Picture This

I have so many thoughts to share, but never enough time to share them here, it would seem.

However, the other day my cell phone informed me that I was running out of space, and so I emptied it of its photos.  It turned out to be a rather unique assortment of moments from my life here, and I thought it might be interesting to share some of them.

So, during this time when my schedule does not permit me to elaborate my thoughts and observations on life, please enjoy the following snapshots instead :).

Just eating Dominos next to an ancient cathedral while an armed guard waits for a money transfer outside.

For a time last year there was a huge federal police presence.  This is the Walmart parking lot and the police are buying snacks from a vendor.  Side note, I don't understand  in what situation blue camouflage vehicles would be helpful.

My friend came to visit in February and we drove down to the beach.  It takes hours and hours, but sure is beautiful.  There's something about waves crashing to shore that is both powerful and peaceful.

Part of my job now is to look for and buy things the home needs.  This is the desk I finally decided would be mine in our new office - mainly because it has drawers.  It is surprisingly hard to find a desk with drawers here...

This is the beautiful garden of a buffet restaurant I tried out with a retired couple that was here this winter.  We affectionately call these retired couples that come for the winter months "snow birds."  The restaurant has very typical Oaxacan food, and we enjoyed our mid-afternoon lunch there.

This truck says "I go slow to arrive soon."  A good reminder to not speed around so dangerously.  I like it.

A Colorado license plate down here in Oaxaca!?!  I almost wanted to wait for them to come out of the store to meet them.  But I did not. :)

The McDonald's here has a tub of pickle slices alongside of the ketchup dispenser - which means you can have more than one pickle on your burger!  I really think the US should pick up on this great idea...

This is just inside the entrance to the children's home.  It is also a group of little boys trying to give the prison ministry pastor a hand by pushing his truck that won't start...

This is the auditorium where we hold our church services.  The boy on the bass guitar is 13 years old, the girl on the guitar beside him is 12.  Pretty amazing to have such youth as staples on your worship team.  Also, I first met that little girl when she was 3 years old.  What a privilege to be able to see how she has grown and matured, and continues to do so.

I guess I'll leave it at 10 photos for now, though there are plenty more.  We'll pick it back up some other day. :)

¡Viva México!

Happy Independence Day from Oaxaca, Mexico!

Celebrations begin the night of the 15th here in Mexico, commemorating when the Mexican hero Miguel Hidalgo rang the church bell, calling people to the revolution.  Every town holds their own celebration of the grito (shout) at midnight, with a gathering in the town square and a ringing of a bell with the leader shouting "¡Viva México!" (Long live Mexico!) and the people responding together "¡Viva!

Sadly, there were conflicts last night in downtown Oaxaca between the protesters and police before the grito.  We appreciate your continued prayers for justice and peace in Oaxaca.  As we hear of conflicts around the world and struggle with our own politics, may we who follow Christ remember that our hope is not found in mankind or in governments, but in a kingdom not of this world.

Long live the hero who gave us liberty and eternal life. Viva Cristo!

Saturday School

It is Saturday morning, and one of the new boys is starting to fake snore.  Great.  He is only five, so I pretend to show great concern that he is tired and offer that he can go take a nap in the hall.  Nah, he says.  The class giggles as the snoring continues.  Seriously kid, you can go sleep in the hallway.  No, this is just the way I breathe, I can’t help it.  Huh, that's strange, you were breathing normally for the first half of class, ah well…  I move on, the class calms down, and the boy miraculously starts being able to breathe more quietly.

We are holding our church services on a Saturday morning because our pastor of four years has moved away and our interim pastor has a packed schedule.  This is my first Saturday “Sunday School” class, and there are over 20 kids, ages 5 to 11.  We are talking about the parable of the seeds landing on different kinds of soil, and I have gathered dirt from around the children’s home for us to examine, along with rags and a flashlight to act as the birds and sun, and rocks and thorns to act as… rocks and thorns :) .  Apart from the snoring incident, I am grateful that the children’s attention holds for most of the lesson.

I’m excited to see what kind of new perspective this change of days can bring.  The interim pastor also brought along a whole crew of people from his church in Oaxaca, which I hadn’t expected, but it is nice to see people wanting to reach out.  Hopefully this is more than just a novelty, and they continue to come and relationships can be built.

I close my lesson with prayer for the “soil” of the children in front of me, that it may be good soil and that the gospel message may take deep roots.  May the enemy not snatch away the message, nor the belief be shallow, nor the fears and worries of life choke out its growth.  We say amen and move on to coloring pages and crossword puzzles. 

Please join us in prayer for the children’s home during this time of transition.  Pray for Pastor Omar as he leads us, and the people from his congregation of La Roca church.  Thank you!

Fortress

They invited us to come, and now around 25 people sat in a conference room at a long oval table.  I grew increasingly nervous as my turn to speak drew near, but I took a deep breath and managed to start with a joke that made everyone chuckle.  I also thanked them for the opportunity to be there and expressed our hope that we could help one another.

It was the first prison I'd ever been in and I didn't know what to expect.  Over 1,500 prisoners will be moved in to this new prison across the street later this month, and the officials wanted to give staff from the children's home a tour before it officially opened.  I was surprised that we were joined by the director, commander, head of security, accountant, social workers, psychologists, and more.  After introductions and hearing about their hopes for the prison to be a place of rehabilitation for the prisoners, we started the tour of the labyrinth of hallways and staircases.

We were impressed by the kitchen that has its own bakery and tortilleria.  The medical center has an impressive surgery, as well as a exam rooms, a dental unit, several rooms with lines of hospital beds, and more.  We entered one of 14 modules that will house over 100 prisoners each.  There the prisoners will be classified by the type and severity of their crime to decide what section to put them in.

We saw the classrooms, workshops, laundry, and even an event center with a huge canopy for special civic events.  We walked through the family visitation area, and the intimate visitation area.  This prison is a medium security prison, but from what I understand it is much more advanced than most of the prisons in Oaxaca and will take everyone a while to get used to.

I am thankful for the prison ministry we already have in place here at the home, and see that it may need to grow in the near future.  It seems that big change is coming to this area, which up until now has been relatively quiet and isolated.  We recently finished building a wall around the children's home in anticipation of new people coming to the area who would need to understand where our property lines are.

However, instead of feeling like we should hide behind our giant gates, many of us are sensing a clear call to go outside of these newly finished walls and into the community.  I recently read this quote by Salvadorian Archbishop Oscar Romero:

I am going to speak to you simply as a pastor, as one who, together with his people, has been learning the beautiful but harsh truth that the Christian faith does not cut us off from the world but immerses us in it; the church is not a fortress set apart from the city.  The church follows Jesus, who lived, worked, struggled and died in the midst of a city, in the polis."

I don't claim that we are doing everything right here, but I am thankful that the Holy Spirit is leading us to follow Christ's example of going out into the world.  May we have wisdom and love, strength and truth, unity and power to move forward according to His will.