Thanks for Your Support!


It was neat to see the smiles on the faces of those who never wore glasses before and saw clear vision for the first time. It was difficult at first because the only words I really knew in Spanish were “Hola” for hello, “uno o dos” for one or two, “Gafas” for glasses and “si / non” for yes / no. In addition to that, many of the patients that we saw didn’t even speak Spanish, but a local tribal language known as Zapotec. Before the Spanish came and colonized Mexico, there were many local tribes in the area that were ruled by the Aztec empire. Sort of the same way the Roman Empire ruled over Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa and Spain. The Aztecs ruled over many areas of Mexico. Because of this barrier in the language, we had to use a chain of translators. One to Spanish, and then one to Zapotec. It was surely an interesting experience.

Most of the population in Mexico are Roman Catholics however, the Catholicism in these outskirt villages are not anywhere close to what Christ intended the church should be. The original religion of these indigenous people was that of multiple angry gods that were looking down, ready to do harm if they did not worship them or sacrifice (including humans) to them. When the Spanish Jesuits shared the word of God starting in the 1600s, many of the villages accepted it in fear of the Spanish and assimilated Catholicism in their religion. In keeping with their own religion, they turned the Saints into their “angry” gods. They look at the saints as looking on them in anger. Many even feel that Jesus is angry at them for allowing his death on the cross.

This is why your support was so important to show the truth. Right now, there is a second wave of missionary work going on in these villages to explain that God is a loving God and wants nothing but the best his children. My missionary team was a non denominational team that spoke the truth of God’s intention for us and handed out bibles to those who accepted Christ. Before the second wave of missionary work, crime was much worse in these villages. Today, murders and thefts are at an all time low. These peoples are very responsive to God’s message of love and hope. Much progress is being made to turn away from their false ideas of multiple gods and idols.

This mission trip is through FCO. What is FCO?

The Fellowship of Christian Optometrists, International, Inc., founded in 1986, is a not-for-profit evangelical organization of Christian optometrists, optometry students, and allied ophthalmic personnel committed to world wide eye care missions and intraprofessional Christian fellowship.

http://www.fcoint.org/index.html




Thursday, February 28, 2008

Where is Oaxaca?


Oaxaca is the southern most province of Mexico. More can be found out about the province at the following we address:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oaxaca
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Where do we stay?

Peter and Teresa Cawthon are our missionary hosts in Oaxaca. They have been involved in several medical and dental outreaches to the indigenous Indian villages in the mountains of Oaxaca. These outreaches are intended as a means of demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ to these people with the expectation that this will begin to open their hearts to the Gospel. Many villages are very resistant to outsiders and change of any kind, so they can’t just go in and start sharing the good news of Christ.

In their medical and dental outreaches, they have seen that there is also a great need for basic eye care. They are not trained in this area and have no equipment to do basic eye exams (refractions,) nor do they have any eyeglasses to give to the people. They are working now to obtain eyeglasses in the States, possibly through the Lions Club, and to find a way to get them into Mexico without duty. Therefore, they need our team to bring along our own equipment and to send a supply of glasses so that there won’t be a problem with customs.

It should be a very rewarding lifetime eperience. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel to Oaxaca.

Sincerely,

-Paul Heeg
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