This has been an incredibly full and blessed season of receiving mission groups, and I look forward to sharing more with you in a monthly update very soon. But for now, we are requesting your special prayers for our family as we face an immigration crisis here in Mexico.
To make a long story short, we were required to pursue temporary religious worker visas upon entering the country in January, 2007. As part of doing this, we were required to submit a variety of materials, letters, etc. to the Mexican government, including our original passports and original tourist visas. Since God has so graciously provided for all of our needs up to this point, we complied with this requirement, despite some anxiety. Well, it appears now that we are required to submit even more documents that must originate in North Carolina and still have none of the required documents for being in Mexico or for re-entering the United States. Since we have plans to visit NC in mid-August, this is even more problematic. Officially, our car permit expired last Saturday, and our Mexican tourist visas expire at midnight tonight.
We humbly ask for your prayers for our family and for the bureaucratic wheels of motion in the Mexican immigration office. We have been so grateful for the assistance of our pastor, Steve Lindsley, Ginny's dad, group members who have carried documents for us, and others who have helped with this process to date. We do understand that immigration matters are part and parcel of the mission field experience, but that doesn't make it any less scary.
Please pray that:
- we can fulfill the most recent document requests promptly and correctly;
- that there are no more document requests;
- that our FM-3s are approved;
- and that we receive our original passports and FM-3s before mid-August.
Watch for an update on all that's been going on with our ministry and/or check out other entries on the blog to walk with us along the way. Thank you in advance for your prayers, and know that we will keep you posted. This whole situation is a perfect example of why it's so important to have partners in missions to pray with and for us through times such as these. Thanks be to God to have you in this with us.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Brothers and Goats
It shouldn't have come as such a surprise, but it did. For years, I've had the pleasure of working side-by-side with Mexican men on construction worksites who I've come to know as "Hermanos" or "Brothers in Christ." These brothers may have been paid workers or volunteers from churches across Mexico, but regardless, they were prepared to share the worksite with Americans and demonstrated a kind of worksite hospitality. And so, when I had a different experience, I was surprised.
What does that mean, you say? Worksite hospitality? Well, I had never thought about it myself until I encountered the "goats!" What are "goats," you say? Well, let me explain.
"Goats" is a term used by some Mexicans to describe short-term laborers who are called in for special jobs that demand high energy and a willingness to engage in riskier work situations like running up & down steep ramps with buckets of wet cement on their shoulders to pour cement ceilings and other challenging work. In order to have the manpower to complete The Big Pour, Pablo hired a crew of goats who arrived last night about 9PM and who worked until after 4AM. As these new workers joined in with the rest of the Mexicans and Americans who had been working for hours, they made their presence known quickly. These guys were intense! They literally ran to fill buckets with gravel & sand, ran up the steep ramps with cement buckets, and set about getting the jobs done as soon as possible. This was exactly what they were hired to do, and yet it felt very different than working with the brothers.
Workings with Brothers in Christ on the worksite includes a kind of worksite hospitality that helps Americans feel welcome and capable. They try to communicate with us, even if it's through totally non-verbal communication. They want to know our names and tell us theirs. They are patient with us as we fill buckets more slowly, and they patiently teach us how to do things like tying rebar. They seem interested in us and receptive when we try to build relationships with them. They can tell when we Americans are exhausted and need someone to spell us from a job, but they still give us a chance to work as hard as we can. They join us in prayer.
With the goats, everything I described about the brothers was absent. They took shovels out of my hands, resisted my efforts to help, didn't seem to want to connect at all with us, and frankly, I got the feeling that they really just wanted me out of their way! So, I moved out of their way and let them do what we asked them there to do - work hard, work fast and help get a HUGE job done.
I kept asking myself, "what's the God-message in this?" I pondered it as I did jobs they wouldn't do, like carrying buckets of water to cement mixers. I forced myself to reflect instead of ruminating about how much I didn't like working with them and about my suspicions that their high energy level was drug-induced. I keep pondering and finally it registered! Yes, the expected answer to prayers was that we had the help we needed to get the roof project done. But the unexpected God-message was, "Doesn't it feel great to work alongside those OTHER guys? Doesn't it feel great to work with your brothers in Christ who share the broader ministry project goals with you, who will pray with you, who want to be in relationship with you, who work with you in every sense of the word? Had you ever really thought about how meaningful that is?" In truth, I knew the worksite relationships were meaningful, but it took working with a bunch 'o goats to make me really appreciate just how special they are! Thanks be to God for giving us powerful messages in the most unexpected moments.
And how ironic that one of my favorite scriptures (Matthew 25:25-40) is prefaced with these words: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."
And to paraphrase from Joshua, "but as for me and my house, we will hang with the sheep!"
What does that mean, you say? Worksite hospitality? Well, I had never thought about it myself until I encountered the "goats!" What are "goats," you say? Well, let me explain.
"Goats" is a term used by some Mexicans to describe short-term laborers who are called in for special jobs that demand high energy and a willingness to engage in riskier work situations like running up & down steep ramps with buckets of wet cement on their shoulders to pour cement ceilings and other challenging work. In order to have the manpower to complete The Big Pour, Pablo hired a crew of goats who arrived last night about 9PM and who worked until after 4AM. As these new workers joined in with the rest of the Mexicans and Americans who had been working for hours, they made their presence known quickly. These guys were intense! They literally ran to fill buckets with gravel & sand, ran up the steep ramps with cement buckets, and set about getting the jobs done as soon as possible. This was exactly what they were hired to do, and yet it felt very different than working with the brothers.
Workings with Brothers in Christ on the worksite includes a kind of worksite hospitality that helps Americans feel welcome and capable. They try to communicate with us, even if it's through totally non-verbal communication. They want to know our names and tell us theirs. They are patient with us as we fill buckets more slowly, and they patiently teach us how to do things like tying rebar. They seem interested in us and receptive when we try to build relationships with them. They can tell when we Americans are exhausted and need someone to spell us from a job, but they still give us a chance to work as hard as we can. They join us in prayer.
With the goats, everything I described about the brothers was absent. They took shovels out of my hands, resisted my efforts to help, didn't seem to want to connect at all with us, and frankly, I got the feeling that they really just wanted me out of their way! So, I moved out of their way and let them do what we asked them there to do - work hard, work fast and help get a HUGE job done.
I kept asking myself, "what's the God-message in this?" I pondered it as I did jobs they wouldn't do, like carrying buckets of water to cement mixers. I forced myself to reflect instead of ruminating about how much I didn't like working with them and about my suspicions that their high energy level was drug-induced. I keep pondering and finally it registered! Yes, the expected answer to prayers was that we had the help we needed to get the roof project done. But the unexpected God-message was, "Doesn't it feel great to work alongside those OTHER guys? Doesn't it feel great to work with your brothers in Christ who share the broader ministry project goals with you, who will pray with you, who want to be in relationship with you, who work with you in every sense of the word? Had you ever really thought about how meaningful that is?" In truth, I knew the worksite relationships were meaningful, but it took working with a bunch 'o goats to make me really appreciate just how special they are! Thanks be to God for giving us powerful messages in the most unexpected moments.
And how ironic that one of my favorite scriptures (Matthew 25:25-40) is prefaced with these words: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."
And to paraphrase from Joshua, "but as for me and my house, we will hang with the sheep!"
What a difference 24 HOURS makes!
Yesterday was THE BIG DAY! Mexican and American work crews scrambled all week hammering boards and tying rebar for the roof of Phase I of the Manos de Cristo medical clinic, We were trying to be ready for THE BIG POUR - the day to pour all 37 tons of cement in one fell swoop as required by the architects and engineers. By lunchtime yesterday, the certainty of being able to pour cement was not clear. Elders, deacons and church members from churches around the Maya Synod were getting discouraged and many returned to their homes - convinced that we weren't going to be able to pour. Oh what patience it took to let them go! But we weren't certain either, and we didn't want unhappy volunteers! But at 7PM last night, we cranked up 4 cement mixers and lots of portable lighting, and The Big Pour began in earnest.
Our regular clinic construction team of about 8 was joined by 32 Americans and about 30 extra Mexican construction workers. Extra help was needed in the kitchen, and fires were built at the worksite and in the open-fire kitchen to boiled huge pots of beef caldo (broth w/ meat and vegetables), rice, beans and coffee to feed this huge crew. By 8:30 PM, we knew we needed more help, so Pablo brought in another 30 or so Mexican workers who are affectionately called "goats." (Read more about the goats in a separate blog entry) Some Americans were fading by 11PM, several were pulled away to help with an injury, some of us made it until about 2:30, and there were a few brave American souls who made it until the end of the pour at 4AM. We served caldo, rice and tortillas at 7PM, 1AM and 4AM, and the main Mexican work crew finally headed for bed about 5AM. Together we poured 27 tons of cement and finished about 70% of the roof of Phase I, which was enough to satisfy the architect and the engineer.
We ask your special prayers for Randy Duvall from Virginia Beach who suffered a broken arm with a fall from one of the non-OSHA-approved ramps on the worksite as he headed home in the dark last night. Fortunately, he had a positive middle-of-the-night visit to a local public clinic and will be able to see his own doctor in Virginia within 72 hours. Since Mexican doctors typically do surgery to set broken bones, I was thrilled to hear that the doctor here seemed to see no reason to do anything more than apply a standard plaster cast to give the 2 hairline fractures time to heal. That was great news! Can you imagine his face had the doctor tried to explain that he needed surgery?! It amazes me that we haven't had worksite injuries galore over the years, but in fact, this was the first injury that I've seen that required off-site medical attention. Gratefully we had a good team of nurses, good meds on hand, and were received by an excellent physician who is well-known and respected by members of our Mexican team. In fact, I'd say that Randy (a white American with good translators and certain ability to pay for his services) was cared for in the same way we anticipate caring for all patients at Manos de Cristo in the future - with expediency, professionalism, compassion, friendliness and respect. God graciously provided all we needed in the midst of an unfortunate injury - which should come as no surprise.
We hope the be able to finish the remaining 30% of the Phase I roof with a more typical full-day of pouring (a mere 10 tons of cement!) during the upcoming week. So finally, after weeks of impasse over roof design, construction is back in full-swing, and it is a blessing to behold.
Pictures to follow with this blog entry later today, but for those who are waiting for a report on the big pour, thought I'd go ahead and post. For now though, I've got to run prep bathrooms and beds for the group from Maumee, OH who will arrive from Tuxtla tonight!
Our regular clinic construction team of about 8 was joined by 32 Americans and about 30 extra Mexican construction workers. Extra help was needed in the kitchen, and fires were built at the worksite and in the open-fire kitchen to boiled huge pots of beef caldo (broth w/ meat and vegetables), rice, beans and coffee to feed this huge crew. By 8:30 PM, we knew we needed more help, so Pablo brought in another 30 or so Mexican workers who are affectionately called "goats." (Read more about the goats in a separate blog entry) Some Americans were fading by 11PM, several were pulled away to help with an injury, some of us made it until about 2:30, and there were a few brave American souls who made it until the end of the pour at 4AM. We served caldo, rice and tortillas at 7PM, 1AM and 4AM, and the main Mexican work crew finally headed for bed about 5AM. Together we poured 27 tons of cement and finished about 70% of the roof of Phase I, which was enough to satisfy the architect and the engineer.
We ask your special prayers for Randy Duvall from Virginia Beach who suffered a broken arm with a fall from one of the non-OSHA-approved ramps on the worksite as he headed home in the dark last night. Fortunately, he had a positive middle-of-the-night visit to a local public clinic and will be able to see his own doctor in Virginia within 72 hours. Since Mexican doctors typically do surgery to set broken bones, I was thrilled to hear that the doctor here seemed to see no reason to do anything more than apply a standard plaster cast to give the 2 hairline fractures time to heal. That was great news! Can you imagine his face had the doctor tried to explain that he needed surgery?! It amazes me that we haven't had worksite injuries galore over the years, but in fact, this was the first injury that I've seen that required off-site medical attention. Gratefully we had a good team of nurses, good meds on hand, and were received by an excellent physician who is well-known and respected by members of our Mexican team. In fact, I'd say that Randy (a white American with good translators and certain ability to pay for his services) was cared for in the same way we anticipate caring for all patients at Manos de Cristo in the future - with expediency, professionalism, compassion, friendliness and respect. God graciously provided all we needed in the midst of an unfortunate injury - which should come as no surprise.
We hope the be able to finish the remaining 30% of the Phase I roof with a more typical full-day of pouring (a mere 10 tons of cement!) during the upcoming week. So finally, after weeks of impasse over roof design, construction is back in full-swing, and it is a blessing to behold.
Pictures to follow with this blog entry later today, but for those who are waiting for a report on the big pour, thought I'd go ahead and post. For now though, I've got to run prep bathrooms and beds for the group from Maumee, OH who will arrive from Tuxtla tonight!
That's why we call 'em bureaucracies!
Still no response from Mexico City about our FM-3s. So, beginning today (the day our car permit expires) we'll not be driving "The Beast" (our '94 Toyota Land Cruiser) outside of Ocosingo until we have what we need to get it renewed. This will mean that we have to change our method of transporting groups with the loss of one key vehicle, when we already don't have enough to transport groups without renting vans. Guess that means we'll be renting an extra van! Bummer. The $300 fine will kick in on our credit card, despite all our best efforts to renew on-time, and we wait with baited breath for our papers to come in. We still plan to visit NC from mid-August until mid-September, and we're just trusting that the bureaucratic wheels of motion actually move by then!
Monday, July 16, 2007
Bureaucratic mess - Please pray!
One of the realities of missionary service in foreign countries is dealing with immigration issues. For years, most missionaries to Mexico simply traveled back and forth across the border every 6 months to renew their tourist visas and to get the car permits renewed. The conventional wisdom had been to resist the temptation to apply for temporary work permits (FM-3) because of all the bureaucratic red tape, but we had been advised by our partners in ministry here to apply anyway. We did both. We started the process of getting FM-3 status in 2/06 but continued with the 6-month plan for tourist visas to keep us legal until/if the FM-3 came through. Until we hit a bump in the road in January, 2007.
When we crossed the Texas/Mexico border on our last entry to Mexico, the border official asked what we were doing in Mexico for 6 months. John honestly and innocently answered that he was working with his church. This apparently raised red flags for the official who cited requirements for religious workers to have FM-3 status. He informed John that it would be the last time he would be eligible to enter the country on a tourist visa, that he needed to get the FM-3, and marked his passport to that effect so that the next border official would know of this ruling. Ugh...
So we quickly stepped up efforts to get the FM-3 approved, even though there had been no progress in 11 months! Well...here we are, days before our visas and car permits expire and still no FM-3. We've jumped through all the right hoops, thanks to the help of our pastor, Steve Lindsley, my dad, the NC Secr of State's office, Pablo, our attorney here, Francisco, and a friend in Mexico City. We even agreed to the biggest of all leaps of faith since we arrived....sending our ORIGINAL passports and tourist visas to Mexico City! Through the MAIL! (We have notarized copies, but....) As of today, we still have no FM-3. John and Francisco went Saturday to try to get the car permit renewed before it expires since we are sometimes asked to show it when we cross military checkpoints in Chiapas. They said they couldn't renew it without an original passport and visa. So we wait.
Please pray for all the cogs in all the wheels to fall into place this week so that we are able to get all our documentation approved and in hand. God has been truly perfect in providing for all our absolute needs at just the right time, so our experience leads us to trust God in this matter as well, but as is often the case, sometimes that's really hard. I find myself thinking, "...but God hasn't met the bureaucracy of the Mexican government!!!" But I suppose I'm like the father of the boy in Mark 9: 23-24...
"..."Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
When we crossed the Texas/Mexico border on our last entry to Mexico, the border official asked what we were doing in Mexico for 6 months. John honestly and innocently answered that he was working with his church. This apparently raised red flags for the official who cited requirements for religious workers to have FM-3 status. He informed John that it would be the last time he would be eligible to enter the country on a tourist visa, that he needed to get the FM-3, and marked his passport to that effect so that the next border official would know of this ruling. Ugh...
So we quickly stepped up efforts to get the FM-3 approved, even though there had been no progress in 11 months! Well...here we are, days before our visas and car permits expire and still no FM-3. We've jumped through all the right hoops, thanks to the help of our pastor, Steve Lindsley, my dad, the NC Secr of State's office, Pablo, our attorney here, Francisco, and a friend in Mexico City. We even agreed to the biggest of all leaps of faith since we arrived....sending our ORIGINAL passports and tourist visas to Mexico City! Through the MAIL! (We have notarized copies, but....) As of today, we still have no FM-3. John and Francisco went Saturday to try to get the car permit renewed before it expires since we are sometimes asked to show it when we cross military checkpoints in Chiapas. They said they couldn't renew it without an original passport and visa. So we wait.
Please pray for all the cogs in all the wheels to fall into place this week so that we are able to get all our documentation approved and in hand. God has been truly perfect in providing for all our absolute needs at just the right time, so our experience leads us to trust God in this matter as well, but as is often the case, sometimes that's really hard. I find myself thinking, "...but God hasn't met the bureaucracy of the Mexican government!!!" But I suppose I'm like the father of the boy in Mark 9: 23-24...
"..."Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
Monday, July 09, 2007
What a difference a week makes!
Over and over again we've seen it...the incredible differences between a worksite from the beginning of a week to the end. Just as "when 2 or more are gathered together in my name," when you gather together groups of people united around a common goal, amazing things happen!
When Hot Metal Bridge Group (PA) worked on the medical clinic, they helped dig out a horrible mud trench that went around the perimeter of one end of the clinic, filled it with gravel and helped prepare for the installation of retaining walls for the foundation of Phase II of the clinic.
The next week, a small group of Alpha Sigma Phi's (NC) multi-tasked in areas of engineering consulting, clinic construction and prison ministry. This group of special long-time friends also offered great personal support for our family as we geared up for a very full summer.
Salem Medical I and II (NC) provided primary medical care, dental care and optometric care for nearly 3500 who came for services over 10 days! Nearly everyone needed some prescription, tooth extraction or glasses, and we were able to respond to many of their needs. Wow!
Even the small group led by Nancy Samples (OR) tiled bathrooms and installed...drum roll please....a hot water heater for 3 showers at the bible school. That's right! There are now 3 hot water showers at the bible school in Ocosingo! Charles, Mel and Nancy, countless numbers of American short-termers and Mexican students, deacons, elders and pastors will be grateful to you for years to come!
In the 3 weeks since Hot Metal left, the Mexican work crews had been able to finish the retaining wall and were ready for help getting it filled it. Enter Salem Construction I (NC)! Because the area inside the retaining wall was so deep and the slope so deep, it was necessary to have manual help getting the retaining wall area filled in so that the backhoe could get inside to finish the job. This was back-breaking, pure grunt work, but as usual, Salem folks pitched in to get the job done. In fact, I think they saw it as a huge challenge and they were NOT to be beaten by the task!
When we went with the Salem Construction Group II (NC) to Tzajala, damage to a sanctuary floor was repaired, a sidewalk was poured around the church building, and the community kitchen floor was poured so that the ladies didn't have to cook in a kitchen with a dirt floor.
Now...make no mistake...all of the above-referenced weeks' progress was amazing. But let me tell you folks. Words do not exist to describe what happened in the one week between the time Salem Construction I left Ocosingo and the time that we returned from working with Salem Construction II. The impasse about the roof design had finally been overcome, and the wood form installation for pouring the concrete roof began. In just 7 days, Mexican work crews had received massive amounts of lumber and began constructing the forms. The progress was amazing, and the level of excitement about clinic construction was at an all-time high for us!
You can double-click on any of the pictures above to enlarge, but make sure to enlarge the last one. You'll be amazed!
In about 2 weeks, the forms should be completed. The "big pour" is scheduled for Friday, July 20th. A multi-state group of 27 (NC, VA, OH, FL) will join together with about 80 Mexicans to pour the entire roof for Phase I in a 24-hour period. It should be quite a day! Stay tuned for more info about that incredible day.
We spend a lot of time talking with groups about keeping the "project" in perspective. We do believe that the cross-cultural relationships that are formed here are the most important parts of the mission trip experience. Period. That said, it is amazing to see what like-minded people can do together, and we know that cleaner kitchens, finished sanctuaries, Sunday School classrooms, water cisterns and of course medical care (in temporary or permanent facilities) make huge differences in people's lives here. We are grateful to all the mission teams who come and who work hard, sweat hard, use their creative, intelligent minds and give their "all" to make a difference here. What a difference a week makes!!
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Feeling "The Bite" (AKA Mordidas)
We'd heard all the stories about "mordidas" before we moved to Mexico. Our friend, Ed Jennings from Raleigh, had to pay several mordidas on his way to Tabasco with a donated van from White Memorial Presbyterian. For those of you for whom this is a new word, it's the Spanish word meaning literally "the bite," but in practice it means a bribe. One writer called it the "traditional and customary way of getting things done in Mexico."
Before we moved, John and I discussed this tradition, our beliefs that mordidas are morally wrong, and our recognition that the mordida is such an ingrained part of Mexican culture that we should be prepared to face it. We agreed that we would likely fail to change anything by "taking the high road" in protest and recognized that it could be considered one of those "when in Rome" kinds of things. So we accepted that we could have to pay a mordida along the way.
Well....tonight was my night. Holly and I had enjoyed a delightful evening at a friend's wedding (Bani, Gaspar's daughter, was married tonight). On our way home, we found ourselves rather suddenly surrounded by police cars and taxi cabs. This was approximately 11PM on a Saturday night. Not exactly the best time to be the target of a police action! There were 4 police vehicles with lights flashing, about 10 taxi drivers, 10 policemen and at least 10-20 onlookers.
Gloria Dios that Holly was with me (for translation at the time) and that I was able to reach Pastor Pablo by cell phone (for more serious negotiations). I kept my cool, didn't get out of the car, and demonstrated respect for the police throughout the whole experience. It didn't take long to understand that they were accusing me of something, but since I knew I had done nothing, I wasn't really afraid.
It turns out that I was being accused of hitting a taxi cab. Because he had a "witness" to this effect, it became the word of 2 Mexicans against 2 Americans. The taxi cab company wanted 1000 pesos to settle the matter on the scene (about $100 USD). That I had not been in the area of town where the accident had occurred didn't seem to matter since I had no proof. Somewhere along the way the settlement request went up to 1200 pesos. Pablo's position (and mine) was firm....we didn't want to pay the mordida because we didn't want them to begin targeting us as Americans for repeat performances. We got an attorney on the scene and eventually matched up the two vehicles to confirm that there was no way that my car had hit the taxi cab. Then, the amount they wanted came down to 800 pesos. If I wanted to have my insurance company investigate and duke it out with the taxi company, I ran the risk of the car being impounded by the police for up to 3 weeks...all for the sake of NOT paying the equivalent of $74.29 USD.
In the end, the $74.29 was a reasonable price to pay for the convenience of making sure that I could leave with my car. Part of me hurt... I'm a lawyer's daughter. There was no justice in this. I had done nothing wrong. I'm sorry the guy's taxi got damaged, but I had nothing to do with it. I didn't even look when they were lining up the cars to compare scratch marks because I didn't need to. I had not hit the taxi, and I didn't need to look to know that. But the mordida was easier than the alternative. It was quite possibly cheaper than the alternative. And I paid it.
But what if I had been a Mexican woman whose husband made minimum wage, the equivalent of $5 USD a day? What if we had to find a way to provide for ourselves while still paying the mordida? The 800 pesos would have required 16 days of minimum wage income.The mordida represents silent conspiracy by government and unionized businesses and the people of Mexico that is exploitive and unjust. The same author writes, In Mexico it is endemic to almost all agencies of government: Treasury, immigration, customs, commerce commissions, police, judges, planning departments and even lawyers who will "throw" your case to your opponent in a law suit. It is a customary way of doing business in Mexico and most Mexicanos treat it with a shrug of the shoulders. They complain about it but accept it stoically as a way of life.
I needed my car. I didn't need to chance that it could be held in the police impound lot for days, weeks or months. I went home with my car and didn't have to worry if I would get it back, if there would be things stolen out of it or there could be further unseen issues. Practically, it made sense. We'd agreed that we'd probably have to do it sometime. So why do I feel so lousy? I think it has something to do with those 16 days of wages.
For more information about the exploitation of the people via the mordida and other interesting things about Mexico, check out : http://www.mexicomatters.net/retirementmexico/04_bribeslamordidainmexico.php
Before we moved, John and I discussed this tradition, our beliefs that mordidas are morally wrong, and our recognition that the mordida is such an ingrained part of Mexican culture that we should be prepared to face it. We agreed that we would likely fail to change anything by "taking the high road" in protest and recognized that it could be considered one of those "when in Rome" kinds of things. So we accepted that we could have to pay a mordida along the way.
Well....tonight was my night. Holly and I had enjoyed a delightful evening at a friend's wedding (Bani, Gaspar's daughter, was married tonight). On our way home, we found ourselves rather suddenly surrounded by police cars and taxi cabs. This was approximately 11PM on a Saturday night. Not exactly the best time to be the target of a police action! There were 4 police vehicles with lights flashing, about 10 taxi drivers, 10 policemen and at least 10-20 onlookers.
Gloria Dios that Holly was with me (for translation at the time) and that I was able to reach Pastor Pablo by cell phone (for more serious negotiations). I kept my cool, didn't get out of the car, and demonstrated respect for the police throughout the whole experience. It didn't take long to understand that they were accusing me of something, but since I knew I had done nothing, I wasn't really afraid.
It turns out that I was being accused of hitting a taxi cab. Because he had a "witness" to this effect, it became the word of 2 Mexicans against 2 Americans. The taxi cab company wanted 1000 pesos to settle the matter on the scene (about $100 USD). That I had not been in the area of town where the accident had occurred didn't seem to matter since I had no proof. Somewhere along the way the settlement request went up to 1200 pesos. Pablo's position (and mine) was firm....we didn't want to pay the mordida because we didn't want them to begin targeting us as Americans for repeat performances. We got an attorney on the scene and eventually matched up the two vehicles to confirm that there was no way that my car had hit the taxi cab. Then, the amount they wanted came down to 800 pesos. If I wanted to have my insurance company investigate and duke it out with the taxi company, I ran the risk of the car being impounded by the police for up to 3 weeks...all for the sake of NOT paying the equivalent of $74.29 USD.
In the end, the $74.29 was a reasonable price to pay for the convenience of making sure that I could leave with my car. Part of me hurt... I'm a lawyer's daughter. There was no justice in this. I had done nothing wrong. I'm sorry the guy's taxi got damaged, but I had nothing to do with it. I didn't even look when they were lining up the cars to compare scratch marks because I didn't need to. I had not hit the taxi, and I didn't need to look to know that. But the mordida was easier than the alternative. It was quite possibly cheaper than the alternative. And I paid it.
But what if I had been a Mexican woman whose husband made minimum wage, the equivalent of $5 USD a day? What if we had to find a way to provide for ourselves while still paying the mordida? The 800 pesos would have required 16 days of minimum wage income.The mordida represents silent conspiracy by government and unionized businesses and the people of Mexico that is exploitive and unjust. The same author writes, In Mexico it is endemic to almost all agencies of government: Treasury, immigration, customs, commerce commissions, police, judges, planning departments and even lawyers who will "throw" your case to your opponent in a law suit. It is a customary way of doing business in Mexico and most Mexicanos treat it with a shrug of the shoulders. They complain about it but accept it stoically as a way of life.
I needed my car. I didn't need to chance that it could be held in the police impound lot for days, weeks or months. I went home with my car and didn't have to worry if I would get it back, if there would be things stolen out of it or there could be further unseen issues. Practically, it made sense. We'd agreed that we'd probably have to do it sometime. So why do I feel so lousy? I think it has something to do with those 16 days of wages.
For more information about the exploitation of the people via the mordida and other interesting things about Mexico, check out : http://www.mexicomatters.net/retirementmexico/04_bribeslamordidainmexico.php
Monday, July 02, 2007
A One-Person Group?
A one-person group? Sounds a little like an oxymoron, huh? Imagine this scenario...
Your pastor tells you that he needs you to take off a week of work to join with 10 other Elders from the area to join a group of foreigners on mission project. You know you won't be able to understand their language. You aren't sure that you'll be able to eat their food. You have no idea what to expect but you're a faithful Elder and faithful servant, so you pack your bags for the week. Upon arrival, you discover that your fellow Elders (the ones who speak your language, the one's you're planning to connect with while you're getting to know these foreigners) haven't arrived. The next day comes, and still no other Elders. In fact, there's not a soul there you know....all week long! What would you do? Catch a ride home? Be on the phone chastising those who were supposed to join you and never showed up? What's a faithful servant to do?!
Well, Antonio, the Elder from the Lacandon Presbytery who worked with the group from Salem Presbytery (NC) all week long, did his best to fulfill his charge. He experimented with different food, tried to communicate with members of the group and our team of Americans, and worked hard moving dirt, compacting and otherwise taxing his body on the clinic construction project.
At the end of the week, the group and our team had immense respect for Antonio as a person, for the feelings he must have had that week, and for his faithfulness to his pastor, his church, the clinic project, and to our God. When we gathered together one last time to dedicate our work at the clinic site, Antonio joined in our prayers, sang the Doxology in Tzeltal right along with us as we sang in English, and shared in our tearful goodbyes. By the end of that week, Antonio AND the group were sure of two things...we could find common ground for living, working, worshiping and loving together over the week's time AND we are joined together by our common love for our God - the same God that was, that is, that will always be. Amen.
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