El Chilar, Oaxaca by Mark

Information and welcome sign for the group above the street near the site.

Last week I was privileged to join the crusade team for the third time. We went to El Chilar, Oaxaca and met some wonderful people. The members of the church who hosted us were outstanding. They did a great job promoting the EMMC so people in the area knew when to come. They kept us fed, and they opened their homes to us so we had a comfortable place to sleep. They also set up space for us to work. We transformed a basketball court into a full service clinic, complete with the love of Jesus Christ.

The town basketball court before transformation

When we got to the site Wednesday morning, the bleachers were full with patient patients. Some people spent the night so they would be sure to get a spot with one of the doctors or dentists.

Dr. Bill Karkow, a surgeon from Iowa, his wife Lu, and three of their kids, Diane, Kirsten, and Daniel joined us on this trip also. Dr. Bill performed some minor surgeries with the assistance of Kirsten and Daniel. Diane is a pharmacy student and did a great job running and organizing the pharmacy.

Lu took vital signs for every patient who came.

Diane and Ernesto consulting at the pharmacy

One of the funnest things to see is the seed planting that happens with the children through the week. While they are still young, the Holy Spirit can claim them through games, songs, and skits.

As Julie wrote about in her blog while we were gone, to begin this trip we had to step out in faith. Until last Sunday, I had never heard of a faith healing of a transmission. Friday morning I had the opportunity to lead devotions. I began with the question, "How much is enough?" There were times when I was growing up when my mother told me she had had enough. When we think about our personal wants and needs, it seems like there is never enough time, sleep, money, etc. But how much is enough faith? Do we have as much faith as the poor widow who put her only 2 coins in the offering plate, knowing by faith that God would provide? I have to admit that my faith is small. Smaller than a mustard seed. I really believe that we can all have stronger faith. Jesus said, "Everything is possible for him who believes."(Mark 9:23b) I need to feed my weak faith with prayer.
I was blessed to share a room with my new friend, Ernesto. When we were talking about how small our faith is, he suggested that pride could be limiting the growth of faith. I enjoy fixing things and part of that is because sometimes it feeds a hero complex. Last Sunday evening I was stumped and looking for a way to fix a transmission overnight. I was sure that something was majorly wrong inside that transmission, but God stepped in because of the faith in the prayers of many people that night. God gave us wisdom and security to carry out the mission He had for us. We saw over 840 cases from Tuesday to Thursday, many of whom heard the Truth of the Gospel for the first time (watch the blog for updated numbers).

An entire family prays together

In an area with active witchcraft and idolatry, this family reminds me, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, than you choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15