Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Oaxaca Part II
The pins represent areas reached with audio Bibles. The center is the area in which we were.
The beautiful countryside of Oaxaca....
Our first meal was served....beans and tortillas. Apparently, they serve tortillas at every meal, as they also serve as your utensils. They grow their own corn, on the side of the mountain, and create the cornmeal necessary for making tortillas. The cocina, (kitchen), was another room with a brick cooking area with open fire. The bathrooms, however, were down a muddy hill in the midst of the chicken coop. It was an open sheltered outhouse. There was a cold shower, outdoors as well. All under the canopy of a tropical rain forest. Despite the primitive conditions, the view was absolutely incredible!
Beans, Beans . . . you know the rest!
Guys' Quarters
Renufro's roadside store -- that's our new friend Glen perusing the merchandise with Renufro's son, Umberto, manning the store.
Our room is in the corner. To the right is the hall leading back to the path to the outhouse. The women in the bottom corner are plucking chickens. Ugh.
Sunday evening, the Mixe treated us a worship service. There is just no way to describe the experience. Music, lots of it, in another language, with no rhythm or distinct melody, instruments playing their own tune, people that could not carry a tune with the motto: if you can't sing, sing LOUD. Songs with an average of 20 minutes each. The sermon was preached half a dozen times, both in Spanish and Mixe. Prayer was done Mexican style, meaning everyone, at the same time, out loud. Truly how God would hear it. It was crazy, but beautiful.
A man listening to the Treasure.
Monday through Thursday we met with the Mixe people in their homes. We brought them the Treasure (audio Bible) and explained that we had come from the United States to bring it to them and to encourage them in their Christian faith. The Mixe people have been hearing the Word of God via their pastor who has a moderate ability to interpret Scripture from a Spanish Bible. The Mixe translation has been in the works for 25 years! And we were the first to bring it to these people and to be able to pray with the family and present them with some of the gift bags we had prepared. They received us with such joy and warmth, offering us refreshments and stopping whatever they were doing to spend a few moments with us. Some even continued to follow us from house to house. Which was not an easy task. We were climbing steep inclines, over rocky, muddy trails. At one point, I even lost my shoe in the mud. Thankfully, no one was injured due to the treacherous terrain. I still marvel at that fact!
Making tamales in a Mixe cocina [kitchen]
A typical Mixe dwelling
Banana trees growing right outside your front door!
A Mixe child
Atitlan from the balcony of the government building
One of our crazy road trips. Its the rainy season, so many of the roads were washed out, covered with debris from mudslides, or covered with water. This truck got stuck, but was finally able to get out.
Our team leaders
Friday morning we gathered at the raging river to baptize some of the people before heading back to Mitla. We arrived in Mitla for dinner at the Lokers, a wonderful homemade American meal! Saturday was a fun day of shopping at the markets in Mitla and Oaxaca City and touring some of the ruins in Mitla. However, we were anxious for our trip back home. Once we set foot in Houston, still miles from Michigan, we truly felt at home just being back in the States.
Baptism
Our final evening's dinner
Some of the produce found throughout Mexico
The ruins at Mitla
The streets of Oaxaca City
Grasshoppers anyone?
I don't know but he looked neat
I have fond memories of the people that befriended me: Fernando, the son of the former pastor that fell into sin and abandoned his wife and family, carried my backpack and led us safely up and down the mountains; Syliva, Fernando's wife, who spoke Spanish and was able to help me communicate -- and who is expecting in February; Magaly, Sylvia and Fernando's little girl, absolutely precious; Jorge, Fernando's little brother, and Gloria, his sister -- they followed us wherever we went and I'll never forget the joyful dance and ear-to-ear grin when he opened his goody bag to find a Sponge Bob; and all the others we met in Atitlan.
Fernando, Sylvia & Magaly
Gloria
Jorge and Sponge Bob
These people showed me what it means to live out faith, to put God before everything else. The minute I came home, I was bombarded with all the mom and wife duties I had left behind. It amazes me how all that we are blessed with can be such a hindrance and burden to our relationship with Jesus. I am thankful for this American life I have been born into, but I am also blessed to have known another for just a short time to help keep things in eternal perspective.
Jim & Jamie Loker, American missionaries in Oaxaca
The beautiful countryside of Oaxaca....
Our first meal was served....beans and tortillas. Apparently, they serve tortillas at every meal, as they also serve as your utensils. They grow their own corn, on the side of the mountain, and create the cornmeal necessary for making tortillas. The cocina, (kitchen), was another room with a brick cooking area with open fire. The bathrooms, however, were down a muddy hill in the midst of the chicken coop. It was an open sheltered outhouse. There was a cold shower, outdoors as well. All under the canopy of a tropical rain forest. Despite the primitive conditions, the view was absolutely incredible!
Beans, Beans . . . you know the rest!
Guys' Quarters
Renufro's roadside store -- that's our new friend Glen perusing the merchandise with Renufro's son, Umberto, manning the store.
Our room is in the corner. To the right is the hall leading back to the path to the outhouse. The women in the bottom corner are plucking chickens. Ugh.
Sunday evening, the Mixe treated us a worship service. There is just no way to describe the experience. Music, lots of it, in another language, with no rhythm or distinct melody, instruments playing their own tune, people that could not carry a tune with the motto: if you can't sing, sing LOUD. Songs with an average of 20 minutes each. The sermon was preached half a dozen times, both in Spanish and Mixe. Prayer was done Mexican style, meaning everyone, at the same time, out loud. Truly how God would hear it. It was crazy, but beautiful.
A man listening to the Treasure.
Monday through Thursday we met with the Mixe people in their homes. We brought them the Treasure (audio Bible) and explained that we had come from the United States to bring it to them and to encourage them in their Christian faith. The Mixe people have been hearing the Word of God via their pastor who has a moderate ability to interpret Scripture from a Spanish Bible. The Mixe translation has been in the works for 25 years! And we were the first to bring it to these people and to be able to pray with the family and present them with some of the gift bags we had prepared. They received us with such joy and warmth, offering us refreshments and stopping whatever they were doing to spend a few moments with us. Some even continued to follow us from house to house. Which was not an easy task. We were climbing steep inclines, over rocky, muddy trails. At one point, I even lost my shoe in the mud. Thankfully, no one was injured due to the treacherous terrain. I still marvel at that fact!
Making tamales in a Mixe cocina [kitchen]
A typical Mixe dwelling
Banana trees growing right outside your front door!
A Mixe child
Atitlan from the balcony of the government building
One of our crazy road trips. Its the rainy season, so many of the roads were washed out, covered with debris from mudslides, or covered with water. This truck got stuck, but was finally able to get out.
Our team leaders
Friday morning we gathered at the raging river to baptize some of the people before heading back to Mitla. We arrived in Mitla for dinner at the Lokers, a wonderful homemade American meal! Saturday was a fun day of shopping at the markets in Mitla and Oaxaca City and touring some of the ruins in Mitla. However, we were anxious for our trip back home. Once we set foot in Houston, still miles from Michigan, we truly felt at home just being back in the States.
Baptism
Our final evening's dinner
Some of the produce found throughout Mexico
The ruins at Mitla
The streets of Oaxaca City
Grasshoppers anyone?
I don't know but he looked neat
I have fond memories of the people that befriended me: Fernando, the son of the former pastor that fell into sin and abandoned his wife and family, carried my backpack and led us safely up and down the mountains; Syliva, Fernando's wife, who spoke Spanish and was able to help me communicate -- and who is expecting in February; Magaly, Sylvia and Fernando's little girl, absolutely precious; Jorge, Fernando's little brother, and Gloria, his sister -- they followed us wherever we went and I'll never forget the joyful dance and ear-to-ear grin when he opened his goody bag to find a Sponge Bob; and all the others we met in Atitlan.
Fernando, Sylvia & Magaly
Gloria
Jorge and Sponge Bob
These people showed me what it means to live out faith, to put God before everything else. The minute I came home, I was bombarded with all the mom and wife duties I had left behind. It amazes me how all that we are blessed with can be such a hindrance and burden to our relationship with Jesus. I am thankful for this American life I have been born into, but I am also blessed to have known another for just a short time to help keep things in eternal perspective.
Jim & Jamie Loker, American missionaries in Oaxaca
What happens in Mexico.....PART I
Well, I'm back. I'm still feeling overwhelmed by all that I have seen, heard, done and experienced. I'm sure my blog will not even come close to describing everything. If it did, you would be reading a few hours worth....So I will try to summarize.
The Team~
Early Saturday morning, and I do mean early, like 4:00am, our friends, Steve & Laurel, came to pick me up. They would be leading our team, having taken several similar trips to Africa over the past couple years. We arrived at the airport only to experience God's hand already on our team! We each had two suitcases to check, the second would cost an additional $25. Multiply that by 8 and that's $200. The bag checker man thought it too complicated and so he just waived the fee altogether. Everything went smoothly and we boarded our flight to Houston. Upon arrival, one member of our team, Doug, arranged for his friend who lived in the area to pick us up and take us back to his home during our 11-hour layover. It was a lovely home, and we were treated very well. We enjoyed a steak dinner, lounged by the pool and some even watched, gasp, football. This day of rest would have to serve as a pleasant reminder of what we were leaving behind because the rest of the week was grueling!
Back at the airport we boarded our flight to Oaxaca City. Arriving around 8:30 pm, we were ushered through customs and again, experienced no difficulties. We were driven to the Wycliffe living center in Mitla for the night where we organized and packed 90 gift bags of school supplies and hygiene items for the families we would visit. After a long day, we got very little sleep and were on our way to breakfast with the Lokers, our American missionary contact, by 8:30am. We enjoyed a hearty meal, loaded all the "Treasures", the audio New Testament Bibles, with the Mixe language, and packed a lunch for the loooong journey up into the mountains.
Wycliffe Center Accommodations
The Treasures
We secured two pickup trucks for the trip. We were able to crowd four into each cab, with a few of the men riding in the back, Mexican style. The village of Atitlan was not that far away, but due to the moutains, we had to wind our way up and the trip actually took 3.5 hours. Bouncing along, we stopped halfway in Ayutla for lunch, and switched vehicles for the duration of the trip. This was my first experience with seeing the people, the markets, and the dwellings. We arrived in Atitlan around dinnertime. We would be staying at the home of the local pastor, Renufro, and his family. The women would be in the building atop a hill and the men in another building on the side of the road. Both were constructed of cement block walls, concrete floors, and tin roofs -- noisy especially during rainy season, which of course it was. Most homes, however, did not have cement floors, but dirt, and even open windows with no glass, so we had quite a luxurious place to stay.
Ayutla
Stay tuned for Part II!
The Team~
Early Saturday morning, and I do mean early, like 4:00am, our friends, Steve & Laurel, came to pick me up. They would be leading our team, having taken several similar trips to Africa over the past couple years. We arrived at the airport only to experience God's hand already on our team! We each had two suitcases to check, the second would cost an additional $25. Multiply that by 8 and that's $200. The bag checker man thought it too complicated and so he just waived the fee altogether. Everything went smoothly and we boarded our flight to Houston. Upon arrival, one member of our team, Doug, arranged for his friend who lived in the area to pick us up and take us back to his home during our 11-hour layover. It was a lovely home, and we were treated very well. We enjoyed a steak dinner, lounged by the pool and some even watched, gasp, football. This day of rest would have to serve as a pleasant reminder of what we were leaving behind because the rest of the week was grueling!
Back at the airport we boarded our flight to Oaxaca City. Arriving around 8:30 pm, we were ushered through customs and again, experienced no difficulties. We were driven to the Wycliffe living center in Mitla for the night where we organized and packed 90 gift bags of school supplies and hygiene items for the families we would visit. After a long day, we got very little sleep and were on our way to breakfast with the Lokers, our American missionary contact, by 8:30am. We enjoyed a hearty meal, loaded all the "Treasures", the audio New Testament Bibles, with the Mixe language, and packed a lunch for the loooong journey up into the mountains.
Wycliffe Center Accommodations
The Treasures
We secured two pickup trucks for the trip. We were able to crowd four into each cab, with a few of the men riding in the back, Mexican style. The village of Atitlan was not that far away, but due to the moutains, we had to wind our way up and the trip actually took 3.5 hours. Bouncing along, we stopped halfway in Ayutla for lunch, and switched vehicles for the duration of the trip. This was my first experience with seeing the people, the markets, and the dwellings. We arrived in Atitlan around dinnertime. We would be staying at the home of the local pastor, Renufro, and his family. The women would be in the building atop a hill and the men in another building on the side of the road. Both were constructed of cement block walls, concrete floors, and tin roofs -- noisy especially during rainy season, which of course it was. Most homes, however, did not have cement floors, but dirt, and even open windows with no glass, so we had quite a luxurious place to stay.
Ayutla
Stay tuned for Part II!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Leaving on a jet plane....
That's right. In about 12 hours I will be boarding Continental and heading to Houston where I will re-board another jet to Oaxaca, Mexico. Now, before you sign in longing and jealousy, realize that I am venturing with seven individuals from my church to share a message of love and to bring encouragement and basic necessities to some hurting people. When we arrive in Oaxaca, we will be traveling up into the mountains (jungle, rocky, cold, hot, RAIN) to visit a few villages and the Mixe (mee-hay) people. We will be distributing school supplies, hygiene items, and the Treasure (a audio recording of the New Testament in the Mixe dialect). We will worship with the people, visit and learn about their culture and how we can serve them.
This is my FIRST mission trip. My FIRST time out of the United States. Only my third time on an airplane. There will be lots of rain, sleeping on the ground, bugs, variable temperatures, lots of walking, weird food and bugs. Yeah, they eat grasshoppers. Don't worry, I'll be sure to set them straight! :)
Here's a map of where I will be. If you think of it, please pray for our team, for safety, for growth, and for our families at home. I promise to post pictures when I get back!!
This is my FIRST mission trip. My FIRST time out of the United States. Only my third time on an airplane. There will be lots of rain, sleeping on the ground, bugs, variable temperatures, lots of walking, weird food and bugs. Yeah, they eat grasshoppers. Don't worry, I'll be sure to set them straight! :)
Here's a map of where I will be. If you think of it, please pray for our team, for safety, for growth, and for our families at home. I promise to post pictures when I get back!!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
A Christ-centered marriage...
I shot this wedding with Leda of LVL Photography. The groom, the son of a sod farmer, and the bride, the daughter of a greenhouse grower, met at MSU. Even though everything about this wedding was beautiful, from the gown to the decor, when circumstances became tense, this couple showed that marriage is about more than just pretty things. You see, shortly before the ceremony, the bride's ring disappeared. Understandably, she was upset. But with a gracious demeanor, she firmly announced that their marriage would happen with or without a ring. This was not an inexepensive piece of jewelry and the sentiment was substantial. However, a marriage built on "things" that will disappear, or passion that will diminish, will not endure. But a marriage founded on the promises of God, and centered on His commands will truly survive until the end of a lifetime. From I Timothy 6:17: "Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
