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Global Urban Trek 2008
"I Could Not Live Here."July 2, 2008
For orientation in Mexico City, we are staying at La Casa de Los Amigos, a Quaker-owned hostel. At this point, Mexico City is amazing. The food is delicious, the hostel is comfortable, and the team is getting along really well! But at the same time, we are all looking forward to a very different experience when we get to our sites.
I have been incredibly happy with my stay in Mexico so far. The thought, “I could live here!” has run through my head several times as I encounter different aspects of the culture that I love – like tortas! As part of orientation, we spent a day walking though a community called Las Lomas de San Isidro, where an organization called AMEXTRA works.
Perhaps I was just being really superficial, but all I could think was, “I could not live here.” It was overwhelming how much work there was to do – how many problems to face. Where was one to begin? There was also a severe lack of vegetation. This reaction brought up the question, “Am I just interested in missions because I like the idea of living a life radically different from what I’ve grown up with in an incredibly cool, exotic place? Do I really have what it takes to do the less-than-glamorous work that comes with it?”
Then we began to hear different people’s stories. One woman takes in troubled girls and helps them to overcome their addictions, get an education, learn skills and get reintegrated into their families.
Another woman had been loaned a sewing machine by AMEXTRA, and was then able to start a business making curtains. Now she can be home with her kids instead of being gone all day at work. A third woman started a business with AMEXTRA’s help, and now facilitates the Savings and Loans Program to help other members of the community gain financial stability.
When I first saw Lomas, I was overwhelmed because I was looking at all that needed to be done. But when I shifted my focus to how God was working there already, I was amazed at how different the community looked.
- Kara
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