Oaxaca, One More Perspective

My time in Oaxaca was a very eye opening experience. That line is a growing cliche, but you'll have that when you take spoiled Americans, accustomed to electricity, hot showers, and toilets that flush, and drop them in the middle of a trash dump in an underprivileged area of Mexico. The drive there was fun...plenty of cramming in and out of the vehicle at rest stops, but plenty of sleep time within. I have never been farther west in the United States than Illinois, so the massive rolling green mountains were all new to me. When we finally arrived at our camp site, we unpacked, snacked on some bread, and got ready for bed. I had made the mistake of only bringing a pillow (no blankets or sleeping bag), but luckily the family that lived on property had some spare blankets for me so I wasn't too cold. Still, the first night sleep on a table was quite a change from my SelectComfort bed in Ohio (another example of the spoiled American life).

The first morning was rough...I was kindly placed on bathroom cleaning duty. For those that know me, they know I'm a pretty severe germaphobe, but for those that don't know me, you really won't appreciate the toll this job took on me. Plastic dentistry gloves and a doctor's mask really did nothing to mask the scent of an outhouse or block the germs that probably had festered for weeks. Without Ernesto, I could have never gotten through the job...he did quite a bit of the work (but I paid him back when dish-day came, because I'm a master scrubber/cleaner from plenty of work at a restaurant). When the job was done, I washed my hands with bleach twice and went through 1/4 of my Axe bottle trying to remove that deathscent. The rest of the day, I heard plenty of jokes about how I have bathroom duty again the next day with a toothbrush, but I let them roll off, as I knew there was no way I was returning to those three cesspits/pools with intentions to clean. Everyone still tells me that it was a learning experience, but the only thing I learned is that I want to get a 6-dig job so I can pay someone to clean MY bathrooms. A few people were able to snag pictures, but I'm sure my eyes were spitting fire, so I'm sure they won't be happy with them. Angelica's camera actually got wiped by a girl from Oaxaca, so that's one less set of pictures to worry about. Now that I look back on it, I really don't feel better about doing it, but I knew it had to be done and I am glad I did it on a mission, serving God...because if it hadn't been for God, I wouldn't have gone anywhere near.

My actual job on the mission was to follow Adrian around, which I would have really enjoyed (he's a pretty cool guy), but I actually ended up elsewhere. Halfway through the day, I was bored senseless and there was no work to be done, so I took Julie's advice and grabbed a soccer ball and started a game (there was a goal post just behind the main building). My ministry at the house is sports, and my ministry in Oaxaca was the same. I played soccer all day for three straight days. While I wasn't going to stop the game midplay to evangelize, after each game, the boys went with Julie for a time of songs, stories, and crafts. Every day, the numbers seemed to grow as word spread about all-day soccer at the church. There were a few boys 15-16 that played each night (we played until long after the sun went down...the moon was the only light) and I got to know a few of them by go on trips around town with them (in search for more soccer balls after our first two popped). I was able to talk about their lives, my life, etc. and as far as I know, my Spanish made sense to them. The last night, the whole group had a church service, and those guys stayed and watched the whole thing (some of the only locals, and definitely the only males their age). Even after the church service, they went out in front of one of the lights and juggled the ball back and forth in a circle. While I didn't openly evangelize, I was happy to be able to draw more people to the location of the mission, where the other team members did the evangelism.

After returning to softer beds, warmer blankets, less insects, warmer showers, fuller showers, electricity always at hand, my computer, contact with family, contact with friends, flushable toilets, food always at hand, drinks always at hand, running water, and normal life in general, I still look back on my first mission with bright memories. It didn't start as I had pictured it starting, but it definitely finished beautifully with plenty of soccer, souvenirs, and sunny days. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Written by: Zach Gerber - 19 yr. old summer volunteer from Ohio with Fishers of Men