Last Day in Oaxaca

On Saturday morning, our final day in Mexico, we enjoyed another of Nora's beautiful and delicious breakfasts. Then Rod picked us up at 9:00 and we headed for a tourist site and an archeological wonder -- the ruins of Monte Alban. The short version of the site is that this an ancient temple site built by the Zapotec civilization about the time that Ezra and Nehemiah were rebuilding the Jerusalem temple. Click here for more pictures and info on the place. Rod made an excellent tour guide.

We left the site around 1:00 and swung by one of the village families we had visited earlier in the week. This was the family of unbelievers whose believing father/grandfather had died. We had a mission to fulfill. One of our senior girls at UBC, Amanda Harris, was involved in a Bible study this past year with a group of her friends. As part of the study they were challenged to find something of personal value and give it away. Amanda chose a blanket that had been hers since she was a baby. She asked Melinda to take it with her to Mexico and give it to a child. We gave it to Rosindo, the son of Guadalupe (Lupe). Lupe was very grateful. "The cold days will be coming soon," she said.

Rod then took us back to his sister's home for lunch, and later in the afternoon we walked to an orphanage, taking bags of chips with chile sauce and a sack of oranges. Eighty-five children live in the orphanage, most of them "throw aways" -- their parents just did not want them. Many are blind, deaf, or crippled. We spent a couple of hours playing with them, letting them crawl all over us. Rod and Connie make visits here several times a week. The children were delightful and grateful. We left when they all had to go to a Bible class, but we would have gladly stayed longer.

After our last meal of tacos in Oaxaca, we went back to our rooms, packed and made ready for an early flight home on Sunday morning. We will return to Oaxaca. You have to if you eat a grasshopper, they say.