Water Fountain Adventures

We've been in Texas for the last several days, visiting relatives north of the border. While Mike and I are having fun catching up with our families, our girls have been discovering all sorts of fun "perks" the U.S. offers.

The biggest of these perks for Trinity has been the water fountain. She noticed one at church on Sunday. "Mommy, what's that?" she asked.

In Mexico, we rarely see water fountains. And when we do, I don't point them out to the girls. Since we only drink bottled water in Mexico, slurping untreated water from a fountain is not an option.

Imagine Trinity's delight when I helped her take a sip of water from a fountain! She was so excited that she's been on a mission to try out water fountains wherever we go. She took 5 drinks from a water fountain at a mall earlier this week. Yesterday she grabbed 2 drinks from a water fountain in the airport (we flew from El Paso to Houston yesterday. We'll be here till Wednesday of next week).

It's fun to see what our kids observe as they travel back and forth between countries. I have a feeling we'll be on the lookout for more water fountains during the remainder of our time here in Texas.

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas from Mexico!

May God bless you during the Christmas season and upcoming year.

With love,

Mike, Rachel, Trinity, and Noelle

Christmas Party for Kids - A Guest Post from Missionary Mike Hartman

Some of the candy Trinity and Noelle got at the party...

Here's a fun twist for this holiday week - a note from Mike. Enjoy!

We have a nanny, Mari, who comes over in the mornings to watch the girls while Rachel writes. Yesterday, when Mari was leaving she invited us to come to her posada (Christmas party) that evening at 8 p.m.

Rachel asked, "Should we bring the girls?"

"Oh yes," said Mari, "It's a children's Christmas party."

You gotta love a Christmas party for kids that starts at 8 p.m.!

The girls were really excited to go to Mari's for a Christmas party. When we got there, there were lots of people and kids from all over the neighborhood. It turns out that in León people traditionally celebrate Christmas by having a posada every night beginning on the 16th and going through the 24th. Nine nights of parties! In Mari's neighborhood, each night a different family hosts the party.

The word posada* literally means "lodging" or "guest house". The parties commemorate Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem and their search for a place to stay. The party starts with people going from house to house in the neighborhood singing. They gather people as they go, but at each stop, when they knock on the door, the people inside answer with a verse or two of their own saying "Sorry, there's no room here."

This goes on until they get to the home which is hosting the party and those people answer back by singing, "We've got a stable." (This is the short version. There's actually a long popular Mexican Christmas song which is traditionally sung during all of this.)

When they finally get to the place that is hosting the party that night, everyone gets something to eat. We had watermelon, papaya, and musk melon covered with white cheese. They were also serving Dori-locos, or "crazy Doritos," which are Doritos topped with cabbage, salsa and pickled pig skin, among other things!

After the meal, they bring out a piñata. Two guys stand on roof tops on opposite sides of the street with a rope stretching across and the piñata hanging from the middle of it. The kids take turns trying to hit the piñata, while everyone else sings the piñata song. Mari's family adds an interesting line to the end of the piñata song. After each kid who fails to break open the piñata, they sing, "That child is really foolish, he/she looks just like his mama!"

This time, the piñata fell off the rope and hit the ground without breaking open. A 9-year-old neighbor boy raced in and took off running with the piñata like a stuck pig. He was almost able to get away with the entire loot, but the neighborhood disciplinarian, a strong looking middle aged lady, tracked him down and marched him right back with the piñata in tow. They finished breaking open the piñata and all the kids rushed for the candy.

Trinity and Noelle had an absolute blast, eating candy, drinking hot chocolate and playing with the other kids. Mari's 3-year-old boy, Irvin, and Trinity really hit it off.

After living down here for such a long time, we've really come to enjoy Christmas in Mexico. From our home to yours, we wish you a very blessed Christmas as well.

*while posadas often focus on Mary, we have held Lutheran posadas in our churches in Mexico, which emphasize Jesus' coming to Earth.

Nativity Scenes in Mexico

Here's Trinty at the nativity scene set up at a mall near our home. If you look closely, you'll see that the scene is right in front of Starbucks.

Nativity scenes in Mexico - called nacimientos - are one of my favorite things to look at around Christmastime.

Most nativity scenes here start with the basics: Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, etc. But the list of items you can add is nearly endless. We've added a palm tree, a well for drawing water, animals, and even the town of Bethlehem to ours over the years. In Christmas markets, you'll find everything from flamingos to sunflowers and swans that can be added to the scene.

Needless to say, this makes for a lively scene. Here area few of the neat things the nacimiento at the mall has:

First and foremost, el bebé Jesús:



Next, a woman feeding some turkeys...



running water...




and a Devil, a figure often added to nativity scenes here.


In our home, we generally add a few figures to our nativity scene every year. I'm not sure if I'll get a chance to go shopping for some this year, but I know that next year the girls will be eager to go and pick out some new additions to our nacimiento. It's a great way to get kids involved and have some fun at the same time.

p.s. I'm going to take a break from the recipe series until after the holidays. Look for a start up on the series again in mid-January.

Christmas Party for English Students

Our WELS Kingdom Worker volunteers - Ryan and Tim - organized a Christmas party for their English students this past weekend. The get together was held last Saturday at a park near the mission.

The party was a success! More than 100 people came, including English students and their families, folks interested in the church, and the mission team (well, except me! I'm not functioning at 100% these days, so Mike took the girls. They had a blast while I napped!)

Anyway, here are a few highlights -

There was time for socializing and eating...



a piñata, of course...




and even an egg race - go Noelle!



We give thanks for the good turnout, and marvel at how God has once again used an opportunity like this to help strengthen friendships and create new ones.

Recipe: Mexican Red Rice

I usually make plain white rice for our family, but I do love the reddish colored Mexican rice you often see here. Over the years, I've eaten different versions of rice (often called "sopita"), but the recipe listed below is among the ones I like best: it uses simple ingredients, is easy to make, and you can change it up to fit your family's tastes.


Here's what you'll need:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth


Start by heating up the oil in a large saucepan or frying pan. Then add rice -




Stir it around until the rice is golden and a little fluffy. This usually takes a few minutes. Then add the garlic salt and cumin and stir -




Throw in the chopped onion, tomato sauce, and chicken broth -




Bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 20-25 minutes -




That's it! Serve by itself, or add some chopped cilantro...



You can also add shredded cheese or sour cream to the top of this.

And vary the recipe according to your tastes - for our family I reduce the cumin and onion amounts, but if you like those ingredients, you can certainly add more.

Also, while the rice is simmering, it's a good idea to check it a few times. If you need more broth, add some (or just throw in water or tomato sauce if needed). We live in the land of high altitude, and I used about 3 cups of broth to make this - but again the amount of liquid you need will depend on where you live.

WELS Business Leaders Come to Visit

This past weekend, five WELS businessmen came to León for a visit (pictured from left to right: Jerry Zimpelmann, Dan Moyle, Pat McGuire, Al Stueck, Ray Dusseau).

These men have helped support mission work in Mexico during the last months and years. They are currently working on a number of projects to help the Mexican Lutheran Church. One of these involves the website for the Mexican Lutheran Church (luteranosmexicanos.net). These men are helping to improve the site and increase awareness of it.

They are also working with leaders in the Mexican Lutheran Church on a project to open a Lutheran school here in Mexico.

It was wonderful to have these WELS leaders here over the weekend. They held meetings, did some touring, and spent time with the mission team during their stay. We wish them God's blessings on their ongoing efforts, and look forward to seeing the projects they're working on develop further.

Thanks guys! Looking forward to seeing you again!