RGVBaptist.com - Independent Baptist Missionaries to the Hispanic people of the Rio Grande Valley, Texas

2008 11-27
Well, Thanksgiving Day has come and now has almost gone. It was a good day. Last night someone at church told me "not to eat too much." I told him I couldn't promise that, and right now I can safely say it's a good thing that I didn't! The food, as usual, was just too good to stop eating. We also managed to get some of our "Christmas decorating" done today. Braden, August and I got all the lights done on the front fence and the front of the house. I remember in Virginia putting up lights this time of year, bundled in heavy clothes, with a jacket, toboggan and heavy gloves, and coming inside for hot chocolate. Today I was in pants and a T-Shirt and coming inside for ice water, cause I was so hot. It really wasn't all that bad, only around 90 degrees, but it still made for a hot afternoon working out in the sun. Somehow it just feels wrong to get a sunburn at the end of November. Tomorrow I may put a few more lights on the garage, but probably not much more this year. Tomorrow we'll put the tree up and decorate inside the house. The kids also made Thanksgiving gingerbread cut-out cookies today. We'll see how those turned out tomorrow, after they finish decorating them. One other note. We found a couple of "visitors" in the garage today, as we unpacked Christmas lights. First, everything in the garage is coated with a nice gross layer of "mouse debris." I had seen a lot of it around, but I got to see HIM tonight. He went scurrying across the rafters. If I had the .22, or even the BB gun, I could have had him. I think I need to get some traps...... Then, I also saw the nice guy in the photos below. He's just a centipede. I'm sure you've seen one before. Of course, probably not like this little fella. He's called a Scolopendra Heros. That's just fancy latin talk for "Large Centipede." I had to do some research to find out about him, after I caught and killed him. It seems they are native to this area of Texas, and not all that uncommon. They can grow to be over 5 inches long (ours was 8 inches from tip of antennaes, to tip of back legs). You might also be able to see in the photo that he has front fangs....cause he's poisonous. Apparently they can kill a small child and make a grown person feel a LOT of pain. Apparently, they also have the ability to inject a small amount of poison from each of their other numerous walking legs. I even read one study where they had one of these guys in a terrarium with another giant centipede and 4 snakes. He killed the other centipede. Then he killed 3 of the 4 snakes. I don't think I want to play with these. I've mounted the one I killed and am trying to preserve him to bring back with me on furlough, for our display. When I get the mouse (or mice) I think I'll just toss them! Anyways, not much more happening, so more later.

My little centipede buddy. I caught him with a shovel and put him in a 5-gallon bucket. Fortunately, they can't climb smooth surfaces.	A closer look. He's not at all happy with me right now.	He's no longer mad.....actually, he's no longer anything. I'm gluing him to this board and then will shilac him to help preserve him.	See, it's not a fish tale. He's really a big critter. Gross.

Addie Grace helped cook Thanksgiving meal by chopping potatoes.	Aaron and Braden are hanging Christmas lights along the front fence.	August was happy to pose for a photo.	Addie Grace took a short break from the kitchen to enjoy the flowers in the side yard.

Our lights this evening, from the front-left side of the property.	And, the same lights from the front right-side.	Addie Grace cutting out cookies.	Addie gets them ready for the oven.

August taking a turn making cookies.	Braden has found a way to entertain himself while he waits his turn in the kitchen.	Finally, Braden has a chance to help with the cookies.	The cookies are cooling and we'll ice them tomorrow.

Bo takes his job seriously of waking the children each morning.

2008 11-23
Just a quick note to update you on a couple of things. First, the dinner at church today went very well. I'm not sure how many people were there, but we did run out of tables and chairs (though not food, fortunately!!) The weather also cooperated by remaining clear all day, with temperatures around 80. They also had special music during the services, and that was interesting. The music was beautiful, but they were having trouble with the audio/video equipment. They worked out most of the glitches, and it wasn't a big deal overall, but it did cause quite a few laughs while the poor people trying to sing suffered through it. This afternoon I also received a phone call from Pastor Randy Glenn at Calvary Baptist Church in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He began the conversation by saying that I might not remember him.....and he was right. Of course, I usually don't remember much that happened more than 5 minutes ago. Anyways, what was I just saying? Oh yeah, Pastor Glenn called. We first met this pastor last summer when we "dropped in" to visit his church. We were already in Crawfordsville for other meetings around that time, but had a couple of open slots. Melissa spotted a flyer at the laundromat announcing revival services at his church. Since I had never heard of his church before I called to verify that they were Independent Baptist, and then we attended the service. Pastor (and the entire church) were very friendly and readily welcomed us. They also invited us back later that week to present our ministry to the church. (See, I remember him now). Well, he called me today to say they were reading our latest prayer letter and are interested in bringing a group to work with us next summer (2009). We've set a tentative date for July 5th-11th. They will be bringing a group (primarily teens) of up to 25 people. We haven't outlined everything that will be done (though we have plenty of work to choose from!), but this will most likely be our first "ministry" team that gets heavily involved in tract distribution, door-to-door canvasing and youth outreaches. Please pray that the Lord would bless this church through this missions trip, as well as all of the preparation necessary for it to take place. We are becoming more excited as we begin to see a start to a more in-depth ministry here in the Valley.

Melissa stopped for a quick photo with me before church this morning.	Addie stopped for a quick photo with August.	No pretty girls left, so Braden got a photo with Bo.	Braden waiting for Sunday School class to begin, as the students begin to arrive.

August is also waiting for Sunday School class to begin.	The Coro de Betania sang a couple of specials.	August in the Kids For Truth choir.	The entire Kids for Truth choir.

Racquel Mendoza and Addie Grace in the Kids For Truth choir.	One end of the carpa (tent) during the meal. They have three serving lines (one on each side of the tent), with an open side for exiting after eating.	Another shot of the tent, from further back. The building to the left is Iglesia Bautista Betania.	Addie passes the time in the long drive from Mission back to Rio Grande City.

2008 11-22
The weeks seem to be rolling by down here in the Valley. It amazes me each Saturday just how quick the weekend came. When I came to do this update today I was equally surprised to find that it's been over 2 weeks since the last update. During that time not a lot has changed. We continue on with our normal daily tasks, which includes language school. That seems to eat up our free time very well. I am seeing consistent progress, and have begun to notice that I can understand more of what is going on. I certainly am grateful for that. This past Wednesday I was asked to help up front at church with the projection equipment. It felt good to finally be able to assist in a service, even in this small way. Pastor Noe has been away for a while due to illness in his wife's family, as well as some speaking engagements. He's back now and we are looking to setup a time to get together again to further discuss ways we can work together. This weekend it is rainy here, so we're stuck indoors. It's also cooled off considerably, with temperatures at night down in the 40's. Fortunately, the house is well insulated so we haven't needed to turn the heat on yet. I'm sure I'll appreciate that when the electric bill comes!! Tomorrow the church is celebrating Accion de Gracia (Thanksgiving). They are having a large dinner outside under the carpa (tent) following the morning service. I don't remember exactly what we're having, but I think it includes 30 turkeys, 10 gallons of corn, 10 gallons of green beans, 10 gallons of mashed potatoes, lots and lots of rolls and I think 20 pies. They're expecting 250-350 people to be in attendance, so it should be a good day. It also looks like the weather will clear up for the early afternoon, with temperatures in the low 70's. In other news, we were contacted by one of our supporting churches considering the possibility of their sending a group to help with repair work here on the property. They had a meeting last Saturday to discuss it more and was told that they will be praying to see if this is truly the direction the Lord would have them to go. Once that has been decided they will then need to raise the necessary funds. What they are desiring is to send a group of 4-5 men in January/February to work on the casita and garage. Specifically, they would focus on the roof of the garage over the workshop/office and also the flood damage on the casita. Please be in prayer with us that the Lord would lead in this way and that they would be able to raise the funds they need, both for the trip as well as the materials. Look for another update in the next couple of days, to include several photos.

2008 11-06
Just a quick update to share with you one important change in our status here in the valley. As of this week, Melissa is no longer participating in the "formal" language training at the language school. With her responsibilities as a wife, mother and with homeschooling, she simply did not have the time for the language school. That is not to say that she is not still training. Melissa has a love for all languages, especially Spanish. She is also somewhat gifted in that area. She is also very "task-oriented" and self-motivated. With those three things in mind, she is continuing her training on her own at home, for about 1 hour a day (instead of the 5+ hours a day it was taking for the school). She's already way ahead of me, and she picks up new material (in language) faster than I do, so we truly don't believe this will have any negative impacts on our ministry, plus it has a huge positive impact on our home. I am continuing language training, and will be joined by another couple in January. I can see continuous progress, even though it's not as fast as I'd personally like. Last night I was speaking with a man at church who speaks very little English. We were talking about a lot of things, and I asked him if he goes to Mexico much. At least, that's what I meant to ask him. Instead, I asked him if I go to Mexico much. He started laughing and said (in Spanish) "I don't know, do you?" Once we got that straight I told him we'd like to go to Mexico more, but we're waiting for our passports. He tried to ask me if we have our birth certificates, since that's all we'd need (for now) to get in and out of Mexico. I didn't understand him and we went round-and-round for a couple of minutes. Since I was acting as if I didn't know what a birth certificate is (by not understanding what he was saying), he took the opportunity to joke with me and ask if I was a legal citizen! You had to be there, but it was actually a very funny scene.....at my expense. But, I was at least encouraged by how much of what he said that I did understand, and how much of what I wanted to say that I was actually able to. Nada más por ahora. Tengan un buen noche!

2008 11-01
As I mentioned yesterday, today we did have the opportunity to visit the Museum of South Texas History and view their special exhibition for the special celebration of the "Día de los Muertos" or "Day of the Dead." It was certainly an educational experience, and one that we will try to share with you a little here today. Besides the fact that the true Day of the Dead celebration is very pagan (which we already knew), the biggest thing I personally took from the visit was that not everyone considers the day to be the same, or to have the same significance. This holiday is claimed by two very different sides for two very different reasons. As an example, consider Christmas for just a moment. Atheists may celebrate "Christmas" but deny that Christ exists. They lay hold on the holiday yet give it a different meaning than was originally intended. So it is for the Day of the Dead. Some look at it as merely a duplication of "Memorial Day," where they honor the memory of their loved ones. Then, on the other extreme, you have those that believe the dead actually come to visit their altar on that day, so they provide special "treats" and such for them, and go to literally spend some time together with them. One "holiday", but with two very different meanings. The photos (and especially the captions) below should help you to better understand what those in our area believe in regards to this event. One other interesting note. When we got home this afternoon we found a tract attached to our breezeway gate. Yep, it was from the JW's. I told Melissa we can probably expect to see them again soon, since we have the bus parked in our driveway. I figure they'll be interested in trying to convert us. The one good thing is that they didn't leave the note on the front door. We give credit to Bo for keeping them out of the yard, since he was left out while we were gone! Good boy, Bo.

When we arrived at the museum, this mariachi band was performing a special.	The lead singer, as well as a few of the other performists.	The main altar in the foyer of the museum. This is a typical arrangement and the poster to the left of the display helps explain this holiday to visitors.	Posted to the left in the previous photo - text given below.
Text from the preceeding poster: The Catholic practice began as All Saints' Day (All Hollows') on November 1st to commemorate all Christian saints and martyrs, and to substitute a more ancient non-Christian custom of ancestor worship. The Church sought to disassociate new Christians from this tradition but the practice persisted. By the eleventh century, the liturgical calendar included a day to honor the dead, All Souls' Day, on November 2nd, to follow All Saints' Day. Ancient customs fused with Christian rites and became a symbolic celebration that replaced such practices as feasting on the graves of the deceased. Spain introduced these rituals in the Americas. Aztec-Mexica society, a conglomeration of previously existing cultures, already allowed days in their calendar for honoring the dead. Aztec observances included the Feast of the Little Dead, commemorating infants and children, the innocents, and the Feast of the Dead remembered deceased adults. Sixteenth century Spanish writings describe how the Catholic tradition of All Saints and All Souls merged with indigenous beliefs and practices. A strong belief in the after-life, the land of Míctlan, it is reasonable that Mesoamerican civilizations ascertained similarities, and altered practices to coincide with Christian rituals. As the two cultures merged, alterations in both created a new syncretism. All Saints' Day became "día de los angelitos" or "dia de los santos inocentes", honoring the deceased young and innocent; All Souls' Day, "día de todos los muertos", commemorates deceased adults. In pre-Hispanic times, celebrations included flowers, paper or bark images, food such as tamales, fruits, pumpkin seeds, and beverages of chocolate or pulque (an alcoholic drink of the fermented sap of maguey). These traditions persist today in Mexico, Central America, and around the world wherever the traditions are carried. The holiday is a lively and colorful event that may puzzle non-Hispanics. Western culture does not celebrate death, consequently the extent of the Mexican celebration may appear strange, even macabre. For Mexicans and other Hispanics the ritual is a celebration of life not death. In remembering deceased loved ones Hispanic honor their antecedents and hope that they too will one day be just as reverently remembered. - By: Juanita E. Garza (UT-PA)

One of many items on display for this celebration.	One of many items on display for this celebration.	One of many items on display for this celebration.	One of many items on display for this celebration.

We took a quick break at the beginning for the kids to try out the saddles on display. Addie's first.	Then August.	And finally, Braden.	The first altar we came to, this one honoring someone named Frida.

Another display had several posters describing the layout of the altars themselves. Poster Text: Paperl Picad: Finally papel picado is left at the edges of the altar to give it a celebratory feel.	Poster Text: Fragrance: While copal incense is traditionally left on Día De Los Muertos altars, any fragrance can be used. A favorite perfume perhaps or something that the person favored is usually best. At the center of this photo is a burning branch of sage. It is thought that these pungent fragrances guide the dead to the altar.	Poster Text: Items: Personal items should be placed at the altar to give an accurate tribute to the person's life. Childhood toys, things they loved in life like a favorite harmonica or CD should be placed in a respectful manner on the altar. If the person liked to drink whiskey a shot of alcohol is an acceptable offering. One social anthropologist told of how she came back from Mexico and saw a Circle K Big Gulp at a grave altar.	Poster Text: Grooming: A bar of soap, a towel and a bowl of water are traditionally left at the altar with the idea that the spirits have been on a long journey and would like to refresh themselves after returning from the other side. Mirrors can also be placed at the altar so the spirit can recognize themselves and know that they have come to the right place.

Poster Text: Food: It is important to prepare the feast for the spirits to enjoy. Traditionally tamales, mole, pan de muerto, and seasonal fruits are placed at the altar, but creating a buffet with the honoree's favorite dishes and treats creates a personal touch. Yellow and orange marigolds are left because of their robust aroma. Another staple are the whimsical "calacas" or skeletons. The calacas capture the loved one's spirit. Candles are a must-have. Purple candles represent pain, pink celebration and white hope.	Poster Text: Photos: At the centerpiece of the altar (ofrenda) is a photo of the person to whom the altar is dedicated. The frame is personalized with mementos to reflect that individual. Pictures are important because they give a richer sense to the person's life and it makes the altar more interesting. Put pictures of the person as well as those closest to them, it gives it more emotional significance.	Addie posed for a photo with a little girl who was also dressed up for the celebration.	One of the workers, dressed up for the event.

One of many items on display for this celebration.	One of many items on display for this celebration.	Another of the various altars.	A sign advertising the event inside of the museum.

One of many items on display for this celebration.	One of many items on display for this celebration.	Sign for food that was for sale outside.	More of the food outside. It was just like a food vendor you'd see at a parade back East.....except......

....that instead of hotdogs, hamburgers and fries they had tacos, empañadas and tamales. They also had fruit cups and some assorted fruit-based juices.	It's Augusts' turn to pose with one of the displays.	One of many items on display for this celebration.	One of many posters on display. Poster Text: Sugar Skulls also known as "Calaberas de Dulce" they are a very important object during the celebration of Day of the Dead.

Melissa particularly wanted to share the text from this poster. Poster Text: When one passes on, they are not forgotten. Their love for the life they lived and their passions are remembered on the day of the dead. When they die their personalities survive. It is believed that the dead will live their lives the same way as when they were alive.	This photo-of-a-photo shows a more elaborate altar (not on display at the museum).	Another of the various altars.	This altar commemorated the life of an 18-year-old girl who died in July, 2008.

Same young lady. This T-Shirt commemorates her as well. It is not unusual to see people wearing such shirts here year-round, as well as having their vehicle windows lettered with commemorative information.	Same young lady. This photo collage highlights her life and friends.	Same young lady. A few things that this girl enjoyed in her life. This display was a very well-done one in terms of covering those things mentioned in the description of Día de los Muertos, above.	Another of the various altars.

Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars.	One of many altars. This one was non-specific, seeking instead to honor the memory of those forgotten by time.	Another of the various altars.

Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars.

Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars. This one shows one of the sugar skulls mentioned above.

Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars.	Another of the various altars.	Road-side vendors like these have popped up around the area over the past few weeks, selling a variety of beautiful floral arrangements for placing on graves. They are very large and sell for $5 each!

The local graveyards in Rio Grande City are also decorated. Though they remain so year-round, they tend to be even more decorated for the Día de los Muertos celebration.	More decorations at the graveyard.	Two ladies in the graveyard continuing to add more decorations.