Mawhorter Family News

Update time...

2009-10-06T11:45:00.000-07:00

Plans have changed and we're now back in the US. We're heading back to Canada. We should be in Canada sometime around the 19th of October.

Our trip home was not without excitement. On our drive through Mexico we stopped at an accident where a drunk man had run his truck right through 20 feet of a guard rail. He was moaning in his truck when we got there. Joel quickly got his equipment out and tried to get into examine the man. He stumbled down the embankment next to the road on a broken leg and then shortly after went unconscience and then went into cardiac arrest. Joel started CPR and called me in to help him. We did CPR for at least five minutes. The man actually managed to regain a heart beat just as the ambulance appeared. Joel figures that the guy probably died on the way to the hospital which was 30km away. I found the incident really emotional and intense. I've never seen anyone die or seen anyone near death. It was also really gross with lots of blood and vomit. I'm glad that I had the experience though.

We really loved our time in Mexico. The local brothers were so hospitable and generous despite their poverty. In many ways life was just more simple. The freedom from the oppressive Canadian system was a breath of fresh air.

Our rough plan going forward is to stay in Canada for about a month and then head over to Africa. We're not exactly sure where in Africa but we know that Joel can work in any English speaking country and we can figure out our more permanent location from there. We learned through our time in Mexico that home is where our brothers and sisters in Christ are. We were sad to leave the brothers there in much the same way we were sad to leave Canada. We look forward now to meeting more humble brothers and sisters in Africa. If you're the praying sort please keep this in prayer for us. I'll keep this blog up to date with our upcoming plans.

A Long Overdue Update

2009-08-23T16:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry everyone who has been eagerly awaiting a recent update on our adventures.

Lets see, we've now been here for just over 5 weeks. We're now living on the villiage land. We moved here about a 2 weeks ago. We're in a tent for the time being but should be moving into the first dormitory building within a couple of weeks unless others would like to take the space.

Our days are spent working on the land. Joel does construction with the other men while I usually cook for the crew, do small agricultural projects and tend to our laundry (hand washing very muddy clothes takes ALOT of work!). Every few days we make a trip to one of the nearby markets (very crazy. I'll try to take pictures some time).

The villiage structure is coming along well. The multipurpose building roof is done. The first toilet and shower will be done today. We've planted a large number of different fruit trees. The kids had fun yesterday planting a bunch of banana trees.

Speaking of bananas, we've been sure enjoying them! Who would have guessed that there are several different types. We've had tiny ones, fat ones, giant ones, regulars (which are called tabasco bananas, by the way) and have yet to try the red ones. The cheapest at the market are about 15c/lb. Mangos are about 20c/lb. We've tried some of the other fruit as well. We all agree that guava are better than papayas. We're in fruit paradise. :)

Our Spanish is coming along. The kids haven't advanced much but we are. We went for breakfast with one of the local Christian families. We actually managed to hold a semi-decent conversation for most of the morning.

We had a baptism on the property a few days ago. I believe, if I remember correctly that 7 people were baptized. It was great. One of the girls baptized was really frightened by the water. She'd never had her head under water ever before.

As an update to Carla whom I mentioned in the last post, her and Pablo got married and baptized! They are definitely making progress for the better but please continue to pray for them. I can't imagine being married at 13 to a 15 year old but I trust that God knew what he was doing when he chose the age of puberty. Thanks for your prayers.

Our first visitor is scheduled to come down on September 1st. My friend Amanda has her flight booked. Please keep her travels in prayer and ours. We'll drive into Mexico city to pick her up. It's about a 3 hour drive. Amanda is considering moving here permanently so please pray that she will have wisdom about that decision.

I'll try to be a little more faithful with writing in the future. I'm hoping that having a table for our computer once we're in a building might help. It also looks like we'll have internet access on the property at some point through a cell phone internet service. That should help us be able to keep a bit better connected.

The Last Few Days

2009-07-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would give a little bit of a rundown of our life over the last few days. There has been so much to do and see and take in but we're still happy to be here.

On Tuesday when we arrived we were exhausted. We stayed home and tried to rest some while trying to get a feel for our new surroundings.

On Wednesday, Joel and Paul went with brother Jason to pick-up a radiator for his truck in a near-by city in the morning. Sister Nicole, her daughter Jasmine, Faith and I went to the market that is about 20 minute walk away from their current home. We picked up some fruit and veggies. We came home and had lunch with the guys. We rested for the rest of the afternoon and settled in a little for the rest of the day.

On Thursday, Joel went to the property that the village is being built on and did some labour with the men. Sister Nicole and I stayed home. We had a single, 13 year old mother of two children, aged 13 months and 3 months, come by for most of the day. She is so young and immature. Sister Nicole bathes the babies when they come by because otherwise they are never washed. If you're a Christian reading this please pray for her. The government is very likely to come in and take her children from her and place them for adoption. She is not very good with them but she is their mother. Her name is Carla.

On Thursday evening we went to our first church meeting here. We all climbed into brother Jason's pick-up truck and headed out to a little village where the service was being held. Along the way we picked up a few more people who wanted to join us. The meeting was held in a brother's home. We sat in a circle in a covered area, sang some songs and listened to a sermon (which Joel and I couldn't understand 99% of). After the service they passed around little cookies and coffee. They even gave a cup of coffee to Paul and Faith to share. We accepted it because we didn't want them to feel like they needed to buy us something else next time that we would appreciate more.

Friday was much like Thursday. Joel went off and Carla came by again. This time she brought her boyfriend, the father of at least the youngest son. He's 15 years old. Some of the time he is nice to her but on occasion he likes to get drunk and beat her. Physical abuse of woman seems to be incredibly prevalent here. These two will probably be getting married in a few weeks.

In the evening we went to a service in another area. This meeting was in a home and was much the same as the previous evening's meeting. After the meeting we went and had a meeting with a doctor and lawyer. The doctor is interested in helping Joel to get his license here and have him begin practising. It was a really productive meeting. It seems that is should quite straight forward for Joel to be able to get his license. It appears that the main hurtle is learning Spanish. After that they just need to get a few papers signed at the court house. Joel will also be able to shadow this doctor. He is going on Tuesday and Wednesday evening of next week to do just that.

Today Joel spent the morning with the kids and I. We went for a walk together and tried our best not to get lost. I showed Joel the market the sister Nicole had taken me to on Wednesday. Joel and brother Jason left for Mexico city after lunch. They're spending the night there tonight doing some errands and brother Jason is speaking in a couple of church gatherings.

Those are the main highlights of the week. We have met many other people. Joel has given out medical advise to a few people. The man delivering water wanted to know what to do about his wife's infertility. A few of the children have skin issues that Joel examined. I gave away a bottle of calcium pills to a little girl on prednisone, a nasty medication that leaches calcium from your bones, because her parents can't afford milk or supplements. Paul's blonde hair has been the centre of attention with a lot of the visitors. One neighbour who came by today kept feeling his hair. Some of the children stare at us.

Something that made a deep impression on me other the last few days is the poverty here. They are so poor here compared to Canadian standards. Their houses are mostly like shacks. Their shoes are in tatters. They use grocery bags as diaper covers for their babies. They can't afford proper medical care. Many don't have running water or electricity. Most of the women are completely illiterate. Some need to miss meals regularly because they don't have money for food. They are poor here because the system is corrupt and not because of their sin. They can't get out of it even if they tried.

There are so many things that are interesting things that I could write about but I need to get some sleep. Again, those pictures are coming soon.

We've Arrived!

2009-07-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Finally, our first taste of foreign missions after many years of waiting. We arrived the day before yesterday after many days of traveling. After our stop that I last mentioned we stayed a night in Wyoming in a private spot that we found through the internet. It was beautiful but the bugs were intense. The next night we stayed in the mountains of Colorado at a free campsite. The following night was at a free RV hook that we noticed while driving. Some of the small towns offer RV hookups to encourage people to stop in their towns. We just set our tent up in the grass and hoped for the best. The next night was on the beach in southern Texas. The heat was intense. It was about 38C with nearly 100% humidity. It felt like you were swimming in the air. The spot was amazing though. It was fairly empty, had nice sandy beaches and the ocean was warm. We kind-of wanted to stay despite our sweat. We left there around noon the next day and made our way to the Mexican border.

The border crossing was an interesting experience. At first we got into the wrong lineup and then were escorted the right way. We then parked, went into a lobby and were handed some forms to fill in. The guys behind the desk were watching a Spanish fortune teller on TV. Joel then had to get a permit for our truck. We then had a guy ask us some questions about the contents of our truck. He wanted to know if we had electronics to sell, refrigerators or paintings. We then had to wait in a line. There is then a random light that either turn green and the whole lineup can go or red and then the whole lineup is searched. We got a green.

Directly across the border is a city called Matamoros. The difference is stark. There were people everywhere trying to sell us stuff. We pulled over just after the border to try to figure out where to change money. We stopped in the wrong spot and were noticed by traffic enforcement. Their job is to give tickets and to help people find their way. It's an interesting mix. We got on our way, changed some money at a Scotia bank, and continued on our way.

After driving about 45 minutes we had to go through another border. Mexico has an interesting two border system. The strip of Mexico near the US border is more freely open to tourism. Visitors to this area don't need permits or Visas. Once you pass the other border though you do need those things. The second border was a little more rustic. A guy stopped us asked us few more questions about what was in the back and then sent us on to wait for the red or green light to flash. We got another green light and were on our way.

The drive was fascinating. It was so neat to see everyones' houses with their animals. People everywhere seemed to have chickens, turkeys, goats, sheep and cows. There were little stores set up all along the drive and the landscape was beautiful. We went through some desert sections, some cities, and then into the area we're in now which almost seems jungle like to me.

We drove through most of that night. We pulled over three times to try to sleep but weren't all the successful. The highways were pretty good but the last section of the drive was up a long windy mountain with no shoulder or passing lanes. There were some of the most amazing lookouts along the way. Joel says that during the drive in Mexico he figures that he saw more horrible passes then he seen in the rest of his life combined. Buses would pass three cars while approaching a blind corner. We're amazed that we didn't come upon any accidents.

One interesting incident along the way was a road block that we came upon. The police were stopping all the vehicles in the line. When they got to us they started jabbering in Spanish and continued to try to communicate even after we said, "no comprendo, no hablo espanol." I finally pulled out our cell phone, called our friends here and handed him the phone. It turns out that he was "kindly" asking us for some money for coffee. Jason explained to Joel that usually it's best to give into their kind requests because they don't always remain kind. We decided to contribute some pesos to the Mexican police coffee fund.

When we finally got close we called our friends here. They told us to meet them at a bridge just passed the last city. We ended up taking a wrong term and became lost in a small, crammed, city center. Our phone wouldn't work either. Joel stopped and bought a phone card because we assumed that our minutes had run out. He was pleasantly surprised when someone off the street came in and helped him out in English. We got back on track and managed to get in at about 2pm.

I'll fill in the details of the last 48 hours tomorrow or the next day when I have a little more time. I should be getting pictures up within the next few days. I need to get Joel's help to get them off the camera.

We're on the Road Again

2009-07-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Vancouver safely on June 27th and stayed around until this past Tuesday. We had been planning to leave on July 4th but there simply seemed to be more people to visit and chores to get through.

We're now on our way through the US on our way to Mexico. The border crossing was suprisingly easy given how loaded down we were. They didn't give us a second glance after we told them that we were going to Mexico as missionaries. Hopefully the Mexican border crossing goes as smoothly!

Our first day was pretty smooth. At one point we passed a millitary convoy of about 15-20 millitary hummers. All had fully dressed soldiers in the front. The kids thought that that was pretty interesting. We also stopped in at a Walmart at one point for some groceries. US Walmarts are crazy! They're huge and include an whole grocery store. They also provide people with scooters so that fat people can ride around and keep shopping. I'd be embarrassed to use one of those.

The first night we camped just across the Washington/Oregon border along a river in a free campground. It was very pretty. Faith and Paul enjoyed playing in the water.

Yesterday we had a little stop in La Grande, OR and took a tour of an old fire hall. We ended up staying the night in a forestry campground. The free wifi and hot showers were nice perks.

Today we're hoping to stay in Wyoming. If we have wifi tonight I'll try to add some pictures that we've taken so far.

Leaving Tomorrow!

2009-06-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well, time has slipped away on us and we'll be leaving for Vancouver tomorrow. Our house is in chaos and I'm not sure we're going to be able to easily finish all the work that we have left to do. We've got lots of cleaning, packing and even a vaccination left to do today. I'm sure somehow we'll manage though. :)

The plan tomorrow is to pack up our pickup and head out of town at around 1pm. We'll be camping for the night near La La Hache and then we'll be in Vancouver Sunday. Our goal is to leave Vancouver for Mexico on the following Sunday.

Update from Mexico

2009-06-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today I thought that I would share Jason and Nicole's update letter concerning the work that is currently being done on for the village.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

These last few months have been a busy time for us. We have advanced quite a bit on The Village set up. We had a bulldozer clear a road to the top of the property. We have a large area of land leveled and ready for the multi-purpose pavilion that will go up, God willing, in July. We have enough land leveled for 32 dormitory rooms (4-8 room units) and have begun those foundations. We have also purchased the wood for at least 2 of those units. There is a meeting room roofed and ready to enclose and the foundation for 13 bathrooms and 14 showers. There has been a dam built for the mountain creek that runs through The Village. With hand tool's, we ran over 2000 feet of ½ inch pipe from a fresh spring above The Village that will supply our water by gravity. We have a methane digester system being built and have advanced in a few other projects as well.

We have not communicated the best this year with you, our friends, but please know that we are working. We hope to live on The Village by July/August and we will have an even harder time with communication then, due to the fact that we will not have phone/internet access. We are becoming more and more involved working with and discipling the nationals. Please pray for us as we enter into this next transition. Pray for wisdom, favor with our local neighbors, and that God will help us to expand his church through laborers who are filled with his Spirit. A lot of what has been going on has been with shovels, picks and machetes. It is good to lose a few pounds of fat and gain a few in muscle.

We hope to have an array of things up and running in the coming months. Greenhouses built, mushroom production, honey bee boxes up, an aquaponics system, methane gas production for cooking, Saanen goats/milk/cheese, chickens/eggs and rabbits, solar lighting, sunflower oil pressing machine, bicycle pedaled washing machines, grinders . . ., Tilapia and Trout, worm and compost piles, and a few other projects that are to be built. We are building a seed bank and have begun planting the crop cycles needed to sustain the work. There is a season for everything and this is the season of planting and building- literally. I have not felt this good in a long time. Good old fashioned manual labor is good for the soul. We are also beginning a literacy program, as many can not read. We pray that you, our friends who are reading this, will continue your prayers and support as we get through this season and soon increase evangelism and church planting.

We are excited about what the facilities, though basic, will open up for the church here in Mexico. A number of the unwed mother's that Nicole helps have already staked their claim to live on The Village. They are not able to properly raise their children on their own and have left their lives of prostitution. Brothers with families who are struggling to make ends meet, widows, orphans, young singles who want to serve the kingdom with all their heart and many more will have a place to stay- be it temporary or long term- to serve and find a refuge. We hope to send out even more laborers into the harvest this year who have a deeper understanding of caring for God's sheep and greater skill in agricultural ethics to support themselves.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. I wish we could drink some Mexican cafe' together! Adios!

In Mexico for Jesus,
Jason S. Fitzpatrick

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36

25 Sleeps Until We Leave

2009-06-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure you all can imagine we're become excited to leave as the days creep along. Joel and I have been plodding along with our preparations for leaving. My to-do list seems to keep growing rather than shrinking. Joel is still working in the medical clinic here and will continue to do so until the day before we leave. This means that most of his free time has to be booked pretty solid with chores. We're also trying to make sure that we squeeze in time to say good-bye to scores of people.

Some people recently have been asking how we decided on Mexico since we've been talking about Africa for so long. We had been praying that God would lead us to where ever in the world he wanted us to go. We had never really said that we only wanted to go Africa. We just wanted to go where we would be valuable.

A friend of ours ran into a little information about this project while cruising the internet. He found it interesting and forwarded it on to a few friends. Joel decided to look a little more into it. Initially he was thinking that it would simply be to make another contact with a like minded brother. After connecting we realized that in a lot of ways this project was a good fit for our family. Our vision had been very similar to what the church down there is trying to implement. The Fitzpatrick's involvement also meant that we would have someone to work with who has had years of experience with the local language and culture. All in all, it simply seemed like a good place to begin.

If you're interested in reading a little more about the project and group that we'll be joining there's plenty more information available on the village website.

A first entry

2009-05-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog. As I'm sure most of you already know we're now in the process of getting ready for a big move to Mexico. We will be joining a project down in the Puebla province. Initially our work will be primarily building an intentional and sustainable Christian community amongst the indigenous people of that region. The picture to the left is of the frame of the first dormitory building that is being made for the new village.

Neither Joel nor I are fluent in Spanish so we will also being doing a crash course in Spanish by immersion. Joel will be putting formal medical work on the sidelines until his Spanish is such that he could actually understand a patients complaints. It sure doesn't help much to give someone pain killers when they need thyroid medications. :)

We're not really sure how long we're going to be down working with this particular project. We'll leave that to God to direct. Our plan is to simply head down there, see how it goes, stay if that seems best or to move on if we feel compelled to do so.

Our current plan is to leave on the 27th of June, head down to Vancouver for a few day stop over and farewells to our friends there and then off through the US toward the Brownsville, Texas border crossing into Mexico. We're looking forward to the drive as way of settling down and having some family time after the last couple months of busy planning and preparations.

If you're so inclined, please keep us in your prayers. We have a lot of administration work to get through in the next month which neither Joel nor I are particularly strong with.