Hamburguesas, Buenas Tardes and other Random Thoughts

THURSDAY

Well, as expected the numbers grew again today. First day was 90 then 108, then 128 and today was about 146. We´ll probably make 160 by the end of the week. We are literally bursting at the seams. We had to reassign youth today to have enough people to help the overloaded teachers here at VBS. We have been told very often that the teachers are really glad we´re here.

BTW, I uploaded 22 pictures on facebook. If you´re a facebook friend of mine, please feel free to check them out. If not, you should be able to use the link below....

Mission Trip Pictures

AMBASSADORS AND STEREOTYPES

What is an Ambassador? It is a person who represents his or her country or organization to another group of people. At one of our group times, we talked about how we are truly ambassdors while we are here. First and foremost, we are ambassadors for Christ. Secondly, we are ambassadors for the United States.

What is a stereotype? Dictionary.com defines a stereotype as ¨a set of inaccurate, simplistic generalizations about a group that allows others to categorize them and treat them accordingly¨. We discussed what stereotypes we have of Mexicans and what stereotypes they may have of us.

Back when I was teaching at Fremont High, we had a foreign exchange student from France. I hate to admit it, but I have a pretty negative attitude towards the French. People usually stereotype the French as arrogant and rude, along with other things, and I´m probably as guilty of this as the next person.

At the time we had this foreign exchange student, we were singing a French madrigal for music contest and I invited the student to listen to our French pronounciation and help us improve. I was shocked when this girl laughed at us and virtually mocked us for pronouncing things incorrectly. I just couldn´t believe it. Sadly, in the end this girl, who was an ambassador for her country, ended up just reinforcing the stereotypes that I and others had of the French.

I told the students this story and encouraged them to think about how they represent both Christ and the United States when they´re down here. Unlike the girl in my class, we want to help break down the stereotypes and leave a ¨good taste¨in the mouths of those we work with and for. We also talked about whether our stereotypes held true with what we were seeing. As expected, the kids noticed that they did not.

BUENAS TARDES

One of the stereotypes that Mexicans (and the world for that matter) have about Americans is that they are arrogant. Hard to believe, but one of the easiest ways to start breaking this stereotype down is to greet people and talk to them. As I walk the streets of Jesus Maria here in Ixtapaluca, I try to greet the people that I meet by saying either ¨Buenos Dias¨(good morning), ¨Buenos Tardes¨(good afternoon) or ¨Buenas noches¨(good night). Almost every time, I am greeted with a smile and a greeting and additional words that I usually (but not always) understand.

As this happens at VBS, it often leads to conversation. The best way to begin building relationships with those here in Mexico is to ask about their families. Once you´ve crossed this bridge, it´s easy to continue on and talk about everything under the sun. I´ve had some good spiritual conversations with people here that started when I just greeted them and then began asking about their families.

Yesterday, a woman named Iris, stopped by my host home because she wanted me to meet her husband before he left on an extended truck driving job. Although Iris is a good friend of the Prusia´s, I ve attempted to make conversation with her every day. She has been a Christian for over a year, and her husband for about 6 months.

IMPACT ON STUDENTS

Today at lunch, I talked with a student who shared that she thinks she may want to come down to Jesus Maria next summer as an intern. Interns spend from between 1 month to 6 weeks here and thus have the opportunity to build longer term relationships. This young girl said that she wanted to see if God might be leading her into full time missions.

There are many good things about missions trips like this. For one, it challenges students to think about the possibility of a life as missionary. However, even if things don´t go this far, I believe that ¨up close and personal¨mission experiences develop a heart for missions within our students. They are much more likely to support missions, both in spirit and in giving, if they see what actually goes on in the mission field When you see lives being changed, churches being planted, families being healed, it really makes an impression on you, no matter what your age.

HAMBURGUESAS

Today was a special day for the kids at VBS. For lunch they got to have hamburguesas (hamburgers). Yes, I did say hamburgers. And French Fries. While this might seem strange to us in America, a trip to McDonalds is an unusual treat for many of the kids in Jesus Maria. I would imagine a trip to something comparable to Applebee´s would probably be reserved for very special occasions.

Yesterday Marta shared with us that this was a BIG surprise for the kids at VBS. They are used to a steady diet of tacos (mexican style), so this was a big treat for them. There´s even an interesting story about how the ¨hamburger¨day at VBS got started that is very interesting. I hope to share this at a later time.

SPANGLISH

A highlight of the trip that is not spiritual in nature is the experience I´ve had speaking Spanish here in Ixtapaluca. I actually started in Mexico City, making conversation with families on the subway.

Since I´ve been here, I´ve probably spoken Spanish at least 2 to 3 hours a day. Yesterday was closer to 5 hours (see the next section). While I´ve noticed my Spanish getting better, there are still many funny moments. Two days ago, after talking to numerous people about the state of Nebraska (what is it like, temperature, agriculture, etc..), someone pointed out the fact that I was using the word ¨estadio¨ (stadium) rather than ¨estado¨ (state). I went to bed last night wondering how many people now think we have a stadium in the middle of the U.S. that holds 1.5 million people and grows a lot of corn and beans, and where the west part of the stadium has more cows than people.......oh well....

In addition, I spoke at length last night with someone who pointed out that I routinely refer to Lora as ¨mi esposo¨ (husband) rather than ¨mi esposa¨ (my wife). I´m hoping that this one was overlooked as well.....

LAST NIGHT

Last night was interesting. Our host family has a daughter, Gabi, that still lives at home. She works during the day, so she´s never met Josh or James. I told her I would have them stop by.

At about 7 o´clock last night, James and I went over to my host home. When we went to knock at the door, Teri (the sister of Marta, my host mother) came over and told me that Gabi had been in an accident at work and her parents had gone to the hospital to see her. From what I understand, she was lifting a television set at work, and dropped it on her leg. Gabi has an older sister, Elba, who helps with VBS. She was also at Teri´s house, and let James and I into my host family´s home. We talked with her for a while and she invited us to go over to Teri´s house and watch a soccer game while we waited.

For the next four hours or so, I sat in a small living room, watching soccer and talking with Teri and her husband Robert and Elba and her husband. While I can´t go into great detail here, there was a great ¨bridge building¨opportunity with one of the members of the family, which I knew of before I arrived. I talked at length with a number of people and answered a number of questions about Christianity in the United States with Teri and Elba. I also learned (in a nice and humorous way) that our team is perceived as being very serious and formal. (they need to go on a bus ride with us....) Today at VBS, I joked with Elba that I wasn´t going to smile all day, because I wanted to make sure I was good and serious!....

Anyway, Gabi and her parents eventually arrived at a quarter past 11, after having their 20 year old car break down on the ride home. All was well, with no broken bones or stitches, but Gabi was pretty sore.

After all of this, Marta (Gabi´s mom) insisted that she do my laundry, which she had pulled from my room without my asking for help. She also didn´t adjust her schedule, even though she´s in charge of VBS and has a tremendous responsibility. Another example of the hospitality we are shown here....