Saturday, April 23, 2011
Cuaresma (Lent) en Guate
I am having a hard time finding words to describe what has been going on here for the past 40 days..
alfombras (carpets)
processions
music
imagery
incense
street food
custumbres
faith
It has truly been a blessing to witness and be a part of such deep traditions.
To see looooots of photos go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/LauraAmlin/Cuaresma
alfombras (carpets)
processions
music
imagery
incense
street food
custumbres
faith
It has truly been a blessing to witness and be a part of such deep traditions.
To see looooots of photos go to:
https://picasaweb.google.com/LauraAmlin/Cuaresma
Who makes you angry?
If several names popped into your head just by reading the title of the post or if you have a scowl forming on your face right now, I've got news for ya... The answer to the question "Who makes you angry?" is (drumroll)..... you. (Wah, wah.) Earlier this week our new escuela socia (partner public school) designed a strategic plan. One-fourth of the time that was allotted for strategic planning, however, was dedicated to examining the paradigms of our thinking, our resistance to or acceptance of change, and our ways of communicating. One questioned that emerged was "Who makes you angry?" The easy answer is 'She/he does!" but if we examine that emotion a little deeper, we find underneath it an initial sensation which based on our experience we then perceive a certain way. We make ourselves angry.
Our body sends us warning signals of anger. Perhaps it is an upset stomach, a wrinkled forehead, a clenched jaw. Sometimes these warning signs go unrecognized, and in that case, by being angry the only person we are hurting is ourselves. What is your red flag? If we can identify it, then that anger doesn't have to wage war on our health--mental and physical--but we can work through it. We can breathe. We can try to open our minds, get more information, or look at the situation from another perspective... try and figure out why we feel threatened and if there is indeed a valid threat.
So...Storytime. My family told me that on Maundy Thursday you can stay out all night in Antigua, walking around and watching families elaborate their alfombras. I presented this idea to my friend, Maura, and after some discussion she says "We have to stay up all night!" "Why is that, Maura?" I ask. "Because that's what Jesus' disciples were doing on this night." Love it. Here we go.
"Come again?" (As if I was surprised and didn't understand what he was asking.)
"Your drink... What are you having?"
"Hot chocolate..?..." (Deep breath, preparing for the onslaught.)
"Would you like to try ours?.... I mean, may I bring you a cup of our hot chocolate?"
"Okay!"
"What's your name?"
"Laura"
"It's for Laura!"
and then he brought me this!
So, they could have gotten angry. 'Why is this gringa bringing in some other companies coffee and taking up a perfectly good lounge chair, taking away from our business?' But I like to think that because they didn't react right away, they had time to consider all of the factors. It's a special day, it is raining unexpectedly, cold, she is alone and obviously not at home, and what is one less sale of coffee really going to hurt us. They showed compassion. They were welcoming. They turned a possibly threatening situation into an opportunity. They let their paradigms of how their business works flex just a bit. And I promise I will be going back to that coffee shop next time.
What would happen if we showed the same receptiveness at church? In meetings at work? In our friendships and with our family members who are just a 'little off'? Jesus did this well. Slow to anger. He
showed love and forgiveness to the prostitute when she began to douse his feet in perfumes and wash then with her hair. Everyone else would have recoiled from her touch. And when Jesus called up "Zacchaeus, you come down from that tree", the hated tax collector probably had a similar reaction to mine in the coffee shop. 'Uh oh.. am I in trouble...' But instead, theirs and many lives are transformed because of that love.
Who makes you angry?
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.—Psalm 145:8
Our body sends us warning signals of anger. Perhaps it is an upset stomach, a wrinkled forehead, a clenched jaw. Sometimes these warning signs go unrecognized, and in that case, by being angry the only person we are hurting is ourselves. What is your red flag? If we can identify it, then that anger doesn't have to wage war on our health--mental and physical--but we can work through it. We can breathe. We can try to open our minds, get more information, or look at the situation from another perspective... try and figure out why we feel threatened and if there is indeed a valid threat.
So...Storytime. My family told me that on Maundy Thursday you can stay out all night in Antigua, walking around and watching families elaborate their alfombras. I presented this idea to my friend, Maura, and after some discussion she says "We have to stay up all night!" "Why is that, Maura?" I ask. "Because that's what Jesus' disciples were doing on this night." Love it. Here we go.
I was waiting to meet up with Maura and grabbed a hot chocolate in the park when it started to sprinkle. As sprinkle turned to rain I decided to wait it out in the doorway of another coffee shop...my experience told me that it would be rude to take the competitor's coffee cup into their shop and sit sooo... as I walked in I just tried not to make eye contact! haha. I did notice a manager-type person looking my way every once in a while though. And then another employee started walking my way. Oh man. I'm caught. How embarrassing, I'm going to be told that I can't have this cup of coffee here, etc, etc. The exchange went something like this: (except in Spanish)
"Excuse me. What are you drinking?" "Come again?" (As if I was surprised and didn't understand what he was asking.)
"Your drink... What are you having?"
"Hot chocolate..?..." (Deep breath, preparing for the onslaught.)
"Would you like to try ours?.... I mean, may I bring you a cup of our hot chocolate?"
"Okay!"
A few minutes later
"What's your name?"
"Laura"
"It's for Laura!"
and then he brought me this!
So, they could have gotten angry. 'Why is this gringa bringing in some other companies coffee and taking up a perfectly good lounge chair, taking away from our business?' But I like to think that because they didn't react right away, they had time to consider all of the factors. It's a special day, it is raining unexpectedly, cold, she is alone and obviously not at home, and what is one less sale of coffee really going to hurt us. They showed compassion. They were welcoming. They turned a possibly threatening situation into an opportunity. They let their paradigms of how their business works flex just a bit. And I promise I will be going back to that coffee shop next time.
What would happen if we showed the same receptiveness at church? In meetings at work? In our friendships and with our family members who are just a 'little off'? Jesus did this well. Slow to anger. He
showed love and forgiveness to the prostitute when she began to douse his feet in perfumes and wash then with her hair. Everyone else would have recoiled from her touch. And when Jesus called up "Zacchaeus, you come down from that tree", the hated tax collector probably had a similar reaction to mine in the coffee shop. 'Uh oh.. am I in trouble...' But instead, theirs and many lives are transformed because of that love.
Who makes you angry?
The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.—Psalm 145:8
Monday, April 4, 2011
TOMS A Day without shoes
Do you notice anything strange about this picture?
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| Look closely...... |
If you looked closely, you could see mud splattered all the way to the very top of the building. No, this is not the result of a jolly neighborhood mudfight. These are remnants of Tropical Storm Agatha that pounded Guatemala last May. The entire country was affected and many are still recovering.
 |
| This is a tortilleria that I pass on my walk to school everyday. |
Last October, I arrived just as the school year was ending. I did have the chance to visit the school a few times, meet the teachers, be introduced to the students, observe a few lessons, etc. As I sat and took everything in, a pair of feet under a desk in the front row caught my attention. Are those...?? They looked like TOMS... I looked down at my feet. TOMS. Hmmmm.... Curious. I began to look at all of the feet and several students were wearing plain black, Argentine style shoes. And the little blue and white striped flag on the back that reads TOMS confirmed it. Wow. I wonder if there was a drop here? Actually one of the first interactions that I had was with that front row student. "Look! We have the same shoes!" I couldn't tell if he thougth I was crazy or if it was really cool. :)
I found out that there was a drop (seeing many running around in their TOMS at recess pretty much confirmed that)....
aaaaaannnd I just realized that not everyone might know what I'm talking about. Here is some information taken from the website http://www.toms.com/ , which I encourage you to visit for more information, or to buy a pair of shoes anytime you have a gift-giving occassion!
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.
Why Shoes?
Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk:
--A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.
--Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.
--Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential
 |
| The Toms that we buy in the US and the ones given to children in need around the world are a little different. They don't have all of the cool designs, in fact, they are black so that they can be worn as part of a school uniform. They also have a thicker sole in order to stand up to weather conditions and wear and tear. As you can see, my TOMS got in a fight with the cobblestone streets and the cobblestone streets won. |
Tomorrow, April 5th TOMS is encouraging everyone to join in on One Day Without Shoes, and it's just what it sounds like--everywhere you go tomorrow, barefoot. The thought is that people will be curious, this will start a conversation, which will lead to action (one way, buy a pair of TOMS!) and this will lead to change. Big change. One pair--well... two pairs--of shoes at a time.
Peace
Friday, April 1, 2011
Creativity
Check out some creations of the Master Artist...
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| treebark |
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| friendship |
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| love! |
Bears or Bathrooms???
April?!?! It's APRIL!?! What a mixture of emotions each flip of a calendar month brings. One month closer to squuuueeeeezing my neice and nephews. One month closer to pool-side mimosa brunches (that turn into mimosa afternoons) with my friends. One month closer to midnight movies with my love. One month closer to worshiping in a familiar setting and enjoying family dinners. Bathtubs. Sushi. Laminating machine!
....One month closer to saying 'goodbye for now' to my new numerous, faithful, and fun Guatemalan family. One month less to work with amazing, dedicated co-workers here. Fewer times to enter a classroom of squealing kids, who can't wait to hear this week's story. Street food. Walking, everywhere. Spanish. Sloooow paaaace. 3 hot meals a day, made with fresh produce, meat on the bone. Less time to learn how to cook these 3 hot meals a day....
Of course the fact that we are on the downward slope of the year brings to mind the question: What's at the bottom of this hill that I'm tumbling down? What's next?
This is a sign at the Guatemala City Zoo, which I had the pleasure of visiting today for the school field trip. Bathrooms or Bears. I thought... man, I wish there was a little wooden sign under this that so simple stated [insert Laura's next phase of life]. Bathrooms, Bears, Caldwell Elementary. Bathroom, Bears, Grad School. Bathroom, Bears, ingenious, divinely-inspired service/company (like TOMS, for example). If only it were that simple.
But then I thought.. wait... it can be as simple as I want it to be. One thing that I've realized is that our (and by our, I really mean my) fretting over 'what's next' is really a luxury. My Guatemalan friends and family don't seem to put so much time, energy and self-debating (and forget a pro/con list) on what's next. It kind of feels a little selfish to me, really. What I do believe is that if we really want to realize a true vocation, then we look for opportunities that utilize our greatest gifts to meet the greatest needs. [Insert reference because this is definately not original thought.. however, I don't remember where I read this]
look for opportunities
that use your greatest gifts
to meet the greatest needs
simple. and it's plural. so that makes it even more simple.
I also think John Wesley said it well:
do all the good you can
by all the means you can
in all the ways you can
in all the places you can
at all the times you can
to all the people you can
as long as you ever can
(go back and read that really slowly, it's good stuff.)
And Laura says:
What will love look like today?
I think as long as we're asking ourselves that question, we're in the right place, and probably closer to 'doing the right thing'.
P.S. Bears, the bears were awesome. Bathrooms, weeellll.. they had toiled paper, which was a definate plus. I was taller than everyone in them, and my head stuck out of the top of the stalls.
I am 5'4".
....One month closer to saying 'goodbye for now' to my new numerous, faithful, and fun Guatemalan family. One month less to work with amazing, dedicated co-workers here. Fewer times to enter a classroom of squealing kids, who can't wait to hear this week's story. Street food. Walking, everywhere. Spanish. Sloooow paaaace. 3 hot meals a day, made with fresh produce, meat on the bone. Less time to learn how to cook these 3 hot meals a day....
Of course the fact that we are on the downward slope of the year brings to mind the question: What's at the bottom of this hill that I'm tumbling down? What's next?
But then I thought.. wait... it can be as simple as I want it to be. One thing that I've realized is that our (and by our, I really mean my) fretting over 'what's next' is really a luxury. My Guatemalan friends and family don't seem to put so much time, energy and self-debating (and forget a pro/con list) on what's next. It kind of feels a little selfish to me, really. What I do believe is that if we really want to realize a true vocation, then we look for opportunities that utilize our greatest gifts to meet the greatest needs. [Insert reference because this is definately not original thought.. however, I don't remember where I read this]
look for opportunities
that use your greatest gifts
to meet the greatest needs
simple. and it's plural. so that makes it even more simple.
I also think John Wesley said it well:
do all the good you can
by all the means you can
in all the ways you can
in all the places you can
at all the times you can
to all the people you can
as long as you ever can
(go back and read that really slowly, it's good stuff.)
And Laura says:
What will love look like today?
I think as long as we're asking ourselves that question, we're in the right place, and probably closer to 'doing the right thing'.
P.S. Bears, the bears were awesome. Bathrooms, weeellll.. they had toiled paper, which was a definate plus. I was taller than everyone in them, and my head stuck out of the top of the stalls.
I am 5'4".
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