2009 NID LWML Mission Trip

After a day of sightseeing we arrived safely at O'Hare on Saturday evening.

Words from El Paso - Oct 29, 2009 It is hard to believe that this trip is coming to an end. This morning it was still overcast and we all dressed as warm as we could. The nice hot breakfast warmed us up and was a good start to the day. This morning Pedro drove the van and Chris drove his pickup since at the end of the day we needed to bring back the remaining glasses to send to Most Ministries. On the way to Cristo Rey this morning, we enjoyed looking at the snow capped mountains. Thanks to your prayers, there was no backup at the border this morning. When we arrived at Cristo Rey there were about 10-15 people waiting. So we all quickly set up our work stations and the work began. The ladies of the church brought us warm cocoa, tea or coffee. It helped to warm us up. We had a steady crowd, every time a bus went by a handful of people would come in. The ladies of the church provided lunch for us again. They had fresh tortias, rice, beans and chilies stuffed with muenster cheese and fried. Today they sold over 60 meals at $3.00 a plate to raise money to pay the electric and other bills. This seems like a very reasonable price for such a meal. In the afternoon it got a little warmer, but the breeze was still cool. As you shook hands with the people you could feel their cold hands. Everyone was saying “frio” which means cold. As each day passes, we learn 1 or 2 more Spanish words. Today we served 133 people. This is the largest amount for the 4 days. Now Pastor Javier, Pastor Martinez and Rosy will meet and follow-up with these people and families.  After breaking down and packing up our supplies and glasses we headed back to El Paso. It will be a bitter sweet return because we have met so many nice people. And there are so many more that need help. It both gladdens and saddens the heart. As we approached the bridge back to El Paso the traffic was moderate and 5 of the people decided to walk across the bridge. The first thing the 5 did was to stop and get some Polentas (ice cream bars). The remaining 6 stayed in the nice warm van. The walkers enjoyed the atmosphere of weather and people. The riders experienced seeing a drug sniffing dog get very excited by a pick-up and watched as 3 boarder guards ran toward the truck while the driver got out of the truck and tried to run away. Fortunately the guards caught the driver and took him and his female passenger away in hand cuffs, followed by their truck being drive by the third guard. Soon afterwards the van met up with the walkers and we excitedly shared the story.  When we arrived back at San Pablo some boxed up the remaining glasses and supplies while others passed out flyers in the neighborhood. After a supper of pulled pork, macaroni and corn, we purchased some souvenirs for family and friends back home. These are sold to help Ysleta support itself and its missions. So with some sorrow and some joy we will say good bye for the last time (at least on this trip) and look forward to seeing you all again soon. Blessings, Most Ministries El Paso Eyeglass Clinic

Notes from El Paso 10/28/09 Today was a different kind of day in El Paso. It was mild this morning with clouds building as the day went on. Erin said that these clouds usually are harmless. But after about an hour or so it started raining, just about the time we arrived at Cristo Rey. We jumped out of the van and ran into the church and prepared our work stations. There were about 20-30 people already at church waiting for us, some in the rain. We quickly got set up and started processing the people. About the same time we finished getting ready, the rain increased and people crowed into the church to get out of the rain. So the crowded environment led us to pick up our pace. People continued to pour into church (pun intended) as the rain poured down. We were blessed by a local Optician who came to help us help the people of Juarez. This allowed us to free up one of us to float and help relieve the congestion. With his help, we dispensed 96 pairs of glasses by lunch time. The lunch of delicious Gorditos was prepared for us by the ladies of the church. They prepare these daily and sell them to the local people as a way of raising money for the church. Unfortunately the rain in the afternoon kept many people away so we only gave our 122 pairs of glasses. Please pray for warmer weather and little (or no) rain for tomorrow, so as many people as possible can make it to the clinic on our last day. Also pray that our pack-up at the end of the day goes well and that we avoid rain when we load the vans. Thank you for your prayers for Justin, he is doing well. Blessings,

Most Ministries Juarez Eyeglass Clinic

Notes form El Paso – Oct 27, 2009 As we sit listening to the San Pablo Mariachi Band, we take a moment to reflect on the day. The band has 12 people who practice for 2 hours every Tuesday. The band is made up of volunteers ranging in age from 14 to 53. They all play their own instrument such as violin, trumpet and guitars. They have memorized over 300 songs that they play to share the Gospel, in parks and parking lots, churches, conferences and wherever they can. Today we again had mild weather with some wearing jackets to fight the chill. Thanks for your prayers as there were no back-ups at the boarder today. We all set up and worked at our stations today. The day went at a wonderful pace, never feeling over whelmed nor bored. Returning today to San Lucas was like going to see old friends. We had dozens of school aged children including a group of 8-10 young men (17-20 years old) who did computer work. They were all respectful, friendly and were happy to receive the glasses. We wrapped up today at around 3:00 PM and took down the tables, packed the glasses and other stuff. We then loaded them into the van and truck and took them to Christo Rey. We then proceeded to unload them and set up for tomorrow and Thursday’s eyeglass clinic there. Christo Rey is a small church located close to downtown Juarez. We exchanged the sandy, hilly roads by San Lucas for concrete roads with fast moving cars, buses and trucks. On the way back to San Pablo we stopped at a small shop and got some frozen ice cream like treats called “Palentias”. There were flavors like pistachio, grape, strawberry, pink pineapple, cookies and cream, watermelon, limon (lemon) and more. Everyone seemed to enjoy ”their flavor” more than the other persons. We left there and proceeded across the boarder back to San Pablo. We had some free time when we got back and a few of us walked up to the store to buy some goodies. When we got back it was time for evening devotion, the theme was “Dancing with God through life”. Shortly after finishing devotions we had a wonderful dinner of Gorditos, rice and beans. We had muskmelon juice and apricots for dessert (are you hungry yet). Please pray for the son of one of the members of our team. Justin came down with a high fever. Things seem to be under control but you can imagine the worry of his mother here with us. Please continue to pray for the success of our outreach so that many can be helped. Blessings, Juarez Most Ministries Eyeglass Team

Words from El Paso (10/26/09) Today started with mild weather. Some of the women needed sweaters to cross the compound (Erin’s word) for breakfast. Our dorms are on one side and we pass the church and education building every day to breakfast. Rita fixed us some of the fluffiest pancakes with bacon and eggs.  Shortly after breakfast we loaded up the van and headed to our first eyeglass clinic at San Lucas Church. Unfortunately today was the day after everyone crossed over into El Paso and they decided to go back to Juarez. This means that we had another delay in crossing the border (only 2 hours this time). We brought our lunch of peanut butter & jelly and ham sandwiches plus a big cooler of water. We arrived at San Lucas Church and there about 30-40 people waiting for the clinic to open. We had 6 translators working with us today. Chris, Erin and Pietro work at Ysleta Arthur, Sergio and Luis met us there. Arthur will soon graduate and become and Episcopalian minister. Sergio is studying nursing and Luis is a generous volunteer. San Lucas hosted the eyeglass clinic about 1 year ago, so word of our visit spread quickly. We saw approx. 132 clients today. It was GREAT! A local television station came and video taped some of the clients at various work stations. It is supposed> to be televised tonight so we are expecting a much larger turnout tomorrow and at Christo Rey on Wednesday and Thursday. Each client started at the nurse getting an

examination for diseases that would prevent glasses from helping vision. The 5 people did vision testing to determine the correct lens. After that 5 people pulled the correct glasses from inventory. The next station was fitting. This is where the glasses were adjusted, if necessary, to fit properly on the client. The final station was cleaning of the glasses, giving sun glasses and glass cases. As they left the clients were given an opportunity to be witnessed to by Pastor Javier, Student Deaconess Rosy or Pastor Martinez. They are all locals and are very active in supporting and growing the church. We closed the clinic at 3:00 PM because of yesterday’s long wait to cross the boarder. Thank the Lord that today’s trip was much shorter, only a little over an hour. Upon return we had evening devotions and reviewed our day. There were so many interesting people. We found that other than the unadorned church, run down homes and sandy streets that the people we helped were our neighbors. The people were friendly and patient, they never seemed to get upset that we did not speak their language. This evening after supper, Erin drove us up the side of the mountain to overlook El Paso and Juarez. It was an amazing sight to see the lights of the cities spread before us and the complete darkness behind them. It was chilly up there, but an enjoyable trip. Please pray for another successful day tomorrow. Pray that we get one more translator. Pray for Rosy who is studying to be a Deaconess. She is working with Ysleta on organizing the San Lucas and Christo Rey Sunday School programs. Pray for Sergio as he studies medicine. Pray for Arthur as he completes his Christian Education. Pray for Pastor Javier and Pastor Martinez as they witness to the community.

Blessings, Most Ministries Juarez Eyeglass Team

Date: Sunday, October 25, 2009, 10:59 PM

Words from El Paso,

Today was a calm day starting with breakfast at 8:00 AM. The cook here at Ysleta, Rita, is very good. At 9:00 AM we attended the English service here at San Pablo Church. We had a Servant Blessing during the service and sang Beautiful Savior. After church we went to the 10:3 AM Bible study led by Pastor Heimers' wife Janet. We looked at Acts 16:11 about Paul and Silas being jailed after casing out a demon. We had some downtime before lunch and took a walk to a local cemetery. A section of the cemetery was started in the 1700's. There were old wood crosses on a number graves as well as stone crosses and headstones. A number of graves were in dis-repair. The new section of the cemetery was decorated with flowers on almost every grave. We then took the van to San Lucas Church in Anapra, a suburb of Juarez. One thing that stands out is how close Juarez is to the mountains. These mountains are part of the Sierra Madres. Being nestled next to these mountain, you see many small wood and tin, shack like, buildings set in the ravines. We unpacked the cases of glasses and supplies, and organized the tables to be ready for the first day of eyeglass clinic tomorrow. We attended the Spanish language "only" service at San Lucas. San Lucas was able to make their sanctuary separate from the other areas of the building. This allows us to leave the tables and supplies in place. So tomorrow morning should go smoothly. After a wonderful day we were lucky enough to spend 3 hours crossing the border back into Texas. Gayle was kind enough to purchase a couple of snacks on the bridge over the Rio Grande as we waited to cross over. The snacks hit the spot after the work of setting up and the long trip back. We were supposed to eat supper at 7:00 PM but were not able to get back until 8:15 PM. Luckily Pedro and Rita the cook, waited for us and we had delicious enchiladas ready for us.  Please pray that each area of the clinic goes smoothly and that the people that come to the clinic are helped. Also pray that the return trip tomorrow, and the following nights is quicker than tonight and if not that we have patience.

Yours in Christ, The Most Ministries Eyeglass Clinic

Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 10:45 PM

Words from El Paso, TX

Thank-you for the support you have given the Juarez, NID-LWML Eyeglass Mission. We had three members from Michigan, meet us at O'Hare airport. We departed Chicago at 10:50 and we were blessed with our flight leaving on time. The weather was beautiful for an airplane trip. We had minimal turbulence. Upon arriving in El Paso we were met by two very nice people from Ysleta Mission, where we are staying. Erin and Chris will be our drivers and interpreters at our clinics.  We arrived at 1 pm Mountain time, and had lunch at "Whataburger", a Texas chain. The food was delicious. At Ysleta, Erin gave us a tour of the compound, and covered the house rules. After reviewing our clinic duties, we walked to a local Mexican restaurant - ElRoble. Where we had the best three milk cake. Now we have just finished our evening devotion and are preparing for tomorrow. Ysleta will provide breakfast at 8 am and we will attend the San Pablo church service at 9 am. There will be a Bible Study afterwards and a Spanish service after that. Ysleta is a mission that raises its own money to service the community. Just before we had arrived Erin and Chris had handed out 150 food baskets to the local El Paso community. Tomorrow afternoon we will be visiting our first clinic church. Igelesia Luterana San Lucas. After checking out the eyeglasses that MOST has mailed here, we will participate in their church service.  Please continue to pray for our safety. Although we have been assured of our safety, it is always nice to know we are being prayed for. Also pray that our actions and behavior will have a positive effect on those we meet in the up coming days.

Yours in Christ, Your Friends in Mexico