A trip to Hopelchén and Dzibalchén Campeche
There are two Low-German (Aleman-Bajo) congregations about three hours south of Merida in the state of Campeche. The friends in both congregations witness solely to Mennonites who live in colonies and operate farms in the rural areas. Mike was invited to give talks at both congregations in the same day. First we traveled to Hopelchén where we met Tobias and Christiane, from Germany. They fed us a delicious lunch and then we all walked to their Kingdom Hall. Mike gave the talk in English and Tobias translated it into Low-German. In case you noticed, yes the brothers are not wearing suit jackets. The hall has no air conditioning so the brothers are not required to wear them.
This is the entire congregation in Hopelchén. Mostly local Mexicans who are learning Low German to preach to the farmers. Some friends have relocated from Germany to help, they are also learning Low-German, it is quite different than High-German. The ministry is challenging for these friends. They may spend years developing friendships and cultivating interest before a real Bible study is started. But they are seeing good results for their hard work, patience and determination. Approx 18 publishers.
After the meeting in Hopelchén, we had German pudding back at Tobias and Christiane's home, and visited with them until it was time to travel south to the Dzibalchén congregation, about 45 minutes away. Slightly smaller as you can see, only 12 publishers. There were a few missing on this day. This was a very small Kingdom hall, notice the plastic chairs!
Here Mike is again giving the same talk in English, this time translated into Spanish by Jorge. Due to the small number in attendance, and many of which are fluent in Spanish and just starting to learn Low-German, the brothers felt that Spanish translation was appropriate this day. Again, no ac, thus no jackets. The Low-German congregation shares this hall with a Maya congregation. There is no Spanish congregation in this town, as is the case in many of the peninsula's small towns.
Here is a great picture of our small congregation learning Low-German to preach to the locals. Approx 12 publishers.
The local Mennonites drive their tractors to town as cars are not allowed for many Mennonite colonies. We saw many tractors equipped with extra seating for the family. It was a sight! The colony's minister dictates which modern conveniences can be used. He may allow rubber tires, cell phones, microwave, or not. Just in the state of Campeche you will find widely varying uses of technology among the Mennonites.
After both meetings, which meant 2 Watchtower studies in High-German by the way, we were mentally drained and very tired and spent the night with our new friends Jorge and Desi. He is Mexican, she is from Germany. They are a young newlywed couple who we affectionately refer to as "the kids". This is the friendly pig living outside their home. They live in a very simple house with no kitchen sink. We thought we were roughing it in Merida. Wow, we now have a new appreciation for the few things we have.
The next morning, we joined them in the ministry. It was Sunday and as we approached the territory, the Mennonite's church services had ended and dozens of buggies were filling the dirt roads. We pulled over to give them the right of way. As you can see, the kids were very curious about us because we were driving a real car and obviously "not from round here".
Jorge took Mike to visit one of his students. Our entire car group of 8 were invited to join this family for their simple lunch of hot dogs. They were very hospitable and had many questions for us. The children wanted us to take their pictures on our digital camera so that we could show them what they looked like in the screen, a first for them. The adult males spoke very good Spanish, but no English, so we struggled to speak to them, but had several translators. What a nice family and beautiful children.
Our car goup! Way too many people for one Ford Explorer. The next pic shows Mike and Jorge piled into the cargo area.
Here's the story of Jehovah's blessing our decisions to put the kingdom first and visit these dear friends. When we were asked to travel and deliver these talks, we had just enough money for the rest of that month, no extra. Mike told the brother "I just don't see how we can make it happen". The brother replied, "Jehovah will provide." To make this trip though, we would have to rent a car for 2 days, buy gas, food, etc... So we talked about it, prayed about it and decided to put Jehovah to the test. If he wanted us to go encourage our friends, he would make a way and that he did! The very next morning after making the decision to go, we were paid from a client for past due invoices, that we never expected to receive. Wow! Now we had the money for the trip, and one more month of expenses! Our goal was to encourage these isolated friends, but we were the ones who were built up. Learning of their sacrifices and the difficulties they face in their assignment, how Jehovah sustains them and the joys they experience, was very faith strengthening for us both. We are grateful to be here. We hope that all of our readers will have similar experiences when putting the kingdom first. Gracias a Jehova!
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