Hola
Hello from Juarez. This week we had the opportunity to go down to the Sierra Mountains. It is in the southern part of the state. It is pretty much unsettled except by the Tarahumara Indians which is exactly who we were going to visit. God was incredibly evident throughout the whole trip even leaving Juarez. Because of all the drug violence they have been very picky about who they let past the 30 kilometer border, especially Americans. We were pulled over and searched but let through, then we also got pulled over at the military checkpoint and they let us pass no questions asked.
After about 7 hours of driving we pulled of the highway and onto a dirt road. It had rained heavily before we got there and about 30 minutes down the road we had to cross a flooded river. Some people passed by and said there was no way we could cross ahead or even the river without 4 wheel drive. But we braved the river anyways at one point the river was above our lights on the van but praise the Lord we made it across. We only blew one tire before we reached the valley where they lived.
When we got there they were overjoyed to see us, mostly because we brought 15 Tarahumaras with us. We got there and had a service with them, it was amazing to hear the persecution they go through for the Lord. Being dragged out of there homes in the middle of the night, having their land stolen, and their stuff broken and vandalized by there own people. It made me understand more how little we actually sacrifice for God and how blessed we are to live in the countries we live in. They still don’t have a bible translated in their language so we all shared verses the touched us somehow and then had it translated from English to Spanish to Tarahumara. It took a long time but they have no concept of time and were just overjoyed to hear more of what the bible says. The service lasted almost 5 hours but nobody noticed. I also noticed how blessed we are and how sad it is that we take the bible for granted and listening to its powerful and God inspired words has become a chore for some people.
We also helped with work. We helped them pull weeds in there corn fields and transport things from one side of the valley to the other which was so much easier with the vans. God also made himself evident on the way out because we couldnt leave the valley if it rained because the roads would have been way to muddy and impossible for anybody to drive on. That night the darkest clouds I’ve seen in a long time came and we prayed hard that they wouldnt rain and it rained everywhere around us but not where we were. On the way back we only got stuck once and had one more flat tire but we made it home alive. Our vans took a beating but God allowed us to get home.
In the end we were all touched and in awe of Gods amazing power. We also learned so much about where our relationships with God were lacking. We were humbled and amazed. Thank you for your prayer support we couldnt have done anything without prayer and your support
God Bless, Tim