6/23/2015

Greetings, Hola, Bonjour, Grüße,

    Our second day visiting the villages took us to Cassa de Zinc.  Geographically speaking Cassa de Zinc isn't very far away from our Pastoral house by Iowa standards.  However, when standing in the back of a pickup truck while bounding down a gnarly dirt road ducking branches to avoid concussions, it felt pretty far.

We were greeted with a colorful sign, balloons, and decorated hearts with greetings written on them, which apparently is the first time to happen here, so that made us feel very appreciated.  We were all given one of those hearts to take with us.

After our initial greetings we had time to talk to
the people of Cassa De Zinc about their issues and fears which, expectedly, mirrored those of Casa de Zacate.  The Directiva elaborated on the same fears and frustrations the townspeople voiced which further demonstrated how deep the problem of the worms and drought are effecting the community.




The rest of the morning was spent visiting the houses of the people.  It is amazing the level of gratitude everyone had for us.  They were excited to invite us into their homes, be it wood and tarp or block and steel.  It was their home and they were proud of what they were able to make with what little they had available.  Even some of the houses that were only wood and black tarp were impressive which showed the level of care they have.

















After our morning visits we stopped at one of the houses to be served lunch. The vegetables were tender, the tortillas were fresh, and the succulent seasoned chicken was likely clucking just a few short hours earlier.

In one respect its hard not to feel guilty when given such a big meal as it is not something they often get for themselves.  However there is a great deal of self respect and pride a community has in being able to take such good care of their guests.  This pride and self worth is one of the main purposes of our mission.  Our actions are intended to help build strong self sustained communities through a relationship of mutual respect and cooperation.  If the meal they provided and the hospitality they showed us was any kind of indicator of this, then they have a great deal to be proud of.

The remainder of our day was spent visiting the rest of the houses in Zinc.  It was enjoyable to meet all the different families.  There were elderly living on their own; parents dealing with teenagers; new families just starting out; and everything else you would find if you took a slice of any neighborhood in America.  These are bright, driven and caring people who's most important desires are just as our own.  They are not a people who need pity but a people who need a partner.

On a special note: 

At the end of the day there was a special visit for three of our delegates.  For the past few years the Weinmans have been supporting a specific family through Trinity's efforts in Berlin.  Today they met that family in person for the first time and took a new family photo.

Here are a few more photos to end on