Speaking Engagement

The teenage girl sitting almost directly in front of me was in a deep sleep, head lolling to the side. The two or three giggling preteens were huddled on the couch, clearly more interested in their secrets. The middle aged mom with her laptop wanted to be interested, but seemed more preoccupied by the lack of interest of her giggling daughter. The seven or eight adults displayed varying degrees of interest with good questions, but with their imminent departure to Cuernavaca for their remaining few days in Mexico, there was clear anxiousness that they finish their volunteer, work projects that they had started at La Casa de los Amigos (Friends’ House) two or three days ago. In rapt attention, were the coordinators of this volunteer group from Boulder and Fort Collins, Colorado, the 70ish year-olds, Paul and Mary McKay.

The McKays had lived in Cuernavaca, Mexico in the late 1990s when they worked with Bethel College’s Mexico exchange program. Though the years they have maintained close relationships with Lizy Maraquin, the director of La Buena Tierra, one of MCC’s partners in Cuernavaca that is supported both financially and with a SALT volunteer. I understand that with regularity the McKays organize work groups from the Mennonite churches in the Boulder and Fort Collins area to come to Mexico. Today, I met and spoke with the first of two groups, and I will meet with the second group next Tuesday.

Since there is no current Connecting Peoples position in MCC Mexico, one of the responsibilities of being the Country Representative, interim I might add, is speaking to groups who want to know about MCC Mexico programs. No doubt, I will be glad to pass off the responsibility to Luke and Sarah Roth-Mullet who arrive in August of this year to assume the role of Connecting Peoples.

For my first time on the speaking tour, I did a great job of providing a brief history of MCC in Mexico and our current programs, and of course, bragging about the cast of characters that is MCC Mexico. I thought I was brief and engaging, but I certainly have my work out cut for next Tuesday when I meet with the second group. I have no illusions that others find the work of MCC Mexico as interesting as I do, but I would like to think that I can hold a majority of a group’s interest for at least ten minutes. I have another chance to redeem myself next week.