Oh, Magnify the Lord with Me

Last week the Lord gave us an opportunity to meet up with a girl we met our first week in Oaxaca. Her name is Caralina. She and her friends interviewed us for an English project and the Lord has placed them on my heart since that time. Well, we visited her church two Sundays ago and the Lord sovereignly worked it out so that she attended service in the morning when we were there rather than go to her usual evening service. We were able to make plans to meet up last Monday and the Lord surprised us with a whole day of fun with her and her parents. We met for coffee and watched part of the Independence Day parade.

Then, they took us to the tree of Tule which is over 2,000 years old and is the largest tree I've ever seen in my life. It was incredible!

The Lord used this family of believers to show me what it means to live generously, love fully, and imitate Christ. They have reminded me of Ephesians 5:1-2: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." They could not have been more kind to us - from sharing personal stories about how the Lord has worked in their lives, to giving us their time, to buying our lunch/tickets, to being eager to help us learn the language. It was truly humbling to be shown so much love. What is so special is that this has been a common theme among the Mexicans I've met here in Oaxaca. They have been so gracious, so generous, and so loving. Oh how much I have to learn from their example of imitating Christ and walking in love! 

It was a truly special day with a special family!

Tuesday is our weekly day to visit Casa Hogar which is a children's home. Many of the children are from indigenous families that cannot properly provide for them. Since many of them do have families they live at the children's home throughout the school year where they get physical needs met as well as an education. Those that have families go home for vacations and holidays. The home receives government funding but is run by believers and the campus has it's own church. We are blessed to love on these children each week, help serve lunch, assist in kitchen clean up, and share Bible stories with them.

On Wednesay morning, Jenny took us out to her friends house where we learned more about spinning and dying wool for tapetas (tapestries). This family was so kind to open up their home to us and teach us in this intensive process. First, they buy the wool. Then they spend a couple of days carding the wool as seen in the picture below. This is a long process that involves two paddles to disentangle and clean the wool.

Then the wool is spun on a loom. This process is amazing because the wool quickly goes from fluff to string instantly. It requires skill so that the entire strand is the same thickness.

After the wool is spun, they wash it and then begin the dying process. They collect small branches for several days in order to have enough wood to keep the pots boiling for several hours. They use different organic objects such as nuts and flowers to die the wool different colors. It takes several hours of constant boiling and stirring in order for the color to set in.

After the wool has dried, it is ready for use. This entire process of getting the wool ready to use takes approximately 2 weeks (from sheep to loom). And then depending on the size of the tapeta, it can take another week to 2 weeks to weave it. This was a truly remarkable process to learn about and has given me a whole new appreciation for the art of weaving. I asked what they do when they mess up during the process of weaving on the loom and was informed that you don't mess up because there is no way to fix a mistake. The designs are so intricate and so perfect. It is no wonder that their faces light up when you take notice of the tapestries they've completed!

Last Thursday was the first day that Hannah and I served in the clinic in one of the villages. We were blessed to be able to attend a youth event held at the clinic last Wednesday where we were invited by the municipal leaders to eat dinner with them at their table. This was a huge deal and the Lord showed us so much favor during this evening! We were able to meet and talk with all of the important community leaders including the president, sheriff, and health administrator. It was so neat because when the doctor of the clinic introduced us to them, she told them that we are Christians. It was so neat to see the Lord opening up this door for us and showing us favor with these men. In many of the villages, protocol and formality is extremely important so getting approval and favor from the community leaders is huge. In addition to a great time at the youth event, the Lord gave me the opportunity to share the Gospel in Spanish with our taxi driver. It was a truly humbling experience and a great reminder that the Lord doesn't need us to save. He doesn't need us to say X amount of words, or speak eloquently, or even share in our heart language. We are purely called to speak the Truth and the Holy Spirit is the One who does the work. And praise the Lord for that! It is truly incredible to see how powerful the Lord is and how He chooses to use us for His kingdom purposes. I am amazed because it was nothing in me except for the Spirit that could have shared with this man in Spanish. It was a divine appointment that served as a humbling experience as well as motivation and encouragement for me to speak openly even if not eloquently about my faith. "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." 2 Corinthians 3:4-6

The clinic time on Thursday went well and we were able to use our observation skills in addition to our limited Spanish to learn what we needed to do in order to assist the nurse. We took a lot of vital signs, administered some shots, and changed some dressings. I was surprised at how busy we were and how fast the time went by. The nurse informed us that she would not be at the clinic this week so Hannah and I will be on our own to handle all of the nursing tasks as we work with the doctor. Needless to say, we are a little nervous considering the language barrier. But, I know that the Lord has sovereignly placed us in this situation and He will equip us with what we need to do what He has called us to do. Please be praying that we would rely on Him, make few mistakes, be able to communicate with our patients clearly, and that we would show them Christ's love as well as share Truth. 

After working in the clinic, I met up with my CTT team - Moises and Rosa. We went out into the village from house to house in order to share health lessons and Bible stories. Due to the rain we didn't get many takers but several families asked us to come back at a later time. We were able to spend an hour or so talking with one lady and her elderly mother. It was beautiful to see the Lord at work! We were able to discuss some health concerns with them, pray for them, and share stories from the Word with them as well! It was so encouraging to see the Lord working in the lives of these 2 nationals, giving them a heart for missions and boldness to proclaim the name of our Savior to these people. Continue to pray for our team as we continue to go out into this particular village. Pray that we will form strong friendships with each other as well as build relationships with families in this village. Pray that the Lord would show us favor among families and individuals, that He would be preparing their hearts, and that He would save many.

Saturday night was Fiesta night! We celebrated Jeff and Natasha's birthdays with hamburgers!

This is a picture of Natasha and me! We are so blessed to have Natasha here during this season. She was in the Hands On program throughout the Spring semester and has stayed to help over the Summer as well as the first half of the fall. We LOVE her and are so grateful for how she has helped us learn Oaxaca and transition to life in a new culture!

 Here are just a couple glimpses of my view on my morning runs! How blessed I am and how beautiful is God's creation!

"I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!" Psalm 34:1-3