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A letter from Ellen Dozier in Guatemala |
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August 24, 2003
Walking Behind
Dear Friends,
One of the problems I have in Guatemala is keeping in step with
the Guatemalan women I work and live with. Let me explain. I often
find myself walking with a group of women, down a dusty path in
a village, along a crowded city street, or hurrying to catch a
bus, and I inevitably find myself walking ahead of the women.
They walk so slowly! I realize they are behind me, so I impatiently
pause and let them catch up, we are off again only to find after
a few moments that I am once again "out in front." |
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K'ekchi women displaying some of their class work for the course,
"Learning from our Grandmothers in the Bible, " Coban,
July 2003.
Photo by Ellen Dozier. |
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A couple of weeks ago I was in Cobán to
teach a group of Maya K'ekchi women and confronted the same problem
as we made our way to the comedor (a small restaurant)
for lunch. But the next time we started out for a meal I found myself,
purely by chance, walking behind them, and discovered a whole new
perspective! I found myself much more patient as I ambled along
behind the group of women. |
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There did not seem to be any reason
to hurry. I could see that the women were enjoying themselves, talking
and laughing with one another in their indigenous language, K'ekchi,
which I do not speak. Their cortes (skirts), and long black
braids, swayed back and forth. Ana shifted her baby from one hip
to the other. Nelson, the 7-year-old, held his mother's hand. |
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I found myself thinking of walking behind the
women as a kind of metaphor for a way to "be,” how to
live and work in Guatemala with these women. Again, let me explain.
Life here happens in "slow motion" compared to life in
other places. Most everything takes a long time to do, from washing
your clothes by hand, to preparing meals "from scratch,"
to getting to a meeting via a bus which has no scheduled departure
time (leaves when the bus is full) and makes countless stops along
the way. |
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Ellen Dozier walking behind the K'ekchi women as we head to lunch,
Coban, July 2003.
Photo courtesy of Ellen Dozier. |
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I recently returned from three weeks
in the States where I tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to keep up with
the pace of life there. I had to shift into lower gear mentally
and physically when I departed the airplane and saw the long line
waiting to go through immigration at the Guatemala airport. Guatemalan
immigration authorities are not known for their efficiency, so I
knew I could "fume and fuss" all I wanted or settle down
to visit with others in line with me. |
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Maria, a Maya K'ekchi woman who is full of wisdom despite the
fact she cannot read or write. Coban, July 2003.
Photo by Ellen Dozier.
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When I walk behind the women,
I can better fit myself into the slower pace of life here; I can
see the world a little better through their eyes. I can let them
lead, a role most of them are not accustomed to, since they have
been conditioned to accept without questioning either their role
as followers or where they are going so long as I, or another
person, is out front, they will follow along, even if they have
no idea where they are going.
There are many times when the women and I need to see one another's
faces, to wipe away the tears, to share the pain, to rejoice together,
to sit beside one another on a bus and laugh, to embrace. I delight
in watching the concentration on their faces as they try to master
a new skill, sometimes as simple as cutting with a pair of scissors.
We hold hands and form a circle of prayer. There is much to be
said for living "in community," for looking into the
eyes of one another.
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But there is also a time to "walk
behind,” not to push or prod, but to observe, to learn,
to gain a new perspective, one that only comes as we "walk
behind."
Ellen H. Dozier
The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, page
244 |
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