Greetings from Oaxaca, once again! The EMMC work finished last night and this morning we packed up and moved into Oaxaca City proper. We had been in the neighborhoods surrounding the garbage dump, which lies on the outside of the city. We spent this afternoon in the Zocalo, or main square area, of the city of Oaxaca enjoying all the sights, sounds and smells of this colonial city. Then, we sent the team and our kids back to the home where we will all be staying tonight and Victor and I are out on a date! Here you can see us where we just ate dinner in a nice restaurant with a balcony overlooking the main city square. It is like a breath of fresh air to have time for just Victor and I after such a glorious, yet busy week of constantly going from one need to another, from one child to another, from one question to another.

How can you summarize a crusade? Say it went well? What does ¨well¨mean? We are simply called to obey! So, once we have obeyed to the best of our God given talents, abilities and strength - that is a job well done! Do we measure a crusade by numbers? Some that accept Christ during a crusade will eventually fall away because the seed has fallen on hard ground or will be choked by weeds, like Jesus taught in his parable. (Mark 4:1-20) Others that did not make a personal decision for Jesus this week will eventually come to a personal relationship with Him due to the seeds planted in their hearts this week. Besides those with whom the Good News of Jesus Christ is shared and who receive the free services of our volunteer medical personnel, EMMC´s impact the lives of the church members and local pastors and missionaries with whom we serve, not to mention the lives of those of us who form part of the Fishers of Men team that carries out the crusades! Crusades even impact the lives of those of you who pray for the crusades, who financially support Fishers of Men and who follow our communications, such as this blog!

So, this crusade went well - we have obeyed our Father´s orders! In the coming days I will be sharing more stories with you - the Zaragoza children and how the Lord used them throughout the crusade and blessed their own lives at the same time; the woman who can talk correctly again because she got two new front teeth; the committment and dedication of our Mexican volunteers who faithfully serve crusade after crusade; as well as adventures from Zach, Emily and Holly - our short-term/summer volunteers.

Thank you for your prayers and we ask that you continue to pray as we travel back to Mexico City tomorrow! God bless you all!

With much love and appreciation,

Julie
P.S. Here is a bonus picture you can laugh or cry at! Our bathroom facilities for this past week! Oh the sweet sound of a flushing toilet! Even those of us who are missionaries appreciate certain blessings when the Lord allows us to have them!