Grappling With the Darkness

I have long been a non-fan of dark supernatural intrigue. I don’t find role-playing games or video games with dark themes intriguing. Horror movies and horoscopes are abhorrent. I have no interest in dark music, psychics or the vampire culture. As a matter of fact I don’t even particularly care for Christian literature and media when evil is overly portrayed.

Diana and I have always tried to steer our family toward living an evil free life even though we sometimes feel “old fashioned” because of it. Here are some thoughts that have led to this approach in our lives: 1) Partly it’s a reaction to some brushes with darkness in my childhood 2) Our own parents put their foot down when it came to “innocent”,”funny”,“dark” sitcoms 3) It’s rooted in Scripture – “I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” 4) We don’t want our family to be unnecessarily susceptible to its influence.

Living above the fray is easier said then done. When we lived in the States, life was more predictable or at least more controllable. Here we find ourselves having to grapple with the darkness. At the moment the country is beginning preparations for Day of the Dead which means it is impossible to escape the “dead” theme. We watch people stream by our house on the way to the cemetery carrying gardening tools and flowers, we see skeletons sold at traffic lights and watch venders come out of the woodwork to sell paraphernalia for building altars.

If only it ended there. It doesn’t. When we go in a bookstore it’s there (exhibit A), walk down the street shopping on our anniversary and we are confronted by the gods (exhibit B), we go on a church retreat to plan for the coming year and we are being watched (exhibit C), or to visit Cortez’s palace with friends (exhibit D) and of course it’s the center piece at the pyramid of the sun in Teotihuacan (exhibit E).

The girls have been attending craft class for over a year now, but only recently have they had to call us to come for them because horror stories are playing on the TV. And…think about this, we do have to spend money right? So here in my pocket I’m usually carrying an Aztec calendar stone imprinted with the gods. This is not exactly what I was envisioning for my family.

While we don’t look for demon gods under every rock, there’s no denying their presence. So where does that leave this family who has tried so hard to provide a shade of protection? Well, it doesn’t leave us untainted or unscathed. We’ve learned we are not as strong as we think we are. There are no easy winners. It does leave us humbled in our desperate need for Christ. Thankful that the cross trumps it all. And we are left grappling with this present darkness.

Exhibt A

Exhibt B

Exhibt C

Exhibt D

Exhibt E

If You Don’t Mind Hodge Podge

When’s The Last Time…?

Q. When’s the last time someone came to your door selling rabies vaccinations for your dog? (A. Today)
Q. When’s the last time you stepped in a cow pile just outside your garage door? (A. A few months ago)
Q. When’s the last time you squeezed 14 people into your van? (A. Last summer)
Q. When’s the last time you saw someone going car to car to sell bubble making toys at a traffic light? (A. Today)
Q. When’s the last time you crossed 18 speed bumps to get to your local Wal-mart? (A. Today)

Better Than A Theme Park Ride

I have been a little cheated when it comes to taxi rides. I always seem to get a reasonable, thoughtful, considerate driver. No longer. This week I got the real deal. We snuck under red-lights, jumped in front of the line, beeped at slow drivers, and raced down straight-aways. Now I can say I’ve experienced real Puebla traffic.

Three Gems

We have a friend back home who accuses Diana and me of having conversations in the deep end. She says that even when passing us on the road she can tell we are having a serious conversation. Guess what? Things haven’t changed. Today we were talking about how correct a person has to be in their overall theological understanding before we could learn a valuable truth from them. Here are three gems from my wife:
* “The key is holding a healthy skepticism without becoming cynical.”
* “Today it’s called being real; twenty-five years ago it was called ugly and mean spirited.”
* “We have become more sure of foundational absolutes and more tolerant of preferences.”

One More Thing

What does it mean when the police come up behind you flashing their lights? Absolutely nothing. They’ll pull up beside you and wave you over if they want you to stop.

Bathroom $700

Used Coffee Grounds or Pizza Supreme

I met with Pastor Steve this week. Actually we meet together most every week. We laugh, talk about what God is up to at El Puente, and share our joys and frustrations. This week he told me this story. “A king wanted to be more closely associated with his subjects, so he set a weekly time when they could make their requests. During one of those times, a long line of people came. Person after person approached the king asking for one small favor after another. Each one was refused.

“Finally an old farmer came, ‘Your sovereign,’ he said. ‘I am a farmer. I have been a farmer all of my life. I have a small parcel of land on which I have planted and harvested just enough to make ends meet. This is my life; it will always be my life, and I am satisfied with it. But I also have a son, and my request is not for myself but for him. My son has the soul of a farmer. He loves the land and has a special way with it. He has a far greater capacity than to just eek out a living. My request is that you give him land in keeping with his giftedness.’

“‘Done,’ replied the king. ‘It is yours.’ The king’s advisors were amazed, and when the old farmer left they approached king and asked, ‘Why did you turn all these other people away but gave this man what he asked?’ ‘Because,’ replied the king, ‘he was the only one who made a request fit for a king.’”

It makes me wonder if I’ve settled into asking for piddly things unfit for the King of the universe. Maybe instead of used coffee grounds, I should be requesting pizza supreme. If I have the confidence to ask, that is.

Ken’s On First

Something you should know is that if you ever intend for your child to live in a Spanish speaking country do not name them Ken. In Spanish the word quien (which means “who”) is pronounced pretty much like Ken. You can imagine the possibilities. It’s the Mexican equivalent to “Who’s on first?”

I had one of those conversations just the other evening when someone called the wrong number and reached our home. The conversation went and usually goes something like this…

“Good evening”
“Who am I talking to?”
“Who” (Ken)
Who am I talking to?”
“Who”
“Who am I talking to?”
“Who”
“You”
“Who”
“You, who are you?”
“Who”
“You, what is your name?”
“Who, who is my name”
“You, what is your name?”
“Who, who, who is my name.”
“Who?”
“Who.”
“You.”

A couple of years ago when we went out to Houston it seemed to be a big deal to a lot of you when Maria got her ears pierced. Well since that day Christina has been dreaming of her chance. Problem is that girls get their ears pierced in hospitals at birth. So that leaves only tattoo and piercing parlors as an option for her. I’m glad to announce that some friends recently sent us a piercing gun and that Christina after 11 long unbearable years has pierced ears.

I saw another first the other day. I was painting at our new meeting location and saw the gardener’s wife scrubbing clothes. It’s common to see women scrubbing their family’s clothes. As a matter of fact many sinks have an old time washboard built in. But this lady had her clothes soaking in three large water buckets and was scrubbing them in a wheel barrow. I admire the ingenuity. Our lives are forever change by this experience.

This is what we have to work with

Daneil's early morning photo after a 5:00am airport run

It All Happened In A Day

A lot of big events converged on September 27th for us; the most important being Diana’s birthday. After meeting with the church, we headed out with a few friends to celebrate at a rib place we have recently discovered. Frijoles, rice, tortillas, ribs and pollo, a meal fit for a king……………………..uh, QUEEN.

Later at our place while we were all eating our second piece of blackberry cake, the phone rang. It was Kate’s mom calling from Texas. “We are hanging out with the Harers” I heard her say – not “we are visiting the Harers” or “we are spending some time over at the Harers” but “we are hanging out with the Harer’s.” Now that made us feel good.

Let me say for the umpteenth time that I have a special wife. It didn’t take the compliments around the table or the notes or the phone calls to know it, but they were all good reminders. I am blessed to have a companion with whom to hold hands and walk through life. Someone special with whom to sip afternoon tea and gain perspective. The wife of my youth, my helper and keeper of our home. "She is worth far more than rubies."

Between ribs and cake we made a run to the bus station. After living with our family for two months, Sarah from Chicago started her journey home. We will miss her cheerfulness and insight. We met Sarah three years ago in Cuernavaca, and she has remained in our life as a friend and a source of encouragement. Thanks for coming and being a part of our family, Sarah. Check out her blog for more: Sarita In Mexico 2009.

Sandwiched in there as well was a move to a new location for El Puente. We have moved to a festival garden. These gardens are plentiful in Mexico as a place to rent for wedding receptions, quincenaras (a girl’s 15th birthday party), first communions, confirmations and the like. The location is within a two minute walk of our home, but as is always the case the first meeting required a ton of extra work.

And it all happened on a special day of the year. It was a little crazy, a little squished together but definitely a lot of fun.

Don't pave it and they will come - the sheep and cows that is.

What ministry tool is a necessity even in a shelter with big yellow tarps?

PowerPoint

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Friendly greeters are a must