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This was entering the village after driving 4.5 hours |
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This is the view from Leobardo's home |
The man sitting on the left is Leobardo and used to be the town drunk. He and his brother's family have recently met Christ and are the only ones in the village with their faith and desire to share their faith with their neighbours. We heard stories of how their neighbours vandalised their home and threatened them.
There is another church in the village, but they are forbidden to speak their own native language OTOMI. It is looked down upon as lesser and unholy.
There are many village people that are alcoholics and if you attend the town church you are forbidden to associate with anyone who is not religious like you. It is very sad and is clearly not an accepting, grace filled faith that is offered to us in faith by God. Some of these people are illiterate and therefore reading the scriptures and reading about their freedom in Christ is likely not a reality they will discover. It is our dream to find a way to partner with these brothers and help equip them for their dream. They believe they are called to start a church for all the village children and teach them about the love of God and His acceptance of them.
We drove to San Pabilito with Heather Huhn who is our connection to this village. She has overseen a ministry run through our church La Fuente, called Corazon Valiente (Brave Heart). They minister to street children and run programs helping children of merchants get into the school system and learn Spanish in order to have a new start or chance at life through education and faith. This ministry has been well received in the Coyoacan area and had a room donated to them in a local building to run their after school Homework Help programs. It can be quite difficult for children who's parents do not speak Spanish but Otomi (one of the native languages in the villages outside of the city). Once the children are enrolled in the Mexican school system they are not left to fend for themselves as Brazve Heart helps them complete their school work.
The young lady in the black sweater far left in the photo is the oldest daughter of Leobrardo. She wants to be equipped to teach the children in her village about the Bible. She is currently enrolled in a school, studying to be a nurse but feels that the Lord is calling her to focus on ministering to the children that live in her area. When we arrived we brought them little gifts and Heather gave her a Bible in Spanish and Otomi! By night fall I think there were at least 40 kids around.
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| How much do I love these children! Davida gave me a friendship bracelet, I didn't want to take it as I thought the list of her possessions could be counted on her 5 fingers but I didn't want to insult her either so I made a trade for my gloves. |
What a priviledge it was to be able to spend the day and night with such great people in San Pabilito. It took us about 4.5 hours to drive there as it is not in the City of Mexico but in a state called Puebla. The people in this village do not have a lot of material possessions and it was hard not be reminded how lavish we live even when ashamedly we sometimes think we have less then others. The family we stayed with slept on the floor in order to make us feel welcome. I felt bad but knew this was a sign of their hospitality. I did sleep in my hat, jacket, vest and clothes. It was so cold as the houses do not have heat, running water and other things we would find intolerable to live with out.
It was so hard to not give everything we possesed to these loving children. Davida is the little girl in the top picture to my left who followed me around all night. I kept giving her my ORCHATA drink (rice, water and sugar), I also gave her my gloves as an exchange for the friendship bracelet because she insisted I take her bracelet. Due to the cold and lack of running water their hygiene was considerably different then ours. But this wasn't a choice for them - it was a result of being poor and born into a poor family in a poor village. It made me love them even more. If they did try and shower in the cold river they would likely get sick and how would they dry their clothes and hair? By 6 p.m. the village was covered by a cloud, and it looked like we were in the middle of a thick fog. But in reality the villagers were preparing dinner and since all their "kitchens" were open fires beside the houses, the air was a combination of cloud cover and smoke. It really felt like camping only inside your house. After dark once the little service had concluded, Davida and her father needed to walk home. It was rainy and damp from the high altitude and the cloud cover was right above us. I was told it would take them an hour to walk back home. I just kept thinking about Davida's bare toes in her sandals and made a mental note next time to bring socks and gloves and lots of them!!!!!!
You know I was thinking about how our children like to complain "It's not fair" when things don't go their way. And it seems from childhood we have had the thought that things worked on a scale of fairness in this life. Is that really true? Is it fair that some of us live extremely abundant lives and yet are not thankful for it because we see what we are lacking? Why is it that the poor can live a street away from us, a city away from us perhaps a world away from us and they go completely unnoticed? I do not think the greater injustice is that these children and families are so poor and live with out the necessities of life. No, the greatest injustice is that these people go unseen by us through out our daily lives. While we stand in line for our Starbucks or latest perfume why don't our hearts break over the fact that some mothers can't shower their own children because they have no water, or fear of them freezing afterwards because they have no heat? If we were them would we be angry that the world developed and we were left behind? Would we feel abandoned by our fellow man? None of us can end world hunger, none of us can solve even 1/8 of the world's problems. I think we are each capable of caring. I pray that the things that would break the Father's heart would also break our hearts. I pray that we would each be conscious of the gifts, abilities and provisions that have been given to us and then in a attitude of thankfulness I pray we would each search our hearts and ask ourselves "what can I do?". It seems to me, no matter where one lives, it appears too easy to live a life that is based on the world's standard of success.
Here are some of my thoughts perhaps to inspire you where ever you live. We are all capable to do a little, to love on others and let them know they matter, we can see them.
- donate clothing to your local chaity or organization that gives clothes to the poor.
- donate food or 1 hour of your time and get involved in a breakfast program in your neighbourhood.
Do you know everyday children go to school with out breakfast? Their parents are considered the working poor and they go unnoticed.
- find a shelter in your area and ask what you can do to help.
- sit and have coffee with someone
- can you help clean or do repairs to a building?
- is there a soup kitchen in your area where you can donate ingredients or even better your time once a week, or once a month?
- meet your neighbour.
- get to know someone new.
- shop at a second hand store and dream of who you can help with the $ you save.
Let's pray that God would open our eyes to see ALL the people all around us and help our hearts to be sensitive for the things that break their hearts. Whether you are young or old you can make a difference.
Here is a link to a music video that has a great message.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AkNqLuVgY
1 Timothy 4:10-11
10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.
11 Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. 12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.
James 1:22-27
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
