The Four “P’s” Of Christmas in Mexico

Pastoral: The acting out of the nativity at Isaiah & Micah’s school. Sermon given by liberation theology pastor. Street blocked off for the evening. Community gathered outside. Isaiah was a cow and Micah was a sheep. (They were fantastic!)
Everyone lit a candle as we all sang Silent Night, Holy Night. (Noche de Paz, Noche de Amor.)

Ponche: Traditional drink at Christmas time. A hot cider-like drink with chunks of pineapple, crabapples and a slice of sugarcane. Served after the Posada.


Posadas: Every night from December 16th to December 23rd. The enactment of the search for space for Mary to give birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. Includes a group of people walking down the street with candles and singing outside closed gates. The people on the inside of the gates sing verses such as “Who are you?” and “Why do you need room?” The people outside the closed gates sing back verses of responses, “I am Joseph, and I am Mary we are looking for a place to stay.”
After many verses, the gates are flung open, and everyone celebrates by breaking piñatas and drinking ponche.


Piñata: Colorful ceramic container covered with crepe paper and 3 or 4 long cones that look like “horns.” Represents the devil. Children’s object is to smash the “devil” with a stick. Contents: oranges, sugar cane, jicama, animal crackers, hard candies. Everyone sings: “Dale dale dale, no pierdes el tino, porque si lo pierdes, pierdes el camino”
(Which means “Stay focused on your goal of breaking the piñata/devil.”) Four or more piñatas are smashed each night, as a culminating activity to the Posada.

Visitors!

We had a wonderful time with Aunt Doris, Aunt Su, and Cousin Miriam in November! They came to Cuernavaca for 10 days. Some of the time was spent studying Spanish. A lot of the time was spent sightseeing. And all of the time we spent TOGETHER was just WONDERFUL. It meant so much to us that they took the time and energy to come visit.
Who wants to be next? ☺

Here are a few pictures from our trip to a nearby town called Tepoztlan. We hiked 2 km uphill to the Pyramid of Tepozteco. The pyramid was built in honor of Tepoztecatl, the Aztec god of the harvest, fertility and pulque.

Humorous Errors

Just to name a few humorous errors we have come across recently:

"palabras SANGRADAS" (BLOODY words) instead of "palabras SAGRADAS" (SACRED words)

"sopa de CABEZAS" (HEAD soup) instead of "sopa de CALABAZA" (PUMPKIN soup)

"MANGOS largas" (long BREASTS) instead of "MANGAS largas" (long SLEEVES)

“donde esta mi PENE?” (where is my PENIS) instead of “donde esta mi PEINE” (where is my comb)

"mi hijo MEJOR" (my BEST son) instead of "mi hijo MAYOR" (my OLDEST son)

We are having fun learning Spanish. We keep trying to laugh at ourselves as we travel along this journey.

Time of Silence and Reflection for Oaxaca, Mexico

Last week there was a silent march in support of the people in Oaxaca who are being oppressed. Here are some pictures we took. Below is a posting from Chritian Peacemaker Teams' website: cpt.org.
We pray for a peace and justice.

CPTnet
2 December 2006

OAXACA, MX URGENT ACTION: Ask Mexican authorities to respect human rights
of, end violence against civil society organizations

In response to an urgent request from the Lutheran Center in Mexico, CPT
sent a small team to the state of Oaxaca on Saturday, 2 December 2006. A
team of tåwo CPT reservists will provide emergency accompaniment during
the coming week for CACTUS (Centro de Apoyo Comunitario Trabajando Unidos),
a civil society organization that works with alternative education projects,
women's rights, farmers and indigenous people in the Sierra mountains of
Oaxaca. As described below, armed actors have targeted CACTUS and its
activists are under ongoing threat. The team may also work with other groups
as needed.

Peace and Human Rights groups in Mexico are calling on international
supporters to pressure Mexican authorities directly urging them to stop the
violence and respect human rights. CPT invites you to support to respond to
the urgent action sent to CPT by the Lutheran Centre in Oaxaca on behalf of
these threatened organizations. Excerpts below, from the Oaxaca Solidarity
network, give background on the situation in Oaxaca and details on recent
events. Note that Oaxaca is both the name of the state and its capital
city.

"In May this year, Oaxaca's state-wide teachers' union initiated a strike
and non-violent occupation of the city center [of Oaxaca], demanding better
pay and work conditions, as well as improvements to the state's educational
infrastructure. At dawn on June 14, state governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz
(popularly referred to as URO) sent in state police to break up the ongoing,
peaceful teachers' protest. The brutal police action, which included the
firing of tear gas from helicopters onto the crowd, sparked widespread
indignation and outrage in many Oaxacans. The repressive tactics backfired
resoundingly, and teachers had retaken the city center by nightfall, pushing
back the police-mostly through the forces of their numbers and
determination.

The teachers were jointed by other civil society groups and the People's
Popular Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) was formed. They continued their
occupation of the city of Oaxaca throughout the summer and into the fall.
Their central demand was the resignation of Ulises Ruiz Ortiz who they claim
was elected fraudulently in 2004.

"On October 30 this year some 4000 Federal Preventative Police (PFP) entered
Oaxaca with full riot gear, shields, clubs, tear-gas launchers and gas
masks. They were backed up by a fleet of more than thirty armored
vehicles-equipped with high-pressure water canons, bulldozer blades, and
video cameras-and military and police helicopters...

...The arrival of the PFP has effectively turned Oaxaca into a police state.
In the city, and throughout the state, there has been-continues to
be-widespread repression and the attendant violations of basic human
rights."

On 8 November, the Oaxacan Human Rights Network (Red Oaxaqueño de Derechos
Humanos) issued a report detailing the seriously deteriorating human rights
situation since the arrival of the PFP. Since 27 October, 103 people have
been arbitrarily detained. Most have been sent to military prisons, in
violation of Mexican Constitution. At least thirty-eight people remain
imprisoned.

Also since 27 October, six people have been killed, most by gunmen in
civilian clothing linked to the state government. There are thirty-eight
documented cases of wounded civilians, including journalists, but those are
only the documented cases. Many of the wounded do not seek medical care
because they fear reprisals, and many observers say the toll of wounded is
in the hundreds.

The following account from this past weekend is from CACTUS

"Following the Saturday march [in Oaxaca] various buses and vehicles from
Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca that had been convened through the organization
known as "Cactus" were stopped on their way out of the city of Oaxaca by
gunmen in civilian clothing allied with the governor. Cactus is an
organization that addresses women's issues, human rights, youth, solidarity
economics and indigenous communities so that it is well recognized in this
zone for its work. One bus was set on fire so that the passengers had to
flee and seek refuge in safe homes for the night. On Sunday as they
regrouped to organize a departure via Nochixtlan all those who had traveled
by bus disappeared. From 7:00 am until that night there was a search that
finally resulted in the finding of 23 who had been incarcerated. Originally
they were held at a high security prison in the state of Oaxaca but were
later transferred to the prison of San Jose del Rincon in the distant state
of Nayarit with no notification given to the families. As of now there is
still no knowledge of the location of the rest of the passengers from the
bus. They remain "disappeared"."

CACTUS is calling for the following changes:

"1. An immediate end of acts of intimidation and repression by the federal
and state police and government authorities 2. A guarantee by the Mexican
government for the respect of the human rights of all Oaxaqueños most
especially those who have been arrested. 3. An immediate end to the
arbitrary detention in the streets of citizens. 4. An immediate end to the
illegal entry of homes and the imprisonment of women with their infants and
children, youth, elderly. 5. Cease the torture and abuse of prisoners. 6.
Safe return of those who have been "disappeared." 7. Access of detainees to
legal representation, family members and medical attention to those who are
injured in order to ensure their well being and protection of their human
rights. 8. Immediate withdrawal of the arrest warrants for those who are
social activists that includes the leadership of Cactus. 9. Immediate
withdrawal of Mexican military from the state of Oaxaca. 10. Respect the
human rights and integrity of the leadership and members of Cactus along
with their family members to ensure their safety and well being."

We invite you to contact the following Mexican officials:

Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa Presidente Constitucional de México
Tel.
+55 27 89 11 00 Fax. +55 52 77 23 76
felipe.calderon.hinojosa@presidencia.gob.mx

Lic. Ulises Ruiz Ortiz Gobernador del Estado de Oaxaca Fax +951 5020 530
gobernador@oaxaca.gob.mx

Dr. Jose Luis Soberanes Presidente de la Comisión Nacional de Derechos
Humanos Fax +55 5681 7199 correo@cndh.gob.mx

For a copy of the full Urgent Action from the Lutheran Centre in Mexico
city, including more background and details of the march on Saturday in
Oaxaca, email Tim Nafziger at guest.165357@MennoLink.org

Retreat

First Team Retreat
We just got back from our first team retreat. We had a wonderful time learning to know the other members of the team, relax, worship together, eat wonderful food, and play together. We met at a Benedictine Monastary just outside of Cuernavaca. There are a number of other children on the team, so Isaiah and Micah had lots of fun too.

Regarding the budget - prayers are appreciated! We spent quite awhile talking about where and what we could cut out. Since the program in Guerrero (where we will be) is an MCC program, there are significant program costs. It was hard for me to talk about cutting material costs (pipes for drip irrigation, molds for dry latrines, money for workshops...etc) when everything plays a key role in the work that can be done there. So please keep the MCC Mexico team in your prayers.

First Impressions of Olinala, Guerrero, Mexico

December 1 & 2, 2006
Last weekend we had the opportunity to travel to Olinala. The trip was long, overnight, and the roads were very curvy. Ahhh, mountain country. It was wonderful to finally see the place where we will be living and working for the next three years. We stayed with the MCC couple that is there now. We had a wonderful time. They have a three-year-old son, and all the kids got along quite well. We looked at some housing possibilities, hung out in the Zocalo, ate Tlacoyos, visited some nearby communities where MCC has been working, and talked about life in Olinala. We will move to Olinala the middle of January.

Here are some thoughts/comments about our first impressions of Olinala.

Isaiah – I know about those stingy things – the scorpions. I know that they can sting and that hurts. I know that Lukas has lots of cars to play with. I also liked playing with his train. I made a track that fit together – with one long piece and two curve pieces. We used a bridge piece too. (I’m thinking about Lukas’ toys.)
I liked playing soccer at the Zocalo (center of town) with some neighborhood kids. I liked playing with Lukas (a three-year old MCCer).

Micah – Bus. Lukas. Lukas’ trains.

Martin – Green. A lot more vegetation than I thought there would be. Cool nights. Hot days. Narrow streets. Very friendly people. Everybody seemed to be related.

Liz – Friendly, friendly people. Women’s basketball team. Clean. Quiet. In the mountains. Good food. Bigger town than I thought. Long, curvy bus ride to get there. Farther away from everything than I thought. Connected w/ the other MCC couple there. Excited to move there in January.

Host Family

We are living with a Mexican Family here in Cuernavaca during our time at language school. This has been a key component to our happiness! The family we live with is generous, fun, enjoys kids, talks to us a lot, is patient, spends time with us, and feed us a variety of delicious, typical Mexican food. There is adequate outdoor space to run around in, including a basketball goal. We live upstairs – two bedrooms, living room and private bathroom. Myrna (mom), Aranza (10 year old daughter) and Abuela (Myrna’s mother) live downstairs. Myrna’s sister lives next door with her husband and two children (ages 10 and 15). They come over regularly and everyone plays together (including Isaiah and Micah). There is lots of laughter. We eat all of our meals together and often have long conversations afterwards while the kids play outside. And we are a short walk from Universal – our language school.

Jardin Borda, Cuernavaca

We spent a leisure Sunday afternoon in Jardin Borda a few weeks ago. Here is what our guidebook says about Jardin Borda
“These extravagant gardens were designed after Versailles in 1783 for Manuel de la Borda, as an addition to the stately residence built by his father Jose de la Borda, the Taxco silver magnate. From 1866, Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota entertained their courtiers here, and used the house as a summer residence.
The gardens are formally laid out on a series of terraces, with paths, steps and fountains, and they originally featured a botanical collection with hundreds of varieties of ornamental plants and fruit trees. The vegetation is still exuberant, with large trees and semitropical shrubs, though there is no longer a wide range of species.”