My day started with the second scorpion in two days hanging out in our bedroom. Whapping poisonous creatures is always a fun and invigorating way to start the day. The weird thing is how one sighting ignites automatic, learned responses. Shake out the towel before enveloping your dripping post shower self. Flip pillows around before…
News Updates are Boring
But people, sometimes they're the only way to just get the info out there. So, the second week of February we were in Oaxaca. I wrote about that here. The week or so after we got back, I began having bimonthly get-togethers with the sisters. We meet and eat cake and exchange burdens and ask…
My Noisy Neighbors
I'm here in my Mayan granny rocking chair, enjoying the eye candy that is a tropical backyard. I'm also staring unashamedly at my very noisy neighbors. They don't seem to mind. There are four of them, sitting in a row on a swaying maculí branch having brazenly decided our trees are a nice place to…
The Beach
This post was written last week with the intention of posting within a few days. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and it just felt wrong to plough ahead like everything was okay. This world is not okay and as the years go by, I find myself more and more disenchanted with this side of eternity. May…
Wah-HA-ka
As soon as we open the doors of the van, step out and stretch our weary muscles, we know we're in Oaxaca again. Maybe it's the dryness, the dust or the mountains, maybe a distant whiff of tasajo and string cheese. Or maybe it's just the kids tickling the baby and saying "oooh Gali, are…
in Him is light
Every year I have this weird block when it comes to my first post. Like maybe I’m supposed to be coming up with some great inspiring saga to set us all aglow with renewed spiritual fervor. But I have no fantastic stories, no slideshow worthy presentation. So maybe it’s better to just give you what…
Maybe Not So Strange
I said last post that it would be the final one of the year unless something very interesting occurred before we pop the confetti on the 31st. Well, something very interesting has occurred and I almost feel it my duty to the christian world to give them some extra context. If you've looked in the…
Starry Reflection
The oval window is restrictive. Annoyingly so. I crane my neck this way and that, trying to get a better view and mainly just succeed in hitting my forehead against the glass which is surprisingly closer than I thought, even though I’ve flown on probably hundreds of airplanes. I hope the individual behind me is…
Sorry, I Can’t Sing That One
When you’re missionaries or church planters or whatever you want to call people in that sort of ministry, you sometimes (often….) have some fairly small meetings. It’s your family and a few others and so from a tender age, you instruct your children to make sure they belt out the hymns. Actual singing ability is…
Penelope’s Kitchen: Little Tricks
It's been a full six months since I created a Kitchen post. This is not a cooking blog so, quite laugheably, that post has 400% more likes than any other. Clearly keto is slightly more popular than christian living or mission sharing. Despite not writing about it, I have indeed still been cooking. Approximately three…
penelope alves 