Maylyn

This is Maylyn.

She is always smiling and laughing.  She is also always talking. 

Even though I can't understand, she tells me things and then laughs and laughs. 

It seems to me, she has some insight into the funny side of life and I wish I could join in with her jokes.

Well, today she asked for some help answering math questions.  I readily agreed and began writing letters rather than numbers for answers.  She looked at it, she looked at me, and then realized this was a joke.  How she laughed!

It was very satisfying to laugh with Maylyn today.

Three Readers

Reading is pretty important to our family.  We like to read to educate and entertain.  We do not have a TV and we probably "waste" time reading the way others watch their shows.

This year the choice of physical books is limited in a way we've never experienced before.  We only brought a handful of beloved picture books and necessary homeschool books from Canada.  As for the rest, we have oodles and oodles of books available through the Internet.  Either we download them to the computer or our e-reader, or we read directly online.

We miss the London Public Library.  It was a regular occurrence to visit the local branch once, twice, thrice . . . a week.  We wonder how our favourite librarians are ever getting along without us.  However, the London Public Library does have e-books which we are able to borrow from as far away as Mexico.  This has been a blessing to our two oldest.

We have had some technical problems along the way, but over all we are still impressed by what is possible with technology.  Perhaps we should have squeezed in a few other picture books for Jeremiah.  I'm getting tired of reading "The Happy Many and His Dump truck".  However, it is likely that he would request this same book even if there were shelves and shelves of other books.

Noah's Art

The final art project for the younger students, was to work together to make a mural of Noah's Ark.

Our first batch of animals ended up being brown, but they certainly mastered the concept of primary colours making mud when mixed all together.

Our second batch of animals were butterflies as a certain someone living here likes butterflies.

Then our third batch of animals was a free for all.  This flying "panther" makes me smile!

The best part was the students surprise and enjoyment of the final product which

now decorates a wall of the sala (living room).

Lime picking

This year we "opted out" of strawberry picking and went lime picking instead.
 

This is one of the lime orchards at the ranch.

A fine young lime picker.

Another fine young lime picker.

The smell among the lime trees is fantastic!

A bag full of limes ready to be made into "limonada".  Mmmmm!



Pufferfish at the Beach

Yesterday we went to the beach with a friend and her two children.  While there I tried to tell her about the puffer fish we saw two weeks earlier.  We were not making any progress in understanding each other because the word for the spines is the same word for fish bones.  She thought I was describing a very old dead fish of which I could see its bones.  It was really old and dead.



Eventually we got it sorted out.  Then she looked a little disbelieving and said she had never ever seen this fish at the beach.  At that moment, some children started screaming in the water.  An older boy had pulled a fish out of the water and the younger children were running away from it.  Curious, we went to take a look.  And . . . it was the very fish we had been talking about!

My friend and I were delighted and had a good laugh at the timing of our conversation and the finding of the fish.  This time it was a much healthier, live fish.  After everyone had a look, it was put back in the water.

Later Sam and I were talking about how God blesses us in specific ways that are meaningful to us as an individual.  Our friend does not have a car and can not go to the beach with her children.  She does not have opportunities to see various sites and places in her own state of Chiapas.  We had been talking about this very thing in the car on the way to the beach.  Then the very moment she finished saying she had never ever seen such a fish, God pulled one out of the water for her! 

Starfruit Juice

A friend gave us 9 starfruit picked from her very own starfruit tree.  She also has a pistachio nut tree.  How exotic this is to my little Canadian mind!  We made them into a very yummy juice which had a unique flavour something like green gooseberries. 

Bugs

"Jude, could you go out back and sweep up all the termite wings?  Hannah, I'd like you to go to the porch and sweep up all those giant ants.  Don't throw them out.  Ask the neighbours if they would like to eat them."

We are meeting some strange new insects lately.  First off, we have termites "parachuting" in like army troops.  They fly in, drop their wings, and head for the closest wood.  All that remains to be seen of them are their little black wings which are showing up every where.  Not sure what this means for any wooden objects in our home.

This is not a flower.

Then there are giant ants.  One morning we stepped out the front door to find the porch littered with giant ants.  These ants are eaten here - just the abdomen.  The head and thorax will hurt your teeth.  All you have to do is fry them up in a little cooking oil.  Unfortunately, we swept them up and threw them out before we learned that we could eat them or at least the neighbours could have eaten them.

To give you an idea of size, these ants are bigger than wasps in Canada.

Then when we were at the beach, this large cicada landed on Hannah.  She was very brave and waited for me to get a good picture. 

Homeschooling in Mexico has certainly made science classes more exotic!

June Update from Mexico

July 2^nd, 2011

Hello Everyone,

Hope you enjoyed Canada Day yesterday! Things are going well for us here. They are constantly changing, and we continue to experience the unexpected.

There is no doubt that rainy season has arrived. We have rain almost every day and some days it doesn't seem to stop. On those days, the streets flood and the storm drains spew water like Niagara Falls. But life carries on as usual in the rain. Everyone has different coping strategies. We saw one couple riding their motorcycle with an umbrella.

Hannah and Jude are doing well with their Spanish. We hear them having conversations and sometimes when I don't know a word, Hannah can help me out. We are also having an easier time communicating when we're out and about. The culture here is that the more people know you, the more freedom they have to tease you. This is definitely to our benefit. Since we know so few people, we don't have too many people laughing at our mistakes and we continue to blather on in our broken Spanish.

Recently a mission team came from Virginia for a week. Their project was to install a security fence at the ranch. They worked hard and finished their goal. This is the first work team that has come while we have been here and it was rewarding for Sam to be busy working with them. He enjoyed their great camaraderie.

For the team's last evening with us, we all went out to the ranch for a picnic and bonfire. It is so nice at the ranch because what was dry and brown, is now alive, green, and growing. It is very pleasant to wander around the ranch, pick limes, and enjoy time away from the city. Around the campfire, we took turns sharing things for which we are thankful. Forty plus people testified of the goodness of God and how He has changed lives through El Faro.

Since last writing, Kimberley (the young girl with cerebral palsy) suffered an epileptic seizure. It was a frightening experience for everyone as it hasn't happened before, and came without any warning. The doctor predicts this to be a permanent problem and she is now taking epileptic medication. Please pray with us that Kimberley will be healed completely.

The school year will be ending next week. However, the children will continue to have classes through out the summer at El Faro. This is because most of them are behind in their studies and need extra help to catch up with their peers. Hannah and Jude will continue with their homeschool as we also are behind in our work. It hasn't been so easy to keep to our schedule here.

We fluctuate in how much we miss Canada. Some days we feel right at home here and other days we miss our family, friends and home in Canada. So thank you for keeping in contact with us. Thank you for your prayers. We definitely see God's protection for us and His grace as we live in such a different part of His world.

Love Sam, Wendy, Hannah, Jude, and Jeremiah Dieleman

Prayer Items:

• Thanksgiving for the Virginia team's contribution to El Faro.
• Protection for Kimberly from further seizures and complete healing.
• Progress in the children's schoolwork and adequate teaching help.
• Wisdom for decisions regarding baby Rebecca's leg.
• A Mexican worker for the babies is still needed.