Divine Appointments in Santa Fe

It has been a day...one that was asked for and one that far exceeded our wildest expectations...First we got up late and our New Mexico girl went for a jaunt around the town while Renee and I had an enlightening conversation with the front desk manager, Jeremy. He told us about his life, his trek to and from Santa Fe, the loss of his five-year-old son, and his near-death experience that led him to the study of holistic medicine and healing. When we told him about our project, he said that if we were looking for God around here, "Good Luck." Funny how that was the same response we got from Lou in Los Alamos. He said that we would get all kinds of answers around here, but he believes that no matter what you call him, there is one God who created all of us and that is who we all have faith in ultimately. He goes to a non-denominational church here and also is a holistic medicine and healing practitioner. He told Renee that she has the gift of foresight and that I have the gift of empathy. He gave us directions to the Buddist temple, the Zen center, and told us who he would recommend we avoid from his own experience in this community. We got ready and when Laura got back, we loaded up the camera and went downstairs, heading to lunch and then the square. On our way to the car, I saw a biker couple who were walking along the parking lot. I felt really drawn to them and said, "Hey, we need to get them." I ran over to them and introduced myself and asked if they would mind being filmed for our documentary. Bob and Tammy agreed. I brought them over to meet Renee and Laura, and then Laura suggested we go inside to get away from all the outside noise. We went over by the trees in the lobby and began to film them...Bob was a little amused by our topic and said we really picked somebody since he didn't beleive in God or any of that. He said we should start with his wife Tammy. We did and she had a story to tell. She is not down with organized religion, because she hates that it is so focused on getting people's money. She quoted the Bible and Biblical principles a lot and was so wonderful to talk to. Then we went to Bob and he told us why he doesn't believe there is a God. He used the famous non-existent Bible verse, God helps those who help themselves." He said that he had never read the Bible, but he believes that it is a fiction men made up and is for people who are weak. He talked about his four marriages, raising his kids on his own, and about his new wife Tammy. When Laura asked him what made him such a good man, he said that his father taught him to be that way. He really was a good man with a big heart and you could see it in his eyes. They were an amazing couple who made some really valid points about why it is hard to believe what men say God is. We then headed to lunch at Gloria's (I highly recommend this to all REAL Mexican food lovers). We did a bit of processing our day thus far and then made our way to the Georgia O'Keffee Museum. Then we wandered down to the square and struck up a conversation with a group of people who live their day lives right there, people who come from all over, Oakland, Fresno, Idaho, Arizona, Santa Fe and who scrounge for food and beer, play the guitar, and do community. I asked them if they wanted to talk to us on film for our documentary; they seemed game and asked the topic. DZ asked if we had any food because he was hungry. I gave them some money and then promised them some mixed nuts out in the car (thanks, mom). They seemed excited about both. When I told them the topic, one of the guys (Randy) said that he had just read a book in Bakersfield last month called Searching for God in America. I told him since he had been thinking about the topic recently then he should probably talk. I sat down beside him and we started the interview. He had a lot to say. He talked about his dog named Tovah, Hebrew for "Good", who he had lost in November. He had been in a really bad wreck and had lost her then. She had been with him for two years and seven months. He said that religion had been forced on him and he had pushed it away, but that his turning point came when he went to prison and realized that he was released much sooner than what he expected and that nothing bad happeed to him while he was there, so he knew someone was looking out for him. He said that he prays everyday and that he knows that Jesus is his savior and that he died on the cross for our sins. We talked a while longer and then I started to the car to get the promised nuts...on my way I passed by a Native American man who asked me if I was going to the Rainbow Gathering. He apparently had overheard our interview with Randy, and so I sat down and talked to him. He was very upset by how the white man had messed with the original Hebrew of the Bible. He was mad at how we had Americanized the names of the original text. He started calling out the correct Hebrew names for the disciples and some of the prophets and Yahweh. He told me stories that wove Biblical truth with Native American Folklore about where the water came from here in this region and about how in the Bible it talks about faith that can move a mountain. He said that happened with some Indians here, that they had such strong faith together that they moved a mountain and made it fly across the country and that it stayed where it landed, but that the feces of the moutain was left where it had been before. Renee said later that was oil. He also said that the European white man was cursed by God the Creator because he had been so wicked to the Indians. He said the curse was that they have very few sunny days and that it is mostly cold and rainy. His name is Boy Coyote and he is 62 years old. He is from Idaho and traveled from state-to-state collecting different colored sand to do his sand painting. He said he had not painted for 20 years. He said he had been on a constant drunk since November, but that he was now eight days sober. I asked him how that was working out and he said that he liked being sober because he saw a lot clearer, but that reality didn't look very good. I encouraged him to stay sober so he could paint more clearly. Laura got the promised nuts and water to our new friends and we took off in the rain. When we got back to the hotel, I told Jeremy that we would love to talk with him some more and then on the way up the elevator, I ran into someone originally from Canada who knew one of our professors from seminary. She said she had definitely found God. She is staying right next door to us. We all parted when we got to the room to process the day in our own way. We just watched the last three days of footage and are very excited about what we have so far!!! Not bad for beginners. Those of you out there praying for our journey, please pray that we can capture what we are witnessing...we really want to be able to share this with all of you...we are now working on putting some footage on You Tube and pictures are on Laura's computer, ready to be uploaded...sweet dreams...