Not Exactly the "African Queen"

I'm finally getting to posting the photos from our riverboat excursion. Sorry it took so long! Our boat trip was the day after Aristeo and Armida's wedding, so I guess you could say that the Restoration Life team and our family and a bunch of folks from the church went with the newlyweds on their honeymoon!

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As soon as we arrived at our picnic spot, the Mexican guys started building an arbor for Rebecca and a ramada for the group to eat under. One thing we've noticed about the men here: they work hard and they play hard...and sometimes their work looks a lot like play!

Moo-ve Over!

This photo was taken on the road to Guasave last Saturday. It's one of several reasons why people don't often drive at night in Mexico!

MkDollar's Hamburgers

Move over McDonald's!




When the mission team from Restoration Life was here in June, we discovered a new hamburger joint. Mexican hamburgers in the past haven't really impressed us, but man-oh-man were these good!


Curbside restaurants are very common in our part of Mexico. It was a very "different" experience for our American team, but they were pretty hungry! The original plan had been to get fish tacos in Mazatlan, but that didn't work out (my bad!) so we ended up having a "late supper" in Culiacan.


















Fortunately it was a good experiment. We had a nice time talking to the owners while we ate and had an opportunity to share Jesus. It was a great chance to let our lights shine a little.

Got Shrimp???

"Were you in the boat when the boat tipped over?"

"'Course not, silly. I was in the water!"

Seriously, though, there is a reason why the National Hurricane Center issues small craft advisories. On Monday, shrimp season opened and all the local fishermen gathered nets, coolers and boats and rushed for the open sea.

One problem: Tropical storm Lowell. All we've seen of him so far has been some wind and a lot of rain. The ocean, however is really choppy!

Mid-morning Monday, Ladis's boat motor stalled, his boat flipped over and was pounded into the jetty by the waves. Fortunately neither of the men in the boat were seriously injured -- a few scrapes and scratches, but nothing more. Ladis told Doug that he was saved by a small cleft in the rocks where he hung on while the waves slammed his boat on top of him over and over.

Meantime, Doug was in Guasave taking care of some business. Otherwise he would have been in the boat with Ladis. Keep praying God's protection over our family and over the other men who are fishing. It's their way of life, but it still has its dangerous side.

Pray also that the men are able to repair the boat quickly. Doug and Ladis are talking with a man tonight about fixing the hole. This is Ladis' livelihood and the best shrimping only lasts a couple of weeks.

Well, here comes the rain again! I'd better post this before the power goes out! I'll try to get a photo of the boat. From what I've heard, it's pretty badly munched.

Cast-aways?

Caleb has been taking "casting lessons" from his friend Abimael. He's gotten pretty good! Actually, he's gotten REALLY good! He and Abi are looking forward to shrimp season opening!

The net the boys are using is called a taralla (tah RYE ah). They wrap the net carefully into a bundle and then toss it with amazing finesse. When the net hits the water, it is a perfect circle -- weighted down to the ocean floor. Then they haul it in with the rope which is attached.

This net is perfect for bringing in shrimp and bait for larger fish. The boys are hoping to be able to catch bait and sell it to the tourists during tourist season. Should be quite the lucrative (and fun) business!

Caleb got a taralla of his own for his birthday, so I would expect to see more photos on his blog soon!

In the Lord's Army!

Our family was invited to the closing ceremony of the VBS at Calvary Chapel -- Compuertas. What a great time!

The theme? You guessed it! Ephesians 6 -- The Armor of God

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Our twins have made some great friends at Compuertas. Israel and Isael are 10 year old twins. It was funny hearing others refer to "the twins" all evening!


Doug shared from 2 Corinthians about giving over and above what we are able.


We had a great time of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

After the service was a "traditional" potluck...yummy!

In Hot Water

This is the temperature of our tap water at noon.
Water in the rural parts of Mexico only runs a few hours a day, so it is stored in an underground tank (cisterno) and then pumped to the roof to a black plastic holding tank (tinaco). From there it is gravity-fed through the pipes to the rest of the house.

In the winter time, showers in the evening or early morning can be brisk, but in the summer -- when the temperature is 100 and the humidity is 75% -- a lukewarm shower is hard to come by, nevermind "cool".

I've joked about burning yourself on the tap water here, but yesterday I thought I'd check the temp...just to know for sure. (Plus, I wanted to play around with the macro on my new camera ;^) )

Sure enough, it was hot: 104 degrees. That's why a shower in the afternoon just isn't very refreshing!