Thursday, April 05, 2007
Once upon a time in Mexico (without Brad Pitt)
So I covered the driving to Mexico and back and left out everything in between. [a tactic to build drama and suspence] In this post I'll cover Sunday.
Sunday we got to sleep in a little (breakfast was at 8:00). After that we had a church service with the Christians in the village. ___Sidebar___ To tell you a bit about Somberete... It is a small Mexican village of about 200 people. Most do not have indoor plumbing (but the camp does now, thanks to previous CCH work trips). ____End Sidebar____ That was a nice service, we kind of outnumbered them, I'd say about 109 to 15. However, their enthusiasm at least equalled that of our large group. They sang out loudly and worshiped along side us. One of the more amazing thing is that when they read scripture, they would all say it together...from memory. Yes, many of them had all of the scriptures used in the sermon memorized! Amazing.
Following the service we had a quick lunch and went to visit the worksites that we would be at all week. A general description of each worksite follows: dig, pour concrete, paint occasionally, the end. After an afternoon of driving around Mexico, it was time to eat. As per tradition we ate at a nice restaurant in Monclova for diner. They have awesome fajitas that we preorder (you could imagine this being necessary for 109 people) and stuff our faces with. Having done this 4 times in the past I was looking for something new to try. So I ordered a cappuccino from the bar. ___Sidebar___ Many of you may know that I'm a bit of a coffee snob. Not a snob so much as a conasuir...conasuor.....conawhatever. Anyways, I have an appreciation for good coffee. That being said ___End Sidebar___ I hadn't ever seen a cappuccino made the way this was. They steamed the milk in the glass it was to be served in and then poured the espresso through the milk. The frothyness stayed in tact and this created and layered effecct. From the bottom: espresso, milk, froth. It was beautiful. Of course you get a face full of froth when you try to drink it unless you stir it up...so I hear... As for the overall quality I would give it a 7.2 on the GCS (Guatemala Coffee Standard) Scale. For comparison purposes Folgers Breakfast blend ranks at a 2.6 on the GCS, standard Starbucks ranks at a 7.0 on the GCS, and Posada Organic Guatemalan coffee is a perfect 10 on the GCS. So overall it was a pleasant cup of java in the land of Mexicana.
We then returned to camp to wrap up the evening with praise time and small group meetings.
Next post...we get dirty!
Praise God.
Sunday we got to sleep in a little (breakfast was at 8:00). After that we had a church service with the Christians in the village. ___Sidebar___ To tell you a bit about Somberete... It is a small Mexican village of about 200 people. Most do not have indoor plumbing (but the camp does now, thanks to previous CCH work trips). ____End Sidebar____ That was a nice service, we kind of outnumbered them, I'd say about 109 to 15. However, their enthusiasm at least equalled that of our large group. They sang out loudly and worshiped along side us. One of the more amazing thing is that when they read scripture, they would all say it together...from memory. Yes, many of them had all of the scriptures used in the sermon memorized! Amazing.
Following the service we had a quick lunch and went to visit the worksites that we would be at all week. A general description of each worksite follows: dig, pour concrete, paint occasionally, the end. After an afternoon of driving around Mexico, it was time to eat. As per tradition we ate at a nice restaurant in Monclova for diner. They have awesome fajitas that we preorder (you could imagine this being necessary for 109 people) and stuff our faces with. Having done this 4 times in the past I was looking for something new to try. So I ordered a cappuccino from the bar. ___Sidebar___ Many of you may know that I'm a bit of a coffee snob. Not a snob so much as a conasuir...conasuor.....conawhatever. Anyways, I have an appreciation for good coffee. That being said ___End Sidebar___ I hadn't ever seen a cappuccino made the way this was. They steamed the milk in the glass it was to be served in and then poured the espresso through the milk. The frothyness stayed in tact and this created and layered effecct. From the bottom: espresso, milk, froth. It was beautiful. Of course you get a face full of froth when you try to drink it unless you stir it up...so I hear... As for the overall quality I would give it a 7.2 on the GCS (Guatemala Coffee Standard) Scale. For comparison purposes Folgers Breakfast blend ranks at a 2.6 on the GCS, standard Starbucks ranks at a 7.0 on the GCS, and Posada Organic Guatemalan coffee is a perfect 10 on the GCS. So overall it was a pleasant cup of java in the land of Mexicana.
We then returned to camp to wrap up the evening with praise time and small group meetings.
Next post...we get dirty!
Praise God.
# posted by Adam Harshman @ 4/05/2007 07:31:00 PM 
Comments:
<< Home
This is one thing that I have always wanted to do but have never either had the chance or just made time to do it....a missions trip. I have much respect for anyone who takes time out of their schedule to do this. I am glad your trip went well. Let me know next time you go and maybe I can use some of my 27 weeks of vacation.
Adam: I am loving reading about your trip...brings back lots of memories of trips we all took together! Have a good day!
Amanda Barr
Post a Comment
Amanda Barr
<< Home
