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We stayed in the homes of families living in the neighbourhoods where we would be working. Some were Christian families but many were not. They were simply friends of the Isaaks who wanted to host some Canadians. Our witness became the way in which we responded to life in a new culture and language while interacting with our hosts. In turn, they taught us a lot about hospitality and generosity.
On one occasion, two of our students were each given a beautiful, hand-woven blanket as a parting gift. Already surprised, they were overwhelmed when their hosts began looking around the room and apologizing that they had nothing else to give. We wondered what our homes would look like if we gave away some of our belongings each time we had guests stay with us.
A positive aspect of our daily schedule was the diversity of the work we did. Our tasks included playing sports with local youths; children's activities, including games, face painting, balloon animals, singing and Bible stories; drama and music; participation in church services and small groups; and a bit of construction work. All of these activities gave us broad exposure to the kinds of work missionaries do to meet needs and reach people. As Canadians, we often drew a crowd, which gave opportunity for people in the church to meet some new neighbours.
On the other hand, the language barrier was a constant source of frustration. Eight hours of Spanish lessons allowed us to sing, act and converse in only the simplest of ways. Flexibility in our daily schedule, a big part of the Mexican culture, was another source of irritation to our over-organized lives.
One of the biggest surprises came after an eight-hour bus trip south to the state of Oaxaca. The next day we travelled two hours further in the back of a covered truck to a Triqui village some 9,000 feet up in the mountains. We arrived to see women dressed in beautifully woven, traditional ponchos and men hard at work, shovels in hand, building a new municipal building. We had come to celebrate with Claude Goode (Franconian Mennonite Conference) and other missionaries, the culmination of 30 years of translating the New Testament into the Triqui dialect. This was the day the Bible would be presented to the community.
The event attracted believers from many surrounding villages and took place, typically, several hours after it was scheduled to start. As we waited, we observed and asked questions of the missionaries. When the celebration began, we took pictures and were even invited to sing one of our Spanish songs as each of the other church groups did. The event closed with an excellent feast of roast bull. This was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event.
While the three weeks in Mexico City were only a part of the larger Discovery Team experience, they were definitely the high point.
Daryl and Lisa Kutz
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