On July 9-16 a group from Youngsville Baptist joined us for a week of various construction projects. Roxeann Thomas who normally accompanies Dr. Jim Nichols as a dental assistant led the team. Even though she had been with us many times before, this was a first time experience for Roxeann to be responsible for bringing in a mission’s team with all the challenges, especially making connections in Mexico City. The system has changed there a little over the past month, but all went well, and God gave them great favor. Her daughter Tammy, and 3 other friends – Carol M., his son Bryce, and John R, accompanied Roxeann. Four teens –Jami and Haley also of Youngsville Baptist and Jory and Shane of Thibodaux Family Church were already in Chiapas with us to help with the summer work load.
The group stayed in Chenalho at the ministry head quarters. The following day being Sunday gave the youth an opportunity to share in song with the Chenalho congregation. What beautiful voices they have, and they sounded really great together! After a wonderful service on Sunday with the local minister Pastor Alejandro, we drove to San Cristobal to have lunch at the Jardins de San Cristobal and an afternoon of shopping at the local open-air markets. This seems to work well with our teams, since we really avoid getting involved with major construction on Sundays, and the afternoon is usually free time.
Monday started very early with a drive to a small city on the outskirts of San Cristobal called San Antonio del Monte. Our team immediately went to work along side the local church members constructing a metal roof for their new structure. Special thanks to Pastor Carlos of Tuxtla for his help with the welding on this project. We always love being with the people of the local area, but they were exceptionally warm and friendly towards us. Many times we are the first Americans in a village, and the people are often shy and warm up to us as the day progresses. Our theory is that this community is so close to the historical city of San Cristobal, and they accustomed to seeing the many tourist that go through the nearby area.
Tuesday morning the team was prepared for mixing cement for the floor of the church. Now you may remember from your own trips to Mexico or from our previous writings, but the difference here is that to pour cement, it first has to be mixed on the ground by hand and carried in five gallon buckets into the church. This makes for a very long and hard workday. There are no sleeping problems on these nights. By this time the American teams are so tired, and they have learned to ignore the dog fights outside their windows, the fireworks, the bells ringing and the roosters crowing.
Both days while in San Antonio del Monte, the local church members cooked a wonderful meal for us, and we were able to spend quality time in fellowship with them. The members of this congregation consist of an indigenous group called the Chamulas. One of the unique testimonies of this community is that upon our arrival, we were informed that even though there are several churches that could be seen from where we were working, the community is made up of Christians. They are proud to say that there are no cantinas in their city – just a lot of churches. Praise the Lord!
On Wednesday we went to another church in the community of Bach’en that had been in existence for several years. We had the opportunity to paint the interior and exterior. Due to the fact of its growth in attendance, this church had an additional 20 ft. added onto it last year. The many rain showers that day caused a few difficulties along the way, but the local leadership was excited to finally get the building painted. After our work was completed, we all shared a meal together in the wooden structure that they use for a kitchen and fellowship hall. It hangs off the side of a mountain, but it seems to be strongly constructed and secure.
On Thursday the team drove to Monte Bonita, a rural mountain community about an hour and a half from Chenalho. Last fall we had the privilege of visiting with these people and delivering Bibles to them along with Pastor Jeff and a group from Crossroads Church. The people are very sweet and hospitable in Monte Bonita, and the area matches its name. Many of the men from the local church joined our construction team, and together we painted the interior and exterior of their church. Later in the day Roxeann and others in our group distributed toys to the children. The ladies of the church served a wonderful chicken meal. We left with the satisfaction knowing our team had successfully completed the job not only of physical labor but also of bonding with these people in a great day of service for our Lord.
Just a few months ago we had an opportunity to meet the director of a local orphanage in Tuxtla, the capital city of Chiapas. We brought the team to visit one hundred and ten children that live there and toured the facility. Roxeann’s team brought shoes, clothes and toys for the children that they or other compassionate people had either purchased or collected prior to the trip. It was so rewarding to see the smiles of these children. John R. and a little 8-year-old blind boy bonded immediately. All 110 of these children can be feed for $110 a day if the Lord so puts that concern on your heart.
This American team from Youngsville consisted of members who were first time visitors to Chiapas and also of those who had been there several times before. They worked together with great unity, and we had a wonderful experience that week. The many tasks that await us cannot be accomplished without your help, so we write this with much gratitude. To God be the glory for all that was done in the lives of our dear friends both Mexican and American alike!
What another wonderful week in Chiapas! We had a group of 15 people, from Crestview, FL, from Family Life in Lafayette, LA, and from Lafayette Vineyard in Lafayette, LA for the week of July 16-23. We actually overlapped with the youth group from Church of the Son in Orlando, FL, and got to visit with them, and fall in love with them, too. While the Orlando group was in Israelita, we were building a church in Chicumtantic, painting a church in Chemtic (that many of the same people had helped build last October), and painting some of the bleachers in the ampitheater in Chenalho. While the construction team was working, the medical team (along with Dr. Lulu Araujo) was seeing medical and dental patients all day—a tremendous need, especially in Checumtantic. But I can assure you that there are about 300 fewer teeth in Chiapas this week than there were last week!! 
