I'm doing it again

...in spite of all my promises.  I vowed to never become the "Old Missionary Lady" who was forever thinking, showing, or (heaven forbid!) saying, "You think you have it bad?"  and then going on to add how "real" missionaries used to have to suffer in the good (?) old days.

It happened yesterday.  A friend and I were gossiping mentioning prayerfully the good news of a new family on their way down to Oaxaca.  Seriously, we were talking about this huge answer to prayer.  Anyway, we were discussing the logistics of getting them set up in a house, paying the deposit for the phone and house they will be renting.

We had to snicker thinking about the adjustment this poor couple will have to make, as evidenced by the question Greg asked her.  Couldn't he just pay online by credit card?  HAHAHAHA.  HEHEHEHE. HOHOHOHOHO.  That's hilarious to those of us who know the truth.  He will spend a significant portion of a day each month just running around, standing in line, waiting to pay each bill.  And that's after he pays a significant fee to withdraw pesos with an ATM card from an international (U.S.) bank.

Then my old-missionary-lady self found myself thinking the unthinkable.  What?  You think that's bad?  Well at least they'll have a modern grocery store!  Why, when WE first got to the field, we HAD no ATM machines.  WE had to con a questionable business man to cash our American checks for us in a back room, give us Guatemalan quetzales.  THEN we proceeded to take those quetzales to a bazillion different places to get our groceries and other necessities:

• the butcher for meat
• the baker for bread
• the candlestick maker (just kidding)
• the dairy for cheese and milk
• a friend's house for homemade yogurt
• a spice stall for fresh spices
• the open market for fruits and vegetables
• a tienda for canned goods, cleaning supplies, etc.
• a papeleria for pens, paper, and office supplies

Back then, living was a full-time occupation.  We even had to haul our empty propane tanks and 5-gallon glass water bottles to get refilled in the city.  Nowadays, we have them delivered to our doorstep.  And when we need groceries, we only have to drive an hour away, get cash out of an ATM machine right at the grocery store, and then fill a grocery cart with everything we could possibly need.  Okay, more or less.  Well, sometimes.  Anyway....  It's still so much better than it used to be!

Whew.  Now that I got that out of my system, I'll zip it and commiserate with these poor folks who are going to be way out of their comfort zones and inconvenienced daily.  Before long, they'll be saying, "Honey, we're not in Kansas any more!"  Stifling another HAHAHAHA.  HEHEHEHE.  HOHOHOHO.