After Mexico

We are seated in the airport in Mexico City, waiting for our flight back to the U.S.  It has been a full week, but we feel blessed to have been a part of the life and work of our coworkers, Sergio and Alejandra Herrera and their family.  Sergio and his family, Chilean nationals, moved to Cuernavaca, Mexico, eleven years ago to plant a church.  We were witnessing a miracle of changed lives over the past decade.

We left the house on April 24 at 6:00 a.m. and arrived in Mexico City in the afternoon. Sergio met us and after a snack, we boarded a bus for a two hour ride, arriving at the home of our hosts at about 7:30 p.m. They had a meeting at church, so they left us in the house and headed out while we unpacked.

Friday morning and afternoon I studied while Charlie went to the church to help with construction.  Then on Friday night, we headed to church where I taught a class on “Training Warriors.”  In the meantime, Charlie hung out with the men and was present when Brother Sergio led a man to Christ.  On Saturday, we returned to church where I taught once again.  This time the subject was “Creating a Bible Lesson from Scratch.” 

After supper (at about 4:00 p.m.) we rested briefly and returned to church again that night.  The evening was for married couples, and Charlie taught on marriage with the help of Armando, a young man who translated for him.  It was his first time to translate.

On Sunday morning Charlie and I both taught Sunday School.  He taught the teens and adults and I taught the children.  When it was time for him to start teaching, Armando had not yet arrived, so the pastor’s daughter, Priscilla, was recruited to translate for him.  It was a good thing.  Had she been asked, she would have refused because she did not feel ready.  But since no one else was available, she did it. 

Right after Sunday School, it was time for lunch.  The families of the church take turns bringing lunch for everyone else.  After lunch, it was time for the main service. 

At the request of the Herrera’s, we brought Bibles.  Thanks to the generosity of the children of West Hampden Baptist Church and BEAMS, we loaded 56 Bibles into our luggage.  Sergio asked all of those who did not have a Bible to come forward, and we were surprised by how many came.  What a blessing it was to see them receive something essential for their spiritual growth.  (Charlie figured it out.  In the US, on minimum wage, it would take about two hours to have enough money to buy a good Bible.  In Mexico, it would take 2-3 days.)  In addition, we took a small Betty Lukens flannelgraph set as a gift for the church. This was purchased from moneys raised by the children of West Hampden Baptist Church at their Vacation Bible School last year.  Charlie preached that afternoon on “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water.”  By this time, Armando had arrived and was ready to work.

On Monday, Brother Sergio took us and two men from the church to a town nearby that had a small pyramid on top of a hill.  We climbed the hill, took in the view and returned to Cuernavaca for supper.  That night, Charlie taught on the role of the deacon.  At the end, Charlie asked for questions and several questions were asked for clarification.  Then one of them said, “We don’t have a lot of questions yet because this is all new to us.”

We have been so blessed to have person after person tell us how our teaching helped them.  Several of them asked when we would return.  “When we are invited,” we responded.

And now we’re headed home again.  We look forward to being there again when the rest of the building is finished and that part is also filling up.