Sunday in Chiapas May 5th 2019

Happy Cinco de Mayo to my friends & family in the US…because they don’t celebrate it here in Mexico??? After getting to bed about midnight & thinking I set my alarm for 8 am (I didn’t) I woke up at 8:30 after a pretty good nights sleep – the bed is pretty hard but clearly I did get some sleep! Brittany went with 4 others to go on a river boat ride & I got myself ready for church – on google maps it was a 5 min drive or 15 min walk. I got a taxi on the way there. Omar who sells gifts outside the hotel helped me with the taxi 9 I showed him where I wanted to go “a la Iglesia” & he said Los Mormones Iglesia??? So he directed the taxi right there. Apparently one of the senior couples have talked to him & bought items from him – small world!
The church building there is small – I attended the San Cristobal de las casas Branch or District – they had about 45 in attendance when the service started at 10 am & maybe 60 by the time it was over. Everything was in Spanish of course including the hymns which we sang acapela – they do not have anyone who plays the piano. Just sitting in that tiny branch I had such an awareness that God our Heavenly Father loves ALL of His children and what diverse circumstances we are all born into & how blessed are we in many parts of the world where there is more abundance. I watched many members  get tithing envelopes and some put in 50-100 pesos (About $2.50-$5.00) I was reminded of the widows mite & how great their faithful contributions are.  

It was testimony meeting & I could understand much of what was said…Jesus Christ lives, He is my Savior, brother, prophet & friend. SO MANY of the children (los ninos) went up & there was not a pause in between from the start to the finish of the meeting in those who wanted to go up & share their faith & testimonies.  The 2 missionaries in the branch were elder Schmitz from Colorado who has been out for 6 months but in Chiapas only 2 weeks & Elder Palomar who is from another state in Mexico. Brother Perez met me at the church & after the worship meeting we went into a room to meet with some of the people there who had some unique needs. Andrea is a young girl who is 21 – her family lives in a tiny village 20 km away & they are the only members in that village. Their family consists of her mom, an aunt, a sister & 2 brothers. Her father died many years ago & they joined the church 18 years ago & have been faithful followers of Christ. Andrea wanted to serve a mission & just got her mission call last Sunday to go to Columbia on May 29^th in 4 weeks!!!!!  Her mother is so happy for her but assumed she would serve somewhere in Mexico & now the cost of her required shots & passport was something they did not have. She was worried that perhaps they would have to ask if Andrea could serve in Mexico but Andrea said she was “called to Columbia & God will get her there”. There are people in the branch to help her with clothing but the actual fees for shots & a passport & visa were about 4800 pesos or $250 American. I told Andrea & her family that I felt very confident one of the reasons I was in Chiapas was to give her those sacred funds from some very kind & generous church members in California who know she is their sister & want to help her serve the Lord. I really could not say that without crying….. They typically just have home church in their indigenous village where they live but they traveled today to this  branch because Brother Perez told them their prayers are being answered. It is so very humbling to be a tiny cog in this eternal wheel of lives intersecting. I took some photos with them I will post on social media. During our tearful farewell I told Andreas mom that we all have “mothers hearts” & as mothers we will help each other with our children.

After that Bro. Perez brought in members of this branch – the first was a mom Elena & her son Victor – both with bad skin infections – either fungus or MRSA I am not sure – for 3 months they have had prescriptions for 4 week courses of oral & topical medications for both of them but did not have the money to get them filled…they are supposed to be $100 US which seems like a lot but who knows. The missionaries are going to bring me the names of the medicines so that I can go to a “farmacia” & get them what they need. I may be out of touch with healthcare in the US & perhaps there are needs like this….but it seemed so unreal that there is no healthcare infrastructure whatsoever & absolutely no resources for them & so many here just have their illnesses untreated. They seem to be able to get to a doctor but cannot then afford the treatment.

The final person who came in was Carlos who is 18 years old, and lives with his grandmother & was VERY enthusiastic about getting ready to turn in his mission papers but first he needs to go to the dentist & possibly have dental work….I shared with him the generosity of others in California who would love to help him get that taken care of so he can prepare to serve the Lord – he was just such a nice young man!!!  Bro. Perez is going to stay in touch with me this week so we can get it figured out. I was SO SO HUMBLED to be able to help these faithful people & hear their stories – I am so blessed to be the conduit of others generosity & goodness.

I asked about taking a taxi back or walking & they assured me I was safe to walk to I enjoyed my 20 min walk back & had time to reflect on these small miracles that were starting my week here in Chiapas. At the hotel I changed clothes & decided to walk on the “pedestrian” street near our hotel” there are many small restaurants, lots of chocolate & coffee shops and a variety of local crafts. The biggest seller seems to be the young boys selling umbrellas because although my weather app showed thunderstorms each day the intensity is CRAZY…from about 2-7 each day the skies open & there is thunder & it ours rain. Needless to say I purchased an umbrella so I could continue my explorations. It is really a lovely little town.

My friend Katrin had planned for us to go get massages today before the start of surgery week but unfortunately, she (& a few others) are sick…all they can figure is maybe the herbs in their drinks were not properly washed??? Poor girl she was miserable. So instead of that plan for she 7 I Brittany & I went & had our $20 hot stone massages…it was WONDERFUL!

Tonight, was the “Pre Surgery Meeting” – they have scheduled 119 patients for the week. As is always the case everyone on the team is very nice – many are from Mexico & I know it will be a great week for everyone & just what I needed for me 😊 I am grateful for these experiences & feel so blessed!