Oaxaca

Bobby and I traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico to visit our pastor Vicente, who is working in the villages of San Pedro, San Miguel, and Santa Maria. We were able to spend the first day in the capital, which is Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. Bobby had been to language school here 4 years earlier and so he considered this a homecoming trip. We visited a lot of sites that he remembered when he lived there for 30 days, as well as Josephina, the Senora he lived with while in Oaxaca. It was a very emotional time as we sat and visited with Josephina, who Bobby is now able to communicate with in Spanish. Bobby was able to share Christ with her and she was very willingly to listen to him.

One of the sites we visited was Santo Domingo, the Catholic church. It was ornate and beautiful to behold, yet there was an indifference felt there. I watched as a bride entered with her wedding party and proceeded to the front of the church to meet her bridegroom. As she walked by the picture of Christ on the cross I wondered if she had a relationship with Him. Did she have a connection between her head and her heart? Did she go to church to check it off or did she go because of a love for her Savior. I couldn’t help but picture Christ returning for His bride, the church and I could only imagine that when Christ comes it will be a time of rejoicing to finally meet our Savior face to face. Until that time I want to be about my Father’s work, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.  It was good to walk the same paths that Bobby walked as I was at home praying him through his time there.

The next day we traveled to San Pedro to visit Vincente and his family. He and his wife, Yessenia, have a daughter, Rebecca, and a daughter on the way. We arrived just in time for Sunday morning worship service where Vincente preached and God’s name was glorified. The people warmly welcomed us and we felt right at home. The hospitality was unbeatable as they gave us their best in every way. Bobby took the pulpit Sunday night with a packed out church.

As I looked out over the mountains I realized that the fields are ripe with harvest and God reminded me that He would do the work in and through Bobby and I, my part is to surrender and be available. It is hard to express in words the kindness of the people as they opened their homes to us in each community. I was humbled and overwhelmed in their giving when I thought about all I had back in the States. I was called to examine myself and my willingness to give to my brothers and sisters in Christ. What an amazing visit as we experienced Christ with our brothers and sisters in Oaxaca, Mexico!