Dear Praying Friends,
May - June 2001
The words that most impacted our lives this past month form a simple but emotionally charged phrase, “open heart surgery.” These were the words we heard concerning Craig’s dad, Art Chambers. In the ministry, we have had the privilege of helping families through many types of difficult times, but by God’s grace, have not personally had to deal with many of these types of trials.
Art is a wonderful man who loves the Lord and is a blessing to all who know him. Being so far away, on the foreign field, the news laid especially heavy on our hearts. Art’s doctor sent him to a cardiologist on a Friday, who scheduled him for bypass surgery the following Wednesday. We felt so helpless, yet had peace, knowing that God was in control. Art’s family and friends offered incredible love and support and God answered our prayers in bringing him through a successful surgery. Please continue to pray with us, for Art, as he recovers.
Aside from the health concerns over Craig’s dad, our family has been doing well. Just a month before Art’s surgery, Craig’s parents visited us in Mexico along with his nieces, Dawn & Danielle. It was great to see them and we enjoyed the time together. We hated to see them leave, but were thankful that they were at home in the US when the heart problems arose.
We are anxiously awaiting our daughter Jessica’s arrival from college. Finishing her second year at PCC, she is scheduled to arrive this week. We are very proud of her, and can’t wait to see her again. She will also be a real blessing in our ministry this summer. Since our last letter, Isaac has turned 19 years old, graduated from high school, and been accepted at PCC for the fall semester. Last month, Isaac traveled to the school for college days and feels God would have him attend. Having two kids away at college in the US will be hard on mom & dad.
We appreciate each of you who continue to stand with us, day by day, making this ministry possible. By God’s grace and through your prayers, we are seeing Him further the cause of Christ. Our Bible services continue to be a real blessing. Recently, Cesar, a young man who had been attending with Mario & Lulu before they moved, visited with his sisters and their mother. The children have a very difficult life with their mother working almost everyday from early in the morning until late at night. Please continue to pray with us for this family. We want to continue to encourage them. Another unexpected blessing was when Antonio, a man forced to move to southern Mexico to find work, popped in for a visit. It was good to fellowship with Antonio, and to hear him say that his faith is growing. He was in town just for the day to get some personal items in storage. He is happy, working in Puebla, making metal windows and doors. In our last letter, we told you about a young couple, Jorge & Monse. They were working with us in a puppet ministry for children. A few weeks ago, we had the puppets in our service and Monse and Jorge along with Martin, and our kids, Isaac & Bethany, did a great job. Everyone, including the adults, enjoyed the special activity. You can see them on our web page.
As you know, we are working to finish our mission building. Prior to Resurrection Sunday, we put forth an effort to make it suitable for a special service. There is still much work to be completed, but the construction clutter was pushed back and we met at the mission for the first time. We had a day of special activities, message and song. Afterward, we had a fellowship on the grounds with traditional foods cooked over an open fire. Everyone enjoyed the day and we were blessed with several visitors. We pray the time will soon come when we can use the mission building full time. The deed for the mission property is still being processed. The office handling our area has been making some decisions on how the transactions will be handled. They latest news is that they should soon know how much they will be charging and then after paying the fee, we will receive the deed. Please make this a matter of prayer as it could be several thousand dollars to complete the transaction.
Semana Santa (Holy week) is one of the biggest events of the year among the Tarahumara People. It is the week leading up to Easter Sunday and is filled with many traditional ceremonies. Unfortunately, “Holy Week” is anything but holy and it is usually always a time of crisis. For many families, it is a bittersweet time because of the use of tesquino, a traditional alcoholic drink brewed from corn. The men and increasingly, the women, will consume this strong drink while involved in a traditional dance festival. Continuing for several days and nights with little or no sleep, the consequences can be devastating for the families, especially the children.
Maria Rosa, one of our most faithful Indian ladies and her children are constantly dealing with a drunken and abusive husband and father. During Semana Santa this year, they were especially traumatized. Maria Rosa, had shared with us that she was not going to attend the festivities this year. She expressed that there were many people drinking and drunk and she didn’t want to be around them. Seeing her desire to live differently was encouraging to us. Isn’t it amazing though, how Satan knows just when to attack us when we make a decision to do right? Maria Rosa and her family have a very difficult life. She is about our age, but her face, weathered from exposure and hardship, makes her appear to be much older. The Tarahumara people have endured such extreme lives that they rarely show emotion even in the most dire circumstances. With that in mind, we were especially alarmed when she knocked on our door in tears the morning after one of their all night ceremonies. She needed help after her husband spent the night in a drunken rage. He and several of his friends were drinking and he decided to start a bon fire using their corn crib to start the fire. Most of Maria Rosa’s and almost all of the children’s clothing was being stored in the corn crib. He became very violent and out of control throwing anything in sight on the fire. He shouted that he didn’t want her and that she didn’t belong there, as he threw her belongings on the fire. While trying to protect the children at the same time, she pulled things from the fire as she could. In fear, they left in the middle of the night walking for several miles through the dark woods to a house where they could be safe. We saw the results the next day and helped her gather the remaining salvageable items. She had a suitcase with a few articles of clothing that was charred black before she pulled it from the fire. It struck our hearts to see someone so poor, gather her few meager possessions. She felt so dejected seeing in such a vivid fashion, that her husband didn’t love or care for her or the children. They were devastated and have still not returned home.
Please pray for this family as we continue to work with them. Maria Rosa was in our service the following Sunday. Her youngest daughter, Olivia, made the 7 mile walk with pieces of rubber tire tied to her feet with strips of cloth. Her face shone with happiness as Deb put a pair of used shoes on her precious little feet. We have become like parents to the children, hugging and loving them. They make their own clothes, and we were able to give them some cloth. If you would like to help with material, it takes about 10 yards of cloth to make an outfit. They like bright colors and flower patterns.
The mission building and property continue to develop. By God’s grace, we have been able to enclose the property on the east side. We bought steel bars in bulk length, designed wrought iron bars for the fence and hand cut each piece. Then a friend named Memo, welded all the pieces into simple but effective security bars. We have almost all of the materials to finish the interior ceilings, walls and electrical. We were able to bring in several loads of rock and sand which we will use to make a poured concrete fence along the north side, completely enclosing the property. This is very important as there are once again thieves at work in our area. We also have the needed supplies to bring the electrical service to the building from the property line. We will still need additional sand and many bags of cement to complete the fence, but we are getting close. Craig’s brother, David, and his family are planning to come to Mexico again this summer and will help us build the interior doors. Then, as the Lord provides for the floor tile and bathroom fixtures, the building will be usable on a regular basis and nearly complete.
Thank you, for your part in the work and for continuing to pray for our family and our people. You are a blessing to us and we appreciate all that you do to help make this ministry a reality. As you remember our family before the Lord, please pray specifically with us concerning our increased needs for college tuition as well as the needs surrounding the completion of the mission building and deed for the property. God’s leadership in each of these areas is very important. We pray His richest blessings in your lives as you labor with us in the Gospel ministry.
Sincerely, For Souls Who Have Not Heard,
The Chambers Family
