Roberto's Journal

Adventures in Chiapas, March 2007

We loaded up in Villahermosa and set out across the country to Chiapas. As we entered the highlands, a huge black monkey crossed the road in front of us. The animal was in charge, not us. We had crossed into a world where the culture we know did not matter. It was the beginning of our spiritual awakening on our mission trip to Santo Domingo.

As we traveled through the countryside, we would pass through small villages where poverty was evident from house to house. This was third world living that we are not accustomed to seeing. At no time in my life have I faced the possibility of living is such an environment. Until you experience and live under these conditions, you have a difficult time understanding what people go through to survive. If you think back to the time of Jesus, perhaps the conditions were much the same, or perhaps, even worse. It was step one in our spiritual awakening.

Now I have to tell you that our ride was a bit on the hair-raising side. Our driver, Santiago, could probably out drive Juan Pablo Montoya of NASCAR fame. We ran in excess of 80 MPH a good way on the trip. We traded drivers at a rendezvous point and Pablo took over. He was the absolute master of bumps in every town. The ones he missed seeing were noted with a "topes," comment jarring everyone in the process. We finally arrived in Santo Domingo around 2:30.

We unloaded and settled in our "hooch." The room was about "15 X 15" with one door in and out, no windows and an open vent in the roof. The local men had set up hammocks for us to sleep in. Five of us men occupied a room and the women occupied a similar room. Bill and Liz Branch had a room by themselves, albeit of the same modest configuration. Luxury was not for us. The bathroom, "de baño" was about 75 feet from our quarters.

As with most of Central America, de baño is a toilet with no flushing capability and no seat. You simply pour in water from a bucket when you are finished. Toilet tissue goes in a bucket beside the toilet so you don't plug up the septic tank. I never did hear anyone complain about the de baño. It was just part of our living.

A little after 3:00 PM we had our first meal that the Tzeltal residents prepared for us. We had avocado, black beans and rice, and many tortillas. It gave those who had never been in another culture an idea of how we would be eating. It was quite good and I ate a generous portion. If you didn't want to eat something, you put in a community bowl on the table. That way food was not wasted. Imagine doing that in America.

After dinner, we assembled for church. The wooden pews were set up under a giant Banyan tree. The church building on the grounds was under renovation, so the worship was to take place outside. Our group had practiced three songs so we could share and participate in the service. As the service started, we were all introduced. Pablo translated from English into Tzeltal. Part of my introduction was that I was there to share my love of Jesus with them. This was the first of many special moments for me. God has a way of guiding you that often amazes me.

We sang our songs accompanied by Lucy on an electric piano. Lucy is a resident and works with Pablo on a daily basis. See a brief biography on Lucy on page 8. Our first effort needed a little polish. We had many opportunities during the week to improve. As the preachers spoke, Pablo translated for us so we could understand the words. I wondered if the translations captured all the words. Hymns were sung, prayers were said and we concluded the service. We were all tired and headed for our new home.

When we got to our hooch, the men settled in and were ready to go to sleep. Now I have to tell you that women were quite animated and talkative. Listening to them attempting to get into their hammocks was quite a comedy routine. I think they physically placed Laura Wehner in hers. They laughed continuously and it seemed like they never stopped talking. Then they had the audacity to tell us we were snoring. To be truthful, one of our men was a world-class snorer. We all finally drifted off to sleep. David Creech got up around 4:00 AM, went outside and had quite a conversation with a white bunny rabbit. The laughter started again and so the new day began.

We got up and had breakfast that was prepared by Jan, Pablo's wife. It was a delightful way to start our day. With that, we went to our work site.

We all went to the church to see what tasks we were to perform for the three days we had to work. I'd be less than truthful if I said the task was simply preparing the walls inside for paint. The day before the youth had removed much of the stucco and concrete block was now exposed. There had been moisture problems over the years and some of the stucco simply fell off. Humidity and moisture had taken its toll. Sometimes when you touched the stucco, it crumbled before your eyes. Our goal was to have the church ready for use on Friday. We had an onerous task to say the least.

We all started working at a fever pitch and by 10:00AM were all exhausted. Bill Branch decided he would work at the site of the new dormitory. His task was to break rocks from large to small. We continued to work until lunch. During all of our meals, there was a constant banter and much laughter. Several of the group had taken pictures during the morning. Mary Flo "Maria Flora" was the chief photographer. No one was safe from her picture taking.

We returned to work and stayed there until about 3:00 ~ scrape, scrape, scrape, and chip, chip, chip. We had made some reasonable progress and finished work for the day. I had grave doubts we would make the deadline. I think it is fair to tell you that there were always additional tasks surfacing as we worked along. I kept adding them mentally and wondered how we would finish.

Since there were no showers or place to bathe, we all went to the river. It was the most beautiful river complete with falls, gorges and a diving tree. I took many pictures of the natural beauty. The river flowed rapidly and one had to be careful where they swan or bathed. The local boys swam like fish. One boy that I named "Tarzan" demonstrated Olympic ability.

You should know that men and women do not bathe together. Women bathe in one place and men the other. I made sure I followed the customs so not to offend anyone. Some go in with all their clothes on. Some go in bathing suits. The women are very modest. The river was also the place to wash clothes. I observed several women washing clothes on three large flat rocks. We all felt delightfully refreshed from our "bath" in the river.

It was during that first day that I discovered how beautiful the children were. I also discovered I had made a serious mistake in not preparing myself to learn conversational Spanish. All you had to do was smile at a child and you had a new friend. I played with a girl and two boys later that day. We were able to have a very fragmented conversation. I also made a self-observation that had I prepared myself better; learned about local customs, their history, etc., I could have been so much more effective. My inability to communicate properly frustrated me the entire week.

I watched the men building the new dormitory. They complete everything by hand. I had seen this same technique when I was in Honduras 10 years earlier. They did have electricity, so they could use power tools when they were available. They put us to shame with their work ethic. They work non-stop and accomplish much. The pictures I took of the foundation on Monday and then on Saturday attest to the progress they made during the week.

After our dinner meal, we prepared to attend evening church. We had a service every evening. Fred Taylor preached during the week, as did Bill Branch. Debbie was to preach later in the week. Once again, the service was outside under the tree. Men sat on one side and women on the other. The service was in Tzeltal, Spanish and English. They have a hymnal written in Tzeltal. This is an example of the chorus of one of the hymns.

            Ay yutsil yutsil te Cajwal

            Ay yutsil stuquel te Ch'ul Dios

            Ay yotsil yutsil te Cajwal

            Ay ta ich'el ta muc

A hint for you. The first line is "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" I had several pages of Tzeltal words that I carried with me each night. Michael (Miguel) and I became quite adept at lip synching and humming the melodies.

It also fair to tell you that if they say a service starts at 7:00, it may be 7:15, 7:22 or whatever time seems convenient. It is a much easier way to live and not be limited by time constraints. After church was over it was about time for bed. It was another night of non-stop snoring and chitchat. We had served God during this day and it felt good.

Today we started painting the inside of the church. As a reward for our efforts, it was decided we would also paint the outside. I did some mental calculations and had some real concerns we could do this in the time allocated. The inside, as rough as it had looked yesterday, was starting to look presentable. We had all kinds of paint rollers, broom handles whittled down to make extensions, and small paintbrushes. We all set to work and painted and painted and painted. It seemed like everyone was painting ~ adults, children and the tired gringos.

One of the highlights of the day was the corn-grinding machine. We had used some of the Presbytery money to make this purchase. The machine looked like a small cement mixer. The kernels of corn were put in the top, and when they came out, they were almost a paste. The women of the compound were very happy with this machine. The motor made interesting noises while this all occurred. However, the smile of one of the women made it all worthwhile. What occurred in a few minutes usually required hours to process. We can't imagine a simple thing like this in our gadget filled world. We purchase items for fun value while they make purchases to make life bearable. It was quite a contrast. It was a valuable lesson to me.

The joy of the day was Vacation Bible School. After we finished our work for the day, we gathered all the children around the platform in the compound. Fred started out by teaching the children to sing a simple song. They learned it quickly and sang with much fervor. We also taught them Gloria, Gloria, Gloria in Spanish. Bill Branch read them a story in Spanish and used a picture book to illustrate a story about Jesus and the coming of Easter. It was beautiful to watch the children gathered around him as he read.

Maria Flora had the children's attention when she brought the coloring paper and crayons. It was a remarkable sight. The children were all on the platform coloring and the mothers sat off to the side watching the event. After a while, a few of the mothers came over and started coloring. There were two men sitting on the riser around the church and they were coloring as well. All the children proudly displayed their efforts. The next event was gluing bits of colored paper to a paper fish. Some of the children were quite talented with their interpretations. I have to admit I was very tempted to do some this myself. All of the participants enjoyed the activities and I thought how good this was. There was no language barrier, just happy faces. We were sharing, serving, and we received much more than we gave. It was an inkling to me that we miss many opportunities to do this in our own world. 

We made ready to travel to another village for church services. Upon our arrival, we found all the women dressed in their traditional and colorful dresses. They were many babies that young mothers carried in a traditional wrap that goes around their shoulder. It was decided we would eat before the service. We went into a community dining room and had an excellent chicken broth with rice, tortilla, and jalapenos. They also had wrapped banana leaves with tamales and every part of a chicken, no waste!  Since we were guests, we all attempted not to waste any food. The women of the village had started cooking at 3:00AM on the day of our visit with stock killed the day before. It's difficult for us perceive this kind of effort for visitors.

We went into the church and it became full very quickly. The hard benches were close together. For me, it was a bit difficult as my legs were too long to fit. The women sat on one side and the men the other. Once again, Pablo translated for us. During this evening, we had song sheets written in Tzeltal. The congregation sang gustily and we attempted to join in. Michael (Miguel) and I joined in as if we knew what we were doing. Some of the hymns, when played by Lucy are indeed quite familiar.

During this evening, we had guitar players complete with a Mexican string bass. Manuel, one of the missionaries, sang for everyone in Mayan. Manuel is a wonderful person. He travels around and always presents us with a nice smile. He is learning English as well as speaking Spanish, Tzeltal and Mayan. We had some good laughs with him. Fred preached over the cries of a very unhappy baby. They place babies in the back of the church on the floor during services. I know it was distracting, but I did wonder how we would react at home. They don't have nurseries and they value their children highly.

They had their 17 strong Youth Group come up and sing. They are such beautiful people, definitely part of God's plan. How fortunate we were to see and hear them sing. After the service we all lined up outside and everyone greeted us with handshakes, hugs and tears. They were so appreciative of our visit. I know it overwhelmed us a bit.  

It has been my opinion that as Americans we all need to visit another culture in a third world country. We need to experience how people get by with close to nothing while we have every indulgence imaginable. I pondered that if we as a country suddenly were transported into an environment such as this, how would we survive. My thought processes began to work overtime.

Someone stated that the people of this village had been very active in the Zapatista movement. The indigenous people of Mexico are not treated as equals. The Zapatista stood up against the government and got roads paved from village to village. Fred told us that when he first visited this region there were no paved roads.  The government had attempted to bypass these people and they stood up. We were to experience an incident later that showed us how the system works in Mexico.

When I went to sleep that evening, I had many thoughts running through my head. When I awakened in the morning, I felt an inner anger. I wasn't angry with anyone, so I'll attempt to explain what caused my inner feelings. I found myself forming an opinion about why people resent our American way in so many places.

We have to claim ownership to a natural arrogance as Americans. We tend to think that everything we say, everything we do is the right way. We had a discussion during one of our devotions and made critical statements of the way things work in Santo Domingo. I feel we did this out of our own ignorance of way their culture works. The thought that came to me was that our God is lily white and we were protecting our brown brothers and sisters. We pretend to understand there is a cultural difference, but we bend it to our interpretation. I don't think we are considerate of how others view and live life.

I've seen this attitude at work in other places during my travels and I do understand some of the resentment we receive. We tend to proffer our righteousness to these "unfortunates." Do we really think we have all the answers, and do we become offended if no one listens?  In mission work, do we select a "target," march in with our message with close to little understanding of the culture we wish to "save." In our group, only a few of us understood fragmented Spanish. We had close to no understanding of the Tzeltal culture. To me, this is where the arrogance surfaces. We go full speed ahead with precious little knowledge of what is acceptable and what is not. Should we wonder why we offend of people of other cultures?

Now you know how my thoughts were running. As the day progressed, I started looking around and listening to everyone inclusive of our group and all the people who were hosting us. I was missing the entire point of why I was here. Everyone greeted us with open arms, the children captured your hearts the moment you saw them, we did adapt to the lifestyle, we worked along side of one another and something marvelous was happening. We were doing our best to gain acceptance by our hosts. They showed us how to better love one another. Love was everywhere I turned. The God we love shows us so many ways to embrace one another. It wasn't us performing as missionaries; it was the people we were visiting that were being missionaries to us. I've brought this thought home with me and must explore it with others. The inner anger was gone and replaced with calm.

The next day we continued on the painting project. We started cleaning the floor in the sanctuary while others were outside putting a second coat of paint on the building. We were working as a team and the friendly banter back and forth showed this to be true. I met a real Mayan man today. He was big, muscular and was proud of who he was. He had come to town to visit the clinic across the street. I was told that he wears Mayan garb in his village. To be able to step back in history and see the past and the present merge was quite an experience. He can go back more than a thousand years to his roots.

Another experience bears telling. John Mills and I were inside of our hooch and could hear David Creech talking to the Mexican workers next store about the white rabbit. It was a highly animated conversation with much laughter. What made the conversation so interesting is that David does not speak Spanish and the workers spoke no English. As we listened, it became apparent that both parties fully understood what the other said. The pauses were right in the conversation and the laughter came in on cue. How does he do this? David's answer is that there is no language barrier. Who am I to doubt.

I have to tell you about my experiences with 12-year-old Michael (Miguel). I watched him interact with boys his age. They tested him and he tested them. All the time there was a look of harmony of their faces. There are no issues, no color barrier, just boys being boys.

Miguel and I formed a relationship early in the trip. He is excellent young man with a quick wit. We constantly had a dialogue between us. We slept in hammocks side by side, worked side by side, and went to the river side by side. From my perspective, it was a flashback to my days of being a father. I found it to be a pleasant experience. Miguel did not complain, he did his work and assimilated perhaps the best of all of us. Wilma is fortunate to have him for a son. I suspect "Miguel" and I shall have additional adventures in the future. These few words do not adequately capture how this experience affected me, but I want people to know the value of this relationship.

During Vacation Bible School, I had an opportunity to read a story to the children with Bill Branch acting as the interpreter. It was the story of Mary Magdalene finding the tomb of Jesus empty. While attempting to read the story I had an experience that I can only describe as love pouring from my heart to the children. I've kept the hand written translation from Spanish to English as a memento of a special moment. If there was no other moment that defined why I had made this trip, it was this experience above all. Everywhere around me were examples of love. All I had to do was open my eyes.

We went to yet another village not to far from Santo Domingo for the evening church service. There was a good crowd of people there when we arrived. It was decided that we would eat first. The same rules applied do not waste food. We have to remember that these people are sharing everything they have with us. They do not have endless bounty. They put us ahead of their needs. I think it is important that we remember this throughout the year. The church services followed a pattern of our introduction and then singing our songs we had learned in Spanish. After a few days, we were sounding better as we sang. There could be hope for us.

Michael (Miguel) and I sat together and once again did our best to sing in Tzeltal. We were even doing better with this, as we now knew some of the hymns by their melody. Bill Branch preached that evening and once again, Pablo translated. When the service was over, we all stood outside and once again, the people from the village greeted us. The way they greeted all of us had a special feeling. They were glad we had visited them and shared a moment of worship with them. I can't adequately explain the sincerity and love for one another that was evident. How much we need to learn about the human spirit.

Thursday's devotion was quite special. The events of the day caused all of us to express adequately the feelings of spirituality that followed us from dawn to sunset. As a group, we had connected to God, with the people and with one another. It is difficult to explain what occurred, but it filled our hearts with the spirit.  I think we all went to sleep thinking about the events of the day.

On Friday, we went to the Mayan ruins. Even before we got there, the trip was interesting. We stopped in San Javier at Manual, the Missionaries home. It is the future site of a church. The Ladies Society has a working kitchen already in place. Manual caught a "Teapasqueatle" in a trap. After cleaning it, it was to become part of our evening meal. It tasted like pork.  Some of our group were a little squeamish and did not try any.  As we continued our travel, we were stopped at an Army checkpoint. It was all business and no jokes. This was a good example of how the rest of the world works. I've been through this experience in several countries. Can you imagine this in the United States?

We arrived at the banks of the el Rio Usumaciata, which is the border of Mexico and Guatemala. We loaded up on motorized riverboats and went a few miles down the river. Many people live along the riverbanks in a very rural setting. When we arrived at the Yaxchilan ruins, we had to walk up some steep steps from the river to get to the site. The architecture is spectacular. One thing for sure, you had to have strong legs, as they are steps, steps and more steps. The layout of the city rivals the modern world. The fact that the society disappeared before the crusades made our discovery so much more important.

We can only speculate why this society disappeared. Their life had a feeling of sophistication that we can only imagine. How beautiful it must have been when it was at its zenith. The river was a source of food; the land is fertile and supported crops. What is even more amazing is some of the people we were working with are actual descendants. I wonder how they view their past.  We think that our few hundred years of history are marvelous. How would we relate to a thousand plus years of history?  

As an aside, a tremendous roar echoed through the treetops of the jungle. Howler monkeys were letting us know that they lived there. They were very loud and somewhat scary if you didn't know what you were hearing. We could see them in the treetops, but they were difficult to photograph.

After finishing our visit to the ruins, we returned to the riverboats. I noticed that Santiago was not feeling well. We loaded up and started back up the river. We stopped on the Guatemala shore and had lunch. There was a huge cow stuck in the mud along the riverbank. I took a picture of its plight. We tried to find some people, but the effort was fruitless. I hope that someone was able to save the animal.

We loaded up for the trip back to Santo Domingo and I noticed that Santiago was ill. He is a tough guy and was doing his best to keep going. Sweat was pouring from him in the air-conditioned car. About half way back, we stopped and I got him some water. We went through the military checkpoint with no problems. I was concerned about Santiago and told him to get some rest as best as I could.

Upon our arrival at Santo Domingo, many women from the Ladies Society of Santo Domingo were in the compound. They had hung their individual banners depicting their chapter. The women in many cases were in their brightly colored native dress. Each Society has a different color pattern for the stripes around their skirts. We prepared for dinner, which is where the Teapasqueatle made its appearance all sliced up. I just couldn't convince a few of our group to give it a try. Surely it had to better than Haggis. We finished our meal and made ready for the evening service.

During the first part of the service, there were many introductions of visiting people. Once again, we were introduced and sang our song. The main sermon was in Tzeltal. The pastor would have made a good Baptist with his fervor. It was lengthy, as is the custom, and we did our best to follow. They also had other singers and a Mariachi band of sorts doing several hymns. The singer had a professional quality voice and sang quite well and with appropriate emotion.

At the conclusion of the service, we had our evening devotions. The service was a little confusing to us and we discussed many of our observations. We had thought Debbie was supposed to preach, but apparently, we missed something along the way. It had been another fascinating day and we had experienced much. Traveling through their culture was quite an awakening. We all went to bed quite tired. My hammock never looked more inviting.

We awakened Saturday morning knowing that this was the day the Ladies Society had much to do and we had more excellent opportunities to learn much about them.

We went to breakfast and Santiago was there with Pablo. I mentioned to Pablo that it would be a good idea if they took Santiago to the doctor. He wasn't looking too good. Mary Flo did the same thing and I think she convinced him to go. It tuned out that is was the right thing to do.

When we went outside a Vaquero was pulling a cow behind him with the rope tied to the horn of his saddle. I knew immediately that the cow was going to be consumed later in the day. Some of our group was a little squeamish about the slaughtering the animal. I've seen this many times in my life and it is the way things work in a rural setting. David Creech went over and gave advice of how to slaughter the cow. I'm sure they understood his comments. There was no waste as they dressed up the animal for consumption.

We got an opportunity to hear Debbie preach during the morning meeting. She preached an excellent sermon about Resurrection. She sent a clear message to everyone. I felt the sermon was well received. Even with the translation, the message was clear. The women's group also sang and they were marvelous. The youth group sang as well. They have a musical director and he did great with all of them. The morning went well. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the gathering.

That evening the Ladies Society had the dinner meal for us. Our friend, the late cow was the main course. It was an absolutely delicious beef stew. I think that eating beef is a special treat for the people. We have to be careful as visitors to be aware of how different cultures view food items. What we may think and how we act may be offensive to them. This reinforces the need to be more aware before we take these trips.

The evening service was lengthy and the hard benches got increasingly harder as the night worn on. It is interesting to watch the congregation during the service. Some pay rapt attention, others are reading their bibles and a few fell asleep. I think I failed to mention that once you enter a church you are considered a Christian. There may have been people that were attending for the first time. The women are making progress in a predominantly male society. Just a few years ago, a woman leading anything just didn't happen.  You could sense the pride in both men and women of what was happening.

Debbie's sermon was about love. It was quite exceptional and covered many aspects of how love and Jesus are part of our daily existence. It was quite scripturally sound. I can only contemplate how her sermon affected the women. You have to put yourself in place of a woman who has lived her entire existence as a second-class person. Add to the fact that woman pastor gave this sermon was quite profound. John Mills's comments about the strength of Debbie's sermon were exciting to hear. He saw and felt the spirit at work as did many of us.

During the services, I sat next to, in the middle of and all around our new friends. We had animated eye contact and were able to communicate albeit with difficulty. I could sense a door opening in our relationship. With adequate time there is no doubt meaning friendships were possible. I felt very comfortable in our surroundings.

The service once again had much music during the service. The Mariachi band was back and the man sang once again with fervor. By now, we were getting used to hearing the sermons with a translator. It would be fascinating to be able to understand how the words were stated. Was the emotion in the right places; was the correct emphasis being made; they were all part of the message of Christ and all need understanding in their own way. This is our challenge to learn other languages.

After the service concluded, we had our evening devotions. The events of the day had an impact on all of us. We witnessed the spirit in action and it leaves a lasting impression on you. Once again, my hammock was a welcome sight and I was soon fast asleep.

We got up early on Sunday and packed up our suitcases, as we were to leave later in the day. We had our usual breakfast and church started early for our benefit. Everything they did was always for our benefit. I wonder why we are not as accommodating for our visitors. It was a lesson to ponder.

The service followed its usual routine and the benches took care of our derrieres in short order. Some women were there from Mexico City in support of the Ladies Society. Reports were read (lengthy) and thanks rendered too many people. Our pastors, Bill, Fred and Debbie received honors for their roll in support the mission at Lacandon. It all helped tie our efforts their together. When the service was concluded, we were all anxious to load up and be on our way.

I've mentioned before that things don't always move as swiftly as in our culture. We had our lunch and the cow made one more visit. They had Macaroni as a side and between Michael (Miguel) and me we ate a generous portion. One of the men at the table laughed at Miguel since he ate so much. Once we had finished, we were ready to leave, but it was not to be. What occurred next was the absolute highlight of the trip.

The Ladies Society had made a decision to give our women a parting gift. They had a box and when they opened it, there were traditional costumes for all of our women. Of course, the outfits had to be tried on by all. It was most pleasurable watching our women getting dressed. The joy of the face of the givers and the receivers was quite evident. They all looked splendid in their new clothes.

The cost of giving our women these dresses I'm sure was a great sacrifice for these ladies. Yet, they did so with love in their hearts for their sisters. I'm sure they had discussion in their meetings to do this. To share the way they did exemplifies a Stewardship learning experience. We all started saying our goodbyes and were ready for our trip across the country back to civilization.

I felt some remorse as we left. My experience was peaceful and meaningful. I deepened my understanding of love of people and of the Jesus who guides us every day. I saw a people living simply and yet, they in many ways had a life that offers not much materially, but one relying on the goodness of human nature. The me, me, me attitude was not present. It was most refreshing.

Roberto

Post Mission

The temperature in Palenque took your breath away. I think we all longed for the mountains. Everyone made his or her purchases. We had a late afternoon meal in a restaurant. The banter continued between us. Soon we were in the cars headed for Villahermosa. When we arrived, it was dark and we all smelled a little ripe. Much to our distress, the shower was not working. We survived and eventually the water came on.

We had one final evening devotion and it was quite meaningful. It was too soon to reflect properly on our trip, but many heart felt things were said. We went to bed and were ready for our departure early in the morning. The trip to the Aero Puerto was uneventful as was our departure. We arrived in Houston and had a two-hour delay until the airline found a crew. Our American impatience surfaced, but we did maintain a sense of humor. I envisioned us as skeletons with a ticket in hand after our long delay. We arrived safely home and our adventure was over.

Lucy

Lucy's full name is Lucia Hernandez Perez. She is a missionary to the Ladies' Societies of the Presbytery of Lacondon. She lives at the Presbyterian Church in San Javier. Lucy travels throughout the Presbytery to the 16 different Ladies' Societies in the Presbytery.

The Ladies' Societies provide her food and a place to live. The Arkansas Presbytery pays her and her companion a small salary each month. She is in the second year of her initial three-year contract; however, it can be renewed for another three years.

Lucy graduated from the Alpha and Omega Bible School in Ocosingo. She had three years of music and one year of theology. The presbytery of Arkansas provided Lucy with the keyboard she plays and carries to each location. During this trip, the Arkansas Presbytery provided The Ladies' Societies of Lacondon with a laptop computer and digital camera for Lucy to use in her work.  

Santiago

Earlier in this journal, I mentioned the plight of our friend Santiago. I am including a letter from John Mills about how the Mexican hospital system works.

Thursday PM Update (other updates below if you're getting these for the first
time)

You can always tell someone is feeling better and getting well when they start acting like themselves again. Such is the case with our dear friend, Santiago! He started eating a little bit today and started saying that he wants to go home. Talk about music to our ears!!! Overall, San is doing much better today and will be discharged from the hospital within the next few days. We still don’t know what the final bill will be. It appears, for now at least, that “San – The Man” is on the mend and getting back to his usual self! I have and will continue to share with him your kind words, prayers and love. With the various
prayer chains and prayer groups that have joined in this effort, there have probably been literally thousands of people praying for Santiago, his family and his doctors. God is indeed good and amazing in how God brings us together to rally around and to lift up one of God’s children. Gloria de Dios!

Wednesday PM Update (Tuesday PM and Monday PM are below if you didn’t get them)

Well, I suppose there’s good news and bad news, but let’s start with the bad. This morning, Pablo called to say that Santiago endured another very lengthy surgery (9PM – 2AM) last night. You recall that they were trying to determine if some areas had not been sutured well, etc. WELL…..(you’re not gonna BELIEVE this…) when they got in there, they learned that the first surgeon had not removed his appendix! He only sewed it up, but left it in there! I was so outraged this morning that I could hardly see straight! Anyway, we waited to see how things progressed through the day, which brings me to the good news. Overall, San seems to be doing much better, and they may allow him to begin taking fluids by mouth tomorrow. We take that as a good sign that he’s on the road to recovery and that all will be well.

Ironically, we spoke with someone else today who knew of a man who had an identical situation! His appendix had not been removed on the first surgery but was removed on the second. He was hospitalized for 15 days, but after that he went home and has recovered well since his own experience in December or January.
 
Thanks so much for your prayers and for sharing Santiago’s story with your own prayer circles. For those of you who are just now getting all these updates at one time, please try to take time to read them all. The insight into the Mexican medical system is shocking and insightful. It also reminds us of the little things that we often take for granted. I have and will continue to share your kind wishes with Santiago and his family.

Paz,
Ginny

Tuesday PM Up date
Our family visited Santiago at the hospital in San Cristobal this afternoon. He is in intensive care but conscious and able to talk with visitors. Ultrasound results earlier today suggested that he has fluid in his abdominal cavity, and as of about 8PM, they had decided to do another surgery. They don't know if all the internal wounds from the ruptured appendix were sutured, if the internal incisions from the surgery were not completely sutured, or what. They elected to proceed with the 2nd surgery immediately. As of this writing, we do not know the outcome of the surgery or have a more current update.

The visit to the hospital gave us further insight into the Mexican medical system. He shares a semi-private room with 3 other intensive care patients, separated by a curtain. His area has about 2 feet on either side of the bed and at the end. Pablo & amp; San's wife, Maria, were there along with the other brothers and br others-in-law. They will take turns...1 stays awake and in his room from 6PM until morning and another stays in the hallway to be ready to respond to an order for more medicine, bandages, etc. and must go shopping and return ASAP. Then tomorrow, 2 more will relieve those 2 for another 12 hour shift. The one in the room is expected to perform all functions of a nurse's aide and cannot sleep, eat or leave, even to go to the bathroom during his/her shift! Pablo took a turn doing the "in-room duty" today, and trust me, it was NOT a pretty site!
He was pretty overwhelmed by the experience and must have used a full bottle of anti-bacterial gel (AKA 1 Dollar!). Questions about the bill for surgery and the hospital stay cannot be answered by the hospital staff, yet when it comes time for him to be discharged, payment in full will be expected.

I have shared with Sa ntiago, Maria and the family about your love and prayers, and all your k ind words. He laughed when I told him how many people I'd ask to pray for him, saying that he didn't know how I could even KNOW that many people!
It was great to see him smile a bit and joke, but it was very clear that he continues to be in pain and in medical danger. Please continue to pray for Santiago, his family and his doctors, and we will continue to keep you informed.

Su hermana en Cristo,
Ginny
Monday PM Update

Well, Santiago is hanging in there but has some fairly seriously complications from his appendix having ruptured. He endured a lengthy surgery last night and is expected to be in the hospital in San Cristobal for up to 1 week. There are several holes in his stomach and other damage that resulted from the ruptured appendix, and he has some fluid in his lungs. I am encouraged by my knowledge of Santiago as a person....strong, determined and courageous. I also know that he is surrounded by lots of family who love him.

Which brings me to other discoveries about the Mexican medical system. It's a good thing Santiago has family and some resources! We have learned these fascinating but discouraging tidbits about how hospitals work in this area.

In a US hospital, hospital staff decides what a patient needs (from bedpans and bandages to food and water), provides it for the patient, then expects them to pay for it. On one hand, the patient/consumer is not in control of what is ordered for them but is responsible for the bill. On the other hand, in a time of need/crisis, the patient and the family don't have to worry about those things because they know the hospital has everything that could be needed and will provide it (even if they have to pay for it later).

In the hospitals in Chiapas, the hospital staff decides what a patient needs (again, fro m bedpans and bandages to food and water), gives the family a list of thos e items, and then the family goes out to buy them (or not). The patient's
family has much more control but the mammoth responsibility for finding and paying for all these items. They DO have to worry about those things AND they have to pay for it NOW!

Furthermore, nurses only provide true nursing care, not those things that are typically done by nurse's aides in the US (changing bedpans, giving baths, helping patients regain mobility, etc.). Instead, the family is responsible for having someone there 24/7 to help with those (theoretically) unskilled but incredibly important tasks.

So, just stop and consider this for a moment. Your loved one has experienced a major medical crisis and has endured 4 hours of emergency surgery. You're exhausted with worry, lack of sleep, and trying to keep others informed about how he/she is doing. You may or may not be surrounded by others who are just as distressed. As if that isn't enough, you're given a list of dozens of items to find and pay for in order to be sure that your loved one gets the best care. And you have to make sure that there's someone with him/her 24/7 to help with basic care (while you're out looking for all these things). You have to make sure that he/she has enough of the right kinds of food, plenty of water, and other basic provisions. Got the picture?! Ugh!!!

Our family will be traveling to San Cristobal tomorrow to visit Santiago, and we'll be sure to send out an update again tomorrow night. Thanks for your prayers and your kind words for him. Several folks have asked about ways that they can help financially (knowing that he'll go without income for several weeks and will have large medical bills). I haven't talked with our brothers & sisters in Christ with Hebron USA, but we may be able to work out a way for contributions to go through Hebron USA. If not, we can certainly work out something else. We'll keep you posted on his condition, his needs, and how you can help. For now, though, just keep him, his family and his doctors in your prayers. I'll know more tomorrow!

Su hermana en Cristo,
Ginny