Ayoreo

For each blog post that I publish, I probably have three drafts.  Writing is a discipline for me, and something I don´t take much time to discipline myself in.  I always feel frustrated at how the post turns out, and never feel like I have communicated what I really want to communicate.  However, Drew saw this draft and asked me to publish it.  Drew and I have very different jobs here in the office, but our jobs affect eachother.  Poor Drew has to suffer with my complaining about the mundain office policies that I trudge through, while I benefit from his exciting adventures.  So, here are some of my reflections on our time with the Ayoreos:

Most Sundays that Drew and I are in Santa Cruz, we have been attending an Ayoreo Church service.  It is interesting going to Church where you don´t understand anything anyone is saying.  Even more interesting is hearing old Southern Baptist hymns sung in Ayoreo.  Even though we don´t understand everything that is going on, it is encouraging, and I really enjoy our time with our Ayoreo brothers and sisters.  I am always so thankful for the reminder that God works in all cultures and languages.

Drew could talk much more about what is happening in these communities, and I hope he does.  I am thankful for the one post he has written about his conversation with the Ayoreo elder.  My reflections may not be so eloquently put, but the few Church services and interactions I have also had with these people have impacted me as well.  I think it is easy for us as white, North Americans to walk into nearly any situation thinking we have the right way to do/understand things forgetting that we also have things to learn.  I see more and more how this attitude blinds us from so much, and how much it prohibits true relationships.  It brings me much joy and relief realizing each day that my job is to simply walk forward into these opportunities, being willing to see the other person as a human being, created in the image of God, and therefore capable of not only receiving what I feel I might be able to offer, but also giving me something.

So what have the Ayoreos taught me?  The Ayoreos have shown me what it means to struggle and still choose Joy.  Their desperate situation seems so depressing and hopeless.  Their way of life, culture, language, and health have all been compromised.  These aren´t necessarily decisions they have made, but more from decisions others have made for them.  They are discriminated against and mistreated because of their cultural identity.  Yet, many still find ways to be thankful for being an Ayoreo, because that is who God created them to be.  Ayoreos struggle with life, but they find joy in being together and sharing the little they have.  I have a lot to learn in those areas.