Enjoying a visit from Sam's parents.

We have some Canadian visitors and are enjoying our time with them!

Sam and his dad have been working at the ranch together

and Sam's mom has been hanging out with the grandchildren.

Christian World News

The English version of THE POTTERS RANCH made the very tight cut of news in Christian World News!

The specific clip can be seen by skipping to 19:50 minutes.

Plowing Our Field Well

People have often asked us what is the hardest part about living in Arriaga.  At first this question bothered me because I can be "slightly" critical and I don't need encouragement to go looking for things that are wrong.  Gradually I came to realize how blessed we are because many things which one would expect to be difficult, were not problems. 

Many people suggested the weather would be trying.  Yes, it is sticky hot at times, but our bodies have adjusted sufficiently so that anything below 30 degrees begins to feel chilly.  Others suggested the nasty bugs would be the most difficult.  Pulling a scorpion out of baby Jeremiah's mouth was an astonishing mothering task, but God protected both him and me.  Still others worried that the food would be a problem for us.  Our diet has changed, but we have always been willing to try new foods and our children aren't picky eaters.  God has blessed us to face these difficulties with grace and we acknowledge the prayers of family and friends regarding these and other challenges..

Recently I have discovered what is the hardest part of being here.  It is the inability to be with family through difficult times.  When we left we knew we would be missing out on big family and friend events - births, birthdays, weddings. . . .  While it was disappointing to miss these, we knew we could come back to celebrate and enjoy these changes in life.  What I didn't count on was people dying.  Two extended family members have unexpectedly died while we have been here.  Getting together with our family for the funeral, remembering the loved one, encouraging and comforting each other, and reconnecting again with aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends, this is how we find a peace at the end of a life.  Together we gain a grander view of God's plan our lives within generations of our family.  It is hard to have been so far away from our family at this time.  However, we know this is the place where God wants us to be right now and that is a comfort to us while we miss our family. 

Field with Plowman and Mill - Vincent Van Gogh

"Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family.'  Jesus replied, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'"  Luke 9:61-62

While we grieve the loss of family, we rejoice that they are in heaven, and we strive to do well our work here in Arriaga.



Found Some Moths

Found this behind our house.

Found this at the orphanage.

A Horde of Parakeets

There is always something happening to amaze the Canadians. The latest is a flock of green parakeets which swarms the neighbourhood trees each morning and evening. Flock isn't the right word because there are so many of them. They are more like a horde of parakeets. They all call and squawk at once.  We hear them coming long before they arrive.

If you would like to see a close up shot, here is a nice one from birder Bosse Carlsson.

Glorious Bread

In Canada I make bread regularly with our bread machine. However, it didn't make the “Going to Mexico” list and I've been missing bread since leaving Canada. There is bread available here but it is either bread from the grocery store called Wonder Bread or Bimbo; or it is from the bakery and is a sweat cake like bread. No loaves of crusty French bread.  No whole wheat or whole grain artisan loaves. For awhile I made some no knead loaves and some quick breads, but it wasn't what I wanted either.

Well, after seven months I decided that 8 to 10 minutes of kneading bread isn't such a great hardship after all. Come to think of it, Opa made 7 loaves of bread every Saturday. Pretty sure he didn't have a bread machine hidden in the basement. Here is my first batch of yeast bread. The recipe is Country White Bread from Cooking Bread.



Youth Camp

The Youth had their summer camp a week ago. Sam and I were privileged to participate in the camp. Sam was able to stay for two nights and I joined him for a morning session where we shared a message about God's calling in our lives.  Sam was struck by how easy it is to connect with the group (aged 13 years and up) even without a common language. He thourally enjoyed his time hanging out.

The camp was held on a beautiful campground. Sam and some of the Youth, hiked up one of the surrounding mountains on Sunday morning and enjoyed the inspiring view.

When leaving the camp a butterfly fluttered over the lane and past the car. “Wow!” was my audible response even though I was alone. I've never seen such a butterfly before! It was 20 cm or more across, brown on the bottom and brilliant blue on top. I didn't have my camera, but that was okay because I'm not so quick with the shots. I would have been busy trying to get the camera on, instead of admiring such a graceful beauty.

Home Sweet Home

Many of you have been praying for us regarding our plans return to Canada in the fall.  One area of uncertainty was where we would live.  Our house was rented out for a one year term until the end of January.  Legally we could ask the tenant to move out, but our tenant had asked before we left, "What happens if you want to return early?"  We smiled and assured him that we were definately going to be gone for a year and even if we came back early, we would honour our contract. 

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."  Proverbs 16:9

So we gave our tenant a call, wondering how he was enjoying living in our house and what his plans were for the future.  We told him we would be coming back early, but he didn't have to move out early.  However, if he wanted to move out early, we would be more than happy to work something out.  He began to explain,  "I don't want to move in February because it is too cold.  Probably the latest I would move would be October.  By the way, when were you coming back?"  When we replied, "October," he remarked, "Wow, what a coincidence."

Today, Jude was talking about how great it was that our tenant was moving out early so we didn't have to find a new place to live.  He really misses our house because of the backyard, the kid's fort, and the river.  I explained that God promises us if we will focus on serving and loving him, he will take care of the details of life:  where will we live, what will we eat, and what will we wear. 

"But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."  Luke 12: 31

It's no coincidence that our tenant wants to move out the same month we want to move home.  It is part of God's plan to provide for our family. 

Thank you for your prayers.

Pox de Pollo

First one, then two . . . we have Mexican chicken pox at our house.  It looks sort of this:

For lack of willing participants, we don't have any pictures to document this event.  In reality, Hannah and Jude look a little less joyful than they do in the above picture.  We are still waiting to see if the third child is participating or not.

If you too happen to be in Mexico and get the chicken pox, take mango leaves, bruise them under water, swish them around, strain the water and use as a rinse after showering.  It helps take away some of the itching.  I'm really thankful for the friend who taught me this useful information.

Our Littlest One!

We are having a baby in January!  Our littlest one is growing, moving and doing very well.

Last week we had an ultrasound done in Tuxtla, the capital of Chiapas.  We knew that it was possible to have a 3D ultrasound, but we didn't know how to ask for it, nor the price it might incur.  So we just took what they gave us. 

Wow, what a different experience from ultrasounds in Canada.  The whole family tromped into the room and sat facing two big flat screens.  We then proceeded to watch the entire ultrasound.  We got to see the littlest one moving in 3D!  The doctor talked to us the whole time, not that we understood everything, but we understood the important aspects.  It's a boy!  When it was done, we stood up and smiled for a family photo.  Two hours later we picked up a package containing the results and two DVDs of the whole appointment.  The cost?  It was 600 pesos or $48.20.

Hannah was a little disappointed that the baby is not a girl, but she is over it now.  She is looking on the bright side, a new baby, boy or girl, means a new baby to look after.  Jude is happy, but he didn't really care either way.  Jeremiah hasn't a clue except, that he can point at any place on Mama's body and say, "Baby!" and everyone will cheer for him. 

Little one, we are happy that you have come to join our family.

Yo Puedo!

Last week we made some prints using Styrofoam trays.  It is a simple art project and children are typically pleased with the results. 

 Dinosaur by Jonathan - 9 years old

Since it is summer vacation, art classes have been less formal and I am teaching without a translator.  For the most part, the classes go well enough.  However, I was a bit worried about this print making class, because it is a little more complicated than pulling out crayons or markers.  Plus, I wanted the children to have success at the end of a multi-step process.  So I started with a group of three students and explained the lesson.  Once one student was done, a new student would join us.  This meant I needed to explain the lesson many times over.  Those who already heard my instructions were happy enough to help out, and would begin to tell the new student what was going on.  This was okay, but eventually it broke down to me trying to make myself understood in Spanglish, two other children interpreting me in Spanish, all talking at once, to a very confused looking child.  In a somewhat ungraceful manner, I firmly stated, "No, YO Puedo!"  Imagine a two year old insisting on putting on her shoes by herself.  "No, I Can!"  Perhaps not one of my finer teaching moments, but one in which I communicated quite clearly in Spanish.  Thankfully, the final products were a success and my students forgave me.

Animal by Cristian - 5 years old

Lion by Heberto - 11 years old

Mexico update for July

August 2nd, 2011

Hola Everyone,

A beautiful view from a little "mountain" near the ranch.

We have been here for half a year already! My journal has increased in volume and value because these have been some of the most unique months of my life! I do not want to forget the many testimonies of God's goodness and life changing lessons gained here in Arriaga.

Recently we headed to the Mexico / Guatemala border to renew our visas. It was a lovely drive along the Pacific coast. On one side of the road were cloud covered mountains and on the other side fields and tropical forests. We drove past gigantic trees, numerous groves of palm trees and banana orchards. Even when we had to stop for construction, the butterflies along the roadside were amazing. It is a great privilege to be seeing a very different part of God's beautiful creation.

Many people have told us about the heat and dryness of Ontario. They are half apologetic about mentioning the heat, but we have been getting use to the heat here. Anything under 30 degrees feels cool to us. We continue to get rain every day, usually at night, which helps to bring down the temperature (while raising the humidity). An natural result of all this rain is mold-- it is growing everywhere, even inside our car.

All the children and workers at the orphanage were blessed with a vacation in Tuxtla. Swimming in the hotel pool, watching movies, playing games, visiting the zoo, shoe shopping, chicken pox . . . The three days were packed with fun and great memories. The highlight for our family was an ultrasound appointment. We got to see our baby moving in 3D! Even Jeremiah watched the screen and chimed, “Baby.” 

 

The Tuxtla zoo has only animals which are native to this state of Mexico.  (No sweating polar bears!)
 

A donation of books was given to the orphanage and the children have been challenged to read throughout the summer. The new books, along with prizes for incentive, have many of the children with their noses in books. It is a delight to see the children reading because many people in this town are unable to read or are uninterested in reading.
Sam has been teaching some cabinet building skills to the older boys by fixing kitchen cupboards with them. The orphanage has a beautiful kitchen, tiled counters and local dark wood cupboards. However, as the orphanage grew, so did the traffic in the kitchen. What would have served a family well, has begun to wear out. So with the help of some of the older boys, Sam has been making repairs. The kitchen staff is very pleased!

For a number of years, I have been making Japanese bound books by hand. They have been unique homemade gifts and a creative outlet for me. Now I am teaching this technique to the older girls. It is important for the children to learn various hand-skills (like book binding or carpentry know-how) as these can lead to valuable sources of income in a community with few employment opportunities. We will share pictures of the finished products next month.

This is an example of a Japanese bound book.


Since arriving in Arriaga, Sam has been eager to work at the ranch, but for various reasons the ranch building projects have been moving very slowly. We're glad to say that construction on the ranch will continue again with full force! We recently ordered a machine to produce concrete blocks for the construction of the many buildings in the children's village. In the next couple months, we hope to finish the bunk house, to accommodate work teams. The first big step in this process will be getting electricity (called “Hydro” in Ontario) on to the ranch. This usually involves a lot of bureaucracy, so we earnestly desire your prayers during this whole process.

Our family has been doing very well. Hannah celebrated her ninth birthday at the end of July. Jude was wowed by the tigers paraded through town. These were accompanied by a blaring speaker advertising the circus. Jeremiah is beginning to speak more and more in both English and Spanish and our very littlest son is growing, moving, and making his presence more obvious. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.

Hannah with her birthday cake at El Faro.  (Don't worry, there were two cakes so everyone got a piece!)

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

Prayer Items:

Guidance in making the right choice of education for each child.
Relief from on going, bothersome car troubles for the orphanage.
Wisdom for decisions concerning baby Rebecca's leg.
A Mexican worker for the babies is still needed.
May the bunkhouse be completed before we leave.
God's directions in short and long terms plans for our family.