Parque Loro

One of the requirements for our orientation is to visit a nature tourist attraction. So we went to Parque Loro for a day with the girls. This is a park/zoo with a lot of different animals but mostly monkeys. I just absolutely love this because I could sit and watch monkeys all day. But we had a great day as a family. We also had another missionary family with us. It was a beautiful day for being outside in God's beautiful earth. Below is the link for this day along with a couple videos of some animals at the end. If you have kiddos around they will love some of these pics. Have a great week in the Lord.

Parque Loro

Funny Story

When I returned home last November for my Grandfather's funeral, I noticed my Grandmother had some crochet projects started with enough yarn to get a good head start on a blanket. So I asked her if I could take it back with me and finish it. I had figured out that I learn better while doing something with my hands which makes me a tactile learner. So in some of my language school classes I would sit and crochet, and this would help me to concentrate so much better. I was able to finish it before we left Costa Rica.

So here is the funny part. Before we left we sent some of the girls school work back to the states because we wanted to keep it but not necessarily travel with it. So Aaron took it and mailed them the day we moved out of our house. The next day we were visiting the Dewetts in their new house which was our old house and a guy on a moto rode up and asked for Aaron Woods and said the postmaster needed to talk with him about his package. Come to find out he had given Aaron the wrong price for the postage and the way they found us is because Aaron had put our Costa Rican address as the return address. So after he paid this I started thinking about something. About 2 weeks before I had mailed this blanket back to my Grandmother in one box and in another one my Dad's jeans and a duffle bag that belonged to my parents. We paid more to send the jeans than we did for the blanket because they weighed more. So now I am worried that my Grandmother was not going to receive the box because there was not enough postage. So I started praying. My dad received his jeans and the duffle bag but still my Grandmother waited. When we arrived in Mexico City I called my parents to let them know we were safe and my dad said "I need to tell you something." He proceeded to tell me that my Grandmother's box had arrived at their house in Independence, MO instead of Springfield, MO because I had put my parents address as the return address. And stamped all over the box was "Return to Sender. Insufficient postage." Doesn't God have a great sense of humor!!! Hope this brightened your day as it did mine that day a few weeks ago. The pattern in the blanket is an 'L' which stands for my Grandfather's name "Leroy" who passed away at the end of October. I love you Grandpa and Grandma Day!

Don't forget to read the post below if you haven't already!

A Mexican Funeral

Part of our job here in Pubela in the beginning is completing a series of assignments in order for us to get to know our city better. One of the assignments is attending a funeral. So we heard about one that was taking place in a small town near by. It took place in a town where there are chickens, horses, goats, and dogs randomly walking about. A town where mexican music was blaring from big speakers and no noise ordanance to stop it. A town where everyone knows your name if you live there. A town where the simplicity of life gets it's name. A town where you walk in and you instantly feel like family. The day started off by waiting until we get the word that it was time to start. We walked down the street from the church were there was a huge tent with about 100 people sitting and eating together. There was also a Christian Mariachi Band playing songs and reading scripture. We were served a watermelon juice with flavored rice, tortillas and a very spicy shrimp, potato and tomato based soup with a very "different" taste. The girls and I ate the rice and Aaron ate the soup. I did taste it but that was all I could do. It was way too spicy for me. Next thing we know people are getting up as four men pick up the casket and start the procession to the burial site. We walked for about a mile in the hot sun and finally we see on the hill the cemetary surrounded by a brick wall. And then we watched it pass by as we continued on up the mountain side to another cemetary in the process of being built. The worst part was Sherry and I had worn shoes with heels. So the rugged mountain side wasn't so kind to us. No wonder people were looking at us so weird. We finally arrived and stood as the preacher said a few words and prayed. Then the men slowly lowered the casket into the ground and other men began filling the hole back in with the dirt. The put rocks around the loose dirt and then put the flowers in buckets of water on top. All of the supplies were carried up by different people. The whole process took about 2 hours. In the mean time the girls played in the dirt, sat next to other kids and asked lots of questions. Mylee had the most because this was the first time she has been to a funeral. In one of the videos loaded with the pictures you hear her say "this is so sad." All in all our experience was a good one and we were able to learn quite a few cultural lessons like don't wear heels to a mountain side burial. After we walked back down we were invited to the Pastor's house of the Rose of Sharon Baptist Church. They served us Coca cola, while the girls were out playing with the other kids. Mylee even caught a little chick and held it for awhile. We were able to start new relationships and know we would be welcomed with open arms when we return. Below is the link to these pictures and more. Have a great week.

Mexican Funeral