Well, in May I’m going to be done. Graduation is coming so quickly and that means I’ve got to take the next step. It’s time to actually do what I’ve been talking, learning, and thinking about for so long. It is time to dive in, get dirty, and make a difference.
I heard about Mission Year a few years ago when Shane Claiborne came to Asbury University and talked about simplicity, social justice, and the importance of living in a community and loving your neighbors. I still have the sticker of their motto on my laptop- “Love God. Love people. Nothing else matters.” I have really been challenged by all of those ideas since then. What do I need and what can I get rid of? How am I being called to help those less fortunate around me? Aren’t we all called to something more than going with the flow of materialism and allowing society to control our desires? While spending last summer in Mexico City serving at a street kid ministry, my eyes were opened even wider to the reality of poverty and how much I have that I could really live without.
I’ve felt called to the inner city since high school and have wanted to work and be a part of breaking the cycle of poverty. With this calling, I decided to double major in Social Work and Spanish. During my experiences working inner city camps, in social work practicums, and in Mexico, my passion for these issues has continued to grow. Now I am just ready to live it out.
So, what next? That’s where Mission Year fits perfectly. It combines my passions for reaching the inner city and advocating for justice. I will be living, serving, and investing in a community while building relationships with both people in the community and my Mission Year team as we grow together and challenge each other.
Starting next September I’ll be in Atlanta and I’m so excited to see what God has for me there.
I will be raising $12,000 of support for the program over the next year so if you'd like to help go to- https://www.missionyear.org/support/jenellemcclean. Anything would be a huge help and greatly appreciated.
I will be continuing to blog but will be doing it through the Mission Year site at http://www.missionyear.org/blog/jenellemcclean
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Lessons from Mexico
So I'm finally getting past the denial that I won't be seeing all of my people in Mexico again... or at least for a long time. I can talk to them on Facebook, which is great, but for all of you who know me... I'm a face to face conversation kind of person. Phones and internet just can't compare.
So what did I get from being in Mexico? So So much!!
#1- No matter what someone looks like, where they are from, where they live, their mental state, the number of people on Earth who love them, the contributions they've made to society, their IQ, the bad choices that they've made, the language that they use, their outlook on life... Despite all of that- They are still a child of God, created by him, and are deserving of love. No one can take that away.
#2- Actions speak louder than words- no, but for real. I never felt like I had the perfect words to say. I was always jumbling around my sentences. Lots of times I didn't completely understand what was going on. However--- I could comb lice out of a girl's hair for 3 hours listening to her life story. I could hang out with super rough street guys and ignore the BO and their dirt caked clothing and play a game of UNO. I could keep a positive attitude at camp when it was pouring down rain and cold and my last long sleeve shirt got soaked. In those moments I just had to be and rely on God to use me how he wanted because it was obvious that I wasn't the person doing anything. It was all up to God to work through me and let his light shine through me.
#3- That leads to the third- God's doing the doing... not me.
#4- You never know what you're getting into. I thought I was going to work with kids- ended up working with 20/30 yr olds. I never expected to be able to help out the missionaries I was living with or give my input in meetings about the future of the Drop in Center at La Raza.
#5- It's okay not to have everything all planned out. I don't need to know what I'm going to do next after school yet. When it's time for me to know, I'll know. But until that point, there's no use in me fretting over what my next step will be because I just don't know yet. I'm going to live in the moment and enjoy where I'm at. If I end up in Mexico, in the US, going to grad school, whatever, I just want it to be what God wants me to do.
#6- Don't be afraid of your emotions. They're part of who you are and how you were created.
#7- The things you think you need, you really don't need. People live with so much less and are content and still give so much to everyone else.
#8- Mexicans are great.
There is so much more, but that's all I've got for now.
So what did I get from being in Mexico? So So much!!
#1- No matter what someone looks like, where they are from, where they live, their mental state, the number of people on Earth who love them, the contributions they've made to society, their IQ, the bad choices that they've made, the language that they use, their outlook on life... Despite all of that- They are still a child of God, created by him, and are deserving of love. No one can take that away.
#2- Actions speak louder than words- no, but for real. I never felt like I had the perfect words to say. I was always jumbling around my sentences. Lots of times I didn't completely understand what was going on. However--- I could comb lice out of a girl's hair for 3 hours listening to her life story. I could hang out with super rough street guys and ignore the BO and their dirt caked clothing and play a game of UNO. I could keep a positive attitude at camp when it was pouring down rain and cold and my last long sleeve shirt got soaked. In those moments I just had to be and rely on God to use me how he wanted because it was obvious that I wasn't the person doing anything. It was all up to God to work through me and let his light shine through me.
#3- That leads to the third- God's doing the doing... not me.
#4- You never know what you're getting into. I thought I was going to work with kids- ended up working with 20/30 yr olds. I never expected to be able to help out the missionaries I was living with or give my input in meetings about the future of the Drop in Center at La Raza.
#5- It's okay not to have everything all planned out. I don't need to know what I'm going to do next after school yet. When it's time for me to know, I'll know. But until that point, there's no use in me fretting over what my next step will be because I just don't know yet. I'm going to live in the moment and enjoy where I'm at. If I end up in Mexico, in the US, going to grad school, whatever, I just want it to be what God wants me to do.
#6- Don't be afraid of your emotions. They're part of who you are and how you were created.
#7- The things you think you need, you really don't need. People live with so much less and are content and still give so much to everyone else.
#8- Mexicans are great.
There is so much more, but that's all I've got for now.
Monday, August 2, 2010
That's a Wrap
I apologize for the huge delay in this post. It was so hard getting worked up to write it after I already did it once
I got in late Monday night and was it a long emotional ride home. I was starting to get sick from a week at camp in the rain on little sleep and was completely torn about how I felt about coming home.
Last week I was at a camp outside of Cuernavaca, Mexico at a YMCA camp called Camhomila. It was absolutely beautiful there. In the mountains... all green. I wish I would have taken better pictures, none of them really turned out well.
It was the church camp for all of the youth in the district that works with the OMS missionaries. I'd met some of the people before but for the most part, I was there on my own. There were a few other missionaries that were going to be there, but their Spanish skills were limited therefore, I was the only non Mexican to be a counselor. Therefore, I was in Spanish mode all day long. All last week I maybe spoke in English for 4 hours haha. But it was great. I was surrounded by such an amazing staff and was totally blessed by their friendships and their excitement to be serving God as counselors in the camp. We were in between two tropical storms at the time so it rained. A lot. So we arrived Monday and by Thursday most of my clothes were wet. Dry clothes were a cherished possession. Nothing dried. And it was cold. So when I got home, let's just say I had a bit of a head cold. Buuuut the week was soooo much fun. I had three groups of campers. Little kids, middle school, and high school. Each group was there for 2 days... the high schoolers for 3 days. I had a group of them each time. Here are some pictures to kind of show you some of the things we did throughout the week.
This is all of the counselors going into town for a dinner. They are so much fun and I miss hanging out with them.
Counselors had to compete in all of the competitions, so here I am in the sack race.
This is my first group of girls. They were all so cute.
And we had to make a tower out of straws. Let's just say it's obvious that I'm majoring in a non scientific/ mathematic discipline. It tipped over.
This is one of the games we played with them.
Since I was the tallest, I got to hold onto the innertube for the tug of war. It was pouring down rain and we were WET, on the mud. Everyone was linked to me like a big chain of hugs.
Which team is longest- This was day one or 2 before the rains came.
Here are some of the awesome people I was working with
Some more of the sessions.
Here's my first group of girls again.
I learned soooo many Mexican cheers it's not even funny. I might even know more in Spanish than I do in English at this point :)
My height got me volunteered again for the goalie during this game. The kids were blindfolded and had to tear down the wall. It was hilarious when they got turned the wrong way and started chucking the balls at all of us.
And this was the ropes course. You can see that we were soaking wet. I'm in there somewhere. We had to make it through all of the ropes while holding hands. We couldn't let go and had to find all of our country's flags (each cabin was a country).
And this is my group of teenagers. We were Italy.
I'll write again sometime in the near future about all that I'm thinking about now that I'm back. It's been a long summer and who knows what I'll do next. :)
I got in late Monday night and was it a long emotional ride home. I was starting to get sick from a week at camp in the rain on little sleep and was completely torn about how I felt about coming home.
Last week I was at a camp outside of Cuernavaca, Mexico at a YMCA camp called Camhomila. It was absolutely beautiful there. In the mountains... all green. I wish I would have taken better pictures, none of them really turned out well.
It was the church camp for all of the youth in the district that works with the OMS missionaries. I'd met some of the people before but for the most part, I was there on my own. There were a few other missionaries that were going to be there, but their Spanish skills were limited therefore, I was the only non Mexican to be a counselor. Therefore, I was in Spanish mode all day long. All last week I maybe spoke in English for 4 hours haha. But it was great. I was surrounded by such an amazing staff and was totally blessed by their friendships and their excitement to be serving God as counselors in the camp. We were in between two tropical storms at the time so it rained. A lot. So we arrived Monday and by Thursday most of my clothes were wet. Dry clothes were a cherished possession. Nothing dried. And it was cold. So when I got home, let's just say I had a bit of a head cold. Buuuut the week was soooo much fun. I had three groups of campers. Little kids, middle school, and high school. Each group was there for 2 days... the high schoolers for 3 days. I had a group of them each time. Here are some pictures to kind of show you some of the things we did throughout the week.
This is all of the counselors going into town for a dinner. They are so much fun and I miss hanging out with them.
Counselors had to compete in all of the competitions, so here I am in the sack race.
This is my first group of girls. They were all so cute.
And we had to make a tower out of straws. Let's just say it's obvious that I'm majoring in a non scientific/ mathematic discipline. It tipped over.
This is one of the games we played with them.
Since I was the tallest, I got to hold onto the innertube for the tug of war. It was pouring down rain and we were WET, on the mud. Everyone was linked to me like a big chain of hugs.
Which team is longest- This was day one or 2 before the rains came.
Here are some of the awesome people I was working with
Some more of the sessions.
Here's my first group of girls again.
I learned soooo many Mexican cheers it's not even funny. I might even know more in Spanish than I do in English at this point :)
My height got me volunteered again for the goalie during this game. The kids were blindfolded and had to tear down the wall. It was hilarious when they got turned the wrong way and started chucking the balls at all of us.
And this was the ropes course. You can see that we were soaking wet. I'm in there somewhere. We had to make it through all of the ropes while holding hands. We couldn't let go and had to find all of our country's flags (each cabin was a country).
And this is my group of teenagers. We were Italy.
I'll write again sometime in the near future about all that I'm thinking about now that I'm back. It's been a long summer and who knows what I'll do next. :)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Camp
So I've spent my last day here in Mexico City. I'm leaving for camp which is in Cuernavaca. I'll be internet free for the next week. I get back to the city here at midnight on Sunday and then I have to leave for the airport at around 8 Monday morning. So, the next time I write I'll probably be in the States.
Thanks so much for all your support!!!!
Thanks so much for all your support!!!!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Another Funny Story
So as I was talking to my mom on Skype this morning, I realize that I'd never written about this little occurrence that happened last week.
As you know if you've been reading my blog, I've been working in the kitchen with a blind ex chef, Memo. He has pretty much no fear despite his disability. He's worked in a kitchen all his life and the whole phrase "I could do it with my eyes shut" is how he lives every day.
This being said, it was my first day in the kitchen with Memo. We work with gas stove tops at La Raza. I personally had only used one once before coming to Mexico. One of the ranges lights itself, but the other range you have to light with a lighter. Well, all of the first set of burners were filled this particular morning. I was cutting up something on one side of the kitchen not paying much attention to what Memo was doing. I thought he was stirring something. All of the sudden I hear a FFWOOOSHFF. I look over and the flame is so big that it is swallowing the pan in tongues of orange and yellow. Memo is standing there about to catch on fire and is feeling for the pan, looks back in my direction, and asks, "Did it light yet?" I run over there to turn it down telling Memo, "Yes! Yes! Back up! Wait a second! You're not going to have any eyebrows." All the time Memo is just standing there with his little smile on his face. And that is how our work together began. It's been an adventure. From then on, I always stepped in to light the burners.
As you know if you've been reading my blog, I've been working in the kitchen with a blind ex chef, Memo. He has pretty much no fear despite his disability. He's worked in a kitchen all his life and the whole phrase "I could do it with my eyes shut" is how he lives every day.
This being said, it was my first day in the kitchen with Memo. We work with gas stove tops at La Raza. I personally had only used one once before coming to Mexico. One of the ranges lights itself, but the other range you have to light with a lighter. Well, all of the first set of burners were filled this particular morning. I was cutting up something on one side of the kitchen not paying much attention to what Memo was doing. I thought he was stirring something. All of the sudden I hear a FFWOOOSHFF. I look over and the flame is so big that it is swallowing the pan in tongues of orange and yellow. Memo is standing there about to catch on fire and is feeling for the pan, looks back in my direction, and asks, "Did it light yet?" I run over there to turn it down telling Memo, "Yes! Yes! Back up! Wait a second! You're not going to have any eyebrows." All the time Memo is just standing there with his little smile on his face. And that is how our work together began. It's been an adventure. From then on, I always stepped in to light the burners.
Friday, July 16, 2010
I Almost Forgot
I was attacked by some kind of crazy bug or something. I woke up this morning and my lip was numb and swollen. Right now there's no more swelling, but it's still numb. It's crazy what some little animal can do to you. I have just looked all around my room including in my bed for the culprit and I didn't find anything abnormal. It looks like this one will remain a mystery.
Last Day at La Raza
The past week's been super busy. All kinds of meetings and goodbyes. I got to go to their mini Olympics for street kids. There were probably 200/ 300 people there. It was crazy. But I knew like 40 of them so it was kind of fun. We caught up with a bunch of them that hadn't been to the Center in a long time. The next day, we had 25 people show up at La Raza. We can only take in 16, but it just goes to show how many people are in need and find a place in our center.
Today was my last day and Paty and Alex made me Pazole which is a super traditional Mexican dish. It's basically giant corn soup with shredded beef. They eat it with tortilla chips and sour cream. So good! Mexican food in the states is nothing like what I've eaten here. Tortillas are the same... Rice also... but everything else is completely inaccurate. It's way better the legitimate Mexican way.
Here's some pictures from this past week.
This was today after my goodbye meal.
And these are from my last few days with the Chavos.
Today was my last day and Paty and Alex made me Pazole which is a super traditional Mexican dish. It's basically giant corn soup with shredded beef. They eat it with tortilla chips and sour cream. So good! Mexican food in the states is nothing like what I've eaten here. Tortillas are the same... Rice also... but everything else is completely inaccurate. It's way better the legitimate Mexican way.
Here's some pictures from this past week.
This was today after my goodbye meal.
And these are from my last few days with the Chavos.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Cooking Catastrophe
Okay, so it wasn't really a catastrophe, but I have three burnt fingers as a result. Let's just say frying things isn't my talent in the kitchen.
I was on quesadilla duty (making about 60 of them filled with some kind of zucchini filling- so good). And here, they fry them... so that means I was putting them in the pan, flipping them over, and then putting them away. As you may know, oil jumps at you when there's water in it (I never knew the cause until this week). So, since there is water in zucchini, the oil was going crazy. But I pressed on in the kitchen. Memo (the blind chef I'm working with) obviously cannot do this part. I mean, I'm down three fingers and I can see perfectly fine. Anyways, as I was placing one of the quesadillas in the oil, it splashed up at me, attacking my fingers.
End of Story
Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be my last day with all of the guys there. I cannot believe that it's almost over. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I feel like I'm finally getting to the point where I can joke around with them and now I'm leaving. But at the same time I'm ready to get home, so you just can't make me happy :).
I was on quesadilla duty (making about 60 of them filled with some kind of zucchini filling- so good). And here, they fry them... so that means I was putting them in the pan, flipping them over, and then putting them away. As you may know, oil jumps at you when there's water in it (I never knew the cause until this week). So, since there is water in zucchini, the oil was going crazy. But I pressed on in the kitchen. Memo (the blind chef I'm working with) obviously cannot do this part. I mean, I'm down three fingers and I can see perfectly fine. Anyways, as I was placing one of the quesadillas in the oil, it splashed up at me, attacking my fingers.
End of Story
Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be my last day with all of the guys there. I cannot believe that it's almost over. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I feel like I'm finally getting to the point where I can joke around with them and now I'm leaving. But at the same time I'm ready to get home, so you just can't make me happy :).
Monday, July 12, 2010
Not Mexico Related
Okay so random side note... I've been reading a ton while I've been here.. I'm on my 3rd series and 9th book. But right now I'm reading this series by Lynn Austin called the Chronicles of the Kings. Its the whole story of Hezekiah (from the Bible). I'm on the second book and they're so good. They put all of the passages together and then illustrate it with what they know with history. The whole story has come alive for me and I'd highly suggest it. I've gone back and have been reading some of the Old Testament passages to read what's actually there. Anyways, I was just sitting here thinking if you need anything to read... that would be my suggestion. :)
2 weeks from tonight I'll be back in Indy. Can't wait to see you all!
2 weeks from tonight I'll be back in Indy. Can't wait to see you all!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
2 Weeks left
So I've been doing more thinking the past few days than anything else. Saturday I decided to go on the Hop on Hop off bus. Not exactly that exciting. I'd been to the places that it took me to already and they really didn't have much to say about anything. I was kind of assuming there would be more to see since we are in the biggest city in the world (some say... depending on what you're counting I guess), but if there is, the tour didn't show it. As I was sitting on the bus all by myself (I took the bus so at least there would be people around), I kept comparing that tour to the Hop on/ off bus in NYC. It's the only one I'd been on before. In doing that it hit me all over again just how poor they are here. The quality of living... the expected house/ apartment... the norm of how people make money by selling whatever they get their hands on... it's so much lower than in the US. I wish you could just see it and spring over here for a day just to look around and get a glimpse. It's not that the normal person is starving, just that the norm is so much lower on the scale. They have what they need. And their needs are defined much differently than ours. How does that happen. We expect so much.... "need" so much. And most of it is so much of a waste and unnecessary.
Another thing that has really hit me this week as I've been reading and thinking has been just how thankful that I am for hope and the hope that people can change. As these guys are coming in it's so apparent that everyone has given up on them: their family for the most part, the government, employers, the education system, even they themselves. They don't have people who love them... in fact most people are afraid of them and ignore them. But more and more I just keep thinking that still God loves them. He still created them in his image. He still is brokenhearted when he sees what has become of their lives. But there are people who are showing them love. There are a few people who have grasped what that love and hope from God means and are trying to share it with them. God is pretty much their only hope. I mean he's the only thing all of us truly have hope in, but for them especially that is an extremely obvious thing. It's easier to see in their lives how little worth our lives have on earth. Being here has made me realize that no matter how good a meal we can feed them and no matter if we can help them learn how to read, that only gets them so far. They are still left without hope if they don't have a relationship with Jesus and know that they are forgiven through his death on the cross. They might live a little bit easier and have a fuller stomach, but the love part... the part where they realize that God loves them and that they can change with his help is the most important of all and the only thing that truly matters.
Okay... on a lighter note... I'm making Macaroni and Cheese for Alex and Paty tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about it. They've been teasing me about my cooking skills since I've been here saying that that is probably why I don't have a boyfriend. I think it is their mission to find me a husband asap haha. So tomorrow, I'm going to show them how it's done in the USA (without Kraft).
This week is also the Mundialito which is the street kid Olympics. Apparently every summer all of the street kids (kids as in 15-40 yr olds) organize an olympic contest. They divide up into teams depending on where they live and this mostly revolves around which Metro stop their closest to. Then they have all kinds of events. They tell me that volleyball is included. It's 2 weeks long at the winning team in the end gets a trophy. I think it's kind of hilarious, but we're going to be there this week catching up with some of them who haven't come to the Drop In Center recently. I'm pretty excited about it. Alexandro told me that this is going to make me realize just how many street people there are in the city. Apparently they have estimated more than 3 million. That's insane if you ask me.
Well I'm off to bed. Pardon my grammar errors because I didn't read this through before posting it. We'll just hope it makes sense.
Another thing that has really hit me this week as I've been reading and thinking has been just how thankful that I am for hope and the hope that people can change. As these guys are coming in it's so apparent that everyone has given up on them: their family for the most part, the government, employers, the education system, even they themselves. They don't have people who love them... in fact most people are afraid of them and ignore them. But more and more I just keep thinking that still God loves them. He still created them in his image. He still is brokenhearted when he sees what has become of their lives. But there are people who are showing them love. There are a few people who have grasped what that love and hope from God means and are trying to share it with them. God is pretty much their only hope. I mean he's the only thing all of us truly have hope in, but for them especially that is an extremely obvious thing. It's easier to see in their lives how little worth our lives have on earth. Being here has made me realize that no matter how good a meal we can feed them and no matter if we can help them learn how to read, that only gets them so far. They are still left without hope if they don't have a relationship with Jesus and know that they are forgiven through his death on the cross. They might live a little bit easier and have a fuller stomach, but the love part... the part where they realize that God loves them and that they can change with his help is the most important of all and the only thing that truly matters.
Okay... on a lighter note... I'm making Macaroni and Cheese for Alex and Paty tomorrow. I'm pretty excited about it. They've been teasing me about my cooking skills since I've been here saying that that is probably why I don't have a boyfriend. I think it is their mission to find me a husband asap haha. So tomorrow, I'm going to show them how it's done in the USA (without Kraft).
This week is also the Mundialito which is the street kid Olympics. Apparently every summer all of the street kids (kids as in 15-40 yr olds) organize an olympic contest. They divide up into teams depending on where they live and this mostly revolves around which Metro stop their closest to. Then they have all kinds of events. They tell me that volleyball is included. It's 2 weeks long at the winning team in the end gets a trophy. I think it's kind of hilarious, but we're going to be there this week catching up with some of them who haven't come to the Drop In Center recently. I'm pretty excited about it. Alexandro told me that this is going to make me realize just how many street people there are in the city. Apparently they have estimated more than 3 million. That's insane if you ask me.
Well I'm off to bed. Pardon my grammar errors because I didn't read this through before posting it. We'll just hope it makes sense.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Jenelle the Chef
So this week I've spent a ton of time in the kitchen helping with the food since that is what the lady who left used to do. We have completely rearranged and cleaned the kitchen (it really needed it). In addition to that, it's me and Alejandro's brother who are working in there. Memo is blind but he was a chef in Cancun at some ritzy restaurant before. He can cut things up better and more consistently than I can and he can't see what he's doing. It's great. He can guess weights and quantities better than anyone too. He tells me things like... Oh, just put about 2 kilos in there. And of course that means absolutely nothing to me haha. What makes it more funny is I have ("had" before this week) a very small vocabulary of kitchen terms. The difference between a pot/pan/sauce pan/ladle/spatula/colander etc is a whole different thing when you are the one that has to find the unknown object for him and he has to feel each one to see if it will work. I can't just pick it up and show him to ask if it's the right thing. In fact all forms of communication are a little more difficult because I tend to use a lot of motions and non verbal communication. However with Memo this doesn't exactly work since he can't exactly see those things. So it's been a lot of me trying to describe things and finally walking over to him to hand him what I'm talking about. I might be making it sound worse than it is, but still... it's been a fun experience. We've been having a great time and he's bound and determined to get me to be a chef. It's hilarious. I have the rest of this week and next week at the Center. I can't believe it's almost over!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Long week with sightseeing and a little drama
So this week... has been an interesting one. Last Thursday I found out that one of the couples at La Raza had been transferred to another church and won't be working with us anymore. In a way it is a good thing but there will be a lot of adjustments to make. I think it's going to open up a lot of opportunities for the center that were not able to happen before for various reasons. Tomorrow I'm going to be in on the meeting with Paty and Alejandro's bosses (kind of like the district pastors) and I'll be able to be a part of it and give my ideas. I'm really excited because I think that what they do, they do well, but they are missing a few things that I think could drastically help them. Plus I'm the only one that has a social service/ psychology/ etc background (or part of one) and they are really appreciating my thoughts and ideas about things. I definitely feel useful.
So that whole situation was a little bit of drama. Today there were three of us and 2 volunteers instead of 5 of us and 1 volunteer. I'm definitely thinking it's for the better but like I said, they will be adjusting until after I'm gone. I'm only going to be working there this week and next week. My last week I'm going to be a counselor at their church camp. It's an actual camp with cabin type living. I'll be in charge of 10ish kids. It will definitely be a stretch for me, but last week I was thinking about Moses when he kept telling God that he couldn't talk very well so he couldn't do it. I guess I can't use that excuse anymore haha.
Friday there was a group of people from the US here. They are thinking about becoming missionaries and starting raising funds to come to Mexico in the next two years. They were doing all of the touristy stuff as well as seeing an overview of all of the ministries OMS has in the city. So, I joined in their touristy ways and went to the Center of the city to the Zocolo. The cathedral is down there so I got to see that and then the other two girls and I took a little adventure around. They'd seen everything before, but I got to see it for the first time. We had so much fun. One of my favorite things about Mexico is the fruit juices. All freshly made. Some of them are kind of like smoothies. Delicious! (The best one I've had so far, I got on Saturday with them... sooo good)
This is the cathedral.
We also went to the Basilica of Guadalupe. Guadalupe is the godess of Mexico even though it's through the Catholic church. Back in the day when the Spaniards and the Aztecs were battling it out, one of the bishops was praying for peace. He wanted God to show him a sign using Castillian roses. An Aztec man kept having a vision of this woman on a mountain. She told him to go and tell this bishop that he had seen a vision. They didn't believe him. He went back to the mountain and told the vision and so she told him to pick the flowers and put them in his cape. He held up his cape to hold all of the flowers and went back to show the bishop. When he let down his cape, there was an intricate picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe (the woman in the vision) and the flowers were castillian roses. To this day, the cape is in the basilica and all of Mexico come on pilgrimages to see it.
Old Basilica on the hill where the Aztec saw the vision
New Basilica
This is the monument to what happened.
This is the famous cape in the basilica.
And this is the lines of people waiting to see the the cape from underneath... yes they have a moving floor to get the people through.
And modern day indulgences... pay for a service to get your relatives out of hell/ etc.
So that whole situation was a little bit of drama. Today there were three of us and 2 volunteers instead of 5 of us and 1 volunteer. I'm definitely thinking it's for the better but like I said, they will be adjusting until after I'm gone. I'm only going to be working there this week and next week. My last week I'm going to be a counselor at their church camp. It's an actual camp with cabin type living. I'll be in charge of 10ish kids. It will definitely be a stretch for me, but last week I was thinking about Moses when he kept telling God that he couldn't talk very well so he couldn't do it. I guess I can't use that excuse anymore haha.
Friday there was a group of people from the US here. They are thinking about becoming missionaries and starting raising funds to come to Mexico in the next two years. They were doing all of the touristy stuff as well as seeing an overview of all of the ministries OMS has in the city. So, I joined in their touristy ways and went to the Center of the city to the Zocolo. The cathedral is down there so I got to see that and then the other two girls and I took a little adventure around. They'd seen everything before, but I got to see it for the first time. We had so much fun. One of my favorite things about Mexico is the fruit juices. All freshly made. Some of them are kind of like smoothies. Delicious! (The best one I've had so far, I got on Saturday with them... sooo good)
This is the cathedral.
We also went to the Basilica of Guadalupe. Guadalupe is the godess of Mexico even though it's through the Catholic church. Back in the day when the Spaniards and the Aztecs were battling it out, one of the bishops was praying for peace. He wanted God to show him a sign using Castillian roses. An Aztec man kept having a vision of this woman on a mountain. She told him to go and tell this bishop that he had seen a vision. They didn't believe him. He went back to the mountain and told the vision and so she told him to pick the flowers and put them in his cape. He held up his cape to hold all of the flowers and went back to show the bishop. When he let down his cape, there was an intricate picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe (the woman in the vision) and the flowers were castillian roses. To this day, the cape is in the basilica and all of Mexico come on pilgrimages to see it.
Old Basilica on the hill where the Aztec saw the vision
New Basilica
This is the monument to what happened.
This is the famous cape in the basilica.
And this is the lines of people waiting to see the the cape from underneath... yes they have a moving floor to get the people through.
And modern day indulgences... pay for a service to get your relatives out of hell/ etc.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Trash Cans- Por Favor!
Okay- so my biggest complaint about Mexico... WHERE ARE THE TRASH CANS? So you're walking down the street with an empty soda bottle and you have to put it in your purse because you will not find a trash can ANYWHERE. However it is a little more difficult when you have things that will spill or get messy. Annoying. Today in the bus (As I've said, I spend a lot of time in the buses so I'm full of bus stories) a little old lady just chucked her water bottle out with window. I laughed. So that's how they do it in Mexico. :)
Other than that I've just been doing a lot of the same stuff. Working at the drop in center at La Raza. My Spanish keeps getting better and better so that is really exciting for me. I'm able to have real life conversations with people and give input on what I think could be happening at the center. Hopefully I can help a little bit! They have a big idea meeting of what they want the place to look like in the next year and I get to be there. I'm the only one coming from a social service point of view and not a Biblical point of view so I feel like I have legitimate things to recommend thanks to the classes I've taken so that is exciting!
Hope you're all doing wonderfully!!!
Other than that I've just been doing a lot of the same stuff. Working at the drop in center at La Raza. My Spanish keeps getting better and better so that is really exciting for me. I'm able to have real life conversations with people and give input on what I think could be happening at the center. Hopefully I can help a little bit! They have a big idea meeting of what they want the place to look like in the next year and I get to be there. I'm the only one coming from a social service point of view and not a Biblical point of view so I feel like I have legitimate things to recommend thanks to the classes I've taken so that is exciting!
Hope you're all doing wonderfully!!!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tortilla Chef Extraordinaire
So the other 2 foreigners (Sarah & Sadie) and I were invited to learn how to cook some Mexican food. We had a whole lesson. Some of the girls at one of the churches had to do a service project for someone, so they picked us and decided to teach us how to make tortillas. It was so much fun. We were laughing the entire night. The whole saying- Mi casa es tu casa- is completely true here. The people I have met are so giving of their time and possessions.
Here are us as we are getting ready to start- very attentively I might add.
And then we had to press the balls of dough in the tortilla press. They told me to press harder, and when I did, the handle popped off. I thought for sure I'd broken it. Lala had just finished saying that you can buy ones that are smaller and more convenient to use, but her grandfather made this for her parents at their wedding so it has a lot of sentimental value. Luckily that was supposed to happen- not broken for real. Just a little scare.
Here is the first batch. Guess which one they demo-ed. Yep. The one that is still completely intact and not wrinkled over.
and here was our meal. Everyone got one Mexican and one American/ Irish tortilla. They all tasted good though haha. This is what legit Mexican looks like: hand made corn tortillas, some steak meat, some kind of lettuce- not sure what kind, cilantro- the herb choice, also not shown-- rice, homemade salsa, homemade guacamole, and don't forget the lime to squirt on everything. So GOOD!
And here are all of us. This is how they salute their flag. This was right after the Mexico game on Sunday so they had the flag up (now both my teams are out of the World Cup).
Here are us as we are getting ready to start- very attentively I might add.
And then we had to press the balls of dough in the tortilla press. They told me to press harder, and when I did, the handle popped off. I thought for sure I'd broken it. Lala had just finished saying that you can buy ones that are smaller and more convenient to use, but her grandfather made this for her parents at their wedding so it has a lot of sentimental value. Luckily that was supposed to happen- not broken for real. Just a little scare.
Here is the first batch. Guess which one they demo-ed. Yep. The one that is still completely intact and not wrinkled over.
and here was our meal. Everyone got one Mexican and one American/ Irish tortilla. They all tasted good though haha. This is what legit Mexican looks like: hand made corn tortillas, some steak meat, some kind of lettuce- not sure what kind, cilantro- the herb choice, also not shown-- rice, homemade salsa, homemade guacamole, and don't forget the lime to squirt on everything. So GOOD!
And here are all of us. This is how they salute their flag. This was right after the Mexico game on Sunday so they had the flag up (now both my teams are out of the World Cup).
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Memorizing My Lines
To start us off, I had a butterfly the size of my hand in my bedroom last night. If someone would have videotaped me from the moment I saw it until I gave up and went inside to sleep on the couch, I would have won America's Funniest Home Videos' Mexico addition. That darn thing wouldn't move no matter what I did and since it was night, the longer I left my door open, the more bugs kept coming in. There are so many bugs here that don't bother me because I just kill them and I'm fine, but this darn butterfly- it gave me problems. This morning Robin- one of the ladies I'm living with came in and took it out on her finger calling me a city slicker haha.
I was volunteered to participate in a sketch this Saturday. I found out on Monday so I've been trying to memorize my lines for it. It's called something to the effect of the auction of a soul. They've used it here in a few neighborhoods already where they have house churches as an outreach tool. Basically what happens in the play is they open an auction to see who has the best to offer for this man's soul. I go first- I'm the world. I offer him all the money he wants, fame, a good reputation, etc. Then the next person who comes up is something to do with addiction/ vices. She offers drugs and gambling and stuff like that saying that money and reputation come from that. So she beats me out. Then Satan comes but you don't know he's Satan til the very end. He offers everything to the guy that we have saying he owns those things as well as sex and being your own boss. The soul accepts his offer and all the sudden Satan puts chains on his hands and throws him to the ground. They ask if anyone else is there with a better offer. Jesus comes and says he wants to give his own life. He talks for a while about all the hope and redemption and forgiveness for those who believe in him. This isn't a great illustration of what the play is but it's a little bit of an idea. I'm excited about it but kind of nervous at the same time. I still don't have my lines all the way memorized and its on Saturday. And the problem is if I lose my place, it's not as easy to fill in and make stuff up since it's in Spanish. baah!
Other than that it hasn't been a super exciting week. There's been a little bit of drama at the shelter because one of the couples who is closest to getting off the street- Leo and Rocio- got into a fight Monday and got kicked out. Wednesday we had to go and track them down because no one had heard from them. We found them and I think they're alright again but it just shows how quickly one thing can set one of these guys back. The line between following the rules to the T and giving them second chances through understanding that they've made huge improvements since the beginning and mess ups are bound to happen. The whole law and grace thing.
I've been working on my testimony in Spanish because they want me to give it during the devotions. I'm scheduled to do it on Monday so I'm just hoping and praying that something that I have to say will be relevant to these guys.
One final thing- Today I was in a Suburban with 10 people (fully grown people)... sardine style. We were on our way to the place where we're doing the play on Saturday to hand out fliers and announce it with a megaphone. The way there was one of the funniest things I've experienced so far in Mexico. Just listening to the conversation in between the people was hilarious. We ended up going the same way I go on the bus every day. And where I mentioned before where the buses go the wrong way on the off ramp to take a short cut onto the high way... well a bus was doing the same thing and the guy who was driving (the pastor of one of the churches I might say) said, "Que inteligente!" and swerved over (3 lanes) to follow the bus right onto the high way. I lost it and was cracking up in the back. Anything goes on these roads. The more creative the better.
Hope you are all doing well!!!
I was volunteered to participate in a sketch this Saturday. I found out on Monday so I've been trying to memorize my lines for it. It's called something to the effect of the auction of a soul. They've used it here in a few neighborhoods already where they have house churches as an outreach tool. Basically what happens in the play is they open an auction to see who has the best to offer for this man's soul. I go first- I'm the world. I offer him all the money he wants, fame, a good reputation, etc. Then the next person who comes up is something to do with addiction/ vices. She offers drugs and gambling and stuff like that saying that money and reputation come from that. So she beats me out. Then Satan comes but you don't know he's Satan til the very end. He offers everything to the guy that we have saying he owns those things as well as sex and being your own boss. The soul accepts his offer and all the sudden Satan puts chains on his hands and throws him to the ground. They ask if anyone else is there with a better offer. Jesus comes and says he wants to give his own life. He talks for a while about all the hope and redemption and forgiveness for those who believe in him. This isn't a great illustration of what the play is but it's a little bit of an idea. I'm excited about it but kind of nervous at the same time. I still don't have my lines all the way memorized and its on Saturday. And the problem is if I lose my place, it's not as easy to fill in and make stuff up since it's in Spanish. baah!
Other than that it hasn't been a super exciting week. There's been a little bit of drama at the shelter because one of the couples who is closest to getting off the street- Leo and Rocio- got into a fight Monday and got kicked out. Wednesday we had to go and track them down because no one had heard from them. We found them and I think they're alright again but it just shows how quickly one thing can set one of these guys back. The line between following the rules to the T and giving them second chances through understanding that they've made huge improvements since the beginning and mess ups are bound to happen. The whole law and grace thing.
I've been working on my testimony in Spanish because they want me to give it during the devotions. I'm scheduled to do it on Monday so I'm just hoping and praying that something that I have to say will be relevant to these guys.
One final thing- Today I was in a Suburban with 10 people (fully grown people)... sardine style. We were on our way to the place where we're doing the play on Saturday to hand out fliers and announce it with a megaphone. The way there was one of the funniest things I've experienced so far in Mexico. Just listening to the conversation in between the people was hilarious. We ended up going the same way I go on the bus every day. And where I mentioned before where the buses go the wrong way on the off ramp to take a short cut onto the high way... well a bus was doing the same thing and the guy who was driving (the pastor of one of the churches I might say) said, "Que inteligente!" and swerved over (3 lanes) to follow the bus right onto the high way. I lost it and was cracking up in the back. Anything goes on these roads. The more creative the better.
Hope you are all doing well!!!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
So Many Stories and Not Enough Time to Write
Here are a few things that happened this past week.
One of the guys this week came in. He is the one that can barely walk or talk. He's a complete mess. I think I've mentioned him in another post, but if not, you're about to find out about him. He has been on the streets since he was 7 or 8 because his mother was gone (I'm not exactly sure what happened to her) and his father was extremely abusive. The dad ended up in jail for abuse, but the kid was so afraid of people by that point that he somehow got out of his foster family. Since that time he's been on the street using every drug imaginable and he has nothing left physically or mentally. He is skin and bones. He looks like he is in his 20s but I've proven myself to be awful at guessing people's ages down here, so that may be off haha. Tuesday I walked in and he was sitting outside the shelter on the sidewalk. I noticed an awful smell, but didn't think much of it since there have been all kinds of bad smells in the past few weeks. I'll remind you that these people live in the streets without showers and bathrooms. However, I went in and talked with Paty about him (They call him the Toro or something like that. I'm never quite sure). She said they refused to let him in. When I asked her why she was like, "Didn't you smell him?!?" Apparently he had some kind of stomach virus or something and had gone to the bathroom all over himself. They couldn't let him in because they have to shower and be clean, however they couldn't let him into the shower because of the mess he would make. If that isn't a sight to see I don't know what is. He can't walk by himself, so someone had brought him and dropped him off at the door earlier in the morning. They weren't going to be back until later. In the meantime the smell was wafting into the shelter because he was right outside. They gave him some medicine and some food so he'd eat something, but they wouldn't let him come in. He has nobody, is addicted to every drug imaginable, and has nothing and nowhere to go. I'm not sure what happened to him after that, but I'm guessing someone came to pick him up and hopefully helped him clean up himself. I still don't understand how there is no place else for him to go in this city. I don't know how the social service system works, but Paty and Alex are doing their best to find some kind of rehab place for him.
Leonardo is another guy that is one of the most frequent comers. He comes every day of the week even when there is no food in order to help set up for their Thursday night service and clean stuff up. Paty and Alex are like his family. He's 20 and has been on the street since he was 12. I was washing dishes with him last Thursday and was trying to make conversation so I asked him what he would do if he could do anything he wanted. Without hesitation he answered me that he would make a time machine and go back to when his family was still together and before he knew drugs. We kept talking he explained how he ended up in the streets. I couldn't understand him really well because he was talking really quietly but I didn't feel I could ask him to repeat himself just because I didn't understand since you could tell he was kind of struggling to say it all. My Spanish was getting better, but when I can't hear every word, I don't really have a shot. However, something happened to his mom so that she was unable to take care of them. His older brother went to Chiapas (another state) to live with extended family, and somehow he ended up here alone. He got into drugs and this is where he lives.
This is a section that is a barrier between the two sides of the freeway. There is a dug out part and that is where he has made a tent. However, it rains every day here (it's rainy season) so I have no idea how they do it. The good news though is that Monday we are taking him to look at a 3 month rehabilitation center that is Christian run. He said if he likes it he's checking himself in Tuesday. Pray that he likes it!
Last story of the night. Rocio- the girl who had the lice- came in on Thursday and had an awful stomach ache. They thought she might have an ulcer so they tried to get it to calm down and let her sleep on a couch the whole time we were there. Friday it had gotten worse so that she couldn't even stand. We took her to a Medical consultant. They have them at all the pharmacies and for 20 pesos/ less than $2 you can see a doctor. He said that we needed to get an ambulance and get her to the hospital because he thought it was her appendix. So we walked back to the shelter, called an ambulance, and 2 hours later they got there. By that time she was crying in pain when she walked over to the door. They took her to the hospital. Her boyfriend went with her, and we stayed back because Friday afternoon we were having a Father's Day dinner thing for the neighborhood. A few hours later they got back and told us that they got to the hospital and they refused to do anything because they were homeless. When they were filling out the paperwork they said they didn't have an address. Well this is not legal in Mexico either, however everyone is looking for a bribe and since they have absolutely nothing they were sent home. Well this didn't exactly go over very well when they returned. Luckily she was feeling better so they don't think it's her appendix anymore. However she was still feeling awful and had no concrete answers. We got them some food for the weekend, a few bottles of water, and some change to use a payphone if anything happened so that they could call Paty. As of today Paty hadn't heard anything about it so hopefully Rocio is feeling better. However, how awful.
Lots of things to think about. All I know is I am learning so much from Paty and Alex as they're working with all of these people. They have so much patience and love for them while you know it is breaking their hearts along the way. However, there are so many success stories from this place. It's a place where these people get loved and hear about God. That's all you can do. I'm definitely realizing that God is the one that does the changing. You can give them food and clothes and a shower, but God is the one that has the power.
One of the guys this week came in. He is the one that can barely walk or talk. He's a complete mess. I think I've mentioned him in another post, but if not, you're about to find out about him. He has been on the streets since he was 7 or 8 because his mother was gone (I'm not exactly sure what happened to her) and his father was extremely abusive. The dad ended up in jail for abuse, but the kid was so afraid of people by that point that he somehow got out of his foster family. Since that time he's been on the street using every drug imaginable and he has nothing left physically or mentally. He is skin and bones. He looks like he is in his 20s but I've proven myself to be awful at guessing people's ages down here, so that may be off haha. Tuesday I walked in and he was sitting outside the shelter on the sidewalk. I noticed an awful smell, but didn't think much of it since there have been all kinds of bad smells in the past few weeks. I'll remind you that these people live in the streets without showers and bathrooms. However, I went in and talked with Paty about him (They call him the Toro or something like that. I'm never quite sure). She said they refused to let him in. When I asked her why she was like, "Didn't you smell him?!?" Apparently he had some kind of stomach virus or something and had gone to the bathroom all over himself. They couldn't let him in because they have to shower and be clean, however they couldn't let him into the shower because of the mess he would make. If that isn't a sight to see I don't know what is. He can't walk by himself, so someone had brought him and dropped him off at the door earlier in the morning. They weren't going to be back until later. In the meantime the smell was wafting into the shelter because he was right outside. They gave him some medicine and some food so he'd eat something, but they wouldn't let him come in. He has nobody, is addicted to every drug imaginable, and has nothing and nowhere to go. I'm not sure what happened to him after that, but I'm guessing someone came to pick him up and hopefully helped him clean up himself. I still don't understand how there is no place else for him to go in this city. I don't know how the social service system works, but Paty and Alex are doing their best to find some kind of rehab place for him.
Leonardo is another guy that is one of the most frequent comers. He comes every day of the week even when there is no food in order to help set up for their Thursday night service and clean stuff up. Paty and Alex are like his family. He's 20 and has been on the street since he was 12. I was washing dishes with him last Thursday and was trying to make conversation so I asked him what he would do if he could do anything he wanted. Without hesitation he answered me that he would make a time machine and go back to when his family was still together and before he knew drugs. We kept talking he explained how he ended up in the streets. I couldn't understand him really well because he was talking really quietly but I didn't feel I could ask him to repeat himself just because I didn't understand since you could tell he was kind of struggling to say it all. My Spanish was getting better, but when I can't hear every word, I don't really have a shot. However, something happened to his mom so that she was unable to take care of them. His older brother went to Chiapas (another state) to live with extended family, and somehow he ended up here alone. He got into drugs and this is where he lives.
This is a section that is a barrier between the two sides of the freeway. There is a dug out part and that is where he has made a tent. However, it rains every day here (it's rainy season) so I have no idea how they do it. The good news though is that Monday we are taking him to look at a 3 month rehabilitation center that is Christian run. He said if he likes it he's checking himself in Tuesday. Pray that he likes it!
Last story of the night. Rocio- the girl who had the lice- came in on Thursday and had an awful stomach ache. They thought she might have an ulcer so they tried to get it to calm down and let her sleep on a couch the whole time we were there. Friday it had gotten worse so that she couldn't even stand. We took her to a Medical consultant. They have them at all the pharmacies and for 20 pesos/ less than $2 you can see a doctor. He said that we needed to get an ambulance and get her to the hospital because he thought it was her appendix. So we walked back to the shelter, called an ambulance, and 2 hours later they got there. By that time she was crying in pain when she walked over to the door. They took her to the hospital. Her boyfriend went with her, and we stayed back because Friday afternoon we were having a Father's Day dinner thing for the neighborhood. A few hours later they got back and told us that they got to the hospital and they refused to do anything because they were homeless. When they were filling out the paperwork they said they didn't have an address. Well this is not legal in Mexico either, however everyone is looking for a bribe and since they have absolutely nothing they were sent home. Well this didn't exactly go over very well when they returned. Luckily she was feeling better so they don't think it's her appendix anymore. However she was still feeling awful and had no concrete answers. We got them some food for the weekend, a few bottles of water, and some change to use a payphone if anything happened so that they could call Paty. As of today Paty hadn't heard anything about it so hopefully Rocio is feeling better. However, how awful.
Lots of things to think about. All I know is I am learning so much from Paty and Alex as they're working with all of these people. They have so much patience and love for them while you know it is breaking their hearts along the way. However, there are so many success stories from this place. It's a place where these people get loved and hear about God. That's all you can do. I'm definitely realizing that God is the one that does the changing. You can give them food and clothes and a shower, but God is the one that has the power.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Piojos= Lice
So today I spent almost 2 hours helping a girl delice her head. This girl is 26 and lives in a gutter between the highway. Last Friday I noticed that she had lice crawling- I mean I saw multiple crawling- in her hair. I think I mentioned this in my last post. So over the weekend, I looked up some remedies, asked around to figure out how to say lice in Spanish, and went in on a mission with a jar of mayonnaise. I talked to her this morning and talked to Patty (the lady I work with). Patty said she wanted her to shave her head and she freaked out. So we talked her into letting us put the mayonnaise in her hair and figured we'd talk her into the rest of it later. We doused her with the mayonnaise, wrapped her head in a bag, and let it sit for 2 hours. This may sound excessive, but if only I'd taken pictures, you would understand. Not only was her head full of lice (without exaggerating there were hundreds), but she told me (as we were out behind the center trying to brush out her hair) that she hadn't brushed it since she moved to the streets and that had been 12 years ago. She always kept it up in a pony tail so I always knew it wasn't the cleanest hair, but this was to a whole other level. Most of her hair had at least an inch covered in the eggs too. The poor thing said they keep her from sleeping and wake her up. At that I looked at her and asked her why in heaven's name she hadn't done something already?!? We ran out of time tonight but we cut her hair to her chin, and didn't have time to get all of the eggs and everything out. Tomorrow will be round two but at least from what we could tell they were all dead. I'm just hoping she does let us shave her head or at least cut it really short. I still keep feeling things crawling on me lol.
Unfortunately she isn't all there in the head. Everyday I go into this place the more I realize how much all of them are a little off. For example, the girl with the lice is 26 and today had a baby doll under her shirt all day. It was just this random awkward lump. I asked her what it was and she said it was her baby. She has an 8 yr old daughter that lives in some kind of children's home because they took her away. She was calling the doll by her daughter's name. Another girl came into day with a black eye and was just really beat up. I asked her what had happened and she said something to the effect of the guy she was staying with kicked her out because she wouldn't have sex with him. Another girl has all kinds of random stuff with her all the time and she's kind of obsessive about it. She always makes sure that we keep her back in the back room and guard it for her. It if full of random things like headbands and empty containers and notebooks. She always talks about going to the library and just rambles and rambles. I don't even know how to explain it. It makes me wish I had more of a background in that. The couples that work down at La Raza have the biggest hearts for these kids. They have one of the most radically changing testimonies of their lives of any I've ever heard before. They have more patience for these people than anyone. They've taken classes at the seminary and have life experience, but none of them have gone to college and none of them have any kind of background to help these people change unless it's a 180 degree miracle. I'm not saying that can't happen, because it can and has in their ministry, but so much more could be done. The other fact of the matter is that I don't know what other help there is in Mexico for homeless people. I'm still trying to learn and figure it out.
Well that's all I can think about for now. It's been a long long day. 6+ hours on the bus. This morning there was dead stopped traffic on the way to La Raza and then a car hit us. Now this turned some heads haha. Apparently not as normal as the other things I've mentioned. Luckily we weren't really going fast, it was just really loud.
Unfortunately she isn't all there in the head. Everyday I go into this place the more I realize how much all of them are a little off. For example, the girl with the lice is 26 and today had a baby doll under her shirt all day. It was just this random awkward lump. I asked her what it was and she said it was her baby. She has an 8 yr old daughter that lives in some kind of children's home because they took her away. She was calling the doll by her daughter's name. Another girl came into day with a black eye and was just really beat up. I asked her what had happened and she said something to the effect of the guy she was staying with kicked her out because she wouldn't have sex with him. Another girl has all kinds of random stuff with her all the time and she's kind of obsessive about it. She always makes sure that we keep her back in the back room and guard it for her. It if full of random things like headbands and empty containers and notebooks. She always talks about going to the library and just rambles and rambles. I don't even know how to explain it. It makes me wish I had more of a background in that. The couples that work down at La Raza have the biggest hearts for these kids. They have one of the most radically changing testimonies of their lives of any I've ever heard before. They have more patience for these people than anyone. They've taken classes at the seminary and have life experience, but none of them have gone to college and none of them have any kind of background to help these people change unless it's a 180 degree miracle. I'm not saying that can't happen, because it can and has in their ministry, but so much more could be done. The other fact of the matter is that I don't know what other help there is in Mexico for homeless people. I'm still trying to learn and figure it out.
Well that's all I can think about for now. It's been a long long day. 6+ hours on the bus. This morning there was dead stopped traffic on the way to La Raza and then a car hit us. Now this turned some heads haha. Apparently not as normal as the other things I've mentioned. Luckily we weren't really going fast, it was just really loud.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
The Pyramids of Teotihuacan
One quick addition to the bus post- I forgot to include the bus driver who pulled over the bus not to pick someone up but to get up out of his seat and spit out the door. Again, no one even batted an eye.
Anyways... haha... today Margaret (one of the women I'm staying with) took me to the pyramids. I really didn't know what to expect except... that they were pyramids. They are the tallest step pyramids in the world. The people disappeared and they have no idea what happened to them. They were thought to be mountains because they were covered with grass and everything until a little ways back when they discovered what they actually are. I climbed both of them. One of them is to the sun and the smaller one is to the moon. On cloudy days they would give people opiates and drag them on the Avenue of the Dead passing the sun temple and sacrifice the people in front of the moon temple. It was apparently a struggle between the moon and the sun to see who was brightest. So there is your history lesson for the day. Here are some pictures.
These are all the larger pyramid... the one to the sun.
And that is a lot of steps... that I climbed I might add. At almost 8000 ft. Let's just say I felt like I had never ever climbed steps before in my life lol. And they are big ones... and narrow :)
I'm on top of the sun but you can see the moon behind me.
And this is the moon.
and the moon again. You can see where they used to make the sacrifices.
And this path is the Avenue of the Dead.
And a look at the sun from the top of the moon.
Anyways... haha... today Margaret (one of the women I'm staying with) took me to the pyramids. I really didn't know what to expect except... that they were pyramids. They are the tallest step pyramids in the world. The people disappeared and they have no idea what happened to them. They were thought to be mountains because they were covered with grass and everything until a little ways back when they discovered what they actually are. I climbed both of them. One of them is to the sun and the smaller one is to the moon. On cloudy days they would give people opiates and drag them on the Avenue of the Dead passing the sun temple and sacrifice the people in front of the moon temple. It was apparently a struggle between the moon and the sun to see who was brightest. So there is your history lesson for the day. Here are some pictures.
These are all the larger pyramid... the one to the sun.
And that is a lot of steps... that I climbed I might add. At almost 8000 ft. Let's just say I felt like I had never ever climbed steps before in my life lol. And they are big ones... and narrow :)
I'm on top of the sun but you can see the moon behind me.
And this is the moon.
and the moon again. You can see where they used to make the sacrifices.
And this path is the Avenue of the Dead.
And a look at the sun from the top of the moon.
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Chavos
So I haven't had much time to talk about the people I'm working with yet. I mentioned that they aren't kids like I had originally thought but getting to know some of them has been interesting.
The guy I have gotten to know the best knows English because he grew up in the states (All of the social work classes on confidentiality are keeping me from listing his name haha). His aunt and uncle went illegally and took him with them when he was 2 years old. His parent's weren't around anymore. He never really fit with their family though and was always kind of an outsider. I'm trying to remember the age he told me but when he was 12 or 14 he ran away and started living on his own. He got into some trouble and had a juvenile record that had to do with drugs and grand theft auto. He ended up back with his aunt and uncle. Just after he turned 18, he was using his aunt's car with her permission but illegally because his license had been revoked. He got pulled over and the cops were going to take him home and his aunt was going to be reprimanded for letting him drive the car (keep in mind she is there illegally). However, the aunt said that she hadn't let him borrow the car which therefore meant he had another grand theft auto charge on his hands and this time as an adult. When they strip searched him they found his fake green card. He spent 2 years in federal prison while his trial was in process because they couldn't afford bail and then they deported him back to Mexico. Basically he was set loose here having no family whatsoever, barely knowing any Spanish, and with absolutely nothing in regards of finances or a knowledge of how life works in Mexico. He was almost 21. That was almost 10 years ago. He seems to have the most potential of all of these guys. He's really intelligent and has lots of leadership skills (they come from basically a gang type situation, but if you talk to him, you'd understand). He is completely fluent in Spanish and English and asks really good questions and participates in the devotions they have for the chavos who come Monday through Wednesday. They have services on Thursday nights and he came for the first time last night. To me, the fact that he came shows that he is actually thinking about the whole God thing. I think you could fake the answers and fake paying attention just to get a shower and 2 meals. But to come an extra few hours sober and drug free says something. I was talking to him about what all of them do and how they make their money and basically it's a gang type mentality. With the public transportation they have it split up in sections and certain "vendors" can be in certain places because they have paid their dues to the security guards. If they cause problems or people complain, they aren't allowed to come back and are "grounded" for a week. What most of the guys that come into La Raza do is a show on the metro. They lay out broken glass on the ground and do flips and summer saults and stuff like that over it. Their backs are completely covered with scars and cuts. But they were explaining to me that is the best way to make money and they have nothing else to do. I've seen people on buses come in dressed like clowns and do a little sketch and then ask for money and then at the next stop they get off and then get on the next bus. Others sell candy or ice cream. One guy today was selling sewing kits. People here are so desperate and there just aren't any jobs.
Most of the chavos who are coming have been obviously affected by so much drug use. I wonder how much of it was some kind of mental problem initially that led them to being on the street and to drugs. There are two guys who come that can barely walk. They shake and shake and shake. We have to feed them and someone helps them shower and everything because they simply don't have control over their bodies. They are so thin. It's really just a sad sight to see. One thing I'm learning while I'm here is not to be afraid of people. The first day the guy that has the least control scared me. I'm not going to lie to you. Mostly because I can't understand a word he says and he's just a sad sight. But now I'll just go up behind him and grab his elbow and give him a little extra support to get to where he is going. Most of the time I don't even think he knows. There is another guy who I've "met" probably 50 times in the past couple weeks. Finally yesterday he remembered I was from the United States and didn't ask me after I told him my name. He remembered. It's just such a sad sight.
One of the girls was always touching her hair and I noticed it but didn't really think anything of it. Then yesterday I was sitting by her and realized she was scratching her head because it was infested with lice. I mean awful. I got some lice shampoo today to take down to the center for here. I can't even imagine. However, I have seen where she lives. I have to walk over a bridge from the metro to La Raza and there is a gully there that like 4 of the people who come live in. They have a tarp set up kind of like a tent and have an old mattress and all of their stuff down there. Again, I can't even imagine.
The thing that they are missing most here is an actual professional. Their main goal is to lure these people in with food and a shower and somehow reach them for Christ. There are quite a few people that they've gotten off the streets and have helped out over the past few years that they've had this program. In my mind I keep thinking of all of the ways we could help them, but at this place, they don't have the resources. They are just there to kind of provide a family for them. And that they have. You can sense the respect that they have for the 2 couples that run the center. Some of them even call them Mama or Papa. Patience is a big thing. Most of these people know nothing else. They've been in the streets since they were little kids and now, why would life be any other way. But they really are doing a good thing for them. I'm just trying to figure out what else could happen with in their abilities.
On another note, the people here are absolutely amazing and I feel guilty most of the time. I have so so much and come here and the Mexicans keep giving me dinner and buying me ice cream and things like that. They have absolutely nothing and give everything away. It is definitely a much more communal way of life. They just want to share everything. The people I've met are so generous with their money and time especially in their churches and they don't really know where their next meal is coming from. Here I am living free for the summer because of the grant I got and they keep giving me things. One of the Chavos even brought me a rose for my birthday haha (He very well could have stolen it). But in the end, I just keep sitting there thinking please stop giving me things. You are all the most hospitable people ever, but how can I repay you? I've been thinking of some ways, but still, it's been hard for me to figure out what to do.
Here are a few pictures of the city. You can kind of see what I meant by everything being concrete, but I'll try and get some better ones tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'm off to see the Pyramids :)
The guy I have gotten to know the best knows English because he grew up in the states (All of the social work classes on confidentiality are keeping me from listing his name haha). His aunt and uncle went illegally and took him with them when he was 2 years old. His parent's weren't around anymore. He never really fit with their family though and was always kind of an outsider. I'm trying to remember the age he told me but when he was 12 or 14 he ran away and started living on his own. He got into some trouble and had a juvenile record that had to do with drugs and grand theft auto. He ended up back with his aunt and uncle. Just after he turned 18, he was using his aunt's car with her permission but illegally because his license had been revoked. He got pulled over and the cops were going to take him home and his aunt was going to be reprimanded for letting him drive the car (keep in mind she is there illegally). However, the aunt said that she hadn't let him borrow the car which therefore meant he had another grand theft auto charge on his hands and this time as an adult. When they strip searched him they found his fake green card. He spent 2 years in federal prison while his trial was in process because they couldn't afford bail and then they deported him back to Mexico. Basically he was set loose here having no family whatsoever, barely knowing any Spanish, and with absolutely nothing in regards of finances or a knowledge of how life works in Mexico. He was almost 21. That was almost 10 years ago. He seems to have the most potential of all of these guys. He's really intelligent and has lots of leadership skills (they come from basically a gang type situation, but if you talk to him, you'd understand). He is completely fluent in Spanish and English and asks really good questions and participates in the devotions they have for the chavos who come Monday through Wednesday. They have services on Thursday nights and he came for the first time last night. To me, the fact that he came shows that he is actually thinking about the whole God thing. I think you could fake the answers and fake paying attention just to get a shower and 2 meals. But to come an extra few hours sober and drug free says something. I was talking to him about what all of them do and how they make their money and basically it's a gang type mentality. With the public transportation they have it split up in sections and certain "vendors" can be in certain places because they have paid their dues to the security guards. If they cause problems or people complain, they aren't allowed to come back and are "grounded" for a week. What most of the guys that come into La Raza do is a show on the metro. They lay out broken glass on the ground and do flips and summer saults and stuff like that over it. Their backs are completely covered with scars and cuts. But they were explaining to me that is the best way to make money and they have nothing else to do. I've seen people on buses come in dressed like clowns and do a little sketch and then ask for money and then at the next stop they get off and then get on the next bus. Others sell candy or ice cream. One guy today was selling sewing kits. People here are so desperate and there just aren't any jobs.
Most of the chavos who are coming have been obviously affected by so much drug use. I wonder how much of it was some kind of mental problem initially that led them to being on the street and to drugs. There are two guys who come that can barely walk. They shake and shake and shake. We have to feed them and someone helps them shower and everything because they simply don't have control over their bodies. They are so thin. It's really just a sad sight to see. One thing I'm learning while I'm here is not to be afraid of people. The first day the guy that has the least control scared me. I'm not going to lie to you. Mostly because I can't understand a word he says and he's just a sad sight. But now I'll just go up behind him and grab his elbow and give him a little extra support to get to where he is going. Most of the time I don't even think he knows. There is another guy who I've "met" probably 50 times in the past couple weeks. Finally yesterday he remembered I was from the United States and didn't ask me after I told him my name. He remembered. It's just such a sad sight.
One of the girls was always touching her hair and I noticed it but didn't really think anything of it. Then yesterday I was sitting by her and realized she was scratching her head because it was infested with lice. I mean awful. I got some lice shampoo today to take down to the center for here. I can't even imagine. However, I have seen where she lives. I have to walk over a bridge from the metro to La Raza and there is a gully there that like 4 of the people who come live in. They have a tarp set up kind of like a tent and have an old mattress and all of their stuff down there. Again, I can't even imagine.
The thing that they are missing most here is an actual professional. Their main goal is to lure these people in with food and a shower and somehow reach them for Christ. There are quite a few people that they've gotten off the streets and have helped out over the past few years that they've had this program. In my mind I keep thinking of all of the ways we could help them, but at this place, they don't have the resources. They are just there to kind of provide a family for them. And that they have. You can sense the respect that they have for the 2 couples that run the center. Some of them even call them Mama or Papa. Patience is a big thing. Most of these people know nothing else. They've been in the streets since they were little kids and now, why would life be any other way. But they really are doing a good thing for them. I'm just trying to figure out what else could happen with in their abilities.
On another note, the people here are absolutely amazing and I feel guilty most of the time. I have so so much and come here and the Mexicans keep giving me dinner and buying me ice cream and things like that. They have absolutely nothing and give everything away. It is definitely a much more communal way of life. They just want to share everything. The people I've met are so generous with their money and time especially in their churches and they don't really know where their next meal is coming from. Here I am living free for the summer because of the grant I got and they keep giving me things. One of the Chavos even brought me a rose for my birthday haha (He very well could have stolen it). But in the end, I just keep sitting there thinking please stop giving me things. You are all the most hospitable people ever, but how can I repay you? I've been thinking of some ways, but still, it's been hard for me to figure out what to do.
Here are a few pictures of the city. You can kind of see what I meant by everything being concrete, but I'll try and get some better ones tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'm off to see the Pyramids :)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Mexican Bus System
So as I've already mentioned to most of you, I spend a lot of time on the buses here in Mexico... between 2.5 and 3.5 hours a day depending on the traffic. Let me just tell you, buses here are full of excitement. In my not even 2 weeks here I have been in 2 buses as they have been pulled over by the police. One time we ran a red light and the other time I have no idea what happened. But everyone on the bus seemed like it was completely normal. No one even sighed or said anything. I sat there giggling to myself. From what I have heard, the police are really corrupt and you can buy your way out of pretty much everything. Apparently, the bus drivers just pay them to not mark it on their record or turn it in. Good one Mexico.
Another thing that happens when you are in buses in Mexico is that you will probably go the wrong way on roads. For example... On the 2nd leg of my trip to La Raza, there is a ton of construction so everyone on the highway is completely stopped. In order to get past a chunk of this traffic, the bus drivers have decided to get onto the high way by going the wrong way on the off ramp and then making a u-turn onto the stopped traffic in the high way. Again I say- Good one Mexico. The first time that happened I again was looking around to see if anyone was surprised by what was going on and again... it was completely normal.
Along the same lines- tonight there was a lot of traffic (as always) because of construction and a detour and we were stopped. We were still on the main road not even to the detour yet. A section of the road was closed. There was no one coming from the other direction (it was kind of like a divided high way) so what did we do? Let me tell you. We sped up to probably about 50 mph down that road going the wrong way bypassing almost all of the traffic and entering where the road opened again. Who knows how many people followed us.
That is the excitement of the day. Tomorrow we're going out to the streets to hunt down some Chavos (not kids lol).
Another thing that happens when you are in buses in Mexico is that you will probably go the wrong way on roads. For example... On the 2nd leg of my trip to La Raza, there is a ton of construction so everyone on the highway is completely stopped. In order to get past a chunk of this traffic, the bus drivers have decided to get onto the high way by going the wrong way on the off ramp and then making a u-turn onto the stopped traffic in the high way. Again I say- Good one Mexico. The first time that happened I again was looking around to see if anyone was surprised by what was going on and again... it was completely normal.
Along the same lines- tonight there was a lot of traffic (as always) because of construction and a detour and we were stopped. We were still on the main road not even to the detour yet. A section of the road was closed. There was no one coming from the other direction (it was kind of like a divided high way) so what did we do? Let me tell you. We sped up to probably about 50 mph down that road going the wrong way bypassing almost all of the traffic and entering where the road opened again. Who knows how many people followed us.
That is the excitement of the day. Tomorrow we're going out to the streets to hunt down some Chavos (not kids lol).
Monday, June 7, 2010
A Day at La Raza
So today I went again and it was the second time I was there with all of the "chavos". They have a main room that is pretty big and then a kitchen, shower rooms, a wood shop and a clothing donation closet. This is the wood shop. They have the people who come help out. A bunch of them have been in jail where they have learned a lot about wood work and they make all kinds of stuff.
Later we walked to a park and played soccer or football... I kept saying I am horrible at soccer but they were like as long as you have fun. So I did. None of the other girls ended up playing- good one Jenelle. But I had to so it was funny, they laughed... My team won so we'll just leave it at that. They we played basketball for a whole 5 minutes. They didn't like it as much... we played 21 and my team totally won... after I guarded a guy on my team and stole the ball from him. He kept saying something but I couldn't understand him so I just kept going for the ball and finally I understood. He kept saying I'm on your team... but not in so many words. It was more like I'm your's which didn't click until it was too late and everyone was laughing at me. haha
Here's everyone that was there today.
And here is an old van on the side of the road. We passed it and Paty- the lady that is kind of like my mom when I'm over there- told me to take a picture. She was all excited that I had my camera today. She said that someone lives in there with her two kids. It's down the street from where I work.
Now a bunch of people are apparently coming over for a birthday fiesta so I'm excited :)
That was my day. Talk to you all later!
Later we walked to a park and played soccer or football... I kept saying I am horrible at soccer but they were like as long as you have fun. So I did. None of the other girls ended up playing- good one Jenelle. But I had to so it was funny, they laughed... My team won so we'll just leave it at that. They we played basketball for a whole 5 minutes. They didn't like it as much... we played 21 and my team totally won... after I guarded a guy on my team and stole the ball from him. He kept saying something but I couldn't understand him so I just kept going for the ball and finally I understood. He kept saying I'm on your team... but not in so many words. It was more like I'm your's which didn't click until it was too late and everyone was laughing at me. haha
Here's everyone that was there today.
And here is an old van on the side of the road. We passed it and Paty- the lady that is kind of like my mom when I'm over there- told me to take a picture. She was all excited that I had my camera today. She said that someone lives in there with her two kids. It's down the street from where I work.
Now a bunch of people are apparently coming over for a birthday fiesta so I'm excited :)
That was my day. Talk to you all later!
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