Thibodaux Family Church Trip May 27-June 3

The team of 5 was small in number, but they were mighty in strength and heart! Everyone carried their load, and then some and great things were accomplished.



Jory spent several weeks helping out in Chiapas 2 summers ago soon after graduating from high school. This year he led his own team and did an excellent job! It is such a joy to see young people grow in their faith and grow in responsibilities of ministry. He was joined by his friends Brady, Josh, Seth and Courtney.

We thank Pastor Bland and the congregation of Thibodaux Family Church for the contribution towards the church construction and other donations to bless these dear people of Chiapas. A golf tournament was held in Thibodaux to raise the needed funds. Special thanks to all those who worked so hard to make it all possible and bless so many.

The work week began with painting a church in the village of Los Chorros. That was followed by a camp out in Constitucion where the church has double in size and a new building was necessary. It is one of the most difficult areas of Chiapas to work in and is located 5 hours from Chenalho on very rough roads. The primitive and remote conditions require tent camping and cooking on an open fire. The roof was erected and the cement poured for the platform. Due to the lack of water in the area, the rest of the cement will be poured at a later date. The rainy season has begun in the mountains, but it hasn’t reach Constitucion just yet. That also means very hot temperatures for this region in which they worked, but the group passed the endurance test and got the job done. The church in Constitucion has way over 100 children, and the team did a great job interacting with them.

After returning to Chenalho, enjoying a hot shower and a comfortable bed to sleep in, the night was shortened with a 3 AM wake up call to pour cement on the roof of Pastor Alex’s house for a new addition. The rain has reached this area, so people do this type of work in the early morning hours to finish before the rains begin for the day. It was a real work out, and no one needed to visit a gym this week for exercise. Mixing and pouring cement by hand is always a new challenge and experience for our American teams, but this time each 5 gallon bucket had to be carried upstairs on 2 steep homemade wooden ladders. The team felt a real sense of accomplishment to assist the men of the local church in completing the roof job for Pastor Alex and his family.

The week concluded with lots of fellowship with the local people, a well earned free day to San Cristobal and a visit to the Tuxtla orphanage - Casa Hogar Alegre. Russell and the team were able to spend some time playing soccer with the boys. Everyone had a great time. We look forward to returning teams from Thibodaux Family Church!

MAY-JUNE 2007 NEWSLETTER

Ephesians 2: 19-22 “... ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and profits, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone;
In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord:
In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.”

What a joy it has been to continuously witness two different worlds coming together during our years in Mexico! A large portion of our time is spent hosting US teams here in Chiapas. Many of those teams are helping with the construction of block church buildings which are fit together in a particular pattern. We all come here thinking we are going to impact these poor people with what we have. And we do, but more than that happens! These experiences effect our lives internally, and we are never the same. We construct churches or host medical campaigns to relieve suffering that is visible to the natural eye. Meanwhile, God is building a church that is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ Himself where He can dwell. Although we are all a continuous work in progress, it seems as though God intensifies the spiritual construction of our lives while on mission trips.



Generally, the groups talk a lot about what they are experiencing, but rarely do we have their thoughts in writing. These remarks touched us, and we know they touched God’s heart as well. Recently, youth pastor Den of Franklin, LA (and one of his youth) wrote these comments in 2 different articles for their own church newspaper. With permission, we share a little with you. You can go to www.mxoutreach.org/blogger/ to read more. It will be worth your time.

“I learned about my own inability to trust God.

I learned the value of true appreciation. His (the pastor of the church) gratitude was different than mine because he understood that God has to be the center of our lives. We say He is everything to us, but they live that.

I learned this: Life is not about me—I think I finally understand that it never was...Chiapas reinforced that in me. It reminded me that I am too consumed with me—and that is simply not the way God wants me to live.

Lucas (young man in Franklin youth group) made a great statement when we got back from Mexico. He said this, ‘We went to Chiapas to take our world to them; now all we want is to bring their world to us.’ That doesn’t mean that we want to live like them; it means we want to make our lives simpler and appreciate what we have even more.

I challenge you today to find a few ways to simplify your life. And try to remember even more the things that matter the most—God, family, and then what you are called to do (ministry wise and employment wise).

Thanks Den and Lucas and thanks to all our teams. Jim Nichols, D.D.S., Ken Morgan, D.D.S., and Damon Hughes, D.D.S. and all those who assisted them last month were a blessing to so many. A special thanks to 10 year old Mary who sent an offering for the Tuxtla orphanage. It was money she saved from doing chores at home and sent it with her family on the medical trip. Her act of kindness will never be forgotten by us or the directors of the orphanage.

We thank God for all the recent donations to purchase Bibles! We were able to buy over 750 Bibles in the Tzetal and the Chamula dialects this year so far. We continue to believe God to supply the funds for the church in San Fernando. The roof of this large church will be erected next month.



Presently, we are awaiting the arrival of a youth group from Thibodaux Family Church. We will travel to a very remote area 5 hours passed Chenalho to work on a church with Pastor Antonio. Because of the distance we will camp in tents and cook on an open fire. The group along with the church members will put a roof on the new church and pour cement in the auditorium. It is a very poor community where most of the people eat only what they can grow. The living conditions are very difficult with many homes made of thatched roofs and mud walls. The average daily worker in the fields will be paid under $3 to $5 a day for 10 hours of work. At the end of the week the new church building will be the most beautiful in the whole community and will be a testimony to Jesus Christ. We will have blessed a lot of people, but an eternal work will take place once again in our lives as Jesus Himself fits together a few more stones in a church not built with block and mortar. We thank all of you for your continued support through prayer, finances and your trips to Mexico. We thank God for His continued working in all of our lives where He can dwell within us!

God bless you!
Russell and Charlotte