Sea Invasion

We had one exciting day as we watched the ocean waves pounding and pouring over the embankment of the beach.  It spilled over into the fishermens' boats, toppling some of their palapa shelters, causing their boats to be overwhelmed.  It took 8-9 men together to move their boats back away from the rage and grab their nets inland.  The swimming palapa fell, stray catle looked like they would be stranded on a small strip of ground but they were finally hurried off into safer ground.  Its pre-rainy season and the ocean is shifting in anticipation.  The overflowing water has all disappated, and the ocean has regressed but continues to pound so that the fishermen are not going out for fishing.  God is a magnificent creater of power and beauty and awesome things.  Behold the glory of the Lord!

Korean team

It was an unusual trip in most every way. From the Seoul Korean Baptist Church of Houston Tx. came a group of ten Koreans (that Church for the tenth time). Among them were two doctors, one chiropractor, three hairdressers, and four who worked among the children. They flew in on Saturday, spent the whole evening preparing their gift bags, and hit the trail early Sunday morning towards the mountainous district of Ixtayutla.


For John, it was the fourth trip for hauling luggage and food up the mountains since our coming in January. Thank the Lord again for a wonderful big truck that can bless so many, many people. John had been given Ps 124 for this trip by his brother and he prayed that as they were leaving. He would surely need it.

They arrived and set up camp in El Mosco and were rained on the first night. The tents were quickly moved in under the church roof; John slept in the truck. Medical clinic was open for business and the patients flowed through. The hairdressers began cutting and trimming hair when they could find a willing participant, and before long they had a line of young people. The children were given bible lessons with games and songs.

The second day, the ministry was repeated in Pueblo Viejo; the third day in Ixtayutla City. In Ixtayutla, John was crawling along slowly through the town. A small baby boy ran out towards the truck and his momma screamed and grabbed him back to safety in the nick of time. The father was yelling that he was going to get a group and come after us with machetes. John had seen and heard none of this as he was focused on watching forward, leading another of the vehicles in caravan. After passing through the town, he stopped and people who had been riding in the back bed of the truck came around to tell him what had happened. Usually, he was told, a complaint would also be made to the police and a big fine paid to soothe the feelings of the people. Yes, there was no actual accident but, the fear and anger was as real as though it had happened. The Lord’s Word given was prayed several times and was at work in and through the situation. (Psalms124) Nothing came of the threats as God miraculously intervened. God is with us as a mighty Awesome One.

They returned Wednesday in the late evening and went out again Thursday to a nearby village to repeat the different ministries. The medical team believes they saw 150 patients in those three places. The hairdressers wore out three clippers while cutting the hair of 40-50 per day. The childrens’ workers gave away lots of candy, prizes, photos, and made many new friends.

Friday, was their day to go souvenir shopping in Puerto Esc. for long hours in the hot, humid weather but, when they returned, they set up for sushi making and a few extra haircuts. They had brought all kinds of good Korean food and the sea provided the fresh fish that made the sushi that much more special. What a trip for a group of people who were all 50-80 yrs old.

Marriage Conference & Mother's Day

The first Roca Blanca Marriage Retreat was held May 7-9th and it was a success! Charles and Ellie Norton hosted and taught most of it…together. They did a super job. Only four of the eight invited couples were able to attend but everyone of those four were noticeably blessed and excited about making it a reoccurring event. Gifts were in the rooms every day such as: flowers, candies, the Love Language book in Spanish, and embroidered heart pillows. The Fireproof film in Spanish drew many comments the next morning in review. The final lesson on the marriage covenant was followed by each couple taking communion together and renewing their marriage vows. The final meal ended with a wedding cake which each couple cut together while having their picture taken. Every detail was carefully prepared and executed in a loving manner and every couple was so thankful for what it had meant to their marriage. It was especially a blessing to John & I as we watched the pastors enfold Charles and Ellie in prayer and confirm their new endeavor to enrich the marriages of Mexico.

Mother’s day is a BIG celebration in Mexico, at least it was in Cacalotte, the small village Roca Blanca is neighbors with. It follows on the Monday after the USA celebration. John & I weren’t able to attend but we viewed it through our friends and wanted to share a piece of it with you. There were games, gifts, music and dancing, and food until wee hours of the morning. Those mothers sure had a magnificent party.

Harvesting coconuts

Mission Victoria here at Roca Blanca Beach has well over two hundred coconut trees because it was built in the middle of a coconut grove. The older trees are very tall and not many people want to climb 40-50 feet to harvest the coconuts. The coconuts need to be harvested every three months and in a climate that is warm year around, that means four harvests yearly. The limbs are constantly maturing and falling off. They land with a loud swoosh and thud. The coconuts that are not harvested frequently enough also fall from a great height with a resounding thump. We can only pray no one is underneath when they become loose and plummet to the ground. At times when no one was available to harvest the coconuts, they were given away to anyone who would take them down. At other times, they have been sold for the benefit of the campus. John is hoping to promote a more consistent harvest for profit and at the same time create more safety by cleaning the trees of old limbs. A young man, Gabriel, is the climber while John or another man, Fabian, holds the rope that will drop the coconuts and will later drop Gabriel. It is strenuous for the climber and also for the one whose neck is constantly cranked backwards to look high into the trees. (right bottom: John opening a coco for our guests?)

There are many benefits to having the coconuts all around. It provides fresh coconut juice for the guests, and fresh coconut meat to eat or bake with. The palms are used to make the thatched roofs and palapas (open sided building with thatched roof: below/center). The stem from the long leaf is cut free of its leafy parts and dried for a couple months to be nailed as slats for building natural home walls. (Right: an outdoor kitchen so the slats are spread apart for air flow and semi-privacy.) The old coconut shells are taken off by the truck loads to use as a source of fuel for baking the adobe bricks. The tree trunks provide tall, straight, four-sided posts and lumber. Nothing goes to waste as the local people use the resources God has blessed this area with.