Pirkles In Honduras

Play Dates at the Pirkles

2012-02-13T13:34:00.000-06:00

After the first of the year we started something new with children from the Children's Center. This idea came about one day when Liz jokingly told the girls they would be welcome to take some of the kids for a day if they would like. Well, Rebekah and Sarah loved this idea and asked if they really could; thus began "Play Date at the Pirkles". For the past four Saturdays, we have gotten two children and had them spend the day with our family. They have done everything from bake to have Nerf wars. Here are some pictures from the first four weeks. They pretty well speak for themselves so I will keep my commentary to a minimum.

Week One: Merrily and Genesis

Merrily and Sarah painting

Rebekah and Genesis painting

Precious girls at naptime

Week Two: Ana and Maria

Baking cookie bars with Rebekah

Making necklaces and bracelets

Painting nails with Sarah

Week Three: Ronnie and Felix

Started they day right with biscuits and chocolate syrup

Baking snickerdoodles with Rebekah

For some reason I didn't get pictures of the painting and other activities with these two guys. Perhaps it was because we were too busy with the Nerf wars:)

Week Four: Kevin and Juancito

Baking chocolate banana muffins with Rebekah.

Enjoying one of the benefits of baking.

Kevin was my helper with the laundry also.

Juancito preparing for a Nerf war.

Kevin is ready too.

We have had such fun times spending time with these kiddos and I think they have enjoyed it also. One of the favorite things so far is to be able to bake goodies to take back and share with all the others at the children's center. Looking forward to sharing many more Saturdays with many more children.

Perfect Way to end Christmas Day

2011-12-27T13:26:00.000-06:00

After our day together we headed down to the Children's Center for a perfect ending to our Christmas day. I have included a lot of pictures, so I will try not to include too many words. I think the pictures speak for themselves

Thanks to The Freeman CP group from our home church, we were able to buy food for the meal of choice for Christmas dinner. The children chose Chinese rice with shrimp and watermelon. Not our thoughts of a typical Christmas meal, but that is what they wanted and that is exactly what they got.

Then we got to have fun and serve homemade ice cream and brownies.

Just in case that wasn't enough sugar we had bags of candy for each of them also.

Then we just got to hang out for awhile.

This is Iain and a couple of the children. Iain and his wife, Liz, started and run the children's center.

Blessed to be able to share some Christmas joy with these precious ones. Hoping this will become a new Pirkle Christmas tradition for as long as the Lord has us in Honduras.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T11:16:00.001-06:00

One of our traditions is that the kids draw names among themselves each year. They always try to keep the secret of whose names they drew until a few days before Christmas when they wrap the gifts and put them under the tree. Of course, there is always the trying to figure it out or trying to get one of the others to spill the beans on whose name they got. We have had some episodes where not only the name has been given, but also what the gift was. However, usually they do fairly well. Then, on Christmas Eve they get to open them.

Sibling gifts from this year

Everyone seemed happy with their gift and there have been several games of Battala Naval (Battle Ship) and Dawgopoly played.

The calm before the storm.

Christmas Morning

Sarah and Elizabeth were pretty excited about their Bulldog Pillow Pets!

Sarah had a "Bulldog" Christmas.

Elizabeth with her new bag and some money to buy things to put in it.

Along with the always asked for Legos and Nerf guns, Caleb also got a remote controlled helicopter. So far only one crash. Hopefully it will survive!

Rebekah with her guitar and soft, fuzzy bathrobe.

No surprises here - Legos and Nerf.

Christmas Dinner

Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. The kids were excited that we were able to have all their favorites even here in Honduras.

Like father......

Like son.

We had a great Christmas day. It was nice to spend a relaxing day enjoying the new things and spending time together. Then, that evening we ended our day in the perfect way. More to come in the next blog update.

Macaw Mountain (Copan Day 2)

2011-12-27T10:04:00.000-06:00

On our second day in Copan we visited Macaw Mountain. We got to see and learn about lots of amazing birds.

Our transportaion. Yep, we fit four plus a driver in each.

Rebekah wasn't to sure about being the first to hold the birds.

Caleb's friend was getting a close on his shoulder.

Elizabeth and the blue macaw seemed to get along quite well.

"It was this tall."

Sarah using her jacket as armor.

Jesse keeping an eye on Mr. Green Macaw

"What's that in your pocket?"

As the macaws get older their feathers become brighter. This young lady is 80 years old.

The whole gang

We had a great day at Macaw Mountain. The birds were beautiful, as well as, the scenery. Our guide did a great job teaching us many interesting facts about the various birds. We also got to enjoy some yummy food at the cafe that was over the river.

After leaving we headed to the town square for some shopping and that evening we got very brave and tried some of the food from the street vendors.

Checking out the options.

Cooking our food.

Caleb is pretty excited about his food. Of course, that is pretty normal these days. He is definitely hitting that "teenage boy who never stops eating" stage.

Chicken, salad, beans, and tortillas. Yummy!

Jesse may have been a bit uncertain, but was willing to give it a try. Turned out to be very delicious and no one was sick on the trip home the next day.

Copan is a neat little town and we definitely enjoyed our couple of days exploring it.

Copan Ruinas

2011-12-26T17:36:00.001-06:00

On December 9th Elizabeth and her friend, Jesse, arrived in Honduras. Before heading to Balfate, we spent a couple of days exploring Copan. The first day we went to see the ruins.

On the way we found this family making cotton candy. We passed by them on three different occasions and yes, we bought cotton candy each time.

Exploring the town. Then, off to the Mayan ruins.

A huge Ceiba tree.

The Mayan history book. This is a staircase that has hieroglyphics on each level that tell much of the history.

We had a wonderful guide that explained all the history of what we were seeing. Another great day in the Pirkle School!

Packages!!!!!!!!!

2011-12-26T16:10:00.000-06:00

We have been loved on by a couple of small groups and family throughout the last month. What fun it is to receive treats from home.

The Freeman CP group sent us Itune gift cards and collected money for us. The kids enjoyed buying games and songs with the gift cards and we used the money to help the kids at the Children's Center celebrate Christmas. Stay tuned for another update about the fun we had with them. Thank you so much!

These goodies came in a package from the Welborn CP group. They asked for a list of suggestions and I think they sent everything on that list. There were lots of goodies for us and lots of fun things to share with kids at the children's center and dump. What a blessing!

These are the contents of two packages from Granny and Grandpa. They have sent us several and they are always full of many yummy things. We love you, Granny and Grandpa!

Last, but definitely not least, Sarah received this birthday package from her friend, Olivia Roberson. Olivia, you did a great job. Sarah loved the shirt. Of course, who wouldn't!

Sarah's 15th Birthday Party

2011-12-26T15:08:00.000-06:00

On November 25th/26th Sarah celebrated her 15th birthday. The festivities began down on the beach with a friendly game of tackle football among the girls.

Team 1

Team 2

The game got very serious until...

Rebekah got a "jellybean" sting. Yes, she actually said jellybean when she meant to say jellyfish.

So, we moved the party to the house for more games and food.

Fun times playing "Pin the Tail on the Maronkey"

At the end of the game, the birthday girl got a ride on the Maronkey.

For her cake Sarah choose homemade cheesecake by Rebekah, chocolate and regular.

All the party attendees waiting to taste the cheesecake. In case you were wondering, it was yummy! We are hoping to find another reason for Rebekah to make them again soon.

The party continued throughout the night, but the photographer needed her beauty sleep, so the pictures end here.

Thanks everyone for helping us celebrate another year with our "party girl", Sarah.

Just a Packet of Papers?

2011-10-04T20:46:00.000-05:00

NO!!!! Although this may look like an ordinary packet of papers, it is actually the answer to many prayers. This is the paperwork for our residency in Honduras. We were able to pick these up on Sunday and will be able to complete the final step on Friday. Even though there is one additional step, having these papers in our hands means we don't have to leave the country every 90 days anymore. The final step will be to take these papers and apply for our official residency cards. If our 90 days expires before we get the cards, we will have to pay a fee, but definitely cheaper than buying 6 plane tickets. Please continue to pray us through this process all the way to the end. Pray that we will receive those residency cards in a timely manner and won't have to spend any more money. We have definitely seen God's hand at work throughout this process and know that He is charge of this final step also.

The First Game

2011-10-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

The persistent and somewhat fanatical man that I married discovered a way to be able to watch the Georgia games on the computer. So, since we were a bit excited, we decided to share the excitement of the first game with some of our friends.

The Crowd

and the spread.

Vance and Marinajo, our neighbor, preparing to dig in to the goodies. Notice that she even dressed in the appropriate colors for us. Actually we told them they couldn't have any food if they didn't wear red and black. Just kidding!

Everyone getting into the game and the food.

Beautiful Mariah showing her Georgia spirit.

Although we didn't enjoy the outcome of the game, we did enjoy teaching everyone the Bulldog bark!

The Treehouse

2011-10-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

Before our arrival in Balfate, we heard rumors of this amazing treehouse that was built for Benjamin Fields, our upstairs neighbor. We weren't sure what to expect, but I must say, it definitely did not disappoint! This is truly one amazing treehouse and the boys have enjoyed hanging out and having sleepovers in the treehouse. After several sleepovers, they decided a nice addition would be to add some hammocks.

And so they did.

Caleb chilling in one of the hammocks.

Phillip thinking he is something as he hangs out in his hammock.

Benny, owner of the treehouse, and good buddy of the boys. Thanks, Benny, for being willing to share such an awesome place with others!

Sarah invaded the "boy space" so she could test out one of the hammocks.

The treehouse serves as a place for sleepovers, hanging out, a hideout during nerf wars, and whatever else the minds of these boys can imagine. This is definitely one of the many things Caleb and Phillip have enjoyed about our life in Honduras.

First Three Months

2011-08-31T06:47:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to share a link to a video that our daughter, Elizabeth, made for us of some of the things from the first three months. Just click on the link and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyShIoVHWrI

Vance's First C-Section at Loma de Luz

2011-08-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

Here is a post from one of the other doctors blogs about Vance's first c-section here in Honduras. Since she did such a good job I just posted it here on our blog also (with permission, of course). This actually happened the week before we made our trip to the states.

This week we had our first emergency c-section since our new OB/GYN, Dr. Vance Pirkle, arrived. A women arrived in clinic with low amniotic fluid levels and was 2 weeks past due. She was induced knowing it was about a 50/50 chance she may need a c-section. She progressed well throughout the day until she started pushing. The baby was almost out when it just didn't move anymore and using suction didn't help. The baby didn't like the suction and it's heart rate started to drop prompting us to rush her to the OR. I made a quick call on the radio for some extra help from John (our NP/midwife) and Penny (a nurse and nursing educator), everything went smoothly. Within a few minutes we had a baby! Mom and baby both did well. The mom had a small lower uterine tear from having to remove a baby from so low in the uterus but it was easily repaired.

Our usual missionary who does anesthesia is in the States for 2 months so I was the one running the anesthesia for the surgery. Being new to the OR and unfamiliar with all that was in it, I wasn't keen on doing general anesthesia and having to breath for the patient during the surgery. The patient weighed near 300lbs and I was a little worried about a difficult intubation too. Dr. Vance had a few years of experience as a missionary doctor in Africa prior to coming here and has done over 100 c-sections with a drug called Ketamine. I was very familiar with Ketamine from residency (thanks Dr. Omori) and so with a little fentanyl and a stiff dose of Ketamine we were in business. Next c-section, I hope that it's not nearly as rushed and maybe we'll have a little time to do spinal anesthesia.

Penny as baby nurse.

Dr. Vance and NP/midwife John

Dr. Vance with his first delivery here at Hospital Loma de Luz.

Happy but Sad

2011-07-24T16:44:00.000-05:00

Tuesday was a happy but sad day. After over a month Adam and Eve finally got to go home. Although they are missed, I am so thankful they progressed enough to be able to go home where they belong.

Eve weighed 5.22 kg and Adam weighed 5.35kg; just over 50% of their weight when they came to the hospital a little over a month ago. Although most of us wouldn't be happy with a 50% weight gain in a month, this is great news for these two. Please continue to pray for them and their family. They were sent home with some formula and oatmeal. They will have occasional clinic visits at the hospital and then more frequent checks by those nurses and doctors visiting the rural clinic close to where they live.

Eve has become quite determined to get anything here brother has. Just like siblings:) It is so exciting to see them so alert and interacting with their environment. They both have smiles that will melt any heart.

Although Ben and Olivia didn't get to spend much time with these precious ones, there hearts were quickly stolen, just like the rest of us.

Back to his Roots

2011-07-11T14:11:00.001-05:00

First a little background information - For those who don't know, Loma de Luz is more than just a hospital. It is has other ministries the have developed from the hospital. One of those other ministries is Finca Loma de Luz, which is the farm. According to the hospital website, "God has given us a multifaceted vision for the farm. First,the farm’s harvests can provide significant financial resources for the operation of Hospital Loma de Luz and it’s associated ministries. Second,the farm serves as a resource to the wider community through the production of healthy foods,the opportunity for valued and respectable employment,and finally as a source of community pride. Third,the farm is a place of learning –a place where better agricultural practices can be demonstrated,leading to better food security and resource conservation for our entire region." Just wanted you to know what I'm referring to when I talk about the farm.
Sunday morning while we were getting ready for church, Vance experienced his first OB emergency. The catch was it wasn't on a human. We received a call from the wife of Brad, our agricultural missionary, saying he had gone to check on the animals and found that one of the pregnant sheep had a prolapsed vagina. Brad had quickly read about using a sling to hold it in and gave Vance a call to see if he could lend a hand. Vance didn't miss a beat and said he would be glad to come down and help. After grabbing his straw hat, he hoped on his motorcycle and headed down to the farm.
They were able to push the parts back in and put the sling in place. Everything seems to be fine and Brad thinks the lamb is due to be born in about 2 weeks.
You never know how God will uses previous experiences in the places He puts you!
Here are a few pictures.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Meet Adam and Eve

2011-06-23T10:35:00.000-05:00

Adam and Eve are 11 month old twins that are at the hospital for giardia, severe malnutrition and developmental delays. They came to the hospital last week weighing about 8 lbs. each.

The girls and I are going to have the opportunity over the next month to spend time "playing" with these beautiful babies. Their mom is with them at the hospital, but they need as much stimulation as we can give them. They are not yet rolling over, sitting , standing, crawling, or doing most of the things that babies of their age do. At this point, their muscle are not strong enough to do these things.

Adam

Eve

We are blessed to have a physical therapist visiting this week who has been able to show us how to better "play" with the babies to help develop and strengthen their muscles and skills. We look forward to watching them grow. I am sure there will be more pictures to come.

Please pray that these precious ones will grow and develop.

Who's In Charge?

2011-06-09T13:54:00.000-05:00

There have been times when standing in line at the DMV or trying to muddle through all the red tape usually associated with doing anything through the government systems, that I have wondered if God is really in charge here or has he allowed Satan to take over? Well, He must have thought I needed a reminder this week that, yes, He is in charge, because God really showed off for the Pirkles this week. Before leaving the states in January, we worked hard to obtain all the documents we knew that we needed to begin the residency process once we arrived in Honduras. We had to have all these documents apostilled by the Department of State from the which they were issued and then authenticated by the Honduras consulate. The consulate did not authenticate the background checks, so we thought they didn't need it. Well, we were wrong. Thus began the scramble to get a new background check and have it brought with our visitors that are coming next week. If we were unable to do so, it would put the entire process on hold for at least a month. We were able to order new background checks online. My parents knew someone that would notarize them. Then they needed to be sent to Vance's cousin in Atlanta who would take them to the consulate to have them authenticated and send them with his children who are coming to visit. We thought we had it all figured out.
First email from Chris explaining the situation:

"Rec'd letter from Buford. Docs are signed by notary but the notary did not place her seal on the docs. That notwithstanding, I went to the Honduran Consulate for authentication; she sent me to the Superior Court stating they must first be apostiled. Superior Court will not issue apostile without the notary's seal on the document."

At this point I began to try and figure out ways to get documents overnighted, etc. to see if we could still make this happen, knowing that typically documents have to be apostilled in the state they were issued so they would need to first go to Columbia, then back to Atlanta. But it seemed impossible. Had I known at that point that Chris was boarding a plane in just a couple of hours, I would have known it was impossible. As I was getting ready to send an email back to Chris to tell him we would just have to send the document back to my dad and we would try to get it sent with the visitors coming in a month, I received another email saying he was still working on it. Later he sent this detailed email detailing his morning. As you read, note all the small details that God coordinated. In my mind there is no other explanation.

"Quite eventful morning - not sure I explained it all (and now, while I am on a 4 hour flight, I will). When the Court rejected the document, I immediately began composing an email to you with options (mail back to Buford; try to get another copy and have Yvonne's office notarize, other???) all knowing that my flight to LA was leaving at 1:30 - and I do not return until Friday (with the kids flying first thing Sat AM). Suddenly, as if I was on the Damascus road, the idea of running to the office to have a new form notarized hit me. No traffic; one of the few parking spots right in front of the building was open, my notary was free, no traffic on the way back, no line at the Superior Court, the clerk finished in less than five minutes, no traffic on the way to the Consulate. At the Consulate, there were people outside the building and probably 100 in the lobby, but as I approached the lower level office a man greeted me, escorted me to the 2nd floor where I waited about three minutes, was received by the guy who processed the paperwork, learned he was charging $80 total, waited 10 minutes, paid, and took a liesurely ride to ATL where I had a five person line in security, was the last person allowed in my secruity lane (closing for lunch), took a relaxed lunch, and boarded the flight."

Remember that all of this took place in Atlanta. I'm not sure I have ever experienced being in Atlanta without traffic. Also, we were dealing with government offices, where things typically never happen quickly. In my human way of thinking, none of these steps should have happened, much less all of them within a few hours.

BUT GOD! He is is in control of traffic in Atlanta. He is in control of parking spots. He is in control of notaries. He is in control of superior courts. He is in control Honduran consulates. He is in control of all and will cause His plans to succeed!
Isaiah 14:24 "The Lord almight has sworn, 'Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.'"
Please continue to pray for continued favor as we hope to send all the paperwork to the lawyer to begin our residency process next week. Having this process go quickly and smoothly could mean saving us thousands of dollars in travel expenses.

Where is the Easter candy?

2011-04-24T07:06:00.000-05:00

Not long after we arrived in January I began seeing displays in the store with candy for Valentine's Day. So, I thought if they have Valentine's candy surely I won't have problems finding candy for Easter baskets. After all, what is Easter without Robins Eggs and Peeps? For weeks I have been looking. I haven't seen one chocolate bunny, one colored egg, or one overflowing basket. However, what I have heard is this week called Santa Semana or Holy Week. All the schools are closed for Santa Semana. I've heard a non-christian say that Friday is about the death of Jesus and Sunday is about His resurrection. So, although I will miss making a basket for my kids, I have had to stop and think, "Do these people around me, many of whom are entrenched in a religion without a relationship, have a better understanding of Who this day is about?"

Familiar Sights

2011-04-03T15:57:00.000-05:00

Saturday afternoon we took off on a new adventure. We had been told that there was a mall not too far. Vance looked it up on the map and decided it was close enough to walk, so off we went. Finally, after a few hills (nothing in Cuernavaca is flat), and a few wrong turns we made it to Plaza Cuernavaca. It wasn't an inside mall like we think of, but it was still very nice. It was a nice place to walk around for a bit. Here are a few things we found:

There wasn't a "hot now" sign flashing, but they still looked pretty good. Didn't get to try any though because they were fairly expensive.

Couldn't believe there was a Sears! We didn't buy anything, but we did go in and look around.

This is where we choose to eat. They also had a McDonald's, but the Pizza Hut was cooler.

Our Meat Lover's pizza with a cheese poppers crust. We weren't big fans of Pizza Hut in the states, so I don't know if they have this type of crust, but it was yummy!

After walking around a bit more we found the Icees. They had cereza(cherry) and manana y uva(apple/grape) flavors. They kids decided to go with the cherry. They were all smiles with red lips, teeth and tongues.

"APPLES TO APPLES"

At the last store we went in we found this game and had to take a picture. This is a game we have and like to play.

After a few hours at the mall we were all ready to head home. This time we took a taxi!

Learning Some Spanish Now

2011-04-03T15:27:00.000-05:00

A couple of our teachers have Spanish games that they have let me use for the kids. I have been wanting to find some of our own. On Saturday morning we hit the jackpot! We went to a store where one of the teachers said she had gotten some games and this is what we found:

In case you can't tell it is 4 Bingo games or Loteria in Spanish and 5 Memory games or Memorama. We have body parts, colors, nouns, places, foods. verbs, and animals. Since we are speaking at a preschool level, we thought preschool level games might help. Can't wait to learn some Spanish this week!

Los Domingos

2011-03-27T14:40:00.028-06:00

On Sundays we usually attend church at Iglesia Bautista Monte Abarim. It isn't close enough for us to walk so we have to take two taxis. We used to all try to get in one until we found out that this was illegal. We decided it was probably best to stop asking our taxi drivers to break the law to take us to church.

With each passing week we are beginning to understand more and more. Last Sunday we had a guest pastor. He spoke slower than our regular pastor so we were actually able to follow the basic ideas of most of the sermon. I am quite certain we missed many details, but it was progress to get the main theme.

Each Sunday they sing songs that are very familiar. However they don't have hymnals in the church so we have not been able to sing along. We noticed that people brought their own hymnals. Last week we were able to ask, in Spanish, about getting hymnals and were able to buy two. They had them right there at the church. It was so nice to be able to join in this part of worship.

One of our new hymnals

For those of you who grew up Southern Baptist or who currently attend a traditional Southern Baptist church, you might recognize a couple of songs we have sung.

"Victory in Jesus"

"Faith is the Victory"

Last Sunday we arrived a bit early and were waiting outside. We were invited to attend Escuela Dominical, otherwise known as Sunday School, the following week. We told them we would try to attend next Sunday. We were excited about going and having the opportunity to meet others and practice a bit more Spanish.

However....

It was not to be this week. Sarah came down with a bit of a stomach bug on Saturday evening. So we decided it was best not to try and catch two taxis, drive across town, and attend church with a stomach bug.

Instead we had home church. This was one of the kids favorite things when we lived in Zimbabwe. On the Sundays that Vance was on call we would do home church. Our Sunday School time was done by the children. They had to take a story from the Bible and act it out. Then, we would listen together to a sermon that we had.

So this morning our Sunday School lesson was...

The parable of the unmerciful servant

and then we listened to a sermon by Ravi Zacharias.

Hopefully next week we will be able to attend Sunday School and worship with other believers, but for this morning we enjoyed our intimate setting and service.

Elizabeth's Visit Part II

2011-03-13T22:10:00.000-06:00

Our second excursion included two locations. First we went to Grutas de Cacahuamilpa and then onto Taxco.

Grutas de Cacahuamilpa are said to be the largest caverns in the world. We were definitely impressed. The pictures really don't do them justice.

LuLu survived the caverns.

Next stop, Taxco, Ciudad de Plata or City of Silver

It is called the City of Silver because they do a lot of silver mining here. Yes, I did get to leave with a little souvenir.

Taxco was a beautiful city with some really neat buildings.

The church in the center of town was one of those buildings.

A good portion of the interior was painted with gold.

A humorous thing happened while our tour guide was telling us about the history of this church. We were standing at the very front of the church and he looks down the aisle and says, "Oh, we better go. The body is coming." I turned around to see a casket making its way down the aisle. They were starting a funeral while people were still touring.

This painting is of the treasurer of the church when it was first built. It is one of those painting where the eyes seem to follow you no matter where you stand. They wanted the people to know that the treasure was always watching.

We have never seen so many Bugs in one place. The guide explained why...

Because all the streets look like this, very hilly and VERY narrow. It is the only car that they will allow to be a taxi.

A good time was had by all. Elizabeth is now back at NGU studying away and we will continue studying Spanish for another 10 weeks. We will miss her until we get to see her in Honduras in May. Thanks for all they prayers for safe travel!

Elizabeth's Visit Part I

2011-03-13T21:19:00.000-06:00

We had a great visit with Elizabeth. It was great to just hang out as a family and we also got to take a couple of amazing excursions.

Our clan with Xochicalco in the background. Our first trip was to take Vance and Elizabeth to Xochicalco! This was the place the other kids and I were able to go to earlier.

Mini Olivia and LuLu also got to go to Xochicalco.

This is Arturo, our awesome tour guide!

The Pirkle Gang

We also visited Teopanzolco. These are Aztec ruins that are 5 minutes from downtown Cuernavaca.

(The steps are so small!)

and down

(Going up was much easier!)

The history around Cuernavaca is amazing!

We also made several trips to downtown Cuernavaca and Elizabeth snapped some shots.

Cortez's Palace

We tried to visit this on Monday, but found out it was closed.

Out and About Around Cuernavaca Part II

2011-02-19T08:01:00.000-06:00

A little over a week ago the kids and I were given the opportunity to participate in an excursion to Xochicalco. This excursion was on Wednesday of my first week of classes, but I felt it my motherly duty to put the children's education ahead of my own. So I skipped class and went.

Xochicalco was founded by a group of Mayans around 650 A.D. The name Xochicalco is translated "in the house of flowers". We had a great tour guide who told us all about the people who lived here. It was very interesting and definitely a memorable school day for the kids.

We caught a glimpse of several of these guys as we were heading up to tour the ruins. We've been told they are very tasty, but have had the chance to try them yet.

They rainwater collected in these pools and was their water supply. There were several of these throughout the area.

There was quite a bit of this artwork on the outside of the temple. Each picture told a story of men who had come there.

This was a type of sauna used to prepare the player for a special game they played.

This is the ballfield. The hoop that is on the ground was actually on the side. Each player had to try to get a 7lbs. ball into the hoop using only his elbow and his hip. The player to ring the hoop first was declared the winner. His prize was having the honor of being sacrificed to the Gods. I don't know about you, but I believe that is one game I wouldn't mind loosing.

On our way back to Cuernavaca, we stopped by Hacienda Vista Hermosa for a bit. It was built in the 1520's by Hernando Cortez. Today it has been restored and is a 5 star hotel. We didn't see everything, but we saw enough to know it is quite amazing.

This is down under part of the house. It was used as an escape route, but there were also cells along the way were prisoners were kept.

This was the amazing pool. After seeing this, Phillip decided this is where he would like to come for his birthday. The structure across the pool is part of the aqueduct system that was used to bring in water.

After touring the grounds a bit, we got to hang out by the pool. Even though I am not much of a guacamole fan, we were told they made some of the best. So we felt obligated to try it. It was pretty good, but the chips were really good.

This was a pretty amazing day! We missed having Vance with us, but are very thankful that we got to go. We hope to take he and Elizabeth back when she comes

Out and About Around Cuernavaca Part I

2011-02-19T07:52:00.001-06:00

As of tomorrow, we will have been in Cuernavaca for a month. Things continue to go well. During this month we have been blessed to experience many new things and places. One new thing is that I, Susan, also started taking classes at the language school two weeks ago. I attend class every morning from 9-12, then work with the kids on their school in the afternoons. I wasn't too sure how this would work, but so far has gone extremely well. The kids are doing a great job of working on what they can while I am in class.
The language learning is coming along. Vance and I are beginning to understand more of what we hear and are starting to try to talk with one another in Spanish a little bit each day. We still have a long way to go, but as our teachers say, "poco a poco" or "little by little".

This is a picture Rebekah took as I headed to my first day of class. She captioned it, " Mom's first day of school. They grow up so fast."

We have found a fabulous Mexican restaurant called La Gringa III. It is just around the corner from our apartment, which might not be such a good thing. It makes it way too convenient. We have been a couple of times. At this point we don't really know what we are ordering until we get it, but so far we have done really well!

These are the yummy sauces and salsas they put on your table.

Some of the dishes from our first trip.

We have already decided that this will probably be where we eat our last meal in Cuernavaca before heading to Honduras. There will probably be multiple trips before then also!

Stay tuned for "Out and About Around Cuernavaca, Parts II and III". I tried to do one big post about several things, but couldn't upload all the pictures. So I am going to do 3 different posts. Hopefully I will get them all up today.

Out and About Around Cuernavaca Part III

2011-02-19T07:32:00.000-06:00

Well, here is part III to bring you up to date. We started this week preparing for Valentine's Day. The kids spent Sunday afternoon making Valentine cookies to share with people at the school and the guards at our apartment complex. Rebekah was very happy to be back in the kitchen. We don't have many baking supplies here so this is the first time she has been able to bake since we arrived. We weren't sure how the cookies would turn out because we didn' t know if we were getting self-rising flour or not, and we could not find baking powder. But, there weren't any left uneaten, so they must have been o.k.

Everyone putting on the finishing touches.

We started Valentine's Day with heart shaped pancakes and then delivered cookies to the guards and the school. That evening we got pizza for the kids and Vance and I got to go around the corner to a nice little restaurant. All in all it was a very good day!

On Thursday the girls and I got to attend a Mexican cooking class. Although I'm not sure we could recreate the dishes, we had a good time.

We cooked pollo con mole, arroz de mexicana, and frijoles.

And for dessert, cafe flan!

We have also been in contact with friend in Honduras over the last week or so. They are beginning to get things ready for us to arrive. We will be living the the same place we stayed when we visited last April with the plan to build a house for us when the funds become available. We also have folks there looking for a vehicle. We are hoping to have one bought before we arrive. However, the type of vehicle we need isn't extremely common so we would ask that you would join us in praying for the right vehicle at the right time. Although we are very excited to get to Honduras, we are also excited to see what the next three months will bring here in Mexico.

Basilica of Guadalupe and Teotihuacan

2011-02-06T17:08:00.000-06:00

Diego's cloak

On Saturday we had the awesome priviledge of going on an excursion with the school. We visited two amazing places and learned lots of great history. Yes, we had a school day on Saturday.

On the way we received some Mexican candy. This is a lollipop covered in chilli powder. Vance was the only one brave enough to eat it.

Our first stop was the Basilica of Guadalupe. According to tradition, a peasant named Juan Diego saw a vision of a young woman. He told the local bishop who asked for proof. Three days later, according to the legend, the image of Mary miraculously appeared on Diego's cloak when he was showing the bishop his proof.

Today this cloak is displayed at the Basilica. It is the first picture of this post. Millions of people travel to this place each year. It is the second most visited church in the entire world.

This is the latest structure that was built in 1976.

This is the structure that was built in the early 1700's. The 1976 sturcture had to be built because this one became unsafe because it was sinking.

You can actually see the building leaning forward in this picture.

These are the only remains of the original structure built in 1531.

Many people believe the cloak holds special power and will make request as they pass by it. Our guide told us that some people will only walk on their knees once they enter the Basilica grounds. This is a way of showing respect or gratitude. This lady is walking on her knees carrying her baby.

Our next stop was.....

This city was thought to have been established around 200 BC. At its height it was the largest pre-Columbian city in the Americas. Included at the site are two pyramids, the Sun Pyramid and the Moon Pyramid.

The Sun Pyramid

Our crew ready to climb to the top!

A view from the top.

View of the Moon Pyramid from the top of the Sun Pyramid

This is Mini Olivia. She is a doll that Sarah's friend gave her when we left. She is experiencing Mexico first-hand with us.

We all made it!

The girls

The boys

The parents (Mom this one is for you since you say I never put up pictures of myself.)

Back down on level ground.

This was such a great day! We learned so much about Mexico and some of its history. We are blessed to be able to have such experiences while living here.

El Centro

2011-02-01T20:51:00.000-06:00

Last Thursday we got to go on a tour of El Centro which is the downtown area of Cuernavaca. Our first stop was an amazing old cathedral. It is from the 16th century and was a Franciscan monastery. Although the tour was all in Spanish, it was still very interesting to see.

After the tour of the cathedral we headed downtown to become acquainted with what was there. We found a mall, a McDonald's, a Burger King, several museums and best of all a great market for getting all kinds of souvenirs. We didn't buy anything on this first trip, but we are sure we will return multiple times.

There was also a neat town square with all types of food vendors, including everything from sausage to candy apples covered in chilli powder. There was also live music and dancing.

It was a very lively place on a Thursday evening!

When the tour ended we decided to find a bite to eat before catching the taxi back home. We found a nice restaurant. Vance and I searched the menu to see what Mexican food we could find to try.

These were my yummy quesadillas!

The kids weren't quite so adventurous.

They all went for the cheeseburger and fries!

Maybe they were just wanting a little taste of home.

We all went home very satisfied and eager to return to El Centro for some shopping.

By Way of Mexico

2011-01-27T06:35:00.000-06:00

Flying into mexico City

On Thursday, January 2oth we arrived in Mexico. We will be spending four months here before moving to Honduras in the hopes of learning some spanish. Vance will be attending formal classes while Susan and the children add spanish to there homeschooling.

Our apartment building

We are living in Cuernavaca which is about 2 hours south of Mexico City. Our apartment is on the third floor. We should be in pretty good shape after four months of climbing all those steps and walking most places we want to go. We don't have a car here in Mexico so we must either walk or catch a taxi.

We have had several adventures in our first week in Cuernavaca:

Our first taxi ride

On Friday we took our first taxi ride. All six of us piled into a very small car and headed to...

WAL-MART!!!!!!!

We could not believe it when we found out there was a Wal-mart here. It isn't close enough to the apartment to walk so we had to catch a taxi. We weren't too sure about trying to tell a driver where we wanted to go in our extremely limited spanish, but we decided it was worth a try. We made it there, did our shopping, then all six of us plus our goods piled into another tiny cab and headed home.

Great Value brand, a familiar sight!

On Saturday we decided to be a little braver and head to the public market. We were able to walk there. It was about a 35-40 minute walk. The only problem we had was actually trying to figure out how to get inside. We walked straight there and could see it, but it took some time trying to locate the way inside.

On the way to the market

Once inside we found treasures like this.....

We chose not to purchase this, but we did come away with some yummy fresh fruits and veggies. It was very crowded and very big. Once again our limited spanish caused some difficulties, but we survived. It was definitely an interesting adventure.

Sunday we visited a church, Iglesia Bautista Monte Abrahim. It is the church that one of the owners of the school attends. We understood very little but were able to recognize the songs by the tunes. Hopefully as the weeks go by we will be able to know more of what is being said.
Then on Monday, Vance started his classes. He is in class from 9 to 3 Monday through Friday. Since he is the only student in his class, he can't get away with letting someone else answer the questions.

Leaving for his first day of class

Our first week has gone amazingly well. From not getting charged for an oversized bag to getting a 180 day visa with out any trouble, God has been so very gracious. We believe we are right where we are supposed to be at this point and look forward to what God is going to do over the next 16 weeks!

Please pray for:

-Language learning

-Senora Rosa-she and her husband, along with Paco and Maru, own the language school. Senora Rosa's husband passed away unexpectedly Monday evening. He was at the school Monday and died that evening.