Mission Mexico

May & June 2009

The Heart. There is much emphasis put on “The Heart”.   Heart is mentioned many many times in the bible. We sing “heart, heart, give my heart to Jesus” on the inner city bus. Without a heart no living creature can continue to live. We love our hearts and use the example of hearts in many of our conversations. There are words like Heartache, Heartthrob, Heartfelt and a much-feared word Heart Attack! I just recently focused on and felt the phrase “My Heart Fell”.   I have heard this phrase many times but never really focused on the meaning. Recently I was unpacking some of the many boxes I brought down here and found some of my mama’s sheets tucked away. I picked them up and as all women do with linens began to sniff them. I could smell my mama’s house and her presences on these linens! I could remember when she was alive and sleeping on these sheets in her house, I felt my heart fall. I found a picture of my granddaughter Jessica at age 3, with the refrigerator door open at my house in Hixson drinking milk from the jug. My Heart Fell! Fond Memories of the past made my heart fall! 

The other day I was in the copy tienda getting some bible materials copied. The patron was watching a novela (soap opera) on the TV. People in the tienda were gathered around watching also. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get waited on they were so involved in the program, so I started watching too.

In the novela several people were standing on the street looking at a concrete wall. Someone had spotted an image of the virgin Mary (Guadalupe) in the concrete. They were making signs of the cross, kissing the wall, crying, kneeling and chipping pieces from the wall to put in their homes! Some of the people in the copy tienda were crying also. My Heart Fell! Disappointment made My Heart Fall! I could actually feel the heaviness in my heart. I almost started crying too but for a different reason! I felt so bad for them. They have been taught in error. They had not been taught “Jesus”. The only Jesus they know is still hanging on the cross in the Catholic church building! The cross is where He stops! Sad Sad.

There is so much frustration in our ministry.   The years of being taught in error are stumbling blocks to the open mind ness of these people. Care has to be taken not to offend, with the Good News and lots of patience has to be had. My storeroom of patience runs low most of the time. I wanted to tell the people to turn the TV off, sit down and let me tell you the real story of Jesus!

Nevertheless I did not. With my heart still sagging, I just took my copies and left! 

Now when I go to the copy tienda for copies of our bible material, I give everyone in the tienda a copy before I leave; especially the patron of the tienda. He normally reads what we bring in for coping anyway but now he will have his own copy to keep and hopefully study! He was weeping over the virgin Mary on the concrete wall also! Please keep praying for me that I don’t get overwhelmed by my new discoveries of false doctrine and unscriptural traditions of this country and ask God to give me an extra helping of patience.     Because He Lives!

 Judy Hernandez

2.

May & June 2009

Mission Mexico

Mothers Day

These months were very busy for us. We had a mother’s day fiesta for the mothers of my senorita’s class. The girls helped prepare the food. This was a good fellowship opportunity for the girls to work together. Eduardo prepared and decorated our yard and we had a garden party.

Most of the mothers came late. Some of the girls came early and I sent them back home to walk with their moms to our house. It was a typical “everyone sit around the table looking real solemn” and looking at me like “why are you doing this for us”. The girls served their moms and I hopped from table to table to have conversation, which was like pulling teeth, with these Indian ladies. 

They enjoyed the food and we played the game “Chinese gift exchange”. Thanks to all the stuff out of the benevolent room at Red Bank, I had plenty of gifts. The girls reported later that their moms had a good time. Several moms have been by our house and exchanged conversation with me since. I believe we made headway in building relationships. As always there are things I wish I had added to our fiesta, but there is always next year Lord willing. Eduardo delivered a nice Mothers Day message to the mothers as well as a message to the daughters from the bible. All was accepted with gratitude to God.

Classes

 Our children classes continue. The classes are held at our house. I pick the little kids and the elementary kids up in the van. They love our van! This makes for a good presence in the community with the kids singing and hollering out the window. I have three different classes totaling about 24 kids and Eduardo has two totaling about 12 – 14 youth boys. They keep us busy and they are learning a lot about the bible. They play sports together one day a week and have a devo before the games begin. If they want to play, they have to be present for the devo! They have a question and answer session afterwards and receive a candy for correct answers.

 3.

May and June 09

Mission Mexico

Opportunities

Many opportunities come our way sometimes in the form of sadness and in the form rejoicing.

One of our elderly men died in the community in May. Eduardo had the opportunity to speak at his funeral in his house. I baked a cake for the family. Eduardo also delivered a message at the graveside and my senorita’s class sang songs. The family has been close to us ever since.

One of our families had a house fire. Fortunately the house was only damaged with smoke. The corral and all the animals burned up along with their laundry machine. They lost everything behind the house. Even their dog died of smoke inhalation not being able to leave the yard.

The family was distraught about losing their animals, as they were their food source. Two of their grandchildren attend our bible classes. We helped where we could. I gave them two of my parakeets with a cage since theirs burned up.

We had another death in the community, a lady with heart problems. The family is Pentecostal, so Eduardo did not have the opportunity to give a message at that funeral, he tried. They did let him lead a prayer and accepted my cake. This family studied with us when we first came here and saw several of the Jule Miller lessons on tape. They are laying on hands Pentecostal, wailing and shouting in their services. They have a church service up the road from us. There is only one family in #10 that attends the services. The man is sick and he is trying to be healed by the laying on of hands. The other attendees are imported from another community. They have women preachers. They have asked Eduardo to come and preach and he has declined because they are so off the wall with their teachings he does not want to confuse the people we are working with. They are not interested in learning the truth. Some of the people in this community thought it was us making all the racket on the loud speakers. They asked Eduardo what were we doing down here on our road selling tomatoes over the loud speakers? We got that cleared up real fast.

When someone in this Pentecostal family has a problem, they come to Eduardo. We paid the school supply fee for their son to attend school this year. We gave their older sons jobs with helping finishing our house. Their minds are closed to the truth right now, but we will continue to show them Jesus and someday maybe their hearts will be pricked and they will want to study the bible with us. We continue to give them written material from the bible.

4.

May and June 09

Mission Mexico

Work Continues

We continue to worship on Sunday mornings in Delicias. I teach children and Eduardo rotates with the preaching. It helps strengthen us to be with other Christians and enjoy singing together. Sunday afternoons are open for bible study at our house. Most of the people want us to come to their house and we go. 

Eduardo has been studying with Sinon for a year and some months now. Sinon is a trusted leader in the community. He once worshipped with the mormon preacher lady and was her Prophet. She has since died. The congregation is no more and she passed her healing powers over to her 10-year-old granddaughter before she died. Another false belief! I don’t know where the granddaughter is now, but last we heard she was living in Delicias with her mother. There is no mormon church here now. Sinon used to think he was a prophet and had holy water to cleanse the people. He understands now he is not a prophet, the water is only water, the metals he wore around his neck were just metal and not magic. He has come a long way. He is well liked in the community. People respect his opinion and he is a good man. After Eduardo studies with someone, they usually go to Sinon and ask his opinion of Eduardo’s teachings. All is well with Eduardo and Sinon. In fact, Sinon still has his little group of people who meet at his house to study the bible. He is now using the bible and our printed material for his classes. He still has a fear of the bible with a black cover. We don’t know why. Thanks God we have lots of Spanish bibles with all colors of bible jackets in our supply. He and his wife went to church with us in Delicias Sunday morning this past week-- the first time! God is good all the time! We don’t expect that he will go every Sunday, as people here in #10 do not venture out to far from our El Ejido #10. We do know he concords with the worship service of the Iglesia de Cristo. Little by little he is coming around and will make a wonderful soldier for Christ when he is converted!

Fathers’ Day

The students of our class had a Fathers’ Day Fiesta at our house for their fathers. They made cards for the fathers. We explained to the students that this was a fiesta with no alcohol and dancing. We know some of their fathers are heavy drinkers. We heard lots of comments during the card making. Absent fathers, drunkard fathers and some fathers with respect.   A couple of my girls wanted to put a picture of a beer bottle on the front of their cards. Of course, not! I asked why they wanted to do this as this is a bible class and the event is bible based. They told me their daddies would relate to the beer bottle on the card more than they would to words of the bible. Sad, but true. Our turnout was not real good. We cooked out and had a good time. Some of the fathers who came were men who Eduardo has studied with in the past. We were happy, as they wanted to hear more words of God.

5.

May and June 09

Mission Mexico

Graduation Day

We attended elementary school graduation day. The people in the town gathered at the school. The ladies with their children inside the schoolyard and the men sitting on the back of their trucks outside the schoolyard drinking their beer! The middle school students performed military drills and the elementary kids danced and sang in a routine performance and received their diplomas. We were proud of them. Eduardo and I looked at all the kids; who were the whole elementary school and part of the middle school and knew that almost every child there attends one of or more of our weekly classes! Made us feel good that we have reached the majority of the kids.

Several parents greeted us, some just looked at us still wondering why we do what we do! Nevertheless, we are accepted in this town and continue to teach Jesus. 

We were very busy these two months. All of these activities took a toll on us, as it was only the two of us putting them together. We worked on trying to finish the outside of our house. As a result we were really exhausted! My daughter Kelle and my sister Peggy came down to visit the first week of July! We visited another town and took a little vacation away from the work. This rest period was well needed. We told the kids when we would resume the classes and the activities soon and they reminded us daily that the time was approaching to continue. So continue we did.

This work is hard. I miss my team in Chattanooga. I have great ideas and plans, only to look around and there is no one to share them with. Eduardo does the best he can to listen and give suggestions, but ladies and children stuff does not keep his attention long. He loves the adult one on one study. I miss the resources we have at Red Bank, the resource room, and a place cool quiet place to work, with lots of space. I miss the activity in the Red Bank building and people there willing and able to help me and their being excited about my work! Things we take for granted because we are so blessed as a Red Bank Christian congregation I miss them. I have stuff here to work with and will always have stuff I need because of my brothers and sisters in Christ, but the teamwork is missing. I need your prayers to help us convert these people to become team players for Christ.

For mothers’ day I took supplies to Delicias and my little kids class made mothers’ day cards for their mothers. Two of the grown ladies from the congregation came in to help me. As in all foreign countries I have worked, instead of helping the kids make cards, the adults started making cards for themselves and forgot about the kids! They never had the opportunity to do the crafts we have for the children when they were children, so when the opportunity comes, they take over the projects for themselves! Hey where are my team members? They become little children again and I end up teaching them!

6.

May and June 09

Mission Mexico

When I start missing people and stuff, and sometimes feel sorry for myself and disappointments come my way, I just grab a book with the accounts of a foreign missionary in it and start reading. I quickly realize we are blessed with comforts that we should be thankful for, opportunities we should take advantage of and most of all for the prayers that are prayed for us and the prayers God answers.

Oh well such is life.   Everyone has to bellyache once in a while. The temperature is real hot here and we have about 3 hours in the day we can’t move. Not even in the house or we will roast. We have ceiling fans to move the air but the air is still hot. This makes for good studying time and mental preparation for our evening work in the community. Please continue to pray for our work and our health.

Because He Lives!

Eduardo & Judy