Dreams

For those of who don't know, I am now in Mexico, about 4 hours southeast of Mexico City. I have come to improve my Spanish language skills, with the ultimate purpose that I might be able to translate Christian literature from English into Spanish. If for whatever reason, the translation route doesn't work out, I will still benefit greatly to be speaking better Spanish.

I am staying with a lovely missionary family – Marcus and Jennifer Reyes and their three kids. Marcus had been specifically looking and praying for someone to train to do textual translation work, and since last November I have been looking for a missionary with exactly that kind of need. So we found each other via a mutual friend.

First of all, I just want to mention one example of how the Lord cares for us in even the “little things”. My church had been praying concerning some minor inconvenient issues with my eyesight. Now, not only has the double vision almost entirely disappeared, but also I found out that Marcus used to work with patients during the early years of Laser vision corrrection, and is able to check my eyes if I need it!

Now for an overall description of the “bigger things”:


THE SETUP

Because of several Vacation Bible Schools taking place last week and this week, I am not yet familiar with the “normal” routine; the big picture remains, however.

There is a valley (named Orizaba, where we live), and then there are the mountains surrounding it. In Orizaba is their home Spanish-speaking assembly. In the mountains live Aztec Indians, whom the Reyes' have been doing church planting work with for many years. These areas generally have no local evangelical churches, believers, or gospel efforts. There are three different villages of Aztecs that we visit regularly – Tepexpan, Omiquila (pronounced oh-mee-KEE-lah), and the Sierra del Volcán (which I've not yet visited).

In general, Mexicans have a racial prejudice against the Aztecs. The first time we went to Omiquila, I saw an Indian man with a wood-laden donkey walking along one of the paths. A few hours later, after we had come down the mountain and were driving through the city, I saw the same man. I was told that they walk all that way just to sell their wood to people who end up ripping them off. It is due to the racism that the Aztecs don't usually recieve fair prices for products they sell.

Getting to either village requires approximately an hour each way, though traveling to Tepexpan is quite a bit easier since there are roads the entire way there. Reaching Omiquila, however, requires about a half-hour hike after driving up the steep and very rocky mountain road. Or, on occasions when noone can drive us part-way, it takes an hour to hike from the bottom. Imaging climbing an hour to get to church several times a week!

Because of its paved road access, Tepexpan is quite a bit more built up than Omiquila, though both have strong similarities in culture. Omiquila is much more remote and poor; they really are living in the stone age. The work that Marcus has done with them over the years is really quite a good combination of ministries. Not only did he build them a little chapel, a one-room cottage next to it, installed a men and women's toilet station, and brought some electricity via a car battery, but he also shows great kindness towards their personal needs. He gives them seeds for growing more food in their gardens and he helped build a family a house.

These three places – Orizaba, Tepexpan, and Omiquila – all celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly, where Marcus also preaches on rotation. Because Spanish is not the Aztecs' native language, he has been working on training the Indian men to be doing more of the teaching.

In Orizaba, he also teaches an English class on weekday mornings from 7-9, and last week finished up a choir outreach that was formed by singers from various evangelical churches.


THE HOUSING SITUATION

I stayed with the Reyes' family for the first week. Marcus' mother then came to visit and I have since been moved over to a Mexican, Spanish-only speaking family. When his mother returns to Florida, I will move back in with them. Eventually we will be moving into a larger house that has been given to them by a generous Christian brother. It comes at a good time too, since Marcus' wife Jen is expecting their fourth child in October, and they already have barely enough room with their two-bedroom house now.

Meanwhile, there are two Mexican girls (Marcela and Lorena) from about 7 hrs. away who are also here to help out with the work for quite some time. They've also been staying in local Christian homes, and will become my roomates once we all move in to the new place. So it will be a lot easier for everyone involved once the new house becomes habitable.


PRAYER FOR CURRENT NEEDS

1. The Aztecs are in need of a Bible in their own language. Marcus and I agree that if this becomes a more long-term venture for me, my second main task would be to learn the Nahuatl (pronounced KNAW-wah-tl) language and begin producing an Old Testament for them. That would be a dream come true since that is exactly what I have always wanted to do since I was a kid. The fact that this location allows for both that dream and for utilizing my Spanish for the Lord in translating doctrinal books is simply amazing. To me personally that is a huge answered prayer in itself. Last year I had somewhat given up on the idea of working on Bible translation of an indigenous language, yet now I have been asked to seriously consider taking it up.

2. For God to raise to up convicted indigenous leadership in the Nahuatl churches.

3. Because the Aztecs' understanding of Spanish is limited, one of the most effective ways to teach them the Bible is by using the Betty Lukens felt board pictures. At the moment they only have one set of these that is shared between the three churches, and they need two more so that they don't have to haul them up and down the mountains each time they use them.

4. An offroad vehicle like a Jeep, 10 years or older. Marcus is working on expanding his ministries to more Nahuatl villages. Another vehicle is needed so that teams of people can split up and continue visiting these places more regularly. Also, a Jeep is designed for maneuvering strenuous conditions, which abound in the mountain work. To say we traverse bumpy roads is an understatement!

5. Prayer for the completion of the work on the new house, that we can all move in very soon. It is behind schedule at the moment.


A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM TODAY

We went to a Chinese restaurant and my fortune cookie read: “They have offered you the dream of your life.”

Yes, I would have to agree.