SHINE ON!

Ok, so the theme for the summer is SHINE, not shrink. This is based off a medley of things:
-Matthew 5: ¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
-"Shine On" by Needtobreathe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqPGbGUlcjY
-Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
-quote by Marianne Williamson:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Now is the time to shine! What if we really embraced the fact that we are created to shine, what then would be our excuse for not?! Exactly, there is none. Instead of shrinking in to familiarity, complacency, and comfort let us blaze through our families, friends, communities, and even nations to catch others on fire as well. As bugs are attracted to a simple lightbulb, we are attracted my more to the Ultimate Source of Light and the One Who Shines the Brightest. In Revelation 21 or 22, it John receives a revolutionary vision that we will no longer have the need for lights other than God because He will shine brightly enough (not just enough, but more than we could ever need or desire). Also, Jesus teaches us how to pray by saying "on earth as it is in heaven" ... so connect the dots! We can be that by letting our lights shine! How are you changing your city or people you come into contact with? This is not rhetorical: I want to know! When I come back from Mexico, what if I came back to a North Carolina, a Chapel Hill, a Raleigh different than I ever had known?

I was a bit uncomfortable in El Gusano for a few days because I felt ambiguous, nebulous, and hazy (the opposite of light, which illuminates and provides clarity). I am really trying to break into the group of muchachos (or boys my age) here and become friends with them. They are very solemn and proud to desconocidos (people they do not know). But this is where I am weakest, how can I be expressive, on-fire Jacob without being able to have easy conversation? Then I remembered, fire does not choose where it goes ... it blazes through wherever without asking questions or second-guessing itself. Light does not wait to feel completely comfortable to invade the darkness, it simply does at the fastest speed we can fathom!

Shine On!
Jacob

We are now in El Gusano! But I am actually in Dolores Hidalgo for the day to buy some stuff for the center. Dolores Hidalgo is the city of Mexican Independence from Spain. The priest, Miguel Hildalgo, shouted from the cathedral VIVA MEXICO! (long live Mexico) and called his laity to fight for independence.

Since the last time we talked much fun stuff has happened!
-played soccer at Ibero University with Kike! so much fun, but I was definitely not used to the altitude, so it was really hard to keep running without subs
-went to a concert in opposition to the Arizona law ... lots of funny roqueros (rocker kids). I had no idea that the law was getting international responses.
-it is day 3 in the communities, last night we got invited to Doña Cata s house for a catholic ceremony. they rocked a baby doll in a blanket, who was supposed to represent baby Jesus. It was to remind us why the Jesus came and the story of his coming. It was really cool experiencing the ceremony and Christianity in a different manner. Im hoping this will open the doors to talk about spiritual things with them. We at tomales (corn, meat, milk all ground up and then cooked in corn ears. we also had atole (ground up corn, sugar, chocolate, and cinnamon). This just reminded me of how important corn is to the rural Mexican communities, so it got me frustrated again that the US inadvertantly destroyed the corn market in Mexico by subsidizing American corn.
-Im staying with Don Jesus Garcia and Doña Matilde Alvarez. They have 11 children, some of whom have their own grandchildren). 11 is sort of large, but not outrageous for a number of kids. They have their own plot of land that they share with a few sons who live on the land with their families. I am staying in the house of one of their sons that is in the United States, Javier. Don Jesus loves to talk! Whenever I am on my way out of their plot of land with all their houses, he always asks me to stop and platicar (chat). Sometimes I do, and I love it. We talk about life and how he likes to live. He has been to the State of Mexico (yes, there is also a state in Mexico called Mexico) and he has been to Tamaulipas (where I used to go with Grace and where God developed my heart for Mexico and its issues and novelties). He said that he did not like living there and much preferred to live with his whole family where "podemos compartir todo entre nosotros" (we can share everything among eachother). I really want to live like this ... with family in friends all in the same place where the collective matters more than the individual. It reminded me a lot of days out in Knightdale where we could run up to Grandma and Papas really easily. And a lot of people in the town are related, so as Lupe (an amazing woman) told us, you never have to worry when you step outside because everyone is either you "hermano, primo, tio, sobrino, nuero, o quien sea" (brother, cousin, uncle, nephew, son-in-law, or whoever). I am going to have to write later specifically about Lupe ... so get ready!

-yesterday: complete 180
I wanted to come home because I had no idea what we were doing here and I didnt feel like I am in any place to offer assistance to the residents of El Gusano, but then I realized that they are offering me so much as well. I have to remember to SHINE, not shrink! I am going to learn about their lives here, about tending to animals (hopefully), about rural Mexican living (maybe a possible magazine title like "Southern Living"), practice my Spanish, and basically be part of their community. In return I am bringing some capital into the community in the form of paying to stay with my awesome hosts and also by teaching them some computer skills and doing some handicrafts with the younger students. For computer skills, which they already have computers, we are going to show them how to use excel, word, and powerpoint, so that one day when they get internet, theyll be able to go to highschool and even university online!!! how awesome is that! To the younger kids, they already have fun, so we are just going to try and do fun activities with them: arts and crafts, movie nights, Kaylee and I are going to try and do some mini-gymnastics classes because self-confidence really develops in ALL kids when they learn how to do something new! We are going to paint some of the grey walls to add some color to the town and also clear out this ditch that would allow for better water flow instead of in clogging up! I just have to remind myself that it is Day 3 of 40-something, so we have lots of time to get to know everyone and accomplish our tasks.

theme for the summer: SHINE, not shrink! I am going to write a separate blog about this one too!

love

Mexico thus far!

Hello everyone! This is the first of hopefully many blogs for the summer :) We arrived safely in Mexico City and went straight to Puebla (a city about an hour away from D.F.) and we went to eat dinner at a tacos arabes (arab tacos). They are like normal tacos except you put strained cheese, a bacon type of meat, and onions. SOO Good! We are eating a lot of good food here. Then we went out to a cantina and a mariachi band came by ... it was so much fun. Our hostal isnt anything to write home about, so ill skip it.

The next day we wake up, and I went for a run around the city. I only went for about 15 minutes, but it was still fun to go. Then we went on a tour of the city of Puebla on a touristy bus ... that was OK, but I just listened to my iPod and looked over the side (because it was a double decker). Then we went and ate chilaquiles verdes at a nice restaurant, which is like fried tortilla, salsa verde (green sauce), shreaded chicken and cheese ... my favorite Mexican dish! We went to go for pasitas which are like gourmet shots that you sip slowly. I got a lime flavored one and it was really suave (smoothe). Then we saw IRON MAN DOS! It was a great movie and we also got Krispy Kreme donas (doughnuts). I asked Colleen (newest member of Project Guanajuato) if she forgot that she was in Mexico and she said yes! haha I did too.

Yesterday, we checked out of the hostal and headed for Cholula, a small town outside of Puebla, where one of Miguels friends lives. We visited some churches and visited the huge pyramid that is the base of the whole town. Once the Spanish came, they built a cathedral on the top of the pyramid and the rest of the town started to develop on top of the pyramid. Last night we went to a house party with some other Americans from Boston, French, Mexicans, and others. We had a lot of fun because there were so many languages all over the place!

Now we are up to date! We just woke up today and chilled at a friends house and now we are heading to Mexico City to meet up with the rest of our crew!