Here is the link to Saturday and Sunday pictures:
Saturday and Sunday pictures
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Can I See Some Identification?
When I was 11 years old my grandparents offered to take me to Florida with them. I had never been on a vacation before, and the idea of traveling was a completely foreign concept to me. I was so excited for the experience you would have thought that the back seat of that Buick was actually a rocket ship heading to the moon.
I sat, impatiently, listing off the the things that I was excited to experience for the first time. Chief among them was seeing my first palm tree.
"Now, don't get your hopes up too high." My grandmother chided. "It's not like the moment we cross the state line some palm tree is just going to be waiting for you. We are still pretty far north."
She was wrong.
In the distance, as we approached the "Welcome to Florida" billboard, I could see it- a beautiful and majestic palm tree; surely planted by some state employee who had no inclination that his handywork would serve as fodder for the largest and loudest "I TOLD YOU SO" the American South had heard in sometime.
In much the same way, you could notice a distinct change as soon as we crossed the U.S./Mexico boarder yesterday. In a moment I had crossed over from "this side" to "that side". The identities of everything from the roads to the people had suddenly morphed and became, in a word, foreign.
I was reflecting on this as we traversed back to the north to visit the boarder wall today. Distinctions between opposing sides become hyper realized when they are separated by a 30 foot metal barrier. It seems that making distinctions between two groups is the new great American pastime. These days you have to be a Republican or Democrat, gay or straight, for black lives or blue lives, and of course, legal or illegal (God, I hate that word).
In reality, these distinctions we give ourselves are false labels that distort our true identities as Children of God- brothers and sisters of the same divine Father.
Thomas Merton says "Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self. This is the man that I want myself to be but who cannot exist, because God doesn't know anything about him...We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves."
And so, my hope for everyone on this trip, for everyone back home, is that we find the moral fortitude, the strength of character, and a true understanding of our eternal identities to the tear down the hollow walls the separate us, the structures that blind us, and replace them with an understanding that my identity, and yours, can never be defined by something so basic as who is on "this side" or "that side" of a wall.
I sat, impatiently, listing off the the things that I was excited to experience for the first time. Chief among them was seeing my first palm tree.
"Now, don't get your hopes up too high." My grandmother chided. "It's not like the moment we cross the state line some palm tree is just going to be waiting for you. We are still pretty far north."
She was wrong.
In the distance, as we approached the "Welcome to Florida" billboard, I could see it- a beautiful and majestic palm tree; surely planted by some state employee who had no inclination that his handywork would serve as fodder for the largest and loudest "I TOLD YOU SO" the American South had heard in sometime.
In much the same way, you could notice a distinct change as soon as we crossed the U.S./Mexico boarder yesterday. In a moment I had crossed over from "this side" to "that side". The identities of everything from the roads to the people had suddenly morphed and became, in a word, foreign.
I was reflecting on this as we traversed back to the north to visit the boarder wall today. Distinctions between opposing sides become hyper realized when they are separated by a 30 foot metal barrier. It seems that making distinctions between two groups is the new great American pastime. These days you have to be a Republican or Democrat, gay or straight, for black lives or blue lives, and of course, legal or illegal (God, I hate that word).
In reality, these distinctions we give ourselves are false labels that distort our true identities as Children of God- brothers and sisters of the same divine Father.
Thomas Merton says "Every one of us is shadowed by an illusory person: a false self. This is the man that I want myself to be but who cannot exist, because God doesn't know anything about him...We are not very good at recognizing illusions, least of all the ones we cherish about ourselves."
And so, my hope for everyone on this trip, for everyone back home, is that we find the moral fortitude, the strength of character, and a true understanding of our eternal identities to the tear down the hollow walls the separate us, the structures that blind us, and replace them with an understanding that my identity, and yours, can never be defined by something so basic as who is on "this side" or "that side" of a wall.
Busy Day!
Hi everyone! My name is Emily Velichka and I am a junior student at the College of Wooster. This is my second time on the trip to Tijuana.
Today we had a busy day! This morning, I was fortunate to attend a Catholic mass at a church down the street from the posada where we stay. As I am Catholic myself, but speak little to no Spanish, it was very interesting to follow the order of Mass I am typically accustomed to, but in a different language! My knowledge of prayers and responses was definitely tested throughout the service, but it was powerful to receive Holy Communion in a church so different from my own.
Next, we traveled to the border wall. However, this time felt a bit different than the previous year. The wall is painted a bit differently, but the main difference was in the overall atmosphere of the boardwalk. I saw several families communicating through the wall, with children bringing small gifts to their family members on the other side. A typical greeting between these people is to touch pinkies, and this sign is actually displayed as a small mural on a section of the wall itself. The most powerful part of this trip segment was a portion of a church service we were invited to participate in. As a group, we walked to the wall and were invited to stand across from someone on the other side. As a large, collective group, we then prayed together for a solution to be found regarding the wall and all it brings to our two nations. During this time, I felt an immense amount of emotion that I'm not sure I can quite put into words, but know I will take this feeling with me to put all of myself into our work this week as well as when I return home.
After this, we went to Revolution street, where we enjoyed a rooftop lunch complete with a scerenade from a mariachi band! We then enjoyed some time to shop around afterwards. Bartering with the shop owners is always an interesting experience, and this time was no different!
Finally, a small group of us traveled to the Cultural Center of Tijuana to end our day. This was my first time going to the center, and it was interesting to learn more about Mexican history as we typically just learn the basics throughout our own history classes.
Today has been a long day filled with many emotions, but it was a great way to enter in to the rest of our week! I'm looking forward to starting our first work day tomorrow, and know the rest of this trip will be just as fun as today!
Today we had a busy day! This morning, I was fortunate to attend a Catholic mass at a church down the street from the posada where we stay. As I am Catholic myself, but speak little to no Spanish, it was very interesting to follow the order of Mass I am typically accustomed to, but in a different language! My knowledge of prayers and responses was definitely tested throughout the service, but it was powerful to receive Holy Communion in a church so different from my own.
Next, we traveled to the border wall. However, this time felt a bit different than the previous year. The wall is painted a bit differently, but the main difference was in the overall atmosphere of the boardwalk. I saw several families communicating through the wall, with children bringing small gifts to their family members on the other side. A typical greeting between these people is to touch pinkies, and this sign is actually displayed as a small mural on a section of the wall itself. The most powerful part of this trip segment was a portion of a church service we were invited to participate in. As a group, we walked to the wall and were invited to stand across from someone on the other side. As a large, collective group, we then prayed together for a solution to be found regarding the wall and all it brings to our two nations. During this time, I felt an immense amount of emotion that I'm not sure I can quite put into words, but know I will take this feeling with me to put all of myself into our work this week as well as when I return home.
After this, we went to Revolution street, where we enjoyed a rooftop lunch complete with a scerenade from a mariachi band! We then enjoyed some time to shop around afterwards. Bartering with the shop owners is always an interesting experience, and this time was no different!
Finally, a small group of us traveled to the Cultural Center of Tijuana to end our day. This was my first time going to the center, and it was interesting to learn more about Mexican history as we typically just learn the basics throughout our own history classes.
Today has been a long day filled with many emotions, but it was a great way to enter in to the rest of our week! I'm looking forward to starting our first work day tomorrow, and know the rest of this trip will be just as fun as today!
Sunday Morning Reflections from John Muskopf
I finished my blog last year mentioning the fact the I can see the development of a middle class here in Tijuana. That was evident again last night during our visit to Rosarito for shopping and dinner. The traffic was busy and the club scene was hopping. We wandered down to the beach, and there were numerous bands playing, people riding horses through the edge of the surf, and a spirit of excitement and enthusiasm in the air. We heard one band member announce that "Trump Sucks," through the microphone to cheers from the crowd but other than that we observed no hostility toward Americans (like us). We heard live music and voices coming from somewhere in the neighborhood until about 4:30 in the morning.
The weather here is fantastic as usual. The native plants in the garden the staff planted have grown huge and you can see and hear a variety of birds among them. The fountain was flowing and it was neat to see a large crow drinking from the top of it, followed by several hummingbirds that took turns taking dips or drinks. The hummingbirds were smaller than the crow's head.
Some of our group went out for a breakfast of Birria (possibly misspelled) a beef dish, or will be going to mass at the Catholic Church within walking distance of the compound where we stay. We've met a few students from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and are excited to get the week started.
The weather here is fantastic as usual. The native plants in the garden the staff planted have grown huge and you can see and hear a variety of birds among them. The fountain was flowing and it was neat to see a large crow drinking from the top of it, followed by several hummingbirds that took turns taking dips or drinks. The hummingbirds were smaller than the crow's head.
Some of our group went out for a breakfast of Birria (possibly misspelled) a beef dish, or will be going to mass at the Catholic Church within walking distance of the compound where we stay. We've met a few students from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and are excited to get the week started.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation:
everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2
Corinthians 5:17
Last year I didn’t get to come to Esperanza so this year so
many things struck me as being new even though I am one of the veteran members
of the group. I first came to Tijuana in
2004 and I haven’t missed many years. Some years I came two or three times.
Yes! So many things
strike me as being new!
·
We saw new crossing gates to enter Mexico.
·
We saw new highway interchanges.
·
We have new hardwood laminate on the floors in
our bedrooms.
·
Rosalinda who was 4years old on my first trip is
due to have a new baby while we are here.
Everything new is popping up this year. And still all the old things that I hold dear
in my memory are here too.
·
The warmth of the sun on my face after a long Ohio
winter.
·
The smell of the marine layer as it billows in
off the Pacific.
·
The traffic—oh my! Tijuana!
·
The sounds of music, dogs barking, children
playing, etc.
Yes there are still plenty of the old memories that are
still with me. I also hold dear the
memories of people who came on past trips and are no longer with us in this
earthly realm. I’ve thought of Clete who
would rate the speed bumps according to pucker power. And Ellen who would wash every plate in the
kitchen upon arrival because they were dusty.
I think of some of the hard workers of the past Dean, Jim, Charlie, and
Mike. I think of Blanca who came even as
she was dying of pancreatic cancer. The
old has passed away.
I think of the new…new generations. Hannah will soon begin
as a long term volunteer. She will be
the 4th from our Ohio groups following Heidi, Rena and Ryan. How will these new experiences shape her
life? Time will tell.
As the week continues I look forward to meeting more old
friends and making many more new ones as well.
Joyce Schroer
We have arrived!
This is Phil Starr writing tonight - at this point it is 8:30 pm Tijuana time and we are all pretty tired.
Most of us got up at 2:00 am so we could meet up at the College of Wooster at 3:30 am.
I want to thank Ella Franklin, Chris Merek and Kevin Jewell for taking us to the Cleveland airport. Both flights were very good today and on time! (If you remember from last year our initial flight was delayed - so our group ended up flying on three separate flights and crossing into Mexico after dark).
We had lunch at Inn and Out Burger and crossed into Tijuana around 2:00 pm. My initial thoughts about the landscape is that it pretty much looks the same as it did last year. Still quite a difference between San Diego and Tijuana. There is probably a little less trash along the sides of the road and there appears to be more traffic.
We arrived at the Posada around 2:30. Everything is much greener than in Ohio and the Posada is looking very good.
We did grocery shopping and headed to Rosarito to shop and have dinner at El Nido's. Their food continues to be outstanding!
Below is a picture of the water fountain in the outside courtyard at the Posada.
Most of us got up at 2:00 am so we could meet up at the College of Wooster at 3:30 am.
I want to thank Ella Franklin, Chris Merek and Kevin Jewell for taking us to the Cleveland airport. Both flights were very good today and on time! (If you remember from last year our initial flight was delayed - so our group ended up flying on three separate flights and crossing into Mexico after dark).
We had lunch at Inn and Out Burger and crossed into Tijuana around 2:00 pm. My initial thoughts about the landscape is that it pretty much looks the same as it did last year. Still quite a difference between San Diego and Tijuana. There is probably a little less trash along the sides of the road and there appears to be more traffic.
We arrived at the Posada around 2:30. Everything is much greener than in Ohio and the Posada is looking very good.
We did grocery shopping and headed to Rosarito to shop and have dinner at El Nido's. Their food continues to be outstanding!
Below is a picture of the water fountain in the outside courtyard at the Posada.
We are all looking forward to a great week! Temps are supposed to be in the low 80s for our work days.
Phil Starr
Sunday, March 5, 2017
Upcoming Esperanza Mission Trip
We are less than a week away from our joint Esperanza Mission trip to Tijuana Mexico with Trinity and the College of Wooster. This year we have 13 people going on the trip - 10 have gone on previous trips and it will be the first time for 3.
This is probably my 15th trip and I am really looking forward to it again. We work for an organization - Esperanza International. Here is a link to their website:
http://www.esperanzaint.org/
We hope that you follow us on the trip with this blog. Here is a link to last years blog which includes a bunch of pictures:
http://esperanzamission2016.blogspot.com/
Phil Starr
This is probably my 15th trip and I am really looking forward to it again. We work for an organization - Esperanza International. Here is a link to their website:
http://www.esperanzaint.org/
We hope that you follow us on the trip with this blog. Here is a link to last years blog which includes a bunch of pictures:
http://esperanzamission2016.blogspot.com/
Phil Starr
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