that I noticed – it sounds like it might be birds, but maybe you can tell me. The sound you’re looking for is heard clearly three times in this short video. It lasts a few seconds, and gets higher and higher in pitch. What is it?
This picture isn’t necessarily specific to March 2011 – it would probably fit pretty well anytime since. But still, I like the picture.
Driving through traffic in Mexico City, you see a lot of people selling a lot of things to people in their cars. In this case, this fellow was selling cotton candy. And – can you see what he’s selling in his other hand? Click for a larger view of the picture.
10 years ago today (and tomorrow, to be precise) we were having a lot of fun taking a holiday in Mexico City! So here are 4 photos for the price of one.
Top left – Hannah and Albert Einstein (well, a wax figure of Einstein) Top right – Jim and Cantinflas (Mario Moreno) (again, in wax. Moreno was famous comedian from Mexico City) Bottom left – Shari and Hannah in the pool Bottom right – Nathanael outside Chapultepec Castle
