June's Youth Prayer Meeting

Each month the area churches' youth groups congregate to pray and fellowship together. Our turn to host this meeting came in June. We worried that since we are so far "off the beaten path", few churches would drive all the way out here. Boca del Rio is situated at the end of a 20 mile stretch of narrow, two-lane highway. We were sure that our neighbors in Alomito would come, but from as far as Guasave? We weren't sure.

We were pleasantly surprised! Approximately 50 youth from the area churches came to join us in prayer for our church, our village, our state, our nation, our world and all the authorities in it. A truly annointed time it was!


In addition to the visiting youth, eight missionaries arrived from Sacramento the same day. It was a blessing to be able to include them in our fellowship and prayer time.

During each monthly meeting, a special time is set aside for evangelism and intercession. Teams were formed to go into the streets of Boca del Rio to pray and hand out tracts. People were also invited to come to the meeting.

One benefit of having our church services outside now is that people don't have to actually "come in". You can hear the message just as clearly standing on the corner or sitting on the steps of the market next door.

After the time of prayer and a short teaching time led by Braulio, the American team led the youth in some fantastic ice-breaker games. What a blast! Unfortunately, since it was a Sunday night, the kids had to return home relatively early. The swine flu scare and the subsequent school closures forced the schools to extend classes another two weeks. Bummer. We were sad to see the night come to an end, but encouraged by the new friendships we had forged.

I have a feeling that youth groups all over Sinaloa will be playing Dog/Car/Tree for years to come!!! (You just had to be there!!!)

Tamales with a Purpose

Here's another "picture-full post" about what the ladies of the church have been up to lately.

Maria and Pedro, one of the couples in the church, are going through a hard time right now. About a year and a half ago, Pedro started forgetting things. Silly things like the words to his favorite hymn and how to play a G chord. Faster than you could imagine, his memory faded and dementia began to set in. He was diagnosed with Alzheimers last fall and now needs 24 hour supervision. He wanders the streets with a bit of a lost look on his face. Once in a while he has clear moments, but they're becoming fewer and farther between. (You can read more about Maria and Pedro here.)


The medicine Pedro needs in order to stay coherent and to be able to sleep costs almost $100 a month. Maria's only income is from the small abarrotes (like a mini-mart) which she has in her house. She said that she averages about 30 pesos a day profit. That's about $3 US, so you can see the problem.


The women of the church decided to gather every Tuesday to make tamales to sell. The proceeds go to Maria to purchase the medicine Pedro needs. It's been a real blessing to their family, and it's a blessing to us as well. It gives us a great opportunity to get together and fellowship!


So, here are photos of the hermanas (sisters) and our tamale fest.



Sister Yesica separating and prepping the corn husks which will be used to wrap the tamales.

Sister Lina is the official masa mixer! Everyone tastes it as the mixing progresses, giving their opinion about the texture, saltiness, oiliness, dryness until everyone is satisfied. That sometimes takes an hour of mixing and testing!

Meanwhile, the other sisters are chopping the veggies and shredding the meat we'll use to fill the tamales.

Sister Armida is making the picadillo -- the meaty filling. The towel on her head is the "multi-purpose towel of Mexico". It's a sunshade in this photo. If you look closely at the pictures, you'll see that most of the ladies carry a towel or wash cloth around with them. In the States, everyone carries a cell phone. Here, we carry a hand towel.

Once all the ingredients are ready, the fun begins. Here you see one of our American missionaries, Rachel, trying her hand at pressing the masa into shape. She did very well!!!

When the tamale shaping begins, the fellowshipping really gets going. We tend to get a little silly! These are my dear friends Pily and Cris. I'm the white chick, obviously.

Once all the tamales are shaped and wrapped, they're placed in the really big pot and set over a fire to cook for a few hours. Here are Rachel and Armida with our day's work: 150+ tamales.

Fun Fact Friday -- Spanish Vocabulary

This week's Fun Fact Friday is a Spanish vocabulary lesson.

Our topic is Mariscos!!! In English: Seafood!!!

Living in a fishing community, we've learned a lot of Spanish words and phrases that you wouldn't necessarily learn in your regular high school Spanish class.

Here are a few...with visuals!!!

---

Tiburón -- Shark

This one was a female!

Ostión -- Oyster

Caracol -- Snail

Camarón -- Shrimp

Pescado -- Fish

Pescado Frito -- Fried Fish

Almeja -- Clam

Almejas Asadas -- Roasted Clams (Bien ricas! Yummy!!!)

Jaiba -- Crab

And finally, here's a Spanish tongue twister:

Tengo un barco camaronero. Desencamarónemelo.

Translation: I have a shrimp boat. Take the shrimp off of it for me.

Hope you enjoyed this Fun Fact Friday! Thanks for stopping by!

Good, Clean Fun

July in Sinaloa. Daytime temps well over 100. Humidity above 75%. Wherever there's water running, there you'll find children playing.