January 17, 2006

1/17/06
Today we met with the leaders of the small mission church that hosted Salem Presbytery travelers during the summer of 2005. Salem groups conducted VBS with the children from this mission while working on a project at the bible school.

In the Mexican Presbyterian Church, there are three designations that describe the size of a body of believers. A “Mission” is the smallest. It may have 1 to 20 members and is supervised by an elder from a larger church. The next designation is a “Congregation.” It may have up to 50 members and then it can register to become a “church.”

The mission is located on a steep side street in Ocosingo. It is has been built by the congregation over several years. Like most buildings here, the exterior is made from cement block and covered with stucco. The floor is still dirt and the roof is only partly finished. When we were conducting VBS last summer, one of the predictable afternoon summer storms hit and the rain was blown inside the church because the roof is not connected to the walls, producing a puddle in the center of the sanctuary.

We were contacted by a member of a small Presbyterian Church just north of Greensboro, NC who traveled with Salem last summer about an idea to help the mission church. This NC church is conducting a campaign to repair/replace the roof of its church. The idea is to raise additional funds to help the mission complete its roof too.

Hebron Foundation employs an architect because they are always called upon by churches to help with construction projects. Bany Hernandez is familiar to most travelers because she has been an intern with the foundation while studying architecture. She has now graduated and will work with the clinic construction over the next 2 years. Pablo, Bany, Julian (bible school employee) and I went to the mission to get the measurement for the roof. We were joined by the mission elder and a representative from the ladies society.

The building is an odd shape because it is perched on a steep hill and it has been build in the method used by so many people and churches here…build when you have the money. I took the opportunity to take lots of pictures so I could “tell the story” for the church back in NC. As we were wrapping up, the lady’s society representative began bringing out food, because whenever two or more Presbyterians gather….you must eat. We had pollo asdada (grilled chicken), black beans, tortillas, chiles and Coke.

I got back to the bible school and created a power point presentation to send the church. It is amazing how the reach of a small NC church can be extended by cross cultural missions. I chose Isaiah 64:8 for the scripture reference for the presentation:
“Yet, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay, and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”