Happy New Year!

Happy 2010! We trust and pray that this be a very special year for you and your family. It's been a unique experience celebrating the holidays here in Chiapas. Instead of being buried under a foot of snow from the blizzard, we've been enjoying warm and sunny weather. Instead of a house full of family, it was just the three of us. But despite the differences, we could still celebrate this very special time of the year.
On Christmas Eve, we attended the service at the Presbyterian Church here in San Cristobal. The church was festively decorated with lights, pine cones, hanging greenery, and a thick layer of pine needles covering the floor. The 2 1/2 hour service included a message from the pastor as well as singing from several different groups. After the service, everyone was invited to stay for tamales, punch, and pastries. It was a very enjoyable evening.
It seemed strange to have no church service on Christmas morning. We had a late breakfast, then the three of us opened our presents. We had to be somewhat creative with the gift-giving because we didn't want to buy anything large that we would have to take back to the U.S. in a few months. So basically we gave each other clothes and food (Rachel's showing off her futbol t-shirt and Dr. Pepper.) In the afternoon, we got together with three other couples for Christmas lunch. We had a great time of fellowship together.

This past Wednesday, Brian, Rachel, and I went to Las Margaritas. It was the first time since 1995 that I'd been back to where we lived for almost three years. Many things had changed, of course, including several more paved roads inside the town! We walked around the center plaza and past two of the houses we lived in. Since Las Margaritas isn't exactly a tourist town, twice people stopped to ask us if we were lost!
Our first stop was to visit Alberto Gomez and his family. Alberto is a Tojolabal paramedic who moved to Las Margaritas from the jungle area back in 1992. We got to be good friends with Alberto and Virginia and their children, attending many church services and prayer meetings together. Our girls spent many hours playing with their daughters. We hadn't told them we were coming, so they were very surprised when we showed up at the door! It was great catching up with them and hearing about Alberto's on-going medical ministry (the picture shows Alberto, Virginia, Virginia's mom, and three of their eight children in front of their kitchen.)
Our next stop was to visit Francisco and his wife Candelaria. Francisco is a 75-year old Tojolabal man who over the years has done an incredible amount of evangelizing among the Tojolabals. When we lived in Las Margaritas, Francisco would accompany us to different villages every Sunday to preach and encourage the believers. Unfortunately, Francisco wasn't home when we stopped - he was out working in his cornfield. His wife said he loves working in his field and plans to continue as long as he's able. She also told us that their three sons all serve in various capacities in the church, as elder, youth leader, and lay-preacher. Sometime in the next month we'll make another trip to Las Margaritas to visit with these dear friends once again.
Once again, we hope that 2010 is a year filled with blessings! Donna