Culture. July 23, 2017.
p.s. There's some thoughts about salvation and discipleship and board games on the most recent blog post HERE.
Where there is vacancy, there is room for growth; room for innovation. Beneath our apartment, Randy has been working his tail off the last few days to fill the vacant space with all the necessary implements to start his own barber shop.
You look at a chunk a wood, vacant of shape, and imagine what it could be. You've got a day off from work, and you imagine what you could fill the space with. What lacks definition lacks life and beauty, and humans as a species are specifically gifted at filling spaces (for better or worse, as we've seen.)
Last October, I sat on my rooftop at a pick-up-the-pieces vision-casting meeting with what was left of the Toros Football Club, who hadn't had enough healthy and/or committed players to enter the 4-team American Football league last year. Five guys showed up. So I was content to let the team die, free up my schedule, and continue meeting with and discipling a few of the guys I had good relationships with. Vacancy.
Then, unexpectedly, in December there was talk, there were messages, and in January there was practice. I felt like Randy the barber, looking at the vacancy and trying to throw everything together, set up shop real quick to make it seem like a real football team even though we had nothing.
Here we are at the end of July, 10 games down and ready for the playoffs. You may have seen a handful of social media posts, games on Facebook Live, or even a newspaper article that came out, but I want to take you a little deeper. What's happened with that vacancy even outside the four white lines?
The Toros hold pretty tightly to our 4 pillars: Motivation, Resilience, Brotherhood, and Respect. We've come back to these in the face of Kevin's mom dying, of Wilo losing his 1-year-old son, when we lost to the Panthers, when we beat the Bulldogs, when Oscar's son was born, when guys suffered injuries, and when we had to get through long, hot practices. The pillars are all based in the Absolute Truth; Motivation from the love God gives us, Resilience from the assuredness of our purpose in Christ, Brotherhood from the selflessness Christ teaches us, and Respect from putting things in their right place: love God first, love others, and be humble. I'd like to think they're pretty strong.
That's why I love building things. That's why I've loved walking with the Toros this year. I love watching good culture spread and take root in peoples' lives. I "love" when we don't hold to the pillars of our team and we work together to re-center ourselves, individually and collectively. I've loved discipling Hans from never having read the Bible to now processing crises at work, arguments with his fiancé in light of what the gospel is. I've loved seeing Erik be able to open with me and with other guys about problems in his marriage. I've loved seeing Alejandro take the "team managers" under his wing and treat them as if they were his nephews. I've loved seeing guys encouraging and coaching the inexperienced defensive back who just got burned instead of putting him down. I've loved watching the guys start to believe in this culture that we're building among 30-some misplaced Guatemalans dressed in football uniforms.
There are people inhabiting almost every semi-livable space in Guatemala City. In that sense, there's not a lot of vacancy, not much room for anything whether you're looking for an apartment, a job, or a place to have football practice.
But socially and activity-wise, there's a great void. Andri and Luis, two kids from down the road, never stop talking about the Toros. "Is there going to be a bus this Saturday? Isn't it true that we won 14-0 this week? Can I be the water boy this week? When are the Toros going to come to our field and teach us to play?" they chide, every time I walk down the street by their house. So many people here pass their days because, well, there's nothing to do. There's little to chase after and if there were, they may not have the means with which to chase it. There's little to inspire somebody, and if there were, there'd be little places to go with that inspiration. I lament that. I hope that the Toros, having formed the culture that they have, would be motivated to fill some vacancies around us in Guatemala as we come into the offseason.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've got 2 more games to win to claim the Toros' first Mayan Bowl. And there's a lot of lessons yet to be learned in these 3 weeks.
Thanks for keeping us with us. We're joy-filled for the love and support you give us. How are you doing? What's been happening in your world lately?
-AJ & Alaina
p.s. Things We're Into Lately
1) Food: Banana Bread. Always make two loaves.
2) Activity: Ant-sniping. These little guys are like mini-ants and they congregate for no apparent reason on kitchen counters and walls. There have been many funerals.
3) Accomplice: Selvin. He's a pal from church who got let go from his job and thus has been helping out in Bethania with his spare time, visiting families, asking questions, tutoring, eating with drunks. I'm hoping God keeps him here. Yeah, you can pray for that.
4) Shopping Center: Save-A-Lot. Sausage. Ice Cream. Kettle Chips. Chocolate Chips. Cheddar Cheese. Need I say more?
5) Verse: Habakkuk 1:1-4. What have you lamented for lately?
6) Podcast: Revisionist History is back for season 2. Buckle in.
Where there is vacancy, there is room for growth; room for innovation. Beneath our apartment, Randy has been working his tail off the last few days to fill the vacant space with all the necessary implements to start his own barber shop.
You look at a chunk a wood, vacant of shape, and imagine what it could be. You've got a day off from work, and you imagine what you could fill the space with. What lacks definition lacks life and beauty, and humans as a species are specifically gifted at filling spaces (for better or worse, as we've seen.)
Last October, I sat on my rooftop at a pick-up-the-pieces vision-casting meeting with what was left of the Toros Football Club, who hadn't had enough healthy and/or committed players to enter the 4-team American Football league last year. Five guys showed up. So I was content to let the team die, free up my schedule, and continue meeting with and discipling a few of the guys I had good relationships with. Vacancy.
Then, unexpectedly, in December there was talk, there were messages, and in January there was practice. I felt like Randy the barber, looking at the vacancy and trying to throw everything together, set up shop real quick to make it seem like a real football team even though we had nothing.
Here we are at the end of July, 10 games down and ready for the playoffs. You may have seen a handful of social media posts, games on Facebook Live, or even a newspaper article that came out, but I want to take you a little deeper. What's happened with that vacancy even outside the four white lines?
The Toros hold pretty tightly to our 4 pillars: Motivation, Resilience, Brotherhood, and Respect. We've come back to these in the face of Kevin's mom dying, of Wilo losing his 1-year-old son, when we lost to the Panthers, when we beat the Bulldogs, when Oscar's son was born, when guys suffered injuries, and when we had to get through long, hot practices. The pillars are all based in the Absolute Truth; Motivation from the love God gives us, Resilience from the assuredness of our purpose in Christ, Brotherhood from the selflessness Christ teaches us, and Respect from putting things in their right place: love God first, love others, and be humble. I'd like to think they're pretty strong.
That's why I love building things. That's why I've loved walking with the Toros this year. I love watching good culture spread and take root in peoples' lives. I "love" when we don't hold to the pillars of our team and we work together to re-center ourselves, individually and collectively. I've loved discipling Hans from never having read the Bible to now processing crises at work, arguments with his fiancé in light of what the gospel is. I've loved seeing Erik be able to open with me and with other guys about problems in his marriage. I've loved seeing Alejandro take the "team managers" under his wing and treat them as if they were his nephews. I've loved seeing guys encouraging and coaching the inexperienced defensive back who just got burned instead of putting him down. I've loved watching the guys start to believe in this culture that we're building among 30-some misplaced Guatemalans dressed in football uniforms.
There are people inhabiting almost every semi-livable space in Guatemala City. In that sense, there's not a lot of vacancy, not much room for anything whether you're looking for an apartment, a job, or a place to have football practice.
But socially and activity-wise, there's a great void. Andri and Luis, two kids from down the road, never stop talking about the Toros. "Is there going to be a bus this Saturday? Isn't it true that we won 14-0 this week? Can I be the water boy this week? When are the Toros going to come to our field and teach us to play?" they chide, every time I walk down the street by their house. So many people here pass their days because, well, there's nothing to do. There's little to chase after and if there were, they may not have the means with which to chase it. There's little to inspire somebody, and if there were, there'd be little places to go with that inspiration. I lament that. I hope that the Toros, having formed the culture that they have, would be motivated to fill some vacancies around us in Guatemala as we come into the offseason.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We've got 2 more games to win to claim the Toros' first Mayan Bowl. And there's a lot of lessons yet to be learned in these 3 weeks.
Thanks for keeping us with us. We're joy-filled for the love and support you give us. How are you doing? What's been happening in your world lately?
-AJ & Alaina
p.s. Things We're Into Lately
1) Food: Banana Bread. Always make two loaves.
2) Activity: Ant-sniping. These little guys are like mini-ants and they congregate for no apparent reason on kitchen counters and walls. There have been many funerals.
3) Accomplice: Selvin. He's a pal from church who got let go from his job and thus has been helping out in Bethania with his spare time, visiting families, asking questions, tutoring, eating with drunks. I'm hoping God keeps him here. Yeah, you can pray for that.
4) Shopping Center: Save-A-Lot. Sausage. Ice Cream. Kettle Chips. Chocolate Chips. Cheddar Cheese. Need I say more?
5) Verse: Habakkuk 1:1-4. What have you lamented for lately?
6) Podcast: Revisionist History is back for season 2. Buckle in.