First there is Xoncauich. Our friend Febe first introduced us to this village some time ago—it has been her campo (field of ministry) for several years. On our first visit there we met Señor Kim and his wife. He is an artisan and she takes care of their house.
When I say he is an artisan I mean he has won significant awards for his handcrafted baskets, goods which he makes from local material in the back of his house. Señor Kim’s ancestry is, like Febe’s, Korean, as he is descended from Koreans who were brought into this part of Mexico in the early 1900’s to work the henequen fields.
I suppose you would call him middle class, and based on my observations of the changes in his house since our last visit, I think that his economic situation is improving.
The kitchen in (or rather attached to) his house is basic—a circle of rocks to build a fire in and a pole to hang a pot from. Behind the house are some fruit trees, some plants that are being grown to sell, and several concrete enclosures for the pigs and other “getting ready to eat” animals. All are well cared for and relatively clean.
The pile of gourds on one side has recently come in from the field, and will in the course of time add to the tortilla, meat and vegetable staples.Our visit to Xoncauich was a visit of ministry for Febe, and by visiting and praying with the people we got to know a little about their situations, joys and needs. 
From Xoncauich Nancy and I drove to Porvenir (Spanish for future), a camp which has served for many years as a center of ministry for Presbyterian churches in the Yucatan. On the property is a home owned by Dave and Jean Legters, our hosts, and they were lending it to us for the night. The camp is on the Gulf of Mexico, just at the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, so you can see the sun rise over the water to the east and set over the water on the west. A walk on the beach, a dip in the Gulf and a beautiful star-filled sky made Nancy and me pledge to come back some time!
Driving back to Merida, before we stopped for lunch at the seaside resort of Progresso, we went through several small villages. It was a Sunday, so everybody was out enjoying the day, walking, talking and playing baseball. As we slowly drove through one town we enjoyed looking out the driver’s side car windows and watching the pitcher and batter face off against one another.
However, I was a bit taken aback when I realized that by looking out the passenger’s side window I had a clear view of the outfielders…In other words the road was taking us straight through center field. I guess when there is not a lot of open space and little traffic that is OK, but I am glad no one hit a hard line drive while we were passing through…
Just before this trip, the Ackles and Legters had driven to Celestun, a fantastic wildlife preserve on the Gulf coast. The draw there is one of the largest flamingo colonies in the world, and we were treated to a fairly close view of about 20,000 of them…Just after this trip we said goodbye to Nancy, who has gone back to Greensboro, by having a lovely lunch at a Hacienda which has been turned into a small hotel and restaurant. Our waiter was pleased to tell us that he had been the one who served President Bush his lunch when he was here last year—although he added that the little red laser dot that suddenly appeared on his shirt, just about where his heart was, as he approached the President with his meal, was a bit daunting...
I appreciate the differences in cultures. And I am so grateful to God to be able to come to know some of them. The world God has made has lots of problems, but it still reflects his creative power and loving care, and he still calls us to listen, learn and enjoy it.
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