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.