What Does it Take?

Today I was going to write about my past trip to Acapulco and my experiences of Christmas in a foreign country. However a few things have occured that have left me in a pondering mood and I feel like sharing that instead with whoever is reading this. Especially as I am about to send out my december update and you will hear all those stories then.

Here is my question of pondering: What does it take to live the life of faith?

I think there are multiple answers to this question, depending what talents you have, what culture you are from and specifically the paths that God lays out before you. I have decided that I believe at every major turning road in a persons life there are at least two paths that you can choose from that would be under the will of God, with one that runs in the opposite direction. Which do you take? Depends what you're willing to give up.

Not to be prideful, but to be on the path that I am, I gave up my boyfriend who I love very much. I walked away from him at a bus depot about three months ago and said... see you next August. He gave up a lot too. My parents gave me up. My friends who gathered around me the night before I left crying and praying, they also gave me up.

I remember one night when I was asking God if I could maybe just stay in Canada instead of going to Mexico, He said that He could physically force me to get onto the plane, but I knew which decision was the one He desired for me. So I got on the plane. I had a window seat and got to see a bit more of this great world... a blessing. Then I came here to Mexico City and was overwhelmed by the dirty streets, the constant idols of guadalupe and the mexican people in general.

Over the past three months there have been countless days where I have had to bite my tongue to not ask to fly back to Canada, because I missed Owen too much, or Spanish was too hard or I couldn't stand the way men look at me on the Metro anymore just because I am a young white girl. Had I left I would never have moved into my new home with my Mexican family. They have shown me in only a week, what it truly means to perservere life with JOY. They have shown me love and exceptance and inclusion into a family unit. They have shown me Christ.

I cannot go into detail for their sake, but my Mexican family leads a life of simplicity. They have pasts full of hardships and trials and yet their eyes are fixed on Christ and they live lives of faith, asking hard questions and seeing which path it is that Christ would desire most for them.

To lead a life of faith, there is probably something that is going to have to be given up. There will be trials. I will still continue to have days where I want to get on a plane and go home. Missing Owen doesn't stop. Wishing I had some of my old comforts is still common, but on this path of life called faith I am blessed. I am blessed by these humble people who teach me so much about what it actually means to be called a Christian.

Ask yourself the question... especially during this season of celebrating the incarnation of Christ.

Moving to Pantitlan

I know, I know its been awhile and a lot has happened. I will attempt over the next few days to back track a bit and write entries about everything that has happened. So first of all on the 16th I officially became a resident of Pantitlan... after maybe four hours of sleep due to the Friday night English Book Club. Due to this is was a rather emotional day, but I was immediately welcomed into my new family. My room is quite big and is on the second floor of the home. I now have three siblings and another mother. Oh and I am also an official aunt of a Chihuahua named Cobi (spelling?) who I am sure I will fill you all in later about his antics. I only stayed in my new home two nights before heading off to Acapulco for three nights with Heather. But now that I am back I am enjoying it immensly. I feel as if I have learnt more Spanish in the past week then I did the two months of my "intensive spanish course", which might be an exaggeration, but at least some things are finally clicking in my head. Of course this is giving me new hope for being able to fully learn the language.

Next to my new house is the community park, where many many children hang out :) Its the best place that someone who came to work with children could live as even if I am in my room I can hear them clearly as they play outside. Also inbetween our home and the park is a big shrine to Guadalupe. It was sad for me during this season to see how much she was celebrated despite how the true meaning of Christmas is the incarnation of Jesus Christ into our world. However walking past that often reminds me where this country is at spiritually and how much they NEED Jesus.

Stay tuned for more...

Those with Weak Stomachs Should NOT Read this Entry

So at about 4:30am on Monday night I awoke from deep sleep by saying out loud to myself "I really don't feel good". I then proceeded to hope that by rolling over this feeling would go away. It didn't. So I got out of bed in a groggy state and went to the bathroom. Happy to find out it was just another case of diarrhea (yes this is happy as it happens often in Mexico) I went back to bed. About two minutes after lying down, I then ran back to the bathroom to throw up. Drinking water inbetween sessions of either diarrhea and vomiting in some hope of staying hyrdrated, the next four hours were full of this. Fun eh? I eventually started being able to fall asleep for an hour inbetween. Heather came by at noon with Pedialyte and Jello. I threw those up too at first. Anyways by six Tuesday evening it was done and then I slept through the night. Wednesday I rested, Thrusday I was bit active and today I actually feel alive again. In some small way I feel as if I just made it through a "right of passage" as people here are always telling the great sickness stories and now I have one! I am hoping its my only one.

Random Stories

The Town's Virgin Hangs Out With Santa.
In the middle of the main "square" of my colonia (called Copilco which is like a community in Canada) is a very nice shrine to the virgin of guadalupe. To her left is a statue of Jesus on the cross, and to her right is a statue of the man she appeared to in the hills of Mexico. But of course it is very important that she is in the center of this shows strongly how religion is practiced for the most part here in Mexico. It humors me that with every holiday something else shows up around the virgin too. During the day of the dead, a shrine to the dead was there too and now with Christmas, there are three light up santa clauses in the trees around her. There are also some light up reindeer. It amazes me how the consumerism that has become Christmas can even be incorporated into Mexico's strict love for the virgin. On that note, in the Wal-Marts here there is seriously at least one person in every isle trying to sell you a specific product from that isle. I have never seen such attempts at advertising before. I just looked out the window of the internet cafe I am sitting in, at a house they are adding a floor onto across the "calle" (street). They put this fake chimney up and there are legs of a santa sicking out of it.

Do You Know Tiffany From Canada?
Last night Heather and I went to a Christmas concert that the choir of Capital City Baptist Church puts on here in Mexico City. It is an English speaking church... the president of General Motors attends this church, and I am now on a mission to meet him. The concert was really well done and Heather introduced me to the people that she knew from there. There were a number of missionaries there, all enjoying the english Christmas tradition. I met a guy who is in high school, but has helped out with some translation times with past Fusion groups as he is an amazing english speaker. His family vacations all the time in the U.S. Anyways, so he's asking me where I'm from in Canada and I say the province of Alberta. He then asks, "so do you know Tiffany?" I felt like I was in a beer commerical... you know that one where someone asks you if you know Joe from Canada. Anyways he starts discribing her and telling me why she came and suddenly it hits me... I do know her. She was one of my juniors when I worked as a senior counselor at Camp Nakamun. Small world! This guy however literally knows someone in every region of north america and then a number of countries around the world. If networking is a gift, he's got it. I also met the widow of a man who wrote a lot of stories about missions in Mexico... one that I've read.

Transitions... Again

This morning was my oral exam for Spanish. I think I did alright, but know I messed up a few of the masculine/feminine differentials as well as grammar a few times. I feel better about it than last time though so I think that that is a good sign. Tomorrow is our written exam. Afterwards our whole class is going out for a beer. This field trip was organized by the other Canadian in the class.

On the fifteenth I will move to Pantitlan to live with my Mexican family. I am looking forward to this as the mom already calls me her "daw-taw-er". I will have two older sisters and one older brother. The brother, Enrique is pretty excited to have a younger sibling as he has always been the youngest one no matter what. He is eleven months older than me.

I will be tutured in Spanish which will be good because then I will continue to learn and in a one on one situation. I will also be doing a lot of turist things in the next month as during Christmas vacations most people are off of work and leave the city. I get to go to Acapulco with Heather, Jonathan and Rosio from the 18th to the 20th. I will work on my tan... maybe I won't be so obviously white by the time I get back!

Two MONTHS in MEXICO!

Today I celebrate my two month anniversary of being here in Mexico City. I remember the first few days I got here wondering if I would ever make it through the following months and well so far I have! I have uploaded six pictures that give a slight over view of my time here so far to flickr (yay it finally worked!) you can check them out at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mexicanmananda

Hopefully the link will work. I also sent out my november update, once again if you did not recieve it and would like to let me know and I'll get one on the way. I found out afterwards that the computer I was sending it from most likely had a virus, so if you are affected by this I apologize.

Have I ever mentioned that it was always a secret little hope of mine to be in a country while it was experiencing political unrest? No? Probably because I know its a very strange hope, but now I have seen it through. The new Mexican president took power on the first of December despite the man who lost having declared himself present only about ten days earlier. There is much protest over whether or not the election was corrupt and who the true president is, is apparently still up in the air even after a recount. The chamber of congress actually were punching each other during the switch of presidents. I stayed at home that day.

Now I must go and practice singing in spanish for the church service tonight, as we are celebrating Christmas with all of the cell churches together.