Maricela and Pastora Carmela
Mixtexo Missionaries to Ixtayutla Region
Deep in the mountains you work from scratch, and that means that the work team sifted sand, mixed cement, and made the bricks that will soon be the walls of the bathrooms and showers. They also dug the foundations and drain field with pikes and shovels. From what I observed the ground was very hard…and of course, it was very hot.
The remarkable event for the medical team was finding a 15-year-old expectant mother and her husband in Pueblo Viejo. It appeared that she was in advanced labor as her membranes had ruptured, and her legs were covered with blood. Eddie, Hermano Primo his Mixteco interpreter and guide, and Sean, a nurse, brought her to the El Mosco Clinic where Dr. Eder and our clinic team were working. Eder determined that she was not yet dilated and that she should go to the Central Salud (public health center) in Ixtayutla. So off they all went, plus another nurse Bethany. 
In two hours they were all back with the news that the Central Salud said she needed to go to the hospital in Jamiltepec, 4 hours back down the mountain. So Bethany started an I.V. and Sean hung some fluids and the young mother was given I.V. ampicillin ….and off they went again. Apparently it was a wild ride, but they got her and her husband to the hospital safely. On their return trip to El Mosco, Andres, the Bible school student who accompanied Eddie along with the nurses, led two young hitchhikers to the Lord. They got back to El Mosco at 3 A.M! (Narrow mountain road in the dark!)
Temporada de las Bodas (wedding season)
So far there have been four weddings at Roca Blanca since we arrived. Mexican weddings involve both the civil ceremony and the religious ceremony, called a boda. And the boda is always a big deal! There is much Mexican tradition, usually a pretty long sermon, lots of music and much food!
December 15th Dr. Eder married the very sweet and lovely Paulina who we got to know well last year. Eddie and I were invited to join the bride and her family at her house and join in the procession to the religious ceremony. We probably walked nearly a mile through a couple neighborhoods preceded by a large brass band, and of course fireworks.
It was a wonderful event. Paulina was so beautiful in her traditional Oaxacan huipil, hand woven in white and embroidered with calla lilies. There was much music, a traditional Chatino wedding dance, barbacoa de res and of course tres leches wedding cake! It was a memorable celebration.
Festival Victoria
We have been busy at Roca Blanca preparing for Festival Victoria, a large 3-day celebration of faith and fellowship held annually during the Christmas holidays.
Mountain construction and Medical transport
December 2nd we took a team from New Jersey and Springfield, Illinois up to El Mosco and Pueblo Viejo to do some construction work, and hold clinics. Mixteco missionaries, Carmela and Maricela have had a church in Pueblo Viejo for a couple years. The church building is a simple block structure, with a room in the back that they live in. Now they are expanding to start a Bible school and the next step is bathrooms!
December 2nd we took a team from New Jersey and Springfield, Illinois up to El Mosco and Pueblo Viejo to do some construction work, and hold clinics. Mixteco missionaries, Carmela and Maricela have had a church in Pueblo Viejo for a couple years. The church building is a simple block structure, with a room in the back that they live in. Now they are expanding to start a Bible school and the next step is bathrooms!
Deep in the mountains you work from scratch, and that means that the work team sifted sand, mixed cement, and made the bricks that will soon be the walls of the bathrooms and showers. They also dug the foundations and drain field with pikes and shovels. From what I observed the ground was very hard…and of course, it was very hot.
The remarkable event for the medical team was finding a 15-year-old expectant mother and her husband in Pueblo Viejo. It appeared that she was in advanced labor as her membranes had ruptured, and her legs were covered with blood. Eddie, Hermano Primo his Mixteco interpreter and guide, and Sean, a nurse, brought her to the El Mosco Clinic where Dr. Eder and our clinic team were working. Eder determined that she was not yet dilated and that she should go to the Central Salud (public health center) in Ixtayutla. So off they all went, plus another nurse Bethany.
In two hours they were all back with the news that the Central Salud said she needed to go to the hospital in Jamiltepec, 4 hours back down the mountain. So Bethany started an I.V. and Sean hung some fluids and the young mother was given I.V. ampicillin ….and off they went again. Apparently it was a wild ride, but they got her and her husband to the hospital safely. On their return trip to El Mosco, Andres, the Bible school student who accompanied Eddie along with the nurses, led two young hitchhikers to the Lord. They got back to El Mosco at 3 A.M! (Narrow mountain road in the dark!)
Temporada de las Bodas (wedding season)
So far there have been four weddings at Roca Blanca since we arrived. Mexican weddings involve both the civil ceremony and the religious ceremony, called a boda. And the boda is always a big deal! There is much Mexican tradition, usually a pretty long sermon, lots of music and much food!
December 15th Dr. Eder married the very sweet and lovely Paulina who we got to know well last year. Eddie and I were invited to join the bride and her family at her house and join in the procession to the religious ceremony. We probably walked nearly a mile through a couple neighborhoods preceded by a large brass band, and of course fireworks.
It was a wonderful event. Paulina was so beautiful in her traditional Oaxacan huipil, hand woven in white and embroidered with calla lilies. There was much music, a traditional Chatino wedding dance, barbacoa de res and of course tres leches wedding cake! It was a memorable celebration.
Festival Victoria
We have been busy at Roca Blanca preparing for Festival Victoria, a large 3-day celebration of faith and fellowship held annually during the Christmas holidays.
During the celebration we have doctors and dentists who come to provide free care to the 3,000 to 4,000 people who come. Most of the attendees are from the 70 or so churches that have been planted by Roca Blanca graduates, They are Mixteco, Chatino, Zapotec, Amuzgo, and other indigenous groups, as well Mexicans, and us gringos.
I finished my pharmacy order on Tuesday, and then Eddie and I set out to help our dear missionary coworkers, Dr. Angelica and Dan, move their household from Puerto Escondido to San Mateo, Puebla.
I finished my pharmacy order on Tuesday, and then Eddie and I set out to help our dear missionary coworkers, Dr. Angelica and Dan, move their household from Puerto Escondido to San Mateo, Puebla.
Our trip to Pueble and Oaxaca City was a bit of an adventure so I am putting it on another blog.
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