Sunday is election day here in Mexico. It’s a mid-term election. They aren’t voting for president, but the outcome of the election is very important. You can tell it’s election time because of all of the signs everywhere, but that’s another post.
I saw this article today and posted a translation here.
Here is some of it that I think is interesting:
The Mexican cult of Santa Muerte today asked its followers to go to the polls on July 5, but that they vote for “candidates for the next generation,” that have a democratic vision and respect cultural, social, and religious diversity.
The leader of this religious group, of which it is calculated has more than 5 million members in Mexico, David Romo, read a declaration in the temple in Tepito that exhorted the faithful to vote for those who respect ecology, for those who want to toughen laws, and those who offer equal justice.
Please pray for the elections this Sunday. It’s important the political situation of this country and for the religious situation.
(image by: phxpma)
I tweeted something today that is, unfortunately, very true. “Everyone in Spain is upset right now , everyone in America has no clue why.”
It was because the United States upset Spain in the Confederations Cup semi-finals. While that may not seem like a big deal to you, think about it. Spain was going for their 36th straight win. The United States got into the knock-out round by winning against Egype 3-0 and having Brazil beat the latest World Cup champion Italy team 3-0. The odds were certainly against us. But, the USA did it.
Congratulations to the United States. Let’s see what they can do in the final on Sunday. I wonder if they’ll even show it on TV in the United States.
(image by: mattgerlachphotography on flickr)
Tomorrow is Father’s Day. My friend Mark posted a link to this article yesterday (Dads are Key to Making us Human), and I thought it was worth reading. Here are some things I thought were interesting:
Some 95 percent of male mammals have little to no interaction with their children. Homo sapiens are one of the most notable exceptions, leading some scientists to think fatherhood is an important part of what makes us human.
Even today, in both traditional and industrialized communities, a father’s presence correlates with improved health and decreased child mortality, Geary said.
When children have warm relationships with their father, as well as calm home lives, they tend to sexually mature later. Their bodies intuit they are safe and time is taken perfecting social skills before entering the real world, Geary said. The extra practice gives children a competitive edge. As adults, they are more likely to form secure relationships, achieve stable social standing and become able parents. In this sense, a father who takes care of his children also gives his grandchildren a leg up.
You should read the whole article. It’s really pretty great. If you’re a dad, do your job. It’s important. Have a happy father’s day.
I received an email the other day from a church who was asking some questions about a friend who they were considering to be their pastor.
The email included something that caught my eye. Here is part of the email that I found interesting:
We have a strong and very gifted youth pastor who we all love dearly. We know, some day, he will move on to probably, a pastor position. In your opinion, is (my friend’s name) gifted in the area of mentoring?
This was probably one of the worst things you can write in an email to me. I understand that their question has nothing to do with youth ministry, but the wording of the sentence tells me a lot about their thoughts about youth ministry and youth pastors.
It reads like they think that one day their youth pastor will “grow up” and “move on” to a “real pastor position.” This, in my opinion, reflects the attitude of many when it comes to youth ministry. For many, youth ministry is a stepping stone to “real ministry” or a “real job.” It’s something you do as you wait to mature into a “pastor.”
But youth pastors ARE pastors. We are called by God. We do have responsibilities that require pastoral leadership. We are equal in calling and only subordinate in role. God has called us to pastoral ministry.
I strongly believe that I will be working in youth ministry my whole life. Maybe God will change my understanding of what He has called me to, but please don’t make it sound like I’m just waiting around for a real calling.
(Photo by: Aslan on flickr)
There’s no better cultural experience than going to a national team’s soccer game. So, when I found out that “El Tri,” the other name for the Mexican soccer team, was playing in Estadio Azteca here in Mexico City, I had to find a way to go.
I had been to one of these games before, but it was only a friendly match against the Republic of Congo. This time, it’s a World Cup Qualifier. In other words, this one really counted. Especially since Mexico is on the brink of being left out of next year’s World Cup, something that would be unheard of.
So Hube, Edgar, Paco, and I left from the Seminary at 5:30, thinking that we had plenty of time to get to the stadium. Well, we were wrong. At 8:30, we were exiting off the main road to get to the stadium. We put the radio on and heard the national anthems. We knew we were late.
Then, we heard that the game had started, and Mexico scored a goal in the first minute. We were still in line to find parking. As we pulled up closer to the stadium, we realized that the parking lot to the stadium was closed. So we had to park on the road in front of someone’s house and pay 20 pesos more than we would have paid at the stadium parking lot.
We walked to the stadium entrance, and as we were entering, they informed Huberto that he couldn’t bring in his backpack. So he left it at one of the places where they were selling t-shirts. We got into the stadium to watch the final 5 minutes of the first half.
But the in the last few minutes of the first half, Trinidad and Tobago scored a goal, which made everyone in the stadium upset.
We got to watch the second half from our nose-bleed section seats, which actually weren’t that bad. We saw the “golazo” by Mexico and went home happy with a 2-1 victory and 3 more points for Mexico in their quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup (check the video highlights here).
Leaving where we were parked, none of the four of us who were in the car knew which way to go. We finally made it to a recognizable place, but by now, we were starving, so we had to stop to get some tacos on the way home.
Overall, it was a fun night, despite the 5 or 6 hours we spent in the car in traffic and/or lost in Mexico City. I’m glad we went, and I’m looking forward to August 12 when the United States comes to town to play against Mexico for bragging rights and points towards the World Cup.
This article by an atheist about how Christian missions changes people in Africa really made me think.
The author of the article grew up in Africa and recently returned, saying that “Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa’s biggest problem – the crushing passivity of the people’s mindset.”
Some of his observations are:
The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world – a directness in their dealings with others – that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.
Isn’t that the way it should be? Shouldn’t Christians be different? Shouldn’t we stand out and do things differently?
He goes on to talk about some people he met while he was just there who worked for an NGO but were Christians.
It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work was unconnected with personal faith. Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were. What they were was, in turn, influenced by a conception of man’s place in the Universe that Christianity had taught.
Our work should be affected by who we are. The teachings of Christ are liberating to a mindset that is oppressed and held captive by sin. His influence in our lives should be noticeable. We should stand out, whether our work is secular or not.
Check out the whole article by clicking here. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
(Image by: Edu-tourist on flickr)
