History of Washita

There is an episode on Dr Quinn Medicine Woman in Season 3 titled "Washita".  The episode educates viewers on the conflict between the Cheyenne Indians and US expansion (White Soldiers).  The show does a good job in general of providing perspectives to bridge understanding of cultures, but this episode in particular was very intense and saddening to realize the degree of ignorance and injustice in our history's past.

The term "Dog Soldiers" refer to the Indians who were "rebels", "extremists", or "fighters" for their people and customs. The "Dog Soldiers" are accepted by the other, traditionally peaceful, Indians only because their raids and killing of Whites provided them with food and survival. The US Army is called into the scene because of the outbreak of "Dog Soldier" raids. The scene clips are in 10 minute segments, but in this first video the important dialogues occur between the beginning until the 5 minute mark.

It is interesting to relate dialogue heard in this show from the 1990's (but set back in the mid to late 1800's) to the events and happenings of our world today. For instance, can you imagine the use of a phrase similar to "they can all burn in hell", as said by the injured railroad worker in the opening scene of the clip?  Then you have the propaganda-like comment by General Custer quoted as "enemies to our civilization".

The episode continues. In this clip, the important dialogue occurs between the 4:30 through the 10 minute time frame. 

After viewing the complete episode, Jenny turned to me and said "and the sad thing is it's true".  The killings did take place by both sides; and both sides were looking to protect their way of life.  And still today people live different "ways" of life, so were those killings worth it?  Nobody is ever going to be the same, so why do we seem to expect to be able to change the way someone lives (or think everyone should live like us?)  And more so, are unnecessary killings still occuring today due to our way of life differences?  Where are the active "Dr Quinns and Sullys" of our culture (ie seeking to bring all sides together)?

You can begin your own research on the history of Washita by clicking this Wikipedia Link

If interested, you can own your own seasons of the Dr Quinn show by clicking this Amazon Link

Come to Senses

I like things to make sense.  I can talk about my plans or my dreams, and I make them make sense, because if they did not make sense then I would not know where to begin in obtaining those dreams.  As a reader, you probably already know where this is going...God does not always make sense.  Yes, I agree.  But God makes it clear, in many ways, that He is not going to make sense.  One example, for me, is through the story of the man who wanted to follow Jesus but decided he did not want to give up all that he owned materially (Matthew 19:20-22).  Does that make sense?  Why, with God being so powerful and mighty, would God need someone else's things, or ask someone to give up those possessions?

These are my thoughts.  God does not need them; God wants to be acknowledged as the prize, or the all you need in life.  We are not to live the day to day life to gather up more things, in fact, in the Old Testament it speaks of the forbidding to simply gather up tomorrow's food today (Exodus 16:15-21, 23-31)  I can not imagine having to live each day as it comes in our culture today. I mean, in some cases, we buy food a year before it gets eaten, what would we do if we were given an instruction like that in Exodus?  We buy meals that come in boxes and take less than 5 minutes to both prepare and eat...take the box out of the freezer at noon and be out the door for work at 12:05.

So how are we to live in today's material world?  I believe the biggest issue within our society today is that we lose sight of God when we consume, not because consuming is a sin, but because when was the last time we had to "rely" on God, ask Him for our daily bread, or seek Him as a Grand-Prize.  When was the last time we intertwined God the spirit with God the physical?  When we consume, we begin to live upon our own understanding, our own abilities, and our own things.  We have instant access to our phones, entertainment, transportation, you name it, but we struggle as a whole to uplift and glorify the Almighty with prayer, loving our enemies, helping the homeless, etc.  We gather up our things, stalk up on food, and still worry about the next day, or complain about how busy our lives are and make it seem impossible to eat a nice meal with our families.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

Do we have so much that we forget to lean not on our own understanding.  Maybe we were not given the freedom to make things make sense.

Happy Birthday David!

I'm a little late in posting, but wanted to share a little about David's birthday. First of all, the occasion brought us our first package in the mail - and it only took 8 days! I'm not going to lie, we were both really excited to unpack the goodies that David's parents had sent.

It was basically David's birthday and Christmas all at once. It was so fun getting little pieces of "home" sent to us. I was especially excited about the chocolate (M&Ms here cost $1.50 for a small bag) and David was most anxious to eat his fruit snacks (yep, he loves them). It was great to even get little things, like Jell-O and different types of tea and even Nutella (I won't even tell you how much Nutella costs here). David also got a great birthday card with pictures of autumn trees to remind us of the beauty you Indiana-folk are experiencing. Sigh, I miss fall. The birthday package was a wonderful gift for David (and me!) and we are portioning the goodies (or at least trying to, the M&Ms were gone in two days).

On a previous trip to Lake Atitlan, David and I had visited Santiago, a small Mayan village that we really enjoy. So, for David's birthday he wanted to go back for a weekend trip. We wanted to go on David's birthday weekend, but because of the flooding and being sick, we had to postpone the trip for the next weekend. I'm so glad that we did because the weather was perfect. It was so nice to walk around the market and do some touristy shopping in the sun, with no rain. We're definitely on a budget while living here in Guatemala, but we really wanted to stay in the Posada de Santiago because we had heard it's a great hotel with great food...and even a hot tub (in Guate?! Really?!). My parents put us up in the hotel for David's birthday gift and we enjoyed great food, real coffee (not instant!), the hot tub, and even canoeing. It was a wonderful get-away and we were fascinated by the beauty of the lake.

For David's gift from Santiago, he decided he wanted to get a traditional Mayan "traje" or clothing that the Mayan men wear. Each Mayan village has their own traje so that when someone is walking down the street you know where they come from by the color and/or design of their clothing. In Pana, you definitely see more women wearing traje than you see men. So when we were in Santiago it was such a treat to see so many men wearing traje. They were just so cute!

Now, just to clarify (in case there is any confusion) those are the Mayan men above. Then there is my 6'3" white, blonde husband below. Don't they look so similar?! We're still searching for the perfect hat. ( :

You may not be able to recognize David these days. Besides the Mayan traje, he's also growing out his hair and wearing it in a pony tail. It's weird for me to have David ask me for a hair tie in the mornings. I don't even know what to expect in the coming months!

Of course, we had no idea how to make the traje fit David, because the pants are actually quite huge. It's a one size fits all type of thing. Luckily there was a kind Mayan woman at the store who just wrapped her arms around David's waist and folded up the pants and tied the belt for him. We're still figuring out the belt part, but there are plenty of Mayan women around in case we need more tutoring.

We had a wonderful weekend experiencing a smaller village and the Mayan culture. The views of the lake were breath-taking, and we were reminded once again how privileged we are to be living here in Guatemala and experiencing a new way of life. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband and that we can celebrate life together!

Windows and Mirrors - a reflection on war

On Friday, David and I went to a traveling mural project based on the war in Afghanistan. It's called Windows and Mirrors and it's been created by the American Friends Service Committee. I had prepared myself ahead of time...I don't like war. I don't like movies based on war. I don't like seeing images of war. It's all very difficult for me and unsettling. In my opinion, war is a terrible thing. It separates loved ones, it divides countries, it makes people powerless over their own lives, it somehow justifies the taking of life, and it easily creates enemies. This war is now the longest in US history, taking the lives of more than 1,500 American troops and over 8,000 Afghan civilians, and costing the US nearly $2 billion every week. I think one of the most difficult things about going to Windows and Mirrors was accepting my role in this war. I'm an American. I pay taxes. I contribute. Like it or not.

If you've got the time and heart, I encourage you to look at some of these pictures that were drawn by high school students in Kabul. They were asked to draw pictures of their experience with war. What's the old saying? A picture is worth a thousand words...
There was one mural in particular that struck me. It was a web of homes and people and smoke. And the caption read:

"First world, third world - we seem to float on different planes - but, really, it's just this one world. Here we are, sheltered in our intact homes, caught up in the bustle of our lives. Little by little, we have covered it up - that web running through us all...it's abstract - a war happening in another country foreign and distant, but it's up to us to make it realistic - tangible. We must imagine our homes in piles of rubble - our cities up in smoke."

I think this speaks to me on many levels. We can so easily live on a different plane, distant and distracted from the plight of our brothers and sisters all over the world. Our first world status can become a crutch, disabling us from seeing the pain that we are connected to. Disabling us from working to create a change, a better way.

Q of D and Breaking News

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." -- Martin Luther King, Jr

Osama bin Laden was killed by US force yesterday in Pakistan...you know the story.  After nearly 10 years since the tragic terrorist attacks, bin Laden was finally successfully located and raided at his compound.  I share the quote above not to condemn those who rejoice or celebrate the occasion of his death, but to present an alternative perspective that is often not given thought through media or mainstream society.  What does the death of bin Laden mean, other than bin Laden will no longer be able to conduct terror?  I am very thankful for those whose innocent lives were spared by this event (ie future terror attacks that may not be able to be implemented because of his death, etc), but I struggle to accept my right to celebrate at the death of a man who breathed life on this Earth, though severely sinful.

Have we as a nation done all we need to do to prevent future terrorist attacks?  What is the "all things considered" perspective as to why we were attacked in the first place?

I urge you to move from this point forward in such a way that presents peace.  Surely it is not the fighting that will improve our standing in this world.