Jim
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Mostly about April travels
This past Saturday we went to Puebla. Puebla is a huge city, very unlike either Cuernavaca or Mexico City. For one thing, they have a lot of very wide streets. That sounds great, except that the streets usually have no visible lanes (unless you squint), which means that the actual number of lanes will vary from lots of very skinny ones to… well, one car swerving all over the place.
We had a long-overdue visit with some Canadian friends of ours, the Chapples. Somehow it’s nice to stay in a house where there’s a toy snowmobile lying around. (Note: sometimes I explain people’s nationality by their passport, sometimes by where they grew up, sometimes where they live … often those are all different things! And probably are in this case.)
The Chapples were very hospitable and we heard a little about what’s going on in Puebla, and the work they’ve been involved in in various parts of Mexico (Bible training is a big part of that right now). We also got to know their kids, who are bigger than they were (actually, the youngest one was completely new to us!).
On Sunday morning we had an interesting experience attending an "International Church" – in this case, the service was in English and Spanish. It’s strange hearing a sermon in English, but it was translated so we caught most of it. 😉 Actually, the pastor was from southern Ontario.
Then we went and hung out with Americans, Mexicans, Costa Ricans, and so on, at the farewell party for our field director and his wife, Jim and Cheryl Eberline. Jim and Cheryl have been such an encouragement and help in the little time we’ve known them – they will be missed (and after the party they know it for sure)! They’re heading to Uruguay in a few months’ time.
We cam home yesterday.
Tomorrow, I’m going to be going to Ixtapaluca (one of two possible places we may be moving to, the other being Texcoco) to hang out with the Fry family to see what’s going on there. We’ll be working with the Frys if we’re in that area. Lord willing we’ll be able to get our families together again soon, and soon after we’ll be deciding where we’re moving to. It’s always great to see the Frys!
On Saturday we’re going into Mexico City to see our friends Antoñio and Becky, and their daughter. We might even sing at their worship service on Sunday. (The new song? Mmmmm… let’s not rush that one!) We don’t get together with their family enough, but we’re students and he’s a pastor… not exactly multitudes of free time.
There are lots of other non-travel related things going on. I haven’t told you about the costumes we’re supposed to come up with for Hannah and Nathanael’s school for Mother’s Day (May 10)… that is a good part time job in itself. And the school explained the last detail of what they’re supposed to wear – all we have to do is actually make the costumes (or have someone make them?)!
That’s just a glimpse into what’s going on this month. The main thing is – we keep studying, and talking, and listening, and reading, and writing, and hoping that soon our Spanish will be good enough for the school and our leaders so that we can actually get ready to move. How do you say move in Spanish again?
Flintstone Vitamins
Did you have Flintstone vitamins when you were a child? I did. They’re still around, of course.
In Mexico, the Flintstones are still in reruns and are known as Los Picapiedra, starring Pedro and Vilma (Fred and Wilma). Not too long ago, Shari bought some Flintstone vitamins for Hannah and Nathanael.
 Pictured: Non-spicy Flintstone Vitamins |
Now, let’s back up a little. Nathanael and Hannah have a tendency to call anything with a strong flavour "pica". Pica or picante means spicy-hot.
Now our kids sometimes eat things that are spicy-hot, and sometimes don’t. Depends on their mood, I guess. But they also sometimes don’t like to eat things that simply have a strong flavour. Lately Nathanael seems more sensitive to things like that – not sure why.
So, back to the Flintstones. These were new vitamins for them, and they complained that they were pica. No, we told them, they’re not "pica". Eventually we found Nathanael just wouldn’t eat them, but Hannah did, so they got all used up except one.
By mistake Shari had bought vitamins that were supposed to be taken in 2s (it was a mistake because these are quite a bit more expensive). So with only 1 vitamin left, I volunteered to eat it so that they could move on to the new vitamins that are taken in 1s.
You guessed it. They really were spicy hot. Not just a little, either. It was pretty obvious.
That’s Mexico for you – pica tacos, pica candy, pica chewing gum… and pica children’s chewable vitamins.
Maybe I should start taking Flintstone vitamins again…
La-la in translation
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In a burst of complete recklessness, I translated one of my songs. It was kind of like a butcher deciding suddenly to perform brain surgery.
The trick with translating songs is that it’s impossible to translate them literally, which means you need to think in Spanish, and understand the music and flow of the language itself. As you may have guessed, I’m not exactly a Spanish genius.
Nevertheless, I gave it a go. I was a little reluctant still, because I didn’t want to render the song totally useless for the future because of my hacking and smashing.
Then, Thursday night, in an act of unprecedented boldness, prepared to look foolish, I took my guitar to a Bible study and … asked for help.
I learned all the words for "rough draft" "experiment" and "pretty bad" and asked if the group would offer some suggestions.
It went better than I expected. There were a few grammatical errors, minor ones. Of course, I have no idea if it meant what I wanted it to mean, or if it sounded totally amateurish (of course, since it probably sounds that way in English too, I suppose that would be a sign of a good translation!).
My friends asked when I was going to sing it in a worship service… well, I think I’d better run it by some more people first. But for your info, here’s the chorus. If you have heard my songs, you may even be able to guess which one it is:
De gracia daremos también
Ni abandonado ni encarcelado
Seguimos El que da amor
You may see some mistakes yourself, if you speak the language! Let me know.
Ah, when you’re learning a language you look pretty silly sometimes. But sometimes you just need to make some music…
Johnny Appleseed – the missionary?
Johnny Appleseed is a name that you’ve probably heard a lot. I know I have. That’s why I set out to learn a little more – you know, beyond the apples.
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Johnny Appleseed’s real name was John Chapman. He was born in the USA – well, what was to become the USA, in 1774. Chapman was a pioneer, who, of course, grew apple trees. Actually, he planted nurseries far and wide, hoping that they would provide food so that people would not have to go hungry. He would travel back to care for and prune the trees, and sell the trees or tracts of land, or give them away. You might call him an itinerant land developer.
But Chapman was driven not only by environmentalism or concern for the poor. He was actually a missionary for the Church of the New Jerusalem, or Swedenborgianism.
Swedenborgianism was fairly new at this time, having come to the new world from England. The movement was based on the works of Emanuel Swedenborg of Sweden.
In spite of the biblical sounding name of "church", the organization (still alive today, though small) is a long way off from traditional Christian beliefs. Instead of teaching that we are saved by grace through Jesus, the teaching is that we are saved by belief and a life of good works (one church website writes,"God does not judge us, but we judge ourselves by what we love and how we live. People of every faith are saved if they live sincerely according to their religion.").
There is no Trinity, except for a trinity of being that exists in Jesus alone. Jesus is not going to return suddenly – actually, he has come, or is in the process of coming. There is no Satan as the Bible teaches – all evil comes from humanity. Several books of the Bible are rejected – sometimes Swedenborg’s works are considered to be Scripture themselves. Either way, the followers of Swedenborg believe that the Bible can be "properly" understood through his teachings.
The teachings of the movement were mystical – that is, you can’t simply understand Scripture by reading – there is a deeper, spiritual meaning that must be seen through Swedenborg’s writings. This is why "true" Christianity was lost for so many years.
Chapman was a missionary for the Church of the New Jerusalem. He carried with him materials by Swedenborg, and handed out literature whenever he could. He shared these beliefs with people as often as he could on the frontier. His opening line when coming to stay with a settler was "Would you like to hear some news right fresh from heaven?"
How successful was Johnny Appleseed in spreading these beliefs? Well, we do know that the movement grew for some time, though it was never a large organization. In the later 1800s there was a lot of controversy over how authoritative Swedenborg’s writings were. The controversy was to split the people and begin an overall decline.
In spite of Johnny Appleseed’s rejection of many biblical teachings, he did accept and live by many that led many to admire him. Chapman was concerned for the poor. He did not accumulate wealth for himself (often dressing in the worst rags), but gave what he could to those in need. His concern for the environment and desire to develop it to help others left a rich heritage. Many of the orchards he planted have survived to this day (and are worth millions). He had a deep concern for animals, even insects.
I would have to argue that his care for others (above himself) and the environment are very biblical ideas (Leviticus 19:18; Proverbs 12:10; Gen 2:15; Psalm 107:27-31). However, his rejection of the God who has shown Himself in that Creation, and in the Bible, was tragic. No matter how noble our lives may be, we cannot find true peace if we reject the peace God offers (1Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 5:1).
Man cannot live by bread alone – or apples – but by every word that comes from God’s mouth (see Matthew 4:4).
The last 90 days’ most popular posts (31 Mar ’08)
Here they are at the end of another month. The ones in bold are winners two months in a row:
- Holiday activities (in pictures)
- Family update and community challenges (podcast)
- Shari on Canada
- What the World Eats
- Amy and Nate are engaged! (and getting married in July – can you believe it?)
- The tax man adds it all together (ouch)
- Bless this pet
- Moon eclipse from Cuernavaca
- Sunday and the week ahead (podcast)
- What about the change? A Mexican nightmare