Breaking New Ground

Our first group arrived on Friday February 17. This was an unusually small group but important nonetheless. Susie Wiggins and Reverend Debbie Freeman from Little Rock Arkansas came to celebrate the first anniversary of the forming of a Ladies Society in 12 churches of the Lacandon Presbytery. The Presbyterian Women of Arkansas have a covenant relationship with this new group of indiginous Tzeltal ladies, and Susie and Debbie came to visit and affirm that relationship.

We traveled to the jungle village of Plan de Ayutala where the celebration was being held. We also traveled with the treasurer of the General Assembly of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, who was invited to participate in the celebration. As usual, we were greeted with much warmth, fellowship and a meal.

Over 300 ladies from the 12 churches were in attendance for the Saturday and Sunday event. Interestingly though, one society would not allow their ladies to attend, so they sent the two male advisors to the society as representatives.

At the Sunday morning worship, Debbie became the first female to preach the Gospel in the Presbyterian Church in that village and possibly in the entire region. She delivered a wonderful message, speaking directly to the ladies in attendance, something that native pastors rarely do.

After her sermon, Debbie and Susie presented the Ladies Society with two communion trays which were donated by their church. They also presented a communion plate and chalice handmade by Debbie’s brother. The communion set and trays were given with the sure knowledge that the sacraments would be administered when the ladies societies meet. The marvelous thing is they will be used by a new group of believers speaking a different language than those that gave it.

Once again, God opens doors for the advancement of His kingdom. Slowly this male-dominated society is getting glimpses of female elders, pastors and leaders from the US Church. By allowing the formation of the ladies societies, the Tzeltal men have taken a small step toward more active participation by ladies in the church. They have a long way to go, but progress is measured in small steps here. Come on down ladies and help open more doors.

Laundry Day

I’ve always been pretty self reliant. I am the primary cook at home, and I routinely do my own laundry. I’m not much for ironing, unlike my friend and fraternity brother, Milton, who was nicknamed “iron pants” because he left that note to himself on the door to his dorm room. Besides, if you take your clothes out of the dryer while they are warm, who needs to iron?

I’ve also been spoiled by the modern conveniences that we all take for granted in the US like hot water on demand, washing machines and clothes dryers. Well, I’ve also been spoiled in Ocosingo because Jan or Daria routinely do my laundry, albeit by hand.

For the last several days, I have been staying at the Hebron Foundation house in Villahermosa with Esdres, the caretaker, as we transition from our first work group to the second. I have enjoyed the time to catch up on my writing and email, change the oil in the beast (my 1994 Toyota Land Cruiser) after I finally located the right oil filter, and generally rest after a very hectic 6 weeks.

It is very hot in Villahermosa, even during February, so my clothes required washing frequently. So for 20 to 30 minutes every other day I handwash my clothes, scrubbing them with a soapy brush, rinsing and hanging them up to dry on the clothes line.

No big deal really, just another way our two cultures differ and possibly the reason that the work days seem to last longer here than back home. Without the time saving tools that we consider requirements, we must revert to the time testing way of working…with our hands. Washing everything by hand, collecting fire wood, cutting the grass with a machete, mixing concrete with a shovel on the ground are all examples of labor that is accepted as part of the daily life here.

But so are afternoon naps, leisurely meals filled with lively conversation, daily devotional time and frequent group prayers. I am stuck between two cultures as I communicate and work with my family and US partners and live with my Mexican brothers. I always did like to have my cake and eat it too.

Zapatistas

Since arriving in Chiapas, I have traveled around the state visiting all of the major cities and many outlying villages. I frequently see homemade signs along the road declaring this area to be “Zapatista Territory.” The whole state of Chiapas is technically ruled by this band of paramilitary rebels, but in all my years of traveling here, I have never once encountered any of them…..until this week. Twice this week during our travels we encountered road blocks manned by men claiming to be struggling for social justice. Pablo said they were the Z’s, but I saw no masks or outward representation of that, just men dressed like all the other men we see daily.

The first road block was on the way to San Cristobal. These men had a 4x4 board with spikes in it that they threw across the road in front of the car that was stopped. This kept you honest I supposed while they made their pitch for support. They handed each driver a photocopy of a declaration demanding justice for a man that they claimed had been hacked up with a machete by the military. They “requested” $20 pesos from each car before they allowed them to pass. Traffic was backed up for a long way as each driver got the pitch and negotiated their way through. I can imagine they made a tidy sum on that busy road.

We passed a convoy of military vehicles going toward the road block several miles after we were through. We questioned Pablo to see if they were going to intervene. He says that the military and local police are powerless to stop these kinds of things because the Zapatista have an amnesty from the Mexican Government that declares they have self rule in Chiapas. So the military would have to pay to get through too!

The second road block was on the road to Palenque. This time there was no board with spikes, just a rope across the road at a tope. These men claimed to be seeking $50 pesos (about 5 USD) in support of a man that was a victim of a hit and run. Jan negotiated them down to $10 pesos (or about 1 USD) for both cars, and we were on our way fairly quickly.
We got the brilliant idea to bring the Bible School students up to this section of the highway and block traffic, asking for a donation to get through and use the money to fund the operation of the bible school! The next week we could go back and hold up traffic for the clinic construction. We just claim we are with the Z’s and nobody can stop us! I even bought a Zapatista mask at the market in San Cristobal. I can see the headline now “NC Missionary results to paramilitary tactics to fund clinic, film at 11.”

Just kidding, folks!

Calling all mechanics!

Last Friday I made my first trip to Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital city of Chiapas with Pablo and two other pastors from the executive committee of the new organization that will “own” the clinic. We had to get the corporation set up so we can open a local bank account to handle the funds for construction and operations.

During the 3 ½ hour drive to Tuxtla there was a lot of conversation in both Spanish and Tzeltal that I tried to keep up with. The language is coming slowly to me because there are just so many words. I have not gotten to point that I think in Spanish, so I try to convert to English and just get left behind.

Tuxtla is a big bustling city with too many cars and not enough enforcement of normal driving rules, so I was happy to be a passenger, but not happy about being “out of control” if you know what I mean. Our meeting with the government folks who handle corporations only took about 45 minutes, which was a pleasant surprise.

I then learned that this new corporation had applied for and received a gift of 16 vehicles from the state of Chiapas. These are either government vehicles that have been wrecked or civilian vehicles confiscated and not claimed. We were allowed to walk around the fairground size storage lot whose perimeter was lined 3 deep with vehicles of all types and in all conditions.

We started with the pick-up trucks, because the Hebron Foundation must borrow or rent a truck to haul baggage and supplies when work groups visits. Most of the trucks were Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 police trucks. Some had major damage from wrecks, others looked pretty good except for minor body damage. We chose five of these with the hopes that we could combine the parts and get one or two working trucks.

Next we looked at the VM minibuses called combies down here. We picked two of those, one that had just been brought into the lot as we were arriving. The hope is that these could be used for transporting youth groups.

Then I saw a section with motorcycles, and I started to salivate. I have always wanted a bike to play on and ride around town. I picked out two Yamaha’s that looked pretty good and were only missing a turn signal or brake light. I hope to get one of these running by summer time.

So we picked out 9 vehicles total that will be given to the new corporation. The government does not care what is done with them once they leave the lot, so we may be able to sell pieces and parts to help cover the transportation costs, which will be the cost of diesel fuel for a round trip from Ocosingo to Tuxtla. One of members of the Rotary Club I just joined has an auto hauler and has agreed to help for the cost of fuel.

So here is the pitch; How about a Mechanics Mission Trip? If you are or know an auto mechanic that would like to have an experience of a lifetime, come visit us in Ocosingo and help us get these pick-ups and combies operational. We will work with local mechanics and worship in local Presbyterian churches, just like our construction trips. But instead of a finished building or concrete slab, at the end of your trip you’ll leave behind working vehicles that can be used for years of service to Hebron Foundation and the Presbyterian Church.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:6

Bible Translation

The Tzeltal people are one of the largest people groups in Chiapas with more than 279,000 living in the region. (2000 census) But they don’t all speak the same version of Tzeltal. There is a low land version and a highland version of Tzeltal, plus 4 more dialects and several sub-dialects that differ to the point of almost being separate languages.

The Christian Church has been working with these kind and gracious people for more than 100 years, but they still do not have a complete and accurate translation of the Bible in Tzeltal. 85% of all Bibles today are printed in English for the 9% of the world who read English.

There is a Tzeltal translation that was done by a missionary in the 1970’s but he combined the highland and lowland Tzeltal using words from both languages. As it turned out, neither group could understand it. In 1988, the Mayan Synod undertook the project of revising and updating that translation, and the project is almost complete. The manuscript is in its final reading, and final revisions are being made by a team of three pastors appointed by the Synod.

Here’s the problem. How many of you have read the Bible cover to cover? I have, but only once and I can’t say that I was extremely thorough about it. The pastors on the translation team must not only thoroughly read each book, but they must meet to discuss and agree upon the changes to the translation. This is time consuming and tedious work that can only be done in the evening hours because all three are full-time pastors with multiple churches in different communities. If they work during the day on the translation, then their churches feel slighted and cut their pay. If they continue at their current pace, it will be years until the translations are completed to allow the Holy Bible to be available in their native tongue.

The pastors on the committee say they can complete their work in 6 months if they can work Monday thru Thursday on the translation. They can do this work for $300 USD each per month or a total of $5,400 to complete the translation. So for less than $6,000, you or your church could make an impact that lasts for generations! You could know that your gift allowed the Mayan Synod to bring God's word to their people in their own language, not a foreign language. To be able to learn, not from a foreign god, but from a God who speaks their own language, whose words are their words. Over a quarter of a million Tzeltal and their descendents... Go ahead….dare to make a difference!

Prayer Requests

Partners in Missions have an important role to play through the incredible power of prayer. I invite you to join with me in praying for our work here in Chiapas.

• Pray for the preparation of the eleven American mission trip work groups that are coming to Ocosingo to work with the Foundation.
• Pray for those in local churches here who will receive groups and send their members to work with Americans.
• Pray that God will open a channel to for medical supplies, equipment and medications to be received in Ocosingo. We have many willing donors in the states, but the Mexican Government makes it very difficult for supplies to reach their intended destination.

We are grateful for the many ways God is at work in the lives of Americans, Spanish Mexicans and indigenous Mexicans as our paths cross in unseen ways. Thanks be to God.

Working at the Bible School

I know most of you have never been to the Alpha and Omega Bible School in Ocosingo Chiapas, so a description of it may be helpful. The school is located just outside of Ocosingo on a hill that overlooks the town below and the mountains to the south. The school has one large U shaped, single story administrative building, a two story kitchen/dining room/dormitory building, a two story library/classroom building, a married student housing building, and a small 2 story house broken into two apartments (that’s where we will live.)

All the building are made of concrete block with white stucco siding and flat concrete roofs. Each building has a large black plastic water tank on the roof to store water and provides the water pressure for its use. No hot water heaters here, which is not an issue in the summer, but makes for chilly showers this time of year.

I share an office in the administration building with faculty member Jose and Hebron Foundation Architect Bany Hernandez. Now that school is back in session, music fills the air each morning as students practice piano, voice and conducting. I recognize the tunes of many old favorites like Onward Christian Soldiers, Holy, Holy, Holy and others, but the words are not yet clear.

Each morning Chapel is held at 11 am, lunch is served at 2 pm and the work day goes well past 7 pm most days. The male students study theology and the female students study music and Christian Education.

I'll try to get some pictures up on the website to help bring this description into a real picture, but I thought you might enjoy this for now. It is a blessing to be surrounded by young people who are so serious in their faith journey. Most of the students are away from their villages and families for the first time. My Spanish is coming very slowing, and my Tzeltal even slower, and yet we share a bond through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that helps transcend language and culture in many ways. Still, I will be grateful when my Spanish skills improve so that we can have richer dialogue and get to know each other better. For now I feel blessed to be in their presence and can only hope that my presence is a blessing to them in some way.

Romans 12:9-10 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Big 20 Club

Romans 12:4-6. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith.

How many of us stop at a convenience store and buy a Big 20 oz size bottled water, Coke or Pepsi product almost every day? Did you know we could build our medical clinic at the Alpha and Omega Bible School in Ocosingo if 400 people would contribute the equivalent of the cost of a Big 20 each day for one year. That’s about $1 per day! Thousands of native Tzeltal people could have a place to come for medical care for years in the future if a small number of people make the smallest sacrifice and then share their savings.

Join the Big 20 Club today. Start saving your pocket change, give up that bottle of water or soda every now and then, and when you have enough saved, visit the Starfish Fund website below to make a contribution online. Tell your friends and co-workers, church members and family and soon we’ll have the clinic built that will serve people for years to come. Just think what the StarBucks Club could do!

The Starfish Fund was established by friend and free clinic colleague, Glenn Pierce. You may remember that Glenn accompanied me down to Ocosingo on the big drive. BEFORE coming down, Glenn already understood the longing to serve and to answer God’s call to missionary service. AFTER Glenn came down, he became even more energized! He’s organizing a mission trip for folks to come down to work on the clinic construction, trying to secure an advanced life support ambulance to drive down to us, and promoting The Starfish Fund. This new non-profit is Glenn’s way of trying to encourage all people to recognize that they can, even through small efforts, use God’s blessings on them to make a difference in the world. The Starfish Fund encourages you “to draw on your gifts to help our work, whether it is through working on projects, raising funds, donating funds, or simply telling the important story of learning to use your blessings.”

Visit The Starfish Fund online at http://www.starfishfund.citymaker.com/page/page/2947185.htm!

Commitment

Today I met a native Presbyterian missionary that told a story of physical hardship and persecution in the name of spreading the Gospel. His name is Alonso Mendez Sanchez. He works in the remote jungle villages of Chiapas. He stays out in the villages for 15-20 days of each month as he reaches out to the native Indian Tzeltal people that have not been exposed to the Gospel. He begins his trek to the jungle by driving his truck along a worn dirt road for six hours past Ocosingo. When he reaches the end of the road, he walks for 2 days to reach a village that has five believers in it and another with six, passing many villages with no Christian presence at all. The area that he works in is also in Zapatista territory, and he tells of some not so friendly encounters as he has evangelized some of these remote villages.

The Zapatistas forbid protestant churches from operating in their territory because the teachings of the church go against their doctrine. They do however work with the Catholic church. Any convert to protestant Christianity is taking a big risk in this part of the state. Many have had their land confiscated by the Z’s after professing their beliefs.

Alonso must carry all his food during his trips because the Z’s have warned the villagers not to sell him food. More than once he has been beaten and run out of a village just for talking about Jesus. He was in the Bible School office today with two other members of the Synod reporting on the outreach he is conducting on behalf of the Presbyterian Church. There is a desire by several small groups of believers in these remote villages to form a church, and they needed to write a letter to the powers that be to ask for assistance.

We surprised him by opening Google Earth on the computer and finding the remote villages he visits and giving him a birds eye view of the terrain he walks. The satellite technology is amazing but it pales in comparison to this man’s commitment to helping his people know and understand the Good News. He is not a pastor, but an elder that felt a call to spend ½ of each month reaching out to his people. He is willing to risk physical danger to ensure that his “brothers” will hear and understand the gift of Grace offered through Christ.

I am humbled by this fellow Presbyterians commitment.

Super Bowl Party Ocosingo Style

Yesterday was the big day. The sporting event of the year for the US is not exactly that big a deal in Ocosingo. I have always been a football fan, but this year I really did not care much about either team. I did however want to see the commercials shown during the game, because they have a history of being really good. This coming from someone that craves the TV remote control so he never has to watch a commercial!

So at kick-off time I dialed up ESPN 2 on the Sky satellite network. I had my bag of microwave popcorn and a diet Coke and was excited to be reconnecting with the US. Well, the first big surprise (although it should not have been) was that the announcers were speaking in Spanish. Bummer, while I am making progress with learning the language, I still need people to speak slowly and repeat themselves often. Not going to happen with this TV show! So, I thought, at least I can watch the action and see the commercials. After the first series I got the other bad news…the commercials were for Mexican products. I guess the NFL sold the rights to ESPN 2, and they had to cover their costs.

Well, no one in the Feliciano household understood American football. I tried to explain it to Albert and Amalia, but they really did not seem all that interested. I ate my popcorn and watched the first half, then felt guilty that I was monopolizing the television. So I went down to my room and listened to the rest of the game on the satellite radio Ginny got me for Christmas.

When I went back upstairs to the television room, Albert was watching Mexican professional wrestling! It was couple night and teams of couples were squaring off in the ring, complete with a midget wrestler! I thought the contrast was striking.

Soccer is king here, and American football ain’t no big thing; Just one of many differences between the states and my new home. It was only a game anyway, but I really did miss the commercials.

Solar Oven

If there is one thing that Chiapas has plenty of it is sunshine. On my many visits to Mexico during my summer mission trips, I often inquired about the use of active or passive solar techniques since there is an abundance of sunshine here. I was told that the technology is too expensive for electricity and that passive hot water heating works during the day, but keeping the water hot all night is a problem. Believe me when I tell you that cold showers in the morning are no fun even when it is only 50 degrees.

Before leaving Winston I investigated various passive solar projects and decided I would build a solar oven. I wanted to test out various recipes for fun and maybe be able to share this with some village cooks that still use wood fires for everyday cooking. I downloaded the plans for a simple solar oven made from two cardboard boxes and a Reynolds oven bag for its “lens.”

Well the other day I was frustrated by the lack of Internet access, so I decided to put the oven together and try it out. I had just found the Reynolds bags at a big store in Comitan where I also bought some aluminum pans and black spray paint. I tracked down a couple of cardboard boxes from the local tienda (store) and began cutting and gluing the oven together. I was finished in a couple of hours and was right pleased by the way it looked. Pablo’s dad came in about that time and snickered at my contraption, but Jan was excited by the prospect of not using up the valuable LP gas for baking.

On Super Bowl Sunday, the sky was clear for the first time in several days, so I mixed up a batch of brownies and put them in the oven in the sun out on the flat roof of the house (which is easy to access from a door on the second floor.) We then left for church and returned a couple of hours later. While it was a sunny day it was also windy and I understand that wind decreases the efficiency of solar ovens.

Well I let those brownies stay in the sun all day long and they never really got done. They tasted fine, but it was like eating chocolate pudding with a hard top crust. I will keep trying, because it is astounding how much wood people burn each day to prepare their meals. As we drive along the mountain roads on our travels, we always see women and children carrying piles of firewood using a strap that goes around their forehead.

One of God’s many blessings is that the sun comes up every morning, and I hope to be able to perfect a simple yet efficient way to tap into that boundless source of energy and give the folks here an option that could save much physical effort and save the environment too.

God Opens Doors

Today was one of those days when I realized that I am not in this mission thing alone, but that God’s angels are watching over me and putting me in the places I need to be.

I was up to my elbows in medical supplies as I inventoried the Hebron Foundation storage closet in the administration building of the bible school. I really needed another hour of sorting and cataloging before I started to enter the data into a spreadsheet that I could email to the medical team leaders. Pablo stuck his head in the door and said he had a project for me. He wanted me to accompany (read drive) him and an attorney to Comitan, a two hour drive one way.

I hesitated in my reply, because Ginny and I had talked about the danger of my getting caught up in the whirlwind that is Pablo Feliciano Cruz. Pablo is in on the go all the time and if I am to get my work done, then I need to decline these types of invitations because it would take my whole day. But something told me to say ok, so I did.

We left right away to pick up the attorney, a guy named Armando Nagon. He climbed into the back seat of the land cruiser and we headed down the narrow streets of Ocosingo.

First angel moment. Armando was asking me questions in Spanish and I was attempting to answer and not paying particular attention to the streets. There are no stop signs in Mexico, at least that I have seen, but directional arrows are painted on buildings at intersections in black or red. Black means you have the right of way, red means stop. Well I ran a stop sign and a taxi came within inches of running into us. I don’t think you could have fit a playing card between his bumper and my right front quarter panel.

I sheepishly pulled through the intersection followed by the taxi which pulled beside me and the driver starts chewing me out in Spanish. All I could say was perdon and lo ciento, pardon and I’m sorry. He and his wife were both complaining that their little girl had been thrown around in the back seat (another good case for car seats) and needed to go to the hospital. We followed them there, but they must have decided she was ok, because they just drove past and did not stop. So the first angle moment was that I didn’t kill someone in an accident in Ocosingo.

Second Angel Moment. The second angel moment was the rest of the day spent with Armando. In all my years of working in and raising money for nonprofit organizations, I learned and taught that success in this field requires that you must build relationships and/or tap into people that have them. When I came to Ocosingo I had several goals. Three of them were to transfer my membership from my Winston-Salem Rotary club to the club in Ocosingo; Explore and make funding requests from Mexican Foundations, and build relationships with officials in the local, state and national government.

Armando started the Rotary club in Ocosingo! He was very excited about me transferring my membership and my suggestion that we work on involving Rotary International in funding the clinic construction. He is calling a special meeting of the club to introduce me and discuss the project.

Armando has relationships with several of the largest foundations in Mexico City and agreed to “open the door” for me to make funding proposals for the clinic. It will require a trip to Mexico City, which will be pretty cool too. He also is very well connected in government circles and has the ear of the leading candidate for Governor of Chiapas. He also has relationships with the National government that we can use to smooth the way with local politicians. It seem that in Mexico, if someone at the top of government says they like an idea, it is harder for someone at the local level to disagree.

So today, I spent 7 hours with the most influential person I have met so far, planning and talking about various ways to help the people of Ocosingo and Chiapas. He’s a Presbyterian to boot, and he gave me a kilo of coffee! He has a coffee shop as a side business.

So the next time you hear that little voice that say “yes” when you are thinking “no”, take a chance. It may just lead to a God moment.