I decided to go back to writing again this week, but the audio post was well recieved and I will try to start doing many more of them. In fact I got a couple of emails from people sharing how the audio blog really touched them where they were at and encouraged them in there walk with Christ!

This week Peluchi heard that it was the birthday of one of Goyita’s grandchildren (Goyita and five related families live togther in Valles–a town next to us–because about a month ago their houses got torn down by the actual land owner). So we decided to make cookies and go out to see them. While I was mixing the sugars, vanilla, and butter together Peluchi asked ‘why do you do that’
I started to explain the recipe called for mixing these things together first before you add anything else and that it makes a difference in how they turn out. But he said, ‘no no, not that, why do you bake things for people.’
(a little back story, one of my biggest activities here is to visit the families we have built for in the past, each time I do this I take a long a baked good of some kind, ussally banna bread or cookies)
I explained that baking is a great gift. Other gifts are often linked to money and tend to awaken greed in people, like for instance when we replaced the electrial and roof insulation at Eddiberto and Clara’s after a fire, they immediately started asking for paint and materials for a patio. (I couldn’t elude to this book with Peluchi, but it is very similar to ‘if you give a mouse a cookie’). Not that these gifts are wrong, Eddiberto and Clara needed the work we did and it was good to have done it, but it was messy and doesn’t help the relationship much because it ends on a ‘no’. But baking is different, people rarely pressure for more baked goods as they are eating (except Jovani, who even while devoring freshly made cookies wants to know when we will bake together again).
Instead it is this great gift that simply makes people happy. Furthermore I explained to peluchi that these house visits can sometimes be a little akward and I can’t show with my words that I truly care about them. But by baking something, they understand that I care.
The reason for baking sunk in with this last part for Peluchi. He knows better than anyone how my spanish can be laking at times and also how the fact that I made cookies from scratch communicated to the people better than I can with words.
So Peluchi and I went to the houses in Valles and meet a crowd of about twenty people. We got to talk about all sorts of things. Some of the men pulled me aside and showed me a rattle snake that they had killed in their yard and we talked about how the young snakes are actually more dangerous than old big ones like this one (which was about 4 feet long) because the young ones use all their venom at once (it was good for my comprehension that I had already had similar conversations like this in english). Peluchi made jokes I was even able to follow and join in with to get the families laughing (My spanish is getting better). They loved the cookies and had heard rumor of my banana bread and wanted to try it some other time.
It was a fun night.

A few of prayer requests before I go: I haven’t seen Roberto since two sundays ago and am hoping he continues to make an effort to go to church. I’m continuing to edit the construction training DVD and need to finish it by the end of next week. School has been canceled here because of this swine flu thing, no one has gotten it in Croc, but please pray no one does. And lastly, the staff has been in the process of getting volunteer visas (right now we have only tourist visas and shouldn’t be doing any work). While investigating us for this visas, the mexican immigration office found that we were working here already and has fined us (yep, I’m ironically an illegal in Mexico). We are going to pay the fine tomorrow and then I am going to get a permission form to leave the country in May while they are still processing my visa. Please be in prayer all of this goes smoothly and I will be able to make my flight on May 8th.

Lastly, all of this talk about a conversation with Peluchi may leave you wondering where is the video that was promised (see poll at top right). I have told peluchi he was choosen out of the four choices and he was flattered. We will try to get it filmed this week.