As I walked up to the shack I wondered. It was a warm sunny February morning and I had to climb up a couple levels of tires stacked to provide a type of retaining wall for the sand that had been leveled out to provide a place for her new home. Taking those steps I wondered what the week held in store for us, I wondered about who this family was and I wondered how we would connect. As we introduced ourselves to Deborah and her family I tried to contemplate life from her perspective at this very moment. She lives in a small (maybe 12x15’) two room shack that has a single twin bed with a small ajoining room where you access the toilet through the door in one corner and her kitchen outside consists of two cement blocks for a stove. Ten years ago she moved from the interior of Mexico to Anapra to get one of the coveted jobs at a local factory and then three years into the job she was struck by a car and injured to the point where she couldn’t work at the factory anymore and was replaced. Now she makes money by selling simple meals to other working families in her arid neighborhood. She cooks those meals on a piece of metal placed on top of the cement blocks over a fire made from cornhusks and old two by fours. Through the week she made us two fantastic meals in her kitchen and it is apparent why her neighbors would purchase prepared food from her. The kitchen uses two walls from the house and the other two walls are made from what appears to be old wooden garage doors and these same door-like pieces are laid across the top of the primitive structure for a roof. Inside she starts a fire and is inundated by the smoke that escapes through a four-inch space in the roof. It is here that she makes her living and also cooks for her family. For five years in this place she has tried to eek out a living to provide for her family since she is the sole breadwinner. Deborah was a bit reluctant to speak about her husband that abandoned then many years ago with much other than upturned hands, a shrug and some tears.
To Be Continued ...
3 comments:
How was the trip? Good, I hope. I almost called you to ask you to be an adult leader on a trip I'm helping lead to New Jersey next week with Campus Ministry, but I figured you'd be a little ravel-worn after Mexico. And in a completely unrelated matter I'll probably call you within the next day or two to ask you about being a reference. Glad you're home safe!
You are one great story teller! Deborah is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Thank you for the opportunity to go on this trip yet again!
OK__post the rest!! Can't wait to read it! Those boots are hilarious!
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