CULTIVATING JOY: January 2013

Monday, January 28, 2013

Life Is A Journey

"Life is a journey, not a home; a road, not a city of habitation; and the enjoyments and blessings we have are but little inns on the roadside of life, where we may be refreshed for a moment, that we may with new strength press on to the end-to the REST that remaineth for the people of God." --Horatius Bonar

Thursday, January 24, 2013

MY SCHEDULE AT MIM Boarding School

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

#3 Random Mexico Adventure: Tommy, 1961

Tommy, 1961

Being the eldest of six, my mother relied on me for helping out around the house, especially keeping an eye out for younger siblings. I vividly recall two particular incidents. When my brother Tommy was an infant

The Baby Carriage with Tommy in it

(around 1 mo. or so) I was witness to him being dropped onto the hard concrete floor, dressed in nothing but a diaper and thin t-shirt. I do not recall where my mother was at the time, however, I do remember the horror of that moment. When Tommy was around two yrs. old, I was assigned to keep a watch over him. I was 9 or 10 at the time. There was a flat table of land carved out of the mountain side that had been prepared for building another Casa Hogar building. There was approx. a 6 ft drop-off onto the next flat tier with a building already built. Behind this building was a space. One afternoon we were all playing on this top flat tier.

The wicker chair that caused all the trouble, Ruthie & Tommy

Tommy had picked up that little wicker chair and began walking backwards with it. I noticed what was going to happen but could not reach him in time. He fell over the edge before I could grab him. My brother Eddie, ran to get my mother as Tommy was crying and screaming hysterically in pain. I remember my mother gently and calmly picking him up and setting him on her bed. He cried all night long. My father was on one of his many long trips at the time to remote villages and we far from medical help.

Tommy

My mother must of taken advice from one of the villagers as she promptly sent someone to fetch the local "bone-setter". Don Juan hobbled up the mountain to our house, having hiked some distance. He was an old man. Mother, under, his direction handed him an old flannel sheet which he ripped into long shreds, dipping them into a black tar-like substance. After straightening the leg, he applied the strips onto Tommy's leg. Meanwhile, Tommy is howling up a storm in pain. Then he fashioned a cast out of some sturdy cardboard and bound it with the remaining

Make it do wheel chair

flannel shreds. Don Juan gave specific instructions to keep the leg straight and Mother was very strict in following those orders. Tommy was not to be moved unless absolutely necessary. I do not remember any pain medication being given to him. Now Tommy had just been potty trained and he was not a happy camper about having to be back in diapers, however, he did retain his sunny disposition most of that time. Well, Don Juan made several more visits to see how Tommy was doing. As was customary when approaching the house being visited, one calls out a greeting. Upon hearing that greeting, Tommy would start crying "No Hawm, No Hawm" over and over again each visit.

Ruthie & Tommy

Later after healing, an X-Ray of that leg revealed that it had been broken, properly set, a green-stick break, and following Don Juan's advice had been the best outcome. However, we know that God considered the situation and He was the one that intervened in healing.

#2 Random Mexico Adventure

THE PIONEER BACK PACK: The Huacal, a foldable basket, joined at the bottom, loved for the bouncy,comfortable ride on someones back on one of those long trail journeys. On this particular occasion, a six hour trek from Zapotitlan to Cuautempan to attend a first ever Christmas Festival with a nite stop-over in Tapacheloyan where I am told my baby brother cried all nite with colic. That is me in the huacal. Dad thinks that the man carrying me in the haucal is Silvestre's Quinteros father. He also told me that the believers in Cuau. trekked all the way to Zapotitlan to help out on the trail and escort us to this Christmas Event. "Those new Christians were the BEST!" statement from Dad.

#1 Random Mexico Adventures: The JEEP

1959, A visit from the Grandparents Wedgwood.

The Maroon Jeep : I will be attempting to recall accounts of the past, although not in any particular order as random incidents come to mind as I pour over old photos and journal entry's of mine and my fathers. Of all the adventures that occurred during my family's early years in Mexico, a particular one, I remember with such fondness, revolve around the times spent in that maroon 4-wheel drive Willys Jeep. And if Jeeps could talk, oh the stories this one would tell, from performing as a float in a Cinco De Mayo parade to making emergency medical runs. It was 1959, I was around eight and have always been fascinated by this, my dads, adventure, and one that I was fortunate to have been a part of. I think perhaps it was a memorable part of history because later on I saw how God had been working. We were waiting excitingly,anxiously,and expectantly toward the arrival of my Wedgwood grandparents and their dog, Sandy. This would be the last time we would see my grandfather as he passed away shortly after on the very day that we welcomed little Tommy into the family. Well anyway way quoting from Dads journal "On april 30,1959, I drove the Willy's Jeep to Mexico City, leaving it in a parking lot near the Wycliffe Bible Translators headquarters...I then took the night bus, expecting to arrive in Nuevo Laredo at 7am and then meet the folks, on the Mexican side. However, as the bus arrived at the 15 kilometer check point, an officer boarded the bus, asking for tourist cards. I was asked where my car was..." No explaining on Dad's part as to where the car was and that he was not intending to cross the border at this time would do. The officer kept assuming he had sold the Jeep in Mexico for a profit which was illegal. Dad was arrested, put in a patrol car and taken to a detention center at customs. He was charged of the crime of selling cars in Mexico. The next days news paper carried the story. There were no accommodations for sleeping except a hard bench and 100 degrees weather and nobody would talk to him except "the radio operator who was interested in learning English." At meals dad was escorted to a nearby coffee shop to purchase his own meal and that of the officer as well. Dad soon found out that if he could prove that the Jeep was at immigration in Mexico City, he could be released. He was then allowed to call a friend, who broke into the jeep, had a key made and drove it to the immigration office. The radio operator, who was now Dad's friend, called immigration in Mexico City to confirm that the Jeep was in government custody. Then Dad was escorted across the Rio Grande to the U.S. side and meet up with my grandparents who then drove their car to Mexico City. Quote Dad "I had to get re-possession of my vehicle, and no doubt there would be a fine and other fees before they would release it..." but because of friends (And everywhere Dad goes, he makes friends) high in government levels, Dad was taken to the National Palace, where explanations were made, papers signed...ALL WITHOUT COST. We have an AWESOME GOD, who goes before us to work in the most unusual situations. This adventure was enough for Dad and Mother to actively pursue obtaining the much sought after Mexican documents for permanent residency. After many trips to Mexico City and government offices, God was gracious to grant those coveted documents. Dad then took the Jeep up to the border and sold it. For two years with no vehicle, I remember numerous adventures on the bus which I really did not enjoy. When I asked Dad what mother did with the dirty diapers when we made those trips, he replied that she just threw them out the window. Probably Tommy's. On one occasion, he told me this: that one time as they were sitting up toward the front of the bus, Mother threw one of the diapers (probably one of mine or Eddies) and because the bus had all its windows open, the diaper flew back in several rows in back, depositing its contents in a ladys lap and face. I ended up leaving my favorite doll on one of those buses. We also did a lot of hitching rides, hiking, and riding horses or donkeys or on the backs of the hired help. To end this story, we had a very nice visit, a last visit with the grandparents and the dog Sandy, who of course drew much attention as it was such an oddity the people had never seen such a fat, well-fed Cocker Spaniel before.

Monday, January 21, 2013

I RESOLVE TO ...

For THIS you HAVE ME...

"Oh, could I tell,ye surely would believe it, Oh,could I only say what I have seen (and heard)! How should I tell, or how can you receive it? How? Til He bringeth you where I have been. Therefore, O Lord, I will not fail or falter..."--James G. Dale (founder of MIM, pioneer mission to Mexico) This morning, 'looking out, as it were' into this New Year that I have just entered, I pondered on what it will bring forth...Will some desires remain unsatisfied? Will hopes remain unrealized? I look back, and THANK GOD, with true GRATITUDE for the way He has led. There have been trials and challenges that have kept me looking to Him, reminding me...For THIS you HAVE ME. I can testify to God's faithfulness to meet my NEEDS, physical, emotional and financial. I can thank Him for faithful friends to depend upon for prayer. I can be thankful for a God who has stood by me all these years.