MEXICO MISSION TRIPS 2007 - 2008

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS MISSION WITH THE TZELTAL PEOPLE CHIAPAS STATE, MEXICO

In July 2007, First Presbyterian Church of Virginia Beach (“FPC”) sent its first mission team to Chiapas State in Southern Mexico. Partnering with HEBRON USA, a Presbyterian mission organization in Greensboro, North Carolina, FPC became involved with the construction work on Las Manos de Cristo Clínica Médica (“Hands of Christ”), the health clinic now under construction in Ocosingo, Chiapas. Funded by American Christians and build by Tzeltal craftsmen assisted by American missionaries, the health clinic will soon open to serve the indigenous population of Chiapas.

It is estimated that upwards of one million people in Chiapas do not have routine access to health care services that Americans take for granted. The indigenous peoples, who primarily speak indigenous languages like Tzeltal and Lacandon, experience discrimination from the Spanish speaking Mexican health care system. The vision for Las Manos in that indigenous people will receive health care from indigenous speaking professionals assisted by volunteers. In the future, the hope is that the Tzeltal, and others, will see Las Manos as a place that they can trust and not as a place of last resort. The grim reality of the health care system in southern Mexico is evident in the Tzeltal saying that hospitals are where people go to die.

The linchpin of the collaborative work in Chiapas between Tzeltal and American Christians is Pablo Feliciano Cruz, a native Tzeltal college educated in the United States. Through the financial support of HEBRON USA, Pablo is able to be involved in a number of projects that demonstrate the love of Christ in Chiapas. During the summer months, American groups work in Chiapas in various locations including on Las Manos in the program developed and guided by Pablo. Alfa y Omega bible college trains lay pastors and church workers for service in Chiapas. Pablo has pastored Presbyterian churches in Chiapas and been heavily involved in the life of the Tzeltal Synod. Facilitator and mediator, Pablo has worked tirelessly to advance the cause of Jesus Christ in Chiapas. Soon, he will preside over the grand opening of Las Manos, a project that he has shepherded and that has been years in the making.

Since July 2007, FPC has participated in the lives of the Tzeltal in many ways:

• July 2007. A team of eleven members of the church traveled to Ocosingo to assist in the construction of Las Manos. The team also conducted two days of Bible school for unchurched Tzeltal children who live in Ocosingo. On the last night of the stay, the team participated in the continuous pour construction of the concrete roof of the health clinic, a massive undertaking involving upwards of 100 people.

• January 2008. A team of two members traveled to Ocosingo to provide further construction assistance on Las Manos. The team worshipped in Matzam and in Lacanja where one of the members preached the Gospel sermon at worship services.

• May/June 2008. A nurse from the congregation and a retired physician from the congregation each spent one week in the lowlands of Chiapas participating in the annual medical mission, providing primary care services to nearly 4,000 people over a two week period.

• July/August 2008. A team of nineteen members of FPC traveled to Ocosingo to resume construction activity with Tzeltal brothers working to complete the health clinic. The team conducted two days of Bible school. The team provided worship music and preached the Gospel sermon in worship services in Ocosingo and in Matzam. The team delivered 110 pounds of school supplies to the Presbyterian Church in Matzam for its after-school program.

• August 2008. Responding to the fervent request of the church leadership of the Presbyterian Church in Matzam, $7,000 was raised and wired to Chiapas for the purchase of a truck to be owned and used by the Presbyterian Church to transport people from outlying areas into church and to take people and goods into San Cristóbal de las Casas, the closest city to the village. The truck was delivered to Matzam on August 29th and a service of dedication was held on August 31st.

• September 2008. Dr. Pamela Pyle awarded a $2,000 scholarship to a Tzeltal nursing student through a foundation set up to honor her late mother. This student has agreed to give Las Manos one year of free medical service upon graduation in exchange for this gift of tuition and books. The scholarship will fund more than one year of nursing school for this young student.

The members of FPC who have not traveled to Mexico have participated in the lives of countless Christian brothers and sisters in Chiapas through generous financial support of the mission trips to Chiapas. This financial support has made a difference in the lives of the Tzeltal. Just as importantly, those returning from service in Chiapas come back to Virginia Beach with a fresh perspective on the work of the Holy Spirit in their own lives and in the world at large, energized to participate more effectively in the ministry and work of FPC here and now. No one returns from a mission trip to Chiapas without being changed by the experience. FPC reaps the harvest of a cadre of dedicated and Spirit-filled members.

Jesús le dijo: Ama a tu prójimo como a ti mismo. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Jesús le dijo: Sígueme. Follow me. Through partnership with the Tzeltal Christians of Chiapas, the members of FPC are demonstrating that people who do not look like them nor speak the same language are nevertheless brothers and sisters in Christ whose well-being is of concern to them. By lending a helping hand in Chiapas, the place where God called FPC to help, the church is following the One whose call to follow is all that matters. In the years to come, the relationship with the Tzeltal will continue to grow and enrich the lives of those Christians in Chiapas and those Christians called to service in Virginia Beach. September 2008.

Please contact Randy Duvall, team leader, at 757-672-1797 or 757-428-2429 or via email, to learn more about this exciting mission.

Marianna and her parents photographed in January 2008. The young girl, only six months old, died of whooping cough approximately three weeks after she was photographed. This highly preventable disease struck the child because Tzeltal children are not routinely vaccinated. Photo © 2008 by Colin Herbertson.

Las Manos de Cristo photographed in July 2008. The clinic is now completely under roof and the bulk of the windows and doors are installed. Photo © 2008 by Kathleen Dawson.

Delivery of 110 pounds of school supplies to the elders of the Matzam Presbyterian Church on August 1, 2008. The usually stoic Tzeltal elders are all smiles upon receiving desperately needed supplies for their Bible based after school program in which over 190 children are enrolled. Pablo Feliciano Cruz assists the Matzam brothers. Photo ©2008 by Beth McCombs.

FPC mission team photographed on the job site in front of Las Manos de Cristo Clínica Médica on August 1, 2008. Left to right front row: Astin Housley, Zach Unger, Jenny Brown, Kathleen Dawson, Marty Field, Beth McCombs, Pam Pyle, Susan Contos, Jim Allen, Randy DuVall, Marge Babcock, Butch Everett and Kathy Lewis. Back row: Tom Dawson, John McCombs, Danny Markham, Kathy Arn, David Arn and Stephanie DuVall. Photo ©2008 by Jenny Brown.

The dedication service held August 31, 2008 for the new truck purchased for the Matzam Presbyterian Church. Pastor Pablo conducted the dedication service. This was an important and big day in the life of the Matzam church. Photographer unknown.

Las Manos photographed in July 2008. The stone wall pictured to the right was constructed by the FPC team and Tzeltal craftsmen in four days’ time. Another level of concrete, not shown, sits on top of the finished wall. Photo © 2008 by Beth McCombs.

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