November Update

Pilar's Health:
Although Pilar has been out of hospital for 10 days now, five days ago we started to notice that she looked and felt worse. Following new analysis, we visited an infectious disease specialist who concluded that the salmonella in Pilar's body (or the bug responsible for her illness) has not been eradicated yet. Of course, this new development stunned us and we were worried. She has now started a new course of anti-biotic treatment and other medicines including anti-michotics. Thank God that although she had a fever last Friday, she dis very well during the weekend This morning she was able to review reports from the different community centers and now is spending time with our nephew and niece. It seems that the medicine is really having an positive effect upon her body. Please keep praying for her.

UK trip canceled
As a result of the trials we have suffered, it is with sadness that we are postponing our planned trip to the UK in November. Many people have worked hard in preparation for the 20th anniversary celebration; none more so than Lucy Savage, our new UK administrator, who has been admirable in the way she has coped over the last month with both learning the job and organizing events. Yet we feel that it would be unwise to travel given the disruption of our preparation and Pilar's current health. A celebration of 20 years of Armonía would not be the same without her and we all want to make sure she is given time to recover properly. We have tentatively penciled in April for the new celebration.

Armonia Students' Residence:
Recently all the students at the senior high school attended by our youngsters in Oaxaca had to take a general exam. I think you'd happy to hear that our kids occupied the first three places. Two of them have been invited to participate in a state-wide academic Olympiad against many other Oaxaca students. This is the first time that this school has participated in this kind of contest and the teachers are very excited by their prospects. Of course they can't stop singing the praises of our good students' residence program. Praise God!

Tabasco:
Please read the following article that we have prepared regarding the terrible flooding which arrived with heavy rain across the South of Mexico. Please pray about the issues described and if it's possible, we ask for you to provide some support for Armonía to play a strategic role in helping alleviate the suffering.
In the UK, Eidi and other Mexican students has already working on food (tacos) sales (and other plans) at her university to collect some funding to support our efforts to help.

Christmas:
This year, we are going to have all our Christmas activities during the two weeks starting December 14th. There will be a visit and party in Oaxaca at the Armonía students' residence on the 18th. The activities will continue in the community centers, climaxing with celebrations at Presidentes, Jalalpa and Santa Cruz on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd respectively. After that, the Cruz family hopes to seek a time of restoration and to attend family matters, leaving on the 24th. Perhaps these dates will help you a little if you are planning to come to Armonía this Christmas. People will be at Casa Blanca even though the Cruzes are not around – there will be opportunities to participate in maintenance jobs combined with interesting visits to the city.

Thank you for your continuing prayers and support,

Saul and Pilar Cruz.

EMERGENCY IN TABASCO, MEXICO
Dear Friends of Armonía,
I am writing to inform you about the situation in Mexico's southern state of Tabasco. Officials have referred to the flooding in the area as one of the worst natural disasters in Mexico’s history. After heavy rain pounded the area for days, water has submerged over 80 percent of the state and virtually all of the state’s capital city, Villahermosa. Currently, over one million homeless, hungry, and dehydrated victims wait for government and private aid.
The massive flooding has left victims desperately in need of basic for survival supplies, including water, food, shelter, cooking kits, and hygiene items. There are no estimates on the number of homes destroyed, as the flooding is still too severe to asses the damage. It has been reported that long-term recovery efforts will likely include housing reconstruction, reparation of water and sanitation systems, and agricultural rehabilitation as over 90 percent of Tabasco's crops were inundated by the flooding.

The situation grows more critical as the lack of electricity and drinking water is making life in the city and surrounding areas nearly impossible. Many roads have been cut off by floodwaters, making it hard to distribute supplies to the communities that need them most. This is complicated further by the fact that Federal Police have now decided to limit deliveries to those rural communities still surrounded by water and are resorting to "selective evacuations" of those in the most critical condition.
Serving isolated and extremely poor communities has always been a central focus of Armonía. Presently, this means meeting the urgent need of getting food and water to areas of the state where little to no aid is being sent. Government aid has been slow to reach rural areas; many victims in the towns neighboring Villahermosa were stranded for days on rooftops, waiting for relief. These are poor people who live in very underdeveloped regions often located next to the city waste disposal sites or in areas overlapped by the growth of the city.

With floodwaters beginning to recede, there is a whole host of new problems concerning sanitation and disease. Now, the primary concern is water. Most of the affected areas have no running water and people have resorted to using stagnant standing water, contaminated by sewage and debris. Federal Deputy Health Secretary Mauricio Hernandez has warned of possible outbreaks of many waterborne diseases. The risk of diseases such cholera, dysentery, and those transmitted by mosquitoes, like malaria and dengue fever, is imminent. Furthermore, the waist-deep waters are infested with poisonous snakes and occasionally larger reptiles. The situation will only grow more severe if something is not done to provide a long-term solution to the water situation.
Armonía has donated money, equipment and medicine previously allocated to other projects to form a response team. This consists of a medical doctor, a Christian pastor and three helpers who can serve the communities as voluntary nurses. One of them was born in Tabasco and two of them are familiar with the area, allowing them to work alongside local Christian groups who are trying to help others in spite of their own tragedies. The team will travel in two vans containing a water purification system, food, clothing, and whatever else can fit. The trip will be short because we only have 500 dollars for gasoline; everyone going on the trip is paying their own expenses.

We have two key goals besides emergency medical attention. 1) To asses the condition of the people and the possibility of forming a local organized response to alleviate some of their needs and; 2) To install a filtration unit which can produce drinkable water for an entire community. With this system, safe water can be provided for as little as 1 US dollar per person per year; less that the price of one bottle of water. This system was generously given to us by Earl Combs for use in an area where political instability has prevented its installation to date. Having been frustrated by this volatility, we are grateful to God for his provision to allow us to have it ready to serve the people of Tabasco at this time.
We pray that the Lord will open up opportunities for us to serve the people of Tabasco with more than just temporary aid. We hope to encourage independence and long-term relief by supplying villages and towns with these units. A complete system that can provide an entire town with water despite severe conditions and lack of electricity costs $1550 US dollars (₤730) plus another 500 dollars for travel and installment costs.
We are contacting you to request your partnership in prayer and ask you to consider going above and beyond your normal giving to help facilitate this aid. We have the opportunity to use this disaster for God’s glory. The state has a very high Christian population and we can support our brothers and sisters in Christ by committing to send money, food, and water purification systems. This is an amazing opportunity for us to work together as a global community by facilitating relief and the spreading of Christ’s love through service to the poor and vulnerable in a desperate situation.

In Christ,
Saul and Pilar Cruz