Beloved Abishael

On May 6, 2012, Abishael Lechuga Greenlee came out into the world.  We had planned for a home birth, with Abraham's grandmother - an experienced midwife - in attendance.  Labor started at about 11:30 p.m. May 5th and continued throughout the night, not intensifying but also not subsiding enough to let me sleep hardly at all.

The contractions really intensified at 5:30 on Sunday afternoon.  My mother-in-law, Abraham, and his grandmother all encouraged, exhorted, and instructed me through three hours of heavy labor, but finally Grandmother Esperanza said that we should go to the hospital.  Abraham called the Red Cross ambulance, and we were soon on our way.

At the first hospital where the ambulance stopped, the same hospital where Abraham had his emergency appendix operation almost a year ago, we couldn't enter, because there was a party in process.  The ambulance continued down the street to the hospital where we had gotten Abishael's second ultrasound.

The doctor checked where Abishael's head was and also listened to his heart.  Signs showed that the baby was still fine, so we went ahead with natural birth.  They put in an epidural to relax tense muscles to give me relief and to allow the baby to exit.  We knew about the cord wrapped around his neck, but another complication had arisen in that Abishael had slightly turned his head.  With medical help, he was able to come out very soon after our arrival, at 10:30 p.m.

All his vital signs were normal, so soon we were transferred to our room.  The following day in the afternoon, we checked out of the hospital and returned home.  My mother-in-law stayed with us until Wednesday, helping us adjust to having our newborn.  I still had swollen feet and hands and of course was still recovering from the extremely long labor.  It took several days to return to almost normal.

Please pray for us as we learn to be parents.  Pray that we raise our boy in the way the God calls us to.  Please pray also that we can arrange for some way for my parents to meet Abishael.  Travel is difficult for my mother, but getting a visa for Abraham to go to the United States so that we can meet there is also very difficult.

Memorizing

When my parents visited in September, we asked them to bring some Bibles.  They brought down 50 copies of the Bible Dios Habla Hoy, a version accepted by the Catholic church.

Our goal is to give them all away.  One of the ways that the kids who come on Sunday afternoons can earn a Bible is by scripture memorization. 

These Bibles aren't for keeping

At the end of December, we told the kids they could win one by memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 before Valentine´s Day.  Two girls began to regularly visit our home during the week so that we could help them memorize.  We didn´t just focus on them learning the verses, we also spent time discussing their meaning.  After a short time, one of the girls gave up memorizing, although she still continued to come.

On Valentine´s Day, Zalma successfully recited the chapter, and she won her Bible along with some other small gifts.  We took her picture and posted it in the room so that other kids could see that memorization is possible, although it requires work.

The next passages that we selected were Isaiah 42:1-9 and Jeremiah 31:31-34.  We told the kids they had until Easter to memorize.  Again, the same two girls came to our home, and we helped them memorize and understand the verses.  This time neither girl gave up.  They both practiced extensively.  Abraham suggested that Six, Ken, he, and I also commit the verses to memory during the assigned time, and I didn't have to work very hard at it, because I was the one who was with the girls most often.

Zalma and Nati recited the verses on Easter Sunday, Nati glowing from the success of having stuck with the work and seen the results of her persistance.  She was very pleased to receive her Bible, and we gave Zalma a different gift, since she had previously won a Bible.

The next passage is John 1:1-14, and the kids have until the end of May to work on those verses.  One of our neighbor girls, who frequently comes to our home during the week (along with her sisters, niece and nephews who come for reading class) already knows all the verses by heart.  She only has to continue reviewing so that she doesn't forget them before the end of May.

We hope and pray that other children will be encouraged to memorize and that the verses won't just be in their minds but will also affect their hearts.  Neither Zalma nor Nati have accepted Jesus into their hearts, and their home situation is worse than any soap opera, but they now both have Bibles, which we emphasized are for using, and they both have some scripture in their minds.

Please pray specifically for those two girls and their families.  They very recently moved to another town, where they live in dangerous and unwholesome conditions.  Other children have told us that they continue to come to Huejotzingo, but only for their catechism class.  We have not seen them since they moved.

Full term

Most of these don't tell me much...

The report with the ultrasound

Abraham and I went for our baby's second ultrasound last night.  The doctor showed us several different views of our little one, and said that as far as he can tell, Baby is doing well.  The only problem is that the umbilical cord is still wrapped once around Baby's neck, just as it was when we went for the ultrasound two months ago.  The doctor told us that when the cord has been wrapped around the baby's neck since early on, chances are that there is less problem - the cord is longer - than if the baby manages to wrap the cord late in the pregnancy.

Since we hope that Baby can be born at home with Abraham's grandmother as midwife, it is encouraging to see the continued health and growth.  We will be visiting a doctor in Cholula for a check-up tomorrow.

A basket of baby goodies

A small sampling of the clothing

The church Dios es Amor arranged a baby shower a few weeks ago, and we received a supply of diapers, wipes, creams, and other useful items from the church ladies.  A few weeks later, the mothers and teachers of Puebla Christian School organized a second shower.  They provided more of the consumable items, along with some toys, clothes, a highchair, and other such baby paraphernalia.  

We found this rocking chair cheaply at a flea market

People ask us, "Are you ready for the baby to be born?"  How to respond?  Yes and no.  Can anyone really be ready for a tiny, completely dependent child to come into their lives?  Who can predict how many sleepless nights, how many scrapes and bruises, how many temper tantrums, how much change will come into their lives?  Yet, of course, we are looking forward to seeing our baby's face, to cuddling, hugging, and kissing, to loving and training and learning how to be the parents God wants us to be.

Please pray for us that the remaining time with Baby inside will go well, and that he or she can be born without complications.  Pray also that we will be the parents God plans for us to be.  This is a life-long prayer.

The Ten Commandments?

The 10 Commandments in the children's catechism book:

1. I am the Lord your God:  you shall not have strange Gods before me.

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.

 

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. 

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

The 10 Commandments from Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 (including in the Catholic Bibles):

1. I am the Lord your God.  You shall have no other gods before Me. 

2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. 

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 

5. Honor your father and your mother. 

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery. 

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Visiting various churches, cathedrals, and homes, the reason for the change in the commandments is obvious.

Reading classes

When we moved to Huejotzingo almost a year ago, Abraham and I put up notices advertising that we would teach classes in our home.  We offered English, drawing, and general tutoring.  Six and Ken contributed with classes in sewing, guitar, and piano.  At first, several people came for English classes.  They came for about a month, and then they disappeared.  Now I only have one student for English class, and she doesn't come very regularly.  I help her with her English homework.

Ken has two piano students, and Six has one sewing student.  The piano and sewing students are in the same family, and their son comes for drawing class with me.

Within the last three weeks, a new set of students began to come to our home.

A large family lives on the corner of our street, and the girls come regularly to the Sunday afternoon kids' club, often bringing one or two of their toddler nieces and nephews.  None of the kids in that family attend school, although some of them used to.  One of the girls knows how to read very well, but her next younger and next older sister do not know how to.

Practicing writing

We offered to teach them to read, and that Tuesday morning, they came.  Using a curriculum called Mas Luz, I began teaching them simple syllables, sending home note cards with the same syllables so that the girls can keep reviewing.  While I work with each girl individually, the other one practices writing.  Their sister who knows how to read uses our desktop computer to learn typing.  She also works math problems with Abraham.

Reviewing syllables

The girls come three mornings a week, often with a niece or nephew (or two) in tow.  They work on their lessons, and then they stay to play and talk until we send them back home.

Last weekend, a lady knocked at our door, asking about reading lessons for her 6-year-old daughter.  The girl attends school and her mother works on reading at home too, but still the girl doesn't now how to read.  She started class with me on Tuesday afternoon.  Her second class will be Saturday morning, and we will probably add another class on Wednesdays.

Two other students have had a couple of reading lessons with me, but they haven't yet had more.  Abraham and I visit their house every Friday afternoon, and while Abraham does a Bible study with two of the adults, I had reading class with a third adult and her daughter.  The girl has never attended school, and she is completely unaccustomed to sitting down to do any sort of studying, so working with her is very challenging.  Next time we go, I will start out by reading a story and try to help her see the connection between being able to read the story and the lessons.

Abraham and I visit another family every Friday night.  None of their children attend school, although some of them did for awhile, but not long enough to be proficient readers.  I take a different picture book with me every time we go, and 6-year-old Lupe's first question is always, "Where is the book?"  I read aloud to her, and her younger nephew and brother always crowd close, wanting to hear too.  After reading to Lupe, I pass the book to her next older brother, and then usually her oldest sister also wants to read it, too.  Lupe also wants to be read to on Sunday afternoons, and soon I plan to start teaching her sound-symbol relationships so that she will be able to read to herself some day.

Please pray that these classes will continue.  They are a way for us to reach out to people in our neighborhood and offer them a skill that will be useful throughout their lives.  Pray also that these classes will be more than just academic help - that they would be a way for us to be Jesus' hands and feet.

The carnival

February 18th the internationally famous carnival of Huejotzingo began.  Tourists from Peru, Columbia, and other countries came to see the annual reenactment of the Battle of Cinco de Mayo and another local battle fought between a group of bandits and a magistrate and his army.  The carnival began in 1869 and has been celebrated every year since during the four days before Ash Wednesday.  Throughout the carnival, battalions of "warriors" - called huehues or zacapoaxtlas - fight mock battles, expending tons of gun powder, rocking the air with the constant explosions.  There are also dances, accompanied by lively music from local bands.  In addition, there is a "wedding" held between the daughter of the magistrate and the bandit, Agustin Lorenzo, and there are several parades.

Many of the participants also pass the days drinking heavily, often choosing cheap liquor.  Accidents and even deaths are common.  This year the low estimate of accidents recorded was 50, although other news sources report more than 60.  The excellent news is that no one died.

Although thousands of locals participate, and tourists also flock to see the mock battles and reenactments, Abraham and I decided to steer as clear as we could of the festivities.  The extreme noise, the danger of injury, and the amount of drunks wandering the streets with their loaded rifles helped us decide to stay out of the main part of the festival which was held in the town square (zocalo).  There was no way to avoid all of the commotion, because groups of costumed participants constantly passed the house, and we did go out every now and then. 

On the last day of the carnival, a group of huehues had brunch at a home near ours

Children often begin participating when they are very young

The huehues use masks and wigs along with their highly embroidered costumes

The cheapest costumes cost around 25,000 pesos, while more expensive ones cost around 50,000

In one day, around 10 tons of gun powder were exploded

Horses take part in the parades and battles

There are 5 different types of costumes: zapadores, turcos, zuavos, zacapoaxtlas and indios

 

The rifles are elaborately carved and hand painted

The schools let out during the carnival, although school bands join in parades

Love never fails

Happy dia de amor y amistad to everyone.  I like Mexico's emphasis on love which includes friendship and family in the celebration, rather than just the romantic love of couples.  I am daily thankful for my Valentine, the best friend and companion that God could have given me.  We will be celebrating with dinner at home today.  

Yesterday we had a wonderful blessing from one of the girls who has been coming on Sunday afternoons almost as long as the mission has been open.  Her home life is one of the most tragic I have personally seen, and sadly Abraham and I recently learned of a new tragedy in her immediate family.  She doesn't know about it yet, and we are praying for her and her family.  

Her heart has been very wounded by the problems she has suffered, and her attitude is often harsh and difficult.  She once told Six that she doesn't believe in God, because if he existed, she wouldn't have suffered as she has.  Up to this point, she continues to feel this way.  We have, however, seen some encouraging advances, and yesterday was one of those.

A couple months ago, we told the children that they could win a Bible if they memorized 1 Corinthians 13.  We offered to help them memorize if they came by the house during the week.  This girl and her cousin were the only ones who did, but they only came a few times, and then both decided they didn't want to keep memorizing.

After a time, Abraham set the deadline of February 14th for those who wanted to memorize the passage and win the Bible and another prize.  On Sunday I asked the girl if she was ready to say the chapter, and she said not really, that she had forgotten all she had previously memorized.  I told her that if she reviewed a few times at home, she would probably discover that she still remembered most of what she had learned.

Yesterday she came.  She reviewed the passage a few times, and then she was able to say the whole chapter from memory.  We discussed what the verses meant, and then she received her prize.  Our prayer is that this scripture will take root and grow in her heart, and that she can let go of her sorrow and bitterness to run to the arms of Love.  We also pray that other children will be encouraged by her example of success and that they too will commit scripture to memory.

...faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love!

Pregnant in Huejotzingo part 2

Baby Lechuga - rather hard to tell exactly what the images show...

The written report of the ultrasound

Monday was the medical day.  Abraham and I took the bus to Cholula, about 35 minutes away from Huejotzingo, in order for me to have a blood and urine test and then my first ultrasound.  The tests, of course, had to be fasting, so we went as early as possible in the morning.  During the ultrasound, the doctor confirmed that Baby Lechuga is growing well, and we saw and heard the heartbeat.  Abraham remembered to tell the doctor that we want Baby's gender to be a surprise.  As she moved the sensor around, the doctor said, "Are you sure you don't want to know?  I can see so clearly!"  When we affirmed that we do not want to know ahead of time, she good naturedly complained, "Couples come in, and they want to know, and the baby hides.  Yours is clear, and you don't want to know."

She estimated the due date to be May 1, about 2 weeks after what I had thought.  She told us that all is well, but I do have to be careful to notice if Baby either stops moving entirely or begins to move frantically, because the umbilical cord is wrapped one time around his/her neck.  There is still plenty of time for the baby to either dislodge the cord with gymnastics, or wind it up more with the same.

Abraham went for the other medical results yesterday afternoon, and the doctor said I'm in good health.  If everything continues well, I can have our baby at home.  Excellent news!

On Monday afternoon, after returning from Cholula, we still had the doctor's appointment at the general hospital in Huejotzingo.  Those appointments we schedule in order to have a record of my existence and the progress of the pregnancy should an emergency occur during our baby's birth.  Cholula is too far away.

We waited in line almost an hour for the nurse to take my weight, blood pressure, and pulse, and then we joined several others to wait for the general practitioner.  That wait was another 2 hours.  When it was our turn, the doctor checked baby's heartbeat and my ankles to look for swelling.  He said my due date is May 15th.  I think I prefer the due date given by the ultrasound doctor.

Thank you for your continued prayers.  We are blessed.

Pregnant in Huejotzingo

 I'm not entirely sure anymore how far along I am.  Yesterday Abraham and I went to a doctor that some friends had recommended, and he said maybe I was a bit less far along than I had thought.  He insisted that an ultrasound is necessary, along with routine blood work to see that I have no infections that I may not be aware of.  All standard practice in many countries in this day and age.  However, several things about this pregnancy haven't been according to the "normal" American pregnancy.  As I read What to Expect When You are Expecting and also the facebook posts of some friends who are also due about when I am, I sometimes chuckle and sometimes feel a nagging worry.

The book glibly talks about my "pregnancy team."  According to the book this team consists of my ob-gyn, general practitioner, and any specialists, as well, perhaps, as a fully licensed midwife.  In theory.  Until yesterday, Abraham and I hadn't even found a doctor, much less any specialists or ob-gyns.  My first doctor "visit" was at about 2 months pregnant in the home of my mother-in-law with a doctor friend of hers.  He, however, was not a good option for continued care, because traveling to see him requires a two hour bus ride.

Option number two was a gynecologist here in Huejotzingo who we visited shortly after seeing the first doctor.   She was kind and professional and ordered normal medical tests to be done.  The problem with her was that she then left the country, not to return until July. 

One of our choices all along was my Mexican grandmother who served as a midwife for more than twenty years (although she has no medical certificate).  Her experience is vast and varied, and she is not hesitant to send women to the hospital in case of an emergency.  Abraham, Six, and I traveled to the near-by city of San Martin to see her.  She is somewhere in her 80's, although no one knows for sure her exact age.  When we asked her if she would attend the birth of our child, she said no.  She is too old.

We were stymied for awhile.  We kept an eye out for gynecological practices in Huejotzingo, but we didn't see any.  We joined the Seguro Popular (socialized health insurance), and when I was about 5 months along, we went to my first appointment at the general hospital.

Abraham waited in line at the hospital from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. just to get the appointment time, and then he called me to say to hurry over.  Shortly after I arrived, a nurse began weighing, taking blood pressure, and measuring the height of all the people waiting for appointments.  That done, we were told where to wait for the doctor.  Turns out that no pregnant woman in Huejotzingo sees a gynecologist until her 8th month, or possibly up to the last week before her due date.  Until that time, her case is handled by a general practitioner.

After almost two hours of waiting, we passed into the doctor's office.  The medical check-up consisted of the doctor staying seated on his side of the desk while we sat on the other side and he asked questions.  He asked me if I had felt the baby move, and when I said I didn't know, that this is my first child, he laughed.  After about 15 minutes, he handed me the appointment card for a check-up in January, and we left.

Last week, Abraham and I decided to pay another visit to my Mexican grandmother.  She gently massaged my stomach, asked about the baby's movements (which I can now definitely feel), and expressed concern that the baby wasn't big enough for six months.  We talked with her some more, and she finally agreed to assist with the birth if she's still alive then.  

The doctor we saw yesterday inspired much more confidence than the doctor in Huejotzingo.  His office is in Cholula which takes between 30 and 40 minutes to get to by bus.  We will continue to go to his office for check-ups, and on Monday I will have my first ultrasound.  We will also continue to go to the general hospital in Huejotzingo, not because we intend to have the baby there, since we'd rather have him or her delivered at home, but just in case an emergency arises.  That hospital is the closest.

The adventure continues.  Please pray for the health and growth of our baby and for whatever medical care may be necessary.  Pray also for peace when worry threatens.

Dryness in Huejotzingo

The dead vegetation by a road near our house

The dirt road in front of our house

 In this part of Mexico, there are two seasons: dry and wet.  The wet season lasts from the end of April or beginning of May through the end of September or beginning of October.  Occasional showers may still fall towards the end of October.  During that season, rain arrives almost every day, usually in torrents with lightening and thunder.  All the plants turn green, weeds grow ceaselessly, and the roads become rivers -  muddy rivers if they aren't paved.

Not long after the rains taper off, the green begins to disappear.  Unpaved roads become powdery dust.  Brown swiftly fills the scene and stays for the remainder of the dry season.  A few hardy pines still show welcome green, but all the other vegetation dies.  The landscape transforms from the flowers, leaves, and grass of the wet season to bleakness.

In late December or early January, cold winds start to sweep down from the volcanoes.  They lift gritty dust in clouds, and the dirt flies into yards and homes and covers every surface in a fine layer.  How welcome is the refreshing, cleansing rain when it returns in its season.

The dry season is like the spiritual lives of many people in our neighborhood.  They continue in the dryness of rituals and traditions that cannot give them life.  The years are cycles of worship of a variety of saints and of Mary, but a life-giving relationship with Jesus does not exist.

Please pray that we will bring the living water to the people of Huejotzingo.