Our dear beloved in Christ!

We send you a tight hug, abrazo, from San Cristobal de Las Casas, (SCLC) Chiapas, México. It is good to be part of the great body of Christ! Some of you we have not seen in long time, but your prayers and support are always appreciated and we are very grateful for your accompaniment.

We would like to share with you where we are now! At the present we live in SCLC, a colonial city at Chiapas, México (see the map). Did you know that Mexico is the 6th country with most languages spoken! Here we have 62 languages (but versions of them go up to 230!)

Right now we work with indigenous people from the Tseltal and Tsotsil ethnic groups in Mexico. These are Mayan people, members of the churches of CICEM, the group of churches that the Baptist Seminary of Mexico serves. Due to the financial crisis of IM, these churches lost most of their support for leadership training and development. One of the most repeated sentences we hear is; "We have felt deserted for so long. Thank God you are here!"

The brothers and sisters received us with much joy and expectation. We just got here in July 2004, and we are still getting acquainted and reaching out to the brothers to discover what they need and what they want. Meanwhile, the leaders asked for training in Liturgy, and Children and Youth ministries. Most of the churches of CICEM are rural. We meet in churches where you spend six to eight hours traveling by car or truck from SCLC.

Sometimes, the brothers walk up to nine hours in order to get to the meeting place because they do not have the three dollars for the ride. Their commitment to the Lord is great and touching! Every time we go to the churches we visit people together with the pastor and some had already accepted Jesus. We are grateful for the opportunity our brothers and sisters give us to be part of their ministry.

It is beautiful to experiment community in the way the indigenous people do. They give themselves to us, sharing the little they have in gracious giving of love. It is fun to share with the women in the kitchen. They taught us to 'tortear' (to do almost perfectly rounded tortillas) with our bare hands! (Of course they are professionals - while we did one, they did three or four!) Yet, Chiapas is a state torn by many interests. Conflicts and hope are at hand. After the Zapatista up-rising on January 1st, 1994 and the cease of fire 11 days later, the problem of the war continues. People get pushed aside with one extreme or the other of the conflict. This generalized violence has been absorbed in the daily life of the people, and brothers in all the communities worry over disputes, robberies, crime, as well as, women's violations and family aggressions. On the other hand, poverty is still generalized. Many families live with houses of soil-floors, unhealthy water and little access to basic educational or health services. Chronic malnutrition affects the lives of hundreds of children.

Low productivity of crops and plagues, and lack of control of the channels for commercialization enslave the brothers in poverty. Lack of opportunities provokes migration of the people to other parts of Mexico and the United States. Two weeks ago when we had a meeting in Maravillas; sixteen young boys were heading up to the north; their families were distressed and sad! But they see no other way out of their poverty.

This is the context of our ministry and the people we work with. It is a challenge to rise up to the expectations of the brothers and sisters who want training to grow as Christians, and develop ministries for their communities. There is so much to do!

We trust you will keep accompanying us in this adventure of faith. We count with you as our partners in ministry. We want you to know and meet these Mayan Christians. You will be deeply moved by their faith and strength. While that happens, please, continue praying for us! Ricardo spends much time traveling and we ask for the protection and guidance of the Lord at every step. The plans to develop a training center are marching on, and people are animated. Pray that the Lord give us ideas and resources to develop a center up to the needs of the indigenous people. All our resources, personal and material, and all what you have sent is used in this ministry – to train leadership, to open churches, and to promote the kingdom of God through services to the community.Finally, our two older children are in Puerto Rico. We miss Yerís and Tito deeply, but we know they are in the hands of the Lord! Pray that the Lord guides them in their search for careers and keep them strong in the faith! María is still adjusting to this new environment; pray for this adjustment as well. She likes her school and is growing amidst great experiences.

As a family, we have gone through a lot of changes! But we are grateful to the Lord for this time of our lives.

We look forward to keep our communion, to keep the hope …

"For the love of God urges us on … and has given us the ministry of reconciliation." 2 Cor. 5:14, 18.

Techacom! (See you! in Tseltal),

Ricardo, Doris and María