La Tienda - Random Memories

La Tienda means a little store.  It could be the 7-Eleven type, or a neighbor's garage that they converted into a small store, like this:

La Tienda is the center of activities for stay-at-home wives/moms, and it's where you learn what is going on in your neighborhood.  There is usually one person who is attending the tienda about 90% of the time - it's an unfortunate job because they don't get out much, as most tiendas are open from around 7 or 8 am to 10 or 11pm.  But, the tienda owner is usually the most informed person in the neighborhood.  Most people go to the tienda at least 5 or 6 times per week - it's hard to find 24-packs of Coke or family size bags of chips here, so when you need a snack, you just go to the tienda.  It's just down the street anyway!

When I first moved to Mexico and was living with Gaby and her kids, we always went to the same tienda, and we went everyday.  The owner looked EXACTLY like the rather obnoxious presidential candidate at the time, so we called him Peje (PEH-hay), which was that candidate's nickname.  Peje knew everyone who came into the his tienda, and what we liked to buy.  (He DIDN'T know that lots of people in the neighborhood had a nickname for him though!)  When I lived with Luis and Sandy, the nearest tienda was in a poorer neighborhood (Luis and Sandy's neighborhood was new, and didn't have a tienda yet).  I was the one who had a nickname there - Whitey.  There was an older couple that owned that store, and they would see me coming through the window.  I could hardly understand the man because he didn't really have teeth, and was hard to understand, so when he would see me coming he'd yell to his wife, "Here comes Whitey!" so she would attend me! 

At JP and I's first house, Chava and his wife Juanita owned the tienda.  This tienda had EVERYTHING.  Besides the normal chips, pop, yougurt, bread, etc., they also  had a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables (this is not common at tiendas), as well as anything else you may ever think you might want.  Juanita also called my the Whitey, which was strange because she and her daughter are as white as I am!  Juanita would spend time talking to me about their family's trip to Disneyland, asking when my parents are coming to visit again (my mom and Juanita had a great smile and point method of communication going on), and finding out what JP and I liked to do for fun.  She also always knew who moved away, who it was that stole the neighbor's car last week, and whose dog is the one pooping on the sidewalk all the time. 

Now, we're living in another neighborhood, and a guy named Luis is the tienda owner.  He and JP lend each other DVDs, and I always give him a bad time about his favorite soccer team.  We all talk about how bad the Mexican National Soccer team is playing, our favorite music, and snacks that existed in the 80's when Luis and JP were little, but don't exist anymore.

So, we're moving again.  Because neighbors tend to not be super friendly in Queretaro (they aren't rude, but everyone kind of keeps to themselves, except the tienda owners!), the tienda owners are the people I always miss when I move.  BUT, we're moving back to the same house we lived in 2008-2011, so I went yesterday to tell Chava and Juanita that we would be back!  So while we have to say goodbye to Luis and our soccer team bashing, we are moving to a place where we know the tienda owners and they know us.  And that's important here.  You belong in the neighborhood when you get to know the tienda owners! 

Anyhow, just some random thoughts from me today!

Going to "Edgar"

JP and I have been going to a particular economical "home cookin's" restaurant since probably before we started dating.  The place has a name, but we just call it "Edgar," because that's the owner's name.  Edgar and his wife, Monica, make the BEST healthy-ish Mexican food ever!  They've had so much business over the years that they now have three locations, and also provide the food to feed the illegal immigrants housed at Immigration every day (that's a whole nother blog topic...)

Shortly after we returned from the US in June, we noticed that Monica was wearing a scarf over her head all the time, and had lost a lot of weight.  Then we found out that she had cancer and was going through chemo.  We prayed with her and Edgar before she went to her operation in Mexico City.  They believe in God, but have always been taught that you can get to heaven by being good and partaking the sacraments.  They were wary of "salvation by grace."

Yesterday, we went back to Edgar after about a month of not going.  Monica had her hair in a cute curly girly style, and her operation had been a success, she is cancer free!  We thanked God with her that He cured her.  We also mentioned that we are going to be starting a Bible study with business owners in mind, and we'd like to invite her and Edgar.  Monica was VERY interested in this.  She said she knew it was good to read the Bible, but she just doesn't know how to understand it.  This is the same thing that Guadalupe, the storage unit administrator who accepted Christ with us, had said.  So the we're thinking the focus of the study first should be about how to and why read the Bible. 

Please pray that we may soon have a place to meet (like the living room of our house, or someone else's house) for this important study for business owners!  And thank God with us that Monica's cancer is GONE!  :)

Linguistics, Coffee, and Christ

Last week, JP and I had the opportunity to help out our friends Phil and Sandy, who also work with International Teams, with a new aspect of their cafe ministry to college students.  They run a super cool coffee shop - RenovArte - right in front of the Arts buildings of the main campus of Queretaro State University.  This university has around 25,000 students studying at several campuses in Queretaro. Phil and Sandy were asked to "sponsor" the Mexican Association of Applied Linguistics seminar at the Linguistics campus on the outskirts of town (not the campus their cafe is near), as 500 students and staff from around Mexico, and even some from other countries, would be coming to the campus for three days, and surely they would want coffee.  "Sponsoring" an event like this doesn't mean donating a service, just being there and selling your goods.  So this was a great opportunity for them.  So, since they couldn't leave their main campus cafe understaffed, JP and I, and three other girls, went to help out.

Ere (a student at the Linguistics campus, also works evenings at RenovArte), Sandy, Phil, and Jessica

The event went from 8am to 8pm for three days, and A LOT of seminar attendees were dragging by the first evening because there was just so much going on.  Espresso was very popular!  The students could choose one of 5 classes being offered during a block of time (I wish I could've gone to some of them!), or opt to skip a class block.  Several of RenovArte's regular customers who were at the seminars stopped by, as well as many people from outside of Queretaro.  However, those who study all the time at the Linguistics campus were very interested in having a RenovArte branch at their campus, so that could be a future plan!

Most importantly, we were able to chat with some of the students who were on lunch break, or had opted to skip a class block.  JP talked with one teacher who had survived cancer, about Eternal Life in Christ.  Several people, upon learning Phil was originally from Australia, asked why he had moved to Mexico, and he was able to share his desire to see the youth of Mexico know Christ.  Some of the Queretano students showed interest in stopping by the RenovArte location at the main university campus to talk more.  And that's what the ministry is about - sharing faith in Christ with students in a way that they know He is relevant in their lives.

 

JP and Phil serving customers

 

Phil and Jessica making paninni sandwiches

It was a tiring few days, but also a lot of fun!  This event may have been a step in the direction of opening up a second RenovArte - at the Linguistics campus - and building relationships with more young people.  JP and I were glad to be a part of it!

 

Enjoying coffees before disassembling the cafe

I was also excited to be able to try out my beginner's Portuguese with a girl who came to the seminars from Brazil!  I could understand her just fine, so maybe I'm doing better than I thought!  heehee!