An Awakening

I arose to the creaking of the bunkbed frames all around me. No wonder, it is sunrise on the west coast of Mexico, 5:30 AM here, but my internal bodyclock says 8:30 AM, in the east. Not many of our youth are stirring yet, but I am happy to welcome this new day, and anxious to see what it brings. The anticipation is too much for my feeble brain to overcome, so rising is going to be easier than getting a few more winks of sleep.

Margarita & her son Gabby, who prepare meals here at LH, had a raditional Mexican breakfast ready by 8:00, and we were off. There were thre options for our group of 25 this day, a small group wee invited to Margarita's home to help prepare homemade tamales for dinner, while another small group was off to Casa Esperanza, and a thrid group went to the Concrete Village. Keenly aware of the poverty we'd see first-hand at CV, I wanted to be with that group, and it was much as I had remembered it (see previous blog posts from November 2009).

CV presented some similar challenges as I've experienced in the past, but a new shower has been installed by a work group who visited in December. The drainage from the shower that combines with the drainage from the outdoor concrete and wood wash table, used by the entire community for daily clothes washing, was not adequate. In fact, there was pooling water that attracted insects and created a tempting play area for the many children. A new drainage ditch, perhaps with some drain system was called for and was one of the agenda items for the day.

There was also a need for wooden bed frames in many of the small concrete "rooms" where families of the village resided, that had formerly been stalls for animals and farm implements. One women when asked where she slept, pointed to the cardboard pile located in one corner of her stall, while her four children slept on cardboard in the other corner. Yep, bed frames with some kind of sleeping mat or foam roll were definitely needed. We queried families about their need, took measurements and strategized about a plan for building beds.

The trench was well underway by the time we returned with lumber for beds, but the building would have to wait until tomorrow.

Meanwhile, friends at Casa Espernaza were cleaning and organizing spare rooms, used for storage and a soon-to-be added computer lab for the women at the shelter. Meanwhile, weeding needed done around the compund's perimeter. Tiresome, sweaty, and sometimes what seemed like thankless work was necessary and appreciated as day one drew to a close.

The fresh tamales were a welcome treat at dinnertime, and we discovered that Shawn, who wasn't sure if he'd like Mexican food really took to the potato and onion filled tortilla's that we had for lunch. So much so that he ate a few more at dinnertime.

We spent the evening processing our day, a tradition at LH, and found some typical but important responses to the first day's interaction with the migrant farm workers we met, and the women of Casa. Mostl obvious were the sharp contrasts between poverty and wealth that we often overlook in the States, combined with frustrations about not being able to "do" enough. What was also obvious was that we were beginning to notice our own cultural biases and how we might work through those this week.

Tired, there was still tme for some caring conversation around the fire pit, and overlooking the surf. Thnk God for this day, for the people we met and for the things we are learning about ourselves and others.