Those who were dunked

August 26, 2019

On the 11th of this month, the church in Las Moras met down by the creek to worship. The morning had dawned with a beautiful sunrise, and what is often the season of wet, damp mornings was warm, bright, and clear. We were gathered outside because many of the new believers had decided they wanted […]

Reading between the Lines

January 1, 2019

On Sunday Rachel and I met with the believers to study. We adults colored our note-taking sheets while we waited for others to show up. After singing and prayer, the group was uncharacteristically candid. They talked about embarrassment with regards to praying in public and people making fun of them for believing a “new” thing. […]

Make Hummus While the Sun Shines

August 23, 2018

I am privileged to have a guest writer on my blog: my Dad, Tom Moore. I asked him to write this month’s post in a joking tone of voice, but with a serious note. You know, the way he always asks me for favors. It was delivered to me on two pieces of notebook paper, […]

A Missing Idol

October 28, 2016

by Rachel Chapman As we were getting ready to leave Las Moras this last time, I took time to talk with my Nahuatl friends directly about the Scripture portions that we had been translating. One of the last times with Queen, I asked her what she was believing. She said, “I believe what we’ve […]

Walkies…

January 29, 2014

All the cool people in this village have walkies. It’s like an iPhone; a status symbol and seen as necessary to connect with friends three houses over. You pick your channel number, tell it to your friends, and then talk to them during the day. A typical conversation goes something like this: Person 1: Hey, […]

Digging in Deep

July 11, 2013

A few months ago we decided to pen up our chickens. During a conversation about why, I asked my language helper how to say they were digging up our plants. “Oh,” she said, “say: tatahtáh hiyero.” They dug ugly. “Seriously?” I thought, “a word that sounds like a fake drumroll?” I dutifully copied her until […]

Death to the Joint Mouse

March 11, 2013

A few years ago I found out I had a joint mouse. That might sound made-up, but it’s what they call a little piece of broken stuff that’s floating around in one of the body’s joints…in my case, my knee. On March 2nd I went to Samachique, a small village in the mountains of northern Mexico. […]

Nahuatl Fashion

February 20, 2013

I bought my first nawas, the traditional skirt and apron that the ladies of Las Moras wear. The skirts are full and made from a satiny material that comes in a variety of solid colors. On the bottom of the skirts the women attach the lista, a beautiful collection of appliqued flowers and leaves. The […]

Guavas from Eggplant

January 28, 2013

It was last September that I got to visit the town of Eggplant-ville. The guavas weren’t ripe yet, but that didn’t stop the kids from picking and eating them. They offered me some and laughed at the expression on my scrunched-up face. Yesterday a young woman from Eggplant-ville stopped by our house with a huge […]

The Perfect Woman

September 29, 2012

My language helper told me that some of the younger generation in this village is not learning to speak Nahuatl. She said, “Around here, what we say is that you guys…your group of white people…you have beaten them. Your mom doesn’t speak Nahuatl and your dad doesn’t speak Nahuatl, but you guys do!” I laughed […]