October 24, 2016

October 24, 2016

Hola Family,

We are alive and well in Pinotepa…however, sometimes we think we died and went to hell!  Just kidding.  It is so stinkin hot and humid here it makes me appreciate the Arizona “dry” heat, ha ha.  Just kidding, again.

So, speaking of hot and humid last Friday morning about 3:00 a.m. our power went off, including, of course, the air conditioner in our bedroom.  I just assumed that Dad got cold and turned it off, but nooooooo, our power really was off.  And then again we just assumed that everyone’s power went off as it did in Guatemala occasionally, so we didn’t really worry too much about it.  However, at about 2:00 that afternoon when it had not resumed we went over to the managers and told them about it and they said they would call the electricians.  Well, this is Mexico, and of course we saw no electricians that afternoon and so we sweated through the night.  Opening windows was not an option because of all the critters and mosquitos that could/would come through the windows (no screens of course), but we got to the point that we had to open them for a while.  We even resorted to fanning ourselves with our plastic plates...hey, it worked!  I got the giggles at the sight of Dad, of all people, fanning himself furiously to get cool and I couldn't stop giggling!!!  I guess we haven't lost our sense of humor.  Dad said that when he sweated enough to get his undies wet, it cooled him off and he was able to go to sleep!  Saturday no electrician so Dad went to the managers again about 4:00 and he told Dad he had called the electricians and there was nothing else he could do…well, Dad (if you can believe it) made a stink about losing all the food in the refrigerator, talked with an administrator, who told the first guy to call the owner, who told him that he better get the electrician out to fix the power that night!  So, about 7:00 that night we finally had lights and AC.  Apparently, when the AC units were installed it was done improperly (surprise!) and it burned up the meter box, etc.  So, the bottom line of the story is I declare that we passed the NO AC FOR A DAY AND A HALF TEST!!!  If you pass the test once you don’t have to repeat it, right?

And speaking of critters, when we were in Cuernavaca last weekend we spoke with some of the elders who had been assigned to get our apartment clean and ready for us, who told us they found two tarantulas, a scorpion, an iguana, and bats in our apartment, mingled with various and sundry spiders/bugs/mosquitoes, etc.  So, don’t wonder why I didn’t want to open the windows during our power outage.

So, that’s the bad news, I guess.  We have some fun and awesome news.  We were at the garden one day last week and the branch president and an architect showed up to try to get the well cleaned out and operational.  We talked with them about running a line from the well, clear across the soccer field to our garden area and we think it’s going to happen.  They had one of the workers with them dig to find the line that leads from the well to the chapel and they did indeed find it.  Now we just need to get them to run a line, which they said could be done.  So, we will have water for the garden, which is great news.  We’ve been hand watering it when it doesn’t rain, which is fine, but having a line right there will be really good.  The garden is growing and it’s so fun to go check on our babies every morning!  We just hope it actually produces something, who knows.

And the other really good news is that yesterday at church the self-reliance classes were announced and we had 39 people sign up for classes!  We begin our first class tomorrow night.  They are interested in the How to Start a Business, gardening, and English classes.  I think we had 12 sign up for gardening.  So, we’re off and running.

The other really good news…we’ve been here for 3 weeks and we have not seen one single other gringo/gringa anywhere, but today we met 3.  We were in the grocery store with the elders and as we walked in I thought I saw a gringa, and sure enough she was standing in an aisle waiting for her husband to return from the bank across the street.  So, I began talking with her and found out that she is German, speaks English, Spanish, and Russian, her husband is from Texas, retired and have been living in Pinotepa with their son for 8 years!  And they love it!  Of course, they most likely are wealthy enough to live in a nice home with AC and I know they drive a car.  Anyway, she asked about us and I told them we were missionaries for the Mormon Church.  She said that they had had a couple of the nicest young men come and talk with them about the church but they never came back and that was 2 years ago!  I asked her if she would like them to come again, and she said yes!  So, Dad went and found the elders who set up an appointment for this Wednesday night and when her husband came back we met him and he said, great if my wife invited you all to come to our home, that’s great with me!  Isn’t that coo!  And then this   guy, named Jared Kemp, a gringo, came walking in right about then, introduced himself to us and said that he had been a missionary here 8 years ago and married the former branch president’s daughter and was here for an extended visit.  He’s a manager for Vivint from Utah, doing installations for the company there.  It was kind of a fun day.

Oh darn, I have a bit of other bad news…we also found out last Friday that we most likely will not be able to get internet for our apartment because the area is “saturated” whatever that means.  It means that there are no available lines.  But I’m not giving up.  We talked with one of our neighbors who was moving out Saturday and they had internet.  So, we went back to the internet company today and told them about this lady moving out…which they knew nothing about yet.  So who knows?  We’re kind of bummed…you know you sort of just are programmed for living on the net for important things like communicating with family, paying bills, being trained for our assignment here, etc.  So, keep a good thought for us.  Until then…we go down to the church to do email. 

This is truly a beautiful country.  I don’t know where it begins, but from Mexico City down to where we live, and I would imagine into Central America it is lush green, tropical, and hilly.  All the way down from Mexico City there wasn’t a speck of desert and here in Pinotepa it’s very green and hilly.  The problem is that it’s tropical, so hot and humid.  Pinotepa is just a regular little poor Mexican town.  In fact, President Avila told us that the state in which we live is the poorest in the whole country.  The members have told the missionaries that the beach is only about 30 minutes away; however, there are crocodiles in the water and on the beach.  They said that a couple of months ago a little girl was killed by one while playing in the water.  Of course, Dad still wants to go see the ocean, but I’m not so sure.

So, we hope all is well with you and yours.  Dad’s back has recovered mostly.  Thank you for your prayers. 

We sure do love you all,

Mom and Dad

Non and Pop