HE Lives

Last Saturday, my friend Sarah and I (she is a college student who is studying here for 5 months, and started coming to Horizonte Church) went to fulfull a school project that she had to do. That project involved going to an event having to so with Day of the Dead, celebrated on November 1 & 2. Sarah didn't want to go alone because of the sketchy and spiritually weird atmosphere of the holiday, so I went with her. We chose to go to an exhibit of altars and offerings. This seemed like the least creepy option, as there are altars set up in all the malls, and in various parks downtown, etc. So, we entered the exhibition courtyard of the public library and made the rounds looking at the altars. But Sarah needed, for her project, to explain one of the altars. We chose one made by a small group of Jr. High students. They began to explain the significance of the various parts of the altar. We didn't take the picture below, I just found it on the internet, but it's pretty similar to the one we asked about:

So, the kids told us that the altars should have representations of wind, water, fire, and earth; seven stair-type-thingies representing the seven deadly sins; a picture or representation of the deceased person receiving the offering; the favorite foods and the vices of the deceased... etc. I'd heard most of this before, and it always makes me angry because dead people are not going to come back for a day to eat little bits of food, drink alcohol, and put curses on you if you don't leave stuff set out for them. But I was REALLY horrified when the kid told us that three skull figures toward the middle of the altar represented the TRINITY!!!

Many Catholics in Mexico fully participate in the Day of the Dead, and Catholic churches set up altars. For them, Jesus is still dead (hence being represented by a skull). I'm not going to say anything about catholicsism in the US, but here in Mexico, there's just no way that you can say that Catholicsism is like Christianity. The entire base of the Christian faith is that Jesus rose from the dead! I don't have a relationship with a dead guy, but with Jesus who LIVES in heaven, and who's Holy Spirit lives in me and in all others who also have a relationship with Him. The kids showing us their altar made the altar as a "good deed" that is needed to EARN their way to heaven. People just can't (don't want to?) believe that you don't have to do all kinds of good crap so that God will let you go to heaven. I mean, we should do good stuff, but when we mess up, there's forgiveness directly from God, not from a priest of a saint. Sarah was telling one a young guy that lives by her that good deeds don't get you into heaven, but accepting forgiveness for sins from Jesus does. He looked at her weird, and pulled out a wallet-sized picture of the saint from his hometown with a prayer on the back, and told her that this saint would make sure he got to heaven... he hoped.

So, if you thought that Mexico is about as much of a Christian country as the USA, think again. I mean, morally, sometimes I think Mexico isn't as far in the hole as the US (and then sometimes I think it's the other way around), but as far as people who actually believe that Jesus is STILL alive after His ressurrection, and that they HAVE a relationship with Him... There's just not many. It's figured that 1.5% of people in Queretaro go to an Evangelical church regularly. So, how many people out of that percentage ACTUALLY have a relationship with Christ? We figure 1%, optimistically.

So that's why JP and I are here. And why we consider just the act of daily living as sharing the Gospel with others. LOTS of people here have NEVER heard the message of salvation!! (Like our friend Brenda...) In the USA, LOTS of people have actually heard the Message, they just choose to not accept it. But here, we have a huge opportunity to live the love of God in our daily lives, and explain Salvation to others.

Sarah and I were both on the verge of tears when the kids explained the skulls to us. It was hard for two gringas who grew up in Christian homes to even HEAR that the skulls are for the Trinity... Please keep praying for JP and I in our daily ministries, and for Sarah too, as she lives with and goes to class with lots of people who had never heard that Jesus is alive.

And, saturday, Sarah and I are going to the town of Guanajuato (2 hours from Queretaro), we're still seeing if there are any other girls who want to come with us, and I hope it's a good time of exploring the city and encouraging one another!

Sarah and our friend Amayrani:

Thank You God for Mexico!

Although I've been here in Queretaro for almost four years, (yeah, it's gone by REALLY fast!) there is still so much to learn culturally! I frequently that the Lord for sending me to Mexico - besides the fact that I met my husband here - it's really not been that difficult for me to adjust to living in this country. The thought process of Queretanos is somewhat different that growing up in Oregon, but nothing too strange. I seriously think that Mexico is home to the world's best cuisine, and Queretaro is an excellent place to enjoy that! The dress of the middle-class society is basically the same as middle-class Oregon, with the exception that not many women wear shorts outside. But that's not a problem. The list of subtle differences goes on. I've been thinking about this lately, as my new friend, Sarah, who is in Queretaro from Kansas studying at the State University, frequently asks me about cultural things.

I recently met with my CostaRican friend, Yami. Yami and her husband are missionaries from CostaRica to Queretaro. They have opened the Mexican regional offices of an organization that sends Latino Christian workers to restricted-access countries. Yami and her husband had prevously lived in one of these countries - a predominently Muslim country. She told me about many of their unpleasent experiences with immigration, having to leave the country at least once a month in order to live somewhat legally in the country, having the police come to their home looking for them to question them in a language that they didn't speak very well, and many other things. (This conversation started as we talked about how frustrating Mexican immigration in Queretaro has been this year - complaining about the $250 per person to renew a visa, and the 3 months it took to GET the visas renewed. After what Yami told me about their experiences in the other country, I'm pretty thankful for the $250 fee and a 3 month wait. I live very peacefully here, and have all the same rights as a Mexican, with the exception of voting.) Anyhow, Yami told me that their experiences overseas were NOTHING compared to what some of their missionary friends went through. I seriously won't put those things on this blog because it would make you sick.

I have a friend, Elsy, who is from El Salvador, who went to the same country as the stuff I won't mention. Elsy, in my opinion, comes from poverty. I've stayed a few times at her family's home. It's very small - about the size of my parents' kitchen/dinning room - and 5 people live there (I'm the 6th when I go). The two girls sleep in bunk beds that must've been made for midgets - I was 15 pounds lighter than I am now when I stayed there, and my hips hit the metal sides of the bed when I laid down... Elsy and her sister shared the top bunk when I was there. The wall between the girls' room and parents' room is a tarp. It's interesting to have a random elbow poke you from the other side of the tarp as you go to sleep! And the bathroom, well, you go down a really narrow, and constatly wet, staircase to where there is a hose that comes from the neighbors' home. That's the shower. And the toilet is a concrete tube sticking out of the ground.
Anyhow, I would have a hard time adjusting to living more than 3 or 4 days at a time in those conditions. And when Elsy moved to the restricted-access country, she said the poverty was so horrible she couldn't stay for the 2 years she'd signed up for. A few times she mentioned some of the living conditions, and mainly rituals that happen there, and it's just hard to believe that there are people who live how she described.

Jean Paul and I went out to dinner with one of his teachers, Alejandro, who gives world culture classes in his school. Alejandro had just returned from China. We were eating BBQ pork tacos during this dinner, and we asked about the food in China. Alejandro grimmaced and asked if we get grossed out easily. We don't. So he told us about the schishkabobs he saw in China. Schishkabobs are pretty common in Mexico - chunks of beef, onions, green peppers, and other vegetables on a stick and BBQ'd. Well, in China, Alejandro saw a guy with two kabobs, each with two recognizable RATS on them! The skin was the only thing missing from the rats! Jean Paul and I thanked God for Mexican food right then!

All in all, I feel like we have it very easy here in Queretaro. True, many people are VERY resistant to accept ANY religion, much less a relationship with the Lord. But they are generally not hostile toward Christians. Here is a nice place to live!!

Pork Tacos...

Side note: The other day I was walking and, after seeing something funny that I'll mention in a moment, thought about some of the weird store combinations here. For example, near our house there is an office-supply store that also sells foods like ham, cheeses, and many things other than snacks and pops. There's also a famous muffler shop that sells tacos. No one would think anything of it if you invited them to lunch at the Chavez Muffler Shop! And, while walking, I found another really interesting store combination that I don't know how I'd missed before, as it's about 3 blocks from my house. It's a hardware store that also sells cleaning supplies (mops, pinesol, bleach, etc.) That doesn't seem weird at all. But this is a hardware and cleaning supplies store, that also sells lingerie! hehe.

OK in Queretaro

Just in case some of you have been wondering if JP and I are ok living here in Mexico during the flu outbreak, we're still alive and well!

We live about a 3 hour drive to the north of Mexico City, where the flu has hit hardest, and about 2 hours to the south of San Luis Potosi, another flu hot-spot. All schools in the country (as far as I've heard) are closed, at least until May 6th, as are all pools, gyms, water-parks, and other places like those. Most people in Queretaro are still going to work. JP has to go - there are two headquarters for Santander Bank, and the one in Mexico City is closed, so that leaves a nice workload for the hq employees here in Queretaro... I, on the other hand, am working from home this week, per the decision of Pastor Martin to suspend activities beginning today, until I'm not sure when.

The situation is a LOT calmer here than in Mexico City. I'm trying to think of what you all see and hear in the US (and Australia! Hi Mr. and Mrs. Jones; Rose!), and the pictures of people wearing surgical masks is pretty much how it is here too, but we haven't had rediculous lines of people buying 100 liters of milk and 50 cans of tuna here in Queretaro, like in Mexico City. We went to the grocery store yesterday and didn't see anyone buying in "panic quantities."

To answer questions, Yes, this is a situation that has potential to become grave if not handled well. However, most people are being sensitive and respecting the rules and suggestions that the secretary of health has put forth. No one has died in Queretaro of flu-related symptoms, and those hospitalized with flu sypmtoms have not been confirmed to be THIS strain of the flu yet (they may have a different strain that isn't as bad).

Oh, and about the earthquake, we didn't even feel it here!

Thank you for your prayers for this situation! And we'll keep you updated on this as things unfold (or hopefully improve!).

Why?

Ok, this is not by far the worst thing that could happen to us, but it's just frustrating... even to me, who's usually intrigued by weird weather...

Today, I arrived at home a little after 2pm and began making lunch before JP got home from work (the big meal of the day is between 2 and 4pm here). I dropped some crumbs onto the gas stove top and immediately smelled burning, thinking it was my crumbs. I went to open the window, and a huge blast of smoke came in from outside! It wasn't my crumbs burning... I saw the girls from across the parking area covering their mouths and running back into their home, and I yelled out to them to find out what was burning. It was the vacant lot behind our neighborhood that is just a bunch of really dry grass, probably caught on fire by the lack of any real rain and the heavy winds that even knocked the top of our roof-top water tank (no longer in use) off the roof last night. Black pieces of burnt twigs and grass fell out of the sky. I grabbed a kitchen towel to cover my mouth and nose, and ran outside to see it for myself. There was a lady with a garden hose wetting down her home (she lives closest to the field), I gave her my towel and headed back inside. I ran upstairs and actually started packing some valuables - photos, money, important paperwork, laptop, JP's Bible, his new tennisshoes... into a couple backpacks to take with me in case the fire came any closer... I remember having thought several times in years past what I would grab if I had to evacuate my house fast, and today I actually packed those things...

Thankfully, the fire department came and put out the flames, but as of about 6pm there was still fire burning under the burnt grass in the field, and lots of smoke coming out. Unfortunately, weather-stripping windows and doors isn't terribly necesary here, so the smoke filled our house, which is completely concrete (no one has fire alarms in the house here). So we left in the evening because we were starting to feel sick because of the smoke. It's 10pm, I'm tired, and I'm at a coffee shop with JP and our computers, and we have NO desire to go back home. I'm not sure it's healthy to sleep with all the smoke, and if we open the windows even MORE smoke will come in because it's really smokey still... We're going back to the house to see if the smoke might have cleared out a bit, and if not, well, we'll probably call some friends to see if we can spend the night...

This makes me VERY grateful that I haven't ever lived through a true natual disaster with really bad effects... My husband and I, and our neighbors, are all alive and well. We may have a housefull of smokey clothes, and I lost my kitchen towel to the neighbor lady, but all in all we fared EXTREMELY well. And for that I'm thankful. That and the fact that we have friends with extra beds that could house us tonight... God is good for protecting us!