LockDown

We had visitors over for supper tonight and afterwards it was a regular occurrence here at Casa McDonald's... Lockdown.

Our place is not the most secure home in our Colonia, but it has fences and gates and they need to be locked at night. So every evening when it looks like we're done coming and going, someone goes out and locks the gates. We have a front gate that the car comes in and a side or back gate that is a walk-thru one.

We haven't had any issues with snakes or scorpions yet, but this is the time of day you are most likely to see them, so even the most boring of tasks can have a sense of heightened interest.

Tonight an added feature of lockdown was the bikes. We've had the kids bikes over at the place where we stayed in the RV. It seemed like when we just got settled and had a chance to get them, we'd either move or someone would go away (language school or deputation) so today was the day.

The boys were ecstatic to get the bikes back, though poor Jakey's having some trouble. He learned to ride a 2 wheeeler a couple days before we moved to Mexico and hasn't had a bike since. He lost a bit of knowledge and some nerve too. Not only that but he's outgrown his bike (GROWTH SPURT! Eating like a horse!) and that makes it more difficult- not to mention the hilly clay, rutted roads. We'll have to rectify the bike situation sometime soon...

Our "gardener" spent another day here at the house. He has only worked for us, technically, 2 times. The rest of the week he's been working for the landlady forming a driveway for us. Our yard is a fine, clay powder that gets incredibly muddy in the rain. So the cement parking pad will help to allow us to get in and out of our place.

Could you pray for Alphonso the worker-guy? He is really hard to understand so it's difficult to have a conversation with him in Spanish. He must have an accent I am not able to comprehend. he likely says the same about me!

Tonight I spent about an hour negotiating pay with him. The landlady gave me the amount needed to pay him when the job was finished. After he finished tonight, the job still was not done. So Alphonso began to ask for money for materials he brought over. The landlady had told me she paid for them already. What followed was an hour of him writing his demands, me taking them and translating them online at www.freetranslation.com and me responding. He was adamant that he needed $20 of his $70 pay tonight. We went back and forth for the whole time until someone came by who could translate. I gave him the $20 for the materials, but told him he'd not get the full amount for his wages, because I did not have it and i didn't have authority to give it to him. So he discounted his wages and he'll negotiate the rest with the landlady.

I'm concerned that he may not come back and finish the job, or that he needed the money for more nefarious reasons. He also comes back to the house with wood each day from an undisclosed location- not sure exactly where it's coming from, though I do know of a house nearby that is under construction...

Please pray for wisdom for us and for Alphonsos salvation. Please also pray for good communication to develop!

We appreciate your prayers and partnership with us! Hope you like the new design of the website! I'm hoping to be able to figure out how to get video on here soon. When that heppens, we'll have some video clips of life in Mexico!

God bless until next time,

Your McMissionaries