Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

The blessings have been shared, the turkey and pie eaten, and there are just a few hours left of Thanksgiving 2010. As I happily watch Miracle on 34th Street (the original version), I thought I'd take a few moments to blog about my day here in Mexico...

I began the day with sleeping in a bit (a rare treat!) and then spending great time with the Lord. I also enjoyed chatting with my brother on Skype, talking to my parents on the phone, and watching part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the computer. (Yay for technology, right?!) The parade brought back fun memories of when my family and I watched it together in person in New York two years ago (one of my childhood dreams), but it was definitely much warmer watching it on the computer this year! I also went for a run this morning and wore one of my favorite Edgewood Turkey Trot shirts (the Life is Good one). :) As I ran around town though, I did find the situation a little odd...to me the day was a special, festive holiday but to all the other people on the street, it was just a normal day.

After getting ready for the day, it was off to Zacatecas to celebrate with lots of other American missionaries from around our part of Mexico. This has been a Thanksgiving tradition for CFCIers for many years, and I enjoyed taking part in it for my second time. The feast is fabulous, of course, and it is also a wonderful time of fellowship. As I looked around the room today, it was neat to see all the different churches and missions represented throughout Zacatecas, Fresnillo, Jerez, and San Luis Potosi. Here are a few pictures from the day...

The tables were set...

The dessert table, including my first ever pumpkin pie attempt (bottom left)

My teammate Meredith and I with Lee Anne, beloved friend and holiday hostess

Game time!

Beautiful sunset over the city of Zacatecas

Monday, November 22, 2010

Must-reads and Remembering



In January of 2010, I read Same Kind of Different as Me after hearing about it for several months. I breezed through it quickly since it is such a captivating story, but at the same time was deeply moved by the message and story of the book. (Yes, I also cried a lot in parts.) In fact, in a small way, the book was influential in my decision to move to Mexico as a missionary.

Recently, I read What Difference Do It Make?, the sequel to the first book. It tells the continuing story and also interweaves multiple stories of people's lives that were touched by reading Same Kind of Different as Me and their responses to the book. While I had heard this book did not compare to the first one, I was pleasantly surprised by the truths and inspirations this book included as well. In particular, I appreciated Denver's explanations of the dignity and love homeless people are desperately crying out for. Also, both Ron and Denver talk about the need for long-term commitment when it comes to making a difference. Ron writes, "Helping someone is when you find out how to help them move toward wholeness and then hang with them until they make a change." (p. 59). Denver adds, "..that blessin means you give a person a little gift to show 'em you think they matters on this earth, and helpin is when you stoop down with a person and stay there till they can climb on your shoulders to get up." (p. 170) This point reminds me of what Joel (my pastor in Bham) is always saying about what it really means to be "salt and light in this world"--where we are called to really work our ways into people's lives as salt is worked into meat, not just to the point that it is comfortable.

I could go on and on about other themes in the books, too, such as forgiveness, not judging, how one person really can make a difference in this life, etc. For the sake of time though, I won't. However, I did want to mention one other thought I had when I was reading a part in the sequel where it talked about homeless children...I thought about a little boy who was in my class my first year of teaching. He was very bright, wore glasses, and was well-liked by the rest of the class. He had several younger sisters that he helped take care of, and his mom was a single mom. I didn't know the mom very well, but she was supportive to the extent she could be in her situation and came to Parent-Conference Day, signed Friday Folders, etc. I could tell she was a good mom because my student was so well-behaved, respectful, and kind. I thought of them when reading this part of the book though because I think they might have been homeless, at least for a time. The kids always went home on the YWCA bus, and I don't know where they went after that (presumably to a house or apartment zoned for our district, but who knows for sure). My second year of teaching they officially moved out of our district, and I lost touch with them. I hope and pray that wherever they are now, they are doing well. Whether or not this family was homeless isn't really the point...the way it put a "face" on homelessness to me though does make a tremendous difference and encourages me so much to fully love and help each individual the Lord puts in my path...

"If all the Christians--I mean all of 'em--got outta the pews on Sundays and into the streets, we'd shut the city down. We'd shut down hunger. We'd shut down loneliness. We'd shut down the notion that there is any such of a thing of a person that don't deserve a kind word and a second chance." -Denver Moore