This is the first in a series of evangelism training classes to be held at Cristo, la Esperanza in Mérida, Yucatan
Mondays are usually a low-key day for the Godzwa family. The day after ministry is usually reserved for catching up on household items or replying to correspondence. I had a post planned about the evangelism seminars that we have been leading. But a telephone call from Paul, our mentor missionary here in Mérida, broke the routine. “Dave,” he said, “the situation in Tabasco has gotten out of hand…” The situation he was talking about was the flood that Mexican President Felipe Calderon now calls Mexico’s worst recent natural disaster.
If you have not had the opportunity to see the images of the Mexican state of Tabasco that CNN has been broadcasting, please understand that the inhabitants of this area, which is located about 300 miles from our current location in Mérida, are dealing with a true disaster. Due to unseasonable heavy and continual rain, several rivers have flooded their banks inundating businesses, homes, schools, and churches. News reports put up to 80% of this low-lying state currently underwater. Calls to church leaders in this district have returned reports of lower lying areas completely underwater, of many homes and churches with more than five feet of water in them, and of flooding so high that even people who live on the second floor of a building have found shelter elsewhere because there is no access to their homes.
So to one side moved the household chores and unanswered went the correspondence for one more day so that I could hit the phones to see what I could do to lend a hand to the relief effort being planned here in the Yucatan.
The situation in Tabasco is being described as the Katrina of Mexico. The center-city of Villahermosa is a complete disaster and as a result, those who have been forced to stay behind have nothing. The residents of Tabasco need drinkable water, powdered milk, towels, diapers, canned food, and lots of other basic items. The people of Yucatan are changing their plans to pitch in. Instead of buying food for their family, they’re buying supplies to donate as schools churches and government buildings have opened their doors to accept donations.
Specifically, the church leaders of Tabasco have asked for medical personal with medicines and vitamins to come and offer care. This is extremely important as the floodwaters begin to recede and diseases resulting from contaminated drinking water and inadequate services begin to appear. To respond to this request, God is calling on still others to change their plans. A relief corps of Christian doctors and nurses from Mérida are organizing now to travel in order to provide first-hand relief and the peace of God to those caught in the middle of this crisis. All of these health professionals are sacrificing family-time and their personal goals as they prioritize the needs of their countrymen.
I’m happy to report that my change of plans brought about some tangible results, but a need this great calls out for so much more to be done.
How about you? Do you feel God leading you to be a part of the relief effort?
Comment or email us and we’d be glad to help you with your change of plans.
Photos courtesy of: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kubricka/
Tags: CNN, disaster, Felipe Calderon, flood, relief, Tabasco
I understand that those who frequent disciplemexico.org are not necessarily interested in baseball, much less in the outcome of the American League Divisional Series. For that reason, I’ve tried to steer clear of baseball subjects throughout the life of this site. Nevertheless, there are several out there who know that I am an avid Yankee fan, and as you can imagine the events that have happened in the course of the past week have left me feeling a bit numb.
Yes, the Yankees lost again. This time manhandled by the Cleveland Indians, a club who just last year wasn’t even sniffing the post season. This of course has had me spending some time looking for ways to deal with another October sans Yankees. You can imagine my surprise when an email from my mother-in-law helped me to put things into perspective.
An avid student of Jewish culture, she came upon a video blog from aish.com titled Isn’t losing wonderful?. In it Rabbi Yaakov Salomon comments on the loss of our beloved Yankees (and the Mets for good measure), suggesting that while “victory teaches you nothing”, “losing can teaching you everything.” He goes on exposit Proverbs 24:16:
for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity
He states that Jewish interpreters of this proverb suggest that it is not in spite of the fact that the righteous man falls seven times but it is because of the fact that he falls, and the lessons that he learns in the failures, that he rises again.
I think many of us are examples of this interpretation. I know that I, for one, rarely reflect on my victories, but the pain of failure that the sense of loss that follows drive me to determine the source of my defeat and resolve to come back stronger the next time.
So encouragement can be found in the lesson of losing. Of course, now that the Yankees have fallen seven times, I fully expect victory in 2008!
Tags: Baseball, Championship Series, Divisional Series, Loss, World Series, Yankees
The fourth and final in a series of evangelism training classes to be held at Verbo de Dios in Mérida, Yucatán
The third in a series of evangelism training classes to be held at Verbo de Dios in Mérida, Yucatán
National Meeting of Pastors and Leaders of the Assemblies of God to be held in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
The second in a series of evangelism training classes to be held at Verbo de Dios in Mérida, Yucatán
September marked for us the end of one year of ministry here in the Yucatán, and to celebrate, we brought back a best of disciplemexico.org so that you could revisit some of the highlights of our journey thus far:
1. Day of the Dead–Written as a response to a request of an friend, this post is by far our most popular post of the past year, and, with the celebration of this event less than a month away the hits are building again. This piece reveals the difficulty that we have as we try to understand the culture of the Yucatán and their ancient traditions.
2. Oh the Humanity!–is a piece I wrote about how God uses our humanness, something very evident to me as I suffered through a prolonged sinus infection, to reveal his perfect power.
3. Like riding a bicycle–is a family update/reflection on what it is that we do as missionaries. By the way, mastery of the bicycle is something that our kids are still working on. Come to think of it, we’ve still got a lot to learn about missions as well.
4. Topes–Life has a way of springing surprises on you, much like speed bumps that seem to appear when you least expect them on roads here in Mexico, but, as this post suggests, the jolts bring with them valuable learning experiences.
5. Coincidence or Confirmation?–This post about our providential guidance on the way to Mérida generated some lively if not completely related discussion.
As I look through these posts, one thing becomes increasingly clear. The job that we have been called to is not an easy one, but the God that has called us continues to guide and form us so that we can accomplish His work.
Due to rain, this is the first in a series of evangelism training classes to be held at Verbo de Dios in Mérida, Yucatan
“He who has ears to hear” Youth conference on seeking after God to be held at Golgotha Christian Center in Mérida, Yucatan
