Ecumenismo

After several bleak conversations last week and the week before about the elections and corruption in Mexico, we were able to participate in something this weekend that felt like a wonderful place and time of hope.  On Friday afternoon we met our friend Gloria at a gathering of people from different churches throughout Chiapas, meeting to talk and eat and play and learn together for the weekend.  It was the third ecumenical gathering of these folks - people from Catholic and Methodist and Evangelical and Baptist and Presbyterian churches - gathering to learn more about what it could mean to work together for the good of their communities.  And it was really exciting - there were young people and old people and men and women listening to and engaging with one another.   One of the pastors invited the group to tell the story of the good samaritan and highlighted the religious differences between Jews and Samaritans and talked about how any sense of identity that we carry that prevents us from seeing the humanity of others is a false sense of identity . . . a lot of good food for thought!  It was really a privilege to be there, and a thrill to be able to understand a lot of what was being said and to be able to participate.

We are making slow progress with our language lessons - the girls are starting to enjoy meeting other kids at the various parks and playgrounds we've been visiting and being able to understand enough to learn new friends' names and to play together.  Peter has begun flirting with folks in restaurants, cheerfully greeting everyone with 'hola' and blowing kisses. It's a bit like dining with a movie star.  Jay has begun telling the girls some of the classic children's stories in Spanish on the walk to school each morning.  We've just finished 'Los Tres Cerditos' and began 'Hansel y Gretel' today.

We are continuing to enjoy the countryside around and the parks within San Cristobal, and to learn more about the indigenous communities that surround San Cristobal.  Last Sunday we visited the village of San Juan Chamula, riding on horseback!  The church and rituals there are a mixture of Catholicism and pre-hispanic traditions and last Sunday was the beginning of the feast of St John the Baptist.  The church was full of incense (so much you could hardly see!) and village leaders were putting new clothes on several of the important statues of the saints.  The floor was covered with pine needles and with small candles burning, and there were men with drums and trumpets playing.   Many traditional healers were practicing in the church at the same time, surrounded by lots of people and there were also a few men making fireworks on the side.  It felt very different from a Sunday at Boston Square!

Yesterday we spent much of the day at an ecological park closer to San Cristobal.  Brianna decided to count all of the butterflies she saw, but gave up around 17!  The park is along a gentle river and we had a lovely time wading and later hiking across a couple of bridges and up to a cave, where we disturbed a bat, passing a couple of fresh water springs along the way.  We are still amazed to look up each day and find ourselves surrounded by mountains.  It's really beautiful watching the storms roll in and out most afternoons, being able to see the rain on the various mountain tops.  The days here sometimes move slowly, but the weeks are going  by quickly.  We miss you all and are praying for you, and continue to be grateful for your prayers for us!