Life and Death in Mexico City

Saludos!

First, I want to thank all of you that have been praying for me during this time and for the emails! God is really hearing your prayers and working through you to encourage me.

The last two weeks have flown by! I have learned a lot about Mexican culture and about the Lord recently. With the team, we've read a book and had a book discussion, studied the first 2 chapters of Philippians and made some spiritual goals for the year. It has been a rich time for me as far as hearing from God, seeing him answer prayers and generally learning more about who He is and what He is like.

We have also read several articles about Day of the Dead, which is similar to Halloween in the States. Instead of costumes and trick-or-treating on Oct. 31, though, Mexicans set up "ofrendas" or altars to their dead loved ones on November 1 and 2. These altars include pictures of their dead loved ones, candles, flowers, food, liquors and favorite objects of their loved one. Some simply celebrate it as a Mexican tradition, and as a way of remembering the deceased. However, there are many who believe that the spirits of the dead actually come back on these days. For them, the altars are a way of beckoning the dead back to earth. My roommate and I went to the Zocalo and saw several ofrendas, some of which were fun, brightly-colored exhibits, and others that seemed very dark and disturbing.

November 1st and 2nd are also days set aside for "Saint Death," a saint not officially recognized by the Catholic church, but one that is worshiped and prayed to here in growing numbers. We had the opportunity to see a film that portrayed how worship of "La Santa Muerte" plays out in real life here in Mexico. All of these activities were enlightening for me, and they revealed a whole level of spiritual darkness of which I had not been previously aware. I have heard many stories of spiritual warfare as well that have opened my eyes to how real the "invisible world" is, and more importantly, how real our God is. If you are struggling with doubt about if He's really out there...come to Mexico and listen! I'll sum up the Day of the Dead discussion with this quote from Octavio Paz:

"...life and death lack autonomy, [they] are the two sides of a single reality. They are references to the invisible realities...The word death is not pronounced in New York, in Paris, in London, because it burns the lips. The Mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it...We are seduced by death." (Labyrinth of Solitude).

So, that's enough about death. I promised you in the title of the blog I would talk about life, too! And we've got lots of that right now! This morning, our directors, Paul and Nydia, had baby #2, Ana Paulina, and my Mexican mama had baby #2 this afternoon, as well. We haven't met our "baby sister" yet, but she should be coming home tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait to see her!

And for a little more about my life, here's some fun things I've done in Mexico so far:

-learned to make authentic Mexican sopes (a type of tortilla)
-visited Chapultepec (Mexico City's central park) and rented a row boat for an hour
-went to a huge flower market where they sell flowers for super cheap (por ejemplo, more than a dozen roses for less that 20 pesos which is about $2 USD)
- experienced two full Mexican Sundays with church from 10am-7pm...
-roasted hot dogs and marshmallows with a bunch of Mexican kids during a camp-out hosted by our Mexican church (I also led lots of camp games...thank you CDL)
-went to a restaurant and had a pitcher of hand-squeezed juice, a bowl of soup, a plate of rice, and an entree for 30 pesos (less than $3 USD)
-visited the main Cathedral of Mexico City and saw coin slots where you can pay to have a fake candle lit to "represent a prayer"
-watched the US election results in Spanish
-lead games for a multi-cultural baby shower for two Mexican pregnant ladies...some guests couldn't speak Spanish and some couldn't speak English...It was interesting, but a blast.

That's just a taste of what I'm doing here so far. The time is approaching (November 15th!) for me to head to my real post in Morelia. You can pray that God will keep preparing me for the Casa Hogar and prepare the children to receive me well. Thanks for your continued prayers and support. If you get a chance, let me know what you're up to as well! I would love to hear. You can write an email, or wait a few days and write some snail mail to the Casa Hogar (that would really brighten my day)! Both addresses are to your right on this page.

I'll leave you with this verse that really comforted me. Although I know that God is a good, loving God, I was struggling with the possibility that not all will be saved by having a relationship with Him. So God proved He's good again by guiding me to this verse:

"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
2 Peter 3:9

Con mucho amor,
Lauren