Daily Timeline for July-August 2010 Mexico Barnabas trip

Here is a summary of daily events from the summer Barnabas trip to Mexico, which took place from July 27 to August 2, 2010:

Tuesday, 7/27/10:

• Sendoff and prayer -- good support.  About 20 people from Westover showed up at the Greensboro airport early in the morning to see the team off and pray with us before we departed.
• Uneventful flights -- departed at 7:20 a.m. from Greensboro.  Then flew to Charlotte, Mexico City, and then to Oaxaca. 
• Upon arrival in Oaxaca, we took a 3-hour van ride to Tlaxiaco.  With flights and van rides, we spent approximately 15 total hours traveling on Tuesday, July 27, 2010.
• We then checked into the hotel in Tlaxiaco, and visted the town's main square across the street, where we ate some authentic Mexican tacos.

Wednesday, 7/28/10:

• We met our missionary friend, Alex, where we had a meal and training time at his home in Tlaxiaco. 
• We met the remainder of some of the staff of Sin Fronteras, the missionary organization of which Alex is director.  The staff members we met were Cruz and his wife, Evon, and also another staffer named Militza. 
• We went to the market in Tlaxiaco where we did some shopping.
• We celebrated Jason's birthday with a cake and some fun at Alex's house.

Thursday, 7/29/10:

• We left at 6:00 a.m. for the village of Santiago Amoltepec.
• During the 8-hour ride to Santiago Amoltepec, we stopped for breakfast along the way.
• Most of the ride was bascially "off-roading" on dirt roads through the mountains.  The drive to the village was beautiful, with waterfalls and majestic views.
• We stopped at a pharmacy on the side of the road, where they had a public restroom.
• Shortly before our arrival in the the village, we stopped to pick up a native Mixteco Indian worker who was walking along the road.  The man didn't know how to open the car door, and it became apparent that he hadn't ridden in an automobile very much.
• Shortly after we arrived in the village, we had lunch around 2:30 or 3:00 p.m.
• After a 2-hour rest, we had a team meeting and prepared for talks that we would be giving for the churches in the villages.

Friday 7/30/10:

• Jason and Jason woke up at 4:30 a.m. to haul firewood on our backs with the men from the village.
• Melanie and Donya awoke at 7:00 a.m. to make tortillas, chop vegetables, and wash dishes with the ladies of the village.
• After breakfast, we went to the village church in Santiago Amoltepec, where we presented chairs as a gift for the village's community center.
• At the village's church, Jason A. and Donya also spoke on Barnabas from the Bible, and on encouragement.  Barnabas means "son of encouragement."
• We had a great time at the church with Cruz, Militza, another Sin Fronteras staff member named Juan, and also with Pastor Galvino. 
• We were staying at the home of Pastor Galvino, and his wife and kids, and their extended family, which included Galvino's parents Lorenzo and Mariella, and his brother Carlos, and Carlos' wife and kids, plus another brother's wife and kids.  Large families all living together are quite common in Mixteco culture.
• Just before lunch, Cruz asked some of us to taste a bug.  Fortunately, we did NOT eat the bug as our main course for the lunchtime meal!
• After lunch, the guys hauled more wood, and the girls took a rest and cleaned the corn.
• Later that afternoon, we visted a second church in the nearby village of Cofredia Amoltepec. 
• On the way to Cofredia, we stuffed 15 people into Alex's pickup truck, and 10 people into his jeep.
• In the church in Cofredia, Jason G. and Melanie spoke on encouragement and on Barnabas.
• Cofredia contained a "stage 3" restroom (very primitive), and a coconut tree. 
• Melanie fell down into a small ditch in Cofredia, and all the women of the church laughed at her.
• On the way back from Cofredia to Santiago, we put 20 people into the truck.
• After returning to Santiago, we ate a dinner of mostly bread and cheese, and Lorenzo and Mariella sat with us.
• After dark, the two Jasons helped Cruz and Juan and some of the village men to carry a bed and matress to a needy village neighbor.

Saturday 7/31/10:

• The guys awoke at 4:30 a.m. to haul wood on our backs - again!
• The girls got up at 7:00 a.m. and washed dishes and played with the village children .
• We had breakfast at Antonia's house.  Antonia is a Christian sister in the village church, and a neighbor of Lorenzo and Mariella.
• At Antonia's house, we made "tortilla spoons" to eat part of the meal with.
• Donya says that the bathroom at Antonia's house is "stage 2," meaning it was a little more primitive than the "stage 3" restroom in Cofredia.
• After breakfast, we visited a third church, in the village of El Centro Amoltepec.
• Juan delivered the sermon at the El Centro church.
• We hugged and prayed for two women at the church.  Hugging is not practiced very often in Mixeco culture, where little emotion is shown, so the fact that these two women would even hug outsiders like us really said a lot about how God is able to break down cultural barriers.
• In the church, we also saw a calendar and Bible verse in the Mixteco language.
• The El Centro church ranks as a Stage 5 church on the Moreila missionary scale.  The Morelia scale is used to determine the level of knowledge in a particular ethnic group.  Stage 5 means that it is a growing church, in terms of numerical growth.  The church has grown in number over the past year.
• On the way back from El Centro, we stayed in the vehicles very discreetly, while Cruz, Juan and some other Christian Mixtecos went into a village to pray for a demon-possessed woman. 
• Thanks be to God that He set the woman free from demonic possession, and that she came to know Christ as her Savior!
• After lunch, during which we drank a lot of Coke, we went with the Sin Fronteras staff, and a few villagers, to some caves located in a hill about a mile or two from Lorenzo and Mariella's house.
• Carlos showed us how to make a pretzel-shaped wreath out of a local plant.
• We took cold showers.
• We had dinner at the home of another sister in the Santiago church.  She served tamales, and we had a good discussion about the trip.

Sunday 8/1/10:

• We awoke at 5:30 a.m. to travel back to Tlaxiaco.  It was a beautiful ride through the mountains, and we made a couple of bathroom stops along the way.
• We were also trying to find a place that sold gas.  We finally found a store where we purchased gasoline, but they didn't have any pumps.  Instead, they poured gas into the vehicles using a gas can and a plastic 2-liter soda bottle with the end cut out, as a funnel.
• After we reached Tlaxiaco, we spent some more time with Alex and his family and staff.
• Later that day, Alex drove us to a run-down motel in Oaxaca, and his vehicle was outrunning ambulances on the highway.
• Shortly after arriving at our dumpy motel in Oaxaca, we switched to a much nicer hotel, which we jokingly dubbed the "Ritz-Carlton," but it was actually called the Santa Helena Hotel.
• We had pizza and Coke at the Santa Helena, before going to bed very late.

Monday, 8/2/10:

• We woke up at 5:00 a.m. to take a taxi to the Oaxaca airport.
• We bought souvenir t-shirts at a shop at the airport.
• Jason G. and Donya had a witnessing opportunity on the flight from Mexico City to Washington, D.C., and Jason G. also experienced another witnessing opportunity on the flight from Washington to Greensboro.
• Other than that, our flights were rather uneventful.

Also, just a reminder to everyone that our Mexcio mission team will also be sharing some more stories and photos during The Vine Sunday school class at Westover on Sunday, August 22 at 11:00 a.m. in room W205.  Please come join us if you get a chance.

Hello from Tlaxiaco

We have made it back safely to the home of our missionary friend, Alex, after a seven-hour vehicle ride. We spent three days and three nights in the village of Santiago Amoltepec, staying at the home of a Mixteco family who are Christians. They were very hospitable and gracious towards us.


We got to visit three different Mixteco churches in two days. We were a blessing and an encouragement to the believers there, and they were truly an encouragement to us.

We also got to spend time with four of Alex´s staff members during our three days in the village. They were also a blessing and encouragement to us, and helped us tremendously, to understand the Mixteco culture and also helped us with logistics.

Alex and his wife and daughter plan to drive us to Oaxaca this afternoon, where we will spend the night in a hotel, and plan to fly out tomorrow morning. Please remember to greet us at the Greensboro airport at approximately 7:45 p.m. Monday evening. We have appreciated everyone´s prayers, and ask that you please continue to pray for us, as we have a long travel day on Monday.

Buenos dias de Mexico (Good morning from Mexico)

After a wonderful sendoff on Tuesday morning at the Greensboro airport, we arrived safely in Mexico on Tuesday night after approximately 15 total hours of travel time. Everyone is doing well, and our luggage made it safely. We all slept reasonably well last night, except for some neighbors of our hotel shooting off fireworks at 6:00 a.m. this morning, combined with some hotel guests who also decided to play loud music very early in the morning. Some of our team members are having trouble adjusting to the 1-hour time change, and therefore woke up some of the other team members earlier than expected.

We are writing this from the home of our missionary friend, Alex, which is located in Tlaxiaco, in the state of Oaxaca. We plan to spend today hanging out with Alex and some of his missionary staff, as well as getting trained and briefed on our mission project, which begins tomorrow.

We leave bright and early on Wednesday morning for the Mixteco village of Santiago Amoltepec, approximately a 6 to 7 hour car ride from Tlaxiaco. We will be doing construction and helping with a project at a community center in the village. We are excited that there are Christian believers in this particular village, and we will also be lodging with some of them, and hope to encourage them throughout our stay there.

We will leave Santiago Amoltepec very early on Sunday morning, and return to Tlaxiaco, where we will pick up our luggage, and spend some more time with Alex and his staff. Later in the day, we will take a 3-hour van ride back to Oaxaca. We will spend Sunday night at a hotel in Oaxaca, and leave for the airport early Monday morning.

Please remember that our expected arrival time is approximately 7:45 p.m. on Monday at the Greensboro airport.

Thank you for your prayers and support, we look forward to sharing our adventures with you when we return.

The final countdown!

Here it is, just about 8 hours or so before we depart for the Barnabas Project / Mexico Singles Mission trip. Hopefully, all 4 of us are packed, and will get a decent (but short) night's sleep.

If you read this before then, I want to encourage and remind everyone to please meet at the Greensboro airport tomorrow morning (Tuesday, July 27), at 6:30 a.m., near the US Airways ticket counter for a time of prayer. Lynn Everswick, Westover's Pastor of Global Missions, will be leading a group of folks in prayer for our team.

Also, we would love for folks to greet us at the Greensboro airport upon our scheduled return, on Wednesday, August 2. We are scheduled to arrive at PTI airport at 7:44 p.m. on US Airways flight 7154, operated by United Airlines, from Washington D.C.'s Dulles Airport.

In case you've forgotten, or you were not aware, I just want to reiterate the purpose of our trip.

In southern Mexico lies the greatest concentration of unreached people groups in the Western Hemisphere. These people have never heard the name of Jesus Christ before. Recently, God has opened up a very unique opportunity for Westover Church to be involved in partnering with national missionaries working to plant churches among the unreached Mixteco people of Mexico. We are calling this, The Barnabas Project.

We will be traveling down to this remote area to establish relationships with Mixteco village leaders. Each village has its own rules for allowing visitors in . The overall purpose of this trip is to gain access to Mixteco village, begin relationships with local leaders and determine what specific needs we can meet on future trips. Because of the difficulty of working among the Mixtecos, we'll also spend a lot of time in training with the local missionaries in order to prepare for leading future teams. We are also hoping to work with the children in the village. the Barnabas project is still in its beginning stages, which causes us to have to be more flexible than normal.

I want to share with you a verse that was read during both services at Westover this past Sunday:

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body,
(2 Corinthians 4:6-10, NKJV).

The next blog update will possibly be on Wednesday from Thaliaxco, the village where we will be staying with one of the missionaries.

Additional prayer reqeusts for Mexico singles team

Here are some additional prayer requests, as they appear in the July 2010 edition of the Westover Intercessor newsletter. Please keep these items in prayer for our team, as we now have six days until our departure.

Please pray:

• That the people we come in contact with, whether in the airport, on a bus, in Mexico, and especially the Mixteco people would see something (Jesus) in us and therefore be drawn to the saving knowledge of Christ.
• That the difference that they see in us would open doors for conversations.
• For us individually and as a team, for the ability to remain "flexible" as we prepare, and while on the trip.
• For our Spanish interpreter, Jason Gaertner, that God would help him to remember proper Spanish words and phrases as he translates for the group.

The purpose of the trip is to partner with local missionaries in reaching out to, and meeting specific needs of, the unreached Mixteco people. Not only will we be making friendships with Mixtecos, our presence among the people will do great things for the local missionaries' relationships with Mixteco village leaders and will provide better opportunities for sharing the gospel and bringing truth into the villages.

Flight Itenarary for Mexico Barnabas Project

Here is the departing and returning flight information for the Mexico Barnabas project mission team:

DEPART:
Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 7:20 A.M. from Greensboro / Piedmont Triad International Airport on US Airways flight 3183, to Charlotte - Douglas International Airport, where we catch our connecting flight to Mexico City.

ARRIVE:
Monday, August 2, 2010 at 7:44 p.m. on US Airways flight 7154 from Washington, D.C.'s Dulles International Airport.

We would love for folks to come see us off on the 27th, and be there to greet us when we return on August 2, so please consider meeting and greeting us on those dates! :)

Prayer requests for Mexcio Barnabas Project team

Prayer requests for Barnabas team, leaving for Mexico July 27, 2010, scheduled to return on August 2, 2010. Please keep these items in prayer as we have hit the "home stretch." Only 10 days until we depart!

• Donya- God to give guidance as she prepares the devotionals for our trip. Disciplined in Bible study, balancing friends and showing Christ.

• Melanie. - That she would draw closer to God.

• Jason G. - For his knowledge in translating on the trip and for opportunities to practice his Spanish in preparation for the trip.

• Jason A. – to get over sickness that he has been dealing with for a week.

In general, please also pray for the entire team:

1. That we will be stress-free as we make final preparations such as packing, etc.
2. Of course, also, that the Lord would give us traveling mercies.
3. For language and cultural barriers to be broken.
4. That God will keep us from sickness, injury, etc.
5. Please also pray for flexibility, as their are a lot of unknowns heading into this trip.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,^a]"> for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek," (Romans 1:16, NJKV).

<<Porque no me averguenzo del evangelio, pues es el poder de Dios para la salvación de todo el que cree; del judío primeramente y también del griego,>> (Romanos 1:16, La Biblia de las Américas).

J Crew - Team Barnabas - July

Jason Gaertner, Donya Hafshejani, Melanie Greeson, Jason Arthurs

Day 6

Our last morning in Oaxaca, we thought we would go to an Easter service after eating breakfast. We got to the church and God blessed us by placing a woman there to chat with us. In the course of trying to find out times of services, etc., we found out that it was 10:25, an hour later than we thought. It turns out the time changed overnight and we had no idea. We were supposed to be leaving from the hotel at 10:30 for the airport. Eeeek. So we rushed back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and jumped into two taxis. Brent did an awesome job at last minute rearranging. If we hadn’t found out about the time change, we probably would have missed our flight.

We had enjoyable plane rides all the way home and an awesome waitress at Chili’s, where we had dinner. No luggage was lost and we made it home in one piece! It was wonderful to see those who came to greet us as we got home. God is good. All the time he is good.


Thanks for the incredible support and many petitions to our Father. We would not have had the same trip without them. God is gracious.

Praise for God’s goodness in providing safety!

Praise him for healing! Amanda left on the trip with a pretty severe case of bronchitis. She coughed the first night, and after that, not at all. It was truly a gift from God.

Anytime someone began to feel pain, sickness or heat exhaustion coming over them, the Lord was faithful to heal in a matter of hours.

Praise him for Alex, his family, and the workers that he sends out who are willing to give up everything in this world so that others can be saved in the next. They were a tremendous blessing to us. And God is using this ministry in mighty ways. Please ask the Father for their continued health and encouragement.

Bring to the Father, Mario - the worker in the village we visited, and Peter- one of the first followers in the village.

Day 5

Alex came by to get us for a barbecue breakfast after everyone had a lovely night’s sleep in the same hotel we stayed in the first night. After we finished eating, we spent the rest of the morning in the center of the city, wandering around the Saturday market. Because it was Easter weekend, there were far fewer people than normal, but it was still fun for us to wander around and see all the products and produce and talk with people.

Then we headed out to the second village we were going to visit briefly. This time we visited with a family of believers. They are a very poor family. The husband of the woman we spoke with there is having trouble finding work, and the brother is a pastor. We spent a lot of time with the kids in the family and watching the women weave Ouipas (like ponchos but longer and highly detailed – made completely by hand and very expensive).

Even though this family was just as poor as any other we had visited (14 people lived in their house), the contrast between this family and our first village was HUGE. There was such joy in these people. They were so open and caring. Our team had a wonderful time with them and for some, it was the highlight of our whole trip.

After having a fantastic dinner prepared by Alex’s wife and the students there, we headed out on another 3 hour bus ride to return to Oaxaca. We spent what was left of the evening in the main square getting dinner and enjoying the atmosphere. Then we returned to our lovely hotel for a well earned rest.

Day 4

We began the day as every other, hearing Alex yell “Ten more minutes” and then shortly later “Vamonos!!” (which means, let’s go). The women cooked another lovely breakfast, one of the best of the trip. They served a dish called Chilaquiles made from dried out tortillas – everyone loved it.

Then we were surprised by a visit from Eligio, one of the people from the village who had lived in a city before and who knew much better Spanish than most people there. He had been to the movie the night before and came to get information and see what we were about. After serving a plate full of breakfast to Eligio and the man who accompanied him, we were privileged to witness an awesome conversation. You almost never get to hear that first conversation. It was amazing the wisdom with which Alex shared. It was truly a no pressure situation filled with grace. He explained that we were Christians, that the Bible was our ultimate authority, and that we are called to help our neighbors. He made it clear we were not coming in to conquer or force people to our religion – this is an important part of being accepted into the community and culture. Alex would share a little, Eligio would continue to express interest, and Alex would share a little more. The Holy Spirit was definitely at work in this conversation. Eligio is more educated and an influential person in the community. He is also fluent in Spanish and Mite. I cannot even imagine the wonderful things that God could do through him in this community. Please petition the Father for Eligio.

After breakfast we headed to the clinic to finish our painting (which we thought we would never be able to accomplish). It was such a fun surprise to see that so many more people showed up to help paint that day. It seemed this must be a good sign since we had showed the video the night before.

At one point we all took a break and passed Pepsi’s all around to have a community moment. The authority for the village was also there, which was an important event in gaining the approval of the community and furthering the work of the worker that lives there. After a brief break, we all got back to work again.

We painted all day. God is good, and with the help of the Mite people we were able to basically finish all the painting before we left.

Eligio came by to bring us lunch, which was a huge blessing as we were trying to put the finishing touches on the paint job. He brought us a chicken and tortillas, and we had some more Pepsi’s. This was a great kindness on his part. Everyone did a good job of eating the food that was offered, which is very important in Mite culture.

As we were eating, a man came up to the clinic with his boy cuddled in his arms. He explained that the little boy had been throwing up. The difficulty in this situation was that there is no doctor most of the time at the clinic and the nurse who might usually be there was on vacation (as were many people since it was Holy week). Thankfully, through the gracious provision of the Lord, Amanda had had some nursing training and made herself available to consult with the family a little. She was then gracious enough to grab some Pepto Bismol from her own bag and explain to them how to give it to the boy. One of the guys talked to the Fathered over the boy and they departed.

A short while later, a mother came through the gate (she hung back from the processional that had been going by, probably so that no one would ask her what she was doing or see her come into the gate). Her smallest girl who couldn’t have been more than three had eyes that were pink and streaming with tears. The poor thing was quite miserable. Our team determined that she most likely had pink eye. A few people went scavenging in the clinic and found some eye drops to give her. Unfortunately, the only instructions on the bottle were to ask the doctor about dosages. Fortunately, with Amanda’s nursing background, Brent’s knowledge of pharmaceuticals, and Alex’s common sense, they were able to come up with a plan to try and help her. Krista then talked to the Fathered over the girl in Spanish and they took the medicine and departed.

It then occurred to us that because of our conversations with the Father and because, at least with the little girl, they would have understood that we asked to our God for healing, we realized that it was very important for these children to receive the healing for which we asked in order to make God’s name great and show the villagers that he is real. Many members of our team spent some serious time in conversation with the Father as we completed the detailing in the paint, asking God to show himself in healing these children. Later that day when we left, we passed the father and son on our way out of the village. The son was walking on his own and the dad had a huge smile and was waving profusely at us as we drove by. We thought this to be a sign that God had indeed honored our requests.

Before saying goodbye to Mario, our team gathered in his small home. We had a sweet time of conversation with the Father for him and for Peter (who is a Christian brother we met at the movie the night before)

Day 3

We woke up for a team devotional, and were blessed by starting out our morning with Jesus. Jason prepared devotions for us every day. (Donkey braying at night, fireworks 5am)

The women went to make breakfast. Only women are allowed in the kitchen to cook and clean in their culture. Libna, Amanda, and Krista prepared and cooked all the meals. Men were supposed to stay out of things unless specifically asked, which would be unlikely. Our men seemed to adjust to this cultural difference quite easily :p (We have decided that the will be cooking us a meal sometime now that we are back!)

As soon as we were done with breakfast we went straight to work on our project in the village. In the Mixtec culture, they live from moment to moment and by current conditions. They do not operate the same way western cultures do, especially in the art of advanced planning. Soooo, we did not end up doing the water project at all, but did leave some funds there dedicated to the work of providing water for the animals of the village. They will also be building a water tank as there is not enough water for the general populace.

We ended up painting the medical clinic. Alex found out about this project the morning we arrived in Tlaxiaco and bought paint supplies that morning while we were training. This turned out to be a fun blessing. A few people from the village were there. One was a very sweet and shy lady that turned up for both days of painting. We did not interact all that much the first day, but she hung around and was involved in helping. The next day she stayed the whole day and interacted a little more. When she went by with the processional of people in the street on the second day, she looked over at me and smiled. I ask the Father for her to see new life in Jesus.

We visited one of the two Christian families in the village in the afternoon and were privileged to see the more than 80 year old grandmother weaving grasses together to make beautiful hats. It was such a privilege to spend time with them.

We also went up to visit the site where they plan to build a new water tank. Mario is in charge of the water in the village. This is critical to his acceptance in the community. You must have an occupation that contributes to the general welfare of the community. Mario has lain many meters of pipes to bring more water to the village. There simply isn’t enough as it is. He will be building this water tank in addition to the watering area for animals.

As we were talking, we saw a little girl up in the hills and smiled and waved at her. She smiled shyly and waved back and started to come closer. Alex yelled to her to meet us at Mario’s house for cookies. She came! She was so sweet and precious. We had a great time getting to play with her and sent her off with cookies and an apple, also inviting her to come to the movie that night.

Previously, when Alex had showed a movie, fewer than 50 people came to watch. At 7pm, we rolled up to the basketball court in our two SUV’s and saw about 30+ people in the area. A few people continued to show up and they decided to go ahead with the movie, not knowing if more people would come. They showed “La Esperanza,” which means Hope. It was a moving and beautiful depiction of the plan of creation, the fall, the reason for sin, and God’s plan of salvation for all. It was incredible. Alex asked us to separate ourselves as a group and spend time in talking to the Father as the movie began. Because of the closed nature of the culture, we talked to the Fathered sitting in a group, eyes open, as if we were just chatting to one another. By the end of the night, we estimated that over 150 people had attended. It was awesome to see the story of God told so plainly to people who were lost and hurting and probably hearing the real story of Jesus and the creation for the first time ever in their lives. It was an indescribable experience. The power of God in that place was so evident, even in the gorgeous night sky where so many stars were laid out. We ask the Father that many hearts were touched and that many conversations will follow with the man working in that village. You can ask the Father for understanding in the hearts and minds of the people there since Spanish is really a second language for them, and many do not have more than a 2nd grade education in that language.

After this long and exhausting day, we headed back to Mario’s for a little bit of dinner. The excitement of what we had just witnessed bubbled over and renewed everyone’s spirits. It was a lovely evening and God was more than gracious.

Day 2

We met Alex’s family. The group of workers studying with Alex also prepared us our meals for the next day, along with Alex’s wife. They were all such a wonderful blessing to us. We felt so welcomed and loved.

After breakfast, we set off for our training which Libby was so gracious as to present to us. Libby was a very special gift to our team from the Lord. She is fluent in English and Spanish, and was able to give the training presentation in English to our team. I felt incredibly relieved to not be solely responsible for interpreting. She also accompanied us to the village that night. We probably would not have been able to eat without her! She headed up all the cooking and cleaning. She was truly amazing. Her husband is currently going through the course with Alex so that they can also go out into a village as workers.

In the afternoon we headed to our village to work with Mario, the worker stationed there. We had a lovely ride up into the mountains, and were blessed with a beautiful sunset and beautiful weather. The scenery was striking. Those riding in the car with Libna were privileged to hear her testimony.

When we met Mario, he was very shy, with his head down the whole time. One of the most wonderful things about the trip was to see the transformation in Mario over our short time there. We had talked to the Father so much for his encouragement and that we could be a real help to him. When we left he gave Todd and Jason a huge squeeze and was grinning from ear to ear - one of the precious servants of the Lord. It made a big impact in our lives to think about how much he had given up to serve others in the name of Jesus. He lives in a small building. His home consists of one room, dirt floor, no running water, no flushing toilets. No refrigerator, no cell phone, no internet….just God.

We had frosted flakes and ‘fruitie loopies’ (Alex’s phrase J ) for dinner. Todd was very excited to find something so familiar in the remote mountains of Oaxaca.

Day 1

Showing up at the airport and having so many people come there to send us off and pray for us. This was a very precious and sweet time for us, and we thank you so much for your goodness to us in the name of Jesus.

Praise that over 14 hours of travel, 3 flights and one 3 hour bus ride, all of our luggage came to us intact (minus an apple, trail mix and a few other things lost at the airport security gates :p)

When Alex met us in a small city two hours from the capital of Oaxaca, he let us know a group of his friends would be coming to meet us. They were amazing people and had a huge impact among us. All were studying to serve as workers among the indigenous ethnic groups in the mountains. They immediately grabbed all of our luggage and escorted us to our hotel and dinner. Jason particularly enjoyed the tacos we had in the town center; he said he felt like a new man. They served without a second thought and were an incredible blessing to us.

That night at the hotel we all slept like rocks – getting a shower that night was awesome.

March - Mexico Leaders Team

front row: Brent Pilson, Todd Cox
back row: Krista Cordell, Jason Arthurs, Amanda Oliver