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1 FEBRUARY 2006

     At the end of December we tagged along on the Southern Nazarene University’s annual mission trip “Commission Unto Mexico.” We followed closely at the heels of Ron and Laura as they trained us for coordinating teams. We learned a lot and had a good time getting to know the Sylvesters better. It was a “team” of 209 participants from 11 different states. The big group was separated into 2 cities, with 9 different sites. Richard went with Ron to Sabinas, and Krista went with Laura to Monclova. Each team did different things, and as helpers to the coordinators, we were able to see everything and even a few behi nd the scenes. It was great to see friendships being formed within and without the SNU group. There were many Mexican friends that were able to communicate in English, and it was neat to see the walls coming down.
    Now, on to our first “solo” trip to Tapachula, Chiapas. This part is written by Richard, so all of the “I’s” mean him:
    We left from Mexico City on Thursday night after picking up a new volunteer at the airport, Sean, bound for southern Mexico to teach English. I drove for an hour somewhere around 1am and then again from about 5 to 7am. Sunrise illuminated a dense fog, and I could see ghostly silhouettes of trees on both sides. It was eerily beautiful but difficult to drive through, with only 30 feet of visibility for an hour. Krista’s 27th birthday was during this travel, and she was woken up with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
    At the narrowest point of Mexico, we stopped at an American's home about 15 miles from the Pacific coast and left some tools for a W&W project of his. Ron drove us to a few places to see some Nazarene churches and pastors in the region, and then we dropped off Sean at a bus stop to get to his final destination. We arrived in Tapachula around 8pm.
    On Saturday we were introduced to some of the people we would be working with, were given a tour of hurricane damage, and were shown some of the local churches and their projects. About four hours before the team was due at the airport we went for dinner. I had no appetite but I forced myself to eat. I soon regretted it. We're not sure where it originated but Krista and I contracted food poisoning somewhere, and it was BAD (Krista’s wasn’t as bad, praise the Lord!). I don't remember much from Saturday night to Monday morning, and I just laid in bed until Thursday. I had no energy and no appetite so I had to force myself to eat and drink. I did try to work on Wednesday but a few seconds after I picked up a shovel to mix concrete, I lost strength and had to sit. It was a strange and frustrating feeling, having no strength, even to walk. Anyhow, thank God He brought me through it all - the worst illness and pain I've ever experienced.
    (Note from Krista: I was nervous about meeting the team without Richard (of course we didn’t want to tell them he was sick), and being on my own on Day 1. God provided, though, because due to District Assembly being held at the church, there was no morning worship. We had a slow day, I found the breakfast place with no problems, and the team enjoyed their “tour” when I got lost on the way back. The team was very thoughtful and wanted Richard to get his rest, so they “took it easy” on me. Piece of cake! )
    On Friday, feeling better, I drove as the pastor guided a tour for the team. We drove up into the mountains and saw coffee plantations and beautiful scenery. Some sections of the road had been damaged or washed out from the storms so we had to drive around them. We descended a couple hours later and continued on to the Guatemalan border where we walked across and took a taxi-bus to a market. Our next stop was the beach. Us men (boys, really) saw a bunch of crabs among the rocks and we crawled around trying to see more. Finally the pastor and the women called us back so we could leave. On Saturday Krista and I took one guy to the airport at 5:30am, since he could only stay one week. Then we took the team with Ulysses, a church member who was helping us in important ways (his wife, Radai, was in charge of most of our meals), to a local market and the beach again.
    After church on Sunday we went to a baptism and picnic at a river a few miles from Tapachula. 14 were baptized, including the pastor's daughter. A large part of the town that the baptism took place in had been several meters under water because of Hurricane Stan. Only a small tattered section of bridge remained across the river and there were still uprooted trees and rubble scattered in yards and roads. Several buildings were toppled or tilted. The baptism was a scene of beauty in the midst of the remnants of a terrible disaster.
    On Monday we unloaded the trailer full of disaster relief supplies that we had towed with us. The supplies had been donated from a Nazarene church in Ohio. We sorted everything, preparing nine piles for nine churches, and went with the District Superintendent to distribute them. Most of the churches were in the middle of expansion projects! Two of the churches meet in simple wood and palm huts which was a novelty for us USA’ns. The last church we visited was down a long windy road that went through ranchland, farmland, banana and mango groves, nut orchards, and thick jungle; there were monster potholes, invisible speed bumps, a missing bridge, and a herd of sheep.
    The gospel is spreading and taking root wildly in southern Mexico and northern Guatemala. It was awesome to hear stories of churches doubling and tripling in size, and of the many new churches that had been started recently with plans for more. The spirits of the Christians we met were loving and grateful, even though they had just experienced the hurricane devastations a few months ago. One church we visited was expanding from a small overcrowded chapel to an 850-capacity building, being built above and around the old one. Their old windows and other reusable materials were going to other church buildings. They had housed a few hundred people left homeless and are still housing a family on the property. Despite the situation, the family was all smiles and hellos when we met them. It was like a healthy shot in the spiritual arm to be in Tapachula and the surrounding cities and their churches. They are content in all circumstances.
    Tuesday through Friday were spent like Monday through Thursday of the first week – working. We mixed concrete on the floor and then “plastered” the walls with it, covering over the brickwork. One guy helped the electrician run conduits and wires and chisel channels for the conduit through brick and concrete. We finished several rooms, toughing out the 90+ degree heat and high humidity, the dust, and the unavoidable speckling of concrete all over ourselves.
    Krista schemed and arranged a surprise birthday party for me on Thursday night! Our Mexican friends with whom we had been working, including the pastor and his family, came in with a cake after our dinner. The USA’ns sang Happy Birthday and then the Mexicans sang their own Happy Birthday song. I gave a short thank you speech, we laughed, ate delicious cake, and drank apple soda. I got a neat Mexican style shirt from the pastor as a gift. My birthday hat was an inside-out paper Burger King crown that the two Ohio women had colored. At the end we were all given balloon animals and balloon hats, which we wore as we drove back to the hotel, despite the stares.
    Our goodbye service was Friday night. We USA’ns sang a few songs and the church choir sang a few songs. The pastor and the Ohio team leader, Dane, gave thank you speeches and we were given gifts. There were tears and hugs and handshakes and pictures and “God bless you”s in both languages. One special moment was when Dane (with Krista to translate) took one of the workers aside, Cristobal, whom we knew not to be a Christian, and gave him a Bible as a gift from the team. Dane told him that they wanted him to have it, that they believe it to be the truth, that they hoped he would believe in and trust in God and His Word despite the difficulties he faced because of the hurricane (he had lost his home), and that they wanted to see him in heaven. Cristobal was visibly moved. We pray that he comes to Christ soon. We had formed bonds with the four men we worked with, Jose Sr., Jose Jr., Cristobal, and Juan, even in the face of the language barrier. It was sad to say goodbye.
    We took the team to the airport early Saturday morning and said our goodbyes. One of the church families we met there had a daughter about to go to college in northern Mexico and we agreed to take her and her friend to a bus station in Mexico City, saving them some bus fare. We met them at the hotel at noon and they said their tearful goodbyes – her whole family was there. However, we ran into a problem at the immigration checkpoint outside of the city due to Krista and I being unrelated to the owner of the van (Ron). They wouldn’t allow us to pass even though Ron had asked them specifically about this issue when we first arrived two weeks prior and had received a “No problem”. We felt so bad that we had to leave the girls to take a bus! We arranged to leave the van at a local church and we met a wonderful couple at the district office. This couple had been in charge of our meals and the husband was the one who gave us a tour that first Saturday, a tour the next Saturday, had guided us to a good market one night, and had given us help in other ways. We feel like their adopted children. They guided us to the church to leave the van and then gave us a ride to the bus station. God bless them. We arrived back home the next morning safe and sound. God blessed the trip and we all had a terrific time! Krista and I thoroughly enjoyed the coordinators’ chair and we hope to be able to coordinate another trip soon.

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