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Dengue Alert in Mérida

October 22, 2009 in Prayer by Dave | Permalink

Dengue, also known as “bone break fever”, is a mosquito-borne illness that leads to fever, severe headaches, and joint pain. A more severe and sometimes fatal form of the disease, known as dengue hemorrhagic fever is on the rise in the city of Merida.

Being here in the States for itineration, we’ve received reports from fellow missionaries that the Yucatán, in addition to dealing with the ongoing problems of the swine flu, is now experiencing an outbreak of this serious disease. In their church, four cases have been reported. One case, a teenage boy, was so serious that he had to spend 5 days in the ICU with a temporary pacemaker before he responded to treatment. Our family doctor alone has reported having eight patients all with the serious hemorrhagic form of the disease in the hospital under his care.

Precautions are being taken by some, but the news media has remained strangely silent, perhaps preventing general measures from being taken to stem the spread of this dangerous disease.

In response to this report, we are asking you to pray.

Pray for protection for those who have not contracted the disease and for healing for those who are currently suffering.
Pray for an increased awareness among the public to help eradicate the breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus.
Pray for an increased effectiveness among the churches in compassionate outreach and bold proclamation as people deal with this life threatening situation.

Tags: dengue, dengue hemorrhagic fever, MÃ©rida, mosquito

Persecution? Is that still going on in Mexico?

September 22, 2009 in Persecution, Prayer by Dave | Permalink

The answer is a resounding yes. Here is what Ilona Hadinger, missionary to Oaxaca had to say in a prayer focus on Mexico AG.org:

Earlier this month in Oaxaca State, catholic Indians in a Zapotec village burned the pentecostal church to the ground. The thirteen families that make up the congregation were either detained from leaving the village or forbidden to reenter. They were also threatened with lynching.

Won’t you take a few moments to read the prayer focus and pray for the persecuted church in Mexico? Let’s stand together with them as they persevere in the midst of suffering.

The Swine Flu: Worse but Better

May 8, 2009 in Day2Day, Ministry, Prayer by Dave | Permalink

The A/H1N1 Virus

The swine flu has left its mark on Mexico. With 1204 confirmed cases and 44 deaths, the statistics are slightly less alarming than once predicted, but the disruption that it has caused, in the form of canceled activities and the accompanying economic hit (to the tune of millions of dollars), the images of mask wearing citizens, and the general preoccupation will not long be forgotten.

Here in Yucatán, where we were once thought to be swine flu free, the government has reported 18 cases, most coming from previously discarded cases that have since been confirmed. Still, even though the virus has yet to be eradicated, life begins its slow progress back to normalcy. Businesses, which had been closed completely except for basic necessities like food and gasoline, reopened on the 6th. Classes, canceled since the 28th of April, will resume on Monday, and, with the ban on public gatherings lifted, we’re resuming our ministry in churches starting this Sunday with another evangelism conference.

So even though we’re statistically worse off, it seems as though this round with the swine flu is drawing to a close. Still, we ask that you would keep praying for recovery for those who are now sick, for comfort and a sense of God’s presence among those who have lost a loved one, and for a realization here in Mexico of the fragility of life and the need of Savior.

Also, we ask that you would pray for us. We need to remain healthy as we transition back to the States. There is a lot of ministry to finish in addition to all of the reducing and packing we need to do before we say goodbye on June 20th.

Photo by LA100RRA 3logs

Tags: A/H1N1, Swine Flu

Life with Swine Flu

April 29, 2009 in Day2Day, Prayer by Dave | 3 comments

Police Officers don masks for protection.

The early afternoon is usually a usually a time of hustle and bustle here in Mérida. Students are heading home for “comida” the normal big meal of the day. Families are planning for the rest of the day–sports activities, a trip to the mall, an evening downtown, or school meetings to attend. But everything is strangely quiet. There is noticeably less traffic on the avenue near our home. There is no sound from the loudspeaker that normally broadcasts the names of the students whose parents have arrived to drive them home. That’s because there hasn’t been school since Monday. All public events have been canceled and activities that would gather people together, from churches to team practices have been prohibited, all to prevent the spread of what is now the scourge of Mexico, the Swine Flu.

Our understanding that something was awry began when our friends, Josh and April Amiot notified us that they were returning to Mexico City to attend the funeral of one of their good friends and ministry co-workers. An otherwise healthy mother of three, Nelly didn’t fit the profile of those who die of the flu. Normally the very old or the very young, under six, are those who succumb. Of course, this was just the trickle before the flood. By last Friday the 24th, we had heard of hundreds sick and dozens dead as the Swine Flu spread rapidly across central Mexico. At the end of the weekend, there were reports of sicknesses in 19 of the 32 Mexican States and drastic measures taken to stem the spread of this highly contagious, and surprisingly deadly, conglomeration of three different flu viruses.

Here in Mérida, and across Mexico, all schools have been closed until the 6th of May and all public gatherings have been prohibited until further notice. Labor Day, May 1st here in Mexico, will be observed without the customary parades. Sporting events have been held without fans, and our district convention, set to have begun yesterday has been suspended until a later date. Even church services are against the law. Those that need to work in the public sector have taken to donning masks to protect them against the airborne virus.

But we are not writing to scare you. Our family is well, and to date, no officially recognized case of Swine Flu has been recorded here in Mérida. Still, there is a definite tension in the air as anxiety and fear have taken hold. There is a sense of helplessness apparent as society waits for word of progress against this disease.

But we are not helpless, we can cry out to God and know that He will hear and respond to our requests. So we ask you to join with us as we intercede for this nation. Ilona Hadinger, a fellow Mexico Missionary and the coordinator of our prayer devotions on MexicoAG.org offers these points to guide us in our intercession:

Pray for the sick; for an end to the suffering.
Pray for families who have lost a loved one to the virus.
Intercede for believers as they boldly pray for the sick and proclaim the Good News of eternal life.
Ask for the peace of God to be felt across the land, and for many to commit their lives to the Prince of Peace.
Pray for pastors, Christian leaders, and missionaries to remain healthy with a steadfast trust in the Lord

.

Please join with us during this crucial time.

Photo provided by sarihuella on flickr.com

Tags: compassion, families, Mexico, Swine Flu

We get to Play Baseball

January 17, 2009 in Culture, Devotional, Ministry, Missions, Prayer by Dave | 3 comments

Teaching in Opichen

Around this time of the year, I start to get anxious. It’s been almost three months since the end of the World Series, and we’ve got only a few short weeks until pitchers and catchers report to start the 2009 baseball season. I’m looking forward to the date with anticipation, knowing that soon they’ll be playing baseball, and hoping that this will be the season that the Yankees win it all again.

In order to prepare, I start to watch baseball movies. One such movie is The Rookie , that Disney released some years ago. It’s the story of a high school science teacher who gets another shot at playing in the majors. In one scene, travailing in the minor leagues, traveling the lonely miles and feeling the pressure of his responsibilities at home, he decides to throw in the towel. “I’m just wasting my time,” he says to his wife over the phone. She asks back, referring the the game, “Do you still love it?”

He hangs up the phone and goes for a walk to think it over once again. Along the way, he encounters a night little league game, and in it he finds the joy and the hope in the game that he played as a child and had been given a chance to return to as an adult. With a renewed outlook, he heads back to the locker room. As he enters he asks another player, “Do you know what we get to do today?” Then, answering his own question he says, “We get to play baseball.”

Why am I waxing eloquent about baseball? Because I’ve been thinking about our job as missionaries. Lately, we’ve been really busy, rushing from place to place. I celebrated my daughter’s birthday on Saturday and directly after I was teaching our first session of the District Stewardship conferences that I had been invited to teach. Since that time, I’ve been on the road 3 of the past 4 nights, getting to bed later each night. When this finishes, I’ll be on the road again, this time to help in an evangelistic campaign that will take place two hours outside of Merida, where we have our home.

At times like these, I find myself missing my family, looking forward to getting home, and sometimes wishing that the events would be over. But then I have to ask myself what it is that I am actually doing. I received the call to missions when I was 15 years old, and since that time, my life had been centered around making it to the field. We prepared ourselves, obtained the necessary approvals, and raised funds for the purpose of becoming missionaries. Now, we’re doing it. How many times have I hoped, prayed, and dreamed of the day that God would allow us to make it to the field, and now it’s a reality.

Thinking about it again I’d have to say that, sure there are times when we find it hard, but we’re doing what we’re called to do. God’s fulfilled our dream, and every moment that we have here is another moment that we get to step out into another adventure with our Lord.

So I want to say thanks to all of you who have had a part in helping us to get here and stay here. I’d also like to ask you to pray for us. Pray that the words that we say would be what God would ask us to share, and pray that these events will reach the people that He’s preparing. And while you’re doing that, stop for a moment and thank God for the journey that you’re on with Him. After all, “We get to play baseball!”

Thumbnail appearing on the excerpt of this article from B Tal’s photostream on Flickr.com

Tags: Baseball, fulfillment, Missions

Taking Advantage of Opportunities

August 25, 2008 in Day2Day, Ministry, Prayer by Dave | 4 comments

Here on the mission field, we’ve come to recognize that it is important to take advantage opportunities. Take the grocery store for example. Certain staples that we depended on in the US, like applesauce, make appearances for a limited time only. So, when we saw the display of “puré de manzana” at the local Wal-Mart, we bought 5 jars.

Of course, taking advantage of opportunities requires a certain amount of preparation. First, you have to be looking for them. If we had decided that we would never see applesauce again, it’s possible that we would have passed by the display without even noticing. Second, you have to be able to make the investment. A hand-to-mouth style of living doesn’t allow wiggle room for large purchases, so without the needed cash we would have had to pass up the sweet appley goodness.

Ministry can be the same way. Opportunities arise at time when we least expect it. Take this week: a casual dinner conversation turned to a daughter in need; a meeting the next day touched on the subject of a marriage in trouble; and a greeting after service brought with it a story of sickness and family strife. How would we view each situation? Would we see them as opportunities to apply the gospel we preach and teach or would they be taken as distractions in our otherwise busy day?

I’m happy to say that each situation that I mentioned we took the opportunity to minister. A daughter was counseled, a marriage encouraged, and a fellow believer prayed for. Still, I wonder, did we see all of the opportunities? Was God working in other ways that we weren’t prepared for? Or perhaps we simply weren’t willing to invest?

Paul asks the Ephesians for prayer in chapter 6 verses 18-20 that he might boldly speak the gospel. I believe that this petition not only has to do with attitude but also with availability. Paul wrote his letter in chains. He did not have the freedom to travel and to teach. It would have been easy to say that others now need to take up the work, that now was his time to rest. He could have closed himself off from the world, and yet he asked for prayer so that he would “open his mouth” to share.

We too ask for that prayer, that we who have been called as ambassadors of Christ will take advantage of every opportunity available to us. That we will be able to recognize how God is working in each situation and align ourselves to cooperate with Him as He carries out his mission here in Mexico and around the world.

Oh, and if you’ve got the scoop on where to find some Twizzlers here in Mérida we’re ready to buy.

Tags: Opportunities

Learning to Fly

July 10, 2008 in Devotional, Ministry, Prayer by Dave | 5 comments

Preaching Friday night, teaching Saturday morning, a week long class next week, the schedule keeps on piling up. The difference is, I’m not the one who’s dealing with it, it’s Kelly. Being invited to preach in a youth service, leading a Saturday Morning Kid’s Service, and teaching during our church’s Vacation Bible School has kept Kelly occupied, planning and preparing. So much so that I’ve decided to take some flying lessons. No, not that type of flying.

Actually, flying is a clever way of talking about housekeeping that Marla Cilley a.k.a “the FlyLaydy” invented to encourage those who would like to keep a clean house, but were never “born-organized” to achieve that dream. With my Kelly out of the picture for long stretches, I needed a little bit of motivation to help me pick up the slack around the house. So I turned to the site for tips and routines that would help me keep the house up, while enabling me to devote time my kids, who just got out of school last week. Fortunately, although FlyLady.net is definitely geared to the feminine audience, I found lots of time saving techniques that have helped me to let Kelly devote herself to her preparation, while keeping me from a nervous breakdown.

In fact, as I have been swishing toilets and scrubbing pans, I found myself thinking of the spirituality of it all. No, I’m not saying that doing the dishes is helping me get closer to God, but switching roles has helped me understand a bit more about ministering as a missionary couple. Ephesians 5:22-33 is the classic passage on the husband and wife relationship. Wives are to submit, while husbands are to love. What many of us miss, however, is that Paul, in verse 21, commands all to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Now, I am not saying that Kelly is now ordering me around or leaving honey-do lists on my pillow in the morning, but what I am saying is that there are times in ministry, and I could say in secular life as well, that the husband is up front, doing the public relations and making the decisions. There are also times when that shoe is on the other foot, and the wife takes the lead. Perhaps this is what Paul was saying when he recommended Phoebe to the Romans saying, “After all, she has proved to be a respected leader for many others, including me.” (Romans 16:2 CEV)

So this week, Kelly has become the face of our public ministry. She’s been the one up front, going to meetings and making the decisions, and that’s a good thing. I’ve submitted to what the Lord is doing through her during this time knowing that He’s called us both to serve Him here in Mexico.

Speaking of what the Lord is doing, I’d like to request that you say a prayer for Kelly this weekend, and if you can, remember her throughout next week. I’m sure she’d appreciate that, and while you’re at it you can pray for me as well–dishpan hands can be really annoying.

Tags: Housecleaning, Marriage, Submission

Preparations

March 7, 2008 in Ministry, Missions, Prayer by Dave | 1 comment

We are preparing for a busy week of ministry as we receive my brother, Mike, and his team of 9 students from the Chi Alpha Campus Ministry at American University. Instead of choosing a party spot, this group has decided to invest their Spring Break in ministry, trading a beach towel for a shovel and all night partying for evangelistic rallies.

The group arrives at the Mérida airport tomorrow at 9:00 PM, but that’s not where the story begins. This event has been in the planning stages since November of last year, and it’s scope is larger than anything we’ve attempted before.

Preparations began with two intensive evangelism training courses held in Muna and in Mérida. In these sessions, 4 churches had the opportunity to learn about personally communicating the gospel. We encouraged each student to focus on a list of five individuals that they could evangelize, praying, serving and sharing with each person in the months that preceded the arrival of the Chi Alpha team. The team in turn was preparing to share a gospel message, with the hope to be able to share this message with people who are ready to receive.

At this point, the excitement is brewing with several churches looking to capitalize on the special event that is the ministry of these college students. In Abalá, a village 1/2 hour away from Muna, there are plans to plant a church, in Opichén a town on the route to the Maya ruins of Uxmal, the town square is being reserved for the event. In Muna, the evangelism committee has painted 20 walls with the phrase: “Do you feel dry?” (Te sientes Seco?)The answer will be brought as the team distributes water and an invitation to the night’s service that says “Jesus is the water of life!” In Sacalúm the church has planned a 3 night campaign that the team will open on Wednesday.

Thinking about all of this, I can’t help but smile. Our desire when we arrived in Mexico was to serve as a catalyst within the state of Yucatán–an element that would enable the local church launch out in ministry. As this event begins to take shape, I have the feeling that we are accomplishing that goal though these efforts, providing opportunities for congregations to take their place as Christ’s ambassadors as they announce the kingdom of God in their communities.

Keep us in prayer this week, and keep posted for the good reports as Americans and Mexicans work side by side in ministry.

By the way, for those of you that voted on last week’s post we’ve declared Mike the winner! His prize? Well a trip to Mexico. of course!

Tags: Chi Alpha, Evangelism, Ministry, Spring Break

Fear Invades Mérida

February 6, 2008 in Day2Day, Missions, Prayer by Dave | Permalink

“Mérida is a tranquil place.” It’s a place where “no pasa nada (nothing happens),” the residents enjoy saying, but this headline from today’s edition of the Diario de Yucatán, one of the major newspapers of the city, seems to suggest that things may be changing.

No, we are not under military alert, nor have we hired armed guards to follow us around the city. And yes, children still do play in the park down the street, and many enjoy evening strolls along the avenues. But what many once thought was impossible here is now becoming somewhat routine.

Let me give you a run-down of the events.

January 13th: Police officers and suspects trade fire in the Gran Plaza, a popular shopping center. Officers would later confiscate an AK-47 rifle from those charged in the shootout.
January 14th: A homicide, thought at first to be an assassination attempt, puts the city on edge. Later investigation makes the husband the principal suspect.
February 1st: A bomb explodes near the home of the the Secretary’s of Police home in Monte Albán (one neighborhood north of the site of our previous house).
February 2nd: Citizens of Mérida take to the streets to denounce the escalating crime in a “March for Peace.”
February 3rd: Meridians receive a report of the assassination of one officer and the wounding of three others in the west of Mérida.
February 3rd: Ivonne Ortega, governor of the state of Yucatán declares that the the assassination was the result of new measures to “step on the toes” of criminals in Mérida and was an unrelated incident in the new wave of violence.
February 4th: In what some are saying was a violent reaction to the words of the governor, a resident of Progresso, apparently involved in the drug trade, is found decapitated in a house in Garcia Ginerés (our dentist has his office in this neighborhood.)

Again, I’m not writing this post to alarm you, only to show you the current state of events here in Mérida and ask you to pray. Sure, we’d like to see Mérida return to the sleepy city that it once was, but we would also like to see this wake up call to the police become a wake up call to non-believers and Christians alike.

This world that we live in is broken, and increased security can’t fix it. Only the message of forgiveness of Jesus and a restored relationship with God can, and only a unified, mobilized church, reaching out to it’s community can bring this message.

Pray for peace, but pray for the lasting peace that only salvation can bring.

Photos are from www.yucatan.com.mx. You may also read the special section detailing these events in Spanish.

Dean the Day After

August 22, 2007 in Nature, Prayer by Dave | Permalink

Dean from Space What can we say except, “Thank God for his protection!” as we assess the situation here in the Yucatán.
The facts are plain:

Dean was a category 5 hurricane, the highest on the scale of hurricane strength.
It made landfall with a sustained wind speed of 165 mph the first since Andrew to do so.
Dean is now among the top 10 strongest hurricanes on record at landfall.
Storms of the magnitude of Dean have the potential to be catastrophic. Andrew, for example, caused 65 fatalities and 38.1 billion dollars worth of damage in today’s economy.

Still the final results are nothing less than miraculous:

To date no fatalities have been directly blamed on Dean here in the Yucatán
Upon landfall, the storm rapidly lost strength and caused what President Calderon has said was “minor damage.”
The Diario de Yucatan (Spanish) called Dean a “dry hurricane.” Most populated areas received high winds but little to none of the rains that were expected to cause flooding across the peninsula. Our contact in Muna, Pastor Julian Puc, held service that same night, while Pastor Santos Reyes, who is in Ciudad del Carmen where the hurricane left the peninsula, has told me that everything is functioning “as normal” after only 24 hours without electricity.

Everything from the landfall over a less populated area, to the speed in which it passed over was beneficial for the inhabitants of the Yucatán.

Again, thank you for your prayers on our behalf and that of the people of Yucatán. Also, thank you to those who wished us well through e-mail, phone calls, comments on our site, and links highlighting the situation. We appreciate each one of you.

Prayer

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