April 17, 2009

Greetings from Chapulhuacanito!

I trust you found this Lenten/Easter season to be one of spiritual rest and reflection. This spring has hardly been one of rest, but the Lord has been so very faithful in luring me into reflection with Him even in the midst of the fury. My schedule has only become busier in the past few months, which has provided the push necessary to make significant changes to the way I handle ministry invitations. I am trusting God that these changes will lead to a more restful pace and more focused and effective ministry.

News from the Presbytery of the Huastecas

During a March extraordinary meeting of the presbytery, we held graduation ceremonies for four students completing their studies in the Bible Institute. Lay pastors Crescenciano Hernández of the La Laguna congregation, Santos Tomas of Totomoxtla, Benjamín Pascual of Macuilocatl, and Moisés Hernández, a deacon of the Frijolillo church were the happy grads.

The presbytery also granted Lay Pastor Martín Hernandez of Octlamecayo his preaching license, which is similar to the final candidating stage before ordination in the PC(USA). He is expected to be ordained this summer during the presbytery’s 25th anniversary celebration.

During Holy Week, the presbytery’s three active ordained pastors conducted a special training campaign at the Divino Salvador Church of Tezapotla. This included preparation for baptisms, professions of faith, and elder training. The church has never had an ordained pastor and recently the need for such training came to the presbytery’s attention. The courses were well atended, and the officiating pastor for the church will lead a celebration of baptisms and professions of faith during the month of May.

The Jesus the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church of Chancuetlan, Orizatlan, Hidalgo, which is finishing its sanctuary reconstruction. Photo by Arnold Johnson.

The Jesús el Buen Pastor Church of Chancuetlan has moved into the final stages of its sanctuary reconstruction project. Contributions from throughout the presbytery and many churches and individuals in the United States will make the roof possible. The plan is to pour the roof during the last week of May in conjunction with a visit from brothers and sisters of Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church of Austin, Texas, and Dripping Springs Presbyterian Church of Dripping Springs, Texas.

The Santisima Trinidad Church of Chapulhuacanito began construction of a kitchen/dining hall/classroom building during the month of February. They hope to complete construction in November with the help of brothers and sisters from Nevada Prebytery.

A few of you received news from me about troubles some of our Baptist brothers and sisters were having in the community of Cuamecaco (there is no Presbyterian Church there). Those involved in the case are fine, though resolution is still pending. As I am told, Protestants in the community had never not paid fees charged to community members for patron saint celebrations. One brother this year felt convicted about paying for religious ceremonies in honor of idols. He was arrested (tied up), but hours later released. Local and municipal authorities have until now refused to recognize the Protestants’ legal rights not to participate in these celebrations, and they are awaiting the intervention from state authorities. Please pray for your brothers and sisters in Cuamecaco and communities like it throughout Mexico.

The churches of Frijolillo, Chancuetlan, and Huitzitzilingo have recently had a very positive response from unbelievers in surrounding communities. In Frijolillo, the majority of people who were not churchgoers but had a Protestant family heritage have recently given their lives to Christ and become active in worship and discipleship programs. The Frijolillo church has also been working hard evangelistically in Potejamel, Petlacatl, and Zacapilol. The Huitzitzilingo church continues its four-year spiritual battle for the souls of Cojolapa, and the church of Chancuetlan is visiting those sensitive to the Gospel message in Saucillo and La Laguna. Join us in praising God for placing a burden on the hearts of believers for sharing the good news in these communities where there are no evangelical churches and for the Spirit’s move upon the hearts of those being prepared to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Please pray for these congregations. Where the Lord is at work, the enemy is also stepping up his tactics, creating strife among brothers and sisters and tempting others into sin. Pray that church leadership may confront these challenges to their unity and purity with love and mercy toward one another.

Pray also for all of our congregations and presbytery leadership as they consider the feasibility of pastoral changes within the presbytery. Our congregations cannot afford to pay pastors from outside the región, and the most effective ministry is done by those from within the culture. However, most of our pastors and lay pastors have been ministering to the same congregations for 15 to 30 years. Changes within the presbytery are possible, but they have not been part of the organizational culture and will require a lot of work since most pastors today can supplement the small stipends they get from their churches by working their own fields. Most congregations do not have housing for their pastors or the income to provide a full-time salary, yet they are in need of the challenges a new pastor might bring to them, especially one who is not attempting to profess to his own people. Please pray that the Lord would give very specific guidance to all who are part of this feasibility study. These are at the same time exciting and scary times. But we are trusting God to provide us with the answers we need.

In closing, some of you may have noted that I was in the United States for 19 days in March, visiting churches in central Texas and Holston and Abingdon Presbyteries (Virginia and  Tennessee). Forgive me for “flying under the radar”; it was not my intention. I simply never sat down to type out an update. The visits were both a joy and educational, as all but one of the churches I visited were new to me. I had also never been in the region before so I enjoyed the beauty of rural Tennessee and Virginia as well! So many similarities to the Huastecas!

What appear to be God’s plans for me during the next few weeks

This week I am in Chapulhuacanito doing “paper work” and enjoying my job as transportation specialist and friend to Sister Raquel’s four sisters and one niece who are visiting from Oaxaca. Two of her sisters had eye surgery yesterday in Ciudad Valles and over the weekend they hope to do a bit of a singing tour to a few of our churches (the Bonilla Gonzalez sisters have beautiful voices and hearts that seek to praise God). Thus the need for my truck (or at least its “handiness”). Of course I have grown close to all of them during my yearly trips to Oaxaca with Sister Raquel, so it is a joy to be here with them.

On Saturday I will give a workshop on spiritual disciplines during a presbytery-wide Presbyterian Women’s retreat in Tezapotla.

Susie teaching women at the Bethel Presbyterian of Barco, Zacualtipanito, Hidalgo. Photo by Arnold Johnson.

Next week I will be in Barco to work with the newly formed Presbyterian Women’s organization. I need to prepare one of the women to give the messages during each PW gathering (worship context), help other leaders understand their responsibilities, and encourage them to seek God for ways He would have them minister to other women in their community.

After a couple of days of rest in Frijolillo I will be in Huitzitzilingo to give a teacher-training workshop for Sunday school teachers, a preaching workshop for youth, and preach during a few services. These back-to-back visits to congregations are part of the presbytery’s desire for me to spend at least a week in each of our churches this year.

I early May I also have invitations to speak during the “Week of the Christian Home” (May 3-9) and the first day of the new school year for the Bible Institute of the Huastecas (May 6 and 7). I will spend the remainder of the month of May in Chancuetlan working with the PW group, teaching literacy classes, and preparing the congregation for a visit from brothers and sisters from Texas.

At some point I hope to continue my study my Nahuatl. I have given up on the idea of finishing my master’s degree this year due to the presbytery’s desire for me to spend more time in each of its churches (rather than be based in one place) and 10 weeks of mission interpretation I need to do in the United States this year. The final coursework for the master’s can wait til 2010.

Thank you all so very much for your prayers and partnership with us in ministry here. May the love of Christ dwell richly in your hearts today and every day.

With gratitude in Christ,

Susie Frerichs

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