Te lustro?

I can't, say that it was my idea. Colby was the first one I knew who was out doing it. Then David and Ross grabbed the idea while they were here the last couple months. I finally was able to push my pride aside and started for the first time a couple weeks ago. It has changed things a lot.

I just got back from a youth workers convention in Cochabamba where I was teaching 3 Story Evangelism. Every time I teach 3 Story I learn more. It is so good.

Anyways, there is this concept in 3 Story that says I want to discover other people's stories. One of the skills associated with this is getting involved in their life. It is more than just being around to observe someone's life, it is coming alongside them and doing what they do. When I went to missionary training they called it incarnational ministry. It is what Jesus did. He came and got involved in our lives. Even the ugly parts. It was the example he set for his followers.

So I got dressed up and hit the streets as a shoe shiner. Now, for those who are not familiar with shoe shining in La Paz, I ought to fill you in on a couple things. The shoe shining in La Paz is done mostly by young men between the ages of 8 and 30. There are a couple ladies and you will see older men that have made a career out of it, but the majority are boys like I've described.

The services they provide include polishes in multiple colors (black, brown, maroon, yellow, white, or neutral) and they will gladly wash tennis shoes with soapy water and a towel. A common shoe shine will cost you the equivalent of $0.06 US, and for something a little out of the ordinary (like boots or an uncommon color) will run you around $0.12 US. In a day, a good shoe shiner can take home as much as $6.00 US, but around $3.00 is more common.

Probably the thing that really makes the shoe shiners in La Paz stick out is their dress. They cover themselves from head to toe with gloves, pants, long-sleeve shirts and ski masks. The only part of their body showing is their eyes, which are easily hidden by the brim of their baseball cap by looking down. Some will tell you that they dress like this to avoid getting dirty or to protect themselves from the fumes of the polish, but when you get to know them, they will admit that the outfit is used to protect their identity. They don't want their friends, neighbors and in some cases family to know that they spend their days at people's feet.

So because of the dressing tradition, I am able to cover myself and join the guys at their posts without anyone knowing I'm a gringo. It is quite the different experience than roaming the streets as a gringo. I especially like running into people I know and messing with them a little.

I'm learning how to shine. I get nervous, especially because the guys I shine with have been doing it for years and so they can do it with their eyes closed. I, on the other hand, get polish on people's socks and drop my brushes and can't do all the little tricks that the guys do with the final polish rag.

But the thing that is really the best is being with the guys. In a three hour shining session we talk about all sorts of things: the war in Iraq, their friends and family, what it means to be a gentleman, the weekend soccer games, what we believe in and hundreds of other things. In my opinion, it is so better than having them come to some event and forcing a conversation about faith.

We are also reading Narnia. I bought a couple books and we take a moment out of the work day to read a chapter. A couple of the guys are taking English classes, so we also use the time to practice. I can imagine what some of our clients think when they are getting their shoes shined by one guy, another guy is reading Narnia, and yet another guy is helping the rest to correctly pronounce "wonderful".