Our 5th Home In Mexico

View from our bedroom

Courtyard Jungle

Door to extra rented room

Our Street, Jose Domingo (tight squeeze for our van)

View of the city of Tlaxiaco from our roof

It had been a couple of weeks since I had been afforded the luxury of a long hot shower. As I stood there this morning letting steam rise up around me and the water relax the tension in my shoulders, I thought, “I think I’m really going to like our new home.”
When we got into Tlaxiaco we landed at the GFM (Global Frontier Missions) Base. This is the ministry where we will receive our training come September, and possibly stay on to work full-time. We had a wonderful time getting to know all of our fellow missionaries. I got to help paint the roof of the married housing building and I also got to go out on a team to help drill a well. It was great fun!
During our time at the base, I spent a few days going into town looking for a place for our family to live so we could acculturate and work on our Spanish language skills. Unfortunately, in this beautiful little city, you can’t run down to the corner and pick up an “Apartment Finder” guide. You have to beat the pavement and ask as many people as you can if they know of any place to rent. It was quite the job however I did get to meet a lot of great people.
I decided on a quaint little room with a beautiful gardened courtyard and shared bathroom two-stories up from us. When I took Rachel to see it she more-or-less said, “Say what?” She wasn’t thrilled, but I really felt it was the right place for us.
When we went to negotiate the monthly price, the landlord asked us if we would like to see another room that might also be for rent. He took us across the courtyard to a room with two huge wooden doors. It was clearly used as his storage room but he said he’d be glad to clean it out for us. We ended up renting both rooms and this seemed to make Rachel feel better.
Having to go outside and up two flights of stairs to use the bathroom does make it feel a bit like we’ll be camping for the next few months. But it also forces us out into the courtyard where we can establish relationships with many Mexicans and practice our Spanish.
We parked our van out at the base for the next few months and will be hoofing it or using taxis to get a better insight on how the locals live. It’s amazing how many miles we’ve put in already. It’s also amazing how much time the Mexican people spend just waiting for a taxi.
As the water washed me clean this morning I remembered the living water that scrubs my internal stains away. If you’re reading this blog and you’ve never asked Jesus to wash away your sin…I invite you to today. It will cut through the thickest grease and grime!