May 2005 Email Update

Angie Velasco

Dear Ministry Partners:

Incredible & amazing!!!! These are the words I can use to describe my recent medical and evangelism outreach to Santiago, Nuyoo, Oaxaca, Mexico among an indigenous group called Mixtecos April 27-May 4, 2005.

Together with a local group called Amigos sin Fronteras (Friends without Borders) four dentists, four doctors, two nurses (including myself), eight missionaries from eight countries from different organizations (including myself) & 13 other volunteers worked side by side to render medical and dental services to this very poor people 12 hours south of Cuernavaca.

What an open door the Lord gave us to share the gospel when as of last year the missionary working among the Mixtecos was prohibited from entering this town of 6,000 people. I never knew the impact a medical outreach can do to open doors which otherwise would have been closed. For six consecutive days from 9 am to 6 pm we saw 120-130 patients with all kinds of medical conditions from gastritis, fractures, back injuries, hernias, diabetes and etc. Many older Mixtecos don´t speak Spanish. I assisted in four of the five surgeries, assisted in four cast placements, gave an average of 10 injections a day and did whatever else the doctors needed for me to do.

I will not forget Irvine, a young 24 year old Mixtecan who fell off a horse one hour after we opened our improvised medical clinic. Irvine sustained a six-inch lacerated wound on his frontal head and was bleeding profusely. The nearest hospital was three hours away on an unpaved winding road. Either we sew his lacerated wound or he would die from bleeding.

Quickly, two doctors, one dentist and myself assembled a makeshift operating room using dental instruments to stop Irvine´s bleeding wound. Miraculously, Irvine recovered!!!!The next day, Irvine returned for a follow up on his bandaged head. One doctor, one dentist and myself had a chance to share the gospel with Irvine. The dentist mentioned that just as Irvine shed blood the day before, God´s son, Jesus Christ shed blood for each one of us to demonstrate God´s love for us. Tears quickly ran down Irvine´s eyes!!!! He knew and understood what shed blood meant. I will not forget the words of his dad, “no tengo palabra para agradecerles” (I don´t have words to thank you for saving my son). We prayed with Irvine to receive Jesus Christ as his Savior! What an exciting moment in this makeshift operating room seeing one young man being born in the kingdom! It is for these moments I am in Mexico!

Everyday that week, I changed Irvine´s dressing on his head. Everyday that week I would ask him if he was reading the Bible and all the literature we gave him and his response was always yes.

On our last day, the whole town gave us a farewell lunch and Irvine showed up with his bandaged head. Tears once again flowing down his eyes as he said good-bye to the doctor, myself and the rest of the team.

This is only one of the stories I can share with my limited time and space. So many more happened that week in Oaxaca.

Praise the Lord for His love for the Mixtecos!

Praise the Lord for healing Irvine!

Praise the Lord for all the Mexican doctors, dentists, nurse & volunteers who were willing to reach out to this indigenous group in their own land! There is a great gap between the rich & the poor in Mexico and only God’s love and God’s people can change this big gap. I think this is the other thing that impacted me most, seeing Mexicans having love and concern for a different group of people in their own land. It is usually the foreign missionaries who have concern for these indigenous groups. The Mexican government’s attitude towards these indigenous groups is to pretend they don’t exist and sometimes the local Christians have the same attitude.

Praise the Lord for giving me the opportunity to work side by side with Mexican Christians from 14 different local churches to make this recent outreach a great kingdom building experience!

Praise the Lord for helping me learn Spanish so that I could join outreaches like this one where the working language was Spanish!

I praise and thank the Lord for your love, prayers and financial support!

Love,

AV