From San Antonino to New York
April 4th, 2004 by Steven Gabb
We made it home! But, quite honestly, it didn’t feel much like home when we returned. Sarah and I were so excited to come back to our friends and church family in New York. However, after we landed in Newark and were driving up the New Jersey Turnpike past Manhattan on our way to Queens, something was different. We weren’t very excited. Something had changed. That something was us. I’m not trying to be dramatic or cliché-ish, but it’s true. Both Sarah and I felt very uncomfortable and out-of-place for at least a few days and are still adjusting (including our 2-year old Adia who said on 2 occasions in the past week that she wants to go home). After such an amazing experience in a foreign country with unique foods, customs, and people, our outlook on life is different. We have different opinions. We ask different questions about life and culture. We have a better (and more appropriate) outlook on our possessions. We saw some pretty amazing things our last week in Mexico, especially 2 weeks ago on our final Sunday. On that day, we visited 3 pueblos outside of Oaxaca. We met one of our teachers, Javier, in Ocotlan where we visited an historic church and museum. We then traveled to San Martín, a very small pueblo where they carve and paint (incredibly, I might add) animals of many kinds and sizes. Then, we went to Javier’s pueblo, San Antonino. We were welcomed warmly by his family and had an authentic Mexican meal prepared over an outdoor fire pit. We toured this small, country town of about 5000 people in which the horse is still a very popular form of transportation. In this town of many farmers, there are no tractors in San Antonino…burros are used to work the fields. I could go on and on about how things are different in the pueblos of Mexico, but rather, I prefer to tell you what we learned. We learned that most Americans, including ourselves, are quite materialistic. We learned that we take a lot for granted in our country. We learned that you can be very happy without having hot, clean (i.e. drinkable) water every day, among other “necessities”. We learned to recognize what we have and to appreciate these things more.We learned a lot more in Mexico. Before our trip, I considered myself to be a culturally sensitive person. While that may have been true, I grew a lot in this area. I (we) learned to appreciate even more the cultural differences of another race, and embrace those differences. I learned that tomales & hot chili peppers just might be God’s greatest gifts in the food category. Although we always knew it, we finally experienced how people in other countries think differently, act differently, and celebrate differently…and there’s nothing wrong that, just different…or, as I like to look at it, unique and exciting.
While it was difficult to leave Oaxaca, we have adjusted quite well to New York. It helps to be in such a multi-cultural climate with many opportunities to use our Spanish. We have returned to some exciting things here in Queens. Our church, Sure Foundation, is looking to buy the building in which we are currently renting only one of three floors. There are a number of new faces at the church. And, one of my associates, Jon Meier, will leave in May to study Spanish for 2 months in Quito, Ecuador. Most of all, we have returned to an awesome season of the year for Christians…a time when we remember the profound, unbiased love of Jesus who willingly went to the cross and rose from death on Easter Sunday to give all believers the comfort of forgiveness and the exciting anticipation of an afterlife with Him!
This is the final journal entry for our Mexican immersion experience. I enjoyed sharing our lives with you these past four months. Have a blessed Holy Week!
Steven, Sarah, & Adia Gabb
We made it home! But, quite honestly, it didn’t feel much like home when we returned. Sarah and I were so excited to come back to our friends and church family in New York. However, after we landed in Newark and were driving up the New Jersey Turnpike past Manhattan on our way to Queens, something was different. We weren’t very excited. Something had changed. That something was us. I’m not trying to be dramatic or cliché-ish, but it’s true. Both Sarah and I felt very uncomfortable and out-of-place for at least a few days and are still adjusting (including our 2-year old Adia who said on 2 occasions in the past week that she wants to go home). After such an amazing experience in a foreign country with unique foods, customs, and people, our outlook on life is different. We have different opinions. We ask different questions about life and culture. We have a better (and more appropriate) outlook on our possessions. We saw some pretty amazing things our last week in Mexico, especially 2 weeks ago on our final Sunday. On that day, we visited 3 pueblos outside of Oaxaca. We met one of our teachers, Javier, in Ocotlan where we visited an historic church and museum. We then traveled to San Martín, a very small pueblo where they carve and paint (incredibly, I might add) animals of many kinds and sizes. Then, we went to Javier’s pueblo, San Antonino. We were welcomed warmly by his family and had an authentic Mexican meal prepared over an outdoor fire pit. We toured this small, country town of about 5000 people in which the horse is still a very popular form of transportation. In this town of many farmers, there are no tractors in San Antonino…burros are used to work the fields. I could go on and on about how things are different in the pueblos of Mexico, but rather, I prefer to tell you what we learned. We learned that most Americans, including ourselves, are quite materialistic. We learned that we take a lot for granted in our country. We learned that you can be very happy without having hot, clean (i.e. drinkable) water every day, among other “necessities”. We learned to recognize what we have and to appreciate these things more.We learned a lot more in Mexico. Before our trip, I considered myself to be a culturally sensitive person. While that may have been true, I grew a lot in this area. I (we) learned to appreciate even more the cultural differences of another race, and embrace those differences. I learned that tomales & hot chili peppers just might be God’s greatest gifts in the food category. Although we always knew it, we finally experienced how people in other countries think differently, act differently, and celebrate differently…and there’s nothing wrong that, just different…or, as I like to look at it, unique and exciting.
While it was difficult to leave Oaxaca, we have adjusted quite well to New York. It helps to be in such a multi-cultural climate with many opportunities to use our Spanish. We have returned to some exciting things here in Queens. Our church, Sure Foundation, is looking to buy the building in which we are currently renting only one of three floors. There are a number of new faces at the church. And, one of my associates, Jon Meier, will leave in May to study Spanish for 2 months in Quito, Ecuador. Most of all, we have returned to an awesome season of the year for Christians…a time when we remember the profound, unbiased love of Jesus who willingly went to the cross and rose from death on Easter Sunday to give all believers the comfort of forgiveness and the exciting anticipation of an afterlife with Him!
This is the final journal entry for our Mexican immersion experience. I enjoyed sharing our lives with you these past four months. Have a blessed Holy Week!
Steven, Sarah, & Adia Gabb
