We’re in traffic somewhere in Veracruz. The sugar cane fields are being cut, burned and replanted. Van claims it’s 47 C outside. I believe it. It’s pretty toasty in here. According to X, a semi burst into flames a few kilometers up ahead so the highway is down to one lane. It’s a 12 hour…
Granma, Cuba
This post is not my story to tell. I am, instead, a privileged bystander and would like to invite you to join me here on the sidewalk. Nestled against the Sierra Maestra, the province Granma is a 16 hour bus ride away from Havana. Its forested peaks roll 2,000 meters above sea level for over…
Let’s Travel: Across the Country
News. We left home on October 15th. Arrived to an AirBnb that hadn't been cleaned. Scrambled for another place to crash. Arrived to Oaxaca October 16th, 2:00 pm. Meetings in Magdalena Apasco Oct. 16, 17, 18. *Encouraged by renewed interest* Travel to Zamora, needed time with family and believers finally. Sad, yet healing. Surreal to…
On Miracles
In our cynical, western, enlightened minds, miracles are generally a thing of the past. Supernatural is almost synonymous with superstitious and indeed, the superstitious are often the ones looking out most keenly for the supernatural. As a realist, the facts are the facts. It is what it is. This is, admittedly, often to my detriment.…
Atasta
When I went to talk to David it was with resignation. It was the acceptance a piece of driftwood feels when half lodged in the sand, each successive wave makes its relentless blow. The fridge was out. Again. For about a year the best it could do was for the freezer to act as a…
Changed
Buenaaas! Hooo...Jorge! The call came from the street. Jorge laid down his spoon and rolled tortilla and went out through the sheet rippling in the doorway. His wife and three daughters followed him out, wondering who could be calling in the middle of the afternoon. "Hey, old friend, how's it going?" "Jorge, what's going on?…
Let’s Travel! Campeche, Campeche
Is this post cheating? maybe. I'm not doing much writing. Instead, it's an invitation for you to pack those bags and travel to one of the most iconic cities in the southeast of Mexico. Walled and fortressed against pirate attack by the Spanish, Campeche was a hexagonal shaped, compact colonial city founded in the 16th…
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…
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…
penelope alves 