We're Home

I'm sorry I did not update this yesterday but I was a little distracted and exhausted. We made it home safe and sound as did our luggage.

Thank you all the family and friends that came out to greet us at our arrival. It was nice to see familiar faces when we were walking into to the terminal.

More later. I have to dig out from all the emails and other stuff I have to address today.

Chuck

Arrival

A quick reminder. The entire group is flying home on the same flight so that will be good but since we are flying from Mexico City we will have to go through US customs and immigration in Orlando so it will add time to arrival once the plane lands. I would give at least 30 extra minutes.

Chuck

Last Post from Oaxaca

What a great day but a tough day too. It has been very hard to say goodbye to the folks here. One of Saul's goals was for us to build relationships here and we did in such a short time so it is difficult to sever those ties. It was a great day in that we ran though 30 more panels today and all but 5 small walls are up. We would have finished if we had enough panels. It was so neat to see both groups jump on the task and most of the construction of the panels were done in a hour, two at the most. We were late getting to site because we had to wait until 11 when the panels were to be delivered to the site. When we got to the site of course the panels were not there so we sat around and played a bit. Then we decided it would be a better use of time if we ate lunch while we waited for supplies. You know what happened, just after everyone started eating the truck came up the road with the panels.

We completed putting up the walls by 5 so there was time to play while we waited for the Felix the bus driver to return from running some folks to the house to start working on dinner. An impromptu soccer game was set up with the Mexicans against the Americans and we were spotted 4 points. We needed them. The Americans pretty much held their own defensively but could not score. There is a very short clip of the game if you want to watch.

We had a special dinner of some local fare. I have no idea of the name but it was good and lots of it. Yesterday we had grilled chicken and just barely had enough for everyone to have one piece after a hard day's work. There was no shortage of food tonight.

Dinner was followed by a the beginnings of saying goodbye. Photos and exchanges of email addresses etc. Then Saul gave us a condensed version of his sermon for tomorrow (today) in English so he sent the Mexicans home to do whatever they needed to do with the promise they could come back after the teaching time. At the end of the teaching time Saul brought back the Mexicans and we had a group closure time. He asked both groups what they had learned this pass week and what the trip meant to them. The tissues were being passed all around as there weren't many dry eyes in the lot. Saul and Pilar did the translations so both sides would understand. This was followed by prayer requests for the groups to be praying for the other and then some prayer time.

After that there were more photos and also an extended time for singing and worship. Followed by more tears and goodbyes. The main group has to be up by at least 4:30 to be on the bus by 5:00 so it was tough to round everyone up. As you can tell it is now 2:15 here. I won't get much sleep tonight.

I hope you have enjoyed the entries and we could give you a glimpse into our trip and the stuff we did and the things God has done on this trip. It is very difficult to try and condense into a few paragraphs the activities of each day. You might want to use the entries to prompt your friend or family member for further discussions and stories.

I will try and put more pictures or additional information up later. There will most likely be photos at different locations that will be able to be viewed and I will publish the ones I am told about.

I want to thank all of you who have prayed for us. Your prayers have kept us safe, healthier and God's work was done and will continue to be done as a result of this trip. Thank you again and please continue to pray for safety and flight connections.

Chuck

More walls!

Better health and more hands = more walls! We finished off the panels they had planned for us to this week so they are having to getting more. We plan to knock out several more tomorrow on our last day at the site.

Everyone was split up into several teams to construct the walls from the panels and one or two more to put them in place. The walls was the main focus of the work today with some other folks bending heavy wire into rectangles to used to build beams that connect to the columns to serve as the top of the walls.

Dinner was shared again and the Mexican students were able to stay longer than usual since there is no school tomorrow. I am not sure how many more students we will have with us tomorrow since there is no school but the plan is to finish as many walls as we can.

Tomorrow we will have to say our goodbyes because most of the team has a 6:30 flight from Oaxaxa so it will be a very early morning. It will be tough for both groups as some good bonds have been formed.

Walls are up!

Buenos Días,

There are some walls up now. Well, part of the walls. For this building we are using a preformed wire mesh frame with foam sandwiched between. This is anchored in using rebar set in the cement foundation or columns. For those that were not working to build the walls there was rebar work. This meant either cutting, straightening, or bending rebar or heavy wire. Once a wall in in place a rebar beam needs to be added across the top tying into the columns. This beam will be made of four long thicker pieces running parallel with rectangle pieces set equidistant perpendicular along the lenght of the long rebar. The long pieces are tied into each corner of the rectangular pieces forming a long rectangular column. This is attached to the columns and then a wood form is built around the beam and it is filled with concrete.

The panels are attached by using a long strip of wires welded together to form a zig zag strip that is woven into the two panels to hold them together. Rebar pieces are also attached to provide additional strength. Your family and friends will be able to better explain the process than I can writing it out. Once the walls are in place they will be covered with a stucco type cement on both sides creating the final wall. You should see much more progress tomorrow as a good chunk of today was spent perfecting the process. We won't get to the stuccoing while we are here.

The Americans and the Mexicans are getting along great. With the help of some translations, a few years of Spanish or English and hand signals communication is happening and relationships are being built. Most of the communication is happening through laughing. Take note of Stephen's height on his knees in the picture and Betty's height (on Stephen's right). Also the bunny ears on John Tassos.

The evening was spent with the students playing Uno or matching rhythms and patterns involving cups (another thing that is better explained in person than writing). We closed out our time with them singing some worship songs in English and Spanish. We then had our small groups and called it an early night so people can rest. We have been having some stomach ailments but nothing long lasting and mostly just being some what upset. There have not been any cases of prolonged vomiting or diarrea. I think much of it is just eating different foods with different spices and seasonings. However, please continue to keep us in your prayers. We are running down the home stretch here.

Thank you,

Chuck

Wednesday - Culture Day

Good Morning. I am sorry I did not get the post done last night but I was too tired to stay up later to put it together.

Yesterday was culture day. We started the day with a later breakfast and followed that with some worship time with the Mexican students who were not in school yet and then another lesson from Saul. During the worship time we were taught a new song in Spanish. See the clip.

From the lesson we then went to some near by ruins. The have determined that there were three temples built on top of each other on the site. The view was beautiful. Oaxaca is situated where three valleys come together so there are ranges surrounding Oaxaca with a few such as the one we were on in the the middle. We learned a great deal about how advanced the people were and how religious they were in that they did everything for their gods. It makes me wonder what it would have been like if the one true God were the God they worshipped instead of these man made gods. I also wonder if like the Tower of Babel God dispersed the people to so man would not think that they are as great as God.

With those thoughts in our mind we moved to the current day Mexico by going to a market. We were able to walk through stalls looking at the wares and able to purchase our gifts and souvenirs while observing how the locals lived their daily lives. We are able to rub elbows with them as we walked the streets and wonder through the plaza (town square, something the States should adopt). It is amazing how you can sense the need for the Light of the Lord in this area. They are so caught up in a combination of Catholic myth and ancient mysticism that is almost oppressive.

During the walk from one market to another, closer to where we were going to have dinner, we stopped by a chocolate factory. Here they grind the nuts and add the sugar to make and sell chocolate. It is or Saul is hoping to have it associated with Armonia in some means to be a revenue generating concern for the ministry. They are hoping to set up a similar capability in one of the Mexico City community centers to generate income for them.

After our tours and shopping we finished the day with an wonderful evening of sampling the local delicacies with a delightful dinner.

too late for a post today

Sorry folks. It has been a very busy day today and too much to cram in a quick note. So more tomorrow. Thansk for all the prayers I know we have had such a good trip so far because of your faithfulness.

Chuck

The concept is great in theory but poor in practice. It is difficult to get others to break away from what they are doing to write up a summary of the day. So you have to put up with my point of view again.

The day started out with great expectation. After the great day of work we had yesterday we were look forward to a very productive day today. So we started with another great teaching time lead by Saul after breakfast. Saul is walking us through Matthew and the ministry of Jesus. We discussed the Sermon on the Mount and specificially the Beattitudes today. When we finished with that we loaded up on the bus for the 15 minute trip to the construction site. However, we made a stop at a Bodega (grocery story, more like a Walmart) for some items and fruit for lunch. This turned in to an extended stay as Felix the great bus driver had to spend time under the bus trying to repair a break line. he attempted the repair and we continued on for one or two miles before we had to stop again for him to release the air pressure on the brakes and release the brake. He was more upset over holding us up than the failure of bus. We continued to reasure him that we were ok and we were not upset. After a couple more stops we made to within walking distance from the site where the bus could go no more. So sat for awhile while the driver and some of the Armonia folks discussed what to do. It was decided we would walk to the site and get the truck and go get the necessary part and come back to fix the bus while we worked at the sight. So we walked roughly a mile to the site and enjoyed the walk. Everyone, the Americans and the Mexicans were not worried or anxious at any point and were happy to walk. There was not one complaint about the change in plans.

While at the site, the main goal was to finish the remaining 6 columns to support the walls and the second floor. Unfortunately, this could only utilize a few folks while the forms were being set and plumbed. So the others went about straighting up the site and smoothing piles of sand and stones. But once it was annouced that the bucket burgaide was needed everyone came running to help out. The concrete was mixed by hand, actually shovel, not by machine. Then it is shovelled into 5 gallon buckets and passed up the line to the scaffolding and passed up to be poured into the form. It would take 12 - 13 half filled buckets to fill each column and there were 6 done today.

After lunch most of the work not involving the columns was done or they were tired of doing the work so students were able to interact more. We brought along a soccer ball today so he kids had fun kicking it around but mostly had fun interacting with each other.

By 5 o'clock we had finished the 6 columns even after getting a late start. We ran out of work with an hour yet to go. So we got to load up in the repaired bus and head home early. The evening was the usual, showers and hanging out until dinner and then more of the same until small group time.

Tomorrow is an off day for us. We get to see more of the area. Some old paramids, market, chocolate factory and dinner. There should be more stories tomorrow.
Thanks for the notes and commments. We know you have been praying for us. Please keep it up.

Chuck

Video from last night

Here is a video Stephen recorded last night at Dinner. We tired to upload it yesterday but was unable to. Please enjoy and see many of the students involved in the ministry here in Oaxaca.

Chuck

Video Greetings from Dinner

Here is a group picture after our day of work. We supposedly made a new record today of pouring 5 columns today, our goal is the final 6 tomorrow.

The day begain with breakfast and great discussion of what is the Mexican's view of the Kingdom of God. When we were observing the churches of Oaxaca yesterday we were to look at the churches with trying to answer the question of what is the churches view of the Kingdom of God. He gave us a great history lesson of the Chatholic Church in Mexico and the elevation of Mary to be a co-savior with Christ. This was to illistrate the difficulty in reaching the Mexican's for Christ.

After that we went to the construction sight and started working. We have a great team of hard workers with great attitue

Chuck

Missing Home

Good Morning. We are starting to rouse here in Oaxaca and preparing for our first day of work. We would love to hear from friends and family. So if there is anything you would like relayed to a person or the team please post a moment to the blog.

Thanks,
Chuck

Hola!

This morning, our team woke up fairly early and had a breakfast of scrambled eggs and pancakes, which was prepared by the Armonia students. After breakfast, we met for a brief devotional which was led by Saul. Subsequently, we all hopped onto the bus and headed to a Spanish church. Needless to say, none of us really understood what was going on in the service so Chris, an Armonia volunteer from the UK, translated for our team. It was the last day of the church's VBS, so we were all treated to a performance by the children of the church, followed by a sermon from one of the elders.

After church, we dropped the Armonia students off at the house and headed to a buffet. The food was delicious and the scenery was breathtaking. The restaurant was set on the side of a mountain with a clear view of the surrounding landscape. Behind the restaurant, there was a small park with various interesting features, including a playground, Catholic shrine, a garden, an old airplane that was converted into a children's movie theatre, and paddle boats.

Following lunch, we returned to the Armonia house to pick up the students and headed sightseeing. We visited the Catholic cathedral, Santo Domingo, but there was Mass in session, so we walked to the market to check out the local shops. We then visited another Catholic cathedral. Outside, there was a festival with balloons, live music, and a clown. There were many Mexicans we were able to interact with.

Finally, we drove back to the Armonia house and had a light dinner because we were still pretty full from lunch. We talked about the going-on’s of Monday and the work we would be doing. Now it’s time for bed. ¡Adios amigos!

St. Paul’s Armonia Team

Saturday Night

The flight from Orlando to Mexico City was uneventful, praise God! The transition to our plane to Oaxaca was confusing at best but we found our way to the next gate. We had to go through immigration and then through Customs. This was simplified by the fact that we did not have to get our bags and recheck them. I was not looking forward to that with all the additional duffel bags. But again God provided by having our bags checked through all the way to Oaxaca. The only sort of challenge we had was while going through security again to board the domestic flight to Oaxaca Kathleen had forgot to remove a pocket knife from her carry-on bag. How it got through the US security I don’t know. But the Mexican security did not miss it. This caused Kathleen to be pulled out and have her bag searched. It shook her up but they just took the knife and she was on her way.

Just like in Orlando, the small planes are grouped in to one separate seating area with one gate handling many different flights at the same time. While we were waiting for our flight they would announce the flights in Spanish and then this lovely American woman’s voice came on and made the announcement in English. However no one gave her information on the way to pronounce the cities. So this poor woman butchered the city names without knowing it. She pronounced Oaxaca (wa-HA-ka) with the American phonemes as (OX-a-ca). It just made us laugh and think what the locals thought of this English announcement. I wondered what it made them think of Americans.

I have been working on the Bible study we are going to work through during the trip. It is about preparing yourself for a missions trip and it goes into American attitudes and behaviors which have helped with the feelings other countries have for Americans. So I hope it will be useful for the folks on the trip to consider this in relations with the Mexicans.

It was raining in Mexico City when we landed and when we took off. We took off in a small jet which made the ride a bit bumpy as we were flying around and through the clouds. So it was like a roller-coaster ride. But by the time we got our bags and met up with Saul it was a beautiful evening. We are at an elevation similar to Denver so the evening was cool.

We took a bus to the house we are staying. It was late around 10:00 local time so there was not much to see on the streets except the typical little shops and homes; some ok others shanties. The house is a fairly large house. Actually it is two right next to each other. There are students and ministry staff in one and the visitors in the other. They call the one the students and ministry staff is in the Study House. They are connected through an opening in the wall carved out via sledge hammer.

The picture is of the main meeting area and dining area. It is of the team and the Mexican students and staff. We got room assignments and instructions for Sunday morning and then were feed some pizza, cold and with a sweet dough but well received after a day of traveling. The house has one thing that I have not seen in Mexico before…hot water. They put in a hot water heater for the teams. So we get to take hot showers!

I need to close up and get the youngins to quiet down so the old farts can get some sleep.

If you have questions please add a comment to the posts and I will see if we can answer them.

Here Safe and Sound

We are here safely. I don't have much time right now to fill in the details as we are getting set up here. I will have more and pictures later.

Chuck

We're off!

We have made it past the first hurdle. We are at the gate. Check in and security were not a problem. No one from the group had to be screened. John Tassos brought 15 duffel bags of bedding and other supplies that have been collected for Armonia from other churches and organizations. He pulled up to the airport with Tom's pickup piled high with the bags. Even with all that we are able to get through check-in without a hitch. It just took a long time.

The group was split up between two flights. The first group, the Seligsons and Whiteds, traveled this morning. There were to fly from Orlando to Cancun, Cancun to Mexico City and Mexico City to Oaxaca. However they missed the flight to Mexico City. So instead of getting to Oaxaca at 3 this afternoon, they are spending the day in Cancun. One advantage, we will all arrive at Oaxaca within 30 minutes of each other. If all the flights are on time.

As we sit here, resting the kids are off exploring the airport. The terminal has an Outback in it so they were talking about having a blooming onion to start off the trip.

Keep us in your prayers. More when we reach Oaxaca.

Chuck

Countdown: Nine Days

Welcome. We are coming down to the last days before the trip. Continue to pray for the trip as we rush down to the departure date. Stephen Rang has talked with Jamie Geer who just came back from Oaxaca. She had lots to share about the trip and has suggestions for things we can take down with us. I will have him post what he has learned.

Watch for more updates soon.