Impact Chiapas 2013

 

Impact Chiapas 2013 is only a couple months away; July 27-August 4, 2013.

We will have an information meeting for those considering the trip (and their parents) on Saturday, May 4, at 10:00 a.m. at the Region Office in Centennial (9085 E Mineral Circle Suite 170, Centennial CO 80112).

 

Impact: Chiapas is a mission trip to the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico. It continues our partnership with churches in Chiapas that began more than four years ago. 

Impact: Chiapas is a mission trip for youth (age 16+) and adults. We are limited to 16 people and are hoping to take 10 youth and 6 adults, so space is very limited.

In Chiapas, we will be working with the Economic Development Project, primarily building animal shelters and working on the garden project. We will also work with the children of Chacacal. We are hoping to take supplies to help them make puppets and to do a puppet program while we are there.

This is not a vacation. The work we will be doing is hard and it will be quite hot and humid in Chacacal. We will sleep on air mattresses on concrete floors, use a very rustic baño (a.k.a. outhouse), and bathe in the creek. For 12 straight meals, we will eat black beans and tortillas. (Black beans and eggs, black beans and rice, black beans and pasta, black beans and soup, black bean tacos, etc.) We will have some other vegetables, but their primary diet is beans and tortillas. Therefore, that will be our diet for the four days we are in Chacacal. We will have plenty of bottled water to drink.

This is not a cheap trip either. The cost will be approximately $1700. This includes meals in Mexico, lodging, transportation, air fare (currently $1000), and $250 per person for the project in Chacacal.

Are you being led by God to go?

If not, we need your help to get information to youth and adults who might be interested in going on this mission trip.

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1uGrVDtCd0&feature=player_detailpage

If you need more information, please contact me at moldham@abcrm.org.

Your Co-laborer in Christ,

Mike Oldham

Ministry and Mission Coach

ABC of the Rocky Mountains

(303) 988-3900

moldham@abcrm.og

Three Michaels and a Pig

Friday, March 1, 2013

Michael Buckles at Tonina

Al Bowie Climbs Down the Face of Tonina

School Field Trip

Today, we went to Tonina. Tonina is the site of an incredible Mayan temple. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonina

Unlike archeological sites in the USA, at Tonina, visitors are able to get up close to the site. You actually climb the face of the temple, approximately 230 feet (think of a 23 story building).

The views are staggering.

On the way back, we stopped in Ocosingo, Chiapas, MX to pick up the next set of animals for Chacacal. We rode for two hours from Ocosingo to San Cris with a car sick pig and two turkey chicks in the van with us.

For those of you who have ever had trouble hailing a cab, imagine Eleazar with a pig in a bag (a pig in a poke?) and two turkeys in a box. He was trying to get from the farm to the restaurant where we met him for the ride back. He finally got a ride, not in a taxi, but the guys car broke down on the way back into Ocosingo. 

The first piglet for Chacacal

View from the top of Tonina

Remarkably, the smell was tolerable. We all got out in San Cris and bid the pig farewell.

We were supposed to get two pigs, however the male was castrated and they are looking for an "Abraham" hog who can father many generation. So they just got the gilt. If she survives the ride in the van to Chacacal, she will become the mother of many generations.

Tomorrow, we have a slow day in San Cris.

What is a missionary?

I think we all have an image of what a missionary is or should be.

Chuck Shawver with Piglet after 2 hrs in van

Chuck Shawver is one of American Baptist's hidden gems. Last week, he took a group of supporters of a new mission couple around for a week showing them the area in which Keith and Debbie Meyers will be working. He drove all day from Puebla to Tuxtla-Gutierrez to pick us up at the airport. The next day he drove us three plus hours to Chacacal. Then he preached a service and drove two electricians to Maravillas, another village about 30 minutes from Chacacal. He spent the week as gofer, translator, and driving back and forth between the villages. He made numerous trips into Simojovel and Tuxtla to pick up supplies.

Today, he took us to Tonina to visit the Mayan temple ruins and acted as photographer, driver, and tour guide. On the way back, he stopped at Ocosingo to pick up a pig and two turkeys that he will be taking to Chacacal tomorrow. Ocosingo is only two hours from San Cristobal de las Casas, so the pig road with us all the way back. (Some pigs, including Victoria, get car sick and throw up even when riding in a van.)

We had to rush into town because Chuck had to make sure he was able to get to the supply store to pick up electrical supplies to take to Maravillas after dropping off the pig and the turkeys.

His day tomorrow will be to get up early so that he can drive to Chacacal, about 3 1/2 hours, then on to Maravillas, then back to San Cristobal de las Casas so that he can take us to the airport early Sunday morning. From the airport, he will head back to Mexico City (12 hrs). He will drop of the two electricians on the way. Monday morning he has staff meeting at the seminary in Mexico City. Then the following week, he has another group coming in to work in Oaxaca.

Along the way, he is mentoring Eleazar, encouraging pastors, providing pastoral care to the family of a 20 something year old son who is dying. He is also looking for the missionaries who will come to Chiapas to continue the work when he and Ramona retire (3 years).

He is smiling, laughing, teasing, encouraging, listening. He is 1 Corinthians 13 in action.

I count myself blessed that he calls me his friend.

Hot Showers, A Chilly Bed

Thursday, February 28, 2013

We spent the morning clearing a field and digging furrows for planting alfalfa. It drizzled most of the time we were in the field. We were wet, tired, and ready to call it quits.

We made our way back to Chacacal. After a last dip in the creek, we ate our last meal in Chacacal. Beans and tortillas of course. They also prepared pasta for us which was a treat.

We returned to our house and finished packing up. Chuck arrived at about 2:30 and said our good byes and headed for San Cristobal de Las Casas.

A warm shower and a nice dinner (without beans, but I did have tortillas), and I am ready for bed.

Sandbags and Glow Sticks

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Today was our third day of work in Chacacal. Yesterday was much cooler we were expecting rain, but it never came. Today it was just hot. It was probably in the low 90’s, but we don’t have a thermometer so we will just pretend. 

Coloring with Chris

Pour the floor for the pigs

Each time we construct an animal pen, we begin by leveling the ground. This includes much swinging of the pick, much shoveling, pounding the ground flat. Their “pounding stick” is great. It is about an eighteen inch piece of a heavy log on the end of three inch stick. It weighs probably twenty-five pounds and does a remarkably good job. Michael Capshaw and Michael Buckles were the kings of the heavy work again today. They did the majority of the leveling. Then, they each made five trips up a steep hill carrying sand for pouring concrete for the floor of the pig sty. Each bag contained two five gallon buckets of sand.

Al worked in Maravillas. We did not see him at all today. I feel bad that he has not been with us as much.

We finished up the electrical today. Michael Buckles says I have to work on the trench because I did not properly pack it in like where they leveled the ground for the pens. Therefore, I will have to pack the dirt in my trench before we leave.

At the end of the day, Michael and Michael played a game of soccer with the young men.

Glow Sticks

The highlight of the night was giving the kids glow sticks. Michael Buckles’ daughters insisted that he bring enough glow sticks for all the kids. Even the adults were fascinated by the glow sticks. One person asked if they had an on and off switch. Another asked how long they would last and were disappointed when we said less than a day. Even the ladies who have been cooking for us enjoyed receiving them. A side story: Michael B. was telling the lady who prepared his taxes about the trip to Chiapas. She gave him $50 to purchase the glow sticks. She will never know how her generosity touched the lives of so many young and old in Chacacal.

Let There Be Light

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Another wonderful day in Chacacal.

Chuck Shawver delivered the electrical supplies late last night. We were up early and started working on the electrical. Our first task was to pull the wire from the Temple to the education building/house. No easy task without a fishing tape. We tried to use our air mattress pump to suck a small piece of twine through the conduit, but to no avail. We finally pushed as much through the conduit as we could and then we cut the conduit and began again. It took a while, but we had the wire pulled and the conduit buried by breakfast (about 9:00 a.m.). Chris and I wired the education building with three outlets and two light bulbs.

Ready for School

Al Bowie working on the church

 

While we were working on the electrical, Michael B. and Michael C. were working with the men of the village on the goat pen. They built a shelter that was about 3 meters by 5 meters. They are waiting on the material for the roof, but other than that, they were able to complete the pen. This included building a gate (designed by Michael B.) and moving about two cubic meters of soil to level the pen. (After seeing what they were working on, I was glad I was doing the electrical.

Anywhere Chris goes, she has an entourage of three or four little girls following along. It doesn’t matter if she is headed to the stream for a bath, or to the bathroom, or to help move dirt, she has her little girls with her. 

After lunch (about 2:00 p.m.), we began working on rewiring the Temple. They had cobbled together one light over the pulpit area, one light bulb outside, and one outlet for the church. The wire to the outside light was the old antenna wire. How it did not melt over the years is beyond my understanding.    We were able to get the lights wired and the power turned on just in time. (We had to use headlamps and flashlights to make the final connections.)

Al Bowie has been in Maravillas with Chuck and the two electricians. When Chuck went for supplies today, he dropped Al off to work with us. He spend the afternoon working with me to make sure that 

I didn’t burn the Temple down.

Story of the Day: Chuck has been working in Maravillas and going for supplies. That leaves the four of us in Chacacal without a translator. No one in the village speaks English and we only have very limited Spanish skills. Eleasar was trying to explain to us why they didn’t have plans for the animal shelters. After much gesticulation and several attempts, we finally realized that he was saying that one of Pastor Mario’s sons had “ripped the pages.” The next part we understood with little difficulty. The reason he tore the pages is that he needed them for the baño.

We all bathed in the creek and headed up for dinner at Pastor Mario’s house. Dinner consisted of black beans, pasta, jalapeños, onions, and sweet coffee. Oh, and tortillas of course.

 No longer homeless

I am writing this with my computer plugged in while my phone is charging. It feels good to have  poer again. Eleasar came in and asked if we were on Facebook.

A good day.

Exhausted, Exhillerated

Monday, February 25, 2013
Chacacal, Chiapas, MX

Monday was our first full day working was exhausting and exhilarating. Al Bowie and I dug about 50 feet of ditch to connect the new education/house. It was only 30 centimeters deep, but it took all day.

Leveling the ground for a chicken coop

Temporarily Homeless Goats

Mario's House where we ate each day

While we were digging, the rest of the crew was working on the animal shelters. They built a new chicken coop and run. They put the four new pullets in the new coop, but the other chickens still run loose. (By the way, we are planning a pot of rooster stew for tomorrow night.) The turkeys have not arrived, but they have a pen ready for them when they arrive.

At the end of the day, we walked 2 or 3 miles. They promised us a wonderful relaxing soak in the river. Of course, we were wondering if we would ever get there. We were tired. We might even have whined to each other. When we arrived, however, it was unbelievable. We played in the river for about an hour. It was cool and deep. The kids would run up the hill roll down the sand and then jump in the water. Michael B. decided he would try it.  The current was just swift enough to make swimming across the river.  Chris and I took the long way around both times. The others in the group and all of our friends from Chacacal crossed on an Indiana Jones style foot bridge.

When we returned, we went to Pastor Mario’s house for dinner. Tortillas, black beans and Kool Aid.

The story of the day: Chris made her journey to the outhouse. For those who are not familiar with traveling outside of the US, there is often a trash can next to the toilet for the paper. This is even true for outhouses. When she went into the outhouse, she had to chase a chicken out of the baño. In the paper bucket, she found two freshly laid eggs. After using the bathroom, she gathered the eggs and gave them to one of the women. All in a day in Chacacal.

We turned in early. A good day.