Day 27:
I am thankful for having a very full life...and for having the opportunity in my younger days to help build a church in the small town of Tihosuco, Mexico, located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Tihosuco was a prosperous Spanish settlement that was destroyed in the fighting with the Mayans during the Caste War (1847-1901). Its Franciscan Church-Convent, the Church of the Divine Child, overgrown by jungle until the 1930's when two families undertook the restoration of colonial buildings, including the church, in the town. This church, as it is now, is spectacular in its own way and there is nothing quite like it in all of Mexico.
The old church is an amazing building, beyond beautiful despite its disrepair. However, the local residents needed a meeting place that was not so exposed to the elements, a house of worship where they could comfortably gather despite weather or time of day. A group of Americans, myself included, got the chance to spend part of a summer building such a place for this welcoming community.
I do not consider myself a religious person, but spiritual, yes. There is no way to deny that there are "Powers that Be" after spending time with people who live in such poverty and still have such passion for life and faith that God is watching over them. It is a feeling I will carry forever.
Learning to sleep in a hammock, pee in a bucket, and go without a shower forever was an eye opener. But perhaps my best memory was after a long day, our crew would "dress" for the evening in this dusty town. The girls wore skirts and the boys wore dress pants. We played baseball in the town square with the local kids and sat on the curbs as we ate dinner. We were dirty, sweaty, worn out from the day of work, our skin worn thin by the exposure to the lime, but there was something incredibly rejuvenating hearing the local guitar music and Spanish songs...a community celebrating the close of each day with song and prayer and gratitude.
I am thankful for having a very full life...and for having the opportunity in my younger days to help build a church in the small town of Tihosuco, Mexico, located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Tihosuco was a prosperous Spanish settlement that was destroyed in the fighting with the Mayans during the Caste War (1847-1901). Its Franciscan Church-Convent, the Church of the Divine Child, overgrown by jungle until the 1930's when two families undertook the restoration of colonial buildings, including the church, in the town. This church, as it is now, is spectacular in its own way and there is nothing quite like it in all of Mexico.
The old church is an amazing building, beyond beautiful despite its disrepair. However, the local residents needed a meeting place that was not so exposed to the elements, a house of worship where they could comfortably gather despite weather or time of day. A group of Americans, myself included, got the chance to spend part of a summer building such a place for this welcoming community.
I do not consider myself a religious person, but spiritual, yes. There is no way to deny that there are "Powers that Be" after spending time with people who live in such poverty and still have such passion for life and faith that God is watching over them. It is a feeling I will carry forever.
Learning to sleep in a hammock, pee in a bucket, and go without a shower forever was an eye opener. But perhaps my best memory was after a long day, our crew would "dress" for the evening in this dusty town. The girls wore skirts and the boys wore dress pants. We played baseball in the town square with the local kids and sat on the curbs as we ate dinner. We were dirty, sweaty, worn out from the day of work, our skin worn thin by the exposure to the lime, but there was something incredibly rejuvenating hearing the local guitar music and Spanish songs...a community celebrating the close of each day with song and prayer and gratitude.
RSS Feed