January 9, 2006

Monday morning we arose and were on the road to Ocosingo by 7:30 am. Pablo wanted to show Glenn the back roads, so we left the main highway 30 miles past the airport and turned towards the mountains. The first 4 miles the road was in very bad condition, but then we crossed into Chiapas (no border check required) and the roads improved, but that is relative. They are still narrow, curvy, pockmarked and contain the Mexican speed-bump called topes. While we had encountered some topes on the trip from the border, once into Chiapas they became more frequent and less well marked. Thank goodness for the high clearance of the land cruiser.

We drove for 3 hours to the community of Tila which has a beautiful Catholic church atop a hill. It is famous for a miracle stream with healing powers. The Catholic people come each May to pay homage to the crucifix in the church and crawl up the steep (and I mean really steep) street that leads to the church. Pablo had never been to the church because each time he travels through the area he is with local Presbyterian pastors who are not as open minded as we are and disapprove of the Catholic Church. We were happy to oblige him as it was a wonderful chance to see an example of an old Mexican Catholic church.

We stood in line in the church behind the faithful and those that had paid a professional prayer to intercede on their behalf. The beautiful crucifix is enclosed in a glass cabinet atop a massive marble alter. Glenn suggested that the group in July the he is organizing come by Tila on the way to Ocosingo to see this beautiful church.

We arrived in Ocosingo at 2 pm. We were welcomed by Pablo’s daughter Amalia, her daughter Priscilla, Pablo’s niece Flo and the Foundation secretary Viviana. We unloaded the truck and I began to arrange my living quarters in Pablo and Jan’s house. We will eventually move into a house on the grounds of the Alpha Omega Bible School, but it needs some renovation.

After supper and a nap, we sat down with Pablo to review the clinic plans and make recommended changes. We had spent several hours on the drive down talking about the clinic and what services would be practical to provide short and long-term. The existing plans that Bonnie (the architect) drew were more like a hospital than a clinic. The practical reality is the facility will not be able to provide 24 hour care in the near term, so we looked at changing the layout to more resemble a day clinic with outpatient medical, dental and minor surgery capabilities. Glenn has designed several clinics and consulted with more on patient flow and staffing, so his input was very valuable.