Wednesday (miércoles)
Another great day today, of course. But it was tonight that I realized we are almost finished our work here at Manos Juntas. If you have no idea what I'm talking about I suggest the last two posts to catch up. But I think it's sad in many ways because I've only just begun to form and strengthen friendships here. I've only just skimmed the surface of the work they do here and I find myself wanting to know more, to do more. I like it here for a lot of reasons. Their philosophy aligns a lot with my beliefs that the church must first be involved in the community and forming relationships before faith is brought into the conversation. The Church, as in the global church, has a negative connotation for some people or is approached with apathy. But if we work in and with people in the community to form relationships first we can show we are Christians by our deeds and our love. The faith comes easy after that. I'm not sure that is exactly the philosophy here but that's the impression I've gotten. I want to see our church move outside our walls and into our communities because that's where we belong and I think that's what they've been doing at Manos Juntas.
I started my morning extra early with some of the others and went for a walk while the sun rose. I'm not really a morning person but the fellowship and the exercise were worth it and I'm glad I went. This morning was more delicious breakfast foods followed by a brief devotions led by Tom looking at how to make short term missions helpful not harmful, looking at our goals for the trip and what we think of when we think of poverty.
This morning we went to an elderly couples house over by the second community center we had visited the other day. Their house was drafty and the bed had broken so the team added a board to the roof to eliminate some of the draft and they helped install a bed frame created by the carpentry class. The old lady was so cute and so thankful for the work provided. Very early on in this process I realized there were too many cooks in the kitchen during the construction process so I went outside the tiny house. While outside, Willie's wife Veronica was looking for some people to help sew some pajamas for the woman. Kathleen, Rachel and I volunteered to go over to the community center to help with this. I'm grateful to my parents for putting me in all those years of sewing classes because it came in handy for this. We used a really fuzzy fabric to make the pants and a fleece to make the top. We did all but the elastic and the hem of the pj pants and we did the collar and shoulder and arm seems of the top. This was a nice opportunity to use more of my Spanish since none of the translators came with us. Luckily one of the teachers there was fluent so he helped us a couple times when the instructions were more complicated but for the most part I think I did ok. The sewing was second nature to me anyway. It was nice to feel productive. And it was nice to know the old lady would have warm pajamas. When we first got to the house she was wrapped in like 3 or 4 blankets. Apparently when they finished setting up the bed she crawled in and said she was going to sleep right away! I don't think the pajamas are finished but Veronica promised to show us pictures of the finished products.
For lunch, we took a trip to the next town over, Reynosa. They showed us the factories and other important parts of the city. We parked at El Buen Pastor (the good shepherd/pastor, you decide) UMC, the largest United Methodist church in the area. The facility they have is not that different than the new addition we are planning to build in Medford. From there we walked a few blocks to a central plaza, which if you stalk my Facebook you can find a selfie of me there in front of the Reynosa sign. We got tacos at a restaurant on the plaza which were so good. Squeeze a little bit of lime on top and they were perfection. The plaza was still decorated for Christmas but it was also dressed for the festival of 3 Kings Day, or Epiphany. After lunch we drove a bit more around town. We passed the school where Victor learned English and he also pointed out where he currently went to school. We drove right next to the international bridge to the US. Around the bridge were a few facilities to deal with immigrants. This especially resonated with me given my previous mission experience in San Antonio last spring. It turns out that Mexican immigrant policies aren't all that different from US ones. They aren't super friendly to the refugees fleeing the Central American countries. But the deportation is less realistic. Still, they talked about how the smuggling of people across the border has been taken over by the mafia. Sometimes 60 people are squeezed in a small house with 1 bathroom until the mafia takes them across. And it costs everything these people have. And knowing what happens across the border and the treacherous journey ahead of them my heart just aches. There's no easy solution to such a complex problem but being so close makes you realize the human lives involved. Each one of these people has a family and people that care about them and yet they cannot find a safe home where they can flourish. If immigration to the US were easier would it mean less deaths? Less money in the hands of the mafia? Maybe, but there's so much more we could be doing to help these people who have only found rejection everywhere they try to run which can't be right either. I don't know. The whole thing just makes me sad. Maybe I'll write more about that later.
This afternoon was lots of fun. We got to work in the carpentry class. While we were babied a little by the instructor, we were able to successfully complete two bedside tables and help finish one of the bed frames. It was funny because so many of us had experience in a wood shop but the instructor insisted on showing us how to do everything. It was good though. And easy to understand him even without translation. Lots of numbers which are easier. I got to use the chop saw and the drills so that was fun. Right up my alley.
Tonight for dinner was a chicken in mole sauce, which if you've never had is a chocolate spicy sauce. It's hard to describe if you haven't had it before. But it was very good on a tortilla with rice. Tonight to celebrate 3 kings day we had a special sweet bread with fig fruit and iced toppings. Inside is hidden a plastic baby and the person who get it has to bring the tomales on February 2. Why? Not really sure but it's a thing. Needless to say I did not get the baby much to my relief. Nobody would want to eat my tomales.
For evening devotions Alex was able to join us for most of the time. We opened in song and then reflected on our different perceptions of a mission trip. We then shared our highs and lows. It was a long day but very rewarding yet again. I look forward to tomorrow, but hope it doesn't go by too quickly!
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Thursday, January 7, 2016
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Martes en Mexico
Tuesday (martes)
Hello friends. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read my post. I'm sitting in bed exhausted from the day and yet still full of energy. You know that feeling you have after a really great day? Satisfied and content. That's me right now. And I'm so grateful because the last time I took a mission trip of this kind I was very frustrated at my inability to do anything tangible.
We started the day with breakfast at 7:30am. Some beans, cheesy eggs with sausage and hotdog bits in salsa. I'm pretty sure I will love everything they feed us here. This was followed by a brief devotion with Kathleen about whether or not we would choose a broom or a vacuum to clean the room we were in. The point of this seemingly random question? Well culturally more of us would vacuum a room than sweep a room but here they might choose differently. Just something to think about as we approached the day.
This morning was spent touring the different sites and facilities Manos Juntas runs. Another group here from Oklahoma was building a casita or little house for one of the workers at the community center. Another group of them were working a few houses down to complete a building to become more classrooms for the children. At the community center we peeked in on a preschool class, a 1-2 grade class and a 5-6 grade class. The preschoolers were about to color pictures of farm animals (or at least that's what I read on their papers). The 1-2 grade class greeted us in Spanish and then the teacher chided them and asked them to do it in English, which was adorable to say the least. So then we responded in Spanish because we were trying to learn Spanish!
We finally made our way to the community center where there was a sewing class going on. We were able to join the sewing or do some loom knitting. Some of the group used the classroom there to do a Spanish lesson which I'm told was very impactful and at least a little bit helpful. I joined the knitting circle with my own project I brought with me from home and enjoyed the conversation. We are getting to know each other pretty well and are learning lots from out interpreters Victor and Alex. I think knitting is very much my element and it is so calming and cathartic to be able to take time out of my day to do it. It was a great morning.
We returned to the main center where we are staying for lunch. Entomatadas were on the menu which were kind of like Spanish manicotti. Topped with queso fresca or fresh cheese they were again delicious. I could probably write a whole blogpost about how good the food is.
After lunch there was time for a quick nap and then we were back in van to accompany some of the carpentry students dropping off a bed frame. They had made it in their class and we're giving it to a family whose house caught on fire. The children were staying next door at the grandmothers when it happened but their mother unfortunately died. This was a way for the students to be able to see that their trade is not only a way to earn a living but a way to connect and give back to the community. We weren't there to give the bed frame to the family but to observe the impact that the programs at Manos Juntas had both on the students and the community.
The afternoon was spent back at the community center. They celebrated three kings day or epiphany today with us. There was a kings cake of sweet bread with plastic babies hidden inside that we all got to have. And the kids got to watch a movie after their exam. We also saw a slideshow of pictures of the center before the movie. We heard more about their programs and what they have been able to accomplish now that they had that space and the resources.
One of the things I'm trying to do is use my Spanish a bit more. I get really nervous speaking to people who are so fluent. But Victor (our translator) was nice enough to try a conversation with me in Spanish when we got back to the main center. Hopefully we can continue to practice so I'm not as awkward and shy talking to people throughout the week.
I followed that conversation by taking up residence in one of the rocking chairs in our common area. It's quite relaxing to come home to a rocking chair. In fact I'm currently writing from a rocking chair. I started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone because we had been talking in the van earlier about Harry Potter. Kathleen has <gasp> never seen the movies and we were discussing ways to have a movie marathon including the possibility of turning it into a bible study culminating in seeing the new film coming out late this year. Anyway, before long I had friends come sit by me and disturb me from my reading. But in a sense that's probably a good thing as its more social to have a conversation.
Dinner consisted of beef with potatoes and more beans. It was of course very delicious. I'm not sure how the conversation started but we've been talking about churros basically since we got here. And all of a sudden at the end of our meal we are talking about churros. So Willie says we should all go out for ice cream and churros. Needless to say we were only in it for the churros. We piled in the van and drove downtown in search of churros. Tom treated us to the churros of three kinds, condensed milk, caramel, and chocolate, which is just what was drizzled on top. They were really good. The churros stand that we found was sitting outside of a carnival so we decided to walk through. The lights were so bright and colorful. Possibly from the sugar high, probably from the fact that I had such a great day, we reached the end of the strip and asked if we could ride the bumper cars. I believe 6 or 7 of us did and it was an absolute blast. We kept joking that this must be the youth mission trip because our inner child was coming out! I was screaming and laughing as we rammed the cars into each other. Just pure joy. And of course afterwards I was still happy and on a high which is just a wonderful feeling. Overall a great night out.
Tonight, Chelsea and I ran the devotions. I led the Branches song that I learned from Paige in the Philippines because no one from this group knew it. So everyone was up singing and doing the motions. Chelsea led the part where we shared our most impactful part of the day. We closed in prayer and headed off to bed. Well I wrote part of this first and finished it in the morning. Apologies for the lengthy post.
Hello friends. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read my post. I'm sitting in bed exhausted from the day and yet still full of energy. You know that feeling you have after a really great day? Satisfied and content. That's me right now. And I'm so grateful because the last time I took a mission trip of this kind I was very frustrated at my inability to do anything tangible.
We started the day with breakfast at 7:30am. Some beans, cheesy eggs with sausage and hotdog bits in salsa. I'm pretty sure I will love everything they feed us here. This was followed by a brief devotion with Kathleen about whether or not we would choose a broom or a vacuum to clean the room we were in. The point of this seemingly random question? Well culturally more of us would vacuum a room than sweep a room but here they might choose differently. Just something to think about as we approached the day.
This morning was spent touring the different sites and facilities Manos Juntas runs. Another group here from Oklahoma was building a casita or little house for one of the workers at the community center. Another group of them were working a few houses down to complete a building to become more classrooms for the children. At the community center we peeked in on a preschool class, a 1-2 grade class and a 5-6 grade class. The preschoolers were about to color pictures of farm animals (or at least that's what I read on their papers). The 1-2 grade class greeted us in Spanish and then the teacher chided them and asked them to do it in English, which was adorable to say the least. So then we responded in Spanish because we were trying to learn Spanish!
We finally made our way to the community center where there was a sewing class going on. We were able to join the sewing or do some loom knitting. Some of the group used the classroom there to do a Spanish lesson which I'm told was very impactful and at least a little bit helpful. I joined the knitting circle with my own project I brought with me from home and enjoyed the conversation. We are getting to know each other pretty well and are learning lots from out interpreters Victor and Alex. I think knitting is very much my element and it is so calming and cathartic to be able to take time out of my day to do it. It was a great morning.
We returned to the main center where we are staying for lunch. Entomatadas were on the menu which were kind of like Spanish manicotti. Topped with queso fresca or fresh cheese they were again delicious. I could probably write a whole blogpost about how good the food is.
After lunch there was time for a quick nap and then we were back in van to accompany some of the carpentry students dropping off a bed frame. They had made it in their class and we're giving it to a family whose house caught on fire. The children were staying next door at the grandmothers when it happened but their mother unfortunately died. This was a way for the students to be able to see that their trade is not only a way to earn a living but a way to connect and give back to the community. We weren't there to give the bed frame to the family but to observe the impact that the programs at Manos Juntas had both on the students and the community.
The afternoon was spent back at the community center. They celebrated three kings day or epiphany today with us. There was a kings cake of sweet bread with plastic babies hidden inside that we all got to have. And the kids got to watch a movie after their exam. We also saw a slideshow of pictures of the center before the movie. We heard more about their programs and what they have been able to accomplish now that they had that space and the resources.
One of the things I'm trying to do is use my Spanish a bit more. I get really nervous speaking to people who are so fluent. But Victor (our translator) was nice enough to try a conversation with me in Spanish when we got back to the main center. Hopefully we can continue to practice so I'm not as awkward and shy talking to people throughout the week.
I followed that conversation by taking up residence in one of the rocking chairs in our common area. It's quite relaxing to come home to a rocking chair. In fact I'm currently writing from a rocking chair. I started reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone because we had been talking in the van earlier about Harry Potter. Kathleen has <gasp> never seen the movies and we were discussing ways to have a movie marathon including the possibility of turning it into a bible study culminating in seeing the new film coming out late this year. Anyway, before long I had friends come sit by me and disturb me from my reading. But in a sense that's probably a good thing as its more social to have a conversation.
Dinner consisted of beef with potatoes and more beans. It was of course very delicious. I'm not sure how the conversation started but we've been talking about churros basically since we got here. And all of a sudden at the end of our meal we are talking about churros. So Willie says we should all go out for ice cream and churros. Needless to say we were only in it for the churros. We piled in the van and drove downtown in search of churros. Tom treated us to the churros of three kinds, condensed milk, caramel, and chocolate, which is just what was drizzled on top. They were really good. The churros stand that we found was sitting outside of a carnival so we decided to walk through. The lights were so bright and colorful. Possibly from the sugar high, probably from the fact that I had such a great day, we reached the end of the strip and asked if we could ride the bumper cars. I believe 6 or 7 of us did and it was an absolute blast. We kept joking that this must be the youth mission trip because our inner child was coming out! I was screaming and laughing as we rammed the cars into each other. Just pure joy. And of course afterwards I was still happy and on a high which is just a wonderful feeling. Overall a great night out.
Tonight, Chelsea and I ran the devotions. I led the Branches song that I learned from Paige in the Philippines because no one from this group knew it. So everyone was up singing and doing the motions. Chelsea led the part where we shared our most impactful part of the day. We closed in prayer and headed off to bed. Well I wrote part of this first and finished it in the morning. Apologies for the lengthy post.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Brielle in Mexico!
Monday (lunes)
I finally got to Mexico! For those of you who don't know I'm with Medford UMC young adults in Rio Bravo Mexico working with Manos Juntas. What are we doing? You'll find out when I do! This post is a bit run on but hopefully it works. Let's just say that yesterday was a long and harrowing day of airport travel. It was awful. And I wasn't really in the right mind frame to deal with it. But after a shower and full night's sleep I was ready to start today fresh. We flew the last leg of our trip to McAllen and picked up our luggage without any problems. Then Willie and his wife and Matt arrived in the van to pick us up. A few quick stops later and we were crossing the border. Seamlessly I might add. It was very quick and easy. I love looking out the windows at the surroundings. The roads are rough so I insist on riding in the first row of the van. The houses are lots of bright coral colors. I'm trying to read the words on the signs to practice my Spanish. We arrived to a welcome party of friends. The room we are in has several bunk beds in three separate areas. All of the Medford girls are in the outside area. Kathleen has her own room and the other girls have the last room. The boys are in a separate building. There are lovely white rocking chairs out on the common area outside our rooms. Lunch was tostadas which were amazing. All of the food here has been great. After lunch we discussed briefly an article about American cultural values and how we have to remember they are different here in Mexico. Then this afternoon we took a van ride to the community center run by Manos Juntas. They have an after-school program for kids to get extra help with their school work. They also teach kids who aren't able to get the help they need in school, like kids with special needs or disabilities. They asked us to help the kids but there were a lot of us and not a lot of them. Also the language barrier was difficult. But this is the first time they are bringing in a group to work with the programs here an Manos Juntas. So it's new for all of us. I sat by a couple kids and read the workbooks they were doing. I think not having something to do is going to be a theme. When I was in the Philippines a lot of the trip was listening to stories and that was hard to cope with. I think that makes coming into this trip a lot easier. This is a trip to listen to stories and figure out how to further develop the relationships I'm making, and the relationship our church is making with Manos Juntas. We did get a quick reprieve from watching the kids and toured the carpentry shop out back. For the remainder of the time at the center me and a few others quizzed Alex and Victor, our interpreters, for translations to Spanish. Alex is Willie's son and Victor is a student studying to be a doctor. When we got back to where we are staying I got the chance to sit out in the common area in view of the palm trees and sunset and do some knitting. This morning the group that got here did some sewing and I've been told I will get to do this and knitting tomorrow! I'm very excited! I feel somewhat qualified for this job. Dinner was equally good, chicken and zucchini, rice with tortillas. After dinner was devotions and then to bed to journal and sleep. Which is what I'm about to do right now. Considering where I started this trip I'm doing much better and I think I'm finally ready, spiritually and physically, for this trip.
I finally got to Mexico! For those of you who don't know I'm with Medford UMC young adults in Rio Bravo Mexico working with Manos Juntas. What are we doing? You'll find out when I do! This post is a bit run on but hopefully it works. Let's just say that yesterday was a long and harrowing day of airport travel. It was awful. And I wasn't really in the right mind frame to deal with it. But after a shower and full night's sleep I was ready to start today fresh. We flew the last leg of our trip to McAllen and picked up our luggage without any problems. Then Willie and his wife and Matt arrived in the van to pick us up. A few quick stops later and we were crossing the border. Seamlessly I might add. It was very quick and easy. I love looking out the windows at the surroundings. The roads are rough so I insist on riding in the first row of the van. The houses are lots of bright coral colors. I'm trying to read the words on the signs to practice my Spanish. We arrived to a welcome party of friends. The room we are in has several bunk beds in three separate areas. All of the Medford girls are in the outside area. Kathleen has her own room and the other girls have the last room. The boys are in a separate building. There are lovely white rocking chairs out on the common area outside our rooms. Lunch was tostadas which were amazing. All of the food here has been great. After lunch we discussed briefly an article about American cultural values and how we have to remember they are different here in Mexico. Then this afternoon we took a van ride to the community center run by Manos Juntas. They have an after-school program for kids to get extra help with their school work. They also teach kids who aren't able to get the help they need in school, like kids with special needs or disabilities. They asked us to help the kids but there were a lot of us and not a lot of them. Also the language barrier was difficult. But this is the first time they are bringing in a group to work with the programs here an Manos Juntas. So it's new for all of us. I sat by a couple kids and read the workbooks they were doing. I think not having something to do is going to be a theme. When I was in the Philippines a lot of the trip was listening to stories and that was hard to cope with. I think that makes coming into this trip a lot easier. This is a trip to listen to stories and figure out how to further develop the relationships I'm making, and the relationship our church is making with Manos Juntas. We did get a quick reprieve from watching the kids and toured the carpentry shop out back. For the remainder of the time at the center me and a few others quizzed Alex and Victor, our interpreters, for translations to Spanish. Alex is Willie's son and Victor is a student studying to be a doctor. When we got back to where we are staying I got the chance to sit out in the common area in view of the palm trees and sunset and do some knitting. This morning the group that got here did some sewing and I've been told I will get to do this and knitting tomorrow! I'm very excited! I feel somewhat qualified for this job. Dinner was equally good, chicken and zucchini, rice with tortillas. After dinner was devotions and then to bed to journal and sleep. Which is what I'm about to do right now. Considering where I started this trip I'm doing much better and I think I'm finally ready, spiritually and physically, for this trip.
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