¡Hola! from San Cristóbal once again! My time working in the villages has concluded, so I have now returned to spend one more week studying Spanish.
This week in Ch’ixtontic was a strong way to end my time in the villages. It was good to spend a week in a familiar village; it felt like home from the moment we arrived. I enjoyed seeing familiar faces.
The group this week was from the First Presbyterian Church of Virginia Beach.
On Sunday, I led initiatives for the group, which is always a highlight for me.
A large construction project has been underway in Ch’ixtontic for several years now. We are building a new church building with three levels - bathrooms, classrooms, and a sanctuary - down the hill from the current church, which consists of only a sanctuary. It is not so much about building a new church; it is more about the relationships that we are building with the people along the way.
The work Monday through Thursday consisted of preparing for a massive concrete day on Friday. Since we are building the church down the hill, we had to carry about 1000 buckets of sand and gravel from the road up top to the building site. This was exhausting work. The group accurately described it as “Crossfit: the Mayan Way.” So yes, I spent many hours this week simply moving piles from one place to another.
On Friday, I awoke at 3:00am so that we could start mixing concrete very early in the morning. It was the most chaotic scene I have ever seen in Chiapas as we aggressively mixed 100 bags of cement with the 1000 buckets of sand and gravel that we had carried down, one batch at a time. It wasn’t until we were halfway done that we had enough daylight to see without flashlights. It was a great final “hurrah” of concrete for the summer. It was awesome.
Additionally, I served as the translator for Vacation Bible School this week. I read the Bible stories and gave instructions for the activities. The group this week had some creative ideas for their stories. The kids had a lot of fun with it.
For the church service on Friday, the women of the village wanted to dress us in traditional clothing. This was the highlight of the week for me, as they all helped us put on the traditional skirts. There was much laughter and many smiles as they prepared us for church.
One of the fascinating aspects of Ch’ixtontic is that the women and some of the children help with the construction work, which is rare to find in other villages. It was amazing to work alongside the strong women and children of the village, carrying botes together. They want to prove how strong and capable they are, and they do a good job of this. There were kids as little as two years old carrying buckets and bags down the steep hill. It was a wonderful image of the body of Christ working together.
Another unique thing this week is that we shared communion at the church service on Friday. This was the first time that I have had communion in Chiapas. Sebastian said that they only have communion about every three months.
As the week has concluded, saying goodbye to everyone has been hard. The people I have worked with from week to week have become family. The villages have become my homes. It is hard to leave.
For this, I am thankful to have this final week in San Cristóbal to prepare to transition back to the United States. I hope to spend a lot of time reflecting this week and preparing my heart for the difficulties of re-entry. I also hope to continue learning as I practice my Spanish in school this week.
Please pray for the people who are working in Chiapas this coming week. They will be teaching pastors how to teach people to teach people.
Pray also for a purposeful week for me as I conclude my time in Chiapas.
This week in Ch’ixtontic was a strong way to end my time in the villages. It was good to spend a week in a familiar village; it felt like home from the moment we arrived. I enjoyed seeing familiar faces.
The group this week was from the First Presbyterian Church of Virginia Beach.
On Sunday, I led initiatives for the group, which is always a highlight for me.
A large construction project has been underway in Ch’ixtontic for several years now. We are building a new church building with three levels - bathrooms, classrooms, and a sanctuary - down the hill from the current church, which consists of only a sanctuary. It is not so much about building a new church; it is more about the relationships that we are building with the people along the way.
The work Monday through Thursday consisted of preparing for a massive concrete day on Friday. Since we are building the church down the hill, we had to carry about 1000 buckets of sand and gravel from the road up top to the building site. This was exhausting work. The group accurately described it as “Crossfit: the Mayan Way.” So yes, I spent many hours this week simply moving piles from one place to another.
On Friday, I awoke at 3:00am so that we could start mixing concrete very early in the morning. It was the most chaotic scene I have ever seen in Chiapas as we aggressively mixed 100 bags of cement with the 1000 buckets of sand and gravel that we had carried down, one batch at a time. It wasn’t until we were halfway done that we had enough daylight to see without flashlights. It was a great final “hurrah” of concrete for the summer. It was awesome.
Additionally, I served as the translator for Vacation Bible School this week. I read the Bible stories and gave instructions for the activities. The group this week had some creative ideas for their stories. The kids had a lot of fun with it.
For the church service on Friday, the women of the village wanted to dress us in traditional clothing. This was the highlight of the week for me, as they all helped us put on the traditional skirts. There was much laughter and many smiles as they prepared us for church.
One of the fascinating aspects of Ch’ixtontic is that the women and some of the children help with the construction work, which is rare to find in other villages. It was amazing to work alongside the strong women and children of the village, carrying botes together. They want to prove how strong and capable they are, and they do a good job of this. There were kids as little as two years old carrying buckets and bags down the steep hill. It was a wonderful image of the body of Christ working together.
Another unique thing this week is that we shared communion at the church service on Friday. This was the first time that I have had communion in Chiapas. Sebastian said that they only have communion about every three months.
As the week has concluded, saying goodbye to everyone has been hard. The people I have worked with from week to week have become family. The villages have become my homes. It is hard to leave.
For this, I am thankful to have this final week in San Cristóbal to prepare to transition back to the United States. I hope to spend a lot of time reflecting this week and preparing my heart for the difficulties of re-entry. I also hope to continue learning as I practice my Spanish in school this week.
Please pray for the people who are working in Chiapas this coming week. They will be teaching pastors how to teach people to teach people.
Pray also for a purposeful week for me as I conclude my time in Chiapas.
In the beautiful village of Ch’ixtontic
A picture of the new church in Ch’ixtontic last year...
...And one year later
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