reflections on connecting peoples

We always appreciate hearing from past participants once they have returned home and have had a chance to reflect on their experiences here. It is often difficult to know how to connect what one experiences here with his or her life at home. However, through thoughts and memories like these, we are encouraged to think that these experiences are life changing and not something that can be easily forgotten.

"Fourteen U of S Education students, a teacher from Manitoba, and one professor travelled to Guatemala for two weeks on a study tour focused on service based learning. The group was a very dynamic assemblage of people of different ages, bringing many unique experiences and personalities, yet all with a common link to a passion for social and ecological justice. Over the course of two weeks, many laughs were shared and lessons learned about the lives and culture of the Mayan people, as well as some rudimentary Spanish picked up along the way (it is actually "buenas noches" not "nachos" and "disculpeme" not "escuchame"). We learned that chances are you will not, in fact, die when driving in a chicken bus in the mountains, regardless of rain, fog, cliffs, and muddy road conditions, and that at least seven others have gravol or pepto if you just ran out. But beyond the bus drivers strike against dangerous driving conditions, protests in the street, and 16km hikes through the mountains, the experience was rewarding and enlightening and we all agreed that this journey has forever changed us and empowered us to actively influence the students we will teach.

Three principles learned:
1. Language is only one aspect of communication
2. True generosity costs something
3. A small group of motivated people can help change a situation

Fourteen days were spent travelling, learning, discovering, and experiencing a new culture and way of life. The people of Guatemala have an open kindness and generosity that is hard to rival and the memories made and people met have made quite an impact. As sad as it is to see the physical part of this journey end, it is the influence and effects of this experience that will always remain with and influence me. Small changes by a small group of people help make a difference." - Ashlyn, University of Saskatchewan

"It was dark by the time we were taken by Sa’ul to his home. We were led to a door and let into a small clean room with three beds, a cement floor and a single bare lightbulb. It was obvious to myself and the two others staying with me that we were being given the families beds for the night.

I woke up first the next day and met Sa’ul and the rest of his family. His wife was well along in her pregnancy and they had four adorable children, all of whom were of preschool age. I then saw the only other room in their home for the first time. We had been unable to see it when we arrived because of darkness.

It was a small lean-to kitchen with open windows and a dirt floor. The only furniture in the room was a small table with four chairs and a large cement block wood stove in the middle of the room. The walls were blackened with soot and hundreds of corn cobs hung from the rafters to dry. A chicken sat in a wooden box off to the side, clearly at home on her nest.

I realized that this is where this young family had slept for the night, huddled together on the dirt floor around the fire to keep warm while we were given their beds. The community is high in the Guatemalan mountains and gets cool at night, so all of the blankets and pillows had been given to us to keep us warm and comfortable.

It was the most humbling experience of receiving generosity I have experienced in my life. We were then fed a feast of tortillas, tamales, potatoes, beans and eggs for breakfast, a meal three or four times the size of what the family would usually begin its day with. After, as we began to make preparations to leave their home we were thanked for coming to stay with them.

I have come away from these experiences acutely aware of the culture of discontent and concern for wealth that I live in, and am thankful for the example of Mary, who disregarded the sticker price and doused Jesus’s feet with expensive perfume. I am thankful too, for my brothers and sisters in Christ at Lo de Carranza who taught me, through their worship and friendship, how to be truly thankful for all God has given. Most of all I am thankful to Sa’ul and his family who taught me more about hospitality and generosity in one homestay than I would have thought possible." - Jim, Rosthern Junior College

more thoughts on mining

Seeking to understand the perspective of indigenous communities in Guatemala
Nate Howard and David Janzen
09/02/2010
http://ottawa.mcc.org/stories/news/seeking-understand-perspective-communities-san-miguel-guatemala

"In recent weeks we have been visiting communities in and around San Miguel, Guatemala, and have had the opportunity to interview around thirty individuals involved in resisting the Marlin Mine, a large gold mine operated by the Canadian-based company Goldcorp.

Given recent incidents of violence and the international attention the situation has attracted, we have been surprised at the openness with which people have shared with us. Some of what we have heard has been painful and disorienting—indeed, the situation is direr than we had anticipated—and yet, in spite of the fear, violence, and threats faced by local people, we have encountered a profound sense of hope in these communities.

The resistance movement seems to be fundamentally about the freedom to live in community with one another and with creation in a way that is not compatible with the logic of transnational corporations. We do not purport to understand the worldview of the San Miguelense people, but in our many conversations with local people several significant ideas have consistently come through:

(1) Land is both an inheritance to be passed on to future generations, and a gift from God entrusted to a certain group of people. As an inherited gift, land is to be used to support the subsistence and well being of the present and future of the community. To exploit land for purposes beyond this is excessive, thoughtless and unnecessarily destructive.

(2) Environment is inseparable from community. Hence, “contamination” refers to something beyond the measurable negative effects on the land; contamination also includes societal imbalance, a disregard for tradition, and, ultimately, a failure of human communities to assume their role in creation as co-creators and caretakers.

(3) Development occurs when it is spread across the community, not when it is experienced by a small number of individuals, and especially not when it leads to inequality and conflict between people and land.

(4) Community is based on direct relationships of mutual respect between people. Mutual respect implies creating space for each person to voice his or her own perspective. This notion of respect is embodied in Mayan forms of democratic decision-making, which are based not on the rule of the majority but rather on a form of conversation that aims to build community-wide consensus. Stressing the inherent value of land, the importance of tradition, and direct relationships built on respect, these norms are clearly at odds with those of mining companies, which operate on efficiency, hierarchy and, ultimately, economic profit."

Nathaniel Howard has been serving as a community development worker with MCC Guatemala since 2006; David Janzen served in Guatemala through MCC's SALT program in 2008, and is currently pursuing graduate studies at the University of Western Ontario

As with the majority of our groups this year, Enlace spent a week in San Marcos learning about this complex issue and Canada's influence in the region. They also heard a lot about what they (and you!) can do at home, things such as supporting Bill C-300; join the Facebook group "I Support Bill C-300 (the Responsible Mining Bill)" to learn more.

"We have a whole new perspective on multiple things including consumerism, the projects of MCC, wealth disparity, natural disasters, and mining. Ask us about them. We've come home to share with you about things we have experienced first hand, and advocate about issues that have become very dear to us. I encourage you to listen and learn." Enlace 2010 co-leader Hannah

julio y agosto

Lombard Mennonite Church
This was LMC's first experience with the Connecting Peoples program and I'm sure something they will never forget :) After spending a few days getting oriented with the CASAS program in Guatemala City, the 11 youth and 4 adults spent time helping with Tropical storm Agatha clean-up in Santiago Atitlan. They then visited communities in Sibinal, San Marcos and learned about how the issue of migration is affecting that area. The group also had the pleasure of learning what it means to be in the mountains of Guatemala during the rainy season!






ENLACE 2010
http://mccoenlace.blogspot.com/

"Enlace is a Spanish word meaning "to weave together." The Enlace program is about providing 16-19 year olds with the opportunity to grow in faith as global Christians by living in community and working alongside Guatemalan partners."

This year the Enlace group spent time visiting communities in Santiago Atitlan, San Marcos, and various parts of El Salvador. Please read the blog above to hear more about their experience from their own perspective. I, for one, thought it was a fabulous time and especially liked the mini-sticks! :) We were pleased to continue this connection with MCC Ontario for the 5th year in a row - yeah Enlace!