This is not Easy
A lot of crappy things here happen on a daily basis, but recently a few things in particular have happened that I feel I simply can't remain silent about. What sparked my desire to write this post happened about a week ago. I think it was a Saturday and I got home to hear my host family talking about something they saw at the beach earlier that day. I wasn't paying attention at first, but then I put the pieces together, and there were five people who got pulled out to sea with nothing but an inflatable and the sun was going down. Ok so maybe the fact that there are strong rip tides here this shouldn't surprise me so much, but what really disturbed me was that everyone just assumed that they all drowned and no one seemed surprised. Furthermore, they were saying that the people were foolish and should have known better.
I don't know about you, but I am not a great swimmer. Also, when you get pulled out you are suppose to swim parallel to shore not perpendicular, which I would never do because I would be desperate to get to shore. I got thinking about times when things like this have happened in the US and you hear in the news how they sent out the coastguard and basically did everything but command the Navy to do a search and rescue (which has probably actually happened). I couldn't believe how little people seemed to value the lives of those poor people. I then got thinking in general about the value of life here. People just don't see each person and someone worthy of love and care and life seems cheap here. High infant mortality, low life expectancy, murder, accidents; it all breads a sort of apathy. I just read that in January alone of this year we had over 700 homicides. To put that into perspective, Detroit, considered one of the most dangerous cities in the US, has a current rate of around 300-400 a year.
I really hate that this is how things are here. Like really hate it. Today I was teaching my kids, and to be honest I was at my wit's end. It seemed like every four seconds one of them was running to me saying "Mira seno..." "Miss Sigourney look, so and so hit me," or "Miss Sigourney so and so...." you get the idea. So I finally sat them down and explained respect to them. I have often taught them to respect me and their other teachers, but I decided it was time they understand that each one of them is also worthy of respect and has a responsibility to respect others as well.
When it comes down to it, I think this is one of the biggest things lacking in the culture here. Many, not all, people seem to lack respect for themselves and for not just the people around them, but also just things in general. It is not uncommon to see my kids spit seeds, do snot rockets, or throw food on the floor inside. The streets here are full of trash. You actually have to be careful when you walk next to buses because it is not uncommon to get hit with trash people are throwing out the windows. There are a ton of teenage pregnancies because girls are not taught that they are worthy of a man that loves and respects them and will stick around if she gets pregnant. The cherry on top, in my opinion, is the insane amount of men who are actually still boys because they have never been taught what it means to be a man and never learn what to expect from others or how to respect those around them.
Wooff. Ok I got that all out. I'm not saying this because I think everyone who reads this needs to be sad and needs to think that my life sucks or anything like that. But what I would love is for you to be praying with me. There are a lot of problems in this country. There are a lot of problems in the world. I know that a lot of these problems are not unique to this country. But all of these problems have a solution. Jesus. That's it. If people really heard and really embraced the gospel there would be such a huge shift it would be amazing.
Saturday I had the opportunity to pray with a friend that I and another friend have been reaching out to to accept Christ. I still have hope. I refuse to let it go. Losing hope is the worst thing we could do. Today after teaching the kids about respect, many of the kids did their homework and for the rest I read a bible story. All of a sudden I found myself surrounded by the kids and they were pointing at the pictures and asking questions and interacting with the story. I. Still. Have. Hope. They want Jesus and I will hold onto this memory dearly for the times that the darkness seems just too dark. John 1 says that, "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it." There is no darkness too dark for Christ's light.
Standing in awe of how much God cares about each and every single person,
Sigourney
I don't know about you, but I am not a great swimmer. Also, when you get pulled out you are suppose to swim parallel to shore not perpendicular, which I would never do because I would be desperate to get to shore. I got thinking about times when things like this have happened in the US and you hear in the news how they sent out the coastguard and basically did everything but command the Navy to do a search and rescue (which has probably actually happened). I couldn't believe how little people seemed to value the lives of those poor people. I then got thinking in general about the value of life here. People just don't see each person and someone worthy of love and care and life seems cheap here. High infant mortality, low life expectancy, murder, accidents; it all breads a sort of apathy. I just read that in January alone of this year we had over 700 homicides. To put that into perspective, Detroit, considered one of the most dangerous cities in the US, has a current rate of around 300-400 a year.
I really hate that this is how things are here. Like really hate it. Today I was teaching my kids, and to be honest I was at my wit's end. It seemed like every four seconds one of them was running to me saying "Mira seno..." "Miss Sigourney look, so and so hit me," or "Miss Sigourney so and so...." you get the idea. So I finally sat them down and explained respect to them. I have often taught them to respect me and their other teachers, but I decided it was time they understand that each one of them is also worthy of respect and has a responsibility to respect others as well.
When it comes down to it, I think this is one of the biggest things lacking in the culture here. Many, not all, people seem to lack respect for themselves and for not just the people around them, but also just things in general. It is not uncommon to see my kids spit seeds, do snot rockets, or throw food on the floor inside. The streets here are full of trash. You actually have to be careful when you walk next to buses because it is not uncommon to get hit with trash people are throwing out the windows. There are a ton of teenage pregnancies because girls are not taught that they are worthy of a man that loves and respects them and will stick around if she gets pregnant. The cherry on top, in my opinion, is the insane amount of men who are actually still boys because they have never been taught what it means to be a man and never learn what to expect from others or how to respect those around them.
Wooff. Ok I got that all out. I'm not saying this because I think everyone who reads this needs to be sad and needs to think that my life sucks or anything like that. But what I would love is for you to be praying with me. There are a lot of problems in this country. There are a lot of problems in the world. I know that a lot of these problems are not unique to this country. But all of these problems have a solution. Jesus. That's it. If people really heard and really embraced the gospel there would be such a huge shift it would be amazing.
Saturday I had the opportunity to pray with a friend that I and another friend have been reaching out to to accept Christ. I still have hope. I refuse to let it go. Losing hope is the worst thing we could do. Today after teaching the kids about respect, many of the kids did their homework and for the rest I read a bible story. All of a sudden I found myself surrounded by the kids and they were pointing at the pictures and asking questions and interacting with the story. I. Still. Have. Hope. They want Jesus and I will hold onto this memory dearly for the times that the darkness seems just too dark. John 1 says that, "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it." There is no darkness too dark for Christ's light.Standing in awe of how much God cares about each and every single person,
Sigourney
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