This headline caught my eye this morning, “Mexico Fights Discarded Gum Problem By Telling People to Swallow It”.
Some interesting things in the article are:
- The average square yard of Mexico City sidewalk has 70 blobs of discarded chew.
- Mexico is responding with innovations ranging from expensive sidewalk steam-cleaners to natural chewing gum that breaks down quickly.
- Modern chewing gum was born in the 1860s when Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna brought some Mexican chicle to U.S. inventor Thomas Adams, who first experimented with it as a possible rubber substitute but later added flavorings and sold it as a treat.
- Mexicans chew an average of 2.6 pounds of gum each year.
- That is half of what Americans chew.
- The Mayans chewed unflavored chicle to clean their teeth.
- Singapore once famously banned chewing gum outright to save its sidewalks, and still requires chewers to register at the pharmacy.
(Source: Fox News); (Image by: 7-how-7 on flickr)
As we get started with 2009, I can’t help but wonder how it can be better than 2008. A lot of great things happened last year, both in the ministry and in our family.
In case you just joined us on our journey here are some personal favorites from 2008.
2008 Highlights
Today is a continuation of Christmas here in Mexico. On the church calendar, it’s epiphany. But in Mexico, it’s more commonly known as “El Dia de los Tres Reyes Magos.”
It’s the day that the Magi arrived to visit baby Jesus. The “three wise men” even have names here: Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar. One of them rides a horse; the other rides a camel; and the other rides an elephant. Of course, they come bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
But for Mexican families, they come bearing presents for the children, too. On the 5th of January, the children write notes to the three kings (Los Tres Reyes) and tie them to helium balloons. Then, when they go to bed, they put their shoes under the Christmas tree (yes, it’s still up), and in the morning, they see what the Three Kings have left for them.
Many families go to the park downtown to get their picture taken with Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar like you would get your picture taken with Santa Claus.
Oh, and of course, there is the Rosca de Reyes, an oval sweetbread, decorated with candied fruit. Each person takes a turn to cut their piece of the bread. Inside the bread, little baby Jesus figurines are hidden. The person who gets the baby Jesus figurine has to host a party for their family and friends on February 2.
So while the rest of the world has moved on and packed away their Christmas things, we are still celebrating the birth of Jesus, thinking about the Magi, and having fun as a family. Happy Dia de los Reyes Magos.
(More information is available here)
(Photos by Christian Frausto Bernal on flickr)
Have you ever thought much about the Magi? They were some pretty interesting characters in the Biblical account of the birth of Christ.
If Herod was really as disturbed as it seems according to Matthew 2, they must have caused quite a stir.
Although traditionally we talk of three wise men, there were probably more. They could have been part of a giant caravan of people traveling through Jerusalem, chasing a strange star. If you have ever taken a group of teenagers on a road trip, you know how much of a hassle it can be to travel in a large group.
Imagine how the palace guard treated this caravan. They probably didn’t receive them with the warm cookies and milk. The Magi might have been lucky to escape with their lives. You just don’t go around asking for the “new” king without causing problems in the current king’s regime.
But these guys had their eyes open and were in tune with God. Herod didn’t have a clue that Jesus had been born until these strangers told him. The Magi, however, had taken the risk to meet the new King. They had ventured into a far away land so they could get a glimpse of what God was doing through the Messiah. And it all happened because they were paying attention to God.
You and I need to have our eyes open and our ears in tune with what God is doing. I don’t want someone showing up on my doorstep because they have seen Him working and I missed it. I want to be paying attention when He is doing something in this world.
Click to enlarge
Happy 2009! We’ve been traveling the last few days, so we didn’t have a chance to post this. Above is a mosaic we made of some of our favorite pictures from 2008. You can click it to enlarge it or view it on flickr.
We included this mosaic in our Christmas newsletter. If you don’t get our newsletter and would like to, please contact us. Either leave a comment on this post or go to our sign up page.
