July 2006
The Taxi Driver
Folks,
I recently returned to La Paz after spending almost two months in the United States helping my elderly mother through her last days. It was a powerful experience. Many thanks to you for the prayers and thoughts you sent our way.
I got into a taxi yesterday, still short of breath from the readjustment to the altitude of 13,500 feet, and gave the driver directions to our house.
As we rode along in the shabby vehicle, I struck up a conversation with the driver, as I often do. I told him I had just returned to Bolivia after an extended absence, and asked him his opinion on the “autonomy” proposal for each Departamento (like a state in the United States). This is one of the hot issues that will be debated during the 12-month Constitutional Assembly convening on August 6, with more than 200 representatives elected from around the country.
The driver didn’t respond immediately. “Well,” he said, “I really don’t get involved in politics. I just don’t have time. I’m driving this taxi all the time, trying to make ends meet, and I don’t even have a home, so I sleep in the taxi at night.”
Wow! In all the time we’ve been here I’ve heard many interesting stories from the taxi drivers, but never this one. He went on to say that he was separated from his wife one year ago, a very strong-headed woman, but “don't get me wrong, the reason we separated was my fault, not hers,” he said. “I had to move out of the house, and now I don’t earn enough to pay for my own place. I’m trying to work as hard as I can to save up for a car of my own, so I can work for myself instead of working for the owner of this taxi, as I do now. I took out a loan of $1,000 and put the money in the bank. Each month I make a payment back to the lender in order to establish a good credit record. If I complete all the payments by December, they tell me they’ll make me a loan for double that amount, and eventually I’ll be able to borrow enough to buy a car.
“I don’t have time for politics now,” he sighed. “I can’t take any time off from driving the taxi. If I work, I get paid. The day I don’t work, I don’t get any income.”
“Anyway, in politics I see lots of backbiting and promoting of personal interests, and the same thing with religion, in the churches I see this same thing. And I’m just trying to survive.” His voice wavered. “I’m paying the consequences of my behavior with my wife, and I’m trying to learn my lesson. I don’t get good rest sleeping in the taxi, but it’s the only way to save money. And it’s hard to find a safe place to pull over and sleep on the streets, but otherwise I’d have to pay a parking garage for a place to park the car at night.”
The guy looked frayed around the edges. Looked like he could use a good shower, a shave, and a hot meal. This is the only taxi driver I’ve ridden with in the past year who did not have any opinion to offer on current political events! He agreed that a majority of people here do vote, but isn’t sure it makes a difference.
In the States an average of only 45 percent of eligible people vote in federal elections; apathy and discouragement is rampant.
I must say, people here in Bolivia do have more hope of change now than they have in a long time. It’s palpable in the air, in people’s faces. Polls show that a high percentage of citizens believe corruption in government is at an all-time low.
Long term, we recognize it is certainly in the interests of all of us to preserve our planet, but most of us are caught up in the short-term struggle to put food on the table, or make the mortgage payments or pay the credit card bills, so we fail to make time to influence policymakers who are making decisions that will affect the Bolivian taxi driver’s survival, and our own. We may fail to make time to participate in our faith community, choosing instead to work, or relax with family, live in the now moment.
One of the funniest lines in that great movie, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” was when the fellow told the story about selling his soul to the Devil in exchange for the Devil teaching him how to play a mean guitar. “What, you sold your soul to the Devil?” “Well, I wasn’t using it at the time!” replies the guy.
How many of us aren’t using our souls at the time?
My heart went out to this hard-working man. He misses his little daughter. He visits his mother from time to time in a nearby city, but she is not in good health, and he hasn’t wanted to tell her that he and his wife are no longer together, so he makes excuses for her absence.
Most of us in U.S. churches have little experience of hunger. We can hardly fathom the psychology of hunger, what we might be driven to do or not do if we were hungry. For some, politics stop seeming relevant when their stomachs are growling.
Blessed are those who work hard, but meanwhile, who are the decision-makers for our future, and for our great-grandchildren’s future, for the future of the planet?
If those of us who have the luxury of choice, of time—to choose how we spend our time— who have a home and our own bed and a fairly-certain paycheck … if we don’t make time to participate in our faith communities, to join others in faith-based action for the good of our country and for our great-grandchildren-to-be, to become informed on the issues and encourage others to action, then who will be the church, and who will make the decisions? The special-interest lobbyists who walk the halls of Congress?
Bolivians are working hard this year at participatory democracy. For the first time they held elections for Departmental Prefects, equivalent to the Governors of each State in our country. They are about to begin a debate as to how much autonomy each Department should have, and which powers should be retained by the Federal government.
They know they cannot rewrite history, the painful history of conquest in the name of Christ, the exploitation of the many by the few, the sacking of silver and tin, death by mining, for millions over the centuries, but they believe they can rewrite their Constitution to bring a new day.
Let us pray they will vote tomorrow, July 2, with discernment and wisdom—90-plus percent of eligible voters typically show up at the polls—vote for the representatives who will spend the next year drafting the new document they hope will better protect their natural resources and ensure that the benefits of new prosperity will be carefully distributed among all Bolivians.
This is such a faith endeavor. We draw strength and inspiration from Bolivians, including members of our Joining Hands Network, who do participate actively in the political life of their nation, even though more than 67 percent of them live below the national poverty line.
Let us ride with the taxi driver today as we drive to work. Let us sleep with the taxi driver tonight in his car on the streets of La Paz. Where are the answers for him, for abundant life? Who will represent the Gospel to him?
Will we like the taxi driver find no time for politics or religion, or to care about influencing the future of this beautiful planet God has given us to make our home?
Bob and I both thank you for your continued prayers and support of our work with Joining Hands, here in Bolivia, in the name of Christ.
Sincerely,
Julie
How Can I Support PC(USA) Mission Workers Serving Now?
An opportunity for “second mile” giving:
A generous bequest from a loyal Presbyterian woman who died 40 years ago has solved the immediate crisis for mission worker support, but funding solutions for the long term are still needed. One way to help is to contribute to Second Mile Missionary Support ECO(#132192). Marian McClure, WMD director, calls this “the single most helpful way to strengthen the capacity to support the people already serving in Christ’s name.”
Contributions to ECO #132192 can be made online here or at Worldwide Ministries' Giving and Funding page.
Meanwhile the Mission Initiative, Joining Hearts & Hands, is seeking funds for mission workers who will respond to new needs in mission around the world. For information visit Joining Hearts and Hands.
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 46 |
