Congratulations, Megan!

In June we had the opportunity to travel out East for Megan's graduation from Drexel University with her Masters in Public Health. We are so proud of her great accomplishment and of her landing a job in Philly!

Finney was nicknamed 'Huckleberry Finney' at the graduation as he messed his nice outfit he had on even before we got out of the car and all Mommy had brought to change him into was a pair of overalls!

As part of the trip, we also went down to Washington D.C. as a family to visit our nation's capital.

Finney loved watching the fish in the Smithsonian museum of Natural History!

parenting advice

Here in Mexico we get lots of advice from everyone on parenting. Here are some of the things we commonly hear:

• Where is his hat? It's cold and he will get sick (said even when it's 70 degrees out)
• Cover him up better. Look, his legs are sticking out of his pants. He will get sick. (again, said even when it's in the 70s)
• Did you put honey on his pacifier? We always put honey on our babies' pacifiers.
  
• Don't hold him like that (cradled). It will make his back crooked when he gets bigger.
• He's drooling. That means that his diaper is wet.
  
• Give him a green onion to chew on. It will help his teeth come in quicker.

He actually seemed to like this advice. Not sure it will help his teeth much, but it keeps him happy!

Here he is happily chewing on onion.

We also get asked questions about Finney. The one we hear most often is, "Your baby is bald. Did you shave his head, or was he born that way?"

In addition to giving us advice, people like to give Finney things. It reminds me of when I was little and would go through the drive thru at the bank and we would always get dumdum lollipops. Recently whenever I take Finney to the little tiendas nearby, the ladies working there have been giving Finney suckers. Fortunately, he hasn't learned yet what is underneath them!

Mmm...a real lollipop!

Yesterday when we were walking home from town a little 4-year-old girl ran to catch up with us and started chatting with Finney. She took a little stuffed bear coin purse from her mom and gave it to him to hold while we walked. She kept telling him, "Don't drop it." Pretty cute!

Our new addition to the family

On September 8, 2010 we welcomed a new addition to our family. Phinehas Blaze James Anderson weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces and measured 21 1/2 inches. He was born at home (intentionally) with the assisance of a midwife and was greeted by Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma Cramer.

Chrismas traditions

One of the traditions in the Anderson family is to celebrate Santa Lucia Day on December 13th. It's part of their Swedish background. Traditionally the oldest girl dresses in a white robe with red sash and a crown of candles and serves coffee and treats to the rest of the family in bed. This year Sarah was introduced to the tradition by getting to be Santa Lucia. Later that morning we all gathered around the table for some Kringla- a Swedish pastry served on Santa Lucia Day.

Medical Clinic

This weekend we made the 12-hour trek to the neighboring state in Mexico to participate in a medical outreach. We were accompanying around 60 others from various parts of Mexico and Spain. The outreach took place in one of the poorest areas of Mexico, as well as one of the most spiritually needy. The village was about 4 hours away from the nearest town, on roads that more closely resemble a dry river bed. In addition to medical and dental consults the group did clowns and sports for the kids, haircuts, provided meals, provided transportation to/from the ‘local’ villages (up to 3 hours away), showed the Jesus video, and gave a small bag of imperishable foods and clothing/ diapers to each family.

Almost everyone who came spoke the local dialect and little to no Spanish (much less English!). We had some believers from the larger town come along to interpret. After the first day of the clinic they invited us down to the river to bathe, which we gladly did after being in the heat all day. We thought it a bit interesting that it was only our team and the local interpreters who decided to go. Maybe we’re fitting in to the culture more than we realize :)

One woman brought her 8-year-old daughter to the clinic with parasites and a fever of 101. She asked if she could have medicine for her other children at home. The doctor said he needed to be able to see them to know what to give and asked why she didn't bring them along. She replied that it was a 3 hour walk (one-way) and she could not carry them that far as they were sick and couldn't make the journey. We gave her the medicine!

Another family brought their 6-month-old daughter who was blind from congenital cataracts. With a simple operation, she would be able to see, but the family would have to travel 4 hours to the nearest hospital to have it done, and it didn’t seem that they were too inclined to do so.

One family came with their 4 children and asked the doctor for some form of birth control. The doctor looked at their 4 kids and said that would probably be good since they have so many children. They responded, “Oh, we left 4 more at home!”

One the way there we got to meet a family who is translating the Bible into the dialect of these people. Hopefully soon they will be able to hear the Word of God in their own language. Please pray for the Kingdom of God to continue advancing into the areas of darkness in southern Mexico.

Enjoy some pics from the weekend!

Here's the town nestled in the mountains. There were many little villages like this along the way.

This is what these vehicles were made for!

This was a typical sight

Here's the town we did the clinics in

On the job IV training! Got it in 1st try!

Travels

Tomorrow we head out to do a medical outreach in the neighboring state to the west. It is considered to be the poorest area in all of Mexico as well as one of the spiritually least-reached areas. It will be a long drive there- 2 full days, of which the last 35 miles drops about 6,000 feet in elevation and takes about 5 hours. We should arrive to the village late Friday night, have clinics Saturday and Sunday, then return home late Monday night or Tuesday. Please join us in prayer that God would reveal His power and salvation to the people of this remote village.

Chicken!!!

Last Friday Rhonda decided to kill her 2 roosters that wake her up at 3am (I thought roosters were supposed to wait until the sunrise!) and make a meal for her neighbors. Living overseas, I decided that knowing how to kill and clean a chicken is probably a good skill to know, so I offered to come and help. Susana killed the first one to show us how it was done then handed the knife to me. (Rhonda conveniently disappeared during this time and stood as far away as possible to still take pictures.)

Here’s the step by step process!

Always a bit of a challenge to catch them, even in a small cage!

Susana, the master, teaching us how it's done

This one's next!

My turn. I'm going to be brave!

Maybe not!

Ok, if the 11-year-old can do it, so can I!

Don't mind the blood on your hands!

Mission accomplished!

The chicken was some of the best we’ve had down here, by the way!