Dear Family and Friends,

 

                Thank you so much for your contribution to the kids down in Mexico! Perhaps you gave a donation, or bought some pretzels.  You might have been one that gave away your bottles of lotion, or shampoo.  Some of you even bought items for me to take down! Or you may have given me some toys or stuffed animals for the children. You might have bought quilt raffle tickets or went to the website and prayed for the trip.  Whatever you did, God used it in a mighty way!

 

Just some highlights from the trip:

 

                Saturday we traveled with Naomi Anzaldo to El Shaddai, the little church in a very poor colony in TJ.  The road we had traveled in the past had been destroyed by flooding this past year. After a nice breakfast with some ladies in the church we began packing up bags of rice, beans, potatoes and chicken.  We had approximately 50 bags but only planned on distributing 20-25 that day.  The rest would be handed out to other families in the colony during the week. We drove to our first destination but had to trek down a steep hill to Maria's home.  Maria's home was up a steep staircase (made of tires) tucked in the side of a giant mud hill.  As we entered, she apologized for the mess (we women are all the same, aren't we?) and we stood in her living space which was no bigger than a 6x10 room.  She had two small rooms off the living space that had one twin bed in each.  It was hard not to stare because everything she owned was in that little place.  A little plastic table held all her necessities.  She had invited three other women from the area to come and get some food.  We asked if there was anything that they would like to have us pray about for them.  One woman came in and began sobbing and telling of her plight with an alcoholic husband who is abusive and how she wants to take care of her seven children and she just doesn't know what to do.  We prayed and I have to admit I felt sort of inept. It is difficult to not want to do more than pray.  I have to admit, prayer seemed so lame at that moment but believing that God hears our prayers and His heart is tender toward the poor and needy I simply obeyed.  We visited three more homes.  The women shared more of the same. . .abuse, violence, concern for their loved ones.  I couldn't help reflecting on how petty and silly my prayer requests are compared to what is prayed for there. 

                Sunday we went to the church for their services.  The previous week they had experienced the earthquake during their Easter service.  This was a great evangelism tool for the teaching I was asked to give.  I just shared how important it is to be ready to meet the Lord because we never know when our time might be up.  After the service, we presented a sign to them for the room where the kids are fed which said "Pablo's Pantry" in Spanish. 

                Monday, we were up early and off to the church to help with the feeding program we had raised money to fund.  I have been sending money to Naomi for three months now and the program has been feeding over 100 kids three days a week.  For some of these children, this is the only meal they get that day.  We heard story after story of families that can't get work and those that have "good" jobs work 12 hours, 6 days a week at a factory and make a whopping $8 - $10 per day.  We pulled out the stuffed animals and Happy Meal toys and let each child choose one.  This is the best use for a beanie baby I have ever seen!  We also distributed the aprons that were generously donated and embroidered by Sandy Wymer.  One woman, Chello (sounds like the instrument) was crying and when asked why, she humbled replied that Pablo had helped her and her children when she was without food many times.  She said she would work hard until the day she died serving the kids in the kitchen because he had been so good to her.

                Prior to our trip, I had 196 yards of fleece and a dozen pair of scissors shipped to Naomi's home in San Diego.  Tuesday was the day we had chosen to help the ladies make blankets and distribute all the lotions, lip balm, shampoos, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc. to the participants.  The ladies learned the method quickly and over 42 blankets were made.  This past winter was one of the coldest on record and this was a practical way to help keep them warm for next winter.  There aren't furnaces in these homes.  Courtney had casually mentioned that she could wax eyebrows and Naomi said how much this would mean to the ladies.  She set up a little table with Naomi's microwave and some waxing supplies.  The ladies got such a kick out of this and lots of giggles and smiles indicated the idea was a hit.  After the ladies finished their blankets and were given their bag of goodies, we played a little game my family played for years around the campfire on our camping trips.  You have to clap and click your fingers and say numbers to a certain beat.  It was a delightful way to end the day because many of us felt a little melancholy knowing we would have to return home the next day.

                That evening we sat down and discussed the next needs that we might be able to tackle.  It is so overwhelming because everywhere you turn there is need . . .need for jobs, need for food, the problems that come with poverty – violence, alcoholism (who wouldn't want to deaden their pain?), drug dealing (it's a quick way to made good money), abuse, and the list goes on and on.  One area that we inquired about was their educational system.  A family has to register their children for school which costs $30.  They are required to wear a uniform, both for school and gym, which costs approximately $40.  You cannot go to school without the necessary uniform.  Then you have the cost of books and supplies.  Each child costs about $100 per year for school.  If you don't have money for food, how are you going to come up with $100 to send your kid to school?  So, children don't go to school.  I thought about homeschooling.  What a great idea, right?  Many of the parents had the same issues and don't know how to read.  Therefore, poverty begets poverty begets poverty…

                We came home on Wednesday and I have to say that I am presently in a blue funk.  It feels sort of like when you plan for some big event, like a wedding or a party, and when it is over there is a letdown.  My letdown is partly due to the overwhelming desire to help and feeling a bit helpless.  I've decided to go back in August.  My goal is to raise money to help with the costs of education.  I have to keep in mind that this is God's work and not mine.  When I do it by myself I get so discouraged.   When I rest in knowing it is His heart in me wanting to help, it fuels me and helps me do the next thing.  There is a little voice inside of me saying, "There are too many to help, too much to do.  You can't even make a dent."  And then there is the other little voice, which has so much more conviction that says, "Just do the next thing.  Do something."  I have been really impressed with a verse in the book of James in the Bible that says "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says." (James 1:22)  This is a hard concept.  It would seem so much easier to just get back into my comfortable life with my stuff and my money and my time.  But four years ago, God did a transforming work in me during that first mission trip and I got hooked.  I can't go back to that old Mary.

                I apologize for this long dissertation on the trip.  It was therapeutic to write it all out and yet I did want to let you know what we did and how your money and prayers were spent.  Thank you again for whatever way you helped.  You will never know until we're on the other side just what it did for the people down there.

                My next two jobs are to try and hook Naomi's work down at El Shaddai up with a non-profit status somehow.  The other is to sell the children's book that Bob and I recently had published.  It is now on the market and I covet your prayers in the process of getting the word out.  Please go to www.sadiesequoia.com and check it out.  My hope is to sell as many as possible to raise money for families who might have need for this year's educational requirements.  Also, I just received word that the roof on the building that is used to feed the kids needs immediate repair.  Cost of supplies and labor - $2200.  If you can buy a book or request that your local library or school library buy the book, that would be terrific. 

                The website is in need of update and I am in the process of getting the help to do that.  In case you didn't know, my goal of $5000 for this trip was met and exceeded thanks to all of you!  There are pictures up on Facebook but I hope to have the pics put on the website soon.  Thank you for your patience.

                May God bless you for your willingness to share in this endeavor,