barra vieja

There are no words to describe what a blessing this weekend was. I could write forever and never do it justice, and even the pictures don't tell the whole story. I guess you just had to be there. I am very tired and overwhelmed but feel very fulfilled. God is so good. I don't have time to go into a lot of detail, but here are a few pictures - and the best stories. :)

Emily and I left Taxco on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. We met at the bus station at 9:40 a.m. only to be told by a very helpful official that we were at the wrong bus station. So, we went to the other bus station and took off for a 4-hour bus ride to Acapulco. En route (and I have full permission, in fact, encouragement, to disclose this information) Emily all of a sudden was like, "I don't feel that good. I think I'm going to throw up." And to myself I thought, "No, she's not actually going to, she just thinks that." Unfortunately, I was wrong, but we acted quick, there was no mess, and Emily felt much better. We decided that we definitely bonded on new levels. Also, in my attempt to get her some paper towels and use the restroom, the bus lurched right as I was opening the bathroom door, smashing my finger and bonking my head against the door frame. It was an interesting ride, to say the least. Except it got even better! The bus makes multiple stops along the way and sometimes it's unclear where we're at. At one stop, I turned around to ask the man behind me where we were, in Spanish. He looked at me like he could not understand a word I said. He looked like he might speak English so I switched to English, and he still looked confused. Finally, he muttered a string of almost completely unintelligible words, as though he was trying to speak in two languages at once, in which the only thing we figured out was that he spoke French. How handy. But then, he was like, "But you speak English?" to which I nodded furiously and asked him the question in English again, slower this time. Finally, a Spanish-speaking man who had heard the original question interrupted and told us where we were at, while the French guy was telling us that he didn't know. We all had a good laugh, and I continued to laugh on the inside for quite some time. When we finally arrived in Acapulco, we still had to take a taxi to Barra Vieja. We paid an arm and a leg to get there, but we did have a nice taxi driver who stopped along the way (the whole drive was on the coast) to let us take pictures. The Pacific Coast of Mexico is beautiful.

We didn't have an address for the place in Barra Vieja - it's a tiny little town and Matt (Emily's brother) said we would just be able to ask around to find out where the Ramirez family lived. After many questions and wrong turns, the taxi driver dropped us off here. This (below) is the store that Bartolo and Kiki run. They live behind the store.

Barra Vieja is a tiny town on the coast, about an hour past Acapulco, in which everyone knows everyone. There are dirt roads and no street signs, and most of the houses are made of a few concrete blocks and a roof propped up with tall tree branches. I sensed that there is a lot of poverty in Barra Vieja, and yet all of the people are so content. They are self-sufficient and reliant on one another. It is very interesting to see how their location in relation to the ocean affects their lifestyle. Our weekend there was so simple and yet so beautiful.

I found myself adjusting very quickly to a lot of dirt, dust, and heat.The first thing they did was serve us fresh coconut juice (still in the coconut) and after a many introductions and discussion of who else they know that we know, they showed us the guest house and we went for a walk on the beach. Below is a picture of me with Miriam (13) and Areli (8). They also have an older son.

After our walk, we were very hot and sweaty, and the girls asked us if we wanted to go swimming in a pool. We didn't have swimming suits, but why would you need swimming suits when you can just hop in with your clothes on?! We swam for probably an hour and half and played all kinds of water games with the girls before heading back to the house for supper.

On Saturday night, Emily and I went out and sat on the beach and had a wonderful talk underneath the stars. They were so bright and beautiful and I saw a falling star. Somehow, the ocean always reminds me of the enormity and vastness of God’s power, and His incredible love beyond our comprehension.

On Sunday, we got up early to watch the sunrise and walk on the beach. When we got back my legs were covered in red spots from bites from little insects, but it was a beautiful morning to be out. Then, Bartolo told us he was going to take us in his boat to go fishing in the nearby lagoon! This huge body of water only has water when there is rain, so it was only about 2 ½ feet deep. He has this canoe-type wooden boat that he attaches a motor to and in it, he took us all around the lagoon – through little streams, swamps, and the open water. I wanted it to just go on forever. We stopped in this little river-like area and went net-fishing! I have never done that before and it was fascinating to watch. Unfortunately, Emily and I were wearing our church clothes, because we had just kind of dressed for the day – I told her it was the first and last time I’m ever going fishing in my church clothes – but they didn’t get that dirty and it was totally worth it. He threw out this net and then pulled it up and there was all these tiny fish in it. At one point, I was holding one for a picture, and when we were done with the picture, I threw the fish back in the water. This action was met with outcries from the girls and many, many laughs – apparently in Mexico they eat all the fish, not just the big ones! I took a lot of grief for throwing away our lunch. As it turns out we caught plenty of fish and Kiki fried them up when we got home. They actually weren’t filleted or anything, just plopped on the skillet with some excellent combination of seasonings and served as-is. I told my family that I have had to mask my surprise many times since being here – apparently you can eat fish just out of the water like that – just avoid the eyes, fins, and bones! To be totally honest, it was some of the best fish I have ever had.

Getting ready to go out - he hauled his motor down there in a wheelbarrow and attached it to the boat.

Just a few pictures of the scenery and the lagoon where we were - it was beautiful, like I said.

I had to mask my surprise once again when we all got ready to leave for church – I walked outside and it suddenly came to me that we were going to ride to church in the back of a pick-up truck. I absolutely loved it – it definitely beat being crowded together in the heat in a cab. This, like most of my experiences this weekend, felt very real – not always predictable, but very real.

We drove to a town a few miles away to meet in someone’s house for church/Bible study. It was a small gathering of just about ten people, but the singing was so neat and the discussion was special because several of the believers shared how they have seen God change them. My heart was completely full when we left. We drove down a few backroads to put flowers on some graves at a cemetery before we went back to Barra Vieja.

The gathering of people at church - I don't know all the names but Bartolo and Kiki are on the far left of the second row (behind me) and their girls are to the right of me in the picture. Kiki's sister is standing next to her, and the other three people are also relatives of Kiki. It was their house where we met for church.

Emily and I had originally planned to take a 3 p.m. bus out of Acapulco on Sunday afternoon but after just a couple hours in Barra Vieja on Saturday night we decided we were going to stay until Monday morning. This left us with Sunday afternoon completely open. We spent it walking on the beach, building a sand castle and playing games with the girls and just talking with the family. It has been so interesting to hear people’s stories here – what it is like to be a Christian in a land where Catholicism has been the primary religion for as long as civilization has existed. Kiki told us that many people understand but that being a Christian comes with many responsibilities and therefore is rejected by most of them. She also told us that she lost some friends and even some family relationships were hurt when she became a Christian. It was special to get a glimpse into her life. On Sunday night, Emily and I walked on the beach to watch the sunset and spent a lot of time reflecting on God’s faithfulness over the course of the last few weeks.

We were tired, exhausted, and sunburnt by the end of Sunday, which made Sunday night very hot and almost miserable. We didn’t sleep very well, but that was ok because we got up at 5:30 this morning to take a combi/taxi combination back to Acapulco. This option was much cheaper, and we were very grateful when Bartolo told us he would come with us because it is also somewhat dangerous, especially that early when it is dark out. There is, once again, something very real about sharing a combi with a bunch of factory and field workers all dressed in white and driving down the roads of Mexico while it is still dark out. I suddenly had a glimpse into the lives of the people of Mexico and felt my compassion for them increase so much.

Saying our good-byes to the girls - the little girl I'm holding is Daniela, the daughter of the woman who lives behind Bartolo and Kiki. She's two years old and very cute.

We arrived at Acapulco and said our good-byes to Bartolo (we had already said good-bye to Kiki and the girls) at about 6:30 this morning. I do not like saying good-bye – especially this time, when I had no idea when I will see this family again, if ever. I am so thankful that I can still remember them in prayer.

I slept almost the entire way back to Taxco. We stepped off the bus a little after 12:30 and I ran home, changed, ate an apple, and was in class by 1 p.m. Normally it wouldn’t be a big deal, but we had a test review that I didn’t want to miss. After school I ran to the market to get a few things I needed and then crashed for three hours. Needless to say, I have a lot of work to catch up on and studying to do this week.

Nevertheless, our trip to Barra Vieja this weekend was worth every single minute. There was not a moment, I don’t think, where I was not learning and growing. God truly works in amazing ways, and his love is unbounded.

St. John 3:8

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.