Oaxaca, The Trip of a Lifetime by Becky

This past November was my first time to go with Amigos Sin Fronterra (Friends without Borders) medical-missions trip. The ride up was probably the hardest part for me, as it was a two-day affair due to car trouble. I had to get used to the no-space-to-move, bang-your-body-to-death roads, and no-air-to-breath seating positions. But, of course, that is all part of the experience…. When we arrived in San Bartolome Losicha Pochutla Oaxaca, (yes, that is the town’s name) we quickly unpacked all the supplies into a big two story building that the town let us borrow. The upstairs we set up as a dormitory while using the downstairs for medical, dental, and pharmaceutical purposes. After getting all unpacked we trooped down to the basement for a meeting to plan our schedule:

6:30 – prayer meeting in the basement.

7:00 _ breakfast in the nearby church building.

8:00 _ start medical and dental work with the villagers

2:00_ halt work and go eat lunch.

3:00_ back to work, but by this time the kids were out of school and were swarming all over, so the kids’ team kicks in to gear with songs, games, skits, etc. That was Dad’s part.

8:00_ starting to get dark so up goes the movie projector for all the patients still waiting in line for their turn to see a doctor.

9:00_ people slipped in as they could to eat dinner, usually in shifts, as some were still hard at work trying to finish.

10:00-11:00_ as things began to wind down, we drifted off to bed to catch a few hours of sleep before our meeting at 6:30 and our day began.

Now, take that times four and a half days and you’ve got a pretty rough looking bunch of people. But also remember that most of these people had been doing that for years. ….I hadn’t. By the second day my whole body hurt. My head was throbbing, my throat was nearly dead from yelling people’s names all over, and I was thoroughly amazed at the attitudes of everyone else. They were in just the same condition as me and yet by looking at them you could hardly believe it. They were more than just cheerful, they were really happy! Doing the work of the Lord, and sharing His word among the lost made them push aside all their physical exhaustion and pour out their lives and work for the Lord. It was truly amazing.

The first couple of days I was working with a foreign doctor whose specialty was old people with back, knee, and eye-sight problems. By the end of my first day with him, I felt able to enter town by myself and diagnose every old person there, as most of them were suffering from the same things. The best part of my day was during the doctors’ lunch break when I found time to play with the local kids. Two little boys in particular followed me everywhere and taught me some Zapoteco greetings. After trying them out and not getting any response, I met one of their sisters. She quickly corrected me and informed me that they didn’t know two words of Zapoteco between the two of them. Besides that, we had a lot of fun together with the other school kids.

After three days, my doctor and his team left and I was put on the administration team. For the days that remained from 8-9 a.m. we took peoples’ names down on two different papers and gave them numbers to see the doctors. We did this until Tuesday afternoon when we packed up all the remaining stuff, said our farewells, and started back on the long trip home.

BUILDING UPDATE by Ed

From atop the next hill, we watched a “cohetero” bend over a wick, light a match, and run like the wind for cover. A “cohetero” here in Mexico is a “rocket man” or, in more common terms, a dynamite guy. The earth rumbled, smoke shot skywards, and pieces of rock began dropping around us. Finally, we were underway on the construction of the house where, God willing, we’ll be basing our ministry here with the “El Monte” project. Because this house is situated on WEC property, it cannot belong to us, and so the decision to invest personal funds in its construction and trust the Lord to provide the rest has been a step of faith for us. We’re believing God’s promise to those who have given up houses and family for His sake. (See Matthew 19:20)

It’s going to be a wonderful place. Because of power dips and spikes, air conditioning is not an option, so we’ve turned to southern style wrap-around porches and shady roof overhangs. We’re borrowing Mexican technology in the form of a cooling fountain in a central courtyard. Lots of stone and adobe will help to moderate the heat as well.

Besides being a place for us, this house will serve as the kitchen/dining hall for the first year or two of our Missionary Training Center. It will serve as a temporary office, student hang-out, and hospitality center as well. Busy, busy, busy...but that’s the way we like it!

At present, we are finishing up the stone work and watching the roof go on. We are in a steep learning curve as to what and how long it takes to build something, but this should serve us well in the future as we hope to build about seventy-five more buildings at El Monte. Please pray for us as we finish up doors and windows, bathrooms, solar hot-water heaters, floor treatments, and cabinetry in the next couple of months so that we can move in when we come back from furlough in mid-May.

FAMILY UPDATE

Thank You! ....for your prayers for our scattering flock. We’re very thankful to God for His direction for each one. They are happily adjusting, satisfied in their studies, and becoming more our teammates than mere children!

Mary coordinates the Short Term Department and heads up the Kid’s Club.

Sarah has just moved back in with new skills in graphic art and web-design!

Will loves life in New Zealand; in his 2nd year at EastWest Missionary College.

Ned graduates in May from high school in Maryland; living with grandparents.

Becky, Scott, Rachel and Walter test their wings as they jump from mango trees and greet bats in the caves of El Monte. We do love our Mexican country life, but can’t wait to see many of you during a brief furlough to the states this Spring!

Thanks for being the most wonderful friends and family we could ever imagine!

A Party for the Pueblo By Debbie

Our neighbors love parties! Sometimes it feels like we do nothing but attend wedding, birthday and patriotic parties! Sweltering in 115 degree heat in a party salon last July, the celebrators wondered aloud who would be the next girl in the crowd to turn 15...the biggest birthday of all in this culture. All eyes turned toward our Becky, and the rest is history.

The 15th birthday for a girl marks the end of girlhood and the beginning of her life as a woman. Many girls will receive their last doll, symbolically, and receive their first set of high heels in a ceremony very much like a formal wedding: complete with fancy clothes, sit-down dinner, special music and the world’s biggest cake. This sounded expensive!

The Christians emphasize the girls’s dedication of her life to the Lord and His glory. As soon as we officially set the date with the church pastors, word spread quickly and we happily learned that the whole village intended to help! What unfolded before our eyes was the highly-held cultural concept of “cooperation;” eager and generous giving to make a large event possible.

Soon a family of married sisters arrived at the gate. We sipped coffee and chatted for an hour before they shyly entered the subject of Becky’s party. Could we please allow them to provide the cake? They estimated we would need to order 88 pounds of the fanciest cake on the tallest platform....in the shape of a cresent moon! Spectacular!

This scene of visitors with offers to provide or make the essentials of the party became the main focus of our homelife for the next three months. It was the perfect opportunity to get to know our neighbors better, practice Spanish and introduce ourselves to the town in the most culturally accepted way: celebrating life.

Becky was the greatest sport of all; even singing a special song as part of the program. Many unsaved neighbors heard a wonderful gospel sermon and saw the church teens singing their hearts out to their Lord. Can you believe that more than 300 people came?! And all claim it was a huge success!

NEWS FROM SARAH whatadaisy@hotmail.com

Having just returned to Mexico after studying web design at a community college in Maryland I have spent the last month relearning the ins and outs of life in the small town of Ticuman, finding ways to help out in my family, and learning where I fit with the other missionaries on the field. The team here has welcomed me warmly and with open arms. My "job" description at this time will be web master and tecnhical assistant. Please pray with me as I continue to seek God´s guidance:
• As I discern God´s will for my future
• Good communication as I start to set up the web page for WEC Mexico