February 2, 2009

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Frijolillo!

Nimechtlapalua ipan itlasehuilistli Jesucristo. I greet you in the peace of Christ. Praying too that you might each be blessed with the kind of tlasehuilistli that only Christ can bring to our lives.

All is well on the frontline. I have been well physically, except for a recurrent cold/flu bug. I was ill during the Christmas season and the cold has hit me again this week (drastic climate changes don’t help the body’s defenses). Emotionally and spiritually I am well. God continues to challenge me to become the prayer warrior He intends for me to be for this time and place, not an easy task for this “mover and shaker,” but He is slowly making ground, hammering away at my need to make things happen either by word or action and placing me spiritually where I have no other option if my sole purpose is to glorify His name. In other words, He’s got me cornered. And it’s a very good place to be.

News from the presbytery meeting

The sanctuary at the church in Barco before its construction.

From January 15 to 18 we celebrated the presbytery’s 50th Ordinary Meeting in Barco, a barrio of Ejido Zacualtipanito in Hidalgo state, a community accessible only by trekking an hour down the mountain or fording the river. Fortunately, the bridge the community built in December has not yet been swept away (the one blessing in the lack of rain) so we were able to cross the river quickly. But it rained the entire first night, making some of us wonder if we would be hiking it out on Sunday with all the “junk” we had hauled in just because we could. Though we did spend the next three days sleeping, eating, and meeting in the one-room church building in order to avoid the mud around us, meeting by candle-light in the evenings, and huddling close together in our blankets to keep warm on the cold concrete floor where we slept, the harmony which characterizes the presbytery and the joy on the faces of the members of the local congregation quickly dissipated any disappointment with regard to our circumstances.

Plans for 2009 and beyond

The church at Barco after its construction.

During the meeting, the presbytery also approved renewal of my assignment to the presbytery for another five years (assuming the General Assemblies approve and the Mexican government continues to grant me residential visas). My current term ends in November of this year. With presbytery leadership, I am designing a work plan for 2009 that will have me in most of our congregations for at least a week during this year, offering whatever training each congregation determines necessary. A special focus will be on the church in Chancuetlán, teaching literacy and developing the Presbyterian Women’s organization there. I will also continue to teach at the presbytery’s Bible institute, though specific course have not yet been determined. Five mission teams plan to visit us during 2009, filling out the calendar nicely. The church in Chancuetlán is reinforcing the walls of its sanctuary and plans to pour a concrete roof in May. The church in Chapulhuacanito is beginning work on construction of a new kitchen and dining hall to be completed in November. Teams will visit to participate in the pouring of the roofs of both of these building. Three other teams will participate in vacation Bible schools and possibly English classes during the month of July. Pray with me as I initiate discussions with a Presbyterian agricultural development ministry in the state of Michoacán, which might be of benefit to our brothers and sisters here.

Visits to the United States in 2009

I still plan to be in the United States during parts of March, June, September, and October, though planning has been delayed due to questions about the June visit. I hope the issues will be resolved this week so planning can continue.

This month in the Huastecas: History exams, video shoots, punks, goths, and emos, and systematic theology!

I have been in Frijolillo this week, mainly preparing for the coming two weeks and trying to rest my body so this last bout with the cold/flu might end quickly. I preached Wednesday night here in Frijolillo and have prepared a final exam I will apply to my church history students Wednesday and Thursday in Chapulhuacanito. I will show a movie during a prayer vigil in Frijolillo Friday and then prepare for the rush. The PC(USA) has contracted a videographer to follow me around on February 8 – 10 to get footage of the ministry here. I will travel with a few folks from Frijolillo to pick him up on Saturday evening in Tampico and then begin our rounds Sunday morning: La Laguna, Chancuetlán, Barco, Huitzitzilingo, Frijolillo, Octlamecayo, and Chapulhuacanito, where I will preach, teach, lead, and do whatever it is I do. Sister Raquel will accompany me Tuesday the 10th during the return to Tampico. Pray for good weather and safe travel!

February 8 - 14 is “Youth Week” in our presbytery. Congregations will be celebrating services each night with messages focused on issues important to the spiritual development of youth. On Monday and Thursday I will preach in Huitzitzilingo and Frijolillo about “la Moda” or “fads/styles.” The discussion will include specific “styles” that are making their way into some of our communities: punk, emo, and darketo (Goth), why we follow fads or certain styles, and what the Lord would say to us about them. I have had to do some study on these styles on the Internet in preparation for the message, but am excited to engage the youth about their ventures in self-discovery and identity, who they are in Christ, and how they make their decisions in regard to dress. Though you don’t see many punks or darketos around our communities, many youth do spend vacations working in Monterrey or Mexico City and others are preparing to move to the city permanently so preparation for battles to come is very appropriate. I will be in Octlamecayo one day that week teaching on the dangers of pornography. Another challenging topic indeed! Pray for me, that my teaching would be true to the Word of God, “real” to the lives of the youth, and nourishing to their souls.

On Sunday the 15th I will preach and show a movie in Rancho Nuevo, and then preach during another youth event in Taxicho on the 17th before heading to Oaxaca with Sister Raquel for the rest of the month, a chance for both rest and time to work on my systematic theology course, for which I have done close to nothing and which I am bound and determined to complete this year despite a very tight schedule. Lord willing, I will complete my master’s degree this year. It must be complete by March 2011, ten years after I started, and there is no guarantee I will have the time or money down the road.

Na nihuechihua quentzi náhuatl pero nijnequi niyecos más!
(I speak a little Náhuatl but I need to practice more!)

Another goal for this year is focus more attention on learning Náhuatl. I know a lot of words and have learned to use about 35 verbs in their present, past, future, and command forms. I simply need to give the time to read over my notes each day and use what I know. Pray that this will become part of my daily practice. Xiquilhui “amo” al Español! Just say “no” to Spanish!

Prayer points

• That God would grant the leadership of the Frijolillo church courage, faith, discernment, patience, perseverance, and love as they reach out to others with Christ’s message.
• That God would open the hearts of the people of Potejamel, Zacapilol, Tamalcuatitla and Segunda Petlacatl, that they might be receptive to His Word.
• For those starting new lives in Christ, that the seed of the Word would be protected from Satan’s schemes and grow to fruition in their lives and in their communities.
• Against the spiritual powers that would incite jealousy and indignation that lead to persecution of those coming to Christ in communities formerly closed to the gospel.
• That the Lord would raise up new lay pastors to disciple and lead the congregations that will emerge in the midst of the evangelistic efforts around Frijolillo and Chancuetlán.
• That God would empower presbytery leadership to accomplish the goals He has set before them for 2009, including leadership training, intensified congregational development work in Tezapotla, a pastor couple retreat, and evangelistic campaign in Tzapollo, Orizatlán.
• That the Lord would lead church and presbytery leadership and Susie as they draw up plans for her work here this year and the years to come.
• For the Lord’s healing touch upon Susie’s sinuses and lungs!

Nimechnequi / Love you all

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 275