A short jaunt up the mountain

With a very heavy backpack, a motorcycle, and butterflies in my stomach, a friend and I headed up to the Travesia. The trip up was a bit scary, as Dani had never gone up such a rough terrain before on his motorbike, but beauty of the mountain village instantly relaxed me. It was great to see everyone as well as hearing about all they’ve been up to these past few months. They’ve been busy experimenting with new ways of growing vegetables which have been successful, building new types of “stoves”, and building a concrete pit that will be used for making some kind of natural gas (which is presently being used as a pool).  

This is the first year anyone in the Travesia has tried growing anything in a greenhouse, and they’re all excited about how well the tomatoes have grown.  
The original stove (or fogón) in the Travesia.The new type of stove…… with this style the smoke now goes up and out the chimney instead of all throughout the kitchen and house.Just hanging out with friends by the village store, telling stories and talking about the weather.

A good reason to cry

I held back my tears at the El Camino Church women’s gathering as the ladies shared all the different things they’re struggling with right now. A few are struggling to feed their families for $3 or less each day as their husbands are out of work. About two are dealing with the pain of being cheated on and accepting their husbands new babies in their homes. Another just found out her husband was doing a lot of illegal things and is wondering how she’s going to provide for their baby now that he’s in prison. The list goes on and on. It’s kind of overwhelming, and though I didn’t cry in front of all my friends, I’ve shed a lot tears for them. It’s heartbreaking to see them going through such difficult things. Please be praying for these beautiful, godly women …. and feel free to cry.