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
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