Week #18 Happy New Year from Mexico

Things have been pretty quiet here since Christmas Day, mostly food exploration, as the church offices are closed. I have been asking our Uber and taxi drivers about food that Mexico City is known for - tacos and something called the "guajalota" are common answers. Tacos are nothing new but on Friday night we went looking for something better than the 40-something pesos (almost CAN$4 each) for the substandard version we had at El Farolito not long ago. We checked out two separate places in Pueblito Tecamachalco just up the hill from the church office building. The first stop was tacos "al pastor"at 18 pesos a piece (CAN$1.50)  They were absolutely delicious though the street pageantry wasn't quite as exciting as the taco place downtown that I filmed in Mexico City in February 2022 when I was there for business. The crowning moment then was the flick of the taquero's knife and his catch to put a piece pineapple on the taco. In the background of the photo from the the Pueblito below you can see the pineapple on top of the spit and what's left of the meat. Sister Schlachter went for a hair cut and styling in the Pueblito that afternoon and was even more beautiful. 

The second place we tried was on the street that has mostly Jewish businesses - they were all closed but there was a 'pop-up' taco stand doing a booming business. They didn't have tacos al pastor so we settled for tacos campechinos - which could mean they were tacos from the state of Campeche or that they are just good tacos. They too were delicious. They seemed to be mixture of all of the "meat" available on the fellow's grill (chorizo, pork and probably intestines or head meat of some sort). Being a pop-up, this place was more sketchy as far a hygiene but I took courage in the number of patrons dining there on plastic-bag-covered plastic plates (no dishes to wash), the health risk is the personal hygiene of the cook and the raw cilantro y onions.  

When we shared our find with the other missionary couples that night, one of the Mexican couples expressed concern that we were going to be sick over the New Year's holiday - that we weren't the next day was a good sign and they deemed the places safe to eat at - though salmonella poisoning can take more than a week to appear. On Saturday morning walking en route to Costco and Chedraui, we came across another pop-up feeding construction workers. I asked if they had a guajalota - (gwa-ha-LOW-ta) they didn't but the guys directed me up the street to another pop-up stand that did and excitedly told me about the options. The guajalota is famous for being a whole lot of calories in a small package - just the thing for a one-meal-a-day guy like me. It consists of a tamal in a crusty bun. On their recommendation I took the "rallas" one which had strips of serano chile peppers in the tamal - it was good and spicy but could have used a few condiments - next time. They threw in a cup of hot atole - a cereal-based slightly sweetened gruel - better than it sounds, again all for 18 pesos.   

My last food entry is from Chedraui - I was standing in line to ask for some lard as it's not sold on the shelf - I want to make a pie crust and add some grease to my homemade tacos and refried beans next time around. CAN$3.80 for a kilogram with two health warnings - excessive calories and saturated fat, in case anyone mistook it for health food.

New Year's fare including a piglet were on display - I guess the apple makes it better to look at in the display shelf - there are currently about 12 peso to a Canadian dollar if we pay cash and 12.7 pesos if we use a credit card - pricing the piglet at CAN$ 28.  

On being spiritually fed, we did double church on Sunday.  A highlight from the Spanish ward was instruction with respect to the power of pure testimony of Gospel truths. A highlight in the English ward was a baptism after the services - an eight-year old girl named Lila. Eight years of age is the age of accountability, when most people are old enough to be accountable for their actions, good or bad. 

Choosing to be baptized accesses the atonement of Jesus Christ, cleansing a person from sin. After we are baptized, Lila and each of us have an opportunity to renew the covenants of baptism each Sunday as we partake of the bread and water of the sacrament. Lila also received the Gift of the Holy Ghost after she was baptized. 

I was baptized in the South Saskatchewan River just north of the town of Bow Island. Wanting to remember the experience and erroneously thinking that I needed extra cleansing as it was 1989, a week before my 28th birthday, I asked my friend David who baptized me to hold me under the water as long as he could. He held me under until the crowd on the shore started shouting their concerns. I opened my eyes while I was under the water. It was silent. I felt his grasp holding me in place while I beheld the light above me and felt the water slowly flowing over my body, attempting the take me with it - when David brought me out of the water the first thing I saw was his joy-filled face and I enjoyed the peace of knowing I had left the burden of my sins behind with a resolve to be different from that point forward. I still feel that way. 

The service after church on Sunday included words from Lila's grandmother about baptism and one of her grandfathers also spoke briefly about the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Something he said really touched my heart. He said that he couldn't tell Lila how to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost, that she would have to learn that on her own because it can be very different for different people. To my mind came our Prophet's counsel in April 2018 that, "In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost." A lot has happened in the world since then and there is definitely more to come. The closing hymn for the baptism is one of my favourites as it speaks to what we mean when we refer to "saints" - imperfect people that are striving to be like Jesus Christ and approaching life and its challenges as would a child, with full confidence in the Saviour.

On Sunday night we spoke with some of our children in our weekly family call and then celebrated New Year's eve with our senior missionary family here at Teca Once over dinner at the Camejo's. Wishing you all a happy New Year from Mexico!