Mexico Mission- Rural Solidarity Day

The alarm, actually some music, went off early. 6:00 a.m. local time, same as Houston. We were told this would be "Rural Solidarity Day" and as such we would be eating the same foods and at the same time Mexican families would be eating. At 6:30 there was hot water for instant coffee or tea and then a breakfast cake before we would be heading out. The team broke out for tasks in several areas. "Builder Bob" Lasalle and I were chosen to work harvesting rocks. There is a mile long dirt road from the "Tree of Life" center to the main road that leads to town. Unfortunately, rain and irrigation has eroded several areas making the travel very bumpy. The missionaries Terry and Muriel Henderson often kid. They say one of the most frequent questions they are asked is, "Why don't you fix the road?" The fact is they work on it often and today was no different. Working in an area where rocks are plentiful, the detail is not all that difficult. Rocks of all sizes are needed meaning there wasn't a lot of thinking to today's task, just stooping. I can tell you fire ant bites in Mexico are just as painful as the ones in Houston. We filled about 5 pick up loads and spread them out in some of the worst pot holes. Rain isn't in the forecast, but we should know how successful our work was when we ride out to town in the coming days.

As an educational ministry, we will learn many skills this week, like making tortillas, and yes it's an art form. It is a skill which young women are required to learn, and there's no question our teachers have had years of experience. After flattening the batter in a tortilla press, we cooked them on a specially made wood stove. The center also is teaching villagers how to make these stoves which are far more efficient than cooking on an open flame. They also are well vented meaning the air in many homes is a lot cleaner. We're told women who often cook in their homes all day, are exposed to smoke equivalent of smoking 10 packs of cigarettes a day, so having a well vented stove is much healthier. But making tortillas was not only "women's work" today, as the guys on the trip each made their own tortilla.

For Rural Solidarity day, the women do "women's work," which started with raking and shoveling up all the "leavings" in the goat pen ... oh yeah! After that, out to the pasture to chop wood for the fire. (Note Melissa Maher with her machete.) Then half of us did laundry the old-fashioned way, with laundry bar soap in a sink with a washboard bottom. One wash, two rinses and then hang things on the clothesline. There's a washer here at the Center, but many women in the small towns still do their laundry in a bucket or a river. The other 3 women sifted soil and added ash to make the solution for the dry-composting toilet. Changing tasks again, a different group of 3 women started digging out a trail that will be filled with sand and gravel. That's when you could really tell who works out ... and who doesn't. Ouch. And Estela who works here at the Center made us all look bad.