Over the last few weeks I have become increasingly convinced that the Mexicans are very innovative. Well maybe it's not the category of 'Mexicans' but 'the poor' - of whom the majority I meet at the moment are Mexicans.
You see, a lot of the time, in this blog I write about things which amuse me out here. And I'm pretty sure that in some people's minds, I bulldoze some cultural sensitivity boundaries each time I put finger to keyboard in this blog. They're things which I find quaint, interesting and even, dare I use such a shocking and inappropriate word, backward. For those of you who reeled when you read that, please don't misunderstand it. I'm not appealing for a return to colonialism... well, except for the United States of Everywhere, which I am still convinced belongs to us. Nor do I think that I am/we are better than the Mexicans. Underneath God, all men (and women, people and others) are equal. Fact. But Mexico is far behind the West in terms of many things: technology, infrastructure, administration, governance and so on... and this means that occasionally the way in which things are done is, well, different.
But we have much to learn from these people. In relationships and ideas of community, we in the UK lag behind by miles. Needless to say, no-one here finds it acceptable to walk around with their mobile phone playing crappy R'n'B music on speakerphone. That's a massive bonus (and I don't know when that became socially acceptable in the UK). But the other thing is that we are definitely not as innovative as these remarkable Mexicans. Perhaps the opulence in which we live has just taken the edge off our creativity and dulled our entrepreneurial spirit but we are the ones that lag behind.
Simply put, if there's an opportunity to make money, someone will be doing it. For example: the Metro costs 2 pesos (10p) to ride anywhere and everywhere, so the street sellers buy a ticket and sell inside the trains to their very literally captive audience. And they get good sales. Some major roads in Mexico City consist of a dual carriageway with another dual-lane road either side in either direction, separated from the main road by a dirt reservation. On the busiest roads, where queues are inevitable 3 or 4 times a day, the locals have removed the kerbs and barriers, and constructed dirt tracks to allow traffic to pass from the main road to the minor road where alternative routes can be found. They then manage the entry and exit traffic and collect tips as a result. Ingenious!
And then there are the ways of getting around spending so much money, like the welder I saw in Ojo de Agua the other day. Somewhat irritated by having to pay for his electricity, he had obviously decided that the un-metered mains electricity lines were an adequate substitute, climbed a ladder with two giant crocodile clips and attached them to the first phase and return lines. When I cycled by he was happily welding away, presumably induced by not having to pay current prices. Shocking. Wire the police not energised enough to make a fuse about this? Surely his resistance to the norms of receiving electricity would be enough to spark an argument with the company. Or perhaps they don't have the capacity to fight back because it looked like he was ohm-ing them.
He he. Enough puns. We should learn from them as my welding friend sheds some light on how to be innovative. They're really good at that.
(and no I didn't write this entire post just to give me an opportunity to sit and think of electrifying puns).
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Friday, 23 May 2008
Newsletter 11: Gaining the Vision of serving the poor
Well, here is the latest newsletter from México. The summer is hotting up (both literally and figuratively) as we get to the final stages of planning group visits and the sun stays longer and longer overhead. Regular rain punctuates the days, making planning my travel to and from the centres more interesting as I try to dodge the downpours!
Things have been a bit easier and better here recently. Saul and Pilar reacted to my tired-induced lapse by shifting some of the house responsibilities around. I now only cook breakfast for the university students on Mondays and Tuesdays – the others take turns to fill in the three days I now don't do. Consequently I find myself in the interesting position of being able to talk about having a 2 hour lie-in… until 7am. I never thought that I would put the words '2 hour lie-in' and 7am in the same sentence! However, it is remarkable what an extra 6 hours sleep has made to my life and my work.
So I have been motoring along in my new-found energy, finishing jobs which have been hanging over me left, right and centre. Painting lamps in Casablanca (which really were hanging over me left, right and centre), preparing our roof for waterproofing, helping arrange group visits for June, sorting out drainpipes which revealed their state of repair when the rains came and the basketball court flooded while we were doing traditional dance practice (that is, the practice of traditional dance rather than a traditional, dance practice). As someone who likes to work through lists, it has been very satisfying to be back on the case (finally!).
The most recent event in Armonía was the arrival of a Vision Trip. This is a special type of visit where people come for about 4 or 5 days to see what Armonía does. As the name suggests, we try to impart the vision of what we're doing here. This means that the visitors don't actually do any work but we hope that they get catch the idea and take it back to create more supporters in their home country. This is a great way to get the word out but they also generate income by staying in our accommodation. However, the implication is that we need to show them as much as possible and this means a whistle-stop tour of everything.
13 Americans came with Greg Holzhauer (one of the Armonía international board of advisors) and we went to Casablanca, Alheli, Santa Cruz, Jalalpa, Presidentes, Hornos, Betsy's house and other sites just on Saturday and Sunday morning. They joined us at the Sunday service at Santa Cruz when we officially celebrated Joaquín's graduation. It was quite moving to hear of his testimony of how God brought him to Armonía and later to God, and how through the ministry of Saul, Pilar and Armonía, he is now the only person in his tribe to have a degree. Amazing. He wants to study more and is going to return to Oaxaca to look after the students' residence there.
We hurtled down to Oaxaca where we spent a good 2 days in the students' residence, introducing the current scholars. There were actually about 70 of us in total because prospective students and their parents were visiting. They had travelled up to 12 hours to come and find out about Armonía so it seems our influence is spreading, mainly through word-of-mouth. In total 22 students want to enter which will bring the total to somewhere near 40 (the capacity of the new residence building). All were offered a bed for the night and all accepted, creating a few hours of manic blanket, mattress, sheet and pillow finding. I and some of the staff ended up sleeping on the bed boards to allow the visitors some comfort. Although I slept quite deeply after such a crazy day, the next morning, my back made it quite clear that it preferred a mattress on top of the bed boards!
It seems that the vision trip didn't just impact on the visitors because I had some great experiences as part of it and return to Mexico City really enthused by the vision of what they're doing here in Oaxaca. I love spending time with the current students and when we were back in the house we spent a lot of time doing English because it's just so much easier than teaching over Skype. I am starting to enjoy translating more and more and can almost do simultaneous Spanish-English. ☺ Apart from excitement about what this project could achieve in this area, one of the most memorable events was going out to the Stone Soup Restaurant. This serves fish soup (admittedly not my favourite) with shrimps (also not particularly high on my list of food to eat) but they heat the food with stones. It's an old Chinotec (indigeous) method to heat food. They would prepare everything; water, vegetables, the fish and the shrimp, and heat it gently on a stove in a fruit cask (I never worked out what fruit but it's a hard, hollowed-out cask about the size of a large coconut). When the king would arrive for dinner after a hard day's rulin', they would drop a stone heated in a fire in the soup. Cue much sizzling and bubbling, steam and vapour. Wait a few minutes and you have your dinner ready to eat. Definitely a multi-sensory experience. Especially if you ask for one with chilli.
We visited what may be the largest tree in the world. It measures a staggering 58m in circumference and just 42 in height. Even Houghts would struggle to get his arms around this one. To add to what is already a remarkable botanical feature, the tour guide was 8 years old. He amused us with his English, shouting: "Alligator. Can you see? Can you see? Can you see?" as he pointed out the various shapes which were apparently visible. Emphasis on the 'apparently'! And to get us to move: "Come on please!". At the end he held out his hand and said: "Pencils, money or candy". And then added: "Or dollars". We learnt he could do the tour in Spanish, English, French, German, Flemmish and Italian. Most impressive was the 6 year old who followed him round – "He's in training but doesn't know the tour yet" we were told – and he shared half the tip with him.
So I'm now sitting in the Armonía house on a quiet morning with beautiful blue sky outside, working on this in a gap between helping plan group visits and, reflecting on the last few weeks, life is good. The calling I received to come here was clear and I am learning incredible things about how to walk alongside the poor. One of my best friends asked me recently how I cope being surrounded by poverty but not being able to do much about it. It was an interesting question and I haven't yet answered her directly. Sometimes it's difficult to cope. When I walk into Ana Maria's house in one of the poorest areas of Mexico City near the Jalalpa Community Centre and realise that my garden shed is better constructed than that, I am overwhelmed with sadness. How can the world be so unequal and unfair? But then I remember there is hope and the promise of justice because although it's right that I can't do much about it, I know the One who can. The One who let us ruin what was a perfect world in our selfishness and who calls us to go out and serve depending fully on the strength He gives us in His great love for us. We know for a fact that he loves us - he has already demonstrated that on the cross – and He calls us to give up our lives in love for our brothers and sisters too. That's why it's clear to me that however worthy and useful they are, secular aid or development organisations cannot beat poverty because they are not willing to sacrifice. Full-stop. They are not willing to invest time, gifts, money, health or even their lives where there seems like there will be no return for them personally. I see Saul and Pilar demonstrating the opposite here. The Christian Gospel, the 'Good News', which I am utterly convinced is true and changes lives, calls me not to cope but to serve with a faith based on fact in the past and looking to the future. That's what it means to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Him. And God will do the rest.
With love and blessings,
Chris
Things have been a bit easier and better here recently. Saul and Pilar reacted to my tired-induced lapse by shifting some of the house responsibilities around. I now only cook breakfast for the university students on Mondays and Tuesdays – the others take turns to fill in the three days I now don't do. Consequently I find myself in the interesting position of being able to talk about having a 2 hour lie-in… until 7am. I never thought that I would put the words '2 hour lie-in' and 7am in the same sentence! However, it is remarkable what an extra 6 hours sleep has made to my life and my work.
So I have been motoring along in my new-found energy, finishing jobs which have been hanging over me left, right and centre. Painting lamps in Casablanca (which really were hanging over me left, right and centre), preparing our roof for waterproofing, helping arrange group visits for June, sorting out drainpipes which revealed their state of repair when the rains came and the basketball court flooded while we were doing traditional dance practice (that is, the practice of traditional dance rather than a traditional, dance practice). As someone who likes to work through lists, it has been very satisfying to be back on the case (finally!).
The most recent event in Armonía was the arrival of a Vision Trip. This is a special type of visit where people come for about 4 or 5 days to see what Armonía does. As the name suggests, we try to impart the vision of what we're doing here. This means that the visitors don't actually do any work but we hope that they get catch the idea and take it back to create more supporters in their home country. This is a great way to get the word out but they also generate income by staying in our accommodation. However, the implication is that we need to show them as much as possible and this means a whistle-stop tour of everything.
13 Americans came with Greg Holzhauer (one of the Armonía international board of advisors) and we went to Casablanca, Alheli, Santa Cruz, Jalalpa, Presidentes, Hornos, Betsy's house and other sites just on Saturday and Sunday morning. They joined us at the Sunday service at Santa Cruz when we officially celebrated Joaquín's graduation. It was quite moving to hear of his testimony of how God brought him to Armonía and later to God, and how through the ministry of Saul, Pilar and Armonía, he is now the only person in his tribe to have a degree. Amazing. He wants to study more and is going to return to Oaxaca to look after the students' residence there.
We hurtled down to Oaxaca where we spent a good 2 days in the students' residence, introducing the current scholars. There were actually about 70 of us in total because prospective students and their parents were visiting. They had travelled up to 12 hours to come and find out about Armonía so it seems our influence is spreading, mainly through word-of-mouth. In total 22 students want to enter which will bring the total to somewhere near 40 (the capacity of the new residence building). All were offered a bed for the night and all accepted, creating a few hours of manic blanket, mattress, sheet and pillow finding. I and some of the staff ended up sleeping on the bed boards to allow the visitors some comfort. Although I slept quite deeply after such a crazy day, the next morning, my back made it quite clear that it preferred a mattress on top of the bed boards!
It seems that the vision trip didn't just impact on the visitors because I had some great experiences as part of it and return to Mexico City really enthused by the vision of what they're doing here in Oaxaca. I love spending time with the current students and when we were back in the house we spent a lot of time doing English because it's just so much easier than teaching over Skype. I am starting to enjoy translating more and more and can almost do simultaneous Spanish-English. ☺ Apart from excitement about what this project could achieve in this area, one of the most memorable events was going out to the Stone Soup Restaurant. This serves fish soup (admittedly not my favourite) with shrimps (also not particularly high on my list of food to eat) but they heat the food with stones. It's an old Chinotec (indigeous) method to heat food. They would prepare everything; water, vegetables, the fish and the shrimp, and heat it gently on a stove in a fruit cask (I never worked out what fruit but it's a hard, hollowed-out cask about the size of a large coconut). When the king would arrive for dinner after a hard day's rulin', they would drop a stone heated in a fire in the soup. Cue much sizzling and bubbling, steam and vapour. Wait a few minutes and you have your dinner ready to eat. Definitely a multi-sensory experience. Especially if you ask for one with chilli.
We visited what may be the largest tree in the world. It measures a staggering 58m in circumference and just 42 in height. Even Houghts would struggle to get his arms around this one. To add to what is already a remarkable botanical feature, the tour guide was 8 years old. He amused us with his English, shouting: "Alligator. Can you see? Can you see? Can you see?" as he pointed out the various shapes which were apparently visible. Emphasis on the 'apparently'! And to get us to move: "Come on please!". At the end he held out his hand and said: "Pencils, money or candy". And then added: "Or dollars". We learnt he could do the tour in Spanish, English, French, German, Flemmish and Italian. Most impressive was the 6 year old who followed him round – "He's in training but doesn't know the tour yet" we were told – and he shared half the tip with him.
So I'm now sitting in the Armonía house on a quiet morning with beautiful blue sky outside, working on this in a gap between helping plan group visits and, reflecting on the last few weeks, life is good. The calling I received to come here was clear and I am learning incredible things about how to walk alongside the poor. One of my best friends asked me recently how I cope being surrounded by poverty but not being able to do much about it. It was an interesting question and I haven't yet answered her directly. Sometimes it's difficult to cope. When I walk into Ana Maria's house in one of the poorest areas of Mexico City near the Jalalpa Community Centre and realise that my garden shed is better constructed than that, I am overwhelmed with sadness. How can the world be so unequal and unfair? But then I remember there is hope and the promise of justice because although it's right that I can't do much about it, I know the One who can. The One who let us ruin what was a perfect world in our selfishness and who calls us to go out and serve depending fully on the strength He gives us in His great love for us. We know for a fact that he loves us - he has already demonstrated that on the cross – and He calls us to give up our lives in love for our brothers and sisters too. That's why it's clear to me that however worthy and useful they are, secular aid or development organisations cannot beat poverty because they are not willing to sacrifice. Full-stop. They are not willing to invest time, gifts, money, health or even their lives where there seems like there will be no return for them personally. I see Saul and Pilar demonstrating the opposite here. The Christian Gospel, the 'Good News', which I am utterly convinced is true and changes lives, calls me not to cope but to serve with a faith based on fact in the past and looking to the future. That's what it means to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Him. And God will do the rest.
With love and blessings,
Chris
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Oración Matutina
In our Armonía hymnbooks we have a wide selection of songs which cover quite a few moods and settings. We've sung this one recently and it's become one of my favourites - a good one to hum when cooking up the breakfast at 5 in the morning. :)
Oración Matutina (Morning Prayer)
Te agradezco (I thank You)
Por el nuevo día de hoy, Señor (for the new day today Lord)
Por la gracia de dejarme aún vivir (for the grace of letting me live more)
Por el sol (for the sun)
Que me dejas otra vez mirar (that You've allowed me to see again)
Y el sonido del ambiente escuchar (and the sound of the environment that I hear).
Cada día (every day)
Al despertarme pienso en Ti, Señor (when I wake up I think about You, Lord)
Y te doy muchas gracias por tu amor (and I give You thanks for Your love)
Este día (this day)
Es una nueva oportunidad (is a new opportunity)
Que me das para hacer tu voluntad (that You are giving me to do Your will)
Quiero serte fiel (I want to be faithful to You)
En este día de hoy Señor (during this day, today, Lord)
Y te pido me, ayudes a triunfar (and I ask You to allow me to succeed)
Mi deseo es a mi prójimo siempre servir (my desire is to serve my neighbour)
Y tu Nombre con mi vida bendecir (and to bless Your Name with my life)
Gracias te doy Señor (I give You thanks Lord)
Ayúdame (Help me)
Quiero servirte sólo a Ti (I want to serve only You)
Ayúdame hoy (help me today)
Amen.
Oración Matutina (Morning Prayer)
Te agradezco (I thank You)
Por el nuevo día de hoy, Señor (for the new day today Lord)
Por la gracia de dejarme aún vivir (for the grace of letting me live more)
Por el sol (for the sun)
Que me dejas otra vez mirar (that You've allowed me to see again)
Y el sonido del ambiente escuchar (and the sound of the environment that I hear).
Cada día (every day)
Al despertarme pienso en Ti, Señor (when I wake up I think about You, Lord)
Y te doy muchas gracias por tu amor (and I give You thanks for Your love)
Este día (this day)
Es una nueva oportunidad (is a new opportunity)
Que me das para hacer tu voluntad (that You are giving me to do Your will)
Quiero serte fiel (I want to be faithful to You)
En este día de hoy Señor (during this day, today, Lord)
Y te pido me, ayudes a triunfar (and I ask You to allow me to succeed)
Mi deseo es a mi prójimo siempre servir (my desire is to serve my neighbour)
Y tu Nombre con mi vida bendecir (and to bless Your Name with my life)
Gracias te doy Señor (I give You thanks Lord)
Ayúdame (Help me)
Quiero servirte sólo a Ti (I want to serve only You)
Ayúdame hoy (help me today)
Amen.
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