First week at Roca Blanca

Culture Shock!
As we left Acapulco’s Diamante area, a sleepy area down the beach from a city we have always tried to avoid, we drove through the jungle that surrounds the road to Oaxaca. I remember thinking, “I don’t feel excited as I usually do.” As I reflected on the thought that the lush landscape seemed commonplace, like I had just left it, I realized that the adventure of living in a foreign culture and place had lost its novelty. The thrill was gone.

Then another thought whispered into my mind, “now you are doing it for Me alone.” And I felt God’s pleasure.

The welcome we receive when we come back to the base each year blesses us. We have made so many friends. We have a family group which is the clinic staff and a few others.
We arrived on Thanksgiving Day, but didn’t celebrate until the next day when everyone was available. It was a wonderful feast; we even had roast turkey this year. Here you see our "adopted" Angie and Berna.

Later that night after our feast I realized that the exhaustion that I had attributed to two day s of driving was actually the onset of illness. Our room is in a house right off the base where the prepa students are housed. Right now we have no air-conditioning, and we are still trying to make our home. In the hot room I crawled under the sheet to relieve my chills.

When I woke the next morning missionary life was not fun, it didn’t even feel tolerable. The smells of a Mexican village (burning trash and plastic, faint sewage smell coming up from the shower drain), and the noise of living among at least 15 teenage boys, could be difficult at best of times, but suddenly I realized I was experiencing the dreaded Culture Shock.

One of the boys turned his sound system up to supersonic levels and I ran outside and walked to the clinic, revolted by the smells all the way. The heat increased the misery of my sick stomach. I found our friends Angie and Berna, and I think I started to cry as I complained piteously of my plight. I finally made myself a bed on the floor of the air-conditioned clinic office. And I slept.

The next day I rested in the quiet clinic on the quiet base. And I read my Bible, and as I read my strength returned. I went downstairs to check on a young pregnant patient’s I.V. And I began to feel at home again.

Monday found us back into our routine of staff meeting, and clinic patients for me, and internet stock market for Eddie. The Lord brought me Luis Alfredo who survived a car accident Saturday night. His face was swollen to almost twice its size, his head was wrapped, and his wounds were stitched. As I unwrapped his bandages and dressed his wounds I found myself singing softly to him. I have changed his bandages everyday this week. Yesterday he said, “Gracias a Dios que me dío Liana para cuidarme”(thank God that He gave me Leeann to care for me.)

Eddie’s and my main jobs here at Roca Blanca revolve around the clinic outreaches to the unreached areas where we travel with teams. Tomorrow a team arrives and Sunday we will take them up to El Mosco,Yucuya’a and Pueblo Viejo in the Ixtayutla region.

Preparation for the first outreach means inventorying the pharmacy we carry and buying the meds, making the formulary sheets and packing the truck. We also organize all the other clinic supplies for any possible need we may have up in the mountains. I have many lists that I have developed over the last few years.

This outreach will be without Laura, our clinic director, so Eddie will be handling the funds and logistics. He also takes charge of setting up the clinic and making sure everything flows as smoothly as possible. He has taken vitals, weighed patients and done triage. He makes sure his staff get breaks and stay hydrated.

I added a picture here of Grace and Hani, they are daughters of Diego and Betty, a nurse who works the base clinic. Our granddaughters Grace and Sarah are almost the same ages. I have always called Grace and Hani “las princessas”. Just like Grace and Sarah they have all the Disney Princess movies, and the Barbie princess movies. But of course they don’t have the dresses or shoes.

Well, it is time to go to bed. Eddie and I made the medication purchase today, Friday, and tomorrow morning early we will go to Rio Grande and buy the food for the outreach. We plan to leave early; I still have much to do to make sure everything we need is packed! We leave for El Mosco on Sunday morning.

Oh by the way....we do have a fan, and the evenings, even days, are cooling off. Berna talked to the boys, and they are trying to be quieter. Last night we lent them a movie and their wasn't a peep out of them before we went to sleep. We cover our shower drain and Eddie uses Irish Spring body wash, so the smells aren't nearly so bad. We are getting furniture, piece by piece, and may soon have a place to hang our clothes. And as usual, my health is best when I am here in God's will, even my plantar fasciitis is barely felt.

Most of all, God is with us in a very real way. The cross of Jesus Christ is before us and His love compels us to serve, and to be joyful!

Love to you all, Eddie and Leeann

P.S. I am not sure whether it will work or not, but if it does there should be a video here of a clinic we held last year at Yucu ya'a, so you can see what we are doing!

Noviembre 20 Día de la Revolución

November 20, Día de la Revolución
I was so excited when I realized that we would be arriving in the capital city of Michoacan, Morelia, on this important national holiday.

A few years back we were in Cofradia on November 20th, and we got to see all the school children parade through town in their uniforms and doing various drills, beating drums and portraying revolutionary heroes.

Well, I take it that every city, and every small ranchito in Mexico does the same thing. We watched kindergarteners through university students march past us. There were even a dozen schools for the neurologically handicapped, mentally handicapped, blind and deaf represented. Eddie couldn’t hold back the tears as the handicapped children passed us, some in wheelchairs, or on tricycles, or led by their teachers. They had banners, and uniforms, and even revolutionary costumes….just like rest of the students….and they got the biggest applause.

Folks, I really love Mexico. I wish you could experience the patriotism and national pride the people who live here have. This city is named after Jose Maria Morelos, who was important in the fight for independence from Spain. The city dates back to the first years of Spain’s occupation of Mexico, and has amazing colonial architecture wherever you look. In fact I am writing this from our hotel which was built in the 18th century, with cool courtyards, stone walls and arches.

After the parade we found the Casa de Artisanos where we saw art and handcrafts from all over the state. Last year we rode the bus through part of Michoacan and saw lots of carved furniture and guitars lining the highway for sale. Here we saw wonderful examples of the painted and carved goods…plus hundreds of fine guitars, plus violins and other stringed instruments made in the town of Paracho.

We just finished off our evening touring the state cathedral, and enjoying some café y leche with the lighted cathedral in the background. What a lovely time.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Oaxaca.

Cofradia de Cuyatlan, Nayarit, Mexico

Half way to Oaxaca
My computer tells me that it is November 16, 2007. We left my dad’s house on Sunday and 2 ½ days, 2800 miles, over $100 US in toll fees, two motels, and one huge bag of kettle corn later, we arrived at our daughter’s house in Cofradia de Cuyatlan, Nayarit, Mexico. It was late, but even the baby was awake to greet us!

Over the years we have spent much time in this little village with our daughter Faith, son-in-law Jay, and grandchildren Isaiah, Elisbeth and baby Kai. I stayed here for 3 weeks in July when Kai was born. Jay and Faith have lived here for over a total of ten years. You can check out their ministry at http://cofradiamexico.com/.

¡Feliz cupleaños !
We arrived in the middle of the kids’ home school year and what seems to be a season of many birthdays. We have attended 3 birthday parties in the last 3 days. At Mexican birthday celebrations the family or the individual hosts everyone with a meal. We had pozole on Wednesday and pozole on Thursday and birria on Friday. This has been a bad week to be a chicken.

Pozole:hominy in broth with chicken, onions, cabbage, and lime added. Served with tostadas and chili.

When you come to a Mexican gathering you walk around the circle of chairs and greet everyone individually, shaking hands, or shaking hands and kissing, or hugging and kissing. Having known these families for many years I get and give a lot of hugs and kisses.

The bowl of pozole or birria is served by the ladies to the gringos and the men. It felt strange to be served by the birthday girl Amalia who had spent all day cooking, but that’s what they do. I got into the kitchen to take a picture of the village comadres working with Amalia yesterday afternoon.

Amalia is the lady on the far right.




Happy Thanksgiving!

Now my computer says it is the 18th. We enjoyed worship and a wonderful message at the church in Cofradia this morning. Now we have a turkey in the oven and will soon celebrate an early Thanksgiving with Jay, Faith, Isaiah, Elisabeth and Kai.





I walked over here to the base where we have Internet to blog and on the way I noticed an old lady sitting on a rock on a dusty corner talking on a portable phone. I have also recognized that there is a great increase of cars here. When we first came here 9 years ago there was only one phone and few cars. Now there are many cars and trucks, cell phones and even air conditioners. The roads are still cobblestone mixed with dirt, but the road out to the town from the highway is paved....although in great need of repair.

Okay, the drive out to Arrayanes is still dusty and bumpy, but even the poorer village of Los Arrayanes has more and more cars. Watermelons were just recently harvested, which means people can make major purchase like appliances, televisions, phones AND cars!

OH, one new addition to Cofradia is a prepa! Kids usually have to go out of town to attend high school, but now there is a prepa here and the students from Los Arrayanes, Cofradia and Santa Fe have a more feasible option for their education! Many of our friends and kids from the youth are attending.




Well here is Eddie and Jay rotating the tires. Tomorrow we are heading off to Morelia, and on to Oaxaca. Later....

Heading for the Border!

Heading for the Border!

We left Washington on Sunday the 4th of November after a wonderful send off by the Gathering. We got to share a little about our ministry, and they laid hands on us and gave us their covering as a church. It was a special moment as the Lord touched us with the love and commitment of these people.

We are in Palm Springs California right now. We are enjoying my Dad's cooking, and wonderful fellowship with Eddie's sister and her husband, and with my brother and his wife. Tomorrow we leave for Tucson to spend the night. The next morning we will cross the border at Nogales.

It is always a test of faith to be calm and not get anxious as we pass through customs, have our visas stamped and get a permit for our car to be in Mexico.

mething new to the blogsite If you look to the right of this blog you will see that we have added a link to YWAM Publishing. You might like to view that link. Any purchase made from the link on this blogsite will benefit our ministry in Mexico! They have a lot of Christian literature including children's material, Christian living, missions, biographies, plus music and DVDs.

A quick note to those who have asked how to send support. To send support and receive a tax deductible receipt you can write checks to The Gathering and put "Eddie and Leeann Kelley" in the memo space on the front of the check. The address is: The Gathering, P.O. Box 512,Mount Vernon, WA 98273. Or if you do not want to go through the church you can send a check written to "Eddie Kelley" to our P.O. Box 1946, Mount Vernon, WA 98273, and Josh will deposit it to an account we can access.

Please be praying for us as we drive to Jay and Faith's house in Cofradia, Nayarit, Mexico.

Love Eddie and Leeann