Other missionary blogs
Hand made tortillas (video)
There’s nothing like hand made tortillas, fresh and hot! Well, that and something in them – a little meat, chilli, onion, lime…. but I digress.
Our friends the McManus family took a video of some ladies making tortillas at a wedding. It’s a very familiar sight, so I thought I’d share the video with you here.
The McManus family lives waaaaay up north in San Juan del Rio, Mexico. Their blog is called Knowing Your ABCDs.
And here’s a follow-up – machine made tortillas (also a very common sight):
At the Zoo with the Poulettes
 At La Ciudadela |
So here’s the story. Waaaay back in 2006, before we moved to Mexico, we saw a video of the Mexico City zoo (Chapultepec Zoo) on the blog of a family (the Poulette family) who lived in Mexico City. I attempted my own video when we went to the Calgary Zoo. Ever since we saw the Poulette’s video, we started talking about the zoo in Mexico City, and how we should go there someday.
This year the kids got some gift money from their Uncle Jeff, Aunt Tracy, and cousins Jevon and Ashlyn. So we decided to use it for a trip there (the zoo is actually free, but there’s gas, parking, and paying for some exhibits) (thanks guys!). So, we started making plans.
I thought it would be appropriate if we could actually go with the Poulette family. They’re about our age, and have a boy named Nathan about a year younger than Nathanael. We had never met them, only read their blog, but there’s always a first time!
So, Dennis Poulette and I arranged it via email.
We went to Mexico City on Friday, and hung around downtown. We went to a market (La Ciudadela) for some Christmas shopping, visited a park, and ate at Pizza Hut. 🙂
 Nathan, Nathanael and Hannah |
The next day we headed over to the Chapultepec Zoo, which is also downtown. We met up with Dennis, Janell and Nathan, and had a great time.
The zoo is definitly world-class, boasting over 2000 animals and beautiful exhibits. It’s famous for its pandas, but there’s lots more to see.
I put some photos in our Photo Gallery, so check them out (right now they’re in our Recent shots… album). I have some video too, but haven’t gotten it online.
Anyway, thanks to the Poulette family for hanging out with us! It was great to get to know them in the "real world", though, as you can imagine, it’s hard to talk too much when you’re chasing kids the whole time. But maybe we can do it again sometime!
Dennis and Janell work with Youth Ministry International in Mexico City. They have a passion to train trainers – who can train youth workers in Mexico! Check out their blog – The Poulette Family, and their video blog, Mexico Movies. Here’s their post about the event.
Thanksgiving!
I’m just stopping by to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving (which is today in Canada)!
We are especially thankful for the news we got from La Villa Castilla today. You can read more at their blog here, but the short story is that he didn’t need bypass surgery, but just had minor surgery and will be released tomorrow. The doctors are still concerned – wondering why these blockages keep happening. So, there are questions to be answered, but so far so good.
 |
We didn’t do a lot to celebrate Thanksgiving today, except eat leftovers. We did have friends over for Thanksgiving, David and Lety and their one year old daughter Giselle. We’re thankful for them too!
Here’s Giselle with some silly clown hair from our kids’ dressups. Hannah came out dressed as a clown earlier, and Giselle was just captivated. 😉 Hannah never had such a good audience!
Anyway, we have a lot to be thankful for. Sometimes I think God drops Thanksgiving right down into more difficult times in our lives, to remind us that there’s still so much good.
Good from a good God!
Prayer for Toby Casteel
Those of you who get our email update have heard us ask for prayer for our friend Toby, who is our supervisor here in Cuernavaca. He’s had some problems with his heart over the last little while.
Toby went for a scheduled doctor’s appointment on the 27th of September in Mexico City. The doctor was concerned about what he saw in the stress test, so Toby and his wife Marilyn decided to go to Houston, Texas for a second opinion.
On the afternoon of October 2nd they saw a cardiologist. This doctor wasn’t pleased with what he saw either.
At this point, it looks like Toby will be having heart bypass surgery on Monday at 6am Houston time.
Toby and Marilyn will be keeping us updated on their blog, La Villa Castilla. They’re optimistic at this point (read their post on Toby’s upcoming surgery), but obviously it’s a big deal and they would appreciate your prayers.
You can pray for wisdom for the doctors as they make decisions, for Toby’s health before, after and during the surgery, and peace and rest for Toby and Marilyn both. Thanks!
Shari’s sister heads to Africa
Shari’s sister Amy, author of the blog Under the African Rain, is about to head south.
Right now Amy is in London, England. On the 1st of July she’ll be heading to Nairobi, Kenya, to be involved in some meetings to discuss the beginnings of some new health care work in southern Sudan. Then she’ll be going through some orientation, and she’ll need to buy some more supplies for her hut in Sudan.
We just have to praise the Lord for providing for Amy – for providing for her as she took her training in child nursing, and then providing for her to be able to go to Sudan.
Amy doesn’t know yet when she’ll actually be heading to Sudan, but when she arrives she’ll be working with the Memorial Health Care Center and Training School. You can click the link to learn more, but the hope is to provide health care and train more local people to provide health care. I’m sure Amy would appreciate your prayers as she travels!
Travel with Amy – If you have Google Earth, you can download a file and see Amy’s travels from Canada to England to Kenya to Sudan (not every stop, just the main locations!). Just click on the map below. Once in Google Earth, click on Tools, then Play Tour.
