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Simojovel sunset
Our team has now returned to the land of phones, e-mail, warm showers, and washing machines. We are all safe and sound and amazed at what the Lord has done in the past week!
The most difficult part of our time in Simojovel was interacting with the Indians themselves. The Indians are a non-expressive people, and the first night we saw maybe 10 smiles the entire time. This was rather unnerving, but we trusted the Lord to work in the hearts of each person there. The other communication barrier that we had to overcome was a third language! Each thing that we said and did had to be translated from English to Spanish and then to Tzotzil!
Welcome smiles
Once we got used to waiting for two other people to relay our message to the people, it worked great—just a little slower. The Lord did work in the hearts of the people, and by Thursday the children were playing and laughing with us, and the adults were smiling and chuckling to see crazy Americans dressed up in sheets, drapes, and clown suits to illustrate Biblical principles and character qualities!
On Friday we started the Children’s Institute early and then took a day trip to an amber mine and a place where three rivers meet. The girls enjoyed swimming and splashing upriver, while the guys swam downriver. It was very relaxing and cool.
The pastor
Friday night we invited everyone to a special program at the church, which included a slide show of all the pictures that we took of them through the week (thanks to Stephen’s creativity and Mr. Phariss’s new computer). The church was packed and they loved the pictures! After the slide show, we watched a movie about Noah’s Ark in Tzotzil. It was amazing to see a movie like that in another language.
While we were in the church, there was a bit of commotion outside, and we later found out that a lady who had a tumor had begun hemorrhaging. We prayed for Gloria at the conclusion of the service. At dinner, we found out that Gloria needed to be taken to San Cristobal. We hurriedly packed up the small trailer that needed to go back to San Cristobal, and with that vehicle Mr. Terrell and Vangie drove Gloria to San Cristobal. Vangie was able to minister to Gloria in a loving way all the way to Tuxtla after the San Cristobal hospital refused to take her.
Early this morning the rest of us packed up the trailer and made the three-hour drive back to San Cristobal. We ended up with 21 people in the 16-passenger van. It was a tight squeeze. The guys in the back of the pickup truck were also very ready to be on solid ground again by the time we reached San Cristobal! Oh the transportation adventures of Mexico!
Riding in style!
Good friends
Learning a Children’s Institute song
