Birthday Traditions in Mexico

Our family celebrated my (Ginny) birthday this week, complete with a surprise party! One of the Mexican traditions with cuplianos is the expected "face in the cake" deal. They call it the "mordita," which loosely translated means "the bite." So the deal is that the Birthday Girl/Boy is obliged to take the first bite of cake without using utensils or their hands --- just leaning down to take a bite out of the cake. Well, strategically positioned behind said Birthday Girl/Boy is someone else ready to slam their face into the cake when they lean down. Well, I am happy to say that I didn't get TOO much cake & icing up my nose, and I'm happy to say that there were no cameras present to share the visual image of this momentous occasion with you!

But perhaps the neatest thing of all wasn't the cake or the meal or the gifts, but the surprise itself. I was busy sweeping out the kitchen and as I neared the front door, heard the singing parade of well-wishers as they approached. They sang Felize Cuplianos to me, then John escorted me across the campus to the party with the parade following along behind. It was a delightful surprise and an act of love from our newest friends here in Mexico. A great day!

Beginning to understand more about the Zapatistas

The language school offered a number of documentary movies, and our teacher encouraged us to go see at least one to practice our Spanish listening skills. We saw the film, Chronicles of a Revolution, which included lots of live footage from several of the Zapatista events of the last 15 years. While I must confess that we were so compelled by the story that we read English subtitles instead of trying to use our Spanish skills. This "bird's eye view" of rebellion in the same streets that we had walked earlier in the day (in San Cristobal) and in the community in which we live (Ocosingo) was more than a little disconcerting. Nevertheless, the story of the Zapatistas and their advocacy for the indigenous & forgotten people of Chiapas was moving. It's ironic that one of the more popular books about the Zapatistas is entitled Basta! (which loosely translated means "ENOUGH!!").

It was clear that there are no winners in the struggle between the Zapatistas and the Mexican Government. To us, it seemed that both the Zapatistas and the Mexican Government showed both poor judgment and incredible restraint throughout the conflicts. There were times that both groups seemed to demonstrate respect for the other and a desire to find common ground, yet their history with each other prevented both groups from trusting the other. The Zapatistas used weapons and attacked in the early years, but this documentary suggested that they shifted strategy and seemed to adopt a philosophy that said, "We have the right to bear arms, but we don't want to use them." The Mexican government would say they were ready on adopt the terms of the Peace Accord of San Andres (which included moving troops out of indigenous communities) then not follow through. There was footage of Mexican indigenous people verbally (and at times, physically) assaulting the Mexican military for their refusal to honor agreements made by their own government to withdraw their troops from indigenous villages. That the young macho soldiers stood their ground without fighting back was impressive, yet it really did symbolize the overall state of affairs.

There they were...indigenous men, women and children shouting for their basic human rights to be honored...outraged that their own government would simultaneously forget them (and their extreme poverty) while camping out with their tanks and guns in their back yards...screaming at the soldiers and beating on them with their fists....while the government (soldiers) does nothing and the indigenous people's actions provoke no meaningful reaction of any kind.

We tried to think about what it would be like if the US government and its military decided that an entire American ethnic group should be considered "the enemy." The very idea was truly mindboggling and impossible to imagine. Now remember, we aren't talking about small group of people here! There are over 10 million indigenous people in Mexico!

That both sides seem to have alienated each other so extremely seemed sad and hopeless. In our mission service here, we see the poverty of the indigenous people. We see the ways in which the government structure and a disguised caste system keep the indigenous people stuck and forgotten. They had been powerless for so long...decided to fight back ...only to discover that they were powerless still.

Please join us in our prayer that the indigenous people of Chiapas and Oaxaca find ways to be heard without violence and that the newly-elected president, Calderon, and his administration can both listen and deliver much needed help to descendents of Mexico's original inhabitants. Somebody's gotta start trusting somebody or things will never change. Calderon might do well to follow the teachings of Proverbs 29:14 “If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure.”

The Value of Language School

If there is one thing that I, Ginny, would do over again in answering God's call for our family into missions, it would be to have insisted that we all learn Spanish very well before moving to Mexico. While I know that learning in Chiapas is far more desirable (because we are learning the same Spanish that is spoken in this part of Latin America) the absence of a strong command of the language is a hindrance.

If you have seen The End of the Spear, you know that the missionaries might not have been killed had they been able to speak the native language. Now, I have no reason to believe that our lives are in danger here, but still, that aspect of their story was not lost on me. The ability to communicate effectively can make all the difference in showing God's love through our words in addition to the living out of our faith in other observable ways.

Language school in San Cristobal is challenging, long and fun. We are in a class with one instructor just for our family ---- with 3 hours of direct instruction and then as much as 3 hours of additional homework! Needless to say, there's not a whole lot of studying other subjects! We are living with the family of Isidro Entzin, a Tzeltal attorney. Because they speak no English at all, we are truly immersed and practicing our new skills day and night.

I have wondered....when God responded to the Tower of Babel by causing the people to no longer understand each other's language, did he know how hard it would make it to spread the Good News later? I envy the missionaries we have met who so comfortably converse in Spanish or Tzeltal or Tsotsil. They are able to give all of their attention to the person, to concentrate on the deeper meaning in their communication with each other, and to be themselves completely. We ask for your prayers as we strive to learn Spanish, improve our understanding of the Spanish and Indigenous Mexican cultures, and follow God's leading in our service.

Homeschool Fits & Starts

The transition to a homeschool family has begun, albeit complicated by schedules, slow internet connections, and the lack of access to quality public libraries and mail delivery of materials. Thanks to our recent time in the US, we´ve built up a fairly adequate supply of materials and began our journey back to Ocosingo ready to begin.

One of the more interesting aspects has been the eagerness with which the girls approached this new endeavor. All of their friends had already begun school for this year, and their internal clock began to sound alarms in their heads saying "It´s time to get busy here...we need to be in school too!" So, as soon as we got back, we were off and running....well....I wouldn´t necessarily say "running," but we were off and moving anyway!

Maggie did great as long as there was 1:1 instruction, and Holly did great as long as the internet connection to Keystone National High School was live and fast. However, as the internet got slow then went down altogether, Holly needed attention, which left Maggie waiting for me to return. Our first homeschool day began promptly at 9AM and ended at nearly 5PM! Not exactly what any of us had in mind! By mid-day, my mantra became, "Just remember, we´re all learning as we go here. It´s gonna take us some time to get into a rhythm, so just try to be patient and not get discouraged." I guess I was telling them that as a way to remind myself!

Well, since then, we had Saturday school in anticipation of being in language school for the next 2 weeks. The 2nd day went better, and we´re hoping that we can get in a little time for other subjects in-between the 6 hours of Spanish every day.

I suppose that most new homeschool parents (and their kids too, probably) have a fantasy idea of how it´ll all work, and then, like most fantasies, are modified by the reality that things almost never work like we fantasize. For now, just keep praying that we can all be patient with each other and find ways around the little stuff --- allowing us to stay on-task enough, be free enough to explore and benefit from the experience, and keep loving each other along the way!