Mexico Mission- Leaving Tlancualpican

Hello and Adios!

We spent our last day at the Tree of Life Center finishing several projects including lining a trail with gravel and rocks. Look for Landon and Lindsay Schott's house to get new tile on the walls as they both learned new skills here in Tlancualpican. One of the projects we worked on was to tile several walls on the new dormitories which are being constructed on the property. Another job was to lay "pavers" or stones around the exterior, much like octagon shaped brick cobblestones which not only are functional, but add to the decor of the straw bale building.

We joined with the many workers at the center for a pizza party. Talk about good, let's just say no one has lost any weight on this trip as the cooking staff is exceptional. We finished with an outdoor service reflecting on the beauty of this wonderful place.

I mentioned earlier that during the service Thursday night, many members of the team performed with some local church members a drama which folks who attend Mercy Street might be familiar with. It's a short skit, only about five minutes in length. I have been able to upload it on to YouTube, so here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RKQrCsOVqA

So Adios from Puebla, as we head home to Houston tomorrow.

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Mexico Mission- Church and Faith

As we continued our pilgrimage in Tlancualpican part of the day we spent learning about the Methodist Church in Mexico. Perhaps you might not know the Methodist here are not "United Methodist" as they were united well before the Methodist in the United States. Here "South of the border," both the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church of the South established their ministries in Mexico in 1873. However, in 1930, the two merged to become the Methodist Church of Mexico.

Today there are about 50,000 people who call themselves Methodists in Mexico, with another 50,000 who attend services regularly. Mexico remains overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with nearly 90% of the population with ties to the church, however the ties are not necessarily all that strong. We have also learned in some areas, the Roman Catholic priests will preach that all Protestant Churches, not just Methodists, should be considered cults. And in certain places there have been some unfortunate conflicts. Still there are some 320 Methodist Churches in Mexico, 40% in rural areas, another 40% in small towns, and 20% in cities, like Puebla, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City.

Last evening was "Church Night" as our group led the service at the Templo Gesthemi in Puebla. Mercy Street Youth Pastor Landon Schott gave the message about God's power which was translated in spanish as he spoke. As we prepared for our visit, the team prepared a short drama which incorporated some local actors which was directed by Ted Deforges. We shared some arts and crafts with the youth and many adults, then dined on hot dogs in the cool night air. There were plenty of smiles as the folks walked back to their homes.

It's hard to believe the week is wrapping up. We'll spend another day working and then head back to Puebla Saturday and then catch a flight to Houston early Sunday morning.

Mexico Mission- Vegetarian Day!

Another beautiful day in Tlancualpican as it remains unusually cold for this time of year. There isn't any heat in the dormitories as they are built for the scorching temperatures of the summer. But an early front blew through just before we arrived on Sunday, and the mornings and evenings are in the 50's, which makes for comfortable work days as they are in the 70's.

This is vegetarian day which means most everything we are eating today is grown. There was some leftover chicken which found its way in the empanadas, but the chalupas were wonderful. A crushed bean base with locally grown tomatoes, lettuce, cheese garnished with avocado, a green chili, and cream. Mexican food aficionados should be envious.

Before hitting the work sites, we spent a good hour learning about GETTYE's health mission. Obviously in rural Mexico, there are not enough nurses, doctors or hospitals, so the center sponsors several health programs to teach young women the basics. The women then return to their villages and become sort of first responders as they are equipped with first aid kits. We met one of the women who learned how to give injections during the training. She admitted she was kind of fearful of having to inject others, but now is the person called on when the need arises. She is most grateful of the training, and told us how her knowledge of the Heimlich Maneuver saved her Aunt from a choking incident.

As for the work detail, "Builder" Bob Lasalle and "Agile" Allison Gower perhaps had the most fun building a dam for the irrigation ditch which runs along the property. The timing couldn't have been better as the rainy season finished about a month ago, and the water hadn't flowed down the ditch for eight months. Bob and Allison admitted while they didn't really understand what they were building with the boulders, their leader cried out "Agua, Agua!" and they looked up the hill. Sure enough just as they finished the project, the water started flowing down the embankment and the dam held, diverting the water into the irrigation ditch to water the many recently planted plants on the property.

C.J. Yeoman, aka "Mrs. Clean" drew up the dirty job, and for that we'll let her tell you the story.

We thought we had finished painting the guest house, but were surprised with the word that the outdoor shower needed painting as well. Carleton took a look and realized it was quite stained with something ... workers were dispatched for the local version of "Formula 409" and some really tough scrub pads. It was only after I had scrubbed for about 20 minutes that the house's occupant said the stains were bat guano! Not exactly what you deal with in Houston, TX. Oh, well, the painting will wait for tomorrow, but the tiles are clean now ...

Mexico Mission- Back to work

Buenos Dias from Tlancualpican, Mexico. It's been another work day here at the Tree of Life Center as we continue to learn about our surroundings and the work done here. It was another early call, today's music from the Lion King "El Circo de la vie."

We then blessed the animals as this is a working farm. There are a few milk cows, but the greatest number of livestock are goats and "hair sheep" as opposed to "wool sheep." These sheep are bred to be sold at the marketplace. Once again we split into work teams, team leader Carleen Woods removed mineral deposits from a dry composting toilet. As Carleen noted, it was a job that was needed to be done, but most importantly she had the chance to visit with Yoni, one of the young women who works here at the center. Carleen also had the chance to help beautify the place planting flowers in a tasa, so now it is a chistosa tasa, which means a "funny toilet." The center teaches folks in the area how to build straw-bale houses. The "bricks" are much larger than adobe and are easy to make. Recently a family built an entire house in 20 days. On site there are many straw bale buildings including the guest house which caught fire after an electrical short. While the damage was extensive to the interior, the straw bale did not burn, although it was discolored. The fact that it resists fire is one of the many attributes to building this way. C.J. and Carleton worked together painting the exterior of the home alongside several of the workers on the site.

We are planning a "teatro" with some of the children later this week, but the rehearsal is soon.

Mexico Mission- Rural Solidarity Day

The alarm, actually some music, went off early. 6:00 a.m. local time, same as Houston. We were told this would be "Rural Solidarity Day" and as such we would be eating the same foods and at the same time Mexican families would be eating. At 6:30 there was hot water for instant coffee or tea and then a breakfast cake before we would be heading out. The team broke out for tasks in several areas. "Builder Bob" Lasalle and I were chosen to work harvesting rocks. There is a mile long dirt road from the "Tree of Life" center to the main road that leads to town. Unfortunately, rain and irrigation has eroded several areas making the travel very bumpy. The missionaries Terry and Muriel Henderson often kid. They say one of the most frequent questions they are asked is, "Why don't you fix the road?" The fact is they work on it often and today was no different. Working in an area where rocks are plentiful, the detail is not all that difficult. Rocks of all sizes are needed meaning there wasn't a lot of thinking to today's task, just stooping. I can tell you fire ant bites in Mexico are just as painful as the ones in Houston. We filled about 5 pick up loads and spread them out in some of the worst pot holes. Rain isn't in the forecast, but we should know how successful our work was when we ride out to town in the coming days.

As an educational ministry, we will learn many skills this week, like making tortillas, and yes it's an art form. It is a skill which young women are required to learn, and there's no question our teachers have had years of experience. After flattening the batter in a tortilla press, we cooked them on a specially made wood stove. The center also is teaching villagers how to make these stoves which are far more efficient than cooking on an open flame. They also are well vented meaning the air in many homes is a lot cleaner. We're told women who often cook in their homes all day, are exposed to smoke equivalent of smoking 10 packs of cigarettes a day, so having a well vented stove is much healthier. But making tortillas was not only "women's work" today, as the guys on the trip each made their own tortilla.

For Rural Solidarity day, the women do "women's work," which started with raking and shoveling up all the "leavings" in the goat pen ... oh yeah! After that, out to the pasture to chop wood for the fire. (Note Melissa Maher with her machete.) Then half of us did laundry the old-fashioned way, with laundry bar soap in a sink with a washboard bottom. One wash, two rinses and then hang things on the clothesline. There's a washer here at the Center, but many women in the small towns still do their laundry in a bucket or a river. The other 3 women sifted soil and added ash to make the solution for the dry-composting toilet. Changing tasks again, a different group of 3 women started digging out a trail that will be filled with sand and gravel. That's when you could really tell who works out ... and who doesn't. Ouch. And Estela who works here at the Center made us all look bad.

We've been harvested

After a brief tour of Puebla on Saturday, the mission team headed Southwest to Tlancualpican, arriving at the Tree of Life center on a beautiful, star-filled, and unusually chilly evening. The team spent Sunday visiting the village market, meeting locals and have just returned from a wonderful service at Gethesmane Methodist Church.

The team had an orientation at the Tree of Life -- learning the importance of both crisis and development response. The Tree of Life center focuses on development response, with its core mission being education.

One of the technologies the Center teaches is how to build a dry composting toilet. Without getting into all of the details, the toilet does not use any water, and in a rural area like much of Mexico this is a huge advantage.

The bell to dinner is ringing. We'll have more tomorrow!

Pilgrimage to Tlancualpican

On Friday, November 5th 10 members of Chapelwood leave for a 10-day mission to Give Ye Them to Eat in Tlancualpican, Mexico. The members of the team are
-Carleen Woods, Allison Gower, Bob Lassalle, CJ Yeoman, Carleton Cole, Landon & Lindsay Schott, Mary Lou Strange, Ted Desforges and Melissa Maher.

We will be participating in the AWARE program learning about the technologies available to rural communities to improve their crop production, livestock health, community health and water sanitation. Numerous groups of indigenous leadership from surrounding villages visit the Tree of Life Training Center each year. These leaders then train leaders in their own villages in the five development programs.

Join with the Chapelwood team in praying for God's greater mission of restoration and hope to be revealed. We will try and post pictures and stories as we have access to the Internet.
Here is the scripture from our group prayer journal for Friday, November 5th:
Psalm 46:10
"Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world."

Gracias a Dios!