Hello, all! Lori and I just returned from 3 days in San Vicente, Baja Mexico, 90 minutes south of Ensenada, thru the mountains. We needed to connect with people after Lori’s inability to travel due to surgery.
How great it was to be in the Village; I actually got nostalgic at the smell of burning trash! Something about red dust in everything can be a blessing…
The Lord gave great grace to Lori in connecting with all her ‘ladies’ in their sewing cottage-industry-microenterprise stuff. I continued my community survey, exploring the very southern neighborhoods in this Village with +/- 4500 people, and made some interesting people-connections.
The real satisfying part of the trip was to sit with Pastor Jose Luis, listening to his stories of the last few weeks, and offer encouragement. Jose Luis and his precious esposa Marta have become padrinos for the people in this village. Padrino is a funny Mexican concept, which encompasses groomsman, duel opponent, financial sponsor/patron… but usually is more like adopted Grandparents for some extremely problematic children. In Mexico, where tele-novella is a way of life and more than drama TV, being padrinos is a full-time occupation
This week, Jose Luis and Marta were being padrinos to some very messy problems, and he needed to refresh his heart a bit, and gain some (more) encouragement from the Lord. We listened, and listened, and encouraged for quite some time. I prayed with him later. Little to add, he’s good, just needs encouragement.
Most pastors do, especially in Mexico. Being a Shepherd in San Vicente means trying to keep a rather stubborn and self-made bunch of sheep from running off cliffs. Shepherds get tired, they need encouragement. They need a cup of cool Kingdom water to keep pointing people and their problems to Jesus.
So, pray for Jose Luis and Marta. Pray for Lori and I to be great encouragement to them over the next year.
I can’t wait to be down in a few weeks and give them both big hugs and encouragement.
Your brother, Chris
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