“I live each
day to kill death,
I die each
day to beget life…”
- Julia Esquivel (1930 – 2019)
I had the good fortune of knowing Julia Esquivel many years ago when, due to death threats in her home country of Guatemala, she lived for several years in Mexico. I wrote the refrain above, taken from her book of prayer/poetry “Threatened with Resurrection,” on the front page of my Bible. I tried to live by that motto then; and I like to think that Mission Mexico tries to live by that motto now.
Here in the mountains of Mexico, we are about halfway through the rainy season. Poor families spread over 700 indigenous villages from three different cultures (Naa´savi, Me’phaa, Nahuatl) have been planting their corn, beans, squash, etc. The hope is that enough food can be harvested to make it through to the next growing season. Some years that hope is realized; some years it’s not.
Summer is also the time when young people prepare to
begin a new school year—if they are able to study. There are few educational
opportunities here in the mountains, so most young people have to move to an
urban area to pursue higher-level studies. Such a move involves tuition, rent,
travel, food, books, etc. The cost of that education simply leaves thousands of
young people with only the dream of someday being a “professional”—be that doctor,
nurse, teacher, lawyer, accountant, nutritionist, agronomist, etc.
Two of the largest projects supported by Mission Mexico here are related to education. One is the Champagnat High School of the Mountain, a school that can receive about 240 students a year—140 living in residence, and 100 living in the village of Potoichan or nearby. The school was built (with help from Mission Mexico) for impoverished indigenous students from areas where there is no high school. Many of the students do not speak great Spanish when they finish junior high school, so it is almost impossible for them to pass the entrance exam for a “normal” high school. The Champagnat High School, run by Mexican religious brothers from the Marist congregation, gladly accepts these students and offers them a very high-quality education.
The other educational project involves bursaries for impoverished indigenous students who wish to continue a university career. Many of the recipients are orphans; most would not be studying were it not for the Mission Mexico support. Indeed, several are studying after a two- or three-year “break” after high school while they tried to “save up” for university studies. But the salaries earned here seldom permit anyone to “save up” anything.
One of the many challenges presented by the COVID pandemic has been a decline in the donations given to Mission Mexico during the past few years. This has coincided with a growing need among the poor in the mountains of Mexico. Three years ago, Mission Mexico was supporting 45 young people with bursaries; at the present time, the number is 22. We simply can’t commit funds that we don’t have.
I spend a lot of time in the mountain villages, and the people in my hometown of Tlapa know that I go to places that most people have never even heard the name of (thanks to a 4-wheel-drive truck bought and maintained by Mission Mexico). So good people often give me clothing or footwear or school supplies or toys to bring to needy families. These gifts don’t change the harsh realities of life for many, but the hope is at least that the gesture can nourish greater faith, hope, love, perseverance, etc.
Thank you to everyone in the Diocese of Calgary for your support for Mission Mexico. The people here are very religious, and they always ask for God’s blessings on the “unknown friends” who help them. I know there are many needs everywhere, and I pray that, as Mission Mexico draws closer to determining just how much support it might be able to offer in 2023, many good people "up north" will consider a donation for Mission Mexico. God bless.
