He is Good
Some reflections about God's goodness from life lately.
Come. Come, all of you.
A few days before our team left Las Moras, Andrea told me about something she had dreamed. Dreams are very important to the Nahuatl people, and they often find meaning, signs, or omens in what they see while they sleep. Andrea said that she and a handful of others were standing on an outcropping of […]
Love
Recently, while reading through the famous love chapter in Corinthians, I realized that, because of the familiarity of the words, they were simply washing over me without meaning. I decided to take each verse and think about what it would look like for me to live out the words. What follows is the result of […]
A Time to Reflect
Trying to recover from typhoid has given me more free time than I know what to do with. Doctors suggest that rest and “stress free” living are keys to recovery, so I’m in the city doing, well, nothing much. And doing nothing has given me plenty of time to think. Mostly, my thoughts have focused […]
A Child Made into God
They say that once a woman near Las Moras made her daughter into a god. A cult grew up around her; her mother would take her around and have her prophecy for money. People would pay just to shake her hand, believing that it would bring them good luck. People followed her around and tuned […]
Top Five
I’ve been in Mexico five years this month. In celebration here is a list of some of my “top five” things from my time in the tribe. 5 Nahuatl words that English borrows: chocolate coyote avocado chili tomato 5 Things that surprised the Nahuatl about white people: Our babies grow inside our stomachs We get sick […]
Going to the Fence
“Going to the fence” is the phrase our team uses for “answering the door” or “seeing-why-someone-is-standing-by-the-gate-screaming-your-name-for-the-last-three-minutes-while-you-try-to-finish-brushing-your-teeth.” There are lots of reasons for going to the fence but I thought I’d share some from the last few weeks. Ladies came to visit (love this one!) Men came to borrow the shovel…and the pick…and a measuring tape…and […]
If You Do, I’ll Give You Candy…
Part of speaking a language is understanding the culture of those with whom you want to communicate. Knowing how to conjugate every verb is handy, yes, but it doesn’t ensure that people will track with what you want to say. Take the idea of persuading someone to do something, for example. In our culture we […]
Hairy Pork and Friendship
On my way home the other day, some neighbor girls called me to the fence. They wanted me to stop for a while and eat homemade pork rinds, or as I like to call them, deep fried trichinosis. The head of the pig was sitting on a board, blood soaking into the dirt and flies […]
The Source
Rainy season is over now and water has become a precious commodity again. A few weeks ago I was filling a bucket from the holding tank that catches rain from our roof. While I was waiting for the container to fill, my language helper came to the fence. “I’ll be right back to turn off […]