A Different Christmas

            This was a Christmas to remember. Traditions here are a little different. Christmas Eve is the big day and activities are centered around the Christmas Cena (Dinner) which is eaten after 9 PM. Often, the meals are elaborate. Mine was simple pasole con pollo eaten with friend Juan and his family in their tiny apartment. Pasole or pazole is a traditional type of greasy stew dating back thousands of years. It is made with corn (hominy) vegetables and meat. You dress your bowl with chopped cabbage, sliced radishes, chopped onions, cilantro and hot peppers to taste. The typical meat is pork, but I have eaten it with chicken (pollo), beef, tripe (chopped stomach, intestines, etc) and “con sangre” which is essentially boiled blood. That one was a challenge. I will miss the food here. Oaxaqueño (Oaxaca-style) food isn’t common in the Midwest.

Before dinner, I joined Juan and his family and attended the Christmas Eve mass at the Catholic Church. The house was packed wall to wall with worshipers. I was expecting the service to begin with a solemn hymn. I almost fell over when the priest led the procession up the aisle to the tune of Jingle Bells. I am sure there must be more appropriate words to their version of the song, but the words “jingle all the way” are quite permanently burned into my psyche.  

The steps of the altar were covered by baby Jesus statues. People brought them for the service. Many keep a permanent display in their homes. The church itself is dedicated to the virgin Guadalupe. There are numerous depictions of her on the walls. The ceiling contains what is claimed to be the largest painting in existence of her. It is a beautiful church.

Christmas day was anti-climatic. Things seemed very quiet. I spent an enjoyable day with other good friends at the house of Arturo. It will be a bittersweet memory. Although I enjoyed time spent with friends, the time was tainted by the knowledge that I soon may have to say good bye.  

This past week seemed like a month. I was kept busy and was blessed by several significant encounters and breakthroughs with people. It was very encouraging, but indicators seem to be pointing to my following Donna home sooner than later. I am keeping commitments already made and being cautious about making new ones I would only have to break soon. Leaving the friends I already have is going to be tough enough. 

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be looking at my options and considering what the next steps should be. There are lots of logistical issues to work out if I am to come home. Staying here for a longer-term presents another whole set of challenges. In the meantime, I am keeping productively busy and avoiding isolating.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

This is was difficult blog post to write. Last week, Donna and I were looking forward to Christmas and New Year celebrations with each other and friends. On Friday, we used part of our day off to go the beach. We took a photo for our electronic Christmas card. The weather was great. The water was great. It was all good.

On Saturday, a recent and very difficult family situation took a turn for the worst. We quickly determined that it was necessary for Donna to return to the US as soon as possible so that she would be able to deal with it face to face rather than over the telephone and internet.

The plane ticket was purchased on Sunday morning and Donna was on a flight out of Mexico Monday afternoon. She will not likely be able to return until at least September, if ever. She was able to say good-bye to some of our friends. The rest will be very disappointed when I am able to catch up with them. I will be here solo until we sort out the next steps. Here is your opportunity to feel sorry for me. I’ll be here by myself for Christmas. Actually, don’t. I have plenty to keep me busy and good friends to keep me company.

Fortunately, due to sparse financial support from home, we had already been exploring our options in different scenarios. We have been living on my small pension and a little savings we had put together before coming here. We are getting very low on funds. Since we will now be splitting my pension between us, I may be forced to return as well within about two months. Donna will be looking for work to cover the balance of her living expenses and I will become very resourceful until it is time to leave if that is what will be. There will be a great testimony of God’s goodness no matter how this turns out.

We are thanking God for the sense of peace that He is giving us in our knowledge that He is in control and that we are in His capable hands. One of my favorite parts of the Bible is the book of Psalms. Recently I read Psalm 46.  Verses 1-3 say this, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.”  

There is more sadness and disappointment in the thought of leaving than I can describe. This has become a fruitful work and we have made some good friends. We can see so much more that could be accomplished. But I also have the thought that it is possible that if we were to remain, we would somehow stifle the small work which God has begun through us. Lives have been impacted and seeds have been planted. God is more than able to spark a purely indigenous work free of the influence and interference of a crazy type-A gringo.

This situation illustrates how quickly the unexpected can drastically interrupt and alter the course of our lives. With the sudden loss of a loved one or the unexpected loss of a job, we can be thrown into a tailspin from which we have difficulty recovering. Disasters usually come without much warning and our lives are never the same again. How good it is to know that no matter what comes our way, we can know that we are in God’s hands and nothing can snatch us away.  If you aren’t sure, ask me how you can be.

'Twas the Week Before Christmas. Plenty of Creatures!

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house, creatures were stirring and none were a mouse. Spiders, scorpions and ants galore. Watch where you step, there's one on the floor. Iguanas and lizards right out the door. Who in their right mind wouldn't ask for more.

They have been putting a second story on a house in our neighborhood. Friday was the day they poured the roof. Almost all houses here are totally bricks, concrete and rebar including the roofs. This particular roof required 87 bags of cement at 50 lbs each (4,350 lbs) plus the aggregate (gravel), sand and the water used to mix it.

Heavy equipment consists of a gas-powered mixer and 5 gallon buckets filled with wet concrete. About 15 men, who form a bucket brigade, carry the filled buckets up a crude wooden ramp to what will be the second floor roof. The bucket is dumped and the man goes back down to get another. This process continues until the house has a roof. It is an interesting illustration of teamwork, hard work and persistence. Each individual bucket is insignificant to the total, but bucket by bucket the work is completed.

I don't like to share much of other peoples' business in the blog. I don't want to use them and their lives for self-promotion. However, this victory I feel led to share because it promotes God. The mother of someone we know was recently hospitalized with an abcessed kidney infection. She is also diabetic. Her blood sugar was way out of wack as well. She had been on intraveneous antibiotics. They decided to discharge her despite the persisting infection and the blood issues. The family was expecting a funeral. I had the opportunity to pray with her just as she was being discharged. She is a Christian and I know that others in her church were praying for her as well. Today, she is well. God healed her against medical reason. She should not have recovered.

As I was writing this, Donna felt something crawling up her leg. As you can imagine, it is a common occurrance because there are so many insects here. Ants of all colors and sizes are the most common. We also have to deal with tiny gnats which are almost too small to see. They love to feed on humans, especially Donna. They leave an itchy welt. This morning however, what she brushed from her leg to the floor was a scorpion about 1/16" long. It quickly met the end of my right index finger. It did not survive. Time to get out the bug spray!

Next week is the run up to Christmas. Neither of us feel the holiday spirit. The weather is Chicago-summer warm. Although some people do decorate a little and Christmas stuff has been in the stores for a month, it is not even a shadow of Christmas in the US. In a way, it is a bit of a blessing. We are missing the festive get togethers and food plus things like my son Jason's fudge, daughter Jessica's cookies and, most of all, spending time with family.

We had two invitations from friends for Christmas. We did not want to have to choose. We were relieved to find out that one was for Christmas Eve. Whew!! We accepted both. Then we discovered that the other was Eve as well. We have since learned that "Christmas" means Christmas Eve. Gaahhhh!!!!!! Christmas Day is for sleeping in and recovering from an over the top medianoche (midnight) dinner. I think we'll go to the beach.

The Legends of the Virgins

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his was an important holiday week in Mexico. December 8^th is the feast day or holy day (day of special honor for a saint for all of you non-Catholics out there) for the Virgin Juquila. “She” is a statue believed to have miraculous powers. There are different versions of the legend about her origins. She is mostly a regional icon here. People are known to crawl for miles on a dirt road as they approach her to make their promises and requests.

Today, December 12^th, is the big day honoring the national patroness, the Virgin Guadalupe. She also holds a very high Catholic-religious significance. Legend says that she appeared one day in 1531 to an indigenous peasant near Mexico City. She instructed him to build a church on the spot in her honor. When he told the bishop, the bishop required proof. When the peasant returned with the requested “proof,” an image of her was miraculously produced on a piece of cloth. Today, the image is in the most visited Catholic shrine in the world. The image is worshipped and many miracles are attributed to it.

Celebrations are held throughout Mexico. Our town is filled with people celebrating with parades, music, fireworks (which are launched from right within the crowd) and all sorts of other festive activities. Some say that it is a bigger celebration than Christmas. We’ll see.

Last night, I was privileged to share a message with the congregation at Pastor Salomón’s church out of the book of Judges chapters 6 and 7. I spoke about God’s commission to us and His power and ability to fulfill the mission through us in spite of our inabilities and fears. I was a little surprised that when I referred to Gideon’s fleece test in the story that many, if not most of the people had no idea what it was. Aurturo, my faithful translator, had to relate the account to them. I hadn’t made the telling of it a formal part of the message. I assumed it would be familiar. Wrong assumption! More Bible teaching is needed!

It is no wonder that the Jehovah’s Witnesses are so successful when they speak authoritatively about what (their interpretation) the Bible says. JW doctrines play very well into many of the cultural religious beliefs here. If people have little or no knowledge of what the Bible says, they will easily be misled. No longer will I assume that even commonly familiar stories are known. I strongly suspect that not very many people here actually read their Bibles. Part of the reason is education or lack of it. A big part of the reason is that the accepted Bible translation is the Reina Valera which can be a bit difficult to understand. I am reluctant to accept that a part of the problem might actually be a lack of teaching. We have been introducing people to a Spanish version of the New Living Translation which is much easier to understand.

I was invited to make a 10-day missions trip to minister in the mountains next week. I would have really loved to go. I was compelled to decline. I have had to face the reality that my body is getting older. I turned 61 this week. I am no longer up the rigor of walking uphill for several hours. It is beyond my ability. A man’s got to know his limitations. I can walk all day on the flat. Steep uphills are a different matter altogether. I have to rest and catch my breath at least once during the short climb (1/2 mile) up when I go to Monte de Dios. Besides, it would have meant leaving Donna alone. That is something I was not willing to do.

As the Christmas holiday approaches, we are expecting to have to deal with a whole lot more downtime as people get busy with their preparations and festivities. Although the intensity of activity does not even approach what you are experiencing, there are still a lot of distractions. Even so, we don’t feel at all like it is Christmas time. Perhaps the weather, which continues to be nice is part of the reason.  

Missing Students and Uninvited Guests

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ur first week back in Huatulco was a bit sad and a little frustrating. On Monday, Benabe, our morning taxi driver student didn’t show up. When we saw him the next day on the street, he said that he thought we wouldn’t be back until after Christmas. We had made our return date very clear, but it didn’t register. Information like that doesn’t stick with people here. We got a similar response from a few others. He failed to show Wednesday as well, but he had a lucrative fare to another town. We have agreed that business takes precedence over class.

The Monday family also missed. The dad, Manólo, did come during the day to tell us that they weren’t coming. Normally, people don’t call or let us know. They just don’t show up. The message he heard me preach Sunday night was about the promises of God using our promise habits as an illustration. It seems he was listening.

Also on Monday, we were greeted by what must have been millions of large ants when we returned from town shortly before sunset. There were 2” wide highways of the things coming and going in every direction, mostly up all sides of the building. There were more ants than sidewalk. It was a scene from a sci-fi horror movie. I immediately knew why something had moved me to buy two cans of bug spray when I did the shopping earlier in the day. Fortunately, the landlord happened by and saw them. It also helped that our downstairs neighbor is very squeamish and couldn’t handle the sight. The landlord came back armed like John Goodman in the movie Arachnophobia and quelled the invasion.  

Tuesday, Carmen, the doctor at the Red Cross, was too busy with patients because she is alone. The nurse had taken another job after 14 years working there. The technician had to leave to attend to some family problems and never returned. They were some of our first and longest-term students. We did have class with Carmen on Thursday, but at the end, she announced that the next day was her last. She is returning to her hometown several hours away. We are sad to tears. She was very special to us. 

Wednesday’s only class was with Osvaldo, our 12-year-old young man. Everyone else was “no show.” This left the rest of the day empty. It is very difficult for me to have too much unplanned idle time. I am a type-A who needs to be busy. However, I am amazed how God can take our defects and turn them into something good. Many unhealthy motivations and weaknesses have turned into productive strengths, and He’s not finished yet. I have come a long way, but I still don’t do “nothing” as well as I should unless it is planned.

Friday we made an early trip to a fairly secluded beach. Because the beach is surrounded by cliffs, the only access is either by boat or down a steep and somewhat treacherous path. That is why it is usually empty. Donna slipped on the way down and she wound up with some nasty scrapes on her knee. She also bruised her wrist. We won’t be visiting that beach again! It was my bad for underestimating her ability to negotiate the path. In spite of the mishap, we did get to do a lot of reading and I was blessed with the outline of an awesome message.

Saturday morning we enjoyed the company of our excellent friends Art and Betty for breakfast in our apartment. That was great. The rest of the day was spent at home doing message prep, studying and writing this post. We had made plans, but Donna needed a day to recuperate and heal. We also had an unexpected, but great visit with our friend Antonio on Saturday evening.