Drop-in American Visitors?

A couple of weeks ago, during a bit of downtime between groups, we were surprised to look up and notice a group of caucasians unloading from a van with Texas license plates. Now lots of cars down here have Texas plates, but the white faces and English-speaking voices that arrived out of nowhere were a big surprise! We quickly assumed our role as greeters for visitors to the campus and learned that they were a group of Baptists from Indiana and Texas who were on an exploratory trip considering different models for bible schools. Their collective churches want to build a bible school in the area and wanted to see what had been accomplished at Alfa y Omega.

During our discussions, I shared about our plans for building the medical clinic to serve indigenous people here and the medical mission trips that we've been having for the past few years.

One gentleman mentioned, "Well, we've got a lady dentist in our church who could help, but she said 'to really make a difference, I'd really need some sort of mobile dental unit to take into the community." We discussed the experiences of other dentists who have participated in medical missions and the services that they are able to provide. Primarily, because of time, numbers of dental patients and available resources, dentists on medical mission trips end up pulling 2-5 teeth for most patients. No mobile dental unit required.

Now, before you squalk to yourself about pulling versus repairing, consider this: most patients come in hoping to find someone who can pull their teeth and grant them the pain relief they crave! That is their culture, and it's what they come wanting. The patients leave satisfied, and 3 times as many patients have been served than if we "drilled & filled," simply because of the time it takes to complete those procedures. And if we used a mobile dental unit, we would not be able to reach those with the most pressing needs since the roads to Tzeltal villages are a challenge to regular vehicles and would NEVER accommodate an RV or similar vehicle.

This temptation to want to provide our best to those who need it the most is very common. In fact, it is part of what drives the changes in mental health services across NC and many other states in the country. In both cases, we have somehow ended up letting the desire for the perfect to be the enemy of the good. I heard that mantra from my friend and mentor, Bert Wood, for the past 2 years, and it's true! Here in Mexico, the needs are great, and yet, even if we can't provide the ideal, we can provide what people are asking for in many cases without having all the perfect resources. So, mobile dental units are not required in order to make a HUGE difference!

As basic human needs are met, trust begins to develop. As trust develops, relationships are formed. As relationships are formed, doors of opportunity to share God's word and the Good News are opened. Thanks be to God that we don't have to have the perfect to do good works in the Lord's name. And if any other gringos want to drop by unexpectedly, we'll welcome you with open arms too!

All Creatures Great & Small

Living in a rural setting brings with it all sorts of new experiences, and one of those has been through all the varieties creatures that God created. It’s much easier to delight in God’s creation when viewing baby ducks, kittens, puppies, azaleas & rhododendron in full bloom and the incredible colors of the sun as it rises and sets. Easier, I suppose, than finding delight in flying ants, centipedes that are 3 inches long, hoards of turkey vultures, and hundreds of tiny ants carrying their load off to some unseen nest….or….yesterday’s discovery of a tarantula on the wall by the stairs leading up to Holly & Maggie’s room!!!! Needless to say, the tarantula generated great alarm from Maggie (who refused to go down the stairs) and great surprise from the group of mission travelers as they arrived for our 6:30 AM breakfast. The misison travelers were quite happy to view it AFTER John had captured it in a small trashcan!

We’ve also enjoyed waking to find assorted animals in our front yard (which doubles as a soccer field and entryway to the Bible School). We may awake to find horses grazing just feet from our front porch, 20-30 turkey vultures resting along the soccer goalposts, or mist hanging across the mountain view like a luxurious canopy. Our travels include getting to see lots of varieties of pigs (some with hair as long as a dog), chickens, turkeys, cows, donkeys, peacocks, tucans and more. We’re grateful for the ubiquitous geckos that eat bugs and never bother us, and we continue to marvel at all of God’s creatures great and small.

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small;
All things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all. *

How God prepared us at Road's End!

Several months ago I shared with the Mt. Airy Rotary Club how living in Mt. Airy helped prepare us for living in Ocosingo. I shared how both communities have worked to allow the benefits of advancement to come in while holding fast to the culture and heritage of the mountain people who "moved to town." Similarly, I realized after arriving in Ocosingo another amazing way in which our family has been prepared to live in this new environment.

Since early childhood, I (Ginny) have loved spending summers at my grandparents' summer cabin which was aptly dubbed "Road's End." There I learned that, because of the joy of experiencing God's creation and fellowship with family & friends, I could overlook problems with water that stops flowing, screen doors that don't close, small creatures than invade without invitation, and the absence of modern conveniences like dishwashers & TVs. Fortunately for me, John, Holly & Maggie love Road's End as much as I, and they too have come to appreciate these joys. I have fondly reflected on wonderful memories of Road's End as I've prepared pancake breakfasts and tomato sandwich and cantelope lunches, and shopped the open air markets for locally grown and harvested fruits and vegetables just like those on roadside stands near Boone. That we wash & dry dishes by hand and hang pots and kitchen utensils on nails on the walls seems perfectly normal to me....because my grandmother, Mama Gin, and our summers at Road's End prepared me!

When Mama Gin would lead my cousins and me "to the Top of the Mountain," we would frequently cross over someone's cow pasture, complete with the visual and aromatic ambiance of cows. As adults, John and I have led caravans across those same pastures with Holly, Maggie and friends over the years. Those were wonderful adventures enjoyed with some of my favorite people in the world, so the smell of cows, oddly enough, produces positive emotions for me, Holly & Maggie. That's good too, because the slaughter house next door to our home sends familiar breezes our way with great regularity! While we never bathed in the creek at Road's End, I'm sure that my love for the cold waters of the creek and diligence about wearing "creek shoes" is part of the reason I'm perfectly delighted to bathe and wash my hair in Mexico's beautiful "swimming holes."

Never did I expect that Road's End would prepare us for a small town in Southern Mexico, but it just goes to show that you just never know how God is at work all the time molding, shaping and preparing us for God's purposes!

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.