Well hi everyone,
I remain alive and well in the now more English climes of Mexico. To get the obligatory weather report out of the way, it's cloudy, wet underfoot and a bit nippy on the old toes. I'm considering some sock-and-sandal action but I apparently that's still "such a fashion fopah" (I think that phrase works best when said in a Heather Lindsay-like Irish accent). Unlike the weather, things are going well and, if I can work out how, I should be able to post some photos of what I've been up to on the old blog ( http://mexicanchris.blogspot.com/).
First up, I am pleased to announce that I think I have solved my visa problems. And this means I will be back in the UK from the 15th Nov to 3rd Dec. I'm tying my trip in with Saul and Pilar's planned tour to celebrate 20 years of Armonía so it's likely that I'll get a chance to catch up with some of you although I'm busy all the weekends with church visits.
In our preparation for the trip back, we've been producing a PowerPoint presenting the recent story of the Hornos Community, it's an interesting work which came to a head over the summer. Armonía has been working with a community called Jalalpa for many years now and through them, came into contact with Hornos. These people are the poorest of the poor and lived on precarious steep slopes and sand cliffs above disused mining works in the lower part of the Jalalpa Ravine. The photos, which some of you will see in November, show houses literally built from whatever they can find (mainly cardboard) and almost piled on top of each other because of the gradient. In July a mudslide prompted the authorities to evacuate them and the people were given 30 minutes to move. Armonía mobilised food, clothes and blankets and started community consultation to work out how further to support them. They have now been moved from the sports centres where they were kept to hastily constructed chipboard homes. I say 'homes' but each family has just one room and for 2 more weeks the building fabric was so flammable that they were not allowed to cook inside. Over the summer, teams from the States took part in a carpentry project to build new tables and benches to give to the families. At the service of thanksgiving when they were handed over, over 30 people became Christians; the result of many years labour, love and witnessing for the gospel. Please do be praying for the new faith of these people and that, in partnership with Armonía, their poverty (in all forms) might be transformed into abundant life. A new bible study group is starting in a few weeks for them.
However, off the back of such excellent progress over the summer, it seems like the ministry is currently taking a battering. Josías has now come out of hospital (after a month inside) although he has to recover from his still unknown illness in isolation at Alheli. As a result, we (the volunteers) have moved to Casablanca, the Armonía hotel, as a result so we don't get infected or pass anything onto him. Yet, no sooner had he come out than Pilar Cruz was admitted with a suspected serious allergic reaction. She has been in Intensive Care for almost two weeks now and there remains some uncertainty over what exactly she has caught although they think she's not contagious. All this has meant that Saul hasn't been at work for 2 weeks and most activities dependent on him have ground to a halt. After such a positive summer, it really does seem like Armonía is under attack (I say this with some caution) – please be praying for our health as a team and that we can resume the activities soon. It's been difficult but we want to trust that God's way is best and he will work all things for the good of those who love him (Rom 8:28). Nothing is outside of his control. One thing that has been affected badly is planning for the UK trip. It's three weeks away and very little has been set in stone. Maybe it's Mexican planning but I'm getting a little nervous because lots of people are emailing me asking for information and I don't know! :s
For me personally, things have continued to chug along nicely. I spent most of last week trying to teach some kids the numbers 11-20. I think they are getting it but it's slow work. Thankfully, I'm on English 2 this week so we'll be doing descriptions of people. Fun. :) My relationships with my friends from across the pond have settled down. Thanks for those of you who prayed and sent thoughts. I guess we get each other better now but we still have to be sensitive. Those of you hoping for a transformed sense of humour (from poverty to life?!?) when I return might be disappointed, I'm afraid to say. As a result, I seem to have sub-consciously moved onto trying to break other things and as a result I'm getting good at fixing stuff. I completely ruined their internet connection whilst trying to get my laptop to connect wirelessly. It's sorted now. [what a geek]. Last week I managed to delete all the contacts from the Armonía database. Thankfully I had the information from which to back everything up (although there was one heart-in-mouth moment!). I've also busted the door handle to our bedroom and I'm currently looking for something new to break. I can already hear Dad's response: "you're not at Scout camp anymore"!
There's a few more tales to tell (including eating pigskin in a vomit-tasting sauce) but I'll leave that to the blog. Well done for getting this far. Thank you to everyone who has been sending emails and thoughts etc. I'm sorry if I haven't had time to answer them all but now I've got wireless internet :) my response rate should improve.
With love and prayers,
God bless,
Chris
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