July 24, 2005

Images of Cuernavaca

by Julianne Stokstad

(Click on highlighted text or thumbnail images to view full-size pictures. For many more wonderful pictures of the kids we are helping in Cuernavaca, click here.)
 

We are more aware than ever these days that we live in a hurting and broken world. We live in a world shattered by fear and reality of terrible random acts of violence. We live in a world where diseases like AIDS ravage women and children in places like Africa, and threats of new pandemics put fear in our hearts. We live in a polluted world, in a world where cancer strikes randomly. We live in a world where political and economic oppression create terrible injustice, poverty and despair. I wonder sometimes if it is possible for such a broken world as ours to ever become whole?

Frederick Buechner says "Jesus saw the world not just in terms of brokenness --- a patchwork of light and dark, calling forth in us now our light, now our dark --- but in terms of the ultimate mystery of God's presence buried in it like a treasure in a field." Jesus taught us that wholeness and holiness are possible, here and now.

Three quarters of his teachings in the gospels deal with the Kingdom of God or Heaven. Jesus is not referring to afterlife as this teaching has been erroneously been understood, but to life lived in the present with awareness of the holy, healing and transforming in our own experience of life. The Kingdom he speaks of is not a place but an awareness in our mind and condition of our heart. It is a life lived as if God was in charge of the world, hopeful even as we are aware of the sin and brokenness in us.

So what does this Kingdom of God look like? We need images of the Kingdom of God to inspire us and to help us recognize it when it is in front of us. Like prophets before him, Jesus uses only parables to tell about it. His parables speak to common ordinary folk ---- farmers, merchants, fishermen, women. His Kingdom metaphors --- hidden treasure, a precious pearl, a tiny seed, yeast --- all work to point our minds from specifics to the infinite. Whatever the Kingdom is like it is surprising and yet found in ordinary places. Like a seed, it is characterized by slow organic growth, it demands careful watchfulness because it is hidden and it is precious beyond all calculations. But the Kingdom is accessible anywhere, anytime, to anyone. It is found in soup kitchens or at our work. It is there for anyone who intentionally enters into Christ's reconciling work.

So Bob and I went to Cuernavaca to see the work of EDFK that this church is so passionate about, to have our hearts opened and converted and to learn about the spirit of the poor which is to say, we went with the hope of seeing the Kingdom of God. Let me share with you a few glimpses of what I saw.

We stayed at a beautiful Benedictine Retreat Center in Cuernavaca. All our needs were met, our meals fresh and delicious and safe. Our accommodations were lovely. The center was peaceful; there seemed little place for worries or concerns. We prayed three times a day with the sisters and I think all of us found the sisters themselves very inspirational models. They said they welcomed us as Christ and very soon, but I noticed they were the Christ-like ones.

It was through that I saw my first glimpse of the Kingdom. Our group was visiting the beautiful Cathedral of Cuernavaca. As we were standing outside hearing the history from Sister Fabiola, I noticed a boy; a child street vendor with necklaces strung up his arm had attached himself to our group. Very soon Sister Rosanna walked over to the boy and engaged him in conversation. I saw the gentleness and compassion of their conversation. They laughed and conversed quite a time through it all I saw in her eyes great love and respect for this boy as she drew him out. Later I asked her about him. He told her he has two younger sisters, his brother died, so now he doesn't go to school because he has to help earn money for the family. His family speaks Nahuatl, the indigenous language at home. Rosanna and he were laughing about her mistakes in the language. Their conversation opened my eyes and I looked at the young street vendors differently from then on. The small seed of respect and kindness planted will, when properly nurtured, grow and mature into a tree of support within the community.

My second image is from , the barrio in Cuernavaca where the poorest of the poor live. The residents just took over the land, built their residences with what they could find, twenty years ago. Originally there was no water or electricity. They've got these for themselves as well as sewers, but everyone knows the government could come in at any time and flatten everything as they are just squatters. Here Sister Fabiola said "there is no justice for the poor." Here there were no tourists and I felt as conspicuous as a green Martian. We visited four homes of women the sisters know.

In one, a young woman had a and we brought a bag full of supplies to her. I loved the way the baby smiled at me when I pulled out a container of baby powder. Several things stood out: the homes were very clean, even if there was a dirt floor; the people could not have been more gracious and always insisted on sharing with us what they had; there were no able-bodied men as everyone's father, brother, uncle, son was in the U.S. This is the other side of all the workers we see at Home Depot. The generosity I saw extended to us and others made me think of the yeast of kindness kneaded into the bread of community.

My third image is of from Co-op Ruben Jaramillo. This co-op began with fifteen ladies in 1987. The sisters and Bill and Patty Coleman motivated and helped them become organized. The idea first came from the women at a Base Community meeting, reflecting on scripture. Over time, the women got land and everyone helped build a building. At first, some of the husbands were adamantly opposed (this is a great understatement) but the women wanted to earn extra money for the care and schooling of their children. How much I could identify with their passion and admire their courage. They help each other out sharing a little money or a food basket, they share the work and the profits and I don't know if you can see the powerful spirit of empowerment in these women. They and their children will never be the same, ever, and most of the men go along with this now. I see their empowerment as a precious pearl of unestimable value.

The challenge is to keep our eyes and hearts open. Clearly a trip of perspective helps us to see differently. These brief glimpses surprised and jolted me in ways I had not expected. I saw the Kingdom of God is like a seed of hope planted among some women who came together, helped each other out and now have a successful business. I saw the Kingdom of God is like the bread of human kindness and generosity of sharing in community. I saw the Kingdom of God is like the respect given to each child if they must help out with family earning. I saw in the bright eyes of the in the VAMOS project the hope of a better life by staying in school.

What, I wondered, keeps us from seeing the Kingdom of God? I saw down in Mexico how distractions keep us worrying about trivial things. Our translator said she was spending so much time fussing with her hair, that she shaved her head to stop that. Recognizing what blocks and blinds us from our mission rips away distractions and allows us to see what is really important, helping others. If we make a difference in one life, so one child can be healthy and strong, then our life has been worth it. We have so much. I believe it is our job to help others, that's why we're here on earth.

Jesus asked his disciples, "did you understand?" and got blank looks. Paul says in Romans, there is nothing that can come between us and the love of Jesus Christ. Nothing. Look now at a few minutes of images from Cuernavaca. Look at the children fed by our EDFK project. Look and see if you can catch a glimpse of the Kingdom of God!