M1 for Mexico Distribution

Hello everyone! I just want to start off by saying thank you all for the work that you have put into the M1 for Mexico project! This project would not have even been possible without your donations and prayers. In addition to the items we were able to pick up while we were home this summer, we also received a large donation of items from some wonderful ladies from Heber's church in Tampico, Tamaulipas Mexico. We got the box from them the same week we planned to distribute the items we already had. Is that perfect timing, or what? God certainly had it all planned out better than we could have.

The ladies from the church "Buenas Nuevas" (Good News) in Tampico, with their donations

We decided to tie tags with John 3:16 onto all the items. We counted the items and these are the numbers we came out with:

• 71 hats
• 45 mittens/gloves
• 35 scarves
• 2 sweaters

That's 153 items! 

Here is a video with pictures from the distribution. Enjoy! (BTW, if any of you are wondering what the song is, it's called Show Jesus by Jamie Grace.)

God bless!

~JenJe

The long awaited blog post

¡Yo lo sé, I know! To my shame it has been almost 6 months since I posted our last blog.  Apologizes are not enough. Instead, I vow to try to do much better over the rest of our time here in Mexico so that you remain informed and do not feel neglected.

Much has happened over the past six months.  To try to write about it all would be long and boring.  Therefore, we will give you the “CliffsNotes” version.

Gone and Back Again

Maykon, the student from Honduras, who arrived shortly after we had arrived in Matachi, went back to his county in May due to some personal reasons.  Fortunately, those issues have been resolved and last week he was able to join us again.  We are thankful to have Maykon back.  He has a unique way of making people laugh and brings much excitement to our community.  He rejoins our other two students, Gustavo and Heber.  Oh! And Aleesa has now joined the staff and is doing a wonderful job.

Hello Chihuahua!

Before arriving in Matachi we knew that we would be looking to move the school to the city of Chihuahua and Matachi would become a secondary location.  Therefore, back in mid-April we began the process of looking for a suitable building in Chihuahau to rent.  We looked at several before finally deciding on a building that is about 10 blocks from downtown Chihuahua.  It is a wonderful location for us and is located in a very nice community.  Thanks to a grant that provided half of our yearly rent, we were able to move into the building in mid-August.  And we are prayerfully hopeful that the rest of the funds will become available to us through other resources that Hillside Missions Organization in Richmond, VA is currently soliciting.

Significant changes

Our move to Chihuahua has brought with it several changes to how we live in community.  We now find ourselves having access to so many resources that it was a bit overwhelming at first.  I (Andy) have gone from being the primary teacher to being one of 6 different teachers.  Academically, the level of study here at the school has increased tremendously.  In terms of practical ministry, we now have access to a number of different ministries.  Already we have been involved in evangelistic efforts with a local church, and we expect to soon participate in some unique ministries for children, for women, and for drug addicts and alcoholics.  We are also learning about horticulture and renewable resources and how we can use them on the mission field.

In fellowship

One of the challenges of living in Matachi was the limited access to other Christian communities.  While never truly alone, there were certainly times that we as a community felt lonely and disconnected from the rest of the Christian community.  Certainly for missionaries, this is not uncommon and we now have a better idea of the struggles that missionaries go through.  Image what William Carey went through in India during those seven years before he started seeing the fruits of his ministry and people starting trusting in Christ for their salvation!  Being in Chihuahua and having greater access to Christian communities is something that we will no longer take lightly.  We are very thankful that we have found a church that we can regularly join in fellowship.  The church is called Viento Fresco meaning “Fresh Wind”, and it certainly has been a fresh wind to our spirits.  In addition, we are excited about the opportunities to visit and share with other churches in Chihuahua and encourage their involvement in missions.

Not forgotten

Although we are no longer in Matachi on a daily basis, we still have the building there.  We envision this property as becoming a kind of retreat center that the churches here in Chihuahua can have access to.  Perhaps in this way, we can promote more awareness of the needs of the churches in that area and provide more opportunities to support and assist those churches in their outreach efforts.  We also envision Matachi as being our primary base in the summers so that we can put into practice what we have learned.

Our Needs

It is never easy for us to express our own needs.  We truly do not like putting the burden on others.  On the other hand, we recognize that God does move the hearts of individuals to support us.  For that we are very thankful and grateful.  This has been a humbling experience for us and we are always amazed when God provides exactly what we need.  Should we really be that surprised when God comes through for us time and time again?  Maybe not, but on the other hand we do not want to lose that sense of amazement when He does come through for us.  For those interested in finding out more about how you can help the ministry here in Mexico, we ask that you take a look at the “current needs” page on this blog which list some specific ways in which people can help the school.

M1 for Mexico

The M1 for Mexico project is going well.  We have received several knitted and crocheted items to be distributed to the people of Matachi.  We will be doing the first distribution in November.  Therefore, if you have items to donate, they may be taken to New Life Baptist in Greencastle until the end of October.   For more information about M1 for Mexico, go to the “M1 for Mexico” page on this blog.

The Sounds of Matachi

This blog is dedicated to the number of distinct sounds that we have grown to enjoy, ignore, or tolerate.

The following videos are only sound (no pictures) allowing you to use your imagination at times when listening to the sounds.  So turn up the volume or plug in some headphones and enjoy these sounds.

The first sound that you will here is a very funny conversation that we had at the dinner table.  These types of conversations are typical and frequent.  Context: Maykon has a pair of pajama pants that features the Grinch. He wears them quite often.  We had an American visiting that said to him "feliz cumpleaños" (happy birthday) whenever he saw him wearing the pants. Maykon had no idea why he was saying this until he realized, much later, that the greeting was supposed to be, "feliz navidad" (Merry Christmas). Also, for a few days the students had been ministering to a group of men from Guatemala who had been waiting for an opportunity to enter the US.  They had a rough time prior to getting to this point and their travels into the US were not going to be any easier (DISCLAIMER: We have no knowledge of these men having actually entered the US or the means by which they entered).  Our students began to talk about Gustavo's decision to sing a "happy" song with the men which is translated "weary of the way." This "happy" song succeeded in bringing all of the men to tears.

The next two videos are of the sounds of our typical devotion time.  We typically sing one song in English (to help them learn English) and one song in Spanish.  It is not a studio quality recording, but it is enjoyable enough to listen to more than once.  The second recording is of Maykon reading a Scripture passage, Gustavo reading Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" devotion for the day, and Heber praying. Can anyone tell what passage Maykon is reading?

There are a number of sounds within the school that have become very familiar to us.  There are essential sounds such as the sound heard when replacing the jug for drinking water and the sound of the coffee pot. There is also the sound of someone walking up and down the metal stairs and the sounds from the courtyard while the laundry is being taken down. The squeaking sound is the clothesline.  Can you hear the clothespins being thrown into the basket? Finally, there are the sounds of the various doors here at the school.  Let's just say that no one can go anywhere without everyone else knowing.

The last group of sounds are sounds that are heard on a weekly, and sometimes daily basis.  The first is Victor who rings a bell to alert people that he is coming down the street.  He is important to us because he is the person who delivers gas for hot water and cooking.  Victor's route brings him to Matachi twice a week on Mondays and Fridays.  The second is the sound of the bell at the Catholic church.  It is rung several times a day on Sunday and is sometimes rung during the week when there are funerals or some kind of special event.  It always rings several time in a row numbering up to 60 times.  How many times do you count in this recording?  The last sound is a sound that we are trying to learn to tolerate.  Our neighbors own a hardware store.  One of their special items in the store are cement bricks.  They have a machine on the other side of our wall that makes these bricks.  They like to get started early in the morning around 7:30am and usually continue to until late in the afternoon.  Rarely do we get a break from this sound.

We hoped you have enjoyed this sampling of the sounds that we experience here in Matachi.  There are several others that are not included because of the difficulty of trying to record them.  They include roosters at all times of the day, cows mooing in the middle of night, the sound of horses' hooves outside our window, and the strange sound of various birds giving mating calls.

M1 for Mexico Update

      Hi everyone! JenJe here. Mom and I are having fun with the M1 for Mexico project and I hope you are too. As a matter of fact Mom is knitting now. She said she would learn for M1 for Mexico and she did. Here is a picture of the progress of her navy blue scarf, first donation of yarn from our friends at Hillside Missions, and the unofficial mascot of M1 for Mexico, Sassy the Cat!: 

 

The hat below that I made is the first M1 for Mexico item finished. 

 

      We hope to leave more posts and updates about how the project is going soon. Thank you all for your support in this!

Introducing, "M1 for Mexico"

Hello, this is JenJe's cat Sassy. Please do not ask how I noe how to type, because being a very intelijent mamel, (ahem) I just do. I am righting to implore you people (on my behalf, of course).  Do you noe how  many sweaters JenJe has made me in the last 7 months? Sicks!! Not one, not two, nor three four or five, but sicks! Cats do not even wear sweaters!  JenJe  is even trying to teech me how to nit so that I can make my own sweaters.  It must stop.
JenJe believes that God has answered her prayers, but really He has answered mine.  Please click on the link above that reads "M1 for Mexico" to find out how u can help me.

Now Approaching Six Months

We are approaching our six month milestone living in Mexico.  Because of this, we had to make a trip to El Paso, TX recently to renew our visas and vehicle permit, which are only good for six months at a time.  It is hard to believe that we have been in Mexico for this long.  And yet, at other times it feels like we have been here for much longer than that!  Although we are enjoying our time here in Matachi, it was good to spend a few days in El Paso because it strangely felt like being at home.   The first place we went to eat while in the states?  Taco Bell.  Go ahead and laugh; it's true.  The second place?  Papa John's, of course.  Real pizza.  Yum.

We are proud to report that we have tripled our enrollment this January.  That's right! We now have three students at the school.  In addition to Maykon from El Progreso, Honduras, we now have his good friend, Gustavo (also from El Progreso, Honduras) and Heber who is from Tampico, Mexico.  Get to know them by going to http://matachi.org/?p=144.

Heber, Gustavo, and Maykon.  Photo taken at "El Salto," near Matachi.

What a difference it makes to have three students here.  The group dynamics have changed as each of the new students bring their own personalities into our community.  The English speakers still out-number the Spanish speakers, but that will not last long.  We have two to four other prospects who are considering starting in the summer.  We will also be welcoming Aleesa to the staff at the IMM.  Aleesa will be teaching ESL classes and assisting in the ministry here.  She is from Ohio and was an intern at Hillside Missions Organization.  She is currently teaching English at a Christian school in Parral, Mexico and will be a great asset to the staff.  We say this not just because she is fluent in three languages, but because she is also an all-around wonderful person.


A few events have taken place over the last month.  Of utmost importance was Jevor's birthday on the 15th of January.  It was an "authentic" Mexico birthday (by "authentic" we mean that we had Mexican decorated cupcakes and that it took place in Mexico).  The students decorated to make it extra special for him.  Jevor enjoyed it, especially the Nerf guns that he got as a present because we left his collection back in Indiana.

 

 

Another event here at the school happened just a couple of Sundays ago. We have been working to repair the pipes in the upstairs bathroom, which burst last year during a severe cold spell.  One of our supporting families from Chihuahua came to help in the project.  Besides bringing the material for the bathroom and some much needed knowledge and labor, they brought some delicious food with them.  We grilled it Mexican style and had a wonderful picnic.  Yes, you read correctly. We had a picnic in January!  Thank you, Vicuna's!

God is doing some wonderful things here in Matachi, and we are privileged to be a part of it.  There does not seem to be a day that goes by that God does not remind us that He is in control and all that we need to do is fully rely on Him.  For example, every month since we have been here, the financial support has been provided.  Each month we have been able to feed everyone, keep the lights on, and take hot showers.  Then within a two week period around the holidays, we added two new students. We would be lying if we said that we did not begin to get concerned with how we were going to feed everyone, let alone all of the other stuff.  But God did provide.  Sometimes it was through people showing up with food (as evident in the photo above), or through extra support unexpectedly being given. God never ceases to amaze us!

Being able to adequately share on this blog what God is doing is proving to be more difficult than what we thought it would be.  Trying to decide what information would be best to share is not an easy task.  If you have any suggestions go ahead and make a comment at the end of this blog.  We would appreciate your input and we will do our best to answer any questions that you have.

The Holidays

Okay, we know that it has been a long time since we last posted and we apologize.  We are amazed at how quickly the last couple of months have gone.  We often find ourselves not knowing what day of the week it is. Today is Wednesday, right?

Anyway, the last couple of months have brought with it several holidays - US and Mexican.  We had the opportunity to celebrate the traditional US holiday of Thanksgiving and the shared holidays of Christmas and New Years.  In addition, we witnessed and/or participated in the Mexican holidays of Día de los Muertos (Nov. 1 & 2), Mexican Revolution Day (Nov. 20th), Día de Nuestra Señora Guadalupe (Dec. 12th), and Las Posadas (beginning on Dec. 16th through Jan. 6th).

The first holiday of the season was the Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos.  This is an important Mexican holiday that merges Pre-Columbian beliefs and modern Catholicism.  Europe's All Saint's Day and the Aztec worship of the dead contribute to these two days that honor Mexico's dead (http://www.mexonline.com/dayofthedead.htm). On these days, Mexican families visit cemeteries where deceased loved ones have been buried.  They beautify the graves and invite their deceased loved ones to have a meal with them at the graveside (a strange concept for most Americans). We should mention that this holiday is not celebrated by most Christian Mexicans. The day after, Lora and I went to the cemetery in Matachi.  Here are some pictures of what the cemetery looked like following the holiday.

The next holiday was  Mexican Revolution Day (http://www.mexonline.com/revolution.htm).  The Mexican Revolution was more like a civil war, but was fought for very different reasons than the US Civil War.  This day was celebrated with a local parade.  However, we did not watch the parade because we were on our way to a remote town to watch a couple of local brothers from Matachi (Fabián and Adrian Contreras) participate in a rodeo.  So, no parade or holiday pictures, but here are a couple of rodeo pictures.

Left to right: Andy, Adrian, Maykon, Fabian, Aleesa, Jevor, and JenJe

Fabian is in the middle and Adrian is on the right.

Next was Thanksgiving.  Because Thanksgiving is a US holiday, most Mexicans do not celebrate it.  However, we were invited to spend Thanksgiving with a couple of families in Creel, Mexico.  These two families are the Kaemingk family and the Parra family.  These families operate a Youth with a Mission (YWAM) base in Creel.  For several years they have been celebrating Thanksgiving and inviting other missionaries to join them.  In addition to us, the Weiand family were also there.  They are involved in missionary work in a very small village called Rio Chico, a couple hours north of where we are in Matachi.  This gathering featured at least five people groups - American, Mexican, Dutch, Honduran, and Tarahumara (and technically Denise Weiand grew up as a missionary child in Papua New Guinea).  There was even a live turkey that was killed and prepared for the feast.  The Pilgrims would have been proud. Here are a couple of pictures.

Maykon's first Thanksgiving

The missionary kids and Maykon playing Apples to Apples

JenJe and Jevor at the YWAM base overlooking Creel.

The next day we drove up to see parts of the Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre), which offered amazing views, delicious gorditas (not the kind you get at Taco Bell) and handmade items from the Tarahumara (a Mexican indigenous tribe). Here are some pictures.

Tarahumara girls selling handmade items.

Tarahumara women making baskets.

Real Mexican gorditas

The next holiday was Día de Nuestra Señora Guadalupe or the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe (http://www.mexonline.com/virginofguadalupe.htm).  This day is celebrated with a feast honoring Mexico's patron saint.  Not much to report on this one.    We traveled to Cuauhtémoc on this day and had lunch with the Fehr family whom we met at a church in Chihuahua a few week before.  They are a wonderful family who have missionary experience.  Celia is from Uruguay where John meet her while serving as a missionary.  They have since lived in Brazil and Canada.  They are now in Mexico because John has family ties with the large Mennonite population that lives in the area.  Sorry, no pictures of the holiday, but we do remember all of the Catholic churches being full as we traveled through the small towns on our way to Cuauhtémoc.

Las Pasadas is a neat Mexican tradition.  It celebrates Joseph and Mary's search for shelter in Bethlehem with candlelight processions that end at various nativity scenes.  We were not invited to one of these, but we did hear the loud parties that followed several of them.  It did get us thinking about ways that we could possibly utilize this tradition next year to share the story of Christmas with our neighbors.

We cannot complain about spending Christmas and New Years in Mexico, but it was difficult to be away from family.   Our Christmas celebration began December 22nd with a dinner with the Contreras boys and their mother (including oldest brother Joel visiting from Parral, Mexico) and their cousin, Christian, at their mother's house in Matachi.  Dinner was followed with a lively game of Spoons.  On Saturday, December 24th we had a Christmas Eve service which consisted of reading the Christmas story from the Bible and singing traditional Christmas carols in Spanish.  Little did we know that nearly all of the Christmas carols were unfamiliar to our Hispanic friends from Mexico and Honduras.  Christmas carols are not a traditional part of their Christmas celebration.  However, it was a good service followed by wonderful food and fellowship. One interesting fact, Maykon, our student from Honduras, kept telling us that Christmas was on the 24th, while we insisted that it was on the 25th.  At first we thought that he was just confused, but we were surprised later to find out that it is a Mexican tradition (and Honduran tradition) to actually celebrate Christmas on the 24th.  It is customary to gather on Christmas Eve and have dinner.  Then, around midnight, presents are opened.  As Americans, we typically open presents on Christmas morning.  Therefore a compromise was in order.  On Christmas Eve we opened the stockings that were given to us from Hillside Missions Organization, and on Christmas morning we open the other presents that we had for each other and that came for other people.  Also, an additional Christmas present arrived for us at the Chihuahua airport when Gustavo, our newest student from Honduras, arrived in Mexico.  He is a friend of Maykon's and has been trying to get to the school for nearly four months.  Needless to say, we are all glad that he is finally here - Maykon is especially happy that Gustavo is here.

Christmas Eve gathering

Stockings from Hillside Missions Organization

Trying on our new hats

Goodies from the stockings renamed.

Maykon is adding his name to Jevor's new soccer ball.

New Years was also interesting.  The Vicuña family from Chihauhua came to Matachi to celebrate New Years with us.  Prior to their arrival they arranged for Fabián Contreras to buy a lamb.  I do not know if this is a New Years tradition, or just something that they wanted to do.  Fabián bought the lamb then took it to his father's ranch and with the help of his father they slaughtered the lamb and skinned it.  Gustavo and I got to witness this.  It was difficult for us to watch, but also strangely fascinating. The carcass was brought back to the school where Gustavo and Maykon cut it up so that it could be cooked.  Unfortunately, no one knew how best to prepare and cook the meat so it turned out to be a bit tough, but it was an interesting experience.

Thank you for your prayers during the holidays.  We have no doubt that they were instrumental in getting us through the past couple of months.  We ask for your continued prayer as classes will be starting again soon.  We ask for prayer for Heber, the next student who is preparing to join us soon.  He is from Tampico, Mexico.  Pray for him and Gustavo as they begin this new step in their lives.  Also pray for Maykon as he adjusts to no longer being the only student.  En Cristo!