Miércoles in Mexico

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!