So this past week, I was running errands downtown to I get ready for Sunday evenings at La Roca on Friday before siesta. You have to get things done with before 2 PM when every store closes. So often time Jessie will ask me to pick something up that we need for meals and such. I discovered all the meat stores were closed. I had to stop a minute and figure out why. I mean, I looked at my watch a few times and sat there scratching my head for a bit until I remembered it was Lent. Every Friday, as a tradition, no one (if you are a good Catholic) will eat meat for the next forty days. There was one shop open in the market. So I went to ask him for some ground hamburger. He replied "I have no more left". What about meat for steak tacos? The same response. I wondered why they were even open if they didn't have any meat left? I guess they had meat and sold out because they were the only ones open. It was in this moment, I realized just how the Catholic church effects the economy. To be so influential to have shops closed down because they aren't selling meat for the day. What would it be like if the body of Christ had such influence like this? I am reminded again just how small the Christian population is here in Autlan. It is less than 1 percent who are bible believing, sold out to Jesus, live in complete obedience to God. What does it feel like to be the only Christian? What does it feel like to not meet any other Christians in your work? What does it feel like if to be persecuted for your faith? These are just a few of the questions I am pondering.
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Every year it seems to be a surprise to get rain. I am not sure why it happens this way. My guess is that the months without rain gets comfortable. Everyday with perfect weather in the high 70's to middle 80's with hardly and clouds in the sky and then all of sudden cloudy sky with days of rain. We are now on day three. It has stopped raining now but is still cloudy and looks as if it will rain at any minute. With the rain comes cooler temperatures. Never reaching 70 degrees, you feel the cold through out the day, especially if you get a bit wet going to picking up Levi, checking on the chickens or running to the store. As I write this, I know it seems like what is the big deal? It changes everything you do here. Majority of people walk to where ever they are going. Even church on Sunday had to be re-arranged. We usually meet in the back area under the tent area but when it is raining, it gets noisy and the water pools on the floor below your feet. Not the most conducive place to have power cords running along the ground. So when it rains we meet in the middle patio of La Roca. This is just one aspect of ministry that is effected by the rain. When it rains, many people just stay home. There is always the possibility of getting sick. This is something we have had to face in this culture. In our American mind set especially coming from a Minnesotan who never gets sick. How can someone get sick from the rain? After being here, I have to agree that there is something to this. They actually do get sick from being in the rain. I can't explain scientifically how this works but it is true. I know your are thinking how? They just do. I have to admit that I didn't believe it for a long time. But, time and time again, I have seen the results of people getting wet and being sick days afterwards.
I know this post is not very "spiritual" but my thoughts are that these are the things that I like to share about culture and life being in Mexico. Just sharing these small things helps us identify some of the differences we face even after 7 years of living in Mexico. We are never stopping learning. We never stop facing new challenges, no matter how old you are. |
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March 2024
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