A Humble Request

I must have started typing, deleting everything & retyping at least 5 times so far. It's possibly the most uncomfortable I've ever felt writing a blog because this is something that comes so unnaturally to me. Maybe I should just cut right to the chase... I want to ask my friends, family, & maybe even anonymous blog lurkers to consider sponsoring my upcoming mission trip to Chiapas, Mexico.

I'm so beyond excited to return for my 3rd trip to Chiapas, it feels a little like coming home again. Every time I've thought to myself "Lauren, you work for a non-profit, you can't afford this" but I believe so strongly in the relationship we've built & the work that's being done that I decide to rely that somehow the funds will be provided. And so far I haven't been let down. Sometimes the money comes from totally unexpected places, but other times I think God provides by having people in your life who are able to give a little. Isn't that how it always goes for anything worth while... you give a little, I give a little, & somehow it's always enough?

So although I feel totally timid about this, I'm posting a button to my paypal account to accept donations. My biggest fear isn't that no one will give... if that happens it happens... my biggest fear is that I'll get an eye roll that says "C'mon Lauren, I gave to this trip 3 years ago, aren't you DONE there already?" But the truth is that it's never done which is exactly why it's so valuable. Which do you think changes the world more... 1) A one week trip to life buckets of concrete or 2) An ongoing relationship between 2 communities that continually pray for eachother, get to know eachother's needs & are able to address those needs in ways that would never be possible in 7 days?

To me the answer is clear. So please think of this less as me begging for donations, & instead please think of it as an invitation. I'd really like you to be a part of this mission too. Not all of us can do construction work or get the time off or stomach a bit of Montezuma's revenge (it happens). But this is way you can participate in the exact same work in a way that is every bit as important.

To learn more about what we're doing you can read...

This previous post about our trips
This page on my church's website

(scroll to the bottom & you'll get to see my goofy friends singing songs for some kids too. haha)

This Flashback Friday with some thoughts

You can make a donation to my PayPal here.

Any size donation is HUGELY appreciated, whether $100 or $1.

And if you want a charitable contribution receipt, just leave me a comment about that.

You can also mail checks directly to my church. 

(again, just attach a little note about charitable contribution receipts)

Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community

2700 Jane Street

Pittsburgh, PA 15203

memo: Lauren Wolcott Mexico

I'm going to go out on a limb & just say thank you in advance... THANK YOU. And I hope I've fully expressed just how much I appreciate anything you're able to give.

much love,

The "Be Better" Plan

 

It's lent. And that means people everywhere are posting facebook statuses about giving up chocolate & pretending that fish isn't a meat. 2 years in a row I've given up alcohol for lent, which was really refreshing the first time around but not really a challenge anymore. Time for a new lent plan.

As I was thinking over all the things I could give up or add on, I kept coming back to one thought: I just want to be better.

Winter's been a tough one. It shows in my attitude, in my energy level, in my waistline, & in my snarky comments. But I know myself well enough to know that I function best when I'm healthy & on top of my game. Lent is about spiritual sacrifice & discipline which leads to growth, but I feel like amping up my everyday discipline will put me in a better place for that too. I'm not adding on additional goals, I'm just trying to meet the ones I should already be following but tend to slack on. Healthier mind & healthier body so I can have a healthier spirit.

eU2charist

What I'm about to tell you is so bizzarre that you can be sure it's true. There's no way my brain could come up with something so silly. Last night, my friend Sama & I attended a eU2charist.

Eucharist- a Christian sacrament commemorating the Last Supper by consecrating bread and wine

eU2charist- a communion service, or Eucharist, accompanied by U2

Yeah... we went to a church service where they played nothing buy U2 music. Originally I just went for the freak show element, but we actually had a really good time. They did a pretty decent job! Plus this was at Sam's home church so it was nice to be supportive of a place she's connected to. But if you would have ever told me about 6 years ago that someday Sam & I would be entertaining ourselves by going to church together, I'm sure I would have laughed hard enough to make whiskey come out my nose.

Here's the really nice thing that won me over by the end of the night... U2 has said the only royalty required to play their music is you must take a donation for missions. I like that a lot. And as much as I feel out of a place in a church that big, where everyone is clean & behaves, & clearly they're doing fine financially... it was refreshing to see how much they DO with those gifts. The presentations on all the ways their church is supporting brothers & sisters in more difficult circumstances than our own made me forgive them for acting like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is an ok church song. haha

All I had with me was my little kodak camera, but I tried to record some of the action. Lighting & sound quality be damned.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

In the Name of Love

Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness...

(source)

Hi friends, no Flashback Friday today. I've got something on my mind that's a little more important than baby pictures or college memories... although it's something that has been brewing since college.

Every time the news mentions any combination of these 5 words, my blood starts to boil & my heart sinks:

• Fred
• Phelps
• Westboro
• Baptist
• Church

I think you all know who I'm talking about... If you don't, go ahead & google them. I won't post photos here or replay all the hate they spew, not in this space. Just make sure there are no children around when you google, they shouldn't have to see those kinds of words.

I can't actually put into words all the horrible ways I feel & hurt whenever I think of this group or hear news of them, but I'm sure you have an idea yourself. It's sickening, it's angering, & it feels so hopeless because what can you do? I've seen so much news coverage where people TOTALLY loose their cool trying to talk to these people & the outrage just turns them into monsters themselves. Again, what can you do? Well, sometimes we give ourselves the best advice... a few days ago I uploaded an image to my school's website for MLK Day with a quote saying:

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that"

Well it turns out there ARE a couple things you can do. Nothing that will make hate-filled people stop, but there are ways to care for eachother in the midst of it. And I think I've found a way how people already are responding in love, and a way that we can start to respond in love.

Angel Action
I first saw this on the news back in college, & it's genius. In response to Westboro protests, particularly when they protest at a funeral, people have banned together dressed as angels with 10 foot high wings to create a barricade. That way people can mourn in peace, seeing only rows of angels rather than horrific signs. It amazes me, it inspires me, & I hope someday I get to be a part of something like that. Of course, hope MORE that these people change, but that's a longshot so I'll be prepared to join in the angel ranks.


Counter Donations
You know how some people get sponsors to raise money, like for every mile you run I'll give $1 toward the charity you're supporting? There's a website that had a great idea. They're called GodLovesAll.org, but I really don't think this is only a God issues... it's a human issue. They offer to send you an email that tells you the total number of hours Westboro has picketed that month, then you can make a donation to charity of your chosen amount for every hour. The more they protest, the more love you give out. In a way it makes them work against themselves & THAT is a good feeling! The website doesn't take donations, you do that on your own, it only gives you the totaled hours.

I'll be adding this to my "I'm a Joiner" page so you can reference it again in the future. Knowing that there are ways to add light to the world in the midst of so much thick, suffocating darkness help me a little. I hope it helps you too & restores some of your hope.

Mimosas Make the Day Go Smoother

I'm technically still on Thanksgiving Break, so to me it's not too late to share what my Thanksgiving looked like. For me there was no slaving over potatoes & turkey, there was no over the river & through the woods to Grandma's, there wasn't even sitting around the Wolcott family table... but before you start to feel bad, I assure you I spent my day with family:


It started with coffee, mimosas, a table for 25 & a breakfast FEAST! It's become our tradition to spend the morning with the people you would choose as family & get a little booze in you before you head off to see the family that genetics handed you. I'm in a slightly different boat, my family is 5 hours away so this IS my Thanksgiving dinner table. And I love it.

Then it was off to meal #2: lunch at the church. We always offer a free meal on Thanksgiving Day... but not like you might think. It's not a soup kitchen, I didn't go to volunteer... well I guess I did, but not by scooping food. Just by talking. At our meals we gather, talk, laugh, & be community for eachother. I'm believer that there's a big difference between doing things FOR people & doing things WITH people. With is the key... we're all here together & there's something really good about that. Families, homeless, & anyone who just wants to hang out together, here we are.

So that's how I spent my Thanksgiving.

I hope yours was filled with just as much
love & warmth & reasons to be thankful!

Ink Stories: C.S. Lewis

Hey remember a while ago when I said I would start sharing about my 8 tattoos & then didn't for months? Yeah, sorry about that. I'll work on my follow-through. No time like the present, I guess!

May of last year I got a tattoo on my wrist (lucky #7). It was a big decision... is having a tattoo worth the risk of losing my "professionalism"? And the answer I came to: yes if it's the right tattoo.

That's a sunrise with C.S. Lewis' signature  worked in. It's based off one of his quotes. See, most of my ink is just decorative without deep, significant meanings... but something as prominent as a wrist needs more substance. So I went with the thing in my life that has the most substance of all... my faith.

"I believe in Christianity like I believe in the sunrise... not only because I see it, but because by it I can see everything else" -C.S. Lewis

Forest Fires

Before I move on to stories about Seattle & city adventures, I want to take a time out to share my favorite moment in the mountains...

Brandi & I were driving up a big mountain on this tiny dirt road, & to keep myself from staring down the sides of the road at our certain demise I tried to keep my eyes on the trees & plants all around us. As we drove up & up & up the scenery changed several times, different tress & such. Then we got to this one section where the trees were all black & dead, there had been a forest fire there several years ago. It would have been sad to see, except that there were flowers everywhere... apparently fires that happen naturally aren't anything to mourn because the burning of the old allows the growth of the new.

 

This struck my heart in just the right way at just the right time. It's not a new idea, just this Sunday the sermon was about the beating wheat takes to become good bread & even wheat needing to die to become a seed for more wheat. Hell, I even have a similar lesson tattoo'd on me... a phoenix on my foot with the phrase "delicious ambiguity" on my ankle to remind me not to fear the future because if even if I crash & burn you get up & start over.

But some lessons you need to learn over & over. Just because it's in ink doesn't mean I always believe it.

I guess I'm at a point where I feel like everything's about to go into flame, like my own personal forest fire is just around the corner. I haven't felt like I'm on the right path for a while now, which is why work gets me so stressed to the point of panic sometimes. Like I'm making a living but not making a difference. Well I won't go too deep into all of that, there's more to it than I can blog about & my emotional rants seldom lead to good reading. Something's not right, though, & it's sitting there like a powder keg.

 I fear it somedays. I kind of hope for it somedays. Maybe I'm already in it & don't realize. (or worse, maybe I'm expecting something that won't actually happen?)

Here's what I know: things never stay the same, good or bad, but we'll always get through it even if it means starting from scratch. Here's what I hope: if it does all burn to the ground, something beautiful will grow.

Hell House

I can't sleep. I just watched a documentary with some friends called "Hell House" about a church who runs a "haunted house" type thing but instead of ghosts & mummies they scare you with sin & hell.

It was awful. It was disturbing. It was infuriating. It was hard to watch.

It wasn't even in the plans for tonight...we wanted to see the documentary premiering tonight about the Mexican prison system & the injustices of it... but there was a cable problem & we had to choose something from Netflix instead... so Hell House sounded interesting. And now I can't sleep.

There are really 2 things keeping me awake...

#1:

The way these scenes were scripted went so far beyond fire & brimstone... they were painful & scarring. Example: one room was a rave & some girl gets slipped something in her drink, then she's in her bedroom with a demon screaming at her. The banter says she was raped & this demon is screaming "You're worthless now. Who could ever love you after this? How could your God have let this happen to you?" And then she kills herself. And goes to hell.

What... the... fuck?

Sorry, I try not to use the F bomb on my blog, but I feel like this is an occasion that totally calls for it. Can anyone tell me the point of this scene? Don't go to parties, you'll get raped & die? My heart feels completely broken for all the girls who walked through that room & heard the "You're worthless" all too loud & clear. Or who have maybe gone through something horrible like that & this scene just reaffirms their fear that maybe it was their fault. And this is just ONE example in the whole "hell house"!

It just seems to cause so much pain & hurt. I know a God of healing & restoration, not of shame & fear.

#2:

It makes me sick that this came from a church. Possibly more disturbing than the actual content were the people. Not because they were monsters... the opposite. Believe it or not their hearts seem sincere. They see this as a way to share God. But by what methods? It's scary that about 1/2 of what they say is right on target but somehow the result is so wrong.

I think some of my friends who watched this with me tonight left feeling angry, some just in disbelief, but I still can't help but feel heartbroken. That's what's really keeping me awake... I feel pain for people who walked through that house & saw their life on display & told they're going to burn. I want to hug them & tell them they're loved. But I can't, the damage has been done... by people who tote the same title as me. Wow. Hell House IS scary afterall.

Let It Go...

Monday night I had a moment of healing for my poor bruised & battered soul. Not a complete healing, but a band-aid for sure. It's been a year of absolute hell whose ending looked a little something like this:

Tink & I sitting on the curb outside the grocery store, eating an icecream cake, using parts of its box as spoons, watching the rain pour down.



That day I had to go back to my old house & clean it before handing in my keys. This house, to me, embodies everything I've been through in the past year: a landlord who I'll probably need a lawyer for because of this threats and harrassment, several thousand dollars owed to me by roommates, living conditions that wreaked havoc on me emotionally & then in return physically when I reach my breakdown point. Hell.

And here I am... cleaning it.

I shouldn't have... there's no logical reason I should have done anything to benefit my landlord and especially without cooperation from the full house. But it was the right thing to do. I psyched myself up with "love your enemies" talk... & this landlord is for sure an enemy. This home is an enemy. And it's easier to say "I won't let myself hate them, so therefore I'm loving my enemies" and it's QUITE another to spend hours scrubbing filth out of love for people you just want to hate. But I pulled the old "Suck it up, Lauren. You're a Christian freaking woman, now act like it. War face."

It wasn't long until I could feel all my bitterness rising. This month in my new apartment has been so wonderful, but it only took about 30 minutes to undo 30 days of peace. So before I could break down for the millionth time on Fox Way, I called up Tink, promised her I wouldn't put her to work, & asked her to keep me company. Turns out she's a saint. Tink not only showed up, but came bearing pizza & gatorade, & then refused to not work. She sang me songs & listened to rants. It's exactly what I needed. Turns out if you change just a few words to "I Will Survive" it's a perfect song to end a bad living situation.

And then it was over.

We walked out the door & did a little "End Scene" motion, & that was it. That's when we headed to the grocery store & ate ice cream cake while waiting for a friend. We watched a movie & life went on.

But I worry about that bitterness.

It was startling just how little time it took to choke me. Clearly I'm not over it & I'm not above it,  so when does that get better? I don't want to be toxic, I don't want to be hateful... but I can't ignore that I just went through the worst situation I've ever had to live in & I'm damaged from it. Lord, heal me... & thank you for the band-aids in my life who start that healing process.

Passover Seder

What a perfect night in every sense. The weather, the people, the ceremony, the wine, the food... everything was perfection for our Seder on Thursday night.

We ended up with about 24 people, I originally was expecting only 9 so it came as quite a shock while trying to plan this crazy thing. But it all worked out beautifully! Beyond beautifully. We took turns reading from the leader's book, since there really weren't kids (just teens & "adults") we all participated in the family activities, & we just enjoyed.

Here's the rundown of the actual ceremony: get rid of the leavened bread hid all over the house, light the candles, 1st glass of wine (out of 4), wash hands. Then we went outside to the dinner table. Story of the exodus from Egypt & the plagues, the foods all told a part of the story: bitter herbs, matzoh, salt water, sweet apples, egg, etc. Another glass of wine, eat up the ritual foods, then time for real dinner. It was a fabulous potluck spread, I can't believe I worried we wouldn't have enough! Another  glass of wine, but this time it served as communion along with the hidden piece of matzoh. And another glass of wine....

Party!

Some of us stayed at late as 1:30am, which was unexpected for just dinner, but we had SO much fun it was hard to leave! And there was still more wine that needed to be finished, of course.



You like that "Last Supper" reenactment? haha That was probably my favorite part of the whole night. That & talking bear. (don't ask)

But other than just having an amazing time, it was a meaningful night for me too. I feel like it helped me to understand a few things better

1. If I knew tomorrow I'd die, this is EXACTLY how I'd want to spend my last night. Lots of friends, food & wine.


2. Jesus' water-into-wine miracle... I totally get it now. I was so afraid we would run out of wine... almost panicked. "We'll run out & we need 4 glasses for the ceremony & everything will be ruined!" It would have been the worst thing that could have happened, so I respect Jesus looking out for even petty situations like that when they mean a lot to us.


3. No wonder the disciples fell asleep in Gethsemane... have I mentioned how much wine you drink? Seriously.


4. The people who arrested Jesus were Jews too, I believe, which means they'd be having the same meal time with their families. The whole ending of the Seder is hope for the coming Messiah... so basically they're going through the motions & hoping for a savior while at the same time plotting to kill him. Of course they didn't believe he was the same guy, but that's still pretty ironic & sad.

Anyway, those were just some of my thoughts on it. The Seder was the perfect start to a long Easter weekend that ended similarly: dinner with friends. And wine.

Three Cups of Tea

Something you might not know about me: I've read more in the past 2.5 years than in my whole life. Most recently I finished an awesome book that you all probably heard of before I did... Three Cups of Tea.

My coworker gave this to me months & months ago, & now I'm kicking myself for putting it off so long. I absolutely fell in love with this book... the kind of love where you think about skipping activities to have more time to read.

In a nutshell:

Greg Mortenson builds schools in remote villages in Pakistan &, later, Afghanistan that educate both boys & girls. He gets into this accidentally & isn't some rich tycoon that throws money at problems, he's just a real dude who works his tail off.

On a More Personal Note:

I loved so many different things in this book that it's hard to sum up. I love how relationships are the core of everything... he meets people & build bonds, & THAT's what gets things done. I love that he looks at education as more than a human right, but as a way to change the cycles of terrorism & extremism. I love that he, as an American, is the one to adapt & he doesn't require people to become "westernized". I really really love that.

Mostly... I love the faith of these Muslims. It's a real shame how certain circles *ahem* make Muslim seems like a bad word, it's a shame how we've villanized that religion & made it synonymous with terrorism. Sure a lot of us either resisted or came away from that knee-jerk reaction, but we can't act like people don't think that way. I feel like I've learned more about my faith as a Christian from reading about their faith as Muslims... afterall, Allah & my God are supposed to be the same thing, but with different understandings about Jesus & Mohamed. In everything they did it was "Allah be praised" or "if Allah allows" or "Allah in his wisdom didn't allow". They thanked him for literally everything that did or didn't happen. I don't thank God when I don't get what I wanted, I pray & tell him to change it... I clearly have a lot to learn. The one guy even made a statement along the line of "I wish I could go on working but I'm aging & Allah in his infinite wisdom has seen fit to slow me down, so I'll rest." Wow... I'd like to relate to God more like that.

The faith stuff is actually a minor part of the book, so if you're not religious you'll still think it's pretty kick-ass... that's just what hit me hard.

Goodbye Booze

Let the countdown begin... 52 days without alcohol.

This is the 2nd year I'm giving it up for lent. I'm not the type of person who likes to do things "just because", that mindset drives me freaking nuts. I want to know why I should do something & do because I want to. So don't feel bad for me, no one's twisting my arm.

(So why the heck are you doing this? And isn't Lent supposed to be 40 days?)

Ah, all good questions. Wikipedia has the answer to everything, let's ask...

Lent, in Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Well that sounds just terrible. Look, I can't tell you why other people give up things for lent. All I can do is tell you how my heart understands it. At Christmas time I totally prepare & get into "the Christmas spirit" by blasting carols all day & decorating cookies. Before my friends birthdays I make a point to plan & go shopping or making a gift in advance. We prepare for the big stuff, it help me to wrap my mind around something if I can plan in advance. And Easter is big... it's tough & emotional & I need to be in the right mindset to give it due credit.

So what does a nice cold beer have to do with preparation for Easter? Not a whole lot, but that's not entirely the point. How can I explain this? If someone's important to you, don't you want to spend time with them or at least call to say hi & I'm thinking of you? Doesn't it help the relationship to do that as frequently as you think about it? THAT's what I'm trying to to here. Every time I'm out with my friends & order a soda rather than a beer,  I think about why I don't have that beer. Just a little check-in to say "Hi. I love you. Thanks for everything you do." It also kind of invites God in on time that I otherwise probably wouldn't have him on my mind at all.

So by the time it's Good Friday (& I'm a teary / snotty mess) & then Easter (probably teary again but with less snot) I know we're on good terms & the relationship is strong & we can remember this tough stuff together. It's just a gesture really.

So other people might like the "suffering with" perspective or maybe just because it's tradition... but I wouldn't do 52 of fasting anything for novelty. But that's just me. Oh & the 52 days vs. 40... apparently people take Sundays off! haha What? I don't think that's a good idea unless we want to make Hangover Monday a new tradition. Nah, go hardcore or go home, right? *gulp* Right.

Photoshop with a Side of Self-Loathing

Well this post took a crazy turn halfway through. Originally I just wanted to post a picture of my new highlights, dying my hair was a coping mechanism to deal with STILL being snowed in & having crazy cabin fever. So I snap a picture... oh glasses are making a glare. Ok new picture without glasses... crap I have giant nose-marks from the glasses. That's ok I can just photoshop them out. (here's where it starts to go astray)

So a little touch-up here & there...

... & there...   & there...   & there...   & there & there & there & there...

Before I knew it I was obsessing over the pores on my nose & imaginary lines! What am I doing?! *sigh* Some days I'm a mess.

• erased glasses marks


• erased & evened-out under eyes


• erased freckles & blemishes on right cheek


• smoothed pores on nose, cheeks & chin


• added color to top lip, right side


• darkened eyelashes


• took out red from my nose-crease


• warmed & saturated colors

This is so not healthy.

In the fall I had a really tough month or so, & my way of coping with stress & lack of control in my environment was to just hate on myself... I guess because I'm the only thing that I could control. I knew it wasn't healthy so I took a weekend away on this retreat in the middle of nowhere where I figured God & I would get some quality time to work on our issues: self-control, strength, perseverance, etc.

Wrong. That's not at all what He wanted to work on. Before breakfast on the first day I went for a "run" (this was before my 5k training so running did NOT last long. Even more reason to hate myself) It's probably the only time in my life I CLEARLY heard God. Not audibly, I'm not crazy... but clearly. More like how you read something & hear it in your head.  Here's what I heard:

"If you really love me... how can you hate what I love so much?"

He was talking about me.

That pretty much changed everything. Not that I don't get bouts of self-attack, clearly that's what just happened this morning, but I'm a little more aware of what's happening here. I think that my esteem & insecurities are just my easiest point of attack. But if I really love God & want a heart like his (which I do) then how can I possibly hate someone he made from scratch & loves so so so so so so much?

Mexico

This blog is pretty new & missing a lot of background information, so in an attempt to make up for some of that I'd like to tell you all a little story.

Once upon a time in Mexico... No wait, that's a Johnny Depp movie.

In 2007, Hot Metal went to Mexico. I wasn't on that first mission trip but it was the start of a relationship that's continuing to grow and strengthen between 2 groups of people: Pastor Pablo's churches in Chiapas, Mexico & ours in Pittsburgh.



I say it's a relationship because it's more than just meeting new people when we travel & it's definitely way more than a "cause" that we support from a distance. We're family. We've learned that what we have in common trumps all of our differences. I guess that's how it's supposed to be with believers, you share a heart. (side note: that's probably why it's so frustrating when people who are supposedly on the same team are hurtful & hateful & try to separate "us" from "them". Broken hearts hurt.) But before I get too sentimental, let me share a few things about our Mexican friends:

Poverty- Chiapas is the poorest part of Mexico. When we visit our hosts offer up the most valued commodities they can afford: coca-cola & chicken. In Matzam, a village we've spent some time in, their main income is growing & selling calla lilies which sell for just a few cents. As a girl in Pittsburgh, I can't starve... even if I have to rely on community meals & dumpster food I won't die. In Chiapas there are no such assurances.

Health Care- Over 1,000,000 people in the state of Chiapas have no access to medical facilities. Communities that are 70% or more indigenous have on average one doctor for every 25,000 people. The first group to visit from Hot Metal heard the story of a young man who had to have an operation twice because the first time the doctors merely cut and then stitched the skin on his stomach, to make it appear that they had operated. To bring it home a little, on our 2nd visit our friend was in a terrible, terrible accident & could have died... we were 2 miles from a brand new medical clinic which is nothing short of a miracle. The next closest hospital was 3 hours away. But even with that amazing provision it's a real eye opener when one of YOUR friends can't have proper treatment even inside of a hospital.

Faith- Mexicans put us to shame with their knowledge of the bible & faith in God's provision. You can't argue it. People walk miles & miles to church, there aren't enough pastors so members of the congregation have to step up, elders of the church have a full-time job to take care of the people of their congregation which means they can't give their time to supporting themselves. My friends in Chiapas are what I'd like to refer to as "hardcore". What's sad is that some (let me stress SOME, not all) denominations have severely distorted their beliefs and pretty much rob already impoverished people for more money. I won't get into, but ask if you want to know some of the ways the church abuses people.

Why We Go- Because we care. Because we're a family. Because we helped to build a Medical Center & a new Church. Because God tells us that we're 1 body that rejoices together & suffers together.



Because we're in this together.