Felipe

We were at a prayer meeting in a town called Atizapan a few weeks ago. While we were there we met a man named Felipe. He is single and lives in the unfinished church building. We were told that he has lived there for a year now, ever since the church was robbed. They were robbed shortly after fundraising for sound equipment and other supplies that help them minister in their area. This was very upsetting for the people at the Atizapan church and so Felipe decided that the church needed someone to stand on guard and that person was him. Just like that he left his bed, privacy, comfort of his stuff. Before you get the wrong idea let me be clear the church is a plain Mexican building with cement floors, no window coverings no soft pews, no cappuccino bar, toilets that can handle flushing paper or any of the extras we tend to have in Canada. The problem is that last Friday he fell 15 feet to the floor of the construction sight that he was helping work on. The Atizapan church has been in constant construction mode for the last 10 years. They do not have bank accounts to draw on to pay for the renovations so instead as money comes in or when missions teams come down from Canada they get a chance to build a bit more. This accident has left Felipe in a wheel chair until his leg heals. Felipe told a group of us that he was awoken the other night (remember he sleeps in their unfinished church building) around 3 am by three young men that were checking out the place to attempt to rob it. This was worrisome for me because I instantly thought how on earth would he defined himself? I was inspired by his commitment and drive. His actions certainly spoke loud and clear what he held dear, what he valued most. Do you think the things you value most are that obvious to the world around you? I had to ask myself if I were in his shoes, single and living on my own would I be willing to give it all up to guard my church's equipment?
I love meeting inspiring people like Felipe they remind me how important it is to share our stories with one another in the hopes of them encouraging a friend, a brother , a sister to step out to whatever it might be they are being called to do. It also reminded me of the sermon on the mount when Jesus talks about what we treasure.
Matthew 6:21
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Luke 12:34
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Dia de Los muertos o Halloween

“La Calavera tiene hambre
no hay un huesito por ahí
no se lo coman todo
déjenos las mitad.

La calavera quiere cenar
Cinco de dulce,
Cinco de sal.
This is a song some if the children sing when going door to door. It says "my pumpkin is hungry do you not have something to feed him? He will eat something sweet or a little of salt"
The children can sometimes go around for a few days. We were told the first day it is for candy and later on they go out agin and ask for spare change or money.

Here is some more facts I found out I will paste them below :)
Halloween From Around the World
Halloween in Mexico

In Mexico they have picnic lunches on the graves of their relatives. As this is a day of remembrance, happiness and celebration.
They bake bread and make candy in the shape of skull and crossbones, a casket, or a skeleton.

The children run through the streets with lanterns and ask for coins.

People light bonfires, set off firecrackers, and hang lanterns on trees to guide the souls of the dead home.

In Mexico All Saints' Day is devoted to Los angelitos - that is, all the dead children. This is a prelude to November 2's Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, a national holiday on which all the grown-up ghosts will be arriving in full force. The littler ghosts get a head start. To help them find their way back to the homes where they once lived, parents and still-living family members often shoot off firecrackers. In some parts of the country on this night they strew a path of flower petals from the graveyard to the front porch.

Mexico's Dia de los Muertos Day of the Dead calls for happy all day picnics beside the graves of dead relatives. At home, people assemble little altars called ofrendas, stocked with the departed loved ones favorite foods and drinks, their photos, and other memories, as well as candles and pungent marigolds, a flower long associated with death.

The Mexican custom of Erecting Day of the Dead altars has caught on north of the border, where the altars serve as the focus of ancestor rituals and memorials.

In Mexico October 27 is the Feast of the Holy Souls or Fiesta de las Santas Animas, families begin the fiesta by cleaning their relatives' graves and adorning them with pine needles and flowers. The families assemble a temporary altar near the gravesite, stocking the altars with candles and all kinds of foods such as meat, beans, chilies, salt, tortillas, fruit and sometimes alcohol. Each person in the family then takes turns in talking to the departed spirit, offering it the food and assuring it that it is loved. The ceremonies go on for several days, as every family has more than one grave to attend to.

It has been quite the experience living in the midst of all this. I find the traditions of hanging out in the grave yards interesting it is like the fear we have in North America is not there or their fear of death. I heard yesterday that the average Mexican prides themselves on laughing in the face of death. We even saw a dance performance the other night and the words to the song were exactly that. I hope that the friends and neighbours we have net will be open to our convictions on the topic of death. And we will be able to share exactly why we too are not afraid of death because of our saving faith in Christ.