NEW DISCOVERIES

Hey! We've been in Tampico for five months. We are learning new things all the time. Thought we'd share a few of them.



We have a pepper tree growing in front among the avocado tree and the lemon tree. Didn't know that black pepper grows on trees.

I did this 999 piece puzzle (lost one piece). It was fun. Jeff was glad for the computer time.

We've discovered that when Jeff hit the gate in a downpour of a rainstorm a couple of Saturday's ago and ripped off our side mirror, it was a good thing. It led to our meeting our Elder's Quorum president in the branch who is now our new mechanic. He was able to resourcefully fix the mirror and charged us less than five bucks. And when he changed the oil in the car and saw how dirty the oil was, he informed us that the gas in Mexico is very bad and we need to use the premium. Another discovery.

The best time to drive is on Sunday, especially Sunday mornings. Not as much traffic. Driving to Church is so nice. After Church, we usually have appointments and have been traveling to some of the outlying areas. The roads there are worse, there are even fewer street signs, and it's a little less modern than Tampico. We wish we would have remembered to bring the camera. Anyway, we are very pleased with ourselves because last Sunday, we were able to find an address in one of these outlying areas without a map, and only by learning the general area from a branch member and by stopping a couple of times to ask directions along the way. (A hard thing for Jeff) When we got there, no one was home. A common event. But we were so happy that we even found the place, we didn't care. We've had some earlier stressful experiences--like driving around for 2 1/2 hours and not finding an address that was on the map and getting lost. We won't talk about that.

Moving on to other new discoveries---Mole. Hma. Christel invited us to dinner yesterday and served us Mole. It was great. Couldn't tell you exactly what it is--a type of sauce served over chicken. Today we tried "Enchiladas" at Sanborn's--not anything like the enchiladas we're used to, but very good. We've also discovered a new restaurant--Pipilos. It serves very good local dishes buffet style.

Shopping. Sister Bentley, the temple matron, took me and Sister Call to the mercado. It's a little outdoor market place that comes to the street by the institute every Thursday. Pres. Martinez took us there once and told us it was the best place to buy fruit. Sister Bentley convinced us it's the best place to find clothes, especially modest, missionary-appropriate clothing. Most of the clothing is used, some of it new. It comes from the United States as we see "Goodwill" and "Deseret Industries" and"Ross" and other store tags on some of the clothing. She convinced us to try some clothes on over our clothing to see if they fit. So we did. I picked up 2 skirts and a jacket for about $20. Good deal.

The Mexican people are so resourceful. At a carnival activity, darts for the balloon game were made from straws, straight pins and hot glue. They worked great. Rings were made from packing tape only. A friend went to pick fruit from a tall tree with a milk jug and old broom handle. Vendors on the street, "in" the street, actually, will wash your windshield, even replace wipers while you wait at the light. Other vendors sell candy, toys, balls, fans, etc. etc. There's even flame throwers, jugglers, and entertainers all in the streets hoping to earn some pesos from those stopped at the red lights.
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This is Luis. He's 13. Jeff and I teach him English once a week. We usually come up with a game to play as Luis isn't always interested in learning the usual ways. He's a good kid and we really like to teach him.

Can you tell today is wash day?

We're having our ups and downs, but we love the students, teaching English, visiting, and especially teaching Book of Mormon. We feel very blessed to be here. We feel more at home all the time.