Feliz Navidad

A few years ago, as I was finishing up my BA, I took a Hermeneutics course (course on interpreting the Bible). One of the books I had to read was on Anabaptist Hermeneutics, but it also talked about some of the ¨hermeneutical trends¨in the world and throughout history. One that particularly caught my attention was how the Catholic church started early on to focus on the DEITY of Christ, as well as the Christ CHILD.

I can definitely see this, being here in Ecuador, which is seeped in cultural Catholicism. If you go on to a bus, you will often see the words ¨Niño Divino¨(Divine Child) or there will be a representative picture. People have ¨Niño Divino¨written on their trucks and store fronts or carry around pictures in their pockets.

I remember my frist Christmas in Ecuador I was going to buy little figurines for a Nativity set for a family from the church that had hosted me for a couple of weeks. My Ecuadorian friend who was with me advised against it, however. A lot of Evangelicals here, it seems, frown upon that sort of thing because of the strong Catholic influence and, as my friend said, ¨Jesus didn´t stay a baby.¨

The danger of the emphasis on the Divine Child, the book on hermeneutics that I was reading argues, is that if I believe in the Divine Child, I will most likely be drawn to worship, revere and exonerate Him--but will I FOLLOW Him? How can a mere human be expected to follow in the footsteps of one who is divine? The divide seems to great. And how many adults look to a child to show them how to live?

I think that Evangelicals also fall into a similar trap when we focus on Jesus ¨our Saviour¨but forget that He´s also to be ¨our Lord.¨

So, as we celebrate Christmas, may we remember that we celebrate the birth of our LORD and Saviour, Jesus, who came in the flesh, showed us how to live, and calls people to follow Him. And may we remember that the manger is nothing without the cross and empty tomb.

Merry Christmas!

some pictures...

Here´s a little bit of my first week in pictures...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33448&l=b0ee8&id=641641205

Bienvenidos a Ecuador!

So I arrived safely in Ecuador late Tuesday night. Honestly, I wasn´t prepared for the emotional rollercoaster I´ve been experiencing--one minute glad to be here, the next missing everyone back home horribly! I´m slowly getting adjusted, though, and, especially as I´ve only got a few weeks here in Guayaquil with my friends, I want to be able to enjoy it.

I received some really good news today--I´m not going to be living on the street when I get to Cuenca! There´s a girl who lives there who used to live here in Guayaquil and we went to church together for a little while. Anyways, I got her contact info and she invited me to live with her (she´s alone in a 2-bedroom apartment that´s actually close to where I´ll be working). Thank you God!

Something that you could pray for is my friend Elizabeth´s mom. She was diagnosed with canced a few months ago and, while they did an operation and I think things are improving, it´s (obviously) been really heavy on the whole family.

I was thinking today about how I could share what I´m experiencing for you here in Guayaquil and this is what I came up with:

Smells: dust mixed with oil mixed with the odours of grilled chicken being sold on the side of the street, waftes of pan de yucca (yucca bread) floating by as a vendor tries to sell them on the bus

Sounds: horns honking and motors running at all hours of the day, water running outside as the neighbour handwashes her clothes, the dogs barking up a storm 5 doors down, random firecrackers going off in the middle of the night (in preparation for New Year´s), "TSS TSS" as you walk by a group of men (argh!), "UNIVEEEEERSO!" being called over and over again in the morning as the vendor walks down the street to sell the daily newspaper

Feel: humidity covering you like a blanket, the deliciousness of a cold shower after being out in the heat, the feel of tiny ants crawling all over your skin (at least they don´t bite!), rubbery cheese squeaking between your teeth (I didn´t like it my first year, but now I love it!), banging my head on the top of the bus (some of them are so small that not even I can stand up straight)

Taste: fresh pineapple juice, fresh lemonade, fresh watermelon juice (I love fresh fruit juice, in case you can´t tell!), chussos that you by on the side of the street (skewers with grilled bananas and chicken)

Sights: 3.5 bottles of pop (they´re HUGE!), patches of flowers brightening up the drab dirt, hills off in the distance covered with decrepit shacks that people call home, in contrast the latest mall that could easily compete in North America for its lavishness and extravegance, sun so bright your eyes hurt, going to sleep surrounded in the blue gauze of the mosquito net, the back of my calves COVERED in mosquito bites (I was the unwitting host of a dinner party last night!)

That´s just a hint of what you might experience if you were here.