Sandy Winston is on a mission trip to Mexico during October. This will include work in Juarez and a trip to Guadalajara. As cell phone and computer access allows, she will provide updates on this webpage.
Monday, October 24: I was very tired on Saturday after the long trip to Guadalajara. I rested and did some laundry because I was out of clean clothes. In the evening I went to Chaparral, NM where Jeff had an event. It started on Friday evening and ended on Sunday mid-day. There were various singers, groups and preachers. Some people brought tents and slept outside. The church sponsoring the event was an Assembly of God church. They rented a very large tent that looked like a circus tent. Jeff was able to back his trailer into the tent at one end. It was cold in the tent, in the high 60s, but the cold didn't dampen their spirits. They were all singing, clapping and yelling "Amen" and enjoying the event. On Sunday I went to Juarez to attend a 23rd anniversary celebration for Dr. Mendez' church, Mt Sinai Baptist Church. In Mexico it is common for churches to have a celebration every year on the anniversary day of the church. There was a regular service in the morning from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and at 1:30 p.m. everyone went to the basement where tables and chairs were set up for a meal of Chili Colorado with pork and rice. There was another service at 3:00 p.m. to celebrate the anniversary. Some singing groups from some of the other Baptist churches performed. We sing hymns from the hymnal, most of which I recognized. Communion was served, but only those baptized in a Baptist church could participate. The service closed with singing "Because He Lives". Afterwards we returned to the basement and ate a beautiful delicious cake that Ana Mendez made. I was starting to feel sad at the end of the day because I won't get to see all of my Mexican friends for a few months. On Monday morning I walked across the border to the Mexican immigration office in Mexico to cancel the tourist visa. I had to wait in line more than 2 hours to cross back into the U.S. It was boring, but I did enjoy the 80 degree temperature. Tomorrow I will be on the plane back to Ohio. On reflection I am hoping that I was useful and helpful during my time here. I continually pray for guidance to see if God wants me continue with mission work. I feel that I am supposed to do this for as long as God wants. I am looking forward to seeing everyone back home soon. Thanks for all of your prayers and support.
Friday, October 21: Yesterday we packed up and left the camp. We went to the downtown market for a few hours because part of the group did not have a chance to go to the market on Tuesday. In the afternoon we went to a small pueblo called Ponala which is an artisan community. There were many booths set up along approximately 10 blocks of the street. The town is known for ceramics, glassware and furniture. I spent some of my money at the market and I am trying to make sure I have enough to get back to Juarez. Food can be purchsed for a reasonable price. Quesadillas cost about $1.50 - $2.00 and an entire plate of food costs $3.50 - $4.00. We finally started down the highway at about 7:00 p.m. last night. I was able to sleep most of the night. When I awoke the landscape looked like the dessert so I knew we were in the northern part of Mexico. Everybody enjoyed the trip but is anxious to get home.
Thursday, October 20: On Wednesday morning we walked around for about two hours handing out more pamphlets near the aquatic stadium. The tennis matches are also held in this area. We heard that there were seats available at no charge to watch the tennis matches. Cecilia, Rafael and I were able to enter and watch several men's tennis games between Chili and Peru. We were excited to see some of the Pan American Games which are like the Olympics for all countries in North and South America. We returned to the Good Shepherd Church and had lunch around 2 p.m. Elvia, the pastors wife, had made two different entrees - lasagna with some vegetables on the side and the other was chile relleno and rice. In the afternoon we drove over to the stadium where the soccer games are held. We stood at the walkway at the entrance of the stadium and passed out more pamphlets. At 6:00 p.m we went back to the camp and after dinner we had an informal worship service with singing, prayers and testimonials. The Baptists all know many songs from memory and they all sing loud. I only knew a few of the songs. It was the last night to sleep at the camp so there was much activity with people starting to pack their bags and people exchanging emails, phone numbers and Facebook information. I already have a few Mexican friends on Facebook and now I will be able to add some friends from Argentina and Venezuela. I'm trying not to think about the long ride back to Juarez, but I'm thinking about the work we did and the fun we had this week.
Wednesday, October 19: On Monday morning we went to the Good Shepherd Church to start working this week. We set up an area in the church for a clinic. Dr. Mendez and his wife, Ana, stayed at the church while the rest of us went in pairs walking in the neighborhood to evangelize. We handed out pamphlets with a Christian message and we also handed out water. We talked to people on the streets, knocked on doors and also put the fliers on windshields and in mail boxes. We worked in the area where the aquatic events of the Pan American Games are being held. I was nervous at first, but after a while it was easier. I worked with Pastor Franco. He is very talkative, so he did most of the talking. This is the first time that I have done any evangelizing. I hope that the Evangelism Committee won't try to recruit me now that I am experienced. There are five Venezuelan students staying at our camp. There are also several Argentinians. It has been interesting talking to them and hearing their different accents and discussing the differences in words used in different Hispanic countries. I have been helping in the kitchen of the camp to make sandwiches every morning. Everyone gets a sandwich, fruit, cookies and a boxed drink to take with them every day. Maria de los Angeles and I start at 6:30 a.m. and make 40 - 50 sandwiches. There are two cooks at the camp and they make big breakfasts and dinners for us every day. They are happy for us to help them. On Tuesday morning we walked around the neighborhood for a short time. We've had very few patients so far. A doctor in Guadalajara who is part of the planning team here did not want Dr Mendez to have clinics like he has in Juarez, but we did set up everything to at least give medical attention to the few people who have come. In the afternoon we went to a market in downtown for shopping and later in the evening we walked around the main square to take photos of the cathedral and several fountains. There was a Salvation Army band from Mexico City playing music on one of the squares and many people were singing along to the Christian songs. We got back to the camp around 10:00 p.m. and finally had our supper. Everyone was tired from all of the walking and looked forward to a good night's sleep.
Sunday, October 16: We arrived in Guadalajara mid-afternoon on Saturday. It is the second largest city in Mexico. It took over an hour to find the place where we needed to go even though we had a map. There was a lot of weaving, driving, organizing, etc. Some people from Texas are staying in a hotel. The rest of us are staying in a dorm at a Baptist camp. The dorms are sufficient but not fancy. The cost including meals is $6 per day. The 40 people in our group are divided into 5 teams and each team is assigned to a local church. The church is responsible for getting us to where we need to go each day. On Saturday night we all attended a church service. Several hundred people were packed into all the pews. Everyone sang hymns like How Great Thou Art, Battle of the Republic and It Is Well with My Soul (all in Spanish). The evangelistic campaign of the Baptist Church has participants from many countries - Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and the USA. I met some Americans from Springfield, MO, and I was interested in hearing about their mission work. This morning the groups went to their respective churches for church and afterwards they ate at the church. Our church was near a very large Metropolitan park and we were able to walk around for a little while and help set up for the many activities to coincide with the Pan American Games. In the evening all the groups and all the people from the other countries went to a service at the Gethsemane Church which is the base for the coordination of the evangelistic crusade. We had dinner at around 10 p.m., as it is the Mexican custom to eat dinner late in the evening. About 8 more people arrived to stay with us at the camp. They are a mix of young people from Venezuela and Argentina. Some of the students from there know how to speak English and they wanted to talk to me to practice their English. The rest of the group will be evangelizing tomorrow, but part of us will be setting up a clinic at the Good Shepherd church that will be offered more to the hundreds of volunteers who will be evangelizing rather than to the neighborhood people. When we are with a big church, it ends up being a different kind of clinic for Dr. Mendez than he usually has. Looking forward to tomorrow and praying that we will be of service.
Saturday, October 15: It was a long but comfortable ride to Guadalajara. There are about 40 people and we have been riding in an air conditioned tour bus. We saw two American movies in Spanish. When I first heard about the trip I thought we would be riding in an old school bus and people would be holding live chickens on their laps like you see in movies about Mexico. But I am happy that we have had a luxurious ride. I know two other people on the trip besides Dr. and Ana Mendez. Oswald was on the trip to the Sierra when we visited the Tarahumara Indians two years ago and Pastor Willie is the pastor of the church, Guadeloupe Victoria, about an hour and a half west of Juarez where we have had clinics in the past. Hopefully I'll get to know some of the other people this week. As we drove more south and as the sky became lighter in the morning, I could see that there was more green vegetation, many trees and cactus. We drove on a toll road and there were many stops at the toll booths. We stopped for breakfast at a restaurant where they were grilling chicken and other meat outside on the grill. People ordered plates of the meat and then used tortillas to scoop it up and top it off with salsa pico de gallo or another salsa made with cactus (nopales), onions and tomatoes. I ordered quesadillas because I didn't feel like eating a big hunk of meat in the morning. Upon arriving in Guadalajara we said a prayer and everyone on the bus contributed several sentences to the prayer. Then they sang several Christian songs in Spanish. Everything is going well so far.
Thursday, October 13: On Tuesday, I walked across the border to get my permit to travel to Guadalajara. If a person travels by land in Mexico outside of the 16 mile border zone, a permit needs to be purchased. The cost was only $20 and it expires in 6 months. After the trip I will need to return to the immigration office to cancel it so that I don't have to pay a fine. On Wednesday we were supposed to have a clinic. Dr. Mendez and I arrived at 9:00 a.m. at the Cristo Salva (Christ Saves) church, but the pastor did not show up to unlock the church. We don't know if he forgot or if something happened. We waited for over an hour and then we left. When I am in Ohio I get disappointed when things don't work out. But when I'm here, everything doesn't go as planned, but I just "go with the flow". So on Wednesday afternoon, I helped Dr. Mendez get things ready for the trip and we drove around to various places to do some errands and to pick up a few things. Today I packed my clothes after checking the internet for the weather in Guadalajara. The highs are expected to be around 78 degrees with lows around 55, but the forecast is for rain every day which is probably from the recent hurricane on the west coast of Mexico. We are leaving on Friday afternoon and so I am looking forward to an adventure.
Monday, October 10: Everyone had fun at the birthday party on Saturday night. About 25 people came. Sandra made several Mexican dishes that were delicious. We ate chipotle chicken (chipotle is the name of a chili and not just the name of a restaurant), chili colorado with beef, refried beans, rice, and nachos. There was also a large cake and ice cream. The kids enjoyed a game of musical chairs and afterwards they had a lifesize pinata that was in the shape of a transformer. Sandra's brother, Chuy and his two kids, came from Mexico and stayed with us over the weekend to help with the party. On Sunday we went to church and then rested because we were tired from all of the work of the party. Today the kids are off of school for Columbus Day so we may do a family activity. I've started doing some planning on the project that Tim Gamwell has asked me to do.
Friday, October 7: I arrived in El Paso on Wednesday night and had two uneventful flights. I have enjoyed spending time with Roberto, Nathan, and Rebeka. Rebeka has changed a lot since I last saw her. She is walking now and says a few words. She is active and enjoys her dolls and other toys and she dances to music. Yesterday I had a meeting in downtown El Paso with Tim Gamwell and Dr. Mendez to talk about the medical ministry. We will not be having any clinics next week before we leave for Guadalajara. We are leaving next Friday and since Dr. Mendez is the leader of the trip, he will be busy with the preparations of the trip. I am planning to go to Juarez on Monday to get a travel permit because I will be traveling outside of the 20 mile border zone. Meanwhile I will be enjoying hanging out in El Paso with the grandkids and I will be helping Tim Gamwell with a project. Tomorrow, Jeff and Sandra are having a birthday party here for Nathan and Roberto. October is the month halfway between their birthdays, so they are sharing the limelight together. There could be up to 50 people coming to the party. So we are busy getting ready. Sandra's brother, Chuy, and his two kids came here this afternoon from Juarez to help with the preparations for the party. They will be spending the night here, so it will be like a pajama party for the kids. Hopefully everyone will get a good night's sleep.
