Guten Morgen!

Earlier this month, I decided to use the duolingo app to try learning German again.  I've tried 3 times now with very little success.  I'm afraid to report that this time was no different.   Before I fizzled out, I did learn to say "Ich bin eine frau" - I am a woman.

The following week I was sitting out at the picnic tables one afternoon, waiting for anyone who needed help with homework to show up.  My buddy from seven years ago, and current sixth grader at the elementary school,  stopped by.  He didn't need help with homework, but he did want to play on my iPad.

I try to only have somewhat educational games on my iPad, and I also make the kids pass a math test before they can use it.  But that day, Dani and I decided to try to learn some Italian.  He learned "Io sono un ragazzo" - I am a boy - and I learned "Io sono una donna" - I am a woman.  So basically now, in case there's any confusion about my gender, I can now clear that up in 4 different languages! Actually, 5 if you count sign language.  :)

But after that day, I began to hear Dani talking about a desire he has to go to Italy some day.  Dani would also like to be a chef - so those two things actually could line up quite well.  Now, do I think the likelihood of Dani actually making to to Italy is high? Not really.  With my human eyes, I cannot see that happening.

But my vision doesn't really matter.  God's vision does.  I learned through my training with AMO that we need to be careful not to squash the imagination of children - we don't know what has been put there by God.  Our instructor told us of how, as a child, she used to color trees purple.  Teachers told her that trees are not purple and that she needed to color them green.  But then, as an adult, she came to Oaxaca and saw the jacaranda trees in full bloom - a very clearly beautiful purple color.

Then this week I worked with children who were coloring one star with 5 different colors - none of those colors being the standard yellow.  But before I said anything, I checked myself and remembered the photo the Hubble Telescope took of deep space.  Who am I to say that stars can't be multicolored?

And who am I to say that Dani can't make it to Italy someday?  So instead of just sitting back and thinking that it won't work, I will do what I can to encourage him in this.  I will take time with him to research information about Italy.  To study more Italian.  To look into what it would take for him to be able to study abroad there.  And when the vision seems unrealistic to me, I pray that God would grant me His vision for these kids.

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“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, 

for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

Mark 10:14 

Bound for Warmer Weather

It appears that the warm weather has finally come back to Oaxaca and is here to stay.  I prematurely took the blankets off my bed a few weeks ago, only to replace them the following night.  I was still chilly under 3 layers just last week.  But now that seems like a distant memory as the afternoon heat blazes down upon us.  Makes for some pretty wonderful breezy evenings though.

Fun Fact: Did you know Oaxaca is at about the same altitude as Denver?

New Every Morning

But this I call to mind, and therefore have hope. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:21-23

Need help?

At parking lots here in Mexico, there are often parking lot attendants.  Though you may not need their help, these men try to help you find a parking spot, and direct you to pull out of it as you leave.  I believe they are also there to insure the safety of the cars, but I'm not certain on that one.  Either way, they seem to do it in the hope of being paid a little for their trouble.

Oaxaca has become a big city with, not one, but two Walmarts here now.  At one of the Walmarts, there is very little shade.  And so the parking lot attendants there have come up with a kind of clever system.  They put big pieces of cardboard over the windshields facing the sun - in hopes of keeping your car a little cooler while you shop.

In my experiences, I have found several Americans frustrated by this unwanted help, and they tend to ignore the parking attendants.  But I find that if these men have tried to be helpful, even if I didn't really need it, I like to help them out a little in turn.  It can't be an easy life and at least they're making an effort to do something for a living.

The other day I came out of Walmart and a parking attendant wanted to help me with my cart.  I really didn't need any help, so I said no thank you and went to the car.  But my grocery cart was pretty full of basketballs I'd just bought for the school, and so he helped me load them into the trunk.  He then took the cart for me and stepped back in preparation to help me out of my parking spot.  He didn't realize this was one of two trips into the store for me, and so I felt a little bit bad leaving him behind as I went back into Walmart to finish my purchases for the school.

The second time I came out, he was in the same place as before, and this time he didn't really even ask.  He just kindly took my cart from me and went straight to the car.  I think it might've looked a little odd to onlookers, him leading me to the car without me telling him which one was mine :).  Once again he helped me unload my purchases as we chatted about the weather, and he took the cart to put it away from me.

He then stepped back to help direct me out of the parking spot - though I really am quite good at backing out of parking spots all on my own ;). I smiled and thanked him as I pulled away.

These things remind me of a quote from Rich Mullins that I read today:

    "Start realizing that your ministry is how much of a tip you leave when you eat in a restaurant; when you leave a hotel room whether you leave it messed up or not; whether you flush your toilet or not. Your ministry is the way you love people... If you are a Christian, ministry is just an accident of being alive. I don’t know that you can divide up your life and say, 'This is my ministry,' and 'This is my other thing,' because the fruits of Christianity affect everybody around us."

May we treat with love and kindness those who cross our paths each day.

Desires of the Heart

Two summers ago, I was standing in a classroom in Guatemala.  The elementary school students were there to learn English, but the room was in rather a state of chaos.  If anyone wanted to be heard, they had to shout above the din.  I was not a fan and made a quick exit.

However, as I left, I felt a sudden and unfamiliar desire to have an English classroom of my own - a place where I could open up the kids' minds to a new language, in a fun and orderly way, and in a way that included teaching them about God.  I had never felt that way before, but it was quite strong and clear.

Soon afterward, during a trip to Oaxaca that same summer, I felt directed to move back to Mexico as the director of a small elementary school.  And now my job just so happens to include... teaching an English class :).

This past Thursday, after the kids finished a test, I provided the supplies for them to make Valentine's Day cards.  I played the song we've been learning this month, and the kids quietly sang along to the chorus as they worked.  Moments like these make my heart swell in gladness.

I count myself blessed that I can look back and see ways God has given me the desires of my heart - many times things I didn't even realize I desired until I was living them.  He has proven himself to be so faithful and worthy of trust.

Now I feel like I must add a disclaimer.  God has not given me every desire of my heart - and I think I can honestly say that I'm grateful for that as well.  I realized early on that God not only knows my heart, but He knows the hearts and minds of others as well, and can act in much greater wisdom and knowledge than I ever could.

And so, this Valentine's weekend - as articles pop up on my Facebook newsfeed about appreciating single people or your own singleness, contrasted by friends posting about how amazing and sweet their spouse is - I truly am content knowing my heart rests in my Lord.

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Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Take delight in the Lord, 

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; 

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,

your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still before the Lord  and wait patiently for him...

Psalm 37:3-7a

Caution: Prayer at Work

Last Friday morning, part of my prayer was a petition that God would help me to act and speak in His love - that I would see each student with His eyes.  Well, the response seemed rather immediate. I went to breakfast and my heart felt a particular pull towards two of the younger boys.

It was to be a special day at school - the 100th day celebration - and neither of them could attend.  One boy, one of the true orphans at the home, had an appointment with a psychiatrist in Oaxaca.  The other boy was Juan, the one I'm certain has some sort of learning disability.  He unfortunately was the first student to test the limits of our new homework rules and was suspended for the day.

If I had my choice, we would have just done away with the suspension and found a way to give him better support.  I really don't think he had much control over his homework problem.  But sometimes you just have to play by the rules if you expect the kids to play by the rules too.  So, he was suspended for the day, but kept a pretty positive attitude.

And so, I felt bad for both the boys, missing out on our special day, and my heart swelled with love for them.  I wanted to just go over to them and give them a big hug.  Realizing that doing that might seem random and weird, I held myself back.  But I thanked God for this answer to prayer and this extra dose of love I was feeling, and I went on to my busy day.

As I came in for dinner that evening, Juan walked up to me with his shoes and socks completely covered with espinas (I can't figure out a good word in English for these - there's a weed that grows here that leaves thorny burs on anything that touches it - we call those espinas).  Juan, still with a positive attitude, informed me that he had worked very hard all day and it was clear that getting all those espinas off his shoes would be a rough job as well.

I had him sit down on the nearby bench and pulled off his shoes and socks, trying to not let the espinas scrape him as they slid off.  He asked another of the little boys to get him his flip-flops.  As the other boy ran off, I asked Juan if he had learned anything from his day.  He said solemnly that he needed to turn in his homework.  I didn't know if there would really be change, but I smiled in assurance as his flip-flops showed up.

As it turned out, this story didn't end there.  I went in to dinner and found that it might be a good night to go into town for tacos.  So, I headed out to ask permission for use of one of the vehicles.  As I looked for the keys, I heard someone wailing.  I thought it could be Juan, but I really hoped it wasn't.

I followed the sound to find a child sitting out by the auditorium, crying uncontrollably.  It was Juan.  I sat down on the short wall opposite him and asked him what was going on.  Through his tears he told me the tale of how he had worked so hard all day, only to find out that he had worked in the wrong place and had to do the work all over again.  He held his shaking hands out to tell me how much both they and his feet hurt him at this point.  Now if that doesn't break your heart...

We talked awhile longer as I tried to go through his options and calm him down.  Long story short, I didn't feel like his punishment fit his crime and offered to help him finish the job.  So we trudged out to the area he needed to weed and he showed me the boundaries of where his work was supposed to go to.  I took up the hoe and began to hack away at the weeds and he took up the broken rake and followed along behind me.

As my arms began to throb and espinas gathered on the cuffs of my pants, I recalled my prayer from that morning.  As I pulled espinas off my waist where my arm was brushing against them (how they got up there, I do not know), I thought, "Really God, this is not what I had in mind..."

We finished just as dusk began to descend on us.  I tried to get away before too many people noticed me helping Juan finish his punishment.  As I sat in front of my house and pulled espinas out of my pants with tweezers by porch light, my pain and discontent continued.  I was frustrated by the pain of the thorns that stuck in my fingers and frustrated by the person who gave a punishment that didn't seem reasonable or fair to the child.

But then a sudden calm came over me as I realized I could use that time to pray for Juan - and pray that person who had given him the punishment.  So I did.  I raised heartfelt prayers for both of them.  Eventually another thorn poked me really hard and I lost a bit of my focus on prayer, but I went on with a restored sense of peace.

I also eventually made it into town for tacos, and I went to bed that night suspecting that God had answered my prayer in an immediate, though at times painful, way that day.

Throwback Thursday: The Other Side

I was blessed to have my family come and visit for Christmas.  I was looking back at some of our pictures and realized that we had a lot of photos of each other.  It put me in mind of a children's book I recently bought for the school, called The Other Side.

It is a book with no words, just pictures.  Each page shows a scene, and as you turn the page, you see the same scene from a different perspective.  For instance, on one page there is a woman sitting in the audience of a theater and on stage a clown peeks out from behind a curtain.  On the following page you see the back of a clown peeking out of a curtain, along with the other acts behind the curtain waiting for the show to begin.

So, I put our pictures together in a similar fashion and thought I'd share them here.  Hope you enjoy! :)

 

 

  

 

 

Sunday Snapshot: A Portrait of Community

I walk into the auditorium Sunday morning, slightly late, and our mechanic/maintenance man/teenage boys' house-father is welcoming everyone to worship with a shared word and prayer.  Our pastor/P.E. teacher/youth leader then begins to lead us in worship on his guitar.

Soon the children leave with their houseparents/Sunday School teachers, and a visiting pastor stands up to share a message with us.  He is a young man doing ministry in the mountains and has come to the home for a few months to spend better quality time with his family.  (He also happens to be going blind.)

As he teaches on perseverance, I observe those around me.  A few rows ahead of me is the pastor's wife/my neighbor.  She will likely throw a load of laundry in after church, right as I'm taking my laundry down from the line.

In front of me are two young men who grew up at the home and whom I met when they were 11 years-old.  They have grown so much.  One now works in construction (he too is slowly going blind) and the other helps with taking care of the little boys.

Behind me sit some of the university girls.  We share a table at every meal.  One helps out at the school with grading Spanish when she is not studying to become a teacher herself.  Another, in charge of cleaning at the home, also has the coveted job of cleaning the school every day ;).  They also frequently come over to borrow movies from me.

As the message wraps us, the other worship leader/6th grade teacher/prison pastor's son looks around to see if there's anyone to close the service.  The regular pastor seems to have left to help teach Sunday school, so the young man stands up and leads us in a closing song and scripture.

Living and working in community is a unique experience.  It is at times a great blessing  and support - and at other times a huge challenge and frustration.  Thankfully, this morning, I was able look around and appreciate the moment.

The Patience of ...Samson?

We continue with the Fruits of the Spirit at the school.  Currently we are looking at patience - the kids explain to me a Bible verse about patience, tell me about someone they noticed being patient, or tell me about someone in the Bible who showed patience.

There are the classic examples of patience in the Bible.  Abraham's patience in waiting for God to fulfill His promise to him that he would become the father of many nations (though I struggle a little with this one...).  Joseph trusting God in patience through his time as a slave and in prison.  Job's patience as Satan tested his limits.

But these kids came up with some unexpected ones that surprised and delighted me.  So, I pass them on to you: 

• Samson - showed patience in prison.  Granted, he was waiting patiently until he was able to get his revenge on the Philistines - but he did show patience.
• Daniel - showed patience in the lion's den.  It's hard to imagine what it was like, passing that night in the lion's den while an angel closed their hungry mouths - but from what I know of Daniel, I think he probably did wait calmly and with patience for the morning to come.
• Zechariah - showed patience when he was made mute.  Yes, Zechariah must have had to put into practice great patience through his months of silence before the birth of his son.
• Paul - showed patience when the Lord made him blind. When the student first mentioned Paul, I thought he was going to talk about the years Paul spent in prison, but indeed, Paul showed great patience and humility as he waited for Ananias to come open his eyes.
• Jesus - this is a more common example, but I like the way the student put it - that Jesus showed patience on every side. :)

Blessed To Give

Tonight our church service was held outside, near the gate to the property.  It was a special service to celebrate the approval of our pastor's vision for a church to be built here on the property of the children's home.  Not just for us, but as a ministry for the surrounding community as well.

Halfway through the service we broke into prayer groups.  The pastor asked each adult to gather together with a few children and then spread out to pray.  My group ended up including me, one of the teenage boys, and one of the fifth grade girls from our school (who I've known since she was 3 years old).

We let the girl choose where we were to pray, and then the teenage boy prayed first.  I wish I could share his heartfelt prayer with you, but I don't remember it in detail.  However, I do remember that it touched my heart and deepened my prayer when he prayed with the words, "My Lord..."   It reminded me of the psalmists.

I followed him in prayer, and then the girl prayed.  Her prayer, too, was full of wisdom and, at the same time, childlike faith.  Just after she began, the pastor called us all back to the big circle.  But undeterred, she prayed on and we stayed beside her until she was finished.  I don't know many elementary students who will keep on praying even when the time has been wrapped up.

When we joined back up together, we made a big circle, joining hands to pray once more, as the pastor led us in prayer this time.  One thing he said really stood out to me.  He prayed a blessing right now on those who would be giving to support this vision.

It occurred to me that that probably happens all the time.  That God blesses us now in order that we might give to His purposes.  But many times we get it mixed up - we think that we are blessed for our own good, and hold on tightly to that blessing.  We don't let it flow on to the next person who is to be blessed.

It seems common in middle/upper class American Christian culture to say things like "I feel so blessed" or "God has really blessed me/us."  I haven't thought real deeply about it yet, but off the top of my head I'm pretty sure there's not much in the Bible about us hanging on to those blessings for just ourselves.  But I think, rather, that we have been blessed in order to give.

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The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:1-3

Sharing Taxis

I haven't taken public transportation into the city in several months.  After hearing about several terrible accidents at the end of last year, I wasn't real comfortable getting into another colectivo (shared taxi) for a while, and buses don't come by as often.

But, this weekend I decided to give it another go.  A friend drove me to the nearby town, so I was able to get a taxi right away from there and my ride to the city was very nice.  Apart from the driver, the other 4 people in the colectivo with me were women, which I am always more comfortable with.

After spending the morning downtown, I stopped by the grocery store before heading back.  Then, right as I stepped up to the bus stop, I spotted a taxi that I was pretty sure could take me home.  As they sat at the red light, I leaned down and asked through the window if they went by my stop.  The driver said yes, so I hopped in the backseat just before the light turned green and off we went.

This time there were all men in the colectivo.  But, the man in the passenger seat seemed like a friendly grandfatherly type, who was chatting the driver up about when he began driving a taxi and when he first learned to drive (Fun fact: The driver first started driving taxis the same year I was born...).

The man in the backseat with me spent a great deal of time on his phone, talking rather condescendingly to what I assume was his girlfriend, and growing increasingly frustrated.  I was thankful when, for most of the ride, no one else got in the taxi with us so that I didn't have to sit directly beside the guy.

But, eventually two older women on the side of the highway flagged us down.  They were dressed in the typical indigenous clothing and had a big burlap sack full of something that the driver put in the trunk.  I moved over as one woman climbed in the back with us.  The other woman got in the front passenger seat along with the older man (Side note: In colectivos, often two people squeeze in the front passenger seat).

As we rode along, I looked at the hands of the old woman beside me.  It has been extremely dry here lately, and her skin was clearly suffering from the elements.  My hands have been dry too, but I have been able to put on triple-moisturizing lotion every morning and night.  I began to ponder the differences between our two lives and wonder why I live what seems to be a very privileged life when her life appears to be much more challenging. Hmmm...

In the next town the older man in the front seat got out, thankfully followed shortly by the angry man beside me.  As the driver loaded the belongings of another passenger into the trunk, the old woman and I smiled at each other.  She said "Hace mucho calor." (It's very hot today.)  I responded with a hearty, "Sí." (Yes.)  Profound, I know. ;)

The man who got in began speaking to the driver like they were old friends - but I didn't know what he was saying because he was speaking a language other than Spanish.  Next thing I knew, everyone in the cab was chatting it up in an indigenous language.  It was fun to hear and it made me wish I knew a simple greeting or something in whatever language it was.

The women got out at the other edge of town.  As they climbed out, the man in the front seat began to talk to me.  He said "Hace mucho calor." (It's very hot today.)  I responded, "Sí." (Yes.)  Even in other countries, weather is a good conversation topic when you don't know what to say :).  I asked him what language they had been speaking, and he told me Zapotec.  I feel like I should've guessed that, since that was the dominant people group in power in this valley for a long time (a long time ago).

I got out at my stop and crossed the highway to make the trek through the fields back to the children's home.  It had been a good day with an interesting ride at the end of it.  I went to bed thankful for a safe journey and still kind of wishing I knew some Zapotec.  Guess for now I'll have to stick with the little bit of German I'm learning from an app on my iPad - Ich bin eine Frau (I am a woman). :)