Good Fruit - A Photo Jounral

Pomegranate

Litches

Tuna (from the cactus)


Vaina - Genecuitl

Pitaya


Guayaba

Granada China


Grape inside a hairy strawberry

Dragon Fruit

Love, Joy, Peace,

Patience, Kindness, Goodness,

Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control

The Gran Café de la Parroquia Experience

Some experiences are just so rich in culture that they beg to be experienced. For example going to the market to see the hog heads and skinned chickens. Or taking the early morning bus downtown and being squeezed in like sardines. Or going for cemitas at Carmen’s to watch hundreds of sandwiches being made assemble line style. The girls, Diana and I had just one such experience when we stopped by the Gran Café de la Parroquia for a coffee.

We didn’t just go to any Café de la Parroquia but to the Orginal Café established in 1808. Let me tell you just finding a table was a challenge. We fought our way into the mob, craned our necks for a place to sit, and finally staked our claim on a sidewalk table near the marimba band. The place was crowded with patrons, passersby, venders and musicians. We placed our order, four lecheros (coffee and milk), and sat back to take it all in.

The marimba players were camped out on the corner wailing on their instruments. They were loud; we could hardly here each other talk; it was great. While we waited and listened, there was an endless parade of venders coming by our table.

In Mexico sidewalk vending is the norm, but it took some getting used to for us. Funny thing is the establishments don’t seem to mind. Could you imagine eating at a restaurant in the States, and someone off the streets trying to sell you a desert? Anyway, we persisted, saying “no” to candy, shirts, watches, cigars, sunglasses and even a check of our blood pressure. But we broke down when it came to the carved and painted bookmarks. Hey, it’s all part of the experience.

Presently the waiter came with our coffee. About an inch of strong black coffee served in a glass. Then a second waiter brought a pot of hot milk. Starting at glass level he poured gradually lifting it until he was pouring from a foot above the glass. It was quite a show, a great glass of coffee, and a grand experience at the Gran Café de la Parroquia.

Doors And Angels

It’s a swirl of activity here as most celebrate Holy Week in one way or another. One special activity during this time is the welcoming of Víctor Sánchez Espinosa as the new bishop to Puebla. To commemorate his appointment the huge doors at the cathedral which remain closed for years at time are opened for the week. Any who pass through these doors, make confession to a priest, and take the wafer of Christ’s body are forgiven of all their past sins.

We on the other hand will take a more low key approach to Resurrection Day. Our Passover was scrubbed due to colds and stomach bugs, but we do plan on meeting with the Church and observing the Lord’s Table. For us that means an opportunity to remember the body of Christ given up to the cross and the shedding of His blood. It also means an opportunity to examine our own lives to make sure we are entering into all the riches He gave us when we were rescued from the empty way of life handed down to us from our forefathers. It’s a time of reflection, but also definitely a time of celebration.

Did you ever consider the events of the cross and resurrection from the perspective of the angels? Randy Alcorn does that in his fiction Deadline. It’s well worth the read and consideration. Here’s a small portion as one of the angels describes it:

“And just when we thought Elyon (a Hebrew name for God) could not surpass this greatest miracle with another, there came the greater one…That little hill, where little men were permitted to do unspeakable things to Elyon’s Son. My comrades and I jammed against the portal, begging permission to break through and strike down the cowards, to unleash the relentless wrath of heaven’s army. We longed to raise our swords as one, to destroy every atom of the dark world. All that was in us thirsted for revenge. We ached to once and for all obliterate that cancer of rebellion against the Most High God.

“Here were these puny men obsessed with the offenses of others against them, while themselves committing the ultimate offense of the universe, driving nails through the flesh of God. We longed to make them eat the dust of the ground and vomit clay. Any one of us could have struck them all down, and we yearned to do it. Millions of us, legion upon legion, crowded forward, from every corner of heaven, pressing and pushing, crying out and begging leave to destroy those who would dare to curse and mock and savage the holy Lamb of God.

“But Michael would not permit us…For Elyon would not permit him…We writhed in agony…We had never thought such pain possible here in the perfect realm. And yet we grew to know- though not completely understand – that all this was necessary to meet the demands of Elyon’s justice and His love. He did not need us to rescue Him. With a single word, with merely a thought He could have unmade all men, destroyed the universe, purged all creation of the ugliness that nailed him to that cross. But He did not. He would not. He did not go there to be rescued. He went there to rescue.”

Kenya: Take It From Someone Who’s Been There

As most of you know Daniel is planning a mission trip into Kenya this summer. What most of you don’t know is that his cousin Josiah has been there for the last two summers. Last year when Josiah posted during his trip I thought to myself, “This is good stuff, I’ve got to get this on my blog”, little knowing that Daniel would want to be in the middle of it one year later. Here is Josiah’s perspective:

“I think probably the most impactful thing about this trip so far has just been seeing all the injustice going on in Kenya. This trip has really opened my eyes to some very horrible and grotesque things going on in this world. Things that I know most of America is completely unaware of. Things that I don’t really like to think about much less write about, but nevertheless they are happening in the world that you and I live in. And that has been a huge wake up call to me personally.

“But yet, then I look around after hearing about these things and these people do have hope....and these people do have joy. I don’t pretend to know these people’s hearts, but I would argue that these people have 10x more joy than most of us living in America. And I’m not talking about a cheap fake joy either. The kind that simply embraces the good and ignores the bad (there is plenty of that in America). I am talking about a real joy that only comes from God. A joy not based on circumstances. A joy that only comes from trusting God in whatever trials that occur. I don’t pretend to understand this joy, but nevertheless I know I am not making it up because this joy is very, very evident in these people’s lives.

“We are going to see Kibera on Saturday. Approx. 1 million people live there and it is only 600 acres big. That is approx 1,700 people per acre. Most of these people have HIV/AIDS and there is absolutely no one who is not affected by it. Needless to say, people there live in extreme poverty. But one thing that is amazing is that after we walk through there, and all of us feel so helpless and so discouraged, the Kenyan ladies from church who are guiding us through can always turn around with hope in their eyes and say "But God is so much bigger than all of this."

“The Kenyan people we work with are really amazing in that they can look at something like Kibera, and yet still have hope, because they know who they trust in....and they understand how big their God is...”

There you have it from someone who has been there. It sounds life changing to me.