Wisconsin team

What a week! There are seventeen men here from the snowy state of Wisconsin, right in the ninety degree winter of Oaxaca, Mexico, and are they ever sweating it out! They have come on a unique mission and have surely found much more than they imagined they would. They flew down with several extra bags of wonderful tools. Customs allowed them to go through without any additional tax and we praised God for their safe travel and favor in customs. They carried those power tools, those socket and screwdriver sets all the way here thinking they were going to get to use them, then donate them. It is questionable they will use a single one of them this week. But they are using the leather gloves they brought. Yessiree!!! They are moving real estate this week and those gloves are protecting those serving, giving hands from many a blister. There may be a few other blisters obtained this week but let me start over in another direction.

Wisconsin team getting started



Block moving line







There was a drug/alcohol rehabilitation center opened in Puerto Escondido about two years ago, Mission Horeb. The founding family had moved here from other cities where they have established at least two more centers and have left them to be continued in capable hands. Victor, the father/founder of these centers, has found Roca Blanca to be an added advantage to the men in his work. After men go through their drying out and training at the center, he has been able to send some of them to a year of bible training at the Victory Mission Bible Institute on the Roca Blanca campus. Those that have received that training, have gone on to be the most successful at turning their lives around. (His son, Eduardo, has also graduated from the Bible School and is now one of two youth pastors for the high school students on the RB campus; a new position begun this year that is seeing amazing results.) Seeing the earnestness of Bro Victor and the young men from this Rehab who are going through the Bible training, Roca Blanca wanted to encourage them by partnering with them to see them well established.

They are making the blocks by hand and drying them.  Over 1,500 blocks were also donated from Christian businessmen here in Puerto Escondido.  PTL!!!

The rehab is currently renting a small location and are at more than full capacity. The men in this rehab have very industriously been tearing apart pallets and making their own cement blocks for building the housing and facilities on the current location. It is reminiscent of a miner's camp from pictures and stories that have been told, and it has been adequate except in space. A nice piece of mountain-top property was donated to them to build on. They have been making more blocks and gathering more pallets and boards in preparation to someday build on that new property. Now, it is happening even sooner than they expected. The men of Wisconsin have come and are putting money, heart, and hands to the cause. They have come from the snowy winter to the blazing sun to dig a mountain of dirt. A backhoe prepared some of the mountain top, separating it, leveling it out into two large terraces of dirt. The team, along with the Mexican rehab men, have been digging foundations for a kitchen, a bathroom, and a septic. The team has been learning the art of manually making cement blocks. They have dug some of the holes required for the footings where the tabernacle will be erected and helped make the cement to fill those holes, again by hard, manual labor. Cement has been mixed by hand for the mortar and carried to where three Mexican men are quickly building a wall for the kitchen. When the one retaining wall is up, more digging will be required to bring the dirt down level for making the floor. More real estate to turn over; much more than they bargained for or imagined, don't you think? But, they are cheerful, as energetic as they can be, and certainly bringing lots of smiles to all the natives. There are two or three of the Americans who are conversing with the nationals in Spanish and making for a closer, more bonded relationship. It is spectacular to watch the joy of the Lord at work among the brothers/the Bride of Christ.



Missions pastor of Life Church Germantown, Wisc.- Kevin





Patio breakfast at the hotel







Italian dinner at Franco's



John & I have been involved in more ways than we imagined too. Just before we began our journey to come to Mexico this October, two people generously donated pop-up canopies to the Roca Blanca medical clinic to be used on their outreaches in the villages where there are no facilities for setting up. We were so excited to bring those and see the surprise and smile on Sister Laura's face when we presented them. We have seen an even bigger smile on her face since she has seen them put to use in a recent outreach. She said she was amazed at how quick and easy they were to put up. I expect they will now become an ongoing "need". But then, realizing we were going to be helping the Wisconsin team to work on an open property several miles out of town, we ask Laura to please allow us to borrow her new canopies and she graciously loaned them to us. What a lifesaver they have been. They have provided shelter for both lunchtime and rest; a wonderful respite from the blazing sun. John has helped in preparing the project and then has been required to use the truck for hauling luggage when they first arrived, hauling blocks from the old to the new location, and hauling cement bags. Our wonderful gift from the Lord (the truck) has hauled around 5,000 lbs. up a very steep, sandy incline to the new building site more than once but, without any struggle whatever. We again praise the Lord and rejoice in His gift that is helping to advance the Kingdom here in our Mexico location. Wow! It reminds us that God sure knows our needs more than we ever could. We have both helped serve food to the men while at Roca Blanca and again at the Puerto hotel where we moved to so as to be closer to the building location. I have been challenged to serve breakfasts on a front patio at 6am for three mornings. There is no kitchen but two nice tables and a few chairs have been set up by the hotel. They have generously allowed us the use of one refrigerator next to the patio to keep perishable food in. So, we have served breakfast camp style and again there are no complaints from the team. They are patient and enduring. We heard them excitedly sharing with one another new and wonderful things the Lord was teaching them through this week's experience. We all enjoyed the refreshing coolness of the swimming pool for a short half hour some evenings before we loaded up and head to the Italian restaurant in town. One Christian brother, Franco, provided the evening meals with great gusto and not too short a sermon to top it off. That in itself was a unique experience, to go to a restaurant and be unable to leave until the owner finished his sermon.



Wednesday evening was spent at the Rehab center in a worship meeting followed by a special appreciation dinner. The mother/founder along with her helpers have provided some wonderful meals throughout the week but they went all out for that one. We had pozole-chicken and hominy in a tomato/onion/garlic/chili powder soup with trimmings of chopped lettuce, onion, or chilis to add to it. The service was delightful too. The men worship as wholeheartedly as they work. They give everything one hundred percent. The American men have exclaimed over and over again about the amazing passion for worship that these men show and the amazing work they accomplish.

This team of Americans are REAL troupers. They have sweated, strained, had the belly ache, ate strange food in strange places, slept on rock hard beds with flat little pillows, and kept such an enthusiasm and excitement about sharing the love of Jesus here in Mexico. We are proud to have met them and sure hope to see them once again; maybe next year, same time, same place even. God bless the short term mission workers. May He give the vision to full-time ministry too, both at home and abroad.

Pictures:    Mixing cement (top left) and digging septic (top right);

Septic is filling up...w/men (bottom left)

There were a couple more families who were here with us through their donation of two pop-up canopies. Those have been true lifesavers this week. They were set up at the property to give shade for the lunches and for the rest times and they were very much appreciated. I (Joyce) spent several hours under them one of those days and I was reminded again of how much a blessing they were. Thank you Mr Spohn and Mr Leonard for your loving generosity.

The end of the week will see the team staying one night in beautiful Huatulco, the lovely resort town closest to the airport from where they fly out. They will have one day for relaxing and shopping before they rejoin their families in the cold, blustery north. It has been a good week for everyone involved and we praise God for another opportunity to serve Him and remind you that you are a part of all that happens. Rewards await you, along with us, for all the work that has been accomplished here because of your encouragement, your communication, your financial giving, and your prayers. Blessings on every and each one of us, in Jesus' name.

This is the first service in the new tabernacle and the large group of men who worked together five days to make it happen.  In addition, they built a septic, and began the kitchen and bathrooms.  Later dormitories will be added, made mostly from recycling used pallets.