Have you ever visited Playa del Carmen?

Have you heard of 5th Avenue?

If you have been to Playa, then you have probably walked the famous 5th Ave.  It is a street full of shopping and restaurants, just a block up from the gorgeous turquoise beach, that goes on and on and on.

We spend much time doing volunteer work along here.  One of the reasons our family moved to Mexico is that there is a large number of people who wish to study the Bible in English.  People from all over the world recognize the Watchtower and Awake magazines.  Many are happy to receive the magazines.

 

Austin and his buddy were working service together.  They started at 7am to beat the heat and catch up on their service time.

The 2 of them were walking down 5th, “M” tripped and fell which spilled all the contents of his bookbag all over the sidewalk.

While he is still on the ground and before he can start to pick up his magazines, a man walking by stops, looks at the boys, and then says,

“Oh, you have the new Watchtower magazine.  I don’t have this one yet.  Can I have this?“

Thought you might enjoy this little experience that is a part of our life here and that it puts a smile on your face.

PS- The service group emptied their bags of all their magazines in just a couple hours.

 

These 2 guys think Austin is super cool -which he is- and they like hanging out with him.  Their family was here for a couple months and have gone back home.  We miss them and wish they would come back and stay longer.

We enjoy meeting so many people who have an interest in learning more about the Bible and how it proves to be “inspired of god and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3: 16, 17)

Romans 15:4 says, “For all things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the scriptures we might have hope.”

No matter what language people speak or what their belief system is, most everyone recognized the WATCHTOWER and AWAKE magazine.  Do you know why?  Do you know what the most popular magazine in the world is?  **CLICK HERE**

Here’s a hint…  It has a monthly circulation of 45 million copies in 209 languages!

Here are a couple experiences of some who are finding instruction and comfort from the scriptures…

A bit ago, a bunch of families got together and had a giant bazar -also known as a yard sale.  Our banners we hung all over the neighborhood said “follow the signs.”  Well, a guy came and spoke in english to one of our friends.  He looked around and walked up to to one of our friends and in perfect english said, “You are Jehovah’s Witnesses, aren’t you.  I used to study the bible when I lived in the States and was just praying about restarting.  Then I saw your signs and thought….”

One guy has been studying for just a couple months in the What Does The Bible Really Teach book and in a short time, read the entire book and decided he needed to get rid of all his things that had to do with religion and magic.  He now shares what he is learning and tells people, “God’s word can change lives.”

There is such a mix of cultures and languages here.  On a study in engish the other day, the teacher had her Swedish book and the student had her Polish book just to be sure that the main points were completely clear.

There are around a dozen students coming to all the meetings regularly.  Not only do they attend but they are prepared and comment –even in the bible highlights part on the school.  How cool is that?!?

 

 

 

 

Usually when we go to the beach of Playa del Carmen, it looks like this…

 

Yesterday it looked like this…

 

On Sunday afternoon we head to the beach here in Playa del Carmen.  Many of our friends do too.  It’s a great, easy going tradition that I love.  No stress.  Just some chairs and toys and something to drink and snack on.  Sometimes the kiddos kick around a soccer ball or play volleyball or fly kites.

That did not seem viable when we had lightning flash around us and thunder shake the ground.  I was looking to see which way the clouds were rolling and then came the soaking rain.  I mean SOAKED.

We made a mad dash for shelter in a condo some friends were renting and hung out to see if the weather would clear.  It did.  So, we still enjoyed our beach day.

 

 

Apparently there are a couple storm systems brewing out there that are bringing in this rain.  Although, as long as we get the rain, we should be clear of the hurricanes.  Hopefully.

We used to come to this spot until someone decided to build a house.  I cannot understand why people think that it’s a good idea to errect a structure on shifting sand.  I also cannot understand how someone can lay claim to something that should be shared.  Not cool.  So we have moved a little further up the beach.  It just makes me wonder how long until the people that live here are denied access to something that belongs to everyone and is claimed by a few who spend a couple weeks and leave these properties empty most of the year.  Until then, we will enjoy as much as we can.

 

If you come down to visit us, you can enjoy it too.

 

We will never ever EVER run out of interesting things to share.

We just think that life is so interesting and that you never know what you will come across.   Like this…

 We are used to seeing families on scooters but this is the first time I get a good shot of kid on front, dad pedaling, mom sitting on the back rack while holding the baby.  And they have their groceries in the basket.

What do you think?

Today is September 1.

September is more of a new start to me than January.  New school year.  New service year.  End of summer.  It’s a benchmark.

One thing is sure…  we will never be accused of not using our time to the fullest.

Life is a collection of moments.  I try each day to make each moment count -it is one way to explain how full our days are.  Not just fill the moments but have them be purposeful.  And then enjoy them too.

 

TO LIVE IS THE RAREST THING IN THE WORLD.  MOST PEOPLE EXIST, THAT IS ALL.

-Oscar Wilde

 

Each day of life is a gift.  How did you use your gift today?

You haven’t heard from us much lately because we were enjoying some of these days with special visits from special people.

One of those was our dear friend Elly.  We have know Elly for many years now.

Elly is a sweet, petite little person who has experienced the full spectrum is life’s best and worst.  Don’t let her size fool you.  She is a woman of giant faith.

And she came all the way to “scary” Mexico to visit us this spring.

We have been in Mexico for a while and only recently have some friends and family come to visit.  Very exciting to us.

I am so glad for Elly’s visit.  She works hard and is quite diligent with her daily routine.  But she booked a flight (very scary for many) flew to Mexico (beyond scary for most) and came to spend a week here.

We enjoyed visiting, sitting on the beach, watching dolphins, walking on the beach, eating coconut shrimp tacos, dining on the beach, field ministry, more sitting on the beach.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Because Elly and her family appreciate the treasure of life in a different way right now.  They understand just how precious each moment of life is.  She has been very ill for a long while but able to keep on plugging away despite being unhealthy and having her body not able to keep doing what it should.

Now she is very very ill.

Something I love is that in our last conversation she was just telling me on the phone she has no regrets about her visit.

Regrets.

That is a bad bad word.

 

 

20 YEARS FROM NOW YOU WILL BE MORE DISAPPOINTED BY THE THINGS YOU DID NOT DO THAN BY THE THINGS YOU DID.  SAIL AWAY FROM THE SAFE HARBOR.  CATCH THE TRADE WINDS IN YOUR SAILS.  EXPLORE.  DREAM.  DISCOVER.

-Mark Twain

Do you have something you have always wanted to do?

Do you have something that you would miss out on by not…

Well, I hope you find a way to make it happen.

Make each day your masterpiece.

 Thank you Elly for your visit.  Thank you for your friendship.  Thank you for everything. 

We love you mucho!

 

 

 

 

 

 

…we spent the day trying to make sure the kiddos have legal status here in a foreign country.

Immigration issues have been taking up a lot of our time.  That and the 3 wonderful weeks of company.  And the problems with the few appliances we have to supposedly make our life a little easier but have been not working and making for floods in the apartment.  Along with the flurry of activity that accompanies the circuit overseer visit and special assembly day that is 4 hours away.  Mikee is still trying to work through all this while having major issues with the server that supports the blog and also ALL his work.  Plus, credit card fraud.  Then tire and car problems.  Oh, and the going away party we had for our friend Patrick of 50 people.  Let’s see.  Anything else? Well, we still have school to tend to in the midst of this.

Anyway, we have been having lots of wonderful adventures to share with you but find that each day there is barely a moment to catch our breath.  Working on it though.  I live in a state of hopeful optimism that the day will be great and then the reality kicks in that each day is a mix of wonderful and dreadful.  I chose to savor the wonderful and find a way to laugh at the rest.

Like this…

This is a picture of dehumidifying stuff.  I use it in our closets and other closed off areas to absorb the moisture in the air.  It works pretty well -even when the humidity here is at 85% like it was last week.

That is, it works pretty well unless you have a bottle with a leak that spills water all over the closet of suitcases you are trying to keep dry and mold free.

 

 

How is everything in your life?

Do you find that you wake in the morning to a long list of things to accomplish and then settle in at night and realize that you may not have completed everything that was on the list?

Do you have a “bucket list”?  You know, experiences that are “knock your socks off” fantastic?

No matter where in the world we live, there are always more things to do in a day than there is time to do it.

Sometimes it’s fun to break the rut and do something super fun and exhilarating!

The problem with that is sometimes those kind of things cost a lot of money and put them just out of reach.

But, we just were able to do something super duper cool and exciting and fun and memorable and amazing.

We swam with the dolphins!

We walk by them and visit several times each week.  They live in our neighborhood.  There are several habitats that we walk by.  They come up and “talk” and “visit” with us.

But, finally, we were able to actually get in the water.

There is a holiday in Mexico called El Dia de El Nino and it’s a holiday celebrating children.  On this day was a promotion that offered free dolphin experiences for children ages 2-14.  All we had to do was bring in a toy to donate to needy kiddos.  Mikee and I went in to check out the details without saying anything to our kiddos.  Then I brought the girls to the store to pick out a couple toys.  They were so confused and full of questions…

…who are the toys for?

…do we pick something for a boy or a girl?

…are we going to deliver the toy?

The cool thing is they have no problem picking out a toy to give to someone.  They knew that it was going to some local kiddos that would be excited to receive a new toy and they were happy to share the experience.  Then, we went into the dolphin center to register and they found out that they were signed up to finally have an opportunity to swim with the dolphins.

Lots of squeals of delight.

I won’t bore you with anymore details.  Here are the results of the day…

 

Today I was hoping to post some pictures of a couple really cool cenotes we visited while my sister and her hubby came down to check on us.  😉  Was just trying to finish up with some things here around the house in preparation of our friend Elly coming to visit.

My first thoughts this morning were on the Boston Marathon.

 

One of my sister’s lives very (very) close to the starting line.  My kiddos have fun memories of watching the throngs of people begin this epic race.

My other sister lives and works very (very) close to the finish line.  Her job benefits from the thousands that flock to the city for the weekend’s activities.

The Boston Marathon is one of my favorite metaphors for the race of life.  It’s not really about who comes in first but is more a beautiful thing to see the vast multitude who take on the challenge to be part of something big and feel the full accomplishment of completing the course.

Well, today, things did not go as planned.

Tragically.

Instead of people victoriously running, walking, and wheeling across the finish line, there is confusion and carnage and fear as 2 bombs exploded near the finish line and a 3rd in another location.  Reports right now are varied as to the deaths and injuries from the explosions.

Glad to know Em and Nell and the boys are safe.  Shaken but safe.

Lots of people we know were in the city today amidst the chaos.  One friend wrote this about her teenage daughter who was at the finish line and felt the first bomb and saw the second…

I don’t think anyone can imagine the horror when your child calls you screaming that bombs are going off around her…I just told her to run away as fast as she could…to run out of Boston and that her daddy and I would find her. I have never driven to Boston so fast in all my life. I am so shaken up but so very thankful that she is safe!

A young person from my old hometown wrote…

Since when did going to see Batman, going to school, or running a marathon become death sentences?

Do you have trouble sleeping at night or feel impending doom during the day?

I remember that Mikee was working in Boston on 9/11 and how we could not get in touch with him for hours as the cell phones weren’t working and the trains, buses and subways were closed and he was stuck in the city for the day.

In December I was in Boston to visit my sisters and nephews while Mikee stayed here with the kiddos in Mexico.  During that week the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings happened.  My heart still breaks for those beautiful children and their poor parents and the courageous teachers who will never recover from the horror.  It seems that daily this world is more and more crazy.

Each time we think how much worse could things become and then some new event burst through the headlines.

I don’t know about you but most of the people I come into contact each day are nice people.  So how is it that this world we are living in and raising our precious children in is becoming so terrifying?

“Why?” -is a question asked in tragedy, anguish and pain.

The Bible gives the answer.  Many people have been told by their spiritual mentors that God sends suffering as punishment, or that it is beyond human ability to understand, or that God is not powerful enough or caring enough to do something.  But the Bible says that “God is love.” in 1 John 4:8.  It also explains that evil does have power.

The best answer to the question Why Does God Allow Suffering can be found at jw.org. (please just click on the pretty blue letters)

When we ask God “Why?”, we just need to look to his word and listened to it’s message of comfort and hope.  We can be thankful to know God and know he loves us.  And we can look forward to the words of Revelation 21:3,4 “Look!  The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people.  And God himself will be with them.  And He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry not pain be anymore.  The former things have passed away.”

It is comforting for us to know that God does not cause suffering. He is not responsible for the wars, the crimes, the oppression, or even the natural disasters that cause people to suffer.

For now we are all subject to “time and unforeseen occurrence.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) In a world without His protective rulership, people may suffer because they happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  But for now…

Remember to tell your special people you love them.

Show kindness generously.

Be grateful for the blessings of each day.

 

(the top photos of the Boston Marathon are from Google but this bottom photo I took right here in our neighborhood)

 

 

The circus is in town.

When the circus comes to town, trucks drive through the neighborhood with their loud speaker blaring to advertise the circus and sell cheap tickets.  Lot of times those trucks have a cage with some of the circus animals.

We are driving through Playa del Carmen to run some errands and who is next to us at the traffic light?

One of the circus trucks.

It happened to have this interesting animal looking at us.

We had just come from the Oxxo store (like a 7 Eleven) so Mikee had a bag a fritos.  First he tells me to hand a frito over.  No way.  I am not putting out my hand to this guy.  So Mikee starts tossing pieces to him which made him very happy.

By the way, Mikee is a pretty good shot to get those things through the holes in the cage.

You can kind of see the sign that says no photos and no feeding the animal in this video.  Oops.

The monkey seemed to appreciate the kindness.

🙂

FYI:  I am not a fan of animals being driven around in a cage on a truck, but they do make traffic more interesting.

 

 

 

“Can I write on the blog about my puffy dress?”

“Of course.”

“Can I pick the punctuation point myself?”

“Sure.”

“Then I pick the fancy excited one!!!”

So, here it is…

I love my new dress.  It’s just the right puffiness.  How do I know?  Easy.  To find out you jump in the air

and when you land

if it makes like a little puff, then it’s just right!!!

(Exclamation point -also known as “the fancy excited one.”)

PS-I made a snack for my mom on these plates.  Do you think it will work?