Ryan and I woke up early to go jogging around the deportiva area. We rounded the circle two times, which is about 3600 kilometers, around 2.2 miles. On the way back we stopped at a playground in La Ceiba, Pastor Vesquez’s neighborhood. By the time we got back, everyone had already eaten breakfast. I was embarrassed and knew I would have to regain rapport. I learned my lesson to always ask what time we are having breakfast or are leaving the next day when I’m at somebody’s house.
We went to la Iglesia de la Nueva Esperanza, one of Pastor Vasquez’s thirteen churches, to help renovate a baptismal area. Some other workers were there already, and we were introduced to the “jefe” Augustine. The baptismal had rocks and concrete all along the floor, so we cleared it out and made the floor even so they could later cement it. We also made a drain for the baptismal, Jessica painted the baptismal blue with clay without a brush, and the workers plastered the wall.
I discovered the art of making plaster. First two workers sift sand through a wooden frame with mesh. Second they dump some cement on the sand and mix it together by shoveling all the sand into two piles, shoveling it all back together, then shoveling all the sand in one pile while all the workers move in a circular motion. Finally they a volcano-like structure from the mixture. Last, and most precarious, one pours water into the volcano while the other workers furiously try to keep the sand-cement walls from breaking. If they do, it’s a big mess. Believe me, I know because it happened to us a couple times.
During the morning I chatted a long time with a veterinarian elder of the church who loves adventure and travel. He said he would go with us on our trip if he were younger. Instead he’ll just continue working with the Pathfinders of the church. He also said he loves tourism and told me a little about Villa Hermosa, its Olmec history, and the native drink pozol. He had Marcos, a guy working with us, bring us a pitcher to try. Pozol is made of soaked corn and cacao. The Tabasquenos drink it without any sugar. It was too bitter for most of us, but Joy liked it. Apparently they have a similar drink where she is from in Zambia, Africa.
Soon we consumed more widely appreciated vittles. Mama, a tiny, older sister of the church cooked us a huge lunch of vegetables and rice. She also brought Jamaica juice. I asked if it came from Jamaica and she said that no, it’s a type of tabesqueno flower boiled down to get the juice.
By the afternoon, all that was left to do was wire the contacts and switches—not a lot for Jessica, Joy, and I to do. So we just watched and “supported” the guys with songs and stories. I also met Roger “Roco,” Mama’s son who studied English in Belize and has a Japanese girlfriend living there. Eventually the sun started setting, so I let some workers plastering the walls use Ryan and I’s head lamps. They were fascinated by them.
The girls finally got a little excitement as we helped wire six electrical wires through a tiny manguera tube. All the Mexicans thought we couldn’t do it, but in the end we were successful and had only ripped out wall plaster two times.
When we returned to the Vasquez house, no one was home so we walked to an internet café to catch up on emails.
Friday, November 11
This morning Ryan and I woke up a little earlier so we could go jogging and still be ready for breakfast. We ate scrumptious cereal and fruit and returned with the rest of the group to the church. We arrived around nine. Roger was there to help, but the jefe wasn’t so we played hacky-sack for thirty minutes until someone came with the church key.
Today was honestly kind of slow. The previous night we asked Nancy, Neftali’s wife, if she knew anything we could do in the community because there wasn’t really anything besides wiring to finish at the church. She said she didn’t, so I scrubbed some fungus off a few walls with Roger, we talked a bit, and occasionally made cement when it was needed. Of course, Ryan was working like a beast. There seems to never ending need for electrical work wherever we go.
Roger’s mom brought us lunch again and almost started crying because we liked her food so much. She gave us tortilla chips and a guiso stew made with vegetables and soy fake meat. She is so cute. She told me yesterday that she is waiting for a visa to go to the United States. Her husband is working there already in Florida and she wants to be with him. Jessica wrote her mom who lives in Florida, so maybe she can help her find her way around. It’s a little intimidating to go to another country by yourself without knowing the language.
The girls continued watching and trying to help the guys work until they did all the wiring they could. Since there was nothing left to do with the available materials, Roger took us to La Venta Zoo and Olmec archeological site. We enjoyed looking at the spider monkeys, birds, snakes, jaguars, and especially the otters. Ryan was later dubbed “Otter Boy” because his beard makes him look like an otter and because he can imitate the “cheep, cheep” otter bark.
Having studied Mexican history I was super excited to see some of the best Olmec stone carvings in the world. A Mexican poet arranged the archeological park so the large stone pieces and jade, the Olmecs’ “gold,” would be preserved. We walked passed a jaguar face made of jade and then by various stone carvings. The biggest were the Olmec heads. The Olmecs carved them after leaders who had won a ceremonial ball game. The winner would be honored by having his head cut off and then having a large boulder carved into his likeness mixed with jaguar features. They carved the nose flat, only showed two teeth, and enlarged the ears. Jaguars were very important and godlike to the Olmecs.
Well culturally satisfied, we dropped of Roger, and returned to the Vasquez house to get ready for vespers. We went to, according to Roger, the young people’s church at La Gaviota Norte. There certainly were many young people. One girl talked to me afterwards non-stop for about thirty minutes about being a Catholic but still going to the Adventist church, studying English, etc. She was talking so fast I didn’t quite catch everything and wondered why she didn’t want to practice more English. Quien sabe? Pastor Vazquez had to leave vespers early, so we squeezed in Nancy and her two daughters in our Land Cruiser to go back home.
We ate supper after church and then Neftali brought out his guitar so we could figure out something we could sing for church. It was looking bleak until he started playing “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” The guys couldn’t remember any words to any other songs. I discovered Neftali and his daughters knew a lot of the songs I’d learned in Argentina, so I delightfully sang some of them with them until sleep time.
Saturday, November 12
We went with Pastor Vazquez to yet another church—that’s three we’ve been to so far in Villa Hermosa—for church. The church isn’t quite finished and is covered with tin and billboards for a roof. Apparently it was a special Sabbath for the club of laypeople. Therefore the service went from 8AM until 2:30PM when we stopped for lunch. During the service we sang a lot, there were various seminars, and the church had us come up front to tell about our mission and sing. Not to be cawky, but I think I’m the only one that can carry a tune in the group, so nobody else really desired to sing—especially because there was a professional group that had already sung a few songs. But we told the church we were there to praise God and sang “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” anyways. They seemed to enjoy it (sing a song in another language and it’s all good).
The meeting continued after the lunch of rice and beans, but we left with our jefe Augustine to relax in the Tabasco 2000 Park. We chatted with him about the six months he spent in Oregon working on an onion farm for seven dollars an hour. He had to travel five to seven days to get to Oregon. Then when he started working, he didn’t always know where there’d be work. Many times he’d travel over an hour to get to work, and still he had to pay rent and transportation. I wonder if he feels it was worth all the trouble. He just said that it’s hard to find a good job in Mexico. Now he works for the government and can at least be near his five children. We went to his house for coconut and then he took us to yet another church for Sociedad de Jovenes. We were a bit pooped, but enjoyed doing Bible exercises with the little kids. One of the exercises we lost, so we had to get up front and sing three songs. We sang “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,” “Avancemos,” and then we taught everyone the “Halelu/Praise Ye the Lord” song that had been such a hit at La Vida, New Mexico. Again the kids (and adults) loved it, although they didn’t know the words. Like I’ve said before, kids like action.
Sunday, November 13
During the week Jessica became more and more excited for today because we were going to be helping at an SDA health fair. For that reason we decided to wait to drive on to Playa del Carmen. Unfortunately, they didn’t really need us. Oh well. In the end we supported the fair by buying popcorn, pastelitos, and horchata from the food stands set up by the various SDA churches. I also spent a long time playing with kids and talking with some nurses, Roger, the veterinarian from the church, and a guy who gave us some contacts of people who can maybe help us get from Panama to Colombia. The latter was greatly appreciated because I think that portion of the trip could logistically be our greatest challenge.
Since there was nothing for us to do, the guys went to the Vazquez’s house to do some electrical and handy-man jobs. I was really glad, because there family has done so much for us. Jessica, Joy, and I went with Roger, his sister Alex, and some of their friends to a pool outside of Villa Hermosa. We had so much fun swimming, basking in the sun, teaching pool gymnastics, eating, and chatting in the sun with Alex. We asked her what type an ideal woman is for Mexican guys. She said that unlike the Barbie waif of the states, Mexican guys prefer a thicker woman with large legs, butt, love handles, and boobs—algo para agarrar, “something to hold on to.” Maybe I need to move down here.
Above all the other activities, all of us had the most fun sliding down the tabagones! Two hours before the pool closed, we discovered a huge slide. Sliding rules aren’t nearly as stringent as they are in the USA, so we could slide down however we wanted. Nevertheless, I kept getting stuck in the middle of the slide due to my clothing. I eventually found I could fly down the tube with Joy and Jessica attached to my feet. Out we tumbled all together.
Trying to save money for the way back home, we all walked a bit, then took a tiny public transport bus to town. From there we hopped on a bus to Roger’s house. The bus had a massive, white crucifix and booming Latino club music. The club bus dropped off various friends and finally stopped near Roger and Alex’s house. While we waited for the Andrew and Ryan to pick us up, Roger let us use his computer for internet. The guys arrived, and, like so many times before, Roger and Alex’s mom fed us delicious food: quesadillas and horchata. While we waited for them to check email, Roger taught me some new words, slang, and hand signals they use in Mexico. That is the sort of thing I learn when I hang out with a native young person, and I love it. I’m just glad I had my notebook and pen to write everything down (the group always makes fun of me because I have to write down everything. I’m sure you aren’t surprised, because my emails are so long. I just don’t like to forget anything.)
After many kisses on the cheek and good-byes, we left my favorite family of Villa Hermosa. Still energized, I busted out my Yoga DVD to do with Jessica and Joy. We all laughed as we tried to “Keep our faces soft” and “Find equanimity.”
Jessica and Joy went to bed, but I stayed up until Neftali and Nancy got home. We talked about the church, Chiapas (They’d lived there for thirteen years. Apparently everyone thinks it is dangerous because there were some fights in 1994 with the guerrilleros. According to them, however, there isn’t any more danger now.), and how they often warn Mexicans not to go to the USA. They said that many separate from their families and/or leave the church. They’ll send their money back to Mexico so their families can have nice houses, but many in the end lose their faith and relationships. Others may even die because the work is so arduous. One has to decide if those risks are really worth it. For them, it seems to be a question of what is most important—money or family and faith.
Monday, November 14
We had our last extravagant meal of tacos at the Vazquez house, prayed, and then left Villa Hermosa for the ruins of Palenque—one of the greatest and accessible Mayan ruins. We drove about an hour until we reached the turn off for the ruins and came upon a great mob of people. They had signs that said things like “Money for the indigenous.” Apparently the Mayan descendants want more money—I’m not really sure. I asked a cop, but he didn’t understand why the mob was there either. He eventually told me another route to get to the ruins. Andrew was a little frustrated by the situation and all the traffic, but the route involved some off-roading which I quite enjoyed. We were all dying laughing as we drove through a mud puddle ad then later over a curb right behind the mob. Full of glee, we decided to pick up some hippie hitchhikers in the national park. Apparently Palenque is the place to be for Mexican and American hippies alike. One Anglo gal sat up front. She told us she had been studying metal working in college, but was now was in Palenque riding horses with people from all around the world. She said they were riding around Mexico “spreading seed,” whatever that means. I sat next to a Mexican hippie with four piercing in his lower lip. We drove a little and picked up a few more of their friends. My nose was suddenly strangely reminded of a boma in Masai Mara, Africa. They were really nice and friendly though. I really don’t think I’ve ever met a hippie I didn’t like. I just don’t think I could be one; only because I prefer to have bald armpits.
At the ruins, once again Joy, Andrew, and Jessica scurried quickly through the ruins while Ryan and I took our time. To tell the truth, I spent some extra time listening to a guide talk about various buildings and their history. One of the tombs in Palenque is really interesting because one can still see red paint on it. The Mayans believed the paint was toxic, so they buried their royalty in it so they wouldn’t be disturbed. When archeologists found the tombs, the bodies were still covered in red. Ryan and I looked at the Temple of Inscriptions that tells the entire story of the Mayans. Then we climbed steep stairs to the Temple of the Foliated Cross and other temples like it that overlook the whole of Palenque. They also have carvings on them that tell about various kings and serpent-jaguar gods. Like the ruins of El Tajin, Palenque has a ball court. Ryan and I decided to be super cheesy and video tape ourselves playing hacky-sack in it.
After an unmentionable event involving Ryan climbing the “Queen’s Bath,” (ask me about it when I’m back home) we met the other members of our group at the car and continued on our journey towards Playa del Carmen.
Trying to keep to our “no driving after 6PM” policy, we stopped at a town called Escarcega for the night. We were all starving, so we spent a dollar on five churros (they are kind of like donuts), to hold us over while we shopped for tomatoes, cereal, beans, tortillas, and bread. We ate peanut butter and jelly tortillas and beans and tortillas for supper and then watched my 30 Years of National Geographic DVD. I have a feeling we’ll be watching it a lot because it, besides my yoga DVD, is the only one I brought.
I had a hard time going to sleep because it was loud outside and I kept thinking about my future decisions. Whenever I start thinking about careers I get really stressed out and can’t sleep. I’m just glad God has blessed so far with what I’m doing right now.
Tuesday, November 15
Jessica, Joy, and I found a great place to do yoga in the hotel so we twisted ourselves around until my computer died. Then it was back to the road. On the way were stopped a few times for police checkpoints, but the police were always friendly and the most searching they did was looking through Andrew’s binoculars.
We arrived in Playa del Carmen a few hours before sundown. For some reason I was a little irritable from the long drive, so I walked with Andrew and Jessica to our next contact, Carlos Macias’ place at the Maranatha hotel while Joy and Ryan found a parking spot. We sat down in Carlos’ office, explained what we’d been up to, and he and his daughter told us a little about the history of his hotel and the Adventist church in Playa del Carmen. I think Andrew and Jessica were thrilled that they spoke English.
Eventually Joy and Ryan came in looking frazzled. The roads are all torn up due to the hurricane so it took them a long time to find a place to park. They were also tired, so Carlos gave us a room with three beds and he and Anabel invited us to relax and explore the town. They are such awesome people and have gone way above expectations in hospitality. (I really respect Carlos and the more people I meet who talk about him, the more exemplary he seems to be of how a man of means should support the church. He has helped monetarily construct over ten churches in the area.).
We decided our hunger and nerves were so great that we deserved our second meal out of the trip. We stopped at a miniature pizza restaurant beside our hotel. I was ecstatic because the owner was super friendly and from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I couldn’t help but chat with him a bit while Joy and Ryan tried to subtly get me to put in the order. Anyways, we became fast friends and now every time I pass him we wave to each other. He told me he’s going to return to Argentina in a year or so. He’s had his foreign travel experience, and is ready to go home. I wonder if that’s how I’ll feel in a month.
Just as Andrew and Jessica got to the restaurant with some lemonade, our pizzas came out of the oven. You know how I said there was road construction? Well, during our supper we had to yell over a guy drilling in a hole beside us. It was hilarious.
Sometimes a little separation is needed when one is in a group like ours. We haven’t had any tiffles, but it’s needed. Andrew and Jessica walked the beach and Jessica got some much needed chocolate ice cream. Joy and I roamed the shops looking a clothing, hammocks, hats, and diving shops. When then checked our email. Ryan walked about alone.
We all rejoined at the hotel and decided to call Jared. We all crowded in one tiny phone cabin. Ryan’s bum kept opening the door. The Mexican ladies had a good laugh and we went back to rest up for the morrow.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
I’m so glad I brought my hacky-sack. It has aided our group in the virtue of patience as we’ve accustomed ourselves to Mexican time. We were supposed to meet Carlos at 10, but he showed up at 11. We discussed how WMT is like the television show Survivor and how we would be the Mayan tribe of the group.
I rode with Carlos while the rest of the group followed behind. At the church we sat down with other workers of the church and discussed what needed to be done and what materials would be needed. Carlos told us we could take the day off and go to his personal cenote while he purchased materials. Cenotes are underground caves and springs that flow to the ocean. A lot of people go snorkeling and SCUBA diving in them.
Carlos’ cenote is beautiful. We had a big frank picnic by the water and then snorkled around. I had the most fun jumping off the top of the cave with Andrew, Joy, and Ryan. I actually got a little scared to dive in, but eventually did. Then I impressed the lifeguards by climbing one of the cave walls. They actually gave me a high-five. The climb was envigorating.
On the way back to the hotel, Andrew and Jess dropped the rest us off at a grocery store. We bought a ton of rice, beans, vegetables, tortillas, bread, jelly (which unfortunately dropped on the way back to the hotel), etc.
We quickly changed and ran to the ocean. Jessica, Ryan, and I dove. We felt like we were swimming in a painting because the sky was pink and the sea was bright turquoise. Then Ryan, Joy, and I walked on the beach and into town. We had a supper of pasta, Ryan and I did push-ups, and we all went to sleep content.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Joy and I woke up at 6:30 and did yoga on the upstairs deck of the hotel. Guys kept walking by. We later asked Carlos why there were so many guys and so few women. He said they are telephone company workers staying in Playa del Carmen to fix the telephone lines. Carlos must strike a deal with these companies because he said when a hurricane his in 1987, he had electricians staying in the hotel. He was the first one to get electricity in the entire city.
Ignoring his present guests, we continued our prayer twists and downward-facing dogs as we ignored them. Joy then cooked eggs and big franks to prepare us for our first work experience in Playa del Carmen.
We were so thankful for work that we could all do. While we were in Villa Hermosa, the gals were sometimes frustrated because we had nothing to do. Not so this time. We primed all the parts of the church possible. Most of the time I spent on a rusty scaffolding standing tip-toe on top of a chair with a paintbrush. For all the donors reading this, we are spending your money so we can go climbing—climbing around churches. I had fun, but by five o’clock the sun was setting and I was pooped. Thankfully we had a few breaks during the day. One was when Carlos brought us soft drinks and fruit, and another when a lady from the church brought us tamales—corn meal with chicken or peppers cooked in corn leaves. The tamales came with some really spicy sauce. Now everyone in the group knows that we aren’t the only hot tamales in town.
Back at the hotel, after a curry supper without the curry (we forgot the powder, Jessica and Andrew fell quickly asleep. We had worked really hard. Even the brothers of the church were really impressed. I was tired too, but I couldn’t let myself go to sleep like them at 7:30PM. Instead Ryan and I went to a free concert in the central park. We listened to one song, but it was too Kenny G.-esq for me. We returned down the touristy streets until we arrived at a gelato stand. We spent our own money on overpriced three dollar gelato. It was worth every penny. Ryan had coconut and tutti-frutti while I ate Oreos and cream and Nutella. Yum. Ryan said it was the best ice cream he’d ever had in his life. With sugar highs, we walked to a gazebo and I taught Ryan some swing-dancing moves. He learned really quickly and we had fun entertaining the people waling around us. Some even took pictures!
Friday, November 18, 2005
I was tired from the night before—it’s crazy how I’m dead if I go to bed after ten o’clock now—and couldn’t wake up to do yoga. Instead I ate the pancake breakfast with bananas Joy prepared. Then we started painting at the church at eight o’clock; I think I was a cranky, because I was being possessive of the roller paint brush. I think I was just sick of painting from the scaffolding, and I certainly didn’t want to use the small brush again. Thankfully I didn’t get into any squabbles over it because God gave me patience when someone would take it from me. Eventually my height won me possession of the tool, and I painted with it until we finished painting the first coats on the walls. Meanwhile Carlos Macias brought us coke, fresh orange juice, vanilla milk (that Andrew loved), and some sweet bread. We continued painting and jamming to the saxophone and dramatic Christian singing one of the workers played on a CD player. The only problem with the music is that it kept scratching and became ghetto-style.
Around noon a 23 year-old gal stopped by to clean the church. Apparently she didn’t know there was major renovation being done. She was shocked, but like all the good people we’ve met, just introduced herself, we chatted about the church, and then she grabbed a brush and big stick, and started helping us paint. At 12:30PM a group of church ladies brought us lettuce, salsa, and, one of my favorite foods from Argentina, empanadas. Unlike the Argentine empanadas of corn, lettuce, etc., these simply had beans or cheese inside, but they were very tasty.
When we’d been refreshed, we continued our work until two o’clock. We helped the cleaning lady clean the chairs and sweep out the church. Jessica couldn’t believe Latinos sweep and mop at the same time. As I swept and all the dust and trash was blown back in by the breeze she said, “Por eso, borramos con agua” (“See, that’s why we sweep the floor with water.” )
Another day of painting and we were once again covered in paint. We decided the best method to get rid of it was sand. Therefore, back at the hotel we speedily put on our bathing suits and power walked to the ocean. I was quite pooped from the past two days, so I videotaped and had everyone bury me in sand. They made me into a ginormous man with ginormous arm muscles and tiny chicken legs. Afterwards I had fun watching Jessica, Joy, and Ryan role into the ocean. Then Ryan dove into the water, except he didn’t swim out far enough and ended up diving in about a foot of water. Eventually I washed off in the ocean and we ran back to be ready for vespers at five o’clock.
I was so happy to see how bright the church looked and see the members worshipping after all of our work. Carlos had the church thank us. I just hope their church grows in unity and long-term members. The cleaning girl told me their church membership and unity has gone down recently. She says it’s difficult to get long-term members because a lot of people come to Playa del Carmen, sometimes separating from their families, and work awhile. But the city is somewhat Americanized and most people prefer the culture of their home towns, so they eventually return.
I find it hard to imagine the church having any problems. The members we’ve met and worked with are some of the nicest people with whom we’ve come in contact.
After church we returned for some Ramen noodles and fried eggs and vegetables. I read to the group about Elisha from Prophets and Kings. The chapter speaks about how the little tasks we have prepare us for the future. I think our experience now is preparing us for future mission work whether at home our in foreign lands.
Thanks for the week
Andrew: Carlos Macias and all the people he’s met here at Playa del Carmen; cenote; big franks
Joy: a nice place to stay
Ryan: for a bed (his first one on the trip)
Jessica: free hotel by the beach and that we are all working for the Lord
Lorelei: the beach and all the people I’ve met in the church and outside the church
Our hotel had a zoo
Our hotel had a zoo
