Saturday, May 25th we crossed the border at Nogales and continued traveling south to Pesqueira where we arrived just in time for the youth meeting of the church we stayed at that night. And so began a fascinating, informative, challenging whirlwind tour of various locations in northern Sonora and Baja California. The following day we intended to join an existing outreach organized by a church in Hermosillo, reaching out to indigenous migrant workers. But, alas, the van broke down and we ended up at another church for the night and had a few hours to collect ourselves before we took off in the morning for Miguel Alemán. By the time we returned to the U.S. on June 4th we had been involved in outreaches to six different migrant camps, and ministered in a retirement home, several churches, a rehab center, and had conversed at length with a Cocopah pastor of an indigenous community outside of Luis Sanchez, Baja California.
I estimate that we traveled approximately 1,500 miles from Flagstaff to various towns and cities outside of which the migrant workers were housed in large concrete block dormitories (usually). I gained a new appreciation for our fruits and vegetables provided by these hard
working, mostly young (teens) workers from remote indigenous villages
.
We met amazingly generous people. We lived in somewhat “humble” conditions, sharing with our hosts whatever they had. We heard Spanish spoken nearly 24/7 and only met one other person outside our team who spoke more than a few words of English.
Our team from the U.S. consisted of 3 of us from IBC; 2 other Navajo older guys; an Anglo missionary from Tucson; and our leader, guide, and translator, Mike Hendricks (5th from the left with broad-brimmed hat).
I was privileged to meet Ramón, a Zapotec attending a sister Bible college in northern Baja California.
Thank you for praying. We’ll see what becomes of these continuing opportunities in the future. In the meantime, I am back in the office most days. I enjoyed a week with folks from a supporting church in Massachusetts who came to volunteer at IBC. Now we are starting the process of compiling information and preparing to write our next Self-study document for accreditation.
One of the most exciting parts for me was seeing the indigenous workers respond to the IBC men. After we passed out books of John and Romans and invited the workers to attend a film, we did a brief presentation including testimonies from the IBC men. After the film, the workers were invited to meet the IBC students and other people from our team and the host church. One night there were about 20 workers who responded by seeking out the IBC men, asking for prayer and one asking for help in being reconciled to God.
We’d appreciate your continued prayer for class preparations for fall and for compiling the documents necessary to retain our accreditation standing. Our annual staff retreat is coming up immediately after I take a week’s vacation in Cloudcroft, NM, August 1-7. Classes begin September 2nd.
Gratefully,
Martha
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