Skip to main content

Striking Out and Hitting a Home Run


Two months ago, Lee was playing baseball in a field full of garbage with some of the kids on the island of Carenero. An 11 year old girl struck him out. Of course everyone laughed and Lee made his way down the little path that runs through the village where he soon ran into a guy named Javier.

Javier speaks great English and is a business owner in the village. The two of them started up a conversation about the conditions the kids were playing in and before you know it, they had agreed to meet the next morning with garbage bags to do a little clean up.

The next morning the two of them and about 6 kids spent several hours cleaning up.

A week later, the entire town got together and took out 5,000 bags of garbage!

And that was just the beginning.

Two months later:

A few days ago we walked though the village again. I was shocked by how many changes have been made. Probably about 75 percent of the homes have some change besides being cleaner and having their grass cut: new paint, new flowers, additions, repairs.


It is a trickle effect.

One person paints his house and the neighbor likes it, so he paints his. People clean up their yard and feel good about how it looks, so they cut the grass. The land begins to dry out and feel less swampy, so they plant flowers. The flowers are blooming, and so is hope.


Today Javier met Lee in the street. They hugged and Javier thanked us again. He said they have been trying, unsuccessfully, to make a change for years.

They said it couldn't be done.

Fill has been delivered to build up the land under the homes (the whole island sank 4 feet in an earthquake in the 90's) Pipes will be laid in the next couple of weeks to remove the raw sewage from under the houses. Plans are being make to build a park.

The impossible is happening, Almost by itself.


I met a gringo guy covered in tattoos and wearing a huge shark tooth around his neck. He lives on the island. He says he is amazed by what is happening. He said, "When people come in and point fingers and say how horrible the conditions are, the locals are offended (with good reason). But when their self esteem gets built up and their "cups" are full, change happens almost without effort."


He is right.

So it really just goes back to playing baseball in the garbage. And connecting.

If we stop judging and just start caring, we can encourage each other, We can help fill up each other's cups. And when we do, and the motivation is genuine, hearts that were once discouraged and felt like giving up are inspired and excited. Change begins to take place little by little. And then, as if the seeds were thrown to the wind on a warm sunny day, it spreads. Its almost as if it had a life of its own and we get to watch it grow.



Breaking the Mold,
Laura


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sleeping Snakes, Naranjitos, and Waiting Until the Time is Ready

Naranjiots Its called a naranjito (pronounced nar an hee toe). It's a wild fruit that was growing in Anthony's back yard. You split it in half and squeeze the juice into a cup of cold water, strain and drink it. Everyone loves it and it has a lovely orange taste. We met Anthony--Roldolfo Anthony--on a walk out of town and up the hill that over looks all the islands. He called us into his yard after explaining to us about the very dangerous sleeping snakes that live in the area. He said they love to sleep all curled up and if you walk by too loud and wake them oooo, they will chase you and bite you and you will die. But if you carry a machete and use it to poke at the grass and the ground in front of you, the snakes will know the sound of the machete and will run away. He said they are very smart and he didn't know but he figured God made them that way. We vowed to always carry a machete when walking in the grass and then we followed him into his yard (minus a mach...
Post a Comment
Read more

Feeding Iguanas

black spiny-tailed iguana "Here lizard, lizard, lizard..." I called, but he didn't come. He flung himself into a crevice between the rocks. Flung is a good word for it. The Yucatan's black spiny-tailed iguanas are the fastest running lizards on earth. I left him a treat. Three round green pods. Maybe, when I was gone, he would venture back into the sunshine and find my peace offering. I hope to make friends with him, the lizard that is, or at least one of them. Every time I head down to the beach I startle a flock of them sunbathing in the grass or on the walk or on top of the cemented limestone walls. They love hibiscus flowers, which is not surprising. I love hibiscus tea (called Jamaica here and pronounced like hamica). They love strawberries too, but those are a little more difficult to come by. So the other day when I managed to get close to one, I offered him a round green pod from an orange flowered tree. I have no idea what the pod is called...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is This Poverty Project Thing? The Real Story

It isnt about doing elaborate projects. It isnt about throwing money everywhere. It isnt about working with groups of volunteers It is a lifestyle experiment What on earth does that mean? I left the States for Mexico 5 years ago after the death of my husband. We had been there previously and fell in love with a little Mexican village. We planned to retire there, but unfortunately, it became his final resting place. I sat on every park bench in the park in that little village. My Spanish was terrible, but I attempted to talk to the locals as much as I could. I started to build some friendships. I ate a lot of street food. And I cried a lot. Eventually, I met Lee. He had been traveling for almost a year and had been to the most unlikely, off the grid places you can imagine. He took me to the "other" side of town. He was not afraid to swing in a hammock in a home the size of a closet watching old westerns in Spanish with a Mayan mechanic. He was not afraid to g...
Post a Comment
Read more