Caborachi - Part 1- Getting there

I have decided that this trip was so massive and full of so many stories that it is going to need more than one post.

We left this past Saturday morning to go to Caborachi, the valley where Jay grew up in. It is in the Sierra Madre Mountains in central Mexico.

Our friends, the Tylers, gave us a ride to the bus stop and we caught the 11am, Estalla Blanca bus to Guachochi.

Theoretically, the bus should have had all the amenities (bathroom, T.V., air conditioning, etc), and I say "theoretically" because I could actually see them all, but the T.V. and Air never turned on and the bathroom was locked.

The bus moved SLOW. It took us four hours to make the easy part of the trip that typically only takes 2. Part of it was the traffic and part of it was the bus driver taking his dinner break while all of us sat on the ridiculously hot bus for a half an hour.

All his stops were taking a while, so when we stopped in Balleza (about an hour and a half from Guachochi), Jay got off the bus to get me some snacks for my bus-sickness. But this stop the driver did not take his time and soon we were pulling away. . . without my husband!

I quickly racked my brain and searched my very small mental dictionary of Spanish phrases to come up with one that might stop the driver.

"MI ESPOSO! MI ESPOSO!" ("my husband!") I cried from our place in the back of the bus. The woman in front of me soon joined my cry and (I think) told the driver that there was one more person. He stops the bus and everyone looks out the window to see Jay running after us, holding the Sponge Bob sucker that he had risked being left behind to buy for me.

After twenty minutes, the bus took an unscheduled stop. . . it had broken down.

Here is a shot of our trusty steed:
Here is a shot of what we had a around us at that point:

We sat there for almost an hour, cooking in the sun, as the driver kept hitting parts of the engine with a screwdriver to try and get the bus working again. Jay suggested hitch-hiking and we prayed about the decision. As we finished praying a red pick-up truck pulled up and offered a ride for anyone who wanted it.

I looked at Jay and said, "Do you want to?"

He just got this big grin on his face and he grabbed his backpack.

So we did it. We hitch-hiked the rest of the way.

Here is a pic of us in the back of the truck:

And this was our view:



The driver generously dropped us off right at Agua Azul, which is the town at the top of the mountain, 2-3km from Caborachi.





(This video cracks Jay and I up - mostly because of my hair!)

Once we got feeling back in our legs from the ride we hiked down to Caborachi. The sun was setting, and we took a few tumbles, but soon we were at the house of Tony and Lauren Finch. Unfortunately, they weren't there. All the lights were out, the house was locked and their truck was gone.

When we asked some people in the woodshop where they were, we found out they had gone to Guachochi, presumedly to meet the bus. So, we were in the tribe but unable to rest (or eat) since our hosts were waiting for our ill-fated bus in Guachochi.

Jay and I tried to call them on our cell phones, but there is very little reception in the middle of nowhere, so once again, we prayed. As we said "Amen" we heard the beautiful sound of diesel coming down the mountain. The Finches had arrived!

We ate dinner and slept about 9 hours, and looked forward with anticipation the four days in Caborachi we had ahead of us.

An Interesting Meal

We went out to eat tonight with the speakers who are here to do the Spiritual Emphasis Week(S.E.W.) at the school. One of them is actually an old friend of Jay's dad from when they both were MKs in Brazil. The food was mostly beef, chicken and pork served on giant kabobs, but one of them was not. . . It was gland. From a cow. It was fried. I ate it.

Jay leaves me tomorrow for the S.E.W. camping trip. He is going to be gone for three days and I am so unhappy about being left alone in Mexico. I think I am staying at a friend's house, but those plans have not been solidified yet.

If you think of it, pray for the kids on the S.E.W. trip, that they may have their passion for Christ renewed, and pray for me as I am going to try and survive in this foreign country.

Things I've learned (. . . and a little Miles)

To begin, here is a message that Miles sent to Jay and I. I loved it, so I thought I would post it.

I thought I would share with the world the nuggets of knowledge that I have acquired since moving to foreign country.

1. Never leave the house without your keys. Mexican houses do not have handles on the outside of their doors. Keys are the only way in (believe me - we checked).

2. Never go out your front door barefoot. They have these things called "toritos" that will flatten your bike tires and kill your feet. They pretty much make up our "lawn".

3. Jalapenos will give you the runs, so consume at your own risk.

4. Liquor is cheap here. Milk is not.

5. Big black labs named Prince like to show their affection for you by rubbing their muddy faces on your favorite white pants, so wear brown on rainy days.

6. When the internet is shotty, you don't have any friends nearby and your only source of entertainment is every MaryKate and Ashley video ever created, bedtime is 9:30.

Well, it looks to be about that time. I will post again soon.

Here he is!

IT'S A BOY!

Yesterday my brother, Matt, and sister-in-law, Megan, had their first baby!
His name is Miles Matthew Cooke and I would post a picture, but no one has sent one to me yet.

(Family, that is your hint to get cracking)

News from Mexico!

It has been too long since I have blogged last. Allow me to do a 60 second catch up:

1. Our Jetta did not get fixed by the time we had to leave (tip: don't go to Dan's Garage in Evart). It ended up needing an entirely new engine. It is fixed now, but it is still in Northern Michigan.

2. My parents gave us their minivan. They were going to give it to us when we got back, but we got the title switched to our names the day before we left.

3. We made it to James's and Sarah's wedding in time. It was a great time with friends, family, and a party bus.


4. We arrived here the same day that our first meetings were scheduled. Lori came with us, and she was such a blessing from God.

5. The house was not what we expected - it is in the middle of the industrial zone, so we don't have any neighbors. The roads are a series of rocks, ruts and ditches that threaten the life of your car everytime you drive. And the house itself was full of the previous occupents' items. We spent several hours removing birdhouses, plastic flowers and other knick-knacks.

6. Lori helped to stock our pantry and clean the house of a couple months worth of dirt.

7. Classes started a week ago Monday, and Jay and I have extremely full schedules. He is teaching all of the high school math classes and physics, and I am teaching language, math, geography and history for grades 5th-10th grades.

8. We locked ourselves out of the house at 3:30 am after driving Lori to the busstop; the house wasn't locked, but Mexican houses don't have doorknobs. We had to replace the window the next day.

9. The first day of school we got home to a burning smell and a smoldering light fixture. The two days without power that followed led to our whole house being rewired, and a quote from the electrician that roughly translated goes: "it is a miracle of God that this house didn't burn down"


10. I am learning Spanish. Slowly, but it is happening.

I have learned that the key to learning a new language is to simply put new words with familiar objects, but I have also found that I am putting new objects to familiar words.
Here are some examples:

"Mowing the Lawn"

"Clothes Drier"

"Burgler Alarm"

"Lawn Ornaments"

"Afternoon Shower"


That is all for now, but we just got the internet in our house today, so expect more regular posting from now on.

Computers and cars are not doing well these days.

Last Tuesday, the computers died on camp. That means that all registration, emails, documents, photos, everything - gone. Not gone for good, but gone until last night. Praise the Lord the server is back up.


Last Wednesday, our car killed a fox and consequentially, the fox killed the car. Well, killed the car's radiator to be more exact. They think it will be fixed by today, which is good because we need to drive to Nebraska in 3 Days, and to Mexico in - gulp- 5 days.