La Casa del Alfarero

After three months, I finally got the chance to go to church this Sunday. Since the whole country is pretty much devout Catholics, I wasn't sure where to look for a "Christian" church (here they separate Catholicism and Christianity, although in reality Catholicism is just a denomination of the Christian religion). I knew José Luis had a good Christian friend named Arturo, so I asked if he would ask him if he could help us out in that area. On Friday, we had coffee and dessert with Arturo and the pastors of a church called "La Casa del Alfarero," which means "The House of the Potter" in English. At first, I was a little nervous about meeting them, because many "Christians" here have a bad image of being extremely radical "holy rollers." I figured they would want to talk about the Holy Spirit the whole time or something like that, which bothered me because I know that puts a lot of pressure on José Luis, who has been a Catholic his whole life. However, we just talked about normal stuff like work, school, etc. for the majority of the time. I got along really well with the pastor's wife, Rocío (which happens to be the name of my Mexican mother that I lived with last year), and she asked me what kind of church I went to while I was growing up and in college. I told her I was looking for a place here not just to go to every Sunday but a place where I can feel like I belong and have a family. Since they moved to Puebla about 16 years ago, she told me she knows what it feels like to feel alone and be far away from the known. She said she hoped their congregation would feel like a family to me so I wouldn't feel so alone in a strange place.

Their service on Sundays start at 11 (more like 11:15, since Mexicans hardly do anything on time) in a little building about 10-15 minutes from our house. It was sort of weird and different for Candi and José Luis because they are both used to Catholic services, but I really enjoyed it. There were only between 10 and 20 people there, but it seemed like everyone was close-nit and welcomed us immediately. It's so easy to walk into a church and feel as if God is mad at you and you better repent quick before He strikes you down. There, however, I felt as if He was right there in the midst of us, reminding us how much He loves us and wants us to enjoy the life He gave us.

The pastor was easy to understand and talked about not letting your dreams die or letting others get in the way of accomplishing what God put in your heart. I thought the sermon was good, but more than that, I was just enjoying being in the company of other believers that are serious about seeking the will of God. I plan on continuing to go there, but I may try other churches as well. They have a Bible study/coffee session on Thursdays, too, that I may try out soon. I'm really thankful for that service, that breath of fresh air that is going to help me continue forward in my search for the purpose that God has for me here in Mexico.

See how they run

I have lived in a small town pretty much all my life and have never had a mouse problem in my house. So when I saw a mouse run across the counter in our kitchen yesterday, let's just say I was a bit concerned. I definitely steered clear of the kitchen until José Luis picked me up to go to the movies.

After I told Candi about our little issue, she, too, started hearing dirty dishes moving around in the kitchen and asked me to buy a trap on the way home from going to the movies. So, instead of buying the kinds that slam shut, we bought a kind with sticky, gummy stuff (meaning we have to kill it afterward). Although we put down two traps with two different kinds of cheese, we still came home to nothing.

Tonight as I was sitting on the couch waiting for José Luis to arrive again (story of my life), I saw it run across the living room then back into the kitchen. After that incident, I thought it might be a good time to take Miel for a walk.

Later tonight, José Luis and I were playing around on my computer when Candi told us to come quick because she saw not only one, but two mice run under the couch. José Luis was trying to explain to us that it was going to take all three of us to kill them, to which we responded with a very weak, "Ok." So we trapped them in between the couches, armed with only a broom and dustpan. When the first one made a run for it, José Luis smashed it up against the window with the broom, killing it effortlessly. The second one, however, figured out how to get out of our trap and headed for the kitchen. José Luis happened to be quicker and hit it with the broom as well. This one didn't give up the fight as easily, though. It got up and tried to start running again, but José Luis responded by stomping on it.

Although our floor was left smeared with bloody mouse guts, at least we are rid of them. José Luis told us that those were only babies and that there has to be a mother somewhere. He also mentioned the tiny detail that bigger ones will hiss and jump at you, making them much harder to kill. And the whole time we're thinking, "Great." He told us the biggest problem is Miel's food being on the floor all the time and that we need to start putting it in something that the mice can't get into and only feeding her certain times of the day to solve the problem.

I certainly hope that works, because I am still scared to even put my feet on the floor...