reflections

This has been quite a week. It is hard to do the stories that I have to tell justice when I am writing them in a blog once a week or so, and because of that a lot of the stories are better left for when I come home. But here is a better reflection into life here in Tlaxiaco now that my stay with my host family is over...

Let´s see, what stories should I share.

Monday was our "Sabbath" or day of rest, and we took a trip up to the missions base which is just a few minutes outside of town. To be perfectly honest with all of you, I didn´t like it up there (although I won´t lie, eating American food was kind of nice!). It´s not that I didn´t like the people I met... because I definitely did, but it was weird. I actually felt somewhat out of place being surrounded with other gringos (white people). I missed my Mexican friends. I missed Spanish. I missed diversity. (Pam likes to call the base "gringolandia" which I kind of like because it sounds like a theme park. lol.)

So anyway... I was not at all disappointed when they said we wouldn´t spend much time at all at the base. The whole bonding thing with our families definitely worked because I felt so much more at home on the streets of Tlaxiaco than I did eating lunch with so many other gringos.

This week we also started talking about community development, which I am really excited about. GFM has formed a civil association here know as Fisher´s of Men that they are working on developing. One of the problems that the full-time missionaries are facing is how to be accepted by the people. The Mexicans here really don´t understand people that are only here for religion, and they frequently ask what we "do" while we are here. The civil association creates jobs both for the missionaries and other Mexicans through things that will also improve the way of life here in Oaxaca. The idea is that GFM staff will get something working that can be completely sustained within the culture here, and then they turn it over to Mexican leadership. For example, the three guy interns this summer are working on making water filters so that tap water can be drinkable.

The projects for the girls are not as well defined, but we are working on coming up with ideas that will both create potential jobs and improve life for the women here. This means a lot of creative ideas, and I will be excited when we start putting them into practice. We are also going to be teaching English classes in about a week. While English classes are not something that can be turned over to Mexican leadership necessarily, the government has actually asked GFM to do them, which is definitely exciting. Through teaching English we will not only help equip the people of Tlaxiaco with something that they really want, but the civil association will help to make a bigger name for themselves, and there is great potential for more relationships.

One of the things that I have been struggling with since I have gotten here is wondering if I can really make a difference. Ministry here is focused around relationships, which I have always thought is the best way to go, and am beginning to feel even stronger about it. Ministry in the states is event focused. We plan church services, revivals, children and youth programs, concerts, bible studies, you name it. But is that how Jesus did ministry? Yes, he did have public ministries as he preached and taught, but everything was within the context of relationships-- with his disciples, and with the crowds.

Our ministry here is completely within the context of relationships as well. It is great, because not only is that the example that Jesus taught, but it also fits into the Mexican culture, but at the same time it is hard when I know I am only here for 2 months, and nearly 3 of those weeks are already learning. Several of us have had really great conversations about this (we have some pretty hard core conversations sometimes, and I love it!). We are realizing more and more that while making disciples is our goal while we are here, the biggest way we can contribute to that in 2 months is by planting seeds within the context of the relationships we are making. So that´s exactly what we do.

In addition to planting seeds, we are also learning a lot. I wish I had time to share with you everything that God is teaching me (but I think the blog would be so long you wouldn´t want to read it!), and I sadly don´t have the time. But to give you a little idea...

I am learning about prayer. I am learning about discipleship. I am learning about the unreached people groups. I am learning about Tlaxiaco. I am learning about the Word. I am learning about the Church. I am learning about cross-cultural churches. I am learning about trust. I am learning about flexibility. I am learning about community. I am learning how to break out of my comfort zone.

I am learning how to live for Jesus Christ and how to teach others to do the same.

a few more pictures

We got out of Tlaxiaco for just a little bit yesterday and my family drove out to the house of a friend of Doña Flor to pick up something for her. It was a short trip, but it was nice to get out of the city... the Mexican countryside is beautiful.

Today is my last day with my family.... well, not really. I will still get to spend time with them, but I won´t live with them. I am moving into an apartment with Pamela (Pam is a member of the church-planting team for GFM) and two other girls who are interns this summer. Moving into the apartment also means other things will change... like what I am doing.

My time with my family was primarily spent learning-- following Sandra around and learning the Mexican way of life. The rest of my summer I will still be learning a lot (I am realizing more and more every day that there is so much I can learn here: culture, missions, discipleship, and language don´t even begin to cover it), but I will also be doing other things like teaching English classes and more relational outreach.

All for Him,

Elizabeth

photos!

I have pictures!

While we aren´t allowed cameras these first few weeks, (to avoid looking like tourists to the people of Tlaxiaco) my family actually has a camera... so here´s a little peak at my life!

Me with Doña Pancha and Doña Mago. Doña Mago works in the pasteleria with my host family. She actually knows how to speak Mixteco and Spanish, and every once in a while she will teach me something in Mixteco, like numbers, but it is REALLY hard because all of the words sound really similar. Doña Pancha is a friend of several who work in the pasteleria, and on Sunday, the first night I was here, we all went to here house in a barrio next to Tlaxiaco to her birthday party. There were lots of people, lots of new foods, and lots of fun. When it was time for the cake they wanted me to sing Happy Birthday in English... so I did.

Me with my host family, still at Doña Pancha´s birthday party. (Minus Carlitos... I´m not sure where he was during this picture) Carlos, me, Sandra, and Emanual (wearing his crown from a
styrofoam cup!)

Doña Pancha, Doña Flor (Carlos´ Mom), Emanual, and Jacob, who also works at the pasteleria. Jacob taught me how to make the cakes!

things I´ve learned

A few cultural tidbits from Oaxaca for your learning enjoyment:

1. "Ven aqui" means come here, but when they say it they make an outward motion with their hand that looks like "go away." That definitely confused me for a while.

2. When you get done eating you tell everyone "gracias," or thank you... even if they had no part in preparing the meal. Many times they will also say, "gracias a Dios."

3. Yesterday I learned from one of my friends Rosa that pointing your elbow is really rude. I wish I had learned that sooner... hopefully I haven´t pointed my elbow at anyone.

4. Shake hands with EVERYONE when you enter and leave a room, or they think that you are mad at them.

5. When you pass someone on a street, many say "adios" or good-bye, not "hola" or hello.

6. Toliet paper goes in the trash can, not the toliet.

7. Being called fat or "gordo" is not at all mean, and doesn´t even necessarily mean that you are fat. "Gordito" along with "Grandote" are nicknames that show some degree of affection.

una semana

It is crazy to think that I have already been here almost a week, but at the same time it isn´t because I already feel like Tlaxiaco is home. My host family is so incredible at making me feel welcome and like a part of their family... even when I only understand half of what they are saying.

LAMP (if you remember, is the language learning method that GFM has adopted where we basically try to talk to as many people as possible) is incredibly stretching at times, but the relationships that are starting to be formed have been incredible. A few days ago I was walking through a new part of Tlaxiaco that I hadn´t been to, and I heard a guy trying to get my attention. At first I was just going to keep walking, because there are lots of guys who try to get gringa girls´ attention here and for the wrong reasons, but I realized that I recognized the guy. It was Victor, the uncle of my host dad, Carlos. I ended up talking with his wife Margarita and his oldest daughter Paula for over 2 hours about so many different things. I am thankful for friendships like those.

I had more to write, but I have to go. More will come later... along with pictures hopefully, but the pictures will probably be a while. We´re not allowed cameras for the first 2 weeks because Chris and the other leaders of GFM said, ¨you´re not here to be tourists¨... which is true, but eventually I will be sure and post pictures!

To God be the glory,
Elizabeth

bienvenido a tlaxiaco

Hola from Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca! After over 24 hours of traveling and waiting around in airports, we finally made it here safely at around 8 AM Sunday morning. We weren´t supposed to get here that late, but a series of unpredicable events happened, and well, the rest is history. Chris, the leader of short-term missions here at GFM just said, ¨Welcome to Flexico¨ I know that it will not be the last time that plans change drastically.

While I think I am still trying to catch up on lost sleep from all of the traveling, I absolutely love it here. Tlaxiaco is beautiful, and even though I have only been here three days, I am already calling it home.

Things I LOVE about Tlaxico:
1. The people! (Not only are they wonderful and so much fun, but I also just love the fact that there are people everywhere. Tlaxiaco is a market town, which means that there are people absolutely everywhere in the streets selling all sorts of things... it makes the perfect environment to practice Spanish, even though everyone stares at me because I am a ¨gringa¨ or white girl, which draws quite a bit of attention to myself!)
2. The food (It is delicious... even though I can never remember the names of everything I eat... but I´ll get there. It is a good thing that I like the food, though, because culturally you should eat everything that they offer you... which is a lot. They offer me sooo much food, and eventually I just have to say ¨no, gracias, estoy llena,¨ which means no, thank you I am full. )
3. The colors (Did I mention that Tlaxiaco is beautiful? While it is a town filled with brokeness and poverty, it is also a town filled with life. I love that all the buildings are painted bright colors. I love that the walls of the apartment where I will live after these first two weeks with my host family are painted bring green)

So right now, I am staying with my host family. They are WONDERFUL! Sandra and Carlos have two sons-- Emanual who is 5 and has quickly become one of my favorite people in Tlaxiaco, and Carlito who is 10. The are all so wonderful to be around. Emanual loves to ramble on and on to me in Spanish, and a lot of the time I have no idea what he is saying, but I love it anyway.

For those of you who are wondering what I am doing...
I basically am trying to live as a Mexican daughter would live. I follow Sandra around a lot of the day, going where she goes, and doing what she does. I am learning how to cook, clean, go to the market, and do so many other things... all in the Mexican way. Carlos and Sandra run a pasteleria, which is a cake shop. From about 1 until 10 our time is spent in the pasteleria, but at some point in the afternoon I go out and walk around through the centro, talking to as many people as I can in Spanish, and trying to form relationships. (And trying not to get lost as I do it!) It is one of my favorite parts of the day, though! GFM has adopted a strategy of learning Spanish know as LAMP, which stands for language acquisition made practical. In LAMP, we learn so many phrases a day, and it is our responsibility to say them to at least 25 different people every day. It has been hard for me to get out of my comfort zone and start conversations with people when I don´t speak the language well, but I am getting better at it. Learning a language is exhausting, though, and I feel like I am always tired and overwhelmed. Even though I studied Spanish at school, I am realizing how badly I really speak it.

Well, this is long, and I should go. I have so many other stories to tell, but they will have to wait for another time.

All for Him,
Elizabeth

seeds [and more anticipation]

Well, this is it. I'm really leaving. My journey starts tomorrow morning-- early, at 5!-- when my Dad and I leave for the airport. My bags are packed, and I'm ready to go, but it is still hard to believe that what I have looked forward to for so many months is actually here.

The first two weeks of the summer we are staying with a host family in Tlaxiaco. The idea behind it is that of bonding-- that by being immersed in the culture from the very beginning we will bond to the people of Tlaxiaco, not just with other Americans. I know that it will be challenging at times, but I am excited about the opportunity. I don't really know what to expect, but I am expecting God to do great things. Staying with a family means I don't know if I'll have Internet access for a while (all of my updates will be from an Internet cafe in Tlaxiaco), so be patient! It might be a while before you hear from me again...

Today I read 1 Corinthians 3. In it, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth about some of the issues going on that are keeping them from becoming mature believers-- things like jealousy and pride. The believers were declaring allegiance to Paul or Apollos, not to God. Paul wrote about how that was a really bad attitude to have because while he planted the seed and Apollos watered it, only God could make it grow.

I don't know what my role will be this summer, or in the years to come-- whether I will be planting seeds, watering them, or serving in some other way. But no matter what, only God can make them grow. I am but his servant.

This summer, I pray that through 2 short months of my life and the lives of the other interns, seeds in Oaxaca could both be planted and watered. But more than that, I pray that God provides everything needed to make growth possible-- in the lives of the people we will meet, but also in all of us as interns and full-time staff of GFM (Global Frontier Missions). I pray that this journey will help us all become closer to God, and closer to who he created us to be.

To Him be the glory!
Elizabeth