A job and some other things

Hello again!

I think it’s been 3 months (that’s a quarter of a year!) since I’ve posted so it’s time again to fill you in on my very exciting life.

My complete aversion to travelling has worn off and I was able to go to on a few trips, nothing foreign – unless you count New Mexico.  It’s good to get out because here I still spend 98% of time with relatives.  I got a job, but that didn’t really help with diversifying of my social network (more on that later).

This has nothing to do with travelling, but last weekend I went on  this hike thing to some local sand mines.  Here is a picture of me, my sister, my dad and some niblings in the mines.

I was working on a project of organizing my parents’ pictures and have lost all momentum.  I realized I like tasks with hope of a clean finish but sorting 100 years of pictures is really hard.  And when I ask my mom if a baby is me or my sister she only knows sometimes.  So what hope is there of her knowing which baby is which in the box of Eklund black and whites my dad found in the garage.  Label your photos folks. 

I’ve been cooking more, it’s a lot different cooking when you a) have other people to eat your food and b) have other people paying for the ingredients.   I had some expired airline miles that I was able to cash in on magazine subscriptions (a fair trade) so now get Southern Living and Cooking Light. I like to pretend the recipes in Southern Living are from Cooking Light and are secretly healthy. 

When I last wrote I was applying for a job that required heavy lifting and forklift driving.  Then my cousin-in-law informed me that it actually would require me to lift heavy things and drive a forklift so scratch that.  So we were back to another 2 months of sporadic emails and then they created a new job for me.  Then I had this “interview” (with a different relative-through-marriage that works there) and then I went on vacation and mid-April I became InSite Administration for Clean Harbors Industrial Services (actually there seems to be some discrepancy on if it’s Industrial or Environmental Services).  One day someone asked me what division I was in and I said, “This one.” Now I know “this one” is material processing. 

A big part of my first few weeks was watching training videos, approximately 40 videos in I got to the ones titled “Who We Are” and learned about what this company actually does.  A direct quote: “What does Clean Harbors do? Plenty…in a bunch of industries.”  Well, if that doesn’t clear things up, I don’t know what would.   The “Who We Are” videos did not cover names of people working in my office but I’ve learned that Tony or Brian are normally pretty good guesses.   Another big video topic was safety.  If you’re driving a truck in a snowstorm, be extra careful.  I don’t think that knowledge is directly relevant to my job but it will help if I’m ever called on to life coach a truck driver (except one in California, we’re in a drought).   Also keep in mind that the main cause of fatigue is lack of sleep (not lack of caffeine). 

Up to this point in the email I have been at work waiting for my next task, and don’t feel guilty because I already color coordinated my files. Here comes the switch to personal time

Now that I’m done with training videos, what I do is a little bit of a mystery.   Basically I ask people if they need any help and then I sit in my office, with my space heater on, listening to podcasts, drinking tea/water, and doing whatever data entryish project someone needs help with. Drinking tea/water is great because it gives me an excuse to get up from my desk more frequently (either to the kitchen or bathroom). And has fewer side-effects than smoking.

But sometimes I do have stuff to do and I fail- really this job is keeping my humble.  Yesterday I had to cover the phones for someone who was out.  Let’s just say if I received a performance review based on how long someone was on hold before getting directed to the proper person, I would be fired.  I was literally walking around the office inside and out trying to find anyone to help me figure out who the call was for and how to use the phone to transfer calls.

In general the people I work with are very nice, except for the few that walk around scowling.  The woman I work with the most is super chatty, like ask me anything about her and I could tell you.  What kind of socks does her boyfriend wear? How often does she wear deodorant? SERIOUSLY I NOW KNOW THESE THINGS (although I just realized you’re probably thinking you know too much about me too-it’s different though).  Also one day she told me about her boyfriend’s friend smoking pot in the back seat of her brand new car, which was just super rude.  I told her about my one friend whose dad smokes cigars- we really had a bonding moment.  But really she’s wonderful and has been gone the last few days and it’s been rough.

OK, I could tell you even more about this but you’d probably read too much into it and think I’ve gone completely crazy.  So here are ten straight-up great things about my job. 

1) As of today I have health benefits including dental and vision.  I was thinking I’d need to use the vision right away because my eyes were killing me at work but…

2) I got my very own office with a window offering tons of natural light and I can see again!  And my mom gave me a plant. Here is a picture of the view out of the window.

3) My commute is always less than 30 minutes and very pretty.  And during this commute I hear the traffic reports for my old commute to San Ramon and I rejoice a little more.   

4) I get paid

5) I get to listen to lots of podcasts and sermons, so I’m up on all sorts of things.  Maybe I’ll move to books on tape or whatever we call them these days.  Recommendations?

6) I can wear jeans everyday, or not.  No one cares.  Side note- I found 3 pairs of jeans last weekend for $2.50.

7) I have flexible hours.

8) It’s drama-free. I was talking to someone from my job in NM yesterday and am really glad to not be there.

9) My bosses have great wives.

10) It’s very clearly God’s provision and gives me hours of stand up material.

In one of my podcasts (NPR’s How To Do Everything) someone called in to ask how to make small talk with children.  A 10-year-old consultant said that she thought a good question is, “is there anything important happening with you?” Because that opens it up from birthdays to really anything that important to the individual (like the junk this email was filled with). 

Anyways, anything important happening with you?

Livin' the California Dream

Hello again, 

Now that I've been back for almost 2.5 months you're getting a whirlwind overview of my very exciting life.  Brace yourselves.  

Mostly these months have been spent reacclimating to California life and accepting opportunities to serve.  Some of these tasks have been easy, and some have been horrifying, like tossing all the notes I had saved from Jr. High days, which I tried to do as quickly as possible without actually reading anything.  I also had some lovely conversations with AAA trying to figure out how I was signed up for their safe teen driver program.  Then, of course, Covered California, hopefully I don't get the measles because I have no clue if I have health insurance.  I also had the opportunity to co-create, with my cousin, a Christmas trivia game, Joypardy, and made a really spectacular mission bulletin board for church.  

Another step of acclimation has been honing my babysitting skills, fortunately I have plenty of opportunity to do this.  I do appreciate the zest for life that children bring, but one day recently I didn't answer the phone because I was afraid it was someone asking me to babysit and I didn't want to be caught off guard.  It wasn't about that at all, I am just irrationally paranoid (or maybe rationally).  I realize when writing this it's a little like when I was staying at a friend's a few months ago and she kept saying how annoying house guests are, so dearest siblings and cousins I love you and your children.  

Since went to grad school many people think that I actually have formed career-oriented goals.  This is still not true.  My plan since I came back was to start thinking about a job in January.  Since I've been living with my parents (and grandfather) I haven't been financially pressed to start getting income but have come to the point of actually desiring a job as a form of escapism.  The company I used to work for in San Ramon offered me my job back, but they called the week of Christmas and said I could start the next Monday.  I stalled and said I'd let them know and then, after all of my family laughed at the prospect, formally declined.  Since then two friends have encouraged me to apply for their companies but neither of them seemed that appealing.  Some of my confidence in declining these has come from conversations I've had with my cousin's husband for working at his company.  I have no idea what the job actually is but it has flexible hours, a good commute and decent pay so finally yesterday I bit the bullet and applied.  They only have online applications so I was told I should apply for kind of a generic job and it will get me in the system until we decide on a more permanent fit for me within the organization.  This seemed all fine and dandy until I actually read the job requirements for the Environmental Technician II, there was little I could do to beef up my resume and tie in my strong administrative skills to the ability to drive a forklift and lift 50lbs-100lbs.  The good news is I was finally able to reference that class I took in tractor driving on an application.  

Yesterday I was talking to my mom and she compared my life to that of Job.  You know, the guy in the Bible (not Arrested Development) who loses everything and is miserable.  This makes me seem quite pathetic, especially since there are a lot of people around me that are going though actual trials.  But yes, the transition back to life here has not been easy (but it is really nice to sit outside in a tee shirt in January).  Although I would always claim that my fulfillment comes from the Lord I am learning more about what this means when I don't have a lot else going for me.  

Happy Superbowl Weekend, my goal for today is to find out who is playing so I can drop it into conversation like I know what I'm talking about. 

Love,

Joy

Spain, New York and a bit of good ol’ California

Remember when I wrote as I was on my way to the airport?  Don’t worry, I made it with time to spare.  That was a month ago.   Now I will predict your questions and give you answers?

So is Spain pretty much the same as Mexico?

I do not judge you for asking this question because I too do very little research before going anywhere and had no expectations.  But no, right off the bat Spain is different, on the plane they serve Fanta limón and limón is lemon not lime, like it is in Mexico. And that’s not the only difference, I mean say you want potatoes and you ask for papas you’ll get a dirty look because papa means Pope and there the food is called patatas,  Plus, as you know, they use the lisp, so buenos días  isbuenoth díath, but I will not surrender!

The country is different in other ways too. It’s clean, and expensive and European and diverse.  And people just assume I’m a Spaniard (until I open my mouth).  No one in Mexico ever assumes I’m native.

What did you do?

I went to a lot of Bible studies (English and Spanish) and Kandy taught me how to cook Spanish foods.  And I did dishes.  I think the Lord really used my time with psycho roommates in Albuquerque to get me to really like washing dishes.  So that’s something.  Really it was pretty low key and great and the three weeks flew by. 

Why did you go to New York?

a)    Because flights from Madrid to NY are less daunting than flying all the way to California in 1 swoop

b)   To see if becoming Carrie’s nanny is a realistic job choice

c)    To have a girls weekend with my sister and niece

d)   It was free

e)    To avoid coming back to California

f)     A little bit of each of the above – this is the right answer

So, world traveller, you’re back, what kind of job are you looking for?  Or, as my brother phrases it, “so do you have anything you actually have to do?”

My current job is unpacking and organizing 2.0.  I started this task in July then ran away.  Unfortunately, this doesn’t pay.  I don’t actually care about this, but we live in a fallen world and things like changing car registration costs money.  I’m looking for the type of job that starts in 2015 and God wants me to have.  Basically I’m in no rush and I never even think about it until someone asks (or I anticipate being asked).  Right now I’m at a coffee shop and the guy was like “oh, so you’re done for the day?” I guess it’s a good sign that I don’t look unemployed. 

What things have made you laugh recently?

• The owner of the coffee shop just told someone, “Remember, our temper is the only thing we can’t get rid of by losing it.” 
• This morning my nephew, Elijah, was explaining to me his Lego man but the description was based on lots of pop culture references.  This is the conversation:  “Have you seen How to Train a Dragon 2?” “No” “Have you seen the first one?”  “No”  , “Have you seen Frozen?” “No” “Have you seen any of the Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movies?” “Yes, part of the 1^st one, twice, until I fell asleep.”   I wonder how long it will take him to figure out I’m really not cool. 
• Last night I made soup, my grandpa said, “Well, I’ve never had soup with this flavor before.”  The other night I madearroz con pollo Arielle really liked it, she said, “it is better than fish and chips, and I don’t even like fish.”  My family is really good at the backwards compliments. 

 Happy Thanksgiving next week! 

hola, hello, hola

Hi!  I've not been spending much computer time lately but figured it's time to fill you in a tiny bit on the last month. 

My final 2 weeks in Mexico went by very quickly.  My first night in Mexico I was in my bed thinking about how I really didn't want to live in Mexico, this form of melancholy isn't very standard for me, then by the end of the 2 months I didn't want to leave, at all.  As I was reflecting on specific things I would miss I realized it was more like when we would stay at my grandma's when we were little and watch soap operas for a few days and then would go home and I would never know how the dramas were going to be resolved (or not).  The drama in Mascota was changing every day and it was like living in a telenovela and I knew when leaving it would be really hard to not know how things were continuing to unfurl.  So, what it comes down to is I need to leave the drama in the hands of the Lord and pray that He will continue to work in Mascota, even if I'm not there to see it. I'm learning to be faithful in this and to remember to call Luz to ask specific questions, not just to gain knowledge but to encourage.  Because it's not a telenovela, these are real depressing, dramatic lives. 

After Mascota I headed to Richmond, VA to catch up with friends. Yard saling, antique shopping and even spending one glorious day sitting at a coffee shop doing computer work.  Because after a few months of being with people all the time it was good to have a tiny break.  While there someone asked me if foreign food every made me sick.  I decided that no, it doesn't but Southern food does.  I mean Hush-puppies are one of the most wonderful foods invented but are easy to overdose on.

Then came Long Beach, New Jersey for a weekend conference that my family has all been to in the past but I've never gone.  It was great, the messages encouraging, I made lots of new friends and got to experience the blustery Atlantic coast. 

I left the conference with some family friends (the Griecos) that live outside of Pittsburgh.  I've been here a week now and have spent half my time in their little town and half the time in Pittsburgh proper.  My first day my friend Monica had me meet with her friend who works in non-profit consulting.  On the way to meet with this girl I asked Monica what she told her about me, "not much, just that you were thinking about moving to Pittsburgh and have worked with non-profits in the past."  I think claiming I am thinking about moving to Pittsburgh is quite a stretch but it has been lots of fun seeing the fall colors change and I got a really nice pair of jeans for a dollar and we went to banjo night at the Elk's lodge so the area does have a lot to offer. 

And this email has been written very quickly because I have a flight to Madrid in 2.5 hours.   I'll be there until November 12th with the Ferrers, a missionary family that has known my family forever but I became really close to when they were in Nicaragua.  I have no clue what it will be like but I'll find out in 13 hours when I land (we did confirm that they'll be at the airport).

So that's it, no pictures because I'm out of time.

love, joy 

Mexican Independen​ce and many other things

Hello again, I don't want to overwhelm you with emails but it's been almost a month since my last update so I guess it's time for another. 

Becoming a Real Missionary:

One day this family I know invited me to go up to the mountains to visit people who live there.  I guess they go every week to do Bible studies or something, I had no clue what I was getting myself into (as always) but decided to go anyways.  Luz had gone before and said the road was really bad and I kind of brushed the comment aside because she's a little bit of a glass half empty person.  Well it ended up being 3 hours on the worst "roads" ever. One time the road ended at a  river, starting up again on the other side.  The driver took quite a bit of time determining if we could cross or not, we did but with water coming in.  Then, towards what I thought was the end, they asked if I wanted to walk the rest of the way. I was ready for a break from the car so jumped at the opportunity figuring they wouldn't have made the offer if we were far away. So we started walking and the lady I was walking with kept saying "ahorita" we're going to be there which I interpreted literally, thinking like 20 minutes, it was an hour-hiking.  They kept telling me I am now a real missionary, not because I did anything gospel related (I did make some paper plate tambourines with the kids) but because I travelled on this road.  Up in these mountains surrounding Mascota people live without electricity or water and farm or something. As I learned later most of the farming is of pot, but I think there is corn too.  A funny thing about that is the family we went to visit takes care of goats and they were telling me that but the word I know for goats is "cabras" and they told me they took care of "chivas" which I totally just assumed is a plant and I quickly forgot the word.  So later on I was telling people that they took care of some plants and got many suspicious looks and snickers.  Also during that trip we had lunch including this salad that to me looked like cucumbers, onions and cooked mushrooms in some lime dressing.  Then on closer look I wasn't mushrooms and the cook clarified it was oysters. They thought it was pretty funny that I thought it was mushrooms but really who expects to eat oysters in the middle of nowhere.  In case you were wondering, we ate this salad on fresh chicharrones (you know, fried pigskin).

Parties:

I've had the opportunity to go to a bunch of parties here, birthdays, baby showers and most recently one for independence day. One Tuesday night we were having this potato paste on tosadas and calling it a birthday party for a girl at church, Dariana, and it comes out it's actually her 15th birthday which is a pretty big deal but realistically that's all her family could afford to do.  So the next morning Luz decided we should throw her a quinceanera, fortunately not the 500 person kind but just a small one at the house.  I know nothing about quincearas but was really good at throwing business school parties and basically the concept is the same so jumped right on making handmade invitations and paper flowers.  Luz is one of the cheapest people I know so was really proud that we pulled off the whole thing for 40 people for like $100 (instead of the thousands that a normal one costs). It was a blast and great to be able to bless this family in a practical way. Plus a real resume builder. 

Last weekend I went to a Independence Day party at this church in a neighboring town.  Since I've been here this lady at the church was telling me to get my traditional clothes ready for the party.  I take costumes very seriously so I made this skirt out of some fabric I got that could also be used for a curtain and I made some big flowers and a headband in red, white and green and I was totally ready.  Evidently no one else took the charge very seriously because most people over the age of 10 were wearing jeans and t-shirts with maybe like a pin or sash in the colors of the flag.  However, even with my clear acts of Mexican patriotism still I don't pass for a Mexican (especially in the smaller towns).  When we were entering the town for the party the police were out checking cars.  He asked our names and as soon as I said mine he said "yeah, you're not from here, where are you from? do you have any ID?"  I didn't have ID and he didn't actually seem to mind and we were soon on our way, me feeling a little less patriotic.

Sunday Nights:

Every Sunday night in Mascota they rope off the town square and have a block party.  Of course I love to go for the freshly fried churros but it's great for running into people too.  This week I was at a house with some young people before they left for the square and it was quite fascinating to see them file upstairs one by one to get freshened up.  Why the need to dress up?  Because pretty much the whole town is there and the girls walk around the square counter clockwise and the guys clockwise and there is lots of checking out and giggling.  Since I've been here the Sunday nights have been especially exciting. Independence day(s) are September 15th and 16th and their is a lot of anticipation leading up to this point.  I mean like beauty pageants including video montages for the preschool and highschool queens that the town than votes for.  This week Sunday night was packed but they did pretty much the whole thing again Monday and Tuesday nights with live Mariachi in the center and small bands playing at every corner.  Basically it's the most amazing thing ever.

Mom's Visit:

My mom came to visit for a week leaving last Wednesday.  There's been a lot to process here especially with changes in the local churches so it was really nice to have her here to offer an outside perspective. It also gave me a chance to practice my translation skills.  I'm pretty good on most topics but when people start to go off on personal drama I am quickly lost, some because of language, some because there are too many Marias too keep strait.   And then there's the fact that sometimes I just plain forget that she doesn't know what's happening.  Like this one time this lady told my mom that a mosquito was biting her.  I just sat there wondering why my mom didn't react, then like a half an hour later I realized she had no clue the lady was talking to her or what she was saying. 

Travelling with Luz:

Last week we met some relatives of a family here were visiting and they gave a generic invitation for us to come visit them in Guadalajara.  The next thing I know Luz decides we should go.  I've gone on one road trip before with Luz and it was an adventure that I mostly have put out of memory and this one proved to be equally surprising.  1st she decided we should bring our own sheets/towels/blankets so it would be less work for them.  I totally get this except we took the bus and were really lost carrying our bags of bedding for all parts of Guadalajara (yes, they thought it was weird too).  Luz didn't really know where they lived but thought she knew where to get off the bus.  So all the sudden she woke me up (we left at 6am) and was like, "quick, get up, we're getting off, now."  We got off, under a freeway crossing with me trying to stuff the blankets back into our bags.  Then we proceeded to the paint store and used the phone to tell them we were in town, at this point we were told to get on local bus 380 and that we'd be there in like 20 minutes.  2 hours later we arrived, they had since given up on waiting for us to eat breakfast.  The family was really great and the whole situation that could have been really awkward turned out quite pleasant.  They have three kids (7,6, almost 4) who are learning English and were quite excited to have a living dictionary around. My favorite was the 3 year old whose first question was always to ask me what my name was (in Spanish), like literally every 10 minutes.  Monday afternoon Luz took me to the historic downtown and I was reminded of how quaint Mascota really is. Then she took me to one of the largest markets in the country where she decided  to stock up on huaraches for our store, which we then had to carry around with us the rest of our exploring. Then Tuesday we all want to a little art town Tlaquepaque and it was quite lovely and they had some special pole flying ceremony going on the town square (Voladores de Papantla) where these 5 men climb up a 30 meter pole do some dancing and then drop down using the ropes they have wrapped around their waists.  I don't know if women can be Voladores but I do not aspire to be one. Related to flying a bird pooped on my hand, a little on my shirt and a little in my hair.  It was nasty and I smelled like bird poop the rest of the day.  We were planning on staying until Wednesday but Luz changed her mind and decided we should leave Tuesday afternoon.  So we packed up our stuff got dropped off at the bus stop (no wandering this time) and headed back in time to hit up the late night Mascota Independence Day celebrations.  On the bus "La Bamba" was playing on the radio, definitely a highlight. On a tourist note, Guadalajara has a very nice light rail system much easier for me to understand than city busses.    

Other things:

This lady Berta decided to make us pickled vegetables to sell and then keep part of the profits as a donation to the church.  They are gross and really I'm not about to start going door-to-door selling pickled vegetables so now Luz have a fridge full of 18 containers of pickled vegetables and are in the hole 200 pesos.  Some kind of donation.

In anticipation of independence day they've been setting off house-shaking firecrackers starting every morning at 5am.  I guess they're supposed to be getting us up to watch the parade to the big catholic church so somehow the firecrackers are a service to God.  I don't know about that but I do know Proverbs 27:14 "A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse."  I really was wishing they never broke away from Spain.

Luz and other educated people here think yogurt is made with worms.  When I challenged this I got the response, "yeah, really? than what's it made of?"

The Saturday morning kids club has been hit or miss but when kids do come they're always asking why it isn't more often (now it's just Saturday afternoons).  The two girls who have been helping me are supposed to decide by this Saturday if it is something they are willing to continue when I leave.  If they say yes I'll be spending some time with them coming up with ideas of games, crafts and lessons they can do. 

Luz's niece is really into making flowers out of fabric to wear in the hair so now I know how to make like 6 different types of flowers using satin we got from the lady who makes all the quincenera, baptism, wedding dresses.

Tour of Joy 2014:

I've been making plans for the next two months and here they are

Aug 2-Oct3: Mascota, Jalisco, Mexico

Oct 3-Oct 10: Richmond, Virginia

Oct 10-Oct 13: Harvey Cedars, NJ

Oct 13-Oct 20: Beaver Falls, PA

Oct 21-Nov 12: Madrid, Spain

Nov 12-Nov 17: New York, NY

Nov 17 HOME!

Love you,

joy

2, or so, weeks in

I've been feeling a little out of sorts lately and just realized its probably, at least in part, due to the fact that the past few months have been pretty crazy, but now I think things are finally settling down. 

Week 1: 

This week was pretty much consumed by VBS.  We were praying that kids would come and based on previous years were expecting 40 to come the first day and maybe 80 by the end of the week.  Evidently, we prayed too hard and 80 came the first day and we were over 100 for the rest of the week.  This gave the Lord a lot of opportunities to stretch us way beyond our capabilities. In the end no one died and most kids went home with a snack and craft at the end of each day.  Speaking of snacks they do things much differently here.  When I think of snacks for 100+ kids I think of easy.  Here I don't think any of the 3 ladies working on snacks slept the entire week, they were too busy making individual bags of popcorn, or little cups of jello to go with the fresh fruit water (One day I did convince them to go with Kool-Aid).  On the craft side of things we were scrambling a lot to reproduce the crafts we came down with with things found at the markets here.  For the most part it worked but I think I ended up with carpal tunnel from the over-use of the hole punch in our daily 4-hour craft prep sessions.  There was also a Bible lesson daily and the handful of kids who really wanted to hear will be rewarded one day for their perseverance. So what is my take away?  For a few years a big group came from the states to do VBS here in Mascota.  And then last year it was just my brother's family and then this year me too.  But the cool thing is when the big group came they did something that wasn't reproducible by the people here but this year we set the bar so low that I think they're ready to take over for themselves now.  And really, I mean that in all sincerity. 

On the Saturday after the camp we went to another town (La Canada) to do a little kids club.  I remember going their years ago and getting eaten by bugs so this day I intentionally put on bug spray.  The bug spray did nothing and came back with like 20 bites from some invisible mite.  Luz told me the common name and I looked it up and well I hate the internet.  The literal translation was scabies and I was pretty sure amputation was the only solution.  Her sister-in-law, a doctor, told me to put zinc oxide on them (also good for diaper rash) and to take Claritin.  So yeah, I never had scabies and my legs are fine now.  On another note, one of the goals for visiting this town was to give the youth from Mascota an opportunity to serve.  So three sisters came and lead the craft and game portion.  Compared to the VBS not many kids came but it's really hard to compete with at 104th birthday party - they had more lively music.  

Week 2:

Jeremy and Cristina left and while Luz and I recovered for a few days I did one of the things I do best, organized the craft closet.  I also had an opportunity to follow up with one of the girls from the camp, Carmen.  She is 26 but with some learning disabilities so connects more with the little kids than with those her own age.  We hung out a few times and I'm sure I'll be seeing more of her.  On Saturday I went to a baby shower that started at 5, Luz and I got there at 5:15 and were the first ones.  At 6 the pregnant lady showed up (she was taking a nap).  We played games like unscramble the baby related words, in Spanish.  I lost but I did get phone numbers of 2 girls who I might be able to talk into hanging out with me or at least coming to youth group.  Yes, I'm in charge of the 12 & up youth group Saturday nights.  Last week I would call a bust.  Only 2 of 6 showed any interest in the lesson, but the main problem was my inability to process coherent thoughts in English or Spanish.   

Other excitement for the week: I discovered Zubma for only 10 pesos a day.  One day I went to get money exchanged and the bank was out of money. It's been raining a lot. Luz doesn't really want my help in the kitchen but the other day she gave me the task of browning some pasta to put in soup and I totally failed.  She also asked me to peel the celery but I don't even really know what that means.  My friend Morgan was travelling through Mexico by bus so she stopped in for the weekend and I got to show her the town. I got an email from the woman who replaced me at my job in New Mexico and it took me a good 30 seconds to figure out who she was.   

Week 3:

Now with the Americans gone I'm getting a little more of a routine.  One of my reasons to stay behind was to follow up with VBS and informally that's already been happening.  As I'm out and about in the town there are always kids calling out to me.  One girl Emily stopped to chat and really wanted to know why camp was only 1 week long this enforced an idea I already had about doing something Saturday mornings.  The original idea was to go to the town (where I got "scabies") and take the kids from youth group to do outreach every other week. But really there is so much interest here that it makes much more sense to get that going.  So this Saturday will be our first go at that. 

Yesterday a new aspect was added when I discovered that Luz is now in charge of manning a Huaraches (sandals) store that is co-owned by some of her family.  It makes no money but she likes to go from ~11-2 and sit there and talk to whoever passes by, it's been really neat to see how she steers pretty much every conversation towards the Lord.  Except for the one conversation today that she left completely to me while this man who used to live in the states (until he was in jail for 7 years for murder then finally deported) wanted to practice his English with me and to make sure I knew he was single. Luz did try to help deter him once by letting him know I'm hear to help with Bible studies, he informed me that maybe God has me here for another reason too. Luz sat behind the counter, silently laughing as he kept trying to hold my hand and pat my shoulder and then decided to share the story with all of her family. On the flip side he's cousins with Mexican boxers Gabriel and Rafael Ruelas, but really who down here isn't cousins with everyone.

Joy on the move

Last I wrote I just turned 30 and you got 30 things about my life (here). Since then lots of actual things happened (like I’ve moved back to California for the week) so this may contain legitimate news.  Or maybe not. 

April:

In April I went to Northern England and Wales with some of my college roommates.  It was really wonderful in pretty much every way possible.  Then I came back to Albuquerque and was in this little funk that I couldn’t figure out.  My sister asked me if I had culture shock and I realized that YES I did, but not from the geographical change but from the complete shift in lifestyle.  While there I spent 24/7 with some of my closest friends, then I came back to isolation and crazy roommates.   In this God reminded me of Paul’s message to the Philippians to be content in much or in plenty and my need to apply that to really in every area of my life.  And then of course I realized that I did have friends in New Mexico, they just took a little more effort, like I couldn’t just roll out of bed and expect them to be there.  FYI, now that I am back in California I may be craving that isolation a bit and be relearning this lesson. I also got bangs.

May:

Part 1: Not on my timing, my parents drove to Albuquerque and took the majority of my stuff hostage, driving it back to California.  On one hand this was a huge blessing; on the other hand it enabled me to not have to get rid of anything so now I have all these boxes of stuff I need to still go through and I don’t really see that happening any time soon.  But some day I may live independently again and really need a blender or collection of artwork I got for $.40/lb.

Part 2:  Along with my parents taking my stuff, I got rid of my furniture and my lease so I had the opportunity to help my friend Heather learn patience by letting me move in with her.  So one Saturday I loaded up my car with the clothes I had kept with me and headed over to camp out in her guest room.  This was a really an amazing provision and huge blessing.

Part 3: A few years ago I signed up for the National Marrow Donor Program and this spring I was matched with a woman in need of a stem cell transplant.   I was flown to San Diego to be hooked up to a machine for a few hours and just last week I got a call that so far my cells have done what they were supposed to do.  There were some official sounding terms in the phone call but I don’t actually remember what they were.  Anyways you should go to Bethematch.org and sign up to become a donor. Plus I got a free pocketknife.

June:

I stayed in Albuquerque for the whole month of June, something that hadn’t happened since last November so was quite the accomplishment! I really like Albuquerque and spent some time daily reflecting on what I was going to miss about living there and I spent the rest of the time intentionally being with people.    Mixed in there I was training the woman who took over my job.  She’s getting paid twice what I got paid so I think she’ll be great.   And hiring her gave me the freedom to leave so really she’s my hero.

July:

June 30^th was my last official day of work then came the first two weeks of July when I continued working.  I’m really bad at saying no.   Then from July 12^th-19^th I was a camp counselor at the high school camp my church helps sponsor.  I’d never been to camp so I did quite expect the insane amount of running.  I also didn’t expect two of the high school boys to ask me if I had a kid at camp.  On the last night I had each of the girls in my cabin make beaded bracelets with a word or phrase from the week that they want to apply to their lives.  On mine I put “full of mercy” from James 3:17.  What I’ve learned from wearing my bracelet is that it takes a lot more than a bracelet to get me to be merciful.  But at least it’s a reminder that I’m a sinner.

After camp it was finally time to start my trek back to California.  My friend Deborah drove with me and we visited the Grand Canyon on the way and San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Oakland and Berkeley once we got here.  It was a jam-packed week full of things so completely opposite of New Mexico (like traffic and water) but I guess it was a good christening.   

She left Saturday and I’ve been trying to unpack enough to find a path to my bed and do grown up things like transfer insurance while “aunting” about 5 hours a day.

August:

Of course now people are asking what I’m doing now, and most assume I’m on a career path since I did go to school for some purpose.  Well, stop thinking that.   Saturday I’m going to Mascota, Mexico for an indeterminate amount of time.  It’s the town I’ve gone to pretty much every year since 2006 to assist a friend, Luz, with whatever she needs (from Bible studies to visitations to concerts).  This time I’m going down with my brother Jeremy, his wife, Cristina, and their 3 kids (8, 6, 4months) to do a Vacation Bible School for 40-80 kids so you can pray for us.  On the 11^th they’ll be heading back but I’m unemployed and really in no rush, so I’ll be staying behind for August and maybe part of September.  I just have a one-way ticket.   You can pray for me, that I won’t have the escape-ism/permanent vacation mentality but really be open to how I can best serve the Lord while there.   And that I’ll have self-control in regard to churros and popsicles.    But He’s already been very gracious and I’ve found my passport, my Spanish Bible and earplugs.

Love you all,

Joy