Christmas Gifts

One of the spiritual gifts that Christmas brings to life, a gift that is important all year round is hope.  Despite temptations to get discouraged at times, we have many, many, many reasons to hope in our collective and more personal missions here in Santa Fe, Mexico City.  From the past month or so, these are just some of the few that have especially stood out to us!

·         Sharing the course in Urban Pastoral Work  led by the ¨Urban Pastoral Team¨ here in Mexico City at the Iberoamericana University with 10 other people from our parish and a few from different places in the country.  Within this group of ¨students,” lecturers, and team members there is such and a wealth of experience and diverse interests and gifts that are shared.  The course focuses on seeing the many faces of God and fostering the God’s Reign within the city, not only through traditional ¨church¨ activities but through service, peace and justice work, the building of networks and base Christian communities.

·         Nine people from the parish completed a Peace and Reconciliation workshop and are going to start a capacitation course right after Christmas.  This will enable them to impart the workshop to the pastoral team here at the parish with which Father Salvador and Miriam are working on a pastoral planning process for renewal both in parish and the community – as much in the social sense as the traditional religious sense.

·         A Thanksgiving meal attended by all of the daycare staff at our house –a time for missionaries and the daycare staff to get to know each other a little better outside of a work setting.  People seemed to enjoy themselves and it has helped the growth of working friendships.

·         Together with the several committed parish members Emma and I have been working with over the past year in personal and spiritual formation and community service, we hosted our first retreat at Parroquia de la Asunción.  The national Jesuit Youth Network (La Red Ignaciana) sent two volunteers to lead the camp called ¨Exist,¨ which through music, games and reflection through parts of the Ignation spiritual exercises helps youth to look in order to encounter the meaning of their lives in light of what we are called to as Christians.  Since the camp, one new member has commented to me on how a huge weight was lifted from her during a reconciliation ceremony we had.  Indeed, there seemed to be a lot of healing tears my many who attended during the celebration.  ¨Exist¨ is the first in a series of 4 retreats led by Jesuit volunteers that we hope to run at the parish: ¨Human Rights, ¨ ¨Emoción-Arte¨ and the ¨Freedom of Love.¨ It has been a struggle for our little nucleus of 7 people to gain interest of other youth in our weekly meetings which also utilize Jesuit material, but the retreat was attended by 17 youth - most of which have expressed great interest in joining our youth community, and even contacted us again to ask how to join formally.

·         The same weekend, Kirsten helped out at a fundraiser of games, activities and food at the daycare.  She and Emma are volunteering at the daycare and the event was attended by all the staff, the children and their parents.  Kirsten speaks fondly of what a joy it was to see the excitement of all the children and the interaction between parents, children and teachers in an atmosphere outside of the regular work day.

·         New expectant faces in the children´s choir.

·         Among the people that I work with and the parish community, there is a super-abundance of

gifts, talents, abilities, interests and dedication.  At a reception for a fundraiser hosted at our parish yesterday, I spoke with Gustavo, an acquaintance we met through the Urban Pastoral course.  He has founded 2 grassroots organizations in the community of Santa Fe that work a lot with youth in the area and have roof-top organic garden projects.  He told me that as a youth, he did a lot of street theatre, and one of his compañeras gives street theatre workshops based on the lived reality of members and the community.  This happens to be exactly the vision that Teatro de la Esperanza was founded on – to write and present scripts based on the realities both good and hard and open spaces for dialogue about the various issues that arise.  Gustavo, his compañera, some members from the group and I are meeting on Wednesday to discuss a plan of action for the New Year.   Since we started the group, we have been researching and networking with more experienced actors, theatre groups, and community centers in the city to aid in the sustainability of the theatre group.  This has been an answer to our prayers. 

·         Four presentations of Una Moderna Noche de Paz (A Modern Silent Night) in different places throughout the community by Teatro de la Esperanza, a social theatre group that several members and I have been starting over the past year.  The play was our third production and a compilation of the work of three of our members: Laura Falcón M., her sister Rocío, and Patricia Lopez, as well as excerpts from the work of Mexican priest and dramatist Sergio Guillermo Román del Real.  The whole team helped revise it and decide that we would make the pastorela (traditional Mexican Christmas play) based on present day Mexico City.  The presentations that included 14 actors and 2 or more crew members were each about 45 minutes long and the fruit of 2.5 months of work.  In total they were attended by between 5 and 600 people.  We also had a several more people sign up for the growing group.

On behalf of the Santa Fe Missionaries, we wish you a very blessed and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with all the Peace, Love, Joy and Hope that the Incarnation brings!

Tara Hurford, Emma Buckhout, and Kirsten Kyle, Incarnate Word Missionaries

The Stages of Life

Recently, Mary and her five month old son, Juan were accepted to Visitation House.  While a plan was getting setting up for Mary, I babysat Juan for a few days.  I love children, but I don't often interact with babies.  However, Juan, a pudgy and strong boy, is a delight to be around.  He is a happy baby who smiles frequently revealing his small dimples.  As I babysat Juan, I took notice of how dependent babies are on their caretakers to meet their needs. It was interesting to see Juan play on the floor.  His movements seem awkward as he tries to discover his own abilities.  In trying to grab a toy, he overstretches his arms as they squirm to grab things.  Likewise, he wants to crawl but has not managed to figure out how.  While lying on a mat, he can bring his knees to his chest and push but he can't hold himself up on all fours.  This reminds me, that hard as it may seem, I too was once a baby.  Looking at Juan, I realize how much I have grown and how much of that growth was because of people who cared for me.  It fills me with gratitude to think of the numerous people who have supported me.  It also challenges me to be a support for others. 

  

            Eli, a five-year-old girl, allows me to see another stage of life.  In kindergarten, Eli is just beginning to learn how to read.  Every day at seven o'clock this spirited, dramatic and Disney princess loving diva and I work on handwriting and reading.  She can correctly identify all the letters in the alphabet and almost all the sounds they make.  Listening to her read inevitably brings a smile to my face.  Her beginning reading books are about six pages and usually have no more than five words on each page.  However, she treats each book as if it is novel.  When she sits down to read, she releases a heavy sigh as she begins her momentous task.  Sounding out letters isn't a problem for her but combining all the sounds together is something she is working to improve.  She repeats the sounds over and over again.  duh-ah-duh. duh-ah-duh.  duh-ah-duh. duh-ah-duh. Finally, after about seven tries she guesses what the word is.  DAD!  Teaching Eli to read reminds me of the patient people who sat with me as I sounded out letters and tried to form words.  It made me aware of the challenges each stage of life brings.  As we get older, these challenges get harder, but our abilities to handle them are increased so we can aptly face life's obstacles. 

            Every day I am reminded of my teenage years though the life of Tina.  Tina is twelve and proudly calls herself a teenager.  In middle school, Tina is going through a tough stage of making friends, fitting in, and discovering herself.  While a smart and usually obedient girl, Tina is moody and sometimes irritable.  She is the oldest child in the tutoring program and thinks she is cooler than the others.  She commonly asks them, "Are you smart or dumb?" Once answered, she continues to ask them trick questions and gloats when they get them wrong.  Interacting with Tina makes me grateful for my parents and siblings who put up with my attitude and mood swings at this age.  It also lets me know that in every stage in life, there are lessons to be learned and even though life may be hard, the stage will eventually pass.

            When in the presence of Irene, I cannot help but feel that I have much to learn.  In her sixties, Irene is no stranger to struggle.  A San Antonio native, Irene is undoubtedly full of strength and sass.  About a year ago, Irene lost her only son.  Despite this loss, this pain, Irene is full of life.  Having a great outlook on life, when hardships come her way, she accepts them.  She doesn't complain or play the victim seeking sympathy from others.  Nor does she lash out and become bitter because she is hurting.  She acknowledges the situation for what it is, realizes what is within her control and then calmly pursues a logical course of action.  When things don't work out as she may have hoped, she does not despair.  Instead, she finds solace in knowing she tried her best and leaves the rest up to God. 

            These people exemplify only a few of the many stages of life.  As I look at them, I am able to see how far I have come and how far I still need to travel. 

           

Angelique "Jelly" Snyder, Incarnate Word Missionary