Flores, Frutas y Verduras

We thought we would give you a glimpse of the abundance of tropical flowers that are here. Interestingly, Guadalajara is at the same latitude as the Hawaiian Islands! It’s easy to believe because of just how green it is, not to mention how vibrant the flowers are. What, did you guys really think Mexico was all desert and tacos? Well, there's a bird of paradise on the right, and that's a hibiscus below!

Today was a good service day. We met two sisters (who are also sisters) named Alejandra and Monica and we got to know them well as we went door-to-door. In the afternoon, we went with Lizbet and a guy named Danny. Danny is from California, and has only lived here for 6 months. His family is in America and the U.S. won’t let him come back to be with them. It’s a really sad situation, but he seems to being doing very well spiritually. So we went to the tiangis and talked to people on the streets on the way there. Danny talked to a nice guy who spoke English and they had a nice discussion.

The tiangis is really cool. It’s full of hand-crafted things, like beautiful jewelry (no maracas though, sorry mommy). It’s pretty cheap, but even their cheap prices are hiked up a little bit. We ate lunch there and it was really delicious food. Kate had a carne asada taco that was HUGE and Kelsey ate a quesadilla frita. We both liked it a lot. While we were there, there was a lady across from us with huge fingernails. That’s a pretty typical Mexican thing, but these were extra sparkly and huge and gaudy! We'll spare you the candid picture Kelsey snapped...after all, this is a family website. However, check out this cute little puppy on the roof of the pet shop (he may be tough to see, so click on the picture to make it bigger). Dogs like this are fairly common here and are aptly called "roof dogs."

Another thing they had at the tiangis was a whole bunch of different kinds of fruits and vegetables. They even have certain types of fruits that you can't find in the states (and we've never seen them before). We’re getting used to the culture here, and looking forward to having more to tell you. Even our feet are getting used to all the walking. Who knows, maybe you’ll be motivated to come and help out too! It’s nice to see so many people willing to sacrifice comfort to serve where they’re needed more. We can see so much zeal and happiness for the ministry here, and that’s definitely rubbing off on us. The people here are here because they want to be! They don’t just exist, they really live. They don't just go in service, they spend time doing it right. They’ve been such an inspiration for us. It seems like we've been here forever, and yet that we just arrived. And now, we only have one more week and we look forward to it with mixed emotions.

Until next time...

Kate and K3LSO