letter from Mexico
As there is a large population of US expatriates where we live in Mexico, there are several churches here that hold services exclusively in English.
The pastors of these churches come from north of the border and receive wages similar to what is paid back in the States.
While the churches have much more than the typical Mexican church, percentage-wise far less goes out to charitable work, in that the pastors are very well paid by Mexican standards.
In October a tragedy hit our area: one night we received over ten inches of rain, causing a massive mudslide. The tiny village of La Canacinta took the brunt of the destruction, with massive property damage throughout the village, including several homes destroyed.
In 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, Paul writes:
‘God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the insignificant things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that he may nullify the things that are, so that no human may boast before God.’
There is a small, poor, church in La Canicinta. The building is simply four pillars supporting a roof. They have not been able to afford walls yet. The locals just call it La Capilla (The Chapel).
The day of the mudslide, the congregation of La Capilla got to work, setting up a kitchen. For the next two weeks, from seven in the morning until seven at night, they fed, gratis, all of the people of the village. They also set up a donation centre to bring in donations of clothing, furniture, appliances, and get distributed to the people in need.
People who had nothing gave everything over those two weeks: they are why the village could rebuild. By the time the wealthy denominational churches convened their committees, the work was already done, by the congregation of an Evangelical Chapel that couldn’t afford walls for its building.
And people saw Christ in action, thanking God for La Capilla.
