Mérida, México: Another reason that I was born at such a time as this

It’s like God knew, “Emily needs to live in the era of electricity” :) On Thursday night Patricia and I woke up to hear a pipe pouring out water onto the patio, and over the weekend she discovered it has something to do with the electricity on the top floor of our house. So we had to turn off the breaker until a plumber is able to fix the problem. We tried last night turning it back on, but the problem started up again so we flipped the switch yet again. Good news is a plumber can come tomorrow to hopefully fix the problem. Bad news is yesterday and today I’ve been living in candlelight upstairs. I’m realizing now more and more how much we rely on electricity! I laughed a little when I got home and faced the problem, seeing as how I had just returned from a Mayan village that even had electricity :) Really, not that big of a deal – and thank goodness we didn’t have to lose electricity in the whole house! So as many of you may have dined in the candlelight for Valentine’s Day tonight, I enjoyed a little mood lighting of my own! :)

Today was in fact Día del Amor y la Amistad – and celebrated in full swing here in Mexico! I had made up little gifts of heart printed Kleenex and Spanish candy hearts to give my mom, Val, and Ana my Spanish teacher, they loved them! Val gave us all Valentines, Ana brought up candy and we played a game, and another Spanish teacher had all her students make red paper hearts to pin on our clothes! The streets were FULL of vendors selling roses and other flowers by the armfuls, balloons by the dozen, and more stuffed animals than any girlfriend or wife would ever desire. It was a colorful and fun day here! I also received my first piece of mail from the States, a Valentines card just in time from Sarah and Josh (Thanks guys!!). This afternoon I brought laundry to the lavandería to be done, stopped by Office Depot to print some pictures, and then walked the streets with Katelynn, discovering new and fun places! The most exciting: an ice cream shop!!! Katelynn and I have been searching everywhere for a non-commercialized, cute little spot to get ice cream, and we hit the jackpot today!! We’ll definitely be making frequent stops to try all that they have to offer, but today it was coconut ice cream! Delicious! Fortunately it’s a decent walk, so we can justify becoming frequent flyers, or buyers in this case! Tonight my mom had made flan for dessert – such a great Valentine’s treat! It was a great day of celebration!! Hope you all were able to spend some time with those you love, and feel loved in return!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 (Replace love with God - God is love)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate. Proverbs 15:17 (I added this one more or less because upon reading it I couldn’t help but smile!)

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8