Bethlehem Lutheran Church

On Thursday the 8th, we were privileged to dialog with 3 different speaker.  The first speaker was Fabiolia, a 26-year-old woman from Morelos, recently completed studies as an engineer.  She spoke with us about her political and social activism, and her views about making small changes through relationships and witness.  She also spoke about her experience of Mexico's educational system, and her journey through high school and university.  Her humble, but determined attitude was one that left each of us inspired and hopeful that we too can be part of making little changes.

Later in the afternoon, Javier and Guadalupe, teenagers from here in Cuernavaca, spoke to us about their and their families' experiences with immigration and its impact on their lives, work and family relations.  They also spoke to us about their involvement with a Christian Base Community, through their catholic church.  As they showed pictures of their many activities, we noted so many similarities: retreats, camp, youth gatherings, worship and service work in the local community and throughout the nation.  On Sunday, we will join them for worship and their "youth group" gathering to follow.  Javier and Guadalupe were honest and forthcoming with their opinions and ideas, dispelling stereotypes and asking Bethlehem youth about their own stereotypes and opinions.  Following a lively conversation, we broke bread together (spaghetti) and continued talking about daily life as teenagers.

As small groups gathered that evening, the highlights expressed were centered around Javier and Guadalupe's visit.  The richness built through these conversations are laying the groundwork for future activities and community engagement later in our trip.  Some of the youth, are a bit impatient with the lack of dirtying their hands with immediate projects, but are growing in their understanding of the need to understand, see and build context before doing that which we think Cuernavacans need from us.  The conversation is providing us the chance to hear from the local community what they believe they need and want through our relationship building.

The first morning here, we worked through unfolding the social and political context, the history of Cuernavaca and wider Mexico and the mission and philosophy of Augsburg College here in this community.The pedagogy we are working with here at CGE comes from Christian Base Communities: See --> Reflect --> Act --> Evaluate --> Celebrate ----> See --> Reflect....

Most of our time with CGE will be concentrated in the areas of See and Reflect.  We will move to Act near the final days of our time here, as well as when we enter back into the USA and begin to anticipate our daily lives back in Minneapolis.  Celebration has already come in the form of our small groups' Highs and Lows.  Celebration will continue to be part of our process.  

It is interesting and important to note that CGE's pedagogy mirrors the steps/process of SALLT (service learning model that Bethlehem's student community has adopted and committed to recently): Prepare -- Action -- Reflection -- Celebration.  The preparation, though it began last fall, really takes shape here during these initial dialogues and activities that provide understanding and framework for our continued presence in Mexico.  Each day, we also engage in reflections and process that which we hear, see, taste and touch.

The senses have been very busy, and the youth named some of them yesterday: Laughter, Spanish, Traffic sounds, Tree frog whistles, food cooking, music, bells, Ole"s, dogs, birds, excrement, garbage, exotic fruits, fresh cut flowers, smoke, corn, gas, chicken, compost, pork, fresh rain, fresh baked bread, earth, tar, heat, body odor, a stray dog, shoes, shaking hands, jewelry, produce, soccer jerseys and hugs.

Until next blog,

Mandy