Back to the Itayutla region again. The cars made it all the way, but one didn’t make it back. We held clinics and children's programs for 3 days: Pueblo Viejo, Itayutla and a new village, Caña Muerta, while half of the group helped with the building project of the new Bible school in Pueblo Viejo.
It turned out that the young man had heard the gospel before and was ready to pray to receive Christ.
Irina filling prescriptions off of our truck before we left for Ixtayutla
From behind the Iron Curtain
The next great blessing was working with Irina. She is a nurse who came with her husband Valary, Ukrainian immigrants to the U.S. Getting to know Irina was thrilling to me. Her father had been imprisoned in the USSR for his faith before she was born.
I loved working with her, she was so competent, and had such a desire to understand and speak with the people. By the end of our clinics she was pulling a little paper with Spanish expressions out of her pocket, and speaking to our Mixteco translator Apolonia.
Apolonia, Irina, me and Jori in Ixtayutla
Stephanie and Jori using puppets to teach about dehydration
Dr. Brian setting a broken arm for Bonifacio in Ixtayutla, Pastor Carmela assisting
God bless you with hearts for the Lost
Caña Muerta
This was our first visit to Caña Muerta. Before we started work, I walked away from the adobe where we set up the clinic to take this picture. One Mixteco mother shielded her little girl from me, afraid that I would take her picture. My Mixteco does not include, “Don’t worry, I am not going to take your picture.” I was distressed that I caused the mother to fear. Hence, this is the only picture I took.
The people were wary of us, and slow to come. Brother Florentino has been visiting here, and the town’s president made the invitation for us to hold clinic. Bit by bit people arrived. When the toys and gifts came out, they became bolder. By the end of the day Bertha had the children gathered around her singing, “Jesus yo te amo” (Jesus I love you) in Mixteco.
The spiritual care team spoke with many people and seven people prayed to receive Christ, including the village president. Before we left we all held hands and sang and prayed in Mixteco, Spanish, and finally English. As we left rejoicing, Bertha called out, “This is no longer Caña Muerta (dead cane), but Caña Viva!”
Delivered from out fears!
This was our first visit to Caña Muerta. Before we started work, I walked away from the adobe where we set up the clinic to take this picture. One Mixteco mother shielded her little girl from me, afraid that I would take her picture. My Mixteco does not include, “Don’t worry, I am not going to take your picture.” I was distressed that I caused the mother to fear. Hence, this is the only picture I took.
The people were wary of us, and slow to come. Brother Florentino has been visiting here, and the town’s president made the invitation for us to hold clinic. Bit by bit people arrived. When the toys and gifts came out, they became bolder. By the end of the day Bertha had the children gathered around her singing, “Jesus yo te amo” (Jesus I love you) in Mixteco.
The spiritual care team spoke with many people and seven people prayed to receive Christ, including the village president. Before we left we all held hands and sang and prayed in Mixteco, Spanish, and finally English. As we left rejoicing, Bertha called out, “This is no longer Caña Muerta (dead cane), but Caña Viva!”
Delivered from out fears!
That night we arrived back in our El Mosco base early and every one got a shower. We ate and began to wonder where the construction team was. Just before 9:00 P.M .Laura made a phone call and was informed that the team had left in Stewart’s SUV around 6:00 P.M. They should have returned before 7:00!
Anyone of you who have driven around the Ixtayutla area, or out to Pueblo Viejo, know how winding and narrow the roads are, and also how steep the cliffs are. Two of the women there with us had husbands on that team, and one a son. The prayer was fervent and loud, and somewhat desperate.
Immediately, as we conjectured all that could have happened, the rest of us collected tools and a chain for towing, meds, sheets and equipment for trauma care, and sent for a Mixteco translator. Laura and all the able body men, including two doctors headed out in the dark. Eddie stood in the back of Bob’s pick-up with a high-powered flashlight scanning the steep drop-offs.
Anyone of you who have driven around the Ixtayutla area, or out to Pueblo Viejo, know how winding and narrow the roads are, and also how steep the cliffs are. Two of the women there with us had husbands on that team, and one a son. The prayer was fervent and loud, and somewhat desperate.
Immediately, as we conjectured all that could have happened, the rest of us collected tools and a chain for towing, meds, sheets and equipment for trauma care, and sent for a Mixteco translator. Laura and all the able body men, including two doctors headed out in the dark. Eddie stood in the back of Bob’s pick-up with a high-powered flashlight scanning the steep drop-offs.
Mary Kay held on to one of the walkie-talkies and we received reports as the search team, collected information from the various individuals they passed on the road. They found out that the car was abandoned by the entrance to Pueblo Viejo, but no one had seen the men. Then, probably no more than 5 to 10 minutes later, Laura’s voice said, “They are all here, they’re all safe!”
Then we listened as the men spoke back and forth to each other towing Stewart's crippled car back to our base; no easy feat in the dark on those boulder riddled, narrow roads. And soon they arrived back at our El Mosco Clinic/base.
They had broken down and were waiting by the road for us to pass on our way home from the clinic, but as we had left early, we never came. Finally, they had started walking. We felt like they had been delivered, but I guess what really happened is that WE were delivered from our fears. It was an interesting night, with a real sense that the darkness was trembling, again.
The Lord renewed our strength
This outreach, following so closely after the Lima Christian School trip, proved to be a tremendous victory for me. I was tempted to fear that I would not have the strength. But on the contrary, I had more energy than I have had in a long time. And because I was there I saw God do many wonderful things, and answer many of my prayers.
Pueblo Viejo clinics have often worn me to tears of exhaustion. It has been an area with much opposition and oppression. However, as we packed the cars, the local people surrounded us, they seemed to be reaching out to us, almost in friendship.
A couple years ago Modesto, quite drunk, had physically tried to prevent us from passing on his property to the church. But this evening, he chatted amiably with Eddie, and then translated from Mixteco to Spanish as a neighbor brought her sick baby to us. He shared with Eddie that he no longer gets drunk. He proudly introduced his little boys to us. He allowed us to pray for him before we left. I asked God to give him a “good name” among his people, I also prayed that he would be known as a man of God.
Then we listened as the men spoke back and forth to each other towing Stewart's crippled car back to our base; no easy feat in the dark on those boulder riddled, narrow roads. And soon they arrived back at our El Mosco Clinic/base.
They had broken down and were waiting by the road for us to pass on our way home from the clinic, but as we had left early, we never came. Finally, they had started walking. We felt like they had been delivered, but I guess what really happened is that WE were delivered from our fears. It was an interesting night, with a real sense that the darkness was trembling, again.
The Lord renewed our strength
This outreach, following so closely after the Lima Christian School trip, proved to be a tremendous victory for me. I was tempted to fear that I would not have the strength. But on the contrary, I had more energy than I have had in a long time. And because I was there I saw God do many wonderful things, and answer many of my prayers.
Pueblo Viejo clinics have often worn me to tears of exhaustion. It has been an area with much opposition and oppression. However, as we packed the cars, the local people surrounded us, they seemed to be reaching out to us, almost in friendship.
A couple years ago Modesto, quite drunk, had physically tried to prevent us from passing on his property to the church. But this evening, he chatted amiably with Eddie, and then translated from Mixteco to Spanish as a neighbor brought her sick baby to us. He shared with Eddie that he no longer gets drunk. He proudly introduced his little boys to us. He allowed us to pray for him before we left. I asked God to give him a “good name” among his people, I also prayed that he would be known as a man of God.
Before and after other outreaches, always there is El Mosco
Nothing inspires my writing like good pictures, a good story and a good flesh wound! I got great picture of the morning that half of the medical team stayed back at the clinic while the other half went out to set up in Ixtayutla. Sometime we have so many patients at El Mosco that we have a hard time making our schedule with other locations. Sometimes the people who come are locals and can come back later, other times they have traveled several kilometers on foot.
Nothing inspires my writing like good pictures, a good story and a good flesh wound! I got great picture of the morning that half of the medical team stayed back at the clinic while the other half went out to set up in Ixtayutla. Sometime we have so many patients at El Mosco that we have a hard time making our schedule with other locations. Sometimes the people who come are locals and can come back later, other times they have traveled several kilometers on foot.
This mother came from Llano Escondido, with her very sick baby and a 15 year old son with a seriously injured foot. Here Bertha is translating from Spanish to English, the Mixteco translator is out of the picture.
As is often the case, we spent most of our time undoing the damage that the local mountain remedy had caused. Here the boy had cut his foot. The family couldn't get the bleeding to stop (we don't know if they applied direct pressure) and so they took a rag, set it on fire and applied the burning rag to the wound to stop the bleeding. It worked, but also caused a painful burn. Dr. Mary Kay had to anesthetize the wound and debried it before we could dress the cut.
It turned out that the young man had heard the gospel before and was ready to pray to receive Christ.
Irina filling prescriptions off of our truck before we left for IxtayutlaFrom behind the Iron Curtain
The next great blessing was working with Irina. She is a nurse who came with her husband Valary, Ukrainian immigrants to the U.S. Getting to know Irina was thrilling to me. Her father had been imprisoned in the USSR for his faith before she was born.
I loved working with her, she was so competent, and had such a desire to understand and speak with the people. By the end of our clinics she was pulling a little paper with Spanish expressions out of her pocket, and speaking to our Mixteco translator Apolonia.
Apolonia, Irina, me and Jori in IxtayutlaThe team was lead by Dr. Brian and Stephanie Kidman., Their missions and life experiences reflected our own in many ways, and that was so comforting to me. Dr. Brian saw patients, along with Drs. Dave and Mary Kay, and between them we gave away a lot of medicine, as we saw about 150 patients.
First Assemby of God, Souix Falls, South Dakota
Some of the team member were in their 70’s. They were on the prayer team working with brother Florentino. They kept very busy. After the outreach we spent some time recreating with them, including a bird-watching trip on the Manialtepec Lagoon.
Some of the team member were in their 70’s. They were on the prayer team working with brother Florentino. They kept very busy. After the outreach we spent some time recreating with them, including a bird-watching trip on the Manialtepec Lagoon.
They were a very encouraging group. I am sorry that I don't have any pictures of the team that went out to Pueblo Viejo and worked on the construction team Larry, Steve, Valari, Stewart, nor of the prayer team, Bill, Adrian June and Susan, nor of Jaina who so faithful took vitals for patients she couldn't talk to because of the language barrier.
Their church puts a very high priority on missions, foreign and home missions. A church of about 800 people with a missions budget averaging $325,000, pretty impressive! We were invited to visit them whenever we can, and I hope that we will this fall.
God bless you with hearts for the Lost
As I close, I am reminded that there could be some of our readers who long for the opportunity to come and see the ripe fields of the Mixteco or Chatino people. You are reaching the unreached in your town and neighborhood, but feel drawn to the "uttermost parts". Truly it is a life changing experience to be out of your comfort zone, and to listen to God speak of His love to the unreached.
One last image....we wanted to get out early on Thursday morning to make a house call, and what did we find blocking the driveway and gate....a red pick-up. I was told that the driver had come at 3 A.M in the morning to bring his sick child to the witchdoctor up the road and had left the car there. So....many hands make light work...well not quite, but they were able to lift the truck and push it out of the way!
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