More from Mexico CIty

Greetings from Mexico City! My apologies that we haven’t been able to update you sooner, our schedules have been jam packed with various adventures. Adventures which included a trip to the pyramids, a corn festival, a coffee house, a southern gospel version of “This Little Light of Mine,” stained glass window depicting Spanish Conquistadores wearing Nike and Converse tennis shoes and the list goes on!
The last brigade was held yesterday which was probably a good thing as we ran out of vitamins to distribute to those who came. I believe the last update was written right after the first brigade. I’ll attempt to fill you in starting from that point. Our second brigade was held at a new location, the base of a rock quarry in an area called “Aldea.” Aldea is a very poor area and is apparently notoriously difficult to evangelize (as we were told by our hosts). Worship death and the dead is also prevalent in this area. Overall the day went well, we saw somewhere around 70 patients and had the opportunity to encourage and be encouraged by our host church.
Wednesday was set aside as a “play day.” We visited the ancient Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacan. It was an amazing experience to be able to have team devotions atop the Pyramid of the Sun. As we walked through the ruins of the great Aztec City we were reminded of Isaiah 40. Verse 8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.”
Thursday and Friday were spent doing more brigades but this time at Ezekiel and Eva’s church (our housing hosts) here in Chalco. All went well with the clinics and many people were served. Our patients ranged from newborns to the elderly presenting with a wide range of problems from heartburn to the more complex problems including diabetes and glaucoma.
This morning at church three of us were able to share testimonies. Zanna spoke about dreams that God lays on our hearts, Alex spoke about God’s purpose in our lives and I spoke about the vulnerability and about how God wants us to know Him and to be known to Him. I don’t think any of us knew what the other was going to talk about but as it turns out they all fit together perfectly, especially with the message that Carlos (our host) had prepared for the service. Carlos spoke about God’s call for all of us to share our hope with others whether in our own neighborhood or other countries. Some are called to be missionaries near and some are called to faraway lands. The church here is just beginning to send out missionaries to other people groups. They have access and unique connections that could make them effective in this work beyond what many Americans have. It was amazing to be able to encourage them in that. After the message we able to pray for all the young people and encourage them to live out God’s purpose in their lives. What an amazing day!
Tomorrow we begin our work with the Red Cross. The students are excited but a bit nervous. It’s the start of the second leg of our journey full of potential for exciting new adventures. We will keep you updated as time and internet access allows.

Mexico City Update

We’re here! We arrived in Mexico City on Sunday morning after a rather uneventful flight. Customs was an adventure as Janell and Sarah were both stopped and our mountains of medical supplies were searched through. In the end all we lost was a few boxes of syringes but hundrends more made it though!
After the customs fiasco, our wonderful hosts Carlos and Carrie,were waiting for us on the other side and we were able to have first meal in Mexico at lovely little café on the way to the church. We are staying with Carlos’ aunt and uncle, Eva and Ezekiel. They pastor a small church in the outlying area of Chalco. What wonderful gracious hosts they are!
Yesterday we began work at or first brigade. Between Mr. Peck and Dr. Luna we got through about 60 patients, most of them children. Janell did a lot of the translating for her dad while working at his clinic station. Julie and Sarah did a lot of vital signs and triage and also worked with Dr. Luna. Alex and Zanna were “flexico in Mexico” and helped out with an unmet need by cutting hair for school children as the school year here in Mexico begins next week.
After the clinic experience we headed to a pharmacy to pick up some medications that wished we would have had at the clinic during the day. While at the pharmacy, 5 more children showed up needing medical certificates for school. (apparently they do this at the pharmacy?) The pharmacist, a friend of Carlos and Carrie’s, “invited” us to help him out with the assessments. So… There we were assessing school children on the side of the street outside the pharmacy window, why not!
While assessing the children at the pharmacy, Carlos got a call from his uncle who hosts a Christian radio show. He was inviting us to be on his show! I wasn’t quite sure how the girls would feel about this but I thought it would be a great opportunity so I said yes; after all, Mexico is flexico. What a hoot, we were on the Mexican equivalent of Focus on the Family being interviewed about missions!
Thank you to all of you who are praying for us at home. God’s hand of protection as truly been upon us and we are so blessed to be a small part of what He is doing here in Mexico.