3rd Year Secundaria Service Project

This year we are trying to get the junior high students thinking about how they might minister to their community through service. Towards that end, each class is participating in at least one service project throughout the year.
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of accompanying students from the ninth grade on one of their service projects. It was a touching experience. I was very impressed to see our students express such a humility and joy in service to others.
A little background: Outside the larger towns and cities of much of Mexico, there are many, many villages and communities of farmers, craftsmen, fisherman, etc. This population for the most part is made up of the indigenous people groups of the area - in the case of the Yucatan Peninsula, the Mayan indians - and the vast majority of them are very poor. This is not to say that they live in poverty, which is always relative to some base standard of living. They have the bare necessities of life - a house, food, a living, families. They usually live in one room houses, often with extended family. The houses in this area are often made of stone, with dirt floors and thatch or tin-sheet roofs. They live "in" swamps and other areas of not-so-prime real estate. They sell fruits and vegetables in the markets or on the roadside, fish for octopus, harvest salt, tend livestock, raise chickens, work as masons, grow corn, or make local handcrafts for tourists for next to nothing. None of which actually makes them money, in our way of thinking, but at least it provides what they need. And, honestly, they seem quite content - a lesson, I think, for us all. They are the vast bottom rung of Mexican society and economy.
Unfortunately, they are often the first and hardest to be hit and the last to recover from the hurricanes, dry seasons, changes in the tides, or even pollution. Months after the last hurricane grazed us (Emily), I had no idea there were many villages still suffering from its effects. In terms of damage to the area, we still laugh about the hurricane that never was (at least in Merida). But many of the houses are sitting in swamps that have crept up with every rain or hurricane that has come by since Isidore (2002) created new intertidal zones along the coasts. Furthermore, even hurricanes and storms that do not "hit" us tend to change the ecology of the coastal areas. In this case, octopus fishermen have had a permanent spot in the newspapers as their simple industry has suffered heavy losses this hurricane season.
For this reason, Gerardo, our PE teacher and Victor Villanueva, a local pastor and father to our ninth grader Nahum, organized a day in which some of our 9th grade students helped deliver food and blankets to one of these nearby fisherman towns. I must admit that, after staying up until 2:30 Friday night with our young adult ministry, I was not very keen on getting up at 6:00 on Saturday to drive an hour-and-a-half outside of town. But the minute I saw the joy with which these students went from door to door delivering food and the gladness on the faces of people living in conditions I could never bear, I gave thanks to God for giving me the chance to witness the occasion. It was not much. It was not hard. But neither was it something we are accustomed to doing and most importantly, it was the love of Christ shared by students of Blas Pascal with those around them who are in need. This is what we are looking for with our junior high service projects. In my case, I think, it was more than I expected.
We were in Dzilam de Bravo for only a few hours. We delivered probably 300 packets of food and maybe 75 blankets to the elderly. Pastor Victor has a group of men who continue to do this, basically spending every Saturday driving to these villages and delivering food. Hopefully, I will be able to participate more with this next semester.


Prayer Requests:

• Pray for these fishermen who continue to struggle through this time. They have many mouths to feed and very little to feed them with.
• Pray for those who participate in this ministry: for strength and safety as they deliver food, blankets, and the message of the love of Christ to those in need.
• Pray for the students (and their teacher) that this experience will leave a lasting impression and a desire to reach out to those around them.

Fall 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, the weather has changed here in Mérida. It's hard to say if we are now in winter or a sort of fall that just fades to spring. It's not cold, per se, but given the humidity, lack of insulation, and lack of heating, it can get pretty chilly. It always reminds me of the best of an Augusta , Georgia fall – cool outside, but sunny, great for football – but without cookouts or any sort of cool weather clothing.

I've just finished moving again, ever in search of lower rent. This time I've moved in with Noah Roberts and Jimmy Pérez in the house where the groups stayed during the summer. Jimmy is a young pastor who also works at the school in the maintenance department. I will miss my last house. I had put a little work into it, so it was beginning to feel like my house; and I was just beginning to get to know my neighbors. They are a young couple who, among other things, open up a “tienda” at night and sell great tacos and burritos. I'll still be stopping in from time to time (for the food ) and we've been inviting them to the church.

School is going very smoothly this year. Teaching only one level of English (to both junior and senior high) has allowed me to plan and prepare adequately for my classes. Also, a part of those changes was to put students in a classroom with others at the same level of English; and that has worked out well. I did, however, lose many of the students that were in my class and I miss them. We have so many students now that its hard to feel the same one-on-one ministry that I've always enjoyed here; but there are as always many chances to share Christ with these kids.
Along those lines, Manolo and I are trying to start up a little sports ministry on Saturdays. Basically, we play soccer for a while, have a little talk during “halftime” and play some more. It's only really come off once, but it looks like it could be a great strategy to evangelize and disciple some of these guys in a more direct way. Hopefully, warmer weather and other options (ping pong, bowling...?) will help this to be a good way to reach more of the non-“church going” students.

In my ministry with the Young Adults (ages ~ 25-35) at Shalom, things are... well, going... sort of. Thus far, we have started a Friday night “game night”and a Sunday School class – as well as continued our “usual” infrequent special activities. The new house is great for the Friday night activity! What we seem to be lacking in both areas is direction. For me, this comes from a lack of any sense of ministry as a whole. We've put the cart before the horse, so to speak, having established some of the parts or the ministry without having ever really established a Young Adults ministry. And fundamental to that is, of course, our relationship with Christ. As one of our number recently pointed out, “your relationship with Christ is the root from which your ministry grows.” So, as we approach the end of the year, we will be reviewing and reevaluating our relationship with Christ and the direction (and existence ) of the ministry.

I am surprised to find that Christmas is just around the corner. This year I am planning a trip back to the states for the holidays. I am afraid that, as much as I will enjoy Christmas with my family, it does bring a certain amount of anxiety. Between now and the break, as far as school goes, I have to finish up this bimester, make the bimester exams and then grade them. I am also hoping to find another vehicle to drive back afterwards. The van I have been driving has reached that age when everything starts falling apart. Just in the last month, I've had to replace or repair the radiator, alternator, brake pads, brake rotors, a window, two doors... well you get the picture. They've just changed the laws so that any type of car that is at least 10 years old can be legalized. So the plan is to legalize the van before I leave, which requires a trip to the Belize border. I'm then hoping to buy a small pickup that will cost less to maintain and can possibly be sold down here later. On top of all that, my trip is also leaving only one week to be with Lauren, as she comes to Mérida to be with her family for Christmas.

As always, I appreciate your prayers. I think I would just point out things you might have observed already:

• Keep praying for the kids at school, both Christians and non
• Pray specifically for opportunities like soccer on Saturdays, that God might use those to reach more of the kids
• Pray for the Young Adults ministry, that God would give us direction and leadership and use us to reach others
• Pray specifically for the young adults already “active” in Shalom, that they would become active in ministry
• Pray that my Christmas trip, that all would come into place and that I would “be anxious about nothing” but trust God with plans, travels, purchases, driving...everything

I praise God for the three-and-a-half years that I have been here and for always providing for me in every way!

In Christ,
Byron

P.S. Please check this “blog” for other updates as well as our ministry's website at http://www.pefmerida.org

Welcome

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my first attempt at a "blog". For those who do not know, "blog" is short for web log (I think). Blogs are used by many people for all different kinds of reasons, but the overall feeling I get from them are that they are the modern quick and cheap way to publish thoughts, ideas, and commentaries to the world. You'll find blogs on horses, teaching, computer program development, books, theology, and many more that are more or less a published diary of ordinary people.

So, what's this blog about? Well, I thought it would be a good way to keep people updated about my ministry. I hope to post my update letters here, though they will still go out in the mail, as well as tidbits about the ministry, people here, prayer requests, etc. Basically anything to help share more of what my minstry (and life) is and and create a better connection between those who pray for me and support me and this "other world" down here. Any comments, suggestions, but mainly questions are welcome!

Oh, and by the way, Happy Thanksgiving!