From the Internet house in Papalote

Melissa Rowlings, Ariel Greaves and I are sitting in what we´ve dubbed Papalote´s Internet house. It´s a room in someone´s house where they´ve put in a six computers. It costs me about $1 for an hour to use. The family opens it up when school gets out, about 2 p.m., the same time we finish lunch and the perfect time to access our Facebook accounts. Not everyone has had an opportunity to come over here, so don´t worry if you haven´t heard from a loved one. Cell phone service is pretty much nonexistent and I have yet to find wi-fi...although I have a few leads.

We have a bunch of photos on our Facebook page you can see over here. What the pictures don´t tell you is the vast information we´ve learned from Don and Ilene Nagle, the missionaries here who oversee the Bible Institute. They have a deep understanding of the culture here and the connections between Papalote and other parts of Mexico and the United States.

Janna Reece is busy teaching haircutting skills to a woman who plans with her husband to return to a remote village it Oaxaca, Mexico, this summer. Many Oaxacans have migrated to Papalote. The Oaxacans are part of Mexico´s indigenous people, so life in Oaxaca is very basic compared to even Baja. Natty and Benny have spent many years in Papalote, but will return to Oaxaca this summer as missionaries to their own people. Ilene said that U.S. missionaries have spent years reaching out to Oaxaca, but the Oaxacans really only trust their own people. So, it is knowing that they return to a different life that Natty and Benny go to Oaxaca. Natty is a quick learner and is following Janna´s instructions on cutting hair so that she´ll have a way to minister to the people in her Oaxacan village.

My hour is about up. God bless and see you soon!

-Elena Hammond