I just got back from a "Theology of Social Justice" class at Vintage Faith Church. There was good discussion and one of the facilitators gave a lightning quick history of the nation of Israelfrom its inception. They were birthed in oppression (Egypt) and God used a man (Moses) to lead them out of the oppression so they could become a powerful nation that was different-a model of what a healthy society could be. Instead, in less than a hundred years, this "different" nation was enslaving its own people and treating its weaker citizens cruelly. Despite their legacy, they forgot about justice and mercy, without which they would have never existed. So, God allowed them to be overpowered and they got a taste of their own evil, on the receiving end. This led to great repentance and promises to be good if only they could have a nice life again. So they got to be free again until they forgot and again the powerful Israelites abused and oppressed the helpless ones.
Sounds a lot like modern times to me. We prosper and our prosperity leads to power imbalances which leads to ease of oppression. (In my thinking, power imbalances could just as easily lead to great demonstrations of compassion and generousity. . . but that's a tangent) We the people are enslaved by the search for the American Life and our owners are mortgage companies, Visa, and Social Security. We are enslaved by our need to be perfect or comfortable and our owners are L'oreal and Day Spas and the Doubletree. Or, are our owners the media that tells us to be uncomfortable until we have the perfect complexion or the perfect pair of jeans or the perfect vacation that we "deserve"? And so, in our enslavement we've allowed outside interests to own our energies and our lives, instead of pursuing the things of the Spirit. I'm not saying that specific products or goals are evil. But when Anything causes me to put my needs/wants over the life of any other human being, I need to rethink my priorities.
The irony of being owned by our dissatisfaction is that it permits us to enslave other people. Where else do sweatshops and 11-year old sex slaves, destitute Mexican tomato farmers, and 6-year old cigarette rollers come from? The rights of millions of people to a decent livelihood are consumed by our consumerism.
It is irresponsible for me, for you, for our country to allow the status quo to be an excuse for these evil systems to continue.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor during the 1930s and 1940s said,
"Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility."
He was sent to a concentration camp and eventually executed for attempting (with a group of other people) to assassinate Hitler. Bonhoeffer was willing to take responsibility for his own actions. He knew an evil that was being done and chose not to ignore it ...or to say that he had no idea what to do....or say that it was too large a problem to face. He did what he could with the resources available to him. If more of the churchmembers of his time had been willing to do the same, history would have been incredibly different. The same is true of many other historical agonies. The same is true of today's agonies. IF I'm responsible to do what I can do, I will act however I'm able. (learn, educate others, boycott products and stores, vote, write letters, start small organizations, go on fact-finding vacations, purchase wisely, maintain dissatisfaction for the status quo, pray, etc),
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Musings
Here are some observations and questions from our time in Baja...
Why does food cost the same, or more, in Mexico than in the U.S.? Does this have something to do with NAFTA? Who benefits from trade agreements? Doesn't seem to be the regular people. In 2003 the per capita in come in Mexico was 9,300 per year. In U.S. and Canada, respectively, it was 37,000 and 31,000 per year. At the same time, Mexico's infant mortality rate was 24.9 kids per 1000 live births and U.S. and Canada, respectively were 6.7 and 5.2 deaths per live birth. (http://www.lisproject.org/publications/LISwps/418.pdf) Something's not working, and it isn't the Mexican people who aren't working. The communities we've entered on the Baja peninsula have been full of hard working, family minded people that don't mind helping each other out. Many of the homes have "cottage industries" in front. From taco stands to small hardware stores these people are using their resources to make their living.
Not only are the Mexicans we've met industrious and personable, they care about their communities. Two villages we've visited have had outside interests attempt to enter and take over property in the towns that was dedicated to their fishing occupations. One fishing coop was able to fight the hotel and a huge cruise ship dock that was slated to be built by outside investors. The other fishing coop fought and lost the marina and shipyard plans that are now being built along part the beach where they used to catch lobster.
We don't presume to know all of the variables or solutions in the situations mentioned above but we are committed to making known injustices as we see them. We are also committed to learning about the lives of the people we encounter and seeing them as equal members of our giant community, and taking action if it is appropriate. If any of our readers have relevant verifiable information about Mexico and its economics, we would love to hear your comments.
P.S. just found this in the article I referenced in the first paragraph of this post:
"Poverty is very strongly related to race and ethnicity in the US and to indigenous
status in Mexico. In the US, racial stigma and racial segregation continue to
affect the African American population, with seriously harmful results. In
Mexico, the indigenous population is isolated by geography, language, and
education level, and presents a serious challenge for poverty alleviation efforts.
Both countries need to be vigorous in combating discrimination and in making
opportunities available for the disadvantaged." This is a very good study and comparative analysis of the causes/indicators of poverty in the U.S. and in Mexico. It has many eye-opening statistics as well.
Why does food cost the same, or more, in Mexico than in the U.S.? Does this have something to do with NAFTA? Who benefits from trade agreements? Doesn't seem to be the regular people. In 2003 the per capita in come in Mexico was 9,300 per year. In U.S. and Canada, respectively, it was 37,000 and 31,000 per year. At the same time, Mexico's infant mortality rate was 24.9 kids per 1000 live births and U.S. and Canada, respectively were 6.7 and 5.2 deaths per live birth. (http://www.lisproject.org/publications/LISwps/418.pdf) Something's not working, and it isn't the Mexican people who aren't working. The communities we've entered on the Baja peninsula have been full of hard working, family minded people that don't mind helping each other out. Many of the homes have "cottage industries" in front. From taco stands to small hardware stores these people are using their resources to make their living.
Not only are the Mexicans we've met industrious and personable, they care about their communities. Two villages we've visited have had outside interests attempt to enter and take over property in the towns that was dedicated to their fishing occupations. One fishing coop was able to fight the hotel and a huge cruise ship dock that was slated to be built by outside investors. The other fishing coop fought and lost the marina and shipyard plans that are now being built along part the beach where they used to catch lobster.
We don't presume to know all of the variables or solutions in the situations mentioned above but we are committed to making known injustices as we see them. We are also committed to learning about the lives of the people we encounter and seeing them as equal members of our giant community, and taking action if it is appropriate. If any of our readers have relevant verifiable information about Mexico and its economics, we would love to hear your comments.
P.S. just found this in the article I referenced in the first paragraph of this post:
"Poverty is very strongly related to race and ethnicity in the US and to indigenous
status in Mexico. In the US, racial stigma and racial segregation continue to
affect the African American population, with seriously harmful results. In
Mexico, the indigenous population is isolated by geography, language, and
education level, and presents a serious challenge for poverty alleviation efforts.
Both countries need to be vigorous in combating discrimination and in making
opportunities available for the disadvantaged." This is a very good study and comparative analysis of the causes/indicators of poverty in the U.S. and in Mexico. It has many eye-opening statistics as well.
In the U.S.
We have been back in the U.S. for about 2 weeks. We
got a ride in a car with local friends in Abre, then
took a bus, a taxi, another bus, another taxi, and
then a rental car (26 hours total) to get back to
Santa Cruz from Abreojos. It was kind of weird to
have taken 2 months to get from Santa Cruz to Abreojos
and then be back in a relatively quick manner. We
have spent the last couple of weeks with family and
are currently in Kansas for another couple of days.
After this, we fly back to San Jose and Brian will be
in Santa Cruz till around January 15th when he will
head down to the boat while I stick around for another
week or two to work in even more visiting and detail
arranging (like filing taxes).
got a ride in a car with local friends in Abre, then
took a bus, a taxi, another bus, another taxi, and
then a rental car (26 hours total) to get back to
Santa Cruz from Abreojos. It was kind of weird to
have taken 2 months to get from Santa Cruz to Abreojos
and then be back in a relatively quick manner. We
have spent the last couple of weeks with family and
are currently in Kansas for another couple of days.
After this, we fly back to San Jose and Brian will be
in Santa Cruz till around January 15th when he will
head down to the boat while I stick around for another
week or two to work in even more visiting and detail
arranging (like filing taxes).
Have a happy New Year and may we all be so overwhelmed
with God's Grace in its many forms that we can't help
spreading it to people around us.
Brian and Megan
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Dolphins
This is our favorite Dolphin picture. The water was soooo glassy (translate: zero wind) we could see the dolphins long after they surfaced and dove.
Punta Blanca-an attempt to get a shot of a perfect little wave. Also, the spot where we traded a 2liter bottle of Pepsi for 3 tasty lobsters eaten at our Thanksgiving meal. View the panga (fishing boat) next to our boat.
Punta Maria-where we met Fernanda and her family at her 4th birthday party. That's here with the cake on her face :)
Erica, Joe, and Grace with Brian in Abreojos.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Students
One thing that kept recurring for us was the need to learn and ask questions. We found almost every person we met was a teacher in some way. We have constantly been in a state of receiving from strangers (and friends) since we left. Most people were happy to teach us Spanish words and wait patiently for us to describe something we didn't have sufficient vocabulary for. People spoke slowly and filled in words or corrections as we were speaking. We've improved at Spanish and have a long way to go.
Pasale
Often before I could knock at a house I would hear "Pasale" through the screen door and see someone inside gesturing to come in.
One beautiful aspect of the culture was the welcome we felt to come in for a visit. It was humbling to experience the generosity of people who had enough to live comfortable but who had fewer things in their homes than we have packed in to our boat. We were welcome to whatever food they were eating and always took time to sit and visit and tell us about their town or their families(Olivia sent home a whole plate of fresh clam cakes-like crab cakes- for me to have since Brian was visiting alone--Yummmy) or their hobbies (Rigo, the abalone diver, raises fighting cocks! I learned a lot about that sport.) We felt challenged by their kindness and willingness to give a ride or advice or help with Nomad. It was a wonderful gift to not be treated as outsiders or as rich Americans to be taken advantage of. We have gained true friends in Baja because they accept us as we are. This is a valuable lesson we want to emulate with everyone we meet in the rest of our travels.
This example of community hit home especially because we've both finished reading a book called "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger." I highly recommend it! It talks about many things but one of the points is that if churches or groups truly were functioning communities they would use fewer resources, meet more needs within the community, and be able to share love more genuinely outside of their community. A few different real life examples were described of people living simply, looking out for each other, and loving God. We found that that the small Mexican villages we visited looked more like true communities than most places we know of in the U.S. Whether this has to do with fewer material possessions or less media impact, or a different culture, we don't know, but we plan to begin incorporating these principles into our lifestyle and our future.
So, continue to be students of people we meet, Nomad, and each other. It's always new whether we're figuring out our SSB radio, finding a store that sells a part we need, or trying to figure out our future as a couple.
Pasale
Often before I could knock at a house I would hear "Pasale" through the screen door and see someone inside gesturing to come in.
One beautiful aspect of the culture was the welcome we felt to come in for a visit. It was humbling to experience the generosity of people who had enough to live comfortable but who had fewer things in their homes than we have packed in to our boat. We were welcome to whatever food they were eating and always took time to sit and visit and tell us about their town or their families(Olivia sent home a whole plate of fresh clam cakes-like crab cakes- for me to have since Brian was visiting alone--Yummmy) or their hobbies (Rigo, the abalone diver, raises fighting cocks! I learned a lot about that sport.) We felt challenged by their kindness and willingness to give a ride or advice or help with Nomad. It was a wonderful gift to not be treated as outsiders or as rich Americans to be taken advantage of. We have gained true friends in Baja because they accept us as we are. This is a valuable lesson we want to emulate with everyone we meet in the rest of our travels.
This example of community hit home especially because we've both finished reading a book called "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger." I highly recommend it! It talks about many things but one of the points is that if churches or groups truly were functioning communities they would use fewer resources, meet more needs within the community, and be able to share love more genuinely outside of their community. A few different real life examples were described of people living simply, looking out for each other, and loving God. We found that that the small Mexican villages we visited looked more like true communities than most places we know of in the U.S. Whether this has to do with fewer material possessions or less media impact, or a different culture, we don't know, but we plan to begin incorporating these principles into our lifestyle and our future.
So, continue to be students of people we meet, Nomad, and each other. It's always new whether we're figuring out our SSB radio, finding a store that sells a part we need, or trying to figure out our future as a couple.
We're Back
Our return trip began with a one hour drive by Manuel and Tita from Abreojos to the military checkpoint outside of St. Ignacio. At the checkpoint, Manuel saw our bus pulled over for soldiers to check luggage for drugs and weapons. He ran over and asked the driver if we could get on so we didn't have to continue to St. Ignacio and wait for the next bus. We got on and stood for about half an hour until some passengers got off. Total trip lasted from about 5pm to 5am when we arrived in Tijuana. Unfortunately, our cash was gone and noone took visa for our next leg. So, we paid a driver 20$ US to drive us about 4 blocks to an ATM and then back to the bus station. Hopped on the next bus to Long Beach; caught another cab to John Wayne Airport and picked up our rental car and headed to Santa Cruz in a Prius. (28 hour trip from start to finish)
Miss Green made it back to the US too! Tucked safely in Brians jacket, they didn't even ask for her passport at the border.
I have been busy making Christmas presents and visiting my sister and beautiful niece! Brian went straight to work with his buddy Eddie. Gotta add to the bank account somehow. Cruising is cheap (once you're away from West Marine), it's the trips home that we have to save up for.
Miss Green made it back to the US too! Tucked safely in Brians jacket, they didn't even ask for her passport at the border.
I have been busy making Christmas presents and visiting my sister and beautiful niece! Brian went straight to work with his buddy Eddie. Gotta add to the bank account somehow. Cruising is cheap (once you're away from West Marine), it's the trips home that we have to save up for.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Jumping Ship
Hi all. The last week was pretty eventful. Our crew
jumped from 3 to 6 in the space of a few hours. Last
week we were at the island of Cedros (didn't even get
it on the yotreps it was so crazy) moving our boat and
trying to make sure that the onshore wind wasn't going
to blow us on land. Luckily we speak Spanish enough to
get permission to anchor in the fishing harbor in
between crab pots and protected from wind waves (still
windy). We got situated in the harbor and had another
sailboat tied up to us since it was such tight
quarters and they had less experience. It was a
polish couple that windsurf, conscientious and
friendly. We ended up getting tacos with them in town
(our first restaurant in Mexico) and coming back to
bed around 9pm. Right around midnight we heard a
commotion and looked out to see another sailboat
directly next to us and I heard a woman's voice
yelling "Deyess it's Grace" I recognized the voice as
a friend of Deyess' that we'd met about a month ago.
What was she doing on Cedros in the middle of the
night? Next thing we heard is a man's voice
announcing to us that he was going to raft up (tie up)
on our Other side. This is a tricky maneuver any
time, especially in the middle of the night. It was
clear very quickly that they were not in good control
of the boat and at one point as I went to fend them
off, Grace leaned over the side of her boat and
whispered, "they've been drinking, we need to get off
this boat!!" Not what we wanted to hear since it was
being driven by one of the drinkers at the moment.
The short version of the story is that despite the
fact that they drove directly at our boat and drove
over our anchor line several times they only bent a
stanchion which will only need minor repairs and they
ended up anchoring 30 feet away and not tying up to
us. Deyess went and got Grace (a ucsc grad that is
levelheaded and outgoing) to visit our boat. Turns
out there were two other people that wanted to abandon
the ship because the captain and his friend were
angry, violent drunks. All three (including the
captain's girlfriend Erica were scared) We got them
off of the boat throughout the night and after Erica
made over, we left the anchorage at 4am so as to avoid
any interactions with the captain when he woke up with
a giant hangover and only one crew member.We had
perfect escape weather and all were relieved and
smiling again. It was truly a storybook story. What
are the odds Grace would be on the boat and recognize
us? She only knew we were somewhere in Mexico! The
amazing coincidences that ended up having us be there
are too numerous to go in to right now, but it truly
is a miracle. For example, the captain thought they
were pulling in to a bay on the west coast of Baja
when really he was pulling in to a harbor on the south
east side of an island over 50 miles to the north
west.So we had Grace, Erica (the captain's now
ex-girlfriend), and Joe, a father of twin boys who was
crewing to get some experience so that he could take
his family sailing someday. WE had them aboard and
then on land at Ron and Ruth's house in Abreojos.
They have all left for either home or other adventures
leaving us with some mellow time with Ron and Ruth and
Genevieve. We'll be leaving the boat securely attached
to the bottom of the bay here (the fishermen will help
us strategically lay down 3 anchors tomorrow) and
under the watchful eyes of some locals that are
friends. In the next few days we'll head north in a
car (gonna rent one) toward Santa Cruz. Brian and Megan
jumped from 3 to 6 in the space of a few hours. Last
week we were at the island of Cedros (didn't even get
it on the yotreps it was so crazy) moving our boat and
trying to make sure that the onshore wind wasn't going
to blow us on land. Luckily we speak Spanish enough to
get permission to anchor in the fishing harbor in
between crab pots and protected from wind waves (still
windy). We got situated in the harbor and had another
sailboat tied up to us since it was such tight
quarters and they had less experience. It was a
polish couple that windsurf, conscientious and
friendly. We ended up getting tacos with them in town
(our first restaurant in Mexico) and coming back to
bed around 9pm. Right around midnight we heard a
commotion and looked out to see another sailboat
directly next to us and I heard a woman's voice
yelling "Deyess it's Grace" I recognized the voice as
a friend of Deyess' that we'd met about a month ago.
What was she doing on Cedros in the middle of the
night? Next thing we heard is a man's voice
announcing to us that he was going to raft up (tie up)
on our Other side. This is a tricky maneuver any
time, especially in the middle of the night. It was
clear very quickly that they were not in good control
of the boat and at one point as I went to fend them
off, Grace leaned over the side of her boat and
whispered, "they've been drinking, we need to get off
this boat!!" Not what we wanted to hear since it was
being driven by one of the drinkers at the moment.
The short version of the story is that despite the
fact that they drove directly at our boat and drove
over our anchor line several times they only bent a
stanchion which will only need minor repairs and they
ended up anchoring 30 feet away and not tying up to
us. Deyess went and got Grace (a ucsc grad that is
levelheaded and outgoing) to visit our boat. Turns
out there were two other people that wanted to abandon
the ship because the captain and his friend were
angry, violent drunks. All three (including the
captain's girlfriend Erica were scared) We got them
off of the boat throughout the night and after Erica
made over, we left the anchorage at 4am so as to avoid
any interactions with the captain when he woke up with
a giant hangover and only one crew member.We had
perfect escape weather and all were relieved and
smiling again. It was truly a storybook story. What
are the odds Grace would be on the boat and recognize
us? She only knew we were somewhere in Mexico! The
amazing coincidences that ended up having us be there
are too numerous to go in to right now, but it truly
is a miracle. For example, the captain thought they
were pulling in to a bay on the west coast of Baja
when really he was pulling in to a harbor on the south
east side of an island over 50 miles to the north
west.So we had Grace, Erica (the captain's now
ex-girlfriend), and Joe, a father of twin boys who was
crewing to get some experience so that he could take
his family sailing someday. WE had them aboard and
then on land at Ron and Ruth's house in Abreojos.
They have all left for either home or other adventures
leaving us with some mellow time with Ron and Ruth and
Genevieve. We'll be leaving the boat securely attached
to the bottom of the bay here (the fishermen will help
us strategically lay down 3 anchors tomorrow) and
under the watchful eyes of some locals that are
friends. In the next few days we'll head north in a
car (gonna rent one) toward Santa Cruz. Brian and Megan
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