OPC Labor Day Clinics

Orangewood Presbyterian Church in Maitland, Florida. (US) held its annual labor day clinic in Armonia's 3 community centers; El Presidentes, Santa Cruz and Jalalpa.
This is the 20th(?) year the group has partnered with Armonia in this endeavor.

A group of about 20 doctors, dentists, translators and workers came for this year's visit.

You can view more pictures here

To those who participated in the trip, feel free to share your experience in the comments section.

Ulyses

From Saul

Dated: Sept. 21, 2007

Dear Friends,
Here is an update on the various situations in Mexico at the moment.

Please continue to pray for Josias. In spite of being released from intensive care and feeling better and more cheerful yesterday (20th September), Josias's condition deteriorated yesterday evening. He is now very fragile. This morning, doctors were still uncertain about his diagnosis and decided they needed to change his course of antibiotics because they weren't working. They still do not understand what the problem in his left lung is. Please pray for their wisdom and that they would understand the cause of these problems. Pilar has spoken at length with the doctors attending Josias and Daniel, Alejandro and myself have spent the day with him. Ninfa and Abraham (two of the members of the Santa Cruz congregation) were with him during the night as he worsened. Many others have spent many hours with Josias like Eidi and Nico and has been visited by many Christian friends.

Please pray for Josias's encouragement. He has a high fever which is confusing him. The pain he is suffering sometimes causes him to expect the worse. Although the doctors say his heart and will is strong, he is still scared. We really need a diagnosis!

An anonymous friend sent us one hundred pounds to help in the expenses of Josias. Thank you very much!

Another friend has offered an interest-free loan to help Bety and her family to get out of their problem. This is a wonderful response. Pray now. please. that we can find a handle to the problem.


Thank you for your prayers for Pilar and I. My health has improved a lot and my last consultation brought very encouraging news. The pain I have been experiencing has decreased significantly.

Please also pray for the Transformation Course developing at Santa Cruz. This is currently in its second week but even with Daniel's help, some interruptions have occurred.

Continue to pray also for the kids in Oaxaca. I am traveling this evening to visit them tomorrow to see how they are doing and to honour other commitments.

Additionally, we have heard that the people of the Hornos Community are well. Those who had not previously been moved away from mudslide danger have been relocated and are in the same shelter as the others (120 families in total). Laurita, Soccorro and Juan Carlos have visited them and we are preparing some plans to take this work forward. This might mean starting a Bible study in their location or encouraging them to attend the Jalalpa Community Centre. Some of the community have written letters to some of you so please don't forget to pray for them too.

In Christ,
Saul, Pilar and Eidi.

Praise

Dated: Sept 20, 2007
Dear all,

Thank you all for your prayers and your concerns for Josias!

I am happy to bring you the news that Josias was released from Intensive Care today! He is responding to medications, his temperature has dropped to somewhere around 100°, and the bleeding has been stopped. Saul reports that Josias is feeling happy to know that he is getting well.

Please continue your prayers for Josias’ complete recovery.

More good news…

As many of you know Saul has not been feeling well and has been undergoing medical treatment for some time. Today, we were happy to learn that he is also responding well to a new course of treatment and is beginning to feel better, as well. Today, under Drs.’ orders, he was able to go out for a cup of coffee and relax for a few minutes of personal celebration.

Tomorrow morning, when we all enjoy our first cup of coffee, perhaps we can celebrate as well. We can all be happy and thank God for the progress that Saul is making.

Please pray for Pilar Cruz as she is undergoing medical tests. She has recently been found to have an accelerated heart rate and pulse. As all of us know, she is a constant pillar of strength for Armonia – the ministry and the community – as well as the Cruz family, always caring for others. As the Drs. continue to investigate, please pray that she will be able to find peace and the rest that she needs, shielded in the comforting arms of our heavenly father.

God Bless each of you and keep you in Armonia,

Mary Clark
Armonia US

Prayer Request

This email was sent Sept.18th from Saul, Pilar, Eidi and Daniel at the Juarez Hospital in Mexico City. Saul writes:

"It is with tears that I have to communicate this prayer request to you. Dear Josias, one of our finest students who just started his university studies in accounting two weeks ago, has been admitted to hospital. He has been in the intensive care unit of Mexico City's Juarez Hospital since the night of the 16th September suffering from uncontrollable bleeding which is making him vomit blood.

The first night, the doctors thought that this was caused by a gastric problem which they medicated and he was released in the early hours of the 17th. Sadly, the problem was not solved and he was readmitted a few hours later. Doctors are fearing the worst and Josias is being kept in isolation as doctors look for a source of infection in his lungs. However, they have been unable to rule out a gastric problem. Currently he is having a gastric endoscopy, accompanied by Pilar. We have been in contact with his sister who recently came to work as a maid in Mexico City but it has not been possible to communicate with his mother or father because of the recent heavy rains and hurricanes Mexico has suffered.

We have spent two nights in the hospital waiting room so far and are begging and coveting your prayers for this situation. Please also pray for Bety from Santa Cruz (the grandmother of Yoyo, Pepe and Nadia ). Last week she suffered a hypertension crisis and was sent to hospital where we spent about two days with her too. She is currently doing a bit better but might suffer the consequences of this in one of her eyes. Thank God that she was able to attend the Sunday service at Santa Cruz with her husband Manuel and their grandchildren and that her eye is being treated with a patch. The crisis came from the possibility of her and her husband losing their piece of land because they went into debt a year ago trying to build their house. Having accepted a loan of $5000 from a bank shark, today they have to pay back $9000 or lose the land, which is worth $30,000. With that money they only built a piece of the house as the husband, Manuel, lost the remaining money. When the warning for eviction came, they suddenly felt very hopeless and this brought the crisis on."

These unexpected events, in the midst of Saul's continuing bad health (which he assures us has improved but is not totally recovered) are placing quite a strain on the Cruz Family and Armonía staff. Please pray also for them, that they might have the stamina to continue helping others and have ongoing hope in the Lord Jesus.

Chris Rimmer, Liz Jones and Todd Van Patter (volunteering in the Armonía office)

Welcome

Welcome to the Friends of Armonia blog.

The purpose of the blog will be:

1. to keep friends of Armonia informed of the events that are taking place in the ministry and the communities they serve. Not only events but especially the people.

2. to start an ongoing conversation about Armonia, poverty and most importantly spur each other to action.

3. to discuss Mexican and US policies/events as they relate to the poor and poverty in Mexico. This one will be a bit tricky. I don't want to make this a political blog. I know with the immigration issues between both countries arguments can get very heated. However, if there is to be a solution to the poverty in Mexico, it probably will involve the politics of both countries. We'll keep an eye on this one.

This is not an official Armonia site. It will be just an attempt to support the work that the Cruz family has started.

Feel free to leave comments on the post that interest you.