Friday, August 14, 2009

Family Trip to Oaxaca

Yes, that’s right – all 5 of us just took our first family trip to Oaxaca. I think this was Marc’s 6th time to go, but for the boys and me, it was an exciting first! I’m so glad we got to go and meet our wonderful Mexican brothers and sisters there in the southern part of Mexico and to minister in the weekend revival and Church 9th Anniversary Celebration in Oaxaca City.

On the way south, we stopped in the city of Puebla which is the capital of the state, also named Puebla. It is a beautiful city!

Here's the huge Catholic church on the centro.

A group of nuns crossing the centro.

Marc getting his shoes shined.

It's not "Old Glory" but the Mexican flag sure is pretty flying in the breeze!


Heading down south over the mountains into Oaxaca.



Marc and me with the beautiful mountains of Oaxaca behind us.


Our first supper in Oaxaca: delicious grilled chicken, rice, tortillas (and salsa that I didn't get a picture of)


Pastor Benito leading the people in worship.


Our Bible Methodist Church in Oaxaca City (the lower church)
Love this picture of the boys in our hosts' back yard. Their house is high on the mountainside in Oaxaca City. Their back yard wall is literally "the mountain".


Marc studying on the back patio of the house where we stayed. Love this man.


The house where we stayed in Oaxaca City.

Our very kind hosts: Hno. Moises, Hna. Irma and one of their daughters, Celene.


Pastor Benito, wife Ana and their boys, Isai and Bryan.


We spent an hour or so on Saturday at Monte Alban - the site of ancient ruins outside Oaxaca City. So interesting! From L to R: Co-pastor Hno. Luciano, Eliezer and Isela Balderas (Bible Inst. Pres) Benito and Ana and kids, Jordan and Marc. Cameron and Logan are in front on the left.

This picture was taken from the top of the south platform after we had climbed all those steep steps.

About 6 inches behind us was a "sheer dropoff" - with sharp rocks at the bottom. :-)


The Saturday night revival crowd.


Marc preaching on Sat night.

Cameron tending the fires to grill the tlayudas.


Here are the tlayudas on the grill. Tlayudas: HUGE corn tortillas filled with black beans, lettuce, and Oaxaca cheese, then grilled over an open flame.

The Lord helped Marc teach a wonderful Sunday School class on Holiness.


One of the pastor's sons, Bryan. This picture just depicts him to a "T" - he's an adorable handful. :-)


Some of the church people formed a choir, led by Pastor Benito, to provide the special music for the weekend. They sang beautifully.

Our hosts and some of the young guys from the church took us up to a lookout on Sunday night to see night time Oaxaca City.

Our family in front of the beautiful old church on the centro.

Climbing the steps up to our other BM church in Oaxaca City - what a climb!


I so much enjoyed getting to accompany Marc to Oaxaca this time.

Beautiful Oaxaca City
The boys with our hosts with some family members and church people - taken just before we left.


My and my two new friends - they are precious. In the next picture you'll see what's in the basket. Bro. Daniel's wife (on the left) made me these beautiful little sugar cookies.

A huge Catholic church in Oaxaca City.

One of those "seize the moment" opportunities - communicating the Truth to 3 fertile minds. These boys are our first mission field.

Outdoor restaurant on the centro.

And there's Pico de Orizaba - the highest point in Mexico. It was an awe-inspiring sight.

On our way back north we stopped to see the Pyramids of Teotihuacan. They were just awesome! The boys and I in front of the pyramid we climbed. The view from the top was unreal.

We got to eat those delicious tacos again in Salamanca. We stopped by to meet the new Pastor Abel and to begin planning sessions for the Bible Institute Classes that will be held there in the HIM building this fall. SO love these tacos!


And that about does it for Blogger. On my Facebook page, I have tons more pictures with captions if you'd like to see them.
This trip was the last big event on our summer calendar and I want to thank God for His strength and protection all summer long. We travelled thousands of miles and He protected us on every one. So happy to be serving God where He has placed us - in Mexico!

3 comments:

Beth Stetler said...

great post!! looks like you had a fantastic trip!

Ronda said...

Loved all of the pics! Looks like a neat place. Hope that you all are doing well! :)

sarahmfry said...

What an awesome trip. Incredible.