November Update

Dear Partners in Missions:

We hope that Thanksgiving Day offered an opportunity for you and yours to reflect on and appreciate all the many reasons for gratitude. We are especially grateful for your participation in missionary service in Mexico. Even though we're the hands and the feet, each of you is involved as missionaries through your prayers, support and encouragement. Here's an effort to summarize the ways God has been at work through us in recent weeks:

General Mission Update:

• Southern Mexico was recently hit by one of the worst floods in the country's history. Millions have been in shelters, even now there are major areas underwater. Our little mission was joined by many in Chiapas to help collect much-needed supplies, and we made 2 trips to deliver canned food, medicines, diapers, toilet paper, soap, clothing and nearly 500 gallons of water. Spirits are good though, and folks there just seem so grateful for all the support, love and prayers from brothers & sisters in Christ from Mexico and the US. Their smiling faces are a reminder to us all about what really matters in life. Communities outside of Villahermosa were also hit by the flooding, so future flood relief efforts will focus on those areas that are not getting the attention of the military, government and other relief organizations.
• Those who read last month's update about tight scheduling for next year's mission trips really responded! We now have 16 groups scheduled for next year! We realize that we may need to get creative to find ways for groups who have not yet reserved their date to still be able to come, but we'll do everything possible to receive all interested groups!
• Upon the request of several young adults here in Ocosingo, Ginny's been teaching Driver's Education. Eight students have completed the classroom part and will be completing their behind-the-wheel training one at a time. Special thanks to Holly who has translated for all the classes and driving lessons thus far!
• Taking a small part in a miracle involving a church in No. Wilkesboro, NC and a little boy handicapped by a club foot, Jan Feliciano and I assisted the family in getting preliminary x-rays as the next steps towards getting orthopedic surgery for Felipe in January. This is an amazing story & one that we'll continue to update you on through the blog.
• John and Pablo have been traveling across the US telling the story of the ministry here and the medical clinic. They began by attending the PCUSA mission conference in Louisville, KY and then built new relationships in Oregon and Washington and strengthened existing relationships in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Their contacts included meeting with 65 individuals and over 30 churches.

Manos de Cristo Update (Medical Clinic):

• One of the cultural realities in Mexico is that families and organizations do not go into debt to complete construction projects. With donation dollars not yet in hand, construction has ground to a snail's pace with only a skeleton crew working each day. We hope to have some funds available soon to resume full-fledged construction efforts. But...most of the wood is down from the framing for the cement roof pour, which helps us be able to envision the clinic in operation.
• Additional funds are still needed if the May, 2008 target opening date for Phase I (Outpatient Primary Medical, Dental, Lab and Pharmacy) is to be met. Please prayerfully consider making a donation through Hebron USA to help cover these additional costs.

Family Update:

• All in all, life is good. We really missed having John with us but we knew his travels built the relationships that help make this truly a cross-cultural ministry.
• We are grateful to have broadened our base of support to include an expanded relationship with Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church. We retain a close relationship with our home church in Mt. Airy, and Oak Ridge has offered to assist by receiving some donations to handle some additional financial needs.
• Special thanks to all those who hosted Pablo and John on their travels across the US. Your hospitality was such a blessing to them!

Prayers:

• For all those in Tabasco and Chiapas affected by the floods. May they know the love of Christ through outreach efforts from churches in Mexico and the US.
• For God to call a new missionary family/couple to continue this ministry after our term of service is concluded next August. "Could it be you?" (see blog entry by that name)
• For the willingness of Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church to step out in faith with us to be sure that we can complete our 2 1/2 year commitment here in Mexico
• Of comfort for those experiencing loss, including the families of Hal Newell, Edna Wilson, and Richard Bergland
• Of support and encouragement for those coping with illness, including Frank Splawn, Donna Painter, Carol McClancy, Tenney Dean, Nancy Lingenfelser, Jim Scott, Mary Wynne Perryman, Bonnie Bode, Katie Yarbrough, Marshall Hollingsworth, Louise Holshouser, and the family of our dear friend Cecelia. As always, please let us know of your prayer needs and whether it's ok to share them with others.
• Of support and encouragement for fellow missionaries and their families around the world, including Pablo & Jan Feliciano, all the Dye Family Missionaries around the world, David Meacham, John and Sandra Wimbish and Julie Alexander and her family who have finally made it to Brazil!

Opportunities:

• Donate to HebronUSA for Phase I and Phase II of the Manos de Cristo Medical Clinic in Ocosingo (http://www.hebronusa.org/8.html)
• Mission Tip of the Month: For Christmas this year, consider giving a different kind of gift that keeps on giving! Kiva.Org is a micro-lending program that takes your $25 and loans it to those trying to get on their feet with small businesses around the world. When your $25 is paid back, you can either get it back or allow it to be loaned out again! www.kiva.org has a cool website that explains how it all works, including their gift certificate program. Consider this alternative Christmas gift for those of your Christmas list who already having everything they need! While we definitely hope that you continue to support this ministry here through Hebron USA, we thought you'd be interested in another way to reach out to make a difference in the world.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support. Please keep in touch and follow along the daily walk by reading our blog.

Paz en Cristo,

Ginny, John, Holly & Maggie

Villahermosa Status Report

My last entry was really more about the experience of helping than about the status of flood victims in Villahermosa. Thanks for letting me vent. It was therapeutic for me and hopefully gave you a taste of one of the challenges of missionary service. But...it didn't tell you much at all about how things are in Villahermosa!

In short, things are improving and that the city is definitely able to function. There are definitely still many parts of the city that are still under water (as much as 2 meters in some places) but on Friday it seemed to be about 1/2 of what it was the previous Sunday and completely gone in
some places that had been under about 1 meter of water before. There are definitely places of refuge and ways to get assistance, but to some degree, it depends on those in need. If they stay on their roofs and refuse to come in to dry land where there are shelters, food services being provided by the military and nonprofit groups, etc., then they suffer more. There are pumper trucks pumping water out of the streets, fumigation efforts to keep down mosquitos and subsequent disease, and evidence of some kind of powder on smaller areas of standing water that I think is supposed to prevent bacterial growth and mosquito infestations. Electrical, phone, television and internet services are all operable in most, if not all, parts of the city. There are still lots of closed roads, which makes traffic horrendous but folks are definitely able to use their cars, and public transportation is active and busy. This report is all based on my own first hand observation, not just hearsay. All in all, it appears that the situation is improving considerably.

There are definitely some things in favor of recovery in Villa that are different from the Gulf areas. Since most homes are built with cement walls, roofs and floors, a good scrubbing with bleach and water is usually enough to get homes habitable again once the waters recede. There's no insulation or sheetrock to pull out, no carpet or laminate flooring to pull up, and no siding to replace. Most folks will have to replace appliances, furniture and personal belongings, so it will definitely take a long time to get their homes totally back to normal. Some folks, though, may have been able to get things elevated enough that they mitigated their losses. Many businesses have been hard-hit, and recovery for them will have a dramatic effect on the economy of the city. Those with equipment and inventory that were damaged will be having to start over completely. We know of an optometrist who lost all the equipment for 4 eye clinics. On the other hand, there are many of the very poor who lived in shanties along the rivers who certainly lost everything. Ironically, they are back in the shanties, living alongside the same river! I don't know if they rebuilt the shanties or if the shanties just weren't washed away or what, but
there are many shanties being occupied along the river banks. So even those folks are at least back in some sort of home.

One of the other things that I think seems different is the attitude of the people of Villahermosa. I'm sure there are others who are not this way, but I've yet to encounter anyone on either trip that wasn't smiling! When describing the situation, their facial expressions become more serious, of course, but they seem to be able to find joy despite the devastation and loss. The joyful Mexican spirit is alive and well in the midst of the disaster.

We have been able to confirm that Ana Janeth Morales and her family are safe. We still do not know anything about Betsy Casola or Karina Gonzales Coronel's family in Tabasco.

What's also true is that the flooding has become a major problem in northern Chiapas as well as in the state of Tabasco. Because we can see that there is so much attention being given to Villahermosa, all future efforts for assistance will likely be directed towards the people in small villages in northern Chiapas. These folks are likely to have been completely ignored by most of the relief agencies and military assistance efforts.

So yes, things are getting better in Villahermosa, but there are still major problems in northern Chiapas. There are still many needs to pray about, pay for and be ready to pitch in to help with in the coming months. Bill Herring and Penny Musson have offered to bring a medical team down, and at least one group has volunteered to come to Villahermosa for clean-up and restoration efforts in early 2008. It would be great if we could get at least one group to come do the same in northern Chiapas! Any way you can help would be most appreciated.

The Price of Partnership (AKA 2nd Trip to Villahermosa After Flood

The current vision for missions by PCUSA is that missionaries are "partners" with the nationals in the country where they serve. We have heard the stories about why all the missionaries from the Presbyterian churches were asked to leave in the '70's and have chosen to approach our ministry with the partnership model instead of the patriarchal model of the past. This has benefits in relationship building and demonstrates our belief that we are able and willing to be servants to those who know their own land, customs, culture and paths to success better than we do. This commitment to partnership bring challenges too.

Yesterday I left on my second caravan with flood relief supplies for Villahermosa. I traveled without the benefit of an interpreter and with 5 other people who didn't know how to get around the city of Villahermosa any better than I do. Hindsight's always 20/20, y'know?!

Since my first visit to Mexico in 1999, I have heard Pablo's orientation about Plan A being Man's Plan and Plan B, C, G or Z being God's Plan.

Plan A: Leave Ocosingo by 7AM with 2 vehicles with supplies to meet Lorena Valesquz (Exec Dir of Hebron Foundation) who would be there with another truck at a bridge on the outskirts of Villahermosa. Lorena would then take the supplies to boats distributing supplies in the areas of Villahermosa where families are still stranded on roofs and without access to the resources available to those in shelters. Lorena would get supplies to those who needed them the most, and we would be able to drop supplies without having to go all the way into the city and get back to Ocosingo by nightfall.

Plan B: Late departure from Ocosingo, so by the time we arrived, there was no truck and no Lorena at the bridge. My traveling companions spent lots of time talking, making cell calls, etc. Finally it was agreed that I should lead us to the new seminary. Unfortunately, we had already passed the turn to the new seminary, but of course I didn't know that! So, after realizing that I wasn't going to be able to get us to the new seminary, I managed to get us to the old seminary where the shelter is set up (a miracle in itself that I got us there!). Pastor Joel identified someone to lead us to the new seminary in his car. That's when all control was clearly out of my hands!

Plan C-Z: We followed this guy through back streets to his own business where he had us deposit about 1/2 our load. Then we resumed travel through the center of Villahermosa along with about 10 million other cars! Villa traffic is pretty bad when all the roads are open, so when more than 50% of the roads are closed, it's horrific! Trying not to exaggerate, I'll estimate that during most of this part of our wild-goose-chase, there were cars within 6 inches of me on all sides of my car! We finally exited the city, following the man, only to find that the road to the seminary was still closed. So we began the second part of the wild-goose-chase, following the man as he took us miles and miles away from Villahermosa. He was trying to find another way to the seminary, but it truly seemed like the blind leading the blind! To make a long story short, he eventually called for help, and we were met by someone who led us to his home.

In fine Mexican fashion, we were invited in with lots of hugs and kisses, served a very generous and tasty meal while we all talked about what a shame it was that there were people not getting help....all while our trucks sat loaded with supplies in front of their home. Finally, we unloaded the remaining supplies into the family's back bedroom, prayed together, and began the 3rd part of the wild-goose-chase - again following the same man, back through the same 10 million cars and finally exiting the city about dusk. I deposited my passengers at their homes and finally fell into my bed about 11:15.

Last Sunday, I was so concerned for the people of Villahermosa that I didn't care if we ended up giving our supplies to perfect strangers...at least someone would benefit. As I gave up all control yesterday about what I thought we should be doing, I just had to keep reminding myself that God must have another plan. But it was very hard because, no matter what I did, I had to sacrifice something....we couldn't honor both efficiency in helping AND honor the culture!

Efficiency in helping....Get the supplies to Lorena or insist on leaving them at the presbytery's shelter. This would require me to insist to those traveling with me that we do it my way instead of their way. Had I objected when we deposited the supplies with the individuals, it would have appeared that I did not trust them, even though my traveling companions did. Not exactly partnership, huh?

OR...

Honor the culture....Graciously accept and enjoy the meal that was offered to us, receive the hospitality in the spirit it was given, and leave the supplies with this family who promised to get the supplies distributed appropriately. This required accepting a good meal that could have been given to someone directly affected by the flood and leaving the supplies with an individual (which Pablo didn't want to happen). Although the family lived in a small community that may need help, it clearly was not under water or anywhere close to the living on rooftops or those who are the most desperate. Not exactly an efficient way of helping, huh?

It was a long, hard day. It was not possible to honor partnership, servanthood, efficiency in helping and cultural norms all at the same time. I can only fall back on Pablo's lesson about God's Plan and trust that God is working it all out. I can know that I demonstrated our commitment to partnership and servanthood....but not without paying the price of letting go.

Our 1st Trip into Villahermosa After the Flood

After making our first successful trip into Villahermosa, Tabasco since last week's floods and getting additional information from other sources, we can report the following. For those of you who got my email, there are a few additions and corrections.

The Bad News
...The flooded areas are truly awful, and there are many of them. Water has receded some but remains as deep as 8-12 feet in many places around the city.
...Clearly Lorena Valesquez' email reflects the degree of fatigue by volunteers. Since this is basically Day 5 of a major natural disaster that will take months/years to recover from, it would make sense that they are exhausted.
...The flooding has now expanded into numerous parts of northern Chiapas as well. Those outside of the inner city of Villahermosa are surely at greater risk of not receiving assistance. This has become a greater problem within the last 48 hours, and these communities are so far removed from the relief efforts, that we are likely to shift our future assistance efforts to them.
...The area in which we deposited 3 large loads of medicine, clothes, food,
diapers, necessities and 50 large containers of water did NOT appear to have received many other donations of supplies.
...There are neighbors in Pablo & Jan's old and current neighborhoods who refuse to leave their homes and who are receiving aid from volunteers by boat.
...Pastor Joel's wife, Miriam, has a serious foot ulcer that has been
exacerbated by the flood conditions.
...We still have no current information about Betsy Casola or Ana Moralez or the family of Karina Gonzalez Coronel.

The Good News
...We were able to drive all the way to the old seminary, which is well into the city and the site of the Presbytery offices and the shelter operated by the Presbyterian churches and Hebron Foundation. Although we had to drive through 2 very deep areas of water, we were never in danger. The picture you see taken from inside my car was one of those 2 places.
...Where it is bad, it is very, very bad. But there are many places where it's not so bad. That means that there are places for people to escape to and places where they can find shelter and assistance.
...At the seminary there was a very well-organized operation ready to receive contributions and that was actively providing food, medical attention, housing and the provision of basic needs to about 850 people.
...We saw Pastors Joel & Pancho, their wives and Joel's son. All are safe, in
good spirits and able to answer important questions. Lorena and Pancho's son, Paco, were out delivering to those in Bosque who had refused to leave their homes.
...Pancho thinks that PCUSA/PDA is there with at least 2 representatives. He reported that Lorena is aware of the $20K in relief money and trying to tap into it.
...We learned from Huascar, the seminary director, through Ed Jennings, that an American teacher at the new seminary was able to be evacuated to Merida and was probably able to fly home from there.
...Also from Ed, we learned that the woman from Coastal Carolina Presbytery that was supposed to meet up with the folks from White Memorial Presbyterian (who were evacuated last Tuesday) is still in the Villahermosa area, staying with the seminary director's brother. We hope to help get her out this week.
...Also from Ed, we learned that the new seminary is in relatively good shape with not too much water damage. The director's house is surrounded by water, but otherwise the other buildings are more elevated.
...Pablo and Jan's house and the area near the new seminary are likely okay with far less water than most other places. Ezras is okay and likely staying at the house.
...It was a beautiful day with no rain and no rain in the immediate forecast.
...Now that we've been able to go in and out safely, we know that we can return in a few days with more supplies and volunteer assistance.

More information to follow. For now, any contributions should go through Hebron USA and be marked for Villahermosa Flood Relief, 6080 Old Brickstore Road, Greensboro, NC 27455.

Alarming Email Speaks Volumes

I received the following email from Betsy Casola, a volunteer who traveled with mission groups for one summer several years ago. I loved working with Betsy because she loved practicing her English with me! In this picture, she's the one on the far right (along with Sali, Dina, Bani and Yolanda). Anyway, she and her family live in the state of Tabasco, and she sent out the following email message tonight....

HELLO EVERYBODY, I ASSUME THAT YOU ALREADY KNOWABOUT THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING HERE IN TABASCO. I just want to tell you that me and my family are Ok, but the situation here is terrible, I don't really know if we will survive becuause the water of the rivers are still going up. People are desperate and cry for the lack of food and for the people that have no been rescued. health problems finally appeared. I am writing to you from home, there is no water here in my town, but we cannot comunicate by cellphones and tv sometimes does not work. I do not know if I will be able to be in touch with you. we are helping people from around, now my town is an island and there is no food at the supermarkets, we have some and we hope we can be comunicated again. if the water reach us, this will be the end, because my town is one if the highest. I just wanted to tell you that I remember you with love and if we do not meet here on earth, we will meet in heaven. Betsy.

Wow. It speaks volumes about the degree of fear people have for their very survival. I hope to be able to drive to Tabasco soon to start delivering supplies, but at this point, helicopters are needed to really get supplies into the areas in need. I promise that I won't do anything foolish, but it feels awful to sit at home, so close to such tragedy, and do nothing. Please pray, share the story in your prayer circles and churches, and send funds through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance if you're able. Details about how to send money are below in the post about the email from PCUSA.

I emailed Betsy to say that help would be there soon and that I have faith that God will keep them safe until then. Pray that's right.

PCUSA Trying to Help

FYI...We received the following email from Dave Thomas, Stan DeVoog and Marissa Winslow with PCUSA regarding the situation in Tabasco...

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

We are writing to inform you of a disaster in Mexico that is not
receiving much news coverage in the U.S., but one that has already
had greater impact than the recent landfall of Hurricane Dean.
Several days ago, there was a weather phenomenon that caused large
waves to inundate the coastline of the state of Tabasco,
accompanied by heavy rains in the area of two major rivers...the
Grijalva and the Usumacinta...which both pass through the state
in the city of Villahermosa.  The resulting flooding has affected
an estimated 70% of the state´s residents.  The situation in
Tabasco is severe and extremely critical for thousands of Tabasco
residents.  The presbytery office in Villahermosa has been converted
into a major shelter, and the Tabasco Synod office there is
completely flooded.

Earlier this week, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance sent $10,000
as a rapid response fund, but the magnitude of this situation --
which is beyond the control and capability of the local and state
government -- demands a comprehensive effort.  The good news is that
the Mexican government is allowing and facilitating aid from a variety
of church-related agencies including the Presbyterians.  PDA needs
funds right now to deal with this situation.  What is desperately
needed is canned food, bottled water, blankets, floor mattresses,
first aid medicines, equipment and materials for purifying water,
and clothing...but because of the limited access to the region, it's
preferable that financial aid be sent.  It's still possible to buy
needed supplies in the local marketplace, which is the best way to
meet the needs of the people.

If your U.S. presbytery or local church can help, please send
contributions to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, using the following
account code:  DR000014 for Mexico.  You can do this on the PC(USA)
website at:
http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response/latinamerica/mexico-index.htm

PDA is working closely with the leadership of our partner denomination,
the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, helping to coordinate
the disaster response with the local Synod and local Presbyteries
in Tabasco.  Yesterday afternoon there was a meeting with 8 presbytery
representatives from the Tabasco Synod, but many others did not attend
because they couldn't get there. The Mexican Presbyterian leaders who
are coordinating the recovery in Tabasco have undergone special training
that was conducted cooperatively by PDA and other disaster agencies.

As someone who is involved in a partnership with a Mexican church or
presbytery, we urge you to consider making a financial contribution
to PDA so that immediate assistance can be rendered in the state of
Tabasco.

Que Dios le bendiga,

Dave Thomas, Regional Liaison with Mexico Stan DeVoogd,
Area Coordinator for Mexico and Central America

Marisa Winslow
Administrative Assistant for Central America/Mexico
General Assembly Council
PCUSA World Mission

We'd recommend that anyone who is able to contribute financially do so through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance rather than through Hebron USA. PDA is much more likely to be able to get funds to those in need promptly. Please join us in continuing to pray for all those affected by this situation including a woman from the Coastal Carolina Presbytery who could not be evacuated with the group from White Memorial Presbyterian in Raleigh, NC there for a work group this week.

I'm not going to burden folks with frequent emails about this situation, but I'll be trying to post to this blog regularly as I have new information. There's much to be grateful for too. To the best of my knowledge, there's been only one death. Join us in prayer for his family and in gratitude for the safety of literally over one million others affected by this flood.

Su hermana en Cristo,
Ginny

Flooding is serious, but we're not affected

The state of Tabasco is in a state of crisis, as is a small part of the state of Chiapas. Our family is completely safe, but we are quite worried about many that we know and love who live near Villahermosa. About 85% of the state of Tabasco is under water, and the effects will be felt for months and possibly years to come. Please keep those in Tabasco in your prayers, especially Ana, Pastors Joel and Pancho, and Don Fernando. We hope to begin helping with relief efforts next week when the waters go down enough for trucks to get in and out, and for now we're just praying and collecting supplies. More details to come.

Contrasting Priorities & Common Sense

I'm grateful for internet access as it allows us to stay connected to people and to our world in NC, and yet the recognition of what's going on in NC sometimes makes what we see here from the mission field in southern Chiapas, Mexico even more profound.

In yesterday's online version of the Winston-Salem Journal, I read that the City of Winston-Salem has advised First Baptist Church that it cannot begin its overflow homeless shelter program until it meets safety requirements for those providing overnight housing. The church voted earlier this year to open their gym as an overflow homeless shelter for the cold months of the year. Now, at first blush, the safety regulations seemed like a good thing - that the city was saying, "Just because you're housing homeless people doesn't mean that you can ignore their safety needs. You have to be sure they'll be safe before you allow them to stay there." But when you read further, you realize that the requirements may result in people not being helped at all! The church may be required to install a sprinkler system, handicapped access to its shelter area, and meet other code requirements....all to the tune of as much as $100,000!

Flash to Mexico...
Today, on my way to the market, I drove past a crowd of people on the side of the road. They were listening to someone in authority and were all gazing upon about 50 small piles of raw meat. The meat had been evenly divided into portions that were separated and laid out on a large piece of black plastic. While I couldn't be sure, it appeared that the meat would be distributed to those waiting, and since there's a viable meat market within 1/2 mile, I assume the meat was being given away, not sold. The meat was raw, sitting in the sun and obviously not packaged or refrigerated. By the time I returned from the market less than an hour later, the people and the meat were all gone. All that remained were the turkey vultures and dogs going after the remains.

Somehow we've got to find a way to get our standards in perspective. The sale of raw, unrefrigerated, unpackaged meat in Mexico is typical. It happens every day in smaller towns that don't have supermarkets (like ours). Safety and sanitation requirements are a good thing, and it's been hard for me to get used to buying the meat at the local meat market. But I do it. I did it while I was out today, and I'll cook it tonight. Certainly the people in Ocosingo who received the free meat will be cooking their meat tonight too, while the homeless facing the first frost of the season in Forsyth County will not find comfort at First Baptist Church. Yes, we need to be concerned about the safety of those in need, but not to the extend that we keep them from being helped by those willing to help them.

Common sense tells us that the City should compare the risk for homeless people to experience cold temperatures, bitter winds, cold rain and snow with their risk for getting burned up in a gymnasium. If there are two things homeless people have it's street smarts and common sense. Something tells me, the homeless would take their chances in the gym.

Pray for Clinic Construction & The Maestro

When it rains, it pours. You already know there's a norte, so the cool/wet weather makes it hard to get much construction work done anyway. But that's not the half of it! Funds to pay a full work crew were depleted several weeks ago, hence part of the reason John & Pablo are off fund-raising and relationship building. But yesterday, things got even worse!

Elias, better know as "The Maestro," is our crew chief and master builder for the clinic. Yesterday, he fell off the roof and injured his arm. Randy DuVall from Virginia Beach, VA who broke his arm on the worksite this summer can take some comfort in knowing that "it can happen to anybody," but overall, this is just one more piece of bad news for clinic construction. In the picture, the Maestro is the guy in jeans to John's left.

Please pray for Elias, that he is able to receive the required medical care so that he is pain-free and able to resume his duties soon. Please pray that the need for quality medical care for indigenous people is recognized by generous donors so that the funds needed to finish the medical clinic, now aptly named "Las Manos de Cristo" (The Hands of Christ), will provide the much-needed funds so that a full construction crew can resume its work and meaningful progress resume.

Just weird!

It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it really gets your attention! What is this anomaly? It's called a "norte," and it means it's cold in Mexico! Whoopee! You can see the front moving slowly towards you all day, and strong gusts of wind tell you for sure that it's on the way. When it arrives, the rain comes with it, and it may last for several days. As we speak, I'm grateful to have my heavy fleece pullover, long sleeved shirts and warm socks --- just what you need for days like this. Guess I'll have to put an extra blanket on my bed tonight since my hubby won't be here to keep me warm tonight!

To be cold in Mexico....it's just weird!

Spanish-required?

So as folks are pondering "Could it be me?" questions are beginning to come in. That's great! That means that there are folks out there who are receptive to God's leading in their lives and open to consider the possibility that God could be calling them to Ocosingo for a longer stay.

One of the most typical questions is related to language. "Is Spanish an absolute requirement? Is it possible to serve without speaking Spanish?" Because this has been such a challenge for us, I thought I'd share....

"It's a hard call, to be honest. Neither of us (John or Ginny) spoke Spanish before we came here, so "yes, it's possible, and 'no' it's not an absolute requirement." On the other hand, not speaking Spanish has severely limited our opportunities, and it is something that frustrates us both daily.

I am constantly aware of how many more things I could do if I were genuinely fluent. I could use my counseling and teaching skills which are so desperately needed here. The fact that there is always someone around who speaks English is both a blessing and a curse. It allows us to be able to get away with not speaking Spanish, which keeps us from having to work at it as hard. But, that said, it's certainly been possible to be here and accomplish many things and be of great service. During the weeks in which groups are being hosted, obviously English is the primary language and that represents about 1/3 of the year now.

What did we do? We did lots of little things in the states before coming here and planned to use the LAMP system after arriving (Language Acquisition Made Practical). This system was supposed to be better because you learn the language as it is spoken where you'll be living. Before coming, we used lots of tapes, Rosetta Stone, Speed Spanish online (which probably helped us more than all the other little things put together!), and tons of study guides. John never really did LAMP because he got busy too quickly, and by the time the girls and I arrived, group season was in high gear! We waited until September before embarking on 2 weeks of language school in San Cristobal. It was a great experience, but it was too short, and I was too focused on being a parent and making sure both our kids were getting it and not feeling too overwhelmed. As it has turned out, both Holly and Maggie clearly have the gift of language and have become quite proficient. They are taking high school Spanish courses online, so their academic instruction in Spanish is ongoing. Their social life is entirely with Mexicans, so they are motivated to learn to be interact more with their peers here.

I teach English at a local language school two days a week, and that has help me a lot too. There are times that I really need to be able to speak Spanish to explain myself to my students. They are so very patient with me because they know how hard it is!

If we had it to do all over again, I'd do it this way from the MINUTE we even started considering entering the mission field...

....Go to language school (locally in NC, in Guatemala or San Cristobal)
....Consider getting a private tutor to meet with your family every week until you move
....Go to language school in San Cristobal within 1 week of arriving in Ocosingo. Come in just long enough to get the car unpacked, everyone get a few good nights' sleep, and then GO before the needs here get too much of your attention.
....Have 4 weeks of language school in San Cristobal without your kids in the same class
....Live with a family for the 4 weeks instead of staying in a hotel
....Make yourself go out and speak Spanish every day no matter what...to the guy at the vegetable stand, to a church member, to Pablo's staff, to Bible School students...to anybody who will listen!

This combination is likely to get you fluent enough from the start, and your skills would build from there (instead of building from scratch like we did). That said, I think it's perfectly conceivable to do that in the coming months and should not stand as an obstacle. "

Lastly, if someone is fluent in Spanish, they have the option of taking Tzeltal classes at the language schools in San Cristobal also. This is the native language of the Tzeltal people, it's nothing like Spanish, but knowing Tzeltal is invaluable to missionaries here. The only problem is, the Tzeltal course is taught by someone who doesn't speak English! Almost all of the meetings that John attends are held in Tzeltal, so his Spanish does him no good at all there!

As someone who talks a lot (yes, I do know this about myself ;-)) the experience of not being able to talk as much has been an interesting aspect of this journey and not an altogether bad one, I suspect. I must listen more, listen more closely, beg for lots of forgiveness, and otherwise humble myself every day. As much as I wish my Spanish skills were better (and I am learning more and more every day), I think these aspects of the experience have been important for me personally. Still, I think having a command of the language from the start is the way to go.

Lessons learned the hard way.

The Joy of Worship through the Eyes of a Child

One of my favorite parts of the Mexican worship experience is the time for participation. This is an open invitation to each person present to come forward to share a song, a memory verse, or an instrumental. And the beauty of it is, the sharing is to glorify God, to honor God with our gifts, and to show our love for God through the use of those gifts. Sometimes there are only one or two people, other times there could be many. In Tzeltal village churches, this time for participation can last over an hour!

There is a family that has become involved in our little mission church. There are three young girls who had been severely neglected after they lost their mother. A Christian woman married their father, and she apparently made it her mission to nurture, heal and teach the love of God to these beautiful little girls. Their father remains ambivalent about the church, so their participation in worship is sporadic. But...when these little girls are in church....oh my, but they do glorify God in their participation!!!

As they sing, their heads are tilted back a bit and their eyes clearly fixed towards Heaven. Their hands motion, sometimes offering up praises to God, other times clutching their hearts to reflect their love for God. One cannot possibly witness their participation without recognizing their love for God and their gratitude to have God in their lives. They are truly angelic.

Someday soon, I hope to be able to add a picture to this post, but for now, just close your eyes and picture the scene. They are a reminder to us all that our worship is to glorify God and to demonstrate our love for God through the shared experience.

Thanks be to God for little girls (and boys) who love God and who remind us of the most important things in life.

Could it be you?

Years ago, a young John Mills wooed me with his guitar and his own love songs. Somehow it didn't matter that he'd written most of those songs for other girls --- after all, he was singing them to me at the time! One of my favorites was "Could it be you?" A few lines can give you the flavor...

Could it be you?
Just an old friend from my past
Come to show me how
Good love could be
Could it be you?

Could it be real?
And not a flash in the pan
Could it be that you
Feel like I feel
Could it be real?

Could it be love?
The one to last for all time
Could it be that I've
Waited long enough
Could it be love?

There are a few other verses, but you get the idea. The song is asking if you could be the one to love me forever. Well, needless to say, I said "Oh, YES! It IS me!" And nearly 18 years later, I'm happy to say that I still want to be the one to show John how good love can be and to be the love in his life to last for all time. But that's not really the point of this post.

The question is, "Could it be you?" that God is calling to continue the ministry here in Ocosingo. Our Partners in Ministry received my email "An Invitation" inviting each of them to prayerfully consider if God could be calling them to serve here in Ocosingo for 2-5 years. If you did not receive the invitation and want to know more, please comment on this post, and we'll follow up with you. Indeed we have learned to trust that God will decide (not John and Ginny) who should step forward next. So...

Could it be you?

Profiles in Growing Up Fast

I don't know much about their reasons, but we've come to know two amazing young people who have chosen to move beyond their family situations and pursue education at an amazingly young age. One has to wonder if God planted a seed in their hearts that grew with fervor, if their situations were just intolerable, or what, but it's clear these two young people saw education as the key. Their stories are worth sharing.

Dorothea is a young woman in her mid-20's. I had heard a little of her story, but she recently stopped by the bible school to see Pastor Pablo who was in Merida. Dorothea was on her way to Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas, to take her exams for licensure as a doctor. We welcomed her into our home and to our dinner table, helped her connect with Pablo's wife, Jan, then got her on the late-night bus to Tuxtla. Dorothea had come to the seminary in Villahermosa when it was still in downtown, long before the new seminary was built (the one we worked on early in our travels there). She was a full-time music student at the seminary, but she had not been able to go to regular school before that time. I honestly don't know how old she was when she came to the seminary, but she was a double full-time student the whole time she was in Villahermosa. That means that, in addition to completing her music degree from seminary, she also completed primaria (elementary), secondaria (middle) and prepa (high school). She later went on to medical school and is now working in the Lacandon jungle area near Santo Domingo. Somewhere along the way, she has battled cancer as well. This amazing young woman from the Chol people group (like Tzeltal, the Chol people are Mayan descendents with their own language) is dedicated to staying in Chiapas and serving the indigenous people here. We talked about the possibility of her coming to work at Las Manos de Cristo, the medical clinic we are building here, and I am hopeful that she will prayerfully consider doing so. What a blessing it was to have her with us, albeit briefly!

The other young person is known to many who have traveled to Ocosingo to work at the bible school. Geyner is an 18-year old theology graduate, yes GRADUATE, of the bible school here. He has worked with many mission groups and faithfully served a small mission on the road to Tonina while a student here. He's always working on his English, always loves engaging with Americans, and is willing to do anything asked of him. I have never known any young person who is as dedicated to knowing the Word of God and to preaching the Word as is Geyner. It is truly his passion and his gift. The bible school is really one step removed from a seminary degree, so of course Geyner wants to go to seminary. The only problem is, he's never gone to prepa (high school) and he's far below the 21 y/o minimum age! So, young Geyner is now leading our tiny mission church, going to prepa in San Cristobal on the weekends, and living here at the bible school in graduate housing ---fulfilling the requirements to make him eligible to go to seminary and seek ordination.

Both Geyner and Dorothea are living proof that we sometimes need to break the rules to allow God to work in unusual circumstances. I'm a "rule keeper" who's married to a "rule breaker," but imagine if the rules about age limitations had been adhered to fiercely in these two situations? Someone had to have agreed to allow these two young teens to begin an adult program. Someone had to see their dedication and commitment and allow it to flourish. For this "rule keeper," I should keep their pictures close at hand to remind me that sometimes (and only sometimes, John! :-)) the rules need to be broken to allow God to fulfill God's purposes.

Thanks be to God for Dorothea y Geyner!

October Update

Dear Partners in Missions:

We hope all is well for you and yours. Here's an effort to summarize all that's been happening lately.

General Mission Update:

• As the summer group season has come to a close, there are already 10 groups scheduled for next year's mission trips. So, if you are considering scheduling a mission trip for next year, please review our web page detailing 2008 Mission Trips already scheduled and drop us an email as soon as possible about your possible plans for 2008.
• Ginny taught workshops in the annual Pastor's Conference at the bible school (Stress Management; Counseling Basics; and Addiction, Recovery and The Church). Special thanks to Penny Musson and Margie Turner (North Wilkesboro Pres) and Gray Clark (Fellowship Pres in Greensboro, NC) who also taught workshops.
• While on furlough in NC, we made presentations at 1st Presbyterian in Pilot Mountain; Highland Presbyterian in Winston-Salem; 1st Presbyterian in Mt. Airy and the Asheville Rotary Club. We also enjoyed worship and fellowship opportunities at 1st Presbyterian in Boone and Oak Ridge Presbyterian.
• Since returning, Ginny has resumed teaching English classes and will soon resume participation in prison ministry.
• John and Pablo Feliciano participated in the PCUSA World Mission Conference in Louisville and have begun a multi-state tour to share about Las Manos de Cristo and other ministry needs here in Chiapas.

Manos de Cristo Update (Medical Clinic):

• Most summer construction efforts were totally focused on the clinic. Approximately 90% of the roof for Phase I was completed. A special lightweight, daylight roof will be installed over the patient waiting area.
• Interior walls, doors, windows, tile flooring and other finishing are to be completed in the coming months.
• Movement of furniture and medical equipment donations across the border remains a concern. John and Dr. Bill Herring met with representatives from Samaritan's Purse to request assistance with additional medical equipment donations and delivery. Approval is pending.
• Additional funds are still needed if the May, 2008 target opening date for Phase I (Outpatient Primary Medical, Dental, Lab and Pharmacy) is to be met. Please prayerfully consider making a donation through Hebron USA to help cover these additional costs.

Family Update:

• Despite our lengthy saga, we are now fully-legal with new visas and a new car permit. Thanks be to God!
• We enjoyed a great visit to NC and got to visit with lots of special people in our lives. It was especially good to have additional time with Ginny's dad who is doing well but still adjusting to life since losing Ginny's mom last December.
• Holly and Maggie have begun a new school year and are happy to be back with friends here in Ocosingo.
• Animal friends come and go in Mexico, which is why we elected to let our Corgi, Baxter, be in foster care while we are in Mexico. Upon returning, we learned that one dog, Ray Ray, had managed to recover from injuries sustained before we left for NC, but that our puppy, Oreo, was gone! So far, no Oreo. But....as fate would have it, the tiniest, boniest, most pitiful little kitten you've ever seen landed on our porch. So, Dobby (think the house elf from Harry Potter movies) is now getting lots of tender loving care at the Mills household.

Prayers

• For God to continue opening doors of opportunity for us to serve
• For safe travels for John and Pablo as they visit churches, small groups, bible studies, Rotary clubs, and others around the US. May they build meaningful relationships and help others catch a glimpse of how God is at work in Chiapas and how they can be a part of it.
• For all the short-term missionaries who came to Mexico this year. May they continue to reflect on their experiences and may those experiences move them to continuously be on the lookout for opportunities to serve in their own backyards.
• Of comfort for those experiencing loss, including the families of Dot Hurley and Tom Edwards.
• Of support and encouragement for those coping with illness, including Frank Splawn, Hal Newell, Donna Painter, Pastor Andre, Carol McClancy, Tenney Dean, Nancy Lingenfelser, Jim Scott, Mary Wynne Perryman, Bonnie Bode, Katie Yarbrough, Mr. BeShears, Marshall Hollingsworth, Louise Holshouser, and the family of our dear friend Cecelia. As always, please let us know of your prayer needs and whether it's ok to share them with others.
• For the family of Doreen and Alan Desjardins as they prepare for a year apart with Doreen's deployment to Washington, D.C.
• Of gratitude to North Wilkesboro Presbyterian for assistance with medical care expenses for Amalia Feliciano, who is recovering from gall bladder surgery.
• Of support and encouragement for fellow missionaries and their families around the world, including Pablo & Jan Feliciano, all the Dye Family Missionaries around the world, David Meacham, and John and Sandra Wimbish.
• Special prayers for Julie Alexander, her husband John, and their children as they seek to begin their missionary service in Brazil.

Opportunities

• Donate to HebronUSA for Phase I and Phase II of the Manos de Cristo Medical Clinic in Ocosingo (www.hebronusa.org/Support.html)
• Donate to First Presbyterian Church in Mt. Airy, NC for our family’s missionary support (www.millsfamilymission.org/5.html)
• John and Pablo are currently scheduling programs and visits in several US states for several weeks in October and November. Times are limited, but those who would like to request a visit should email John at hebronfoundation@att.net or call him at 336.829.4329.
• Mission Tip of the Month: Let us share one of our latest reads, compliments of our friends Bert & Mary Beth Wood.... Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne. This is an incredible book, challenging us all to be more deliberate in our pursuit of a life that mimics Jesus'. For more information, check out the blog entry, "Irresistible Revolution" for a few powerful quotes that represent just a few of the incredible nuggets of inspiration found inside this incredible book.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support. Please keep in touch and drop us an email from time to time and follow along the daily walk by reading this blog. Blog writing came to a screeching halt during our furlough, but new posts should be flowing regularly again soon.

Paz en Cristo,
Ginny, John, Holly & Maggie

Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Let us share one of our latest reads, compliments of our friends Bert & Mary Beth Wood.... Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne. This is an incredible book, challenging us all to be more deliberate in our pursuit of a life that mimics Jesus'. Check out these powerful quotes that represent just a few of the incredible nuggets of inspiration found inside this incredible book.

Love without courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the ordinary soldier. Wisdom without love and courage is cowardice, as with the ordinary intellectual. But the one who has love, courage and wisdom moves the world.
Ammon Hennacy

So I did a little survey, probing Christians about their (mis)conceptions of Jesus.... I asked participants who claimed to be "strong followers of Jesus" whether Jesus spent time with the poor. Nearly 80% said yes. I asked this same group of strong followers whether they spent time with the poor and less than 2% said they did. I learned a powerful lesson. We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did. We can applaud what he preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore his cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy in the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor, but that rich Christians do not know the poor. Irresistible Revolution, p. 113

(Jesus) had a new definition of family, rooted in the idea that we are adopted as orphans into the family of God and that this rebirth creates a new kind of kinship that runs deeper than biology or geography or nationality. Rebirth is about being adopted into a new family - without borders. With new eyes, we can see that our family is both local and global, including but transcending biology, tribe or nationality, a renewed vision of the kin-dom of God with brothers and sisters (everywhere).
Irresistible Revolution, p. 200-201

To you, our brothers and sisters all across the globe, let us all take up our crosses, seek to act with love, courage and wisdom, and risk living life following the example of Jesus.

Deacons, Pack, Heels, Mountaineers - EVERYONE UNITE!

Got a really cool email from one of my favorite groups. If you aren't familiar with the ONE Campaign, you should be. ONE's goal is to eliminate poverty in the world. ONE is raising public awareness and energizing people do whatever it takes to eliminate poverty for good. We were introduced to the ONE Campaign by our pastor, Dr. Steve Lindsley at 1st Presbyterian in Mt. Airy. The ONE Campaign has come up with a cool way to engage the leaders of tomorrow.

The ONE Campus Challenge seeks to engage students in the campaign, recognizing that students have always played a role in bringing about major societal changes. Using the power of school spirit and competition, ONE will keep score of students, alums, parents, faculty, staff, friends of the campus, or friends of the student who sign up in support of their school. The top 100 schools will have representatives invited to a 3-Day poverty conference in Washington, DC and the top 10 schools will get grants to start their own poverty-fighting programs. I think this is a way-cool idea!

I sent out a bunch of email invitations to lots of my Wake Forest friends, and I'd love to see Wake Forest be a contender for the Challenge in hopes of spurring more poverty-fighting activities on campus, so BY ALL MEANS, if you have any Deacon connection, please sign up as part of the Wake Forest University campus. But no matter what your persuasion, even you Tarheels and Blue Devils out there, go to www.one.org/campus/thechallenge.html. Read more, sign up on behalf of your favorite school, and find ways to encourage others to do the same.

Lastly, I'd like to direct you to enjoy a song written by NC's own Bryan Field McFarland which addresses the very subject of worldwide hunger. Check out his cool song, "There's Enough" by clicking on the title. Once you get to his website, click on the download for the song according to your internet connection. Enjoy!

I hope you'll check out www.ONE.org and the Campus Challenge. Join in this important effort and inspire others as well!

Immigration 101: What We've Learned

1. Those who say they're coming to "work," have to apply for an FM3.
2. Those who say they're coming to help their church may have to apply for an FM3 through their church.
3. Americans who overstay their visas have to pay a fine based on their length of stay after their expiration date (or not).
4. The Mexican immigration system is inconsistent in its explanations and its requirements.
5. When in distress, call the US Embassy sooner rather than later. They speak your language, they're there to help you, and they have helpful information.
6. No amount of sweet-talking, bullying or cajoling will render the desired response if Mexican immigration officials think they need more paperwork.
7. All things come together for good for those who love God according to God's purposes. (Okay, so we already knew that, but we had to be reminded!)
8. We're grateful to have been free to visit the US and will return to Mexico to continue God's work, having faith that we are serving God according to God's purposes.

Fertile Ground vs. Shark-infested Waters (Part II)

So, our primary lesson through this experience has been "God will provide." God provided for us once again, but this time, I was totally surprised! As I mentioned in the other entry, I agreed to tread into dangerous waters at the Pastor's Conference by introducing the idea of addiction/alcoholism as a disease. This was, indeed, risky in Mexico.

Mexican Presbyterians (and perhaps other Protestants as well) take a very definitive position about alcohol use. It's not allowed....period. Abstinence from all alcohol is one of the ways in which Mexican Presbyterians witness to others that walking the path of Christianity is decidedly different from others, including Catholics, in their midst. Yes....Catholics.

You see, Catholicism in Southern Mexico is a variation on the Catholicism of the Roman Catholic Church. Mayan Catholicism can be loosely described as a hybrid of the practices of the ancient Mayan animists and Catholicism as introduced by the Spanish when they conquered Mexico. Mayan Catholics may wear crosses and rosary beads like Roman Catholics, but they may also sacrifice animals at the alters of Catholic churches in Chiapas, persecute and even kill Protestants, and celebrate "saints days" by getting drunk and partying in the streets. Protestants distinguish themselves from Mayan Catholics by their behavior which does NOT include drinking, smoking or dancing. Presbyterian churches also practice "church discipline," intervening when members engage in behavior unbecoming of Christians.

As a professional counselor with considerable experience in the field of addictions, I've always worried about the Mexican Presbyterian church's position about alcohol, primarily because I know the church is regularly baptising "new Christians." These "new Christians" may be very genuine in their decision to commit their lives to Jesus Christ and to embrace all the practices of the church. But what about the person who is well traveled on the road of alcoholism? Can pastors understand it if their genuine commitments to abstinence from alcohol use are unsuccessful? Will they embrace them with the love of Christ or will they chastise them for failing to live up to the behavioral expectations of Christians?

And so it was that I introduced addiction as a disease to the pastors at the pastors' conference. And once again, God provided. I gave the academic explanations, but the pastors had a chance to see the real thing. The pastors got a chance to meet a real, living Christian who had walked the path of active addiction and recovery. Let me back up...

I welcomed a new group to Ocosingo, and I mentioned that several of us would be presenting workshops at the Pastors' Conference. I referenced my plan to address alcoholism and the role of the church in addressing the problems of addiction. Later, a member of the group approached me to volunteer to speak about their own experiences of addiction, recovery and the role of the church. Now....prior to that week, to my knowledge we only had 1 actively recovering person visit Mexico this year. This 2nd person made the ratio 2:225. That there was a recovering person present at all when I spoke on this topic is miraculous. That the recovering person revealed themselves (thus breaking their own anonymity, a key principle of Alcoholics Anonymous) was another miracle. That this person volunteered to share of their experience, strength and hope with the pastors was another miracle.

Once again, God did, indeed, provide. God provided someone to share how they became addicted despite believing in God and being actively involved in a church....how they experienced rejection by a fiercely-conservative church during a time of great emotional distress....how they benefitted from a church-provided space for AA meetings....how they have found support in both the church and AA for a life of 15-years of recovery...and how they have grown in their faith through both addiction AND recovery.

God provided a living, breathing, faith-professing example for our discussion. With God's help, we can hope that the pastors have a new understanding and newfound compassion for those suffering from active addiction and how important it is for churches to be a part of the solution. Thanks be to God!

Fertile Ground or Shark-infested Waters? (Part 1)

This week, 2 group members and I had the honor of teaching courses in an annual pastor's conference for the Maya Synod. The event draws about 30 pastors and their families to the bible school for 2 weeks of study, fellowship and time away from their usual responsibilities. Having a group of 24 Americans, 8 Mexican paramedics, construction workers, our staff & family, and all those pastors and their families really taxed the resources of the bible school, but we pulled it off.

Mexican pastors are an interesting lot. They are incredible servants with huge responsibilities. They typically pastor 2-3 churches, with each church having spun-off or planted 5-15 small congregations and/or tiny missions. The vocabulary is a bit different than what we're used to, but suffice it to say that churches are big, start other worship gatherings, and are responsible for the church (larger), it's congregations (medium-sized) and it's missions (usually 10-50 participants in worship). Although elders in all 3 sized gatherings help with preaching and day-to-day congregational care, the pastors are expected to visit all of the above and do their best to meet the demands of each. One little tidbit....session meetings are held monthly and typically last 3 days!

With all that responsibility, Mexican pastors also very authoritative. They command a huge amount of respect, are often waited on hand-and-foot by women, are prone to not respect women's intelligence, and often have bought into the notion that they really do know everything. To offer up new information to pastors can feel intimidating, even to the most seasoned teachers. Which brings me to our week... 3 American women, teaching 12 hours worth of content with translation by Pablo. While we were admittedly a little anxious that we might be venturing into shark-infested waters, we prepared ourselves to share important information with pastors with the fervent hope and prayer that we would be sowing seeds in fertile ground.

Penny Musson from N. Wilkesboro, NC has been participating in medical missions in Mexico for at least 5 summers. She has seen literally thousands of patients, loves the Tzeltal people, and hoped to share some important insights from her experiences here in hopes of reducing incidents of water-borne illnesses and other illnesses that can be prevented with better personal hygiene. She was joined by another highly experienced nurse and fellow group member, Margie Turner. They'd prepared for weeks but were feeling a little anxious about the audience. "Oh, it'll be fine!" I reassured her. To me, Penny & Margie's topics of community health, personal hygiene and handwashing seemed so benign and obviously important that I couldn't imagine them getting any flack from the pastors. I was worried for myself though, because I knew that I would be introducing very controversial information about alcoholism as a disease later on in the week.

Well, wouldn't you know it?! One pastor just had to take the benign and turn it into a theological discussion about the different biblical positions on the practice of handwashing! He challenged our teachers as if they were biblical scholars, wanting them to defend their recommendations biblically! For heavens sakes! These women were simply trying to help people avoid getting worms, amoebas and other things that make them unnecessarily sick! The atmosphere in the room went sour fast! The only saving grace was that it was at the end of the Tuesday session. All 3 American women walked away angry, defensive and highly guarded about proceeding with our part in the conference.

As it turned out, we were able to comfort ourselves and regroup sufficiently to resume our discussion the next day. Pablo was helpful in that, and he is the one who pointed out to that the source of the challenge was a "young whipper-snapper." Clearly this phenomenon is not unique to American culture! The next day, Penny returned to the classroom, armed with a strong biblical response to the young whipper-snapper, and prepared to move on with other topics --- hoping and praying that we would not have a repeat of Day One! Well, sure enough, Young Whipper-Snapper bowed out of that day's session, and his colleagues discreetly expressed their sympathies to Margie and Penny for the behavior of their colleague and encouraged them to proceed with the day's topics. Day Two, Three and Four went beautifully, and when Young Whipper-Snapper returned and was rebutted, he thanked Penny for her well-thought-out and biblically-defensible response. Even my sessions on Stress Management (which challenged them to be able to say "no" to some requests), Alcoholism as a Disease (worthy of the same kind of compassion as other diseases) and Pastoral Counseling (as a counseling approach rather than telling people what do) were all seemingly well-received.

As a teaching team, we found the fertile ground, but perhaps not until after we swam through some waters infested with at least 1 shark. God truly challenged each of us in different ways as we sought to share information with these Tzeltal pastors. In the end, I believe that our seeds did fall on fertile soil, that they did seem to consider some new ways of looking at old issues, and that our time together was valuable. For us as teachers, we learned to be prepared to face biblical challenges to modern conventional wisdom, to resist getting pulled out of our area of expertise, and to find ways to entice Mexican pastors to want to hear more about what we had to say. We as teachers grew. Hopefully they as pastors grew. Thanks be to God.

ssssPsych!!!! (Immigration Update)

Okay, so we finally got the letter from Immigration that says that we are "en tramite" or "in process." Ginny thought the letter could be used as a permit to use when crossing the border and that it would explain that the Mexican government has our passports, etc. No such luck. It simply is a document that says that we´re in the process of getting a change in our immigration status, and we have to take that permit to another government facility to apply for a permit to travel. We have to get a permit to be able to LEAVE Mexico, while they decide if we can STAY in Mexico for more than 6 months at a time. Ugh!!! The process seems interminable, and our travel dates for visiting NC are fast approaching.

Please pray for John and Francisco (AKA Leek, the Leek or Paco) as they try to get a permit from the Immigration office in San Cristobal on Tuesday. May the process be smooth, successful and uneventful (which also means that we´re praying John doesn´t lose his cool!).

Paz en Cristo,
Ginny

June/July MX Mission Update

This summer is shaping up to be everything we have prayed for and more!

General Mission Update:

• Mission groups from across the US have arrived each week, ready to serve and eager to grow through the mission experience. I THINK that the groups were representative of 25 churches, 114 people, and the great states of Oregon, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida. Together we have poured tons and tons of cement, moved mountains (literally) and made meaningful relationships across cultures and languages with brothers and sisters in Christ from across Mexico.


• Summer intern, Lora Nelson, has proven to be a wonderful addition to our team of volunteers working with groups and a wonderful addition to our family this summer. We celebrated her 17th birthday together and have enjoyed watching God continue to work in and through her. She was joined by adult volunteers, David Meacham from Hickory and Andrea Plakmeyer from Raleigh, who were also true blessings to have on-board this summer.


• We will wrap up our very fruitful summer by hosting 1 more mission group who join us from 1st Pres No. Wilkesboro (NC).


• We hope to join with the special efforts of Danielle Cullen (NC) to further explore water testing and purification efforts here in Chiapas. Special thanks to Danielle for her fund-raising efforts in this area. Together with the Rotary Well-Drilling Project, we hope to improve the health and well-being of numerous communities by providing resources to have cleaner drinking water.


• We will be helping with programs and hospitality for the bible school´s annual pastor´s conference in August. This event will include some community health training and a medical clinic for pastors and their families, provided by the team from North Wilkesboro, NC. Ginny will be discussing counseling, addictions and spiritual gifts, and Gray Clark from Fellowship Presbyterian (NC) will be traveling down to provide a 1-week pastoral self-care training for Mexican pastors.

Manos de Cristo Update (Medical Clinic):

• FINALLY! The impasse over roof design was resolved, and the HUGE project was completed as we poured all 37 tons of cement for the roof over Phase I of the clinic! Teams of Mexicans and Americans from all across the US pitched in to complete literally thousands of rebar ties (to reinforce the cement) and to pour cement for the whole roof over 2 incredible nights/days. Read more on the blog entries, ¨What a Difference 24 Hours Makes,¨¨Brothers & Goats," and a final entry to be written about last Thursday´s second BIG POUR for more details.


• As the cement roof is curing, American teams will be building furniture for the clinic and helping with foundation prep for Phase II of the clinic. We will need to leave the wooden forms in place until the end of August before we´ll be able to start with interior framing, but it´s exciting to know that we are finally "under roof!"

Family Update:

• Immigration hassles continue to pose serious challenges for our family as we await approval of our FM3s (temporary religious worker permits). For all those who emailed in your words of encouragement, support and prayers, thank you so much! It has meant so much to us to know that so many folks have been praying with and for us. Read more about this in blog entries ¨Bureaucratic Mess,¨¨That´s Why We Call them Bureaucracies,¨ "Immigration Issues Getting More Frustrating,¨ and soon "Psych!" We´ll definitely keep you posted, but for now, thanks for your prayers and assistance. Special thanks to Kristi Rolison, Harless & Anne Wright, Leslie and other staff at Sanford Holshouser, and Tom & Penny Musson for your assistance with documents.

• Everyone´s healthy and happy!


• We have a new puppy! Pablo decided that our family didn´t have enough to do, so he invited our family to care for a black and white puppy, aptly named "Oreo." He´ll be with us until we wrap up our missionary service here next August and then will continue to live at the bible school. In the meantime though, we still miss our beloved Corgi, Baxter, and thank Rick Sigler and his family for taking such good care of him in our absence!


• After 13 straight weeks of working with all the mission groups, our family will be headed to NC for some much-needed R&R and time with family and friends in mid-August. Let´s just hope all the immigration stuff works out!


• While in NC, we are currently planning to visit First Presbyterian churches in Mount Airy, Boone and Pilot Mountain for informal discussions. We welcome opportunities to share more about our ministry at your church for week night programs or small group discussions, so please let us know if you´d like to have us come to your church. We hope to be in NC from August 14th through September 12th.

Prayers:

• For God to continue opening doors of opportunity for us to serve


• For short-term missionaries from the US who have traveled to Mexico with groups this year. May they continue to reflect on their experiences and may those experiences move them to be watching for opportunities to serve in their own backyards.


• Special prayers for Lora Nelson and her family as she re-enters the US culture next weekend after spending her whole summer in Mexico.


• For short-term missionaries from the US who are preparing to travel to Mexico with groups this year. May they prepare themselves to serve and be served, bless and be blessed, and to come to Mexico with willing hands, open minds and loving hearts.


• Of support and comfort for those coping with losses in their families including, but not limited to David Meacham for the loss of his father, for the Prosser Family and all the Wake Forest University family for the loss of Coach Skip Prosser, Katie Yarbrough for the loss of her stepmother, and Dewey Yarborough for the loss of his sister.


• Of support and encouragement for those coping with illness or injury and their families, including Dot Hurley, Donna Painter, Pastor Andrès, Janet Rolison, Pablo & Jan´s daughter Amalia, Carol McClancy, Tenney Dean, Nancy Lingenfelser, Jim Scott, Mary Wynne Perryman, Bonnie Bode, Tom Edwards, Katie Yarbrough, Hal Newell, Dick Dye, Marshall Hollingsworth, Louise Holshouser, and the family of our dear friend Cecelia. Continued healing for Randy Duvall from Virginia Beach who suffered a broken arm on the worksite. As always, please let us know of your prayer needs and whether it's ok to share them with others.


• Of support and encouragement for fellow missionaries and their families around the world, including Pablo & Jan Feliciano, all the Dye Family Missionaries around the world, David Meacham, John and Sandra Wimbish, and Jim & Sharon Heneveld.


• Special prayers for Julie Alexander and her husband, John, as they too are being hampered by immigration challenges as they seek to enter the mission field in Brazil.

Opportunities:

• Anyone who has information about water testing equipment and supplies, please let us know. We need to be able to test water supplies in various communities to determine the best approach to water purification. Limited funds are available.


• Donate to Hebron USA for Phase I & II of the Manos de Cristo Medical Clinic in Ocosingo (details on the HUSA website at www.hebronusa.org/8.html)


• Donate to First Presbyterian Church in Mt. Airy, NC for our family’s missionary support (details on our website at www.millsfamilymission.org/5.html)


• Mission Tip of the Month: Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church is the proud sponsor of an incredible mission fund-raiser -"Oak Ridge Premium Coffee.¨Each blend of Chiapas-grown coffee is named after a mission destination or special person in the mission field visited by members of Oak Ridge Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge, NC. Their coffee is packaged and sold to benefit mission projects at ORPC and helps put their church´s name and mission focus in the homes of people throughout their community. If you´re just a coffee nut, like me, and want your purchases to make a difference, you can order online at http://www.orpc.org/Premium_coffee.html. If you´d like to know more about this as a fund-raising opportunity for your church, you can email Rebecca or Phillip Aydellete at praydelette@earthlink.net for more information.

As always, we are grateful for your prayers, support and encouragement as our Partners in Missions. You remain in our prayers.

Love,
Ginny, John, Holly & Maggie

Immigration Issues Getting More Frustrating!

This has been an incredibly full and blessed season of receiving mission groups, and I look forward to sharing more with you in a monthly update very soon. But for now, we are requesting your special prayers for our family as we face an immigration crisis here in Mexico.

To make a long story short, we were required to pursue temporary religious worker visas upon entering the country in January, 2007. As part of doing this, we were required to submit a variety of materials, letters, etc. to the Mexican government, including our original passports and original tourist visas. Since God has so graciously provided for all of our needs up to this point, we complied with this requirement, despite some anxiety. Well, it appears now that we are required to submit even more documents that must originate in North Carolina and still have none of the required documents for being in Mexico or for re-entering the United States. Since we have plans to visit NC in mid-August, this is even more problematic. Officially, our car permit expired last Saturday, and our Mexican tourist visas expire at midnight tonight.

We humbly ask for your prayers for our family and for the bureaucratic wheels of motion in the Mexican immigration office. We have been so grateful for the assistance of our pastor, Steve Lindsley, Ginny's dad, group members who have carried documents for us, and others who have helped with this process to date. We do understand that immigration matters are part and parcel of the mission field experience, but that doesn't make it any less scary.

Please pray that:
- we can fulfill the most recent document requests promptly and correctly;
- that there are no more document requests;
- that our FM-3s are approved;
- and that we receive our original passports and FM-3s before mid-August.

Watch for an update on all that's been going on with our ministry and/or check out other entries on the blog to walk with us along the way. Thank you in advance for your prayers, and know that we will keep you posted. This whole situation is a perfect example of why it's so important to have partners in missions to pray with and for us through times such as these. Thanks be to God to have you in this with us.

Brothers and Goats

It shouldn't have come as such a surprise, but it did. For years, I've had the pleasure of working side-by-side with Mexican men on construction worksites who I've come to know as "Hermanos" or "Brothers in Christ." These brothers may have been paid workers or volunteers from churches across Mexico, but regardless, they were prepared to share the worksite with Americans and demonstrated a kind of worksite hospitality. And so, when I had a different experience, I was surprised.

What does that mean, you say? Worksite hospitality? Well, I had never thought about it myself until I encountered the "goats!" What are "goats," you say? Well, let me explain.

"Goats" is a term used by some Mexicans to describe short-term laborers who are called in for special jobs that demand high energy and a willingness to engage in riskier work situations like running up & down steep ramps with buckets of wet cement on their shoulders to pour cement ceilings and other challenging work. In order to have the manpower to complete The Big Pour, Pablo hired a crew of goats who arrived last night about 9PM and who worked until after 4AM. As these new workers joined in with the rest of the Mexicans and Americans who had been working for hours, they made their presence known quickly. These guys were intense! They literally ran to fill buckets with gravel & sand, ran up the steep ramps with cement buckets, and set about getting the jobs done as soon as possible. This was exactly what they were hired to do, and yet it felt very different than working with the brothers.

Workings with Brothers in Christ on the worksite includes a kind of worksite hospitality that helps Americans feel welcome and capable. They try to communicate with us, even if it's through totally non-verbal communication. They want to know our names and tell us theirs. They are patient with us as we fill buckets more slowly, and they patiently teach us how to do things like tying rebar. They seem interested in us and receptive when we try to build relationships with them. They can tell when we Americans are exhausted and need someone to spell us from a job, but they still give us a chance to work as hard as we can. They join us in prayer.

With the goats, everything I described about the brothers was absent. They took shovels out of my hands, resisted my efforts to help, didn't seem to want to connect at all with us, and frankly, I got the feeling that they really just wanted me out of their way! So, I moved out of their way and let them do what we asked them there to do - work hard, work fast and help get a HUGE job done.

I kept asking myself, "what's the God-message in this?" I pondered it as I did jobs they wouldn't do, like carrying buckets of water to cement mixers. I forced myself to reflect instead of ruminating about how much I didn't like working with them and about my suspicions that their high energy level was drug-induced. I keep pondering and finally it registered! Yes, the expected answer to prayers was that we had the help we needed to get the roof project done. But the unexpected God-message was, "Doesn't it feel great to work alongside those OTHER guys? Doesn't it feel great to work with your brothers in Christ who share the broader ministry project goals with you, who will pray with you, who want to be in relationship with you, who work with you in every sense of the word? Had you ever really thought about how meaningful that is?" In truth, I knew the worksite relationships were meaningful, but it took working with a bunch 'o goats to make me really appreciate just how special they are! Thanks be to God for giving us powerful messages in the most unexpected moments.

And how ironic that one of my favorite scriptures (Matthew 25:25-40) is prefaced with these words: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left."

And to paraphrase from Joshua, "but as for me and my house, we will hang with the sheep!"