Love...

The last month and a half have been some of the most fulfilling of my life. The groups we have had here have brought with them compassion, and eagerness to learn, full enthusiasm, fun energy, and love. Here is a journal entry I wrote after we had 2 wonderful groups in a row:
When they arrived, I told them that I was happy to have them, that I was excited to meet them, but little did I know how much joy they would add to my life. I didn't fully appreciate the moment that they arrived. I hardly ever do. When a new group comes in, I am excited, anxious, overwhelmed with a lot of new names and faces. I often don't realize how incredibly beautiful the gift is that is about to unfold before me. As the days go by, we laugh, we cry, we learn, and we are transformed. We are changed by one another, we are changed by everyone we meet. By the end of the week, I know the faces, I know the names, they have revealed their hearts, and I desperately don't want them to go. I have fallen in love with everyone. When they are gone, I receive emails, photos, heartfelt essays, and I cry. I am so blessed to be here. I am so blessed to have been taught and touched by so many hearts.

It is funny how I have the same experience over and over. Each time I am nervous, and by the end, each time, I fall in love.

Lately I have been picking up the guitar more often. I am learning new songs, but still have too much stage fright to play them effortlessly. I need more practice. I did play one of my favorite songs, "Imagine" for a group´s final liturgy here. Today I said goodbye to 54 teens and their teachers. Who would have thought that a group of 54 teens would be so much fun? Last night we had our final reflections and liturgy. Their words of appreciation for the experience, for all the people they met, and for all our gifts from God were clearly sincere. I thank God for this work, that at times brings me to tears of gratitude and joy. I am so fortunate to play a role in such an important experience in these young adults lives. Here are some photos taken by students over the last month and a half:

This photo is taken from a final liturgy ceremony where several students read poems or reflections on their experiences here with us. We sang "Imagine" together, being reminded that we are "not the only one" that wants peace and brother and sisterhood of all in this world.

Visiting our friends, and a new mural!

When the group from Chicago was here , we visited our friends that live in a very indigenous village. Here I am in this photo, with the woman that made my shirt, as well as a skirt I gave my niece.
In this photo is a group of ladies that we have befriended. One is a social worker that set up a now fully functioning cooperative with the women. They sew clothing, make pottery, and have a bakery. The women each tell us their stories of how they became involved in the cooperative, and how it helps them to make a living for their families.

In this photo, one of our visitors takes a photo of the boys, and they love to see their photo in this tiny camera.
In the last week, we had work done on our pool, as well as a mural was painted for us. Two men from Canada, Collin and Bob, came for a week and a half to paint this beautiful mural. Here are some photos of the process...

And here is the finished product over the newly tiled pool. In the middle are the two men from Canada that created and painted this beautiful mural. Please click this photo so you can see it larger and get a more real sense of what it looks like!

Inauguration Day Celebration!

I am hopeful, I am amazed that it happened; tears came to my eyes when I watched history being made.


Everyone celebrated, everyone toasted, some with Victoria Beer, to the Inauguration of Barack Obama!

Our group from Chicago was especially excited! They wanted to get their photo next to Obama on the TV, but we found it hard to all get to the TV when he was on the screen, so here are a few from the group.

Here are some ladies that were fortunate enough to have Obama shirts!

Meanwhile, the staff worked diligently in the office, making sure our work got done that day.

It was a fun week with the group from Chicago. They were interested, interesting, prayerful, fun, and open to the experience. They visited indigenous villages, met with community leaders, met local artisians, explored our city, and much more. On their last day, they gave a presentation, which summed up the experiences and information they learned while they were here. One group gave a moving performance of what it woud be like to be a farming family that was forced off their land due to the build up of effects from NAFTA.

Each group member brought something beautiful to the experience of being with them, I am so glad they came!

Our first group of 2009: Dominican University!

Finally, our first group arrived!! They are from Dominican University outside of Chicago. When they arrived, they were enthusiastic from the start. They had all sorts of questions, lots of great conversation, and plenty of good laughs. We had a wonderful time together. When we invited them to do service in a very poor area of the city; they jumped into the work with full force.

They enthusiastically worked, and enjoyed getting to know some of the children in the area. They all couldn´t help but fall in love with the children they met during their time here.

The last night was the final liturgy. Each one of us shared our thoughts and most meaningful memories from the week. It was amazing the insights that were shared, and to see the impact of the time we had spent together in Mexico. Most of us were moved to tears. We felt like we had found a new family with one another. It was an amazing experience. I am grateful to the Dominican University students and staff that made my first week with students a incredibly beautiful experience!

Dreaming Upside Down...

One of the activities we do with groups here are reflections...this one I find especially thought provoking. This is segments of a piece called Dreaming Upside Down by Tom Peterson from Editor of Seeds.

"I dreamed the other night that all the maps in the world had been turned upside down. What had been north was now South, East was west.

...In my dream a cloud of anxieties closed around me. The United States was now at the bottom...Now that we’re at the bottom, would our resources and labor be exploited by the new top? Would Africa, Asian and Latin American nations structure world trade to their advantage?

….Would my neighbors and I have $2/day seasonal jobs on peach and strawberry plantations? Would the women and children work from dawn to dusk to scratch survival from the earth of California and Virginia? Would the fruit we picked be shipped from New Orleans and New York to Thai and Ethiopian children who hurriedly eat it with their cereal so they won’t miss the school bus? Would our children, then, go not to school but to fetch water from two miles away and to gather wood for cooking and heating?

….Would our economy be dependent upon the goodwill and whims of, say, Brazil? Would Brazil send war planes and guns to Washington D.C. to assure our willingness to pick apples, pecans and tobacco for export while our children went hungry? If we did revolt, would the Chilean government plot to put their favorite U.S. general in power and uphold him with military aid?

…Would we work in sweatshops to manufacture radios for the Chinese? Would our oil be shipped in tankers to Southeast Asia to run cars, air conditioners and microwave ovens while most of our towns were without electricity?

…I saw a mother in Houston crying because there were no more beans for her family. One of her children, a blond boy about six years old, listlessly watched her. He slowly turned his empty, haunting gaze toward me.

At that I awoke with a gasp. I saw I was in my own bed, in my own house. Everything was okay. It was a bad dream. I drifted back to sleep, thinking “It’s all right, I’m still on top.”

- By Tom Peterson

“Never doubt that a small group of concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead

México with new eyes!

Thanksgiving was really different for me this year. Here’s a Big Shocker: Thanksgiving isn't a holiday in México, just a normal working day. My friends here talked about doing something for the holiday, but it would have been a bit difficult to cook a Thanksgiving meal, since it was a work day. So, instead, I took a couple days off, and toured around the area I live.

On Thanksgiving Day, a friend and I went to the Cathedral in the downtown. I had never been too impressed with the building, but going with a friend made it a new experience again. We wondered around, took photos of the light streaming from the windows, and admired its unusual alter. Next we toured Jardin Borda; a garden built to look like a French garden. Its original owner had been a Frenchman that came to Mexico and made a fortune on silver mining.
This is an outdoor theatre where I have enjoyed seeing live music and dancing for free on Sunday afternoons and evenings.
On Friday, I succeeded in climbing the mountain to reach the pyramid in Tepoztlan. I had heard of the pyramid Tepozteco, but I had no idea it was on top of this mountain. See if you can find it in this photo, it is on the on top of the mountain, on the right.

The climb was steep, but very fun. We loved every turn and step as we climbed our way to the top. We watched young and old climb beside us all the way.

The Tepozteco pyramid itself is small, but quite impressive.

And the views made the hike up well worth it!

After the pyramid, we went to the church, Lady of Annunciation, in Tepoztlan. This Domincian church was built in the 1500s, and the architecture is amazing. Here are photos taken from outside and inside this ancient building. This is a Dominican Shield.


Saturday was a new adventure: México City and the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon in Teotihuacan, which is just north of México City. We left from México City around 1:30 and were on the Metro to the bus station. The metro on weekends is supposed to be less crowded in the most populated city in the world, but when I went, crowded would describe it well. Men, women and children packed into the Metro while vendors would squeeze by with the chocolate, sweets or music and movies blaring from the speakers they carried on their backs.

After transferring through 3 different Metro stations, we were at the bus station. Buses in México are impressive with their low cost and quality service. Unfortunately, this time was an exception. With the excessive traffic, the bus ride was long and slow, stopping in the city every minute to pick up someone new. The time was passed by the guitarists that had joined us, playing in the aisle of the bus along our route. After over an hour, we started getting anxious due to the fact that the pyramids close at five, and it looked like we may not get there in time. Around 4pm, we could see the pyramids out of the window in the distance, and we noticed how the bus kept pushing forward, pushing us past our destination. Something was wrong. We asked the bus driver what was happening. He told that he passed the stop at the Pyramids, thinking that no one on this bus was going there. He apologized, stopped the bus, and gave us the fair to get on the bus heading the opposite direction. As soon as we jumped off the bus, we could see the other bus coming, after waving it down while running across the highway; we were soon on the right path.

The adventure of the ride there was well worth the experience of the Pyramids of Teotihuacan. The pyramids are impressive. The Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan is the 3rd largest in the world. This city existed between 200B.C. and 800 A.D. At its peak time around 150 A.D. with around 200,000 residents, Teotihuacan may have been the largest city in the world.

Reaching the top of the Pyramid of the Sun was beautiful. It was amazing to look out on the ruins of this ancient city. Touring around the area, we saw paintings and incredible carvings in the rock. I was impressed by the different colors and beauty of the walls.

After the Pyramids, we went back to México City. When we arrived at the Zocalo (Main Square) it was alive and crowded with people. This was the night of the lighting of the Christmas tree. The square was filled with Christmas lights, music, and even an outdoor skating rink!

On the edge of the Zocalo is the Cathedral; we quietly stepped inside, and observed a wedding party leaving, a mass taking place, and several tourists taking photos. Next to the Cathedral, incense smoke filled the air. We stopped to watch an indigenous ceremony as they danced and prayed.

We walked around for hours, enjoying the closed off streets and excitement in the air. We walked past several historic sites, including the Palacio de Las Bellas Artes.

On our way back to the hostel we walked by many venders selling food, hats, handmade crafts, and other fun things. We stopped to listen to a small music group from Ecuador.

The next morning, I had breakfast at the Hostel, and peeked inside the Cathedral again. The city was alive again on this Sunday morning. Police started to fill the streets, and the chant of a protest could be heard. Another day in the life of México City.

A month...

It has been over a month since my last posting, and it is due time to write! There has been so many things that have been happening. I soon will have more photos to share, and I can't wait to post them. Here is one story I have wanted to share:

Happy Birthday!
A tradition in Latin Americans culture is to sing "Las Mañanitas" for a person's birthday. The tradition is to sing the song outside the person's window before dawn. Sometimes, it also includes a mariachi band and/or fireworks. It is a beautiful song about celebrating the day of the lucky person's birth. I enjoy the song, and hope to soon learn the words, which is not so easy as our simple "Happy Birthday to you." One afternoon, we had cake and sang the song for our compañera, Ermelinda when my coworkers shared with me what they sing, as the English song of "Happy Birthday" as they hear it in Spanish, which is:
In place of "Happy Birthday to you!" they sing what sounds kinda similiar:
"Sapo verdé eres tu!" Which translated, means "Green toad are you." We laughed over that together. I think I may have to sing "Sapo verde" from now on!