Best of Small Town-Church

I cannot leave Small Town with out a post about what church has been like for me. One thing I love so much about my church is that everyone has the opportunity to participate in one way or another; sometimes as a teacher, sometimes in a leadership position, sometimes working in the nursery with the little kids. There are constant opportunities for growth and learning.

Here in Small Town I have had the chance to work with the women's organization called the Relief Society. When I am not chasing my kids around, visiting the big shrimp or monkeys, or blogging :), I am usually working on church stuff. It often feels like a part-time job, but in a good way. There have been times when I have been so bored or lonely or both that it was the only thing I had other than my family.

The Mexican women have been so kind to me despite the fact that I am a "gringa" and don't speak their language perfectly. They have let me in to their homes and have shared their heartbreaks and triumphs with me. Last week they had a farewell for me; they sat around in a circle and each one took a turn to tell me what they appreciated about me, something they learned from me, or some memory of something we had done as a group. It was very moving for me as I don't think we are very open like that in the States.

So, I wanted to share some photos of some of the things we have done the last two years.

Our church emphasizes food storage and emergency preparation; not in a "doomsday" kind of way but more of a "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear" way. After a couple of unique experiences in Venezuela, I am a huge fan of these concepts, and so when I saw they hadn't caught on too much down here, I bought a Mylar pouch sealer machine from the States, learned how to use it, and then taught them how to dry pack food:



We did this in my home every month. Some months only one or two women would show up, but at least it was a start.

We had cooking classes:



We made hygiene kits for victims of Hurricane Stan:



One of the most memorable activities was last Christmas. We collected new underwear, socks, and sandals for 96 kids living at a local orphanage. This was so much work, but well worth it.

Here we are at my house before we delivered the gifts:



delivering the gifts:



The kids we gave the gifts to:



Each one came up and gave a kiss to the woman who had their gift; it was so sweet:



And then there were activities that aren't photo-worthy, but much more worthy in substance. One woman I worked with is a psychologist and she gave numerous classes to try to raise the self-esteem of the woman. Our purpose in offering such classes were, first, to try to break the cycle of poverty that is so prevalent here; the number of young teenage girls that got pregnant in the last two years was very disturbing. And second, so that wives won't find it acceptable when their husbands abuse them. Luckily this dear friend of mine will be staying in Small Town and continue working on issues like these.

It has been a lot of hard work last 2 years and I feel tired, but happy. It has strengthened my belief that you will love those whom you serve; you can't help but love them. Even though I am ready to leave Small Town, it is hard to leave so many people that care about me and my family.
(On the other hand, my kids can't wait to go to an English-speaking ward in Big City Mexico. They have never gone to Primary in their own language other than on vacation!)