An incident occurred here in the State of Guerrero that I wanted to share with you as an example of what the strength of faith can do.
Tomorrow Mexicans go to the polls to vote for officials for many posts throughout the various branches of the Mexican government, including President. As their campaigns wound down, the political parties staged rallies of support at many local municipalities to bring their campaigns to a close. Here in Buenavista de Cuéllar last Saturday, local folks and those from the surrounding towns gathered to hear the political speeches from the municipal candidates from one of those parties for locally elected positions. The rally, however, was cut short and cancelled by a tragic event. A van carrying 50
people from the mountain village of Coxcatlán to Buenavista de Cuéllar, went off the road and plunged hundreds of meters down the side of the mountain. Twenty-eight people lost their lives and twenty-two were seriously injured. Children were among the passengers in the van.
We waited a few days for the flurry of activities around such a tragedy (reporters, investigators etc.) to subside and for the mass burial to take place before going up the mountain to Coxcatlán to be with the people, once the reality of the events settled into their minds and hearts. Five of us (all brothers and sisters in our Christian faith, two from Taxco and three from Buenavista de Cuéllar) who minister or have ministered to the indigenous population there, went yesterday to visit Doña Chabe, the head catechist there and virtual pillar of the local church. When we arrived outside her home she greeted us with her usual warm smile and welcoming embrace, even though it had been a long while since all of us had been there. We expressed our condolences to her and all those gathered for the village’s loss. She chatted briefly, joked with us and expressed how tired she was from the many prayers and rosaries that were said over the past few days in the homes of all the affected families. For those unfamiliar with Mexican catholic religious customs, when an individual dies, the family erects a mini altar in the home of the deceased, usually adorned with a photo, flowers and candles. For nine days after the death, friends and family gather for prayers and the recitation of the rosary in front of the altar. As the spiritual leader of this Roman Catholic community, Doña Chabe leads the prayer sessions. I thought to myself, Wow!, what a resilient, dedicated and compassionate servant of God and neighbor.
As we entered into the small, humble living quarters of Doña Chabe’s home, my heart and mind were briefly stunned by the numbing realization that Doña Chabe’s husband was among those killed. There before our eyes was his altar of remembrance. In an expression of their solidarity with Doña Chabe and her children, the two young missionaries from a Taxco youth group who accompanied us, led those gathered in a few brief prayers. As they began to pray, I realized just how difficult this was for these two young men, especially since one of them lost his friend and co-missionary three years earlier and was left seriously scarred himself from a car accident when they were returning to Taxco after ministering here in the area. I sensed that the pain of that not too distant past was re-lived in his mind.
Afterwards, we were all offered something small to eat and drink from Doña Chabe’s kitchen where cooking is still done in an open wood-fire. Feelings were expressed and brief comments made about what might have happened to cause the accident that took so many lives. There was no time for serious conversation though. Doña Chabe was off to a mourning neighbor’s house. It was time to gather for prayer. We all went and prayed together with this other family who suffered the loss of a loved one.
As we left Coxcatlán to return to Buenavista we asked ourselves how an individual, who in the midst of her own family suffering, could manage to express such compassion and presence with her community?
The answer came to us immediately; a true and living understanding of faith. With that assurance and strength, we carefully made our way back down the mountain.
May God grant eternal rest to all those who died, consolation and peace to their families and full recovery to all those who were injured.
Tomorrow Mexicans go to the polls to vote for officials for many posts throughout the various branches of the Mexican government, including President. As their campaigns wound down, the political parties staged rallies of support at many local municipalities to bring their campaigns to a close. Here in Buenavista de Cuéllar last Saturday, local folks and those from the surrounding towns gathered to hear the political speeches from the municipal candidates from one of those parties for locally elected positions. The rally, however, was cut short and cancelled by a tragic event. A van carrying 50
people from the mountain village of Coxcatlán to Buenavista de Cuéllar, went off the road and plunged hundreds of meters down the side of the mountain. Twenty-eight people lost their lives and twenty-two were seriously injured. Children were among the passengers in the van.
We waited a few days for the flurry of activities around such a tragedy (reporters, investigators etc.) to subside and for the mass burial to take place before going up the mountain to Coxcatlán to be with the people, once the reality of the events settled into their minds and hearts. Five of us (all brothers and sisters in our Christian faith, two from Taxco and three from Buenavista de Cuéllar) who minister or have ministered to the indigenous population there, went yesterday to visit Doña Chabe, the head catechist there and virtual pillar of the local church. When we arrived outside her home she greeted us with her usual warm smile and welcoming embrace, even though it had been a long while since all of us had been there. We expressed our condolences to her and all those gathered for the village’s loss. She chatted briefly, joked with us and expressed how tired she was from the many prayers and rosaries that were said over the past few days in the homes of all the affected families. For those unfamiliar with Mexican catholic religious customs, when an individual dies, the family erects a mini altar in the home of the deceased, usually adorned with a photo, flowers and candles. For nine days after the death, friends and family gather for prayers and the recitation of the rosary in front of the altar. As the spiritual leader of this Roman Catholic community, Doña Chabe leads the prayer sessions. I thought to myself, Wow!, what a resilient, dedicated and compassionate servant of God and neighbor.
As we entered into the small, humble living quarters of Doña Chabe’s home, my heart and mind were briefly stunned by the numbing realization that Doña Chabe’s husband was among those killed. There before our eyes was his altar of remembrance. In an expression of their solidarity with Doña Chabe and her children, the two young missionaries from a Taxco youth group who accompanied us, led those gathered in a few brief prayers. As they began to pray, I realized just how difficult this was for these two young men, especially since one of them lost his friend and co-missionary three years earlier and was left seriously scarred himself from a car accident when they were returning to Taxco after ministering here in the area. I sensed that the pain of that not too distant past was re-lived in his mind.
Afterwards, we were all offered something small to eat and drink from Doña Chabe’s kitchen where cooking is still done in an open wood-fire. Feelings were expressed and brief comments made about what might have happened to cause the accident that took so many lives. There was no time for serious conversation though. Doña Chabe was off to a mourning neighbor’s house. It was time to gather for prayer. We all went and prayed together with this other family who suffered the loss of a loved one.
As we left Coxcatlán to return to Buenavista we asked ourselves how an individual, who in the midst of her own family suffering, could manage to express such compassion and presence with her community?
The answer came to us immediately; a true and living understanding of faith. With that assurance and strength, we carefully made our way back down the mountain.
May God grant eternal rest to all those who died, consolation and peace to their families and full recovery to all those who were injured.