2009 Chichimeca Mission Trip

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

“Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings see what God has done.”

If we begin naming our blessings one by one you will be reading for a long time because God is definitely at work in the Chichimeca reservation and in our lives. Yesterday we mentioned a “spiritual warfare” that we’ve been waging in this place--and that has kept us on our knees individually and as a team--, but we are feeling God’s presence in a very special way! We have seen a difference in the people and in the way they respond to us. Some smile (very timidly), others look down, others accept the invitation to come to the church/community center, others refuse the flyers, others listen carefully as we share the love of Christ for them and accept Him into their lives, others do not want to listen, others come in sad but leave with a smile after having been seen by the doctor… really not much different than the folk back home.

The homes of the people here are difficult to imagine, unless you’ve seen them. The homes are made of cinder blocks, and most are crudely made. Some are made of multiple types of bricks, probably because they were constructed as funds were available. Many homes house multiple families. The roads around the mission are only dirt and rocks. Few paved roads exist in the area where the mission is. During our Bible School story today the wind came up and we were all covered in dust! Many of the children attending wear the same clothes everyday. One little girl today had worn the same clothes Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. But today she had on different clothes.

This morning and until noon we had the opportunity to go walking around the reservation once again to invite others we had not reached yet, and 3 people – 2 ladies and 1 man – asked Christ to become their Lord and Savior. It is so touching to see them pray out loud asking the Lord into their lives. As we were walking back to the community center we spotted Pr. Alberto, Keith and Phil in the van coming back from planting a garden with a family from the church. They took us back to pick up Bibles and we all returned to give these 3 new Christians a Bible of their own. We had a good VBS with 61 children in attendance, many people were seen by the doctor, David and Shirley taught a few children to read, Carlos was the “receptionist” for the doctor and combed the hair of some of the little children who really needed it, Marie cut hair, Denise taught some ladies to sew, and the whole team was in action.

We count ourselves blessed to be here representing the Lord and FBC Garland, and we covet your prayers as we go through the activities of the day tomorrow followed by our big Block Party with a movie and a dedication time. On Friday we will be spending a big portion of our day at the Plaza downtown witnessing to those with whom we come in contact. Again we count on your prayer support. May the Lord bless you real good!!!

Charlotte, Patty and Denise