these days there's too much going on in my head to talk about. thoughts about my expectations for india, about how to rightly understand my actions as a christian in social issues, about what it would mean for me to leave waco, what it would mean for me to stay in waco, about how my crushes are always disasters, about my faith in Christ, about how that's the one thing i can't let go of, even when i'm speaking with a hindu and finding commonality in almost everything she says...and on and on.

and in my thinking about how i would like to address social justice issues, i am becoming convinced by yoder that my place as a christian is not to act within the political structures of our society. when i lend them my time, when i put my energy into trying to change things they way they allow for me to change things, i give them a place of power in my life that they should not have. by using their methods i support their ideals. but i don't know how to move away from political activism. it's all i've known. if only i could become a part of a community that could show me how to make a difference without using the system...

saying that, yesterday i took part in a rally organized by the hispanic community in waco. click here for the article
i didn't sign a petition; i didn't write a letter to my congressman; i didn't shout out my disdain for HR 4437. the truth is, i couldn't even attend before there was a real struggle in my head about whether or not to go. was it worth skipping palm sunday for? would i be saying that i supported the ways of the political system? in the end, i decided to go. because here's the deal: i want to stand among those who are being treated injustly. i wanted to be with people that i would not necessarily see at my church. even if i wasn't being active, even if i was simply walking in silence, i wanted to show my support for them, not the system. and as i listened to the voices of men, women, and children shout "el pueblo unido jamas sera vencido," as i watched mothers enduring the walk while having to carrying their babies, as i stood beside elderly men and women who walked despite the arthritic pain of growing old, i felt i had made the right choice. i don't know that i will ever understand the full plight of people who are denied the rights of basic human dignity, but i do know that standing there, among my people, i felt i was a part of their struggle.