Friends of Armonia

Para Comunicar

2009-09-14T18:58:00.003-04:00

Hola ustedes!

Aqui hay direciones para comunicar con visitantes.

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OPC Labor Day Clinics - 2009

2009-09-09T21:05:00.004-04:00

I've added a translator on the right in order to facilitate communicating with Mexico.

Since there are so many pictures and video, this page may take a while to come up.
Be patient.

This is the student residence I wrote about at the end of this post.
The students themselves helped in the actual construction process.
And yes, it is painted orange and blue and no Tim Tebow did not help paint it.

These are a few of the students.

Here's video taken during Sunday morning service. The students were holding up signs they had made to tell us the areas they're planning to study when they make it to the university.

Link:

Long time friends and fellow pilgrims: Alejandro, Alicia and Socorro (Jennifer too :-).
These Godly servants have been with Armonia for many years.

Alejandro was a member Mexican Federal Police force.
His arm was a little bigger than mine so i had to made an adjustment.

This is an example of three way translation: Zapotec -> Spanish -> English.
We had a lot of this Saturday when we ventured into the mountains of Oaxaca. The English is delivered with a British accent by our friend Alicia from the UK.

Link:

2 Brothers.
This picture goes with my previous one.

We were in the mountains of Oaxaca Saturday.
The room where Doug and Bob conduct eye exams needs to be pretty dark.
I turned and noticed the way the light was trying to sneak into the room.
It made me homesick for the Red, White and Blue.

These next few videos are from our trip to the mountains of Oaxaca on Saturday.

First the beautiful woman of Oaxaca. We were told their head coverings symbolize honor.

Link:

Doctor Karen giving an exam. More three way translation.

Link:

This man had just received his glasses. What a marvelous face.

Link:

Mother and Child Reunion

Link:

Loading the glasses.

Link:

I'll stop here.
It was a great trip. I always return with an adjusted perspective on what is important.
I leave you with a few shots of my fellow pilgrims who I had the honor and joy to serve with.
God Bless.

David. A true servant of God.

Doug. The man has a heart of gold.

Hannah is from Germany. This was her first time visiting Armonia.

Bev.

David.

Jim.

Dr. Bob

David and Hannah.

Saul in Central Florida

2008-02-04T21:05:00.001-05:00

Saul and Pilar will be in Orlando this weekend with a number of special times planned with them, culminating in an event on Sunday evening (the 10th) celebrating the 20th anniversary of Armonia and its partnership with Orangewood and others.

At that time we will be showing pictures and videos of the last 20 years and Saul will be speaking. Saul is also bringing a video about the students in Oaxaca and the project underway there. It's all about Armonia--past, present and future. Here is part of the weekend schedule:

Sunday, the 10th (All at Orangewood)
9:15 am: Combined Equipping Center (Sunday School)
10:45 am: Worship (Saul preaching)
5:30 pm: 20th Anniversary Celebration Dinner (no cost, no reservation needed)

Come and bring friends! Here are the directions to Orangewood:

1300 W. Maitland Blvd., Maitland FL
Take I-4 towards Altamonte ( East from downtown Orlando). Exit East Maitland Ave, go one block, church is on the right. Make a right at the light and another right at the dead end.

December Update

2007-12-22T18:03:00.000-05:00

Mexico City, December, 2007
Dear Armonía friends,
Blessings in the name of our good Lord Jesus Christ. We pray the celebration of his birth will point us to His whole ministry, death on the cross and resurrection so that we gladly celebrate the God who made Himself flesh and blood in human history to rescue us. We thank our Lord for His blessings and count among them your love, prayers, gifts, tireless support and visits. What a wealth we have in you! It really keeps us encouraged and in confident hope for a better future for the poor.

A few minutes ago I had a wonderful phone call from a faithful Armonía friend. “How are things going at Armonía?” asked my dear friend. And of course, I immediately wanted to tell him that we are grateful because this year Pilar, Josías and I have been blessed with renewed health. God also comforted us in our time of need when Pilar’s mother and Greg Davies departed to be with the Lord. We celebrate redemption in Christ as we remember how bitter it was to leave the ministry amongst Yalalag Indian students and how sweet the new buds of growth in the students’ residences in Oaxaca and Mexico City are. We rejoice in God’s faithfulness to Eidi as she completes a masters at the London School of Economics and learns to trust God’s provision for her future. Saul Jr. is no less busy, sharing in an intense but beautiful OJC project in Reichelsheim, Germany. The absence of our children has been significant as both carried an extraordinary share of the work since they were young. Obviously not being with us has meant an increase of responsibilities amongst us and we thank God for Dani’s leadership and tireless energy, and the scholarship recipients and volunteers who have come to our rescue in a year marked by disease and struggle.

I also wanted to tell him that God has blessed Presidentes and Jalalpa with two more groups of ladies, meeting for prayer, Bible study and Christian education. Our Lord has been faithful in letting us continue to help the Hornos community. These people tragically lost their homes as torrential rain and the ensuing mudslides forced the authorities to evict them to a temporary shelter. Here they wait for the possibility of purchasing their own accommodation with the help of soft loans. In the meantime, Armonía has been able to bring Jesus’ love and keep working alongside them in their needs. At Santa Cruz, we continue to see transformation and growth in the seven ladies who are in charge of the work through a transformation course which equips them to do a better job day-by-day. Their good work is evident in the increasing attendance of children, especially to the Sunday Christian Celebration.

He would have been interested to know that Joaquín has finished his studies at the University of Tecámac. His successful graduation is one of the fruits of the student scholarship. He is going to spend a few more months gaining professional experience. We are pleased to announce that he and other classmates presented a prototype vending machine in an exhibition and were awarded enough money to patent, professionally produce and sell it. We are so excited about this great opportunity for him.

In the midst of much instability and disease, I wanted to share with him that we have become innovative in our communications. Next Sunday, we will web cast our first service from Santa Cruz to Presidentes. This and video conferencing has allowed us to keep teaching, continue evangelising and to stay in close communion with increasing prayer. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I lead a Bible study for community leaders in other parts of the city and holds an open meeting for the general public at Presidentes to study how ‘God cares for the family’. Later, the Santa Cruz transformation group meets over Skype and this month we have been learning the biblical foundations for marriage and the family. Tomorrow we are going to start an official program with the elderly ladies of Jalalpa entitled ‘God’s provision in the golden years’. There are more programs which we want to start as we improve our communications network; for instance holding online meetings with the kids in the Oaxaca students’ residence.
However, because time was short I promised my friend this update letter and told him this short story: Under the guidance of Alfredo (our master carpenter), the kids from the students’ residence have built a small table set accompanied by three benches with the aim of selling them to churches and Mexican Armonía friends. Each set will generate $100 profit, which will supplement the residence’s income. I could feel how excited my friend got when he heard the story. Having helped over several years to nurture the children and grown to love them so much, he immediately offered his financial help. He wanted to go into his own pocket to provide resources so that they could have a starting capital for the project.
What a blessing and an amazing encouragement he and I received through this phone call. He has been given the opportunity to share his money and gifts to help us to reproduce more sets, keep working and continue to transform poverty into life.

This phone call reminded me of the responsibility I have to share with you our needs so that you can be blessed through giving and bless others as well. Please pray and consider helping us for the following:

1) Health: disease among the Armonía leadership has marked the last 3 years. Pray that we keep persevering in the victory of Christ and keep serving regardless of how terrible the spiritual battle is.
2) Oaxaca Residence Project: we need 90,000USD to build the first dorm in the new students’ residence to welcome the new intake in June. We’re very happy with our current rented accommodation but in light of the many excellent students who are excited to join us, we want to expand the future opportunities. We invite you to assist in building a dorm to house many more kids.
3) Vehicle: 35,000USD will allow us to keep a van in Oaxaca to provide transport for children, visitors and staff. We should not keep taking the only van we have in Mexico back and forth to Oaxaca because it’s running down quickly due to overuse and the state of the roads.
4) Tabasco: 1,500USD will provide water for one community of 400-800 people. Any contribution in that regard will allow us to send equipment, medical help and Christian comfort to the needy in the flooded state of Tabasco.
5) We would love more visitors to come and visit. Please don’t forget that Armonía self-supports much of its work through income-generation projects like the Casa Blanca hotel. Come and spend vacations with a purpose with us; we need your support, work, presence and the income that this produces.
6) Financial support: We remain thankful for your regular support of Armonía. If it is possible, talk with those close to you to consider helping us and continue to pray about our tight financial situation. This could make the difference.

With our gratitude in Christ and very much love.

Saul and Pilar Cruz.

November Update

2007-11-19T22:54:00.000-05:00

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

October Update

2007-11-01T07:31:00.000-04:00

Hola!

We praise God for Pilar's recovery so far even as we ask for your continued prayers. Pilar was released from the hospital about a week ago, but remains very weak at home, recovering slowly under Saul's watchful care (and cooking!). The doctors are telling her it will be several weeks until she is fully recovered. Among other things, during this illness she has lost about 25 pounds and is still experiencing cramping and the effects of ulcers that are still healing. She is urged to walk short distances which she does in the morning and afternoon. However, she has very little energy and even short bits of exertion are exhausting. She did go to Santa Cruz on Sunday where people from all the communities came to see her, including 27 people from the Hornos community.

Please pray for her continued recovery and increasing strength and stamina.

Other news and matters for prayer:

There was an unseasonable cold wave within the last week in Mexico City which caused Saul much concern over the wellbeing of children who were freezing in their cardboard shacks. On Sunday in Santa Cruz, it was too cold to meet outside under the roof in the normal place and it was chaotic as they had 80 kids plus parents in the smaller rooms upstairs. However, yesterday the sun emerged and the pressure has been eased for the time being. Pray for the families as winter approaches and the wisdom and resources of Armonia to help to protect them from the bitter cold.

Josias is doing well and was back in Santa Cruz, working and helping with many things. He will continue to wear a mask as a precautionary measure for another couple of weeks, but is really doing very well.

Nico and Lupe will be studying very hard over the next month for university entrance exams in early December.

Nestor (one of the other Oaxaca kids) is having trouble in school, basically with the Spanish-related classes (language, social studies, etc.). Perhaps somewhat ironically, he is doing very well in English, but needs to catch up in 4 of his other classes in which he is on the borderline of failing. Daniel is in Oaxaca and will be working with him and the other kids, particularly as they transition in leadership from Nico and Lupe to others.

Please pray for Saul who is to travel to the UK for meetings, preaching, fundraising and a planned celebration for the 20th anniversary of Armonia beginning on November 13th. At this time it is doubtful that Pilar can accompany him, so they need to make decisions about these things--who will go, for how long, what to continue to try to do, what to cancel or postpone, etc. If Saul goes alone which now looks most likely, Pilar's father will come and be with her.

Thank you for your love and continued concern for Armonia. Please lift these matters up to our great God, who hears, who heals, and who sustains.

Greg

Josias set to leave hospital

2007-10-14T20:22:00.000-04:00

Dear Armonia friends,

It is with joy that I write to inform you that Josias is due to leave the hospital today. However, he will need to be under a very strict treatment regime as an out-patient for seven months after his respiratory distress syndrome. A clinic near Casablanca will be in charge of the treatment because the doctors want the lesion in his left lung to close up completely. Josias is very happy with this news and has decided to submit himself to the treatment although it saddens him that he won't be able to attend classes at his university for a while. Doctors advise that he should not go over the next 4 to 5 weeks because he remains too weak and that is leaving him out of University for a while.

We praise the Lord for the outcome of his medical care and thank you for all your prayers. We ask you to consider helping us with the medical expenses because we will need to contribute in buying some of the medicines and his transportation. I spent yesterday´s morning at the hospital talking to the social worker and nurse who are in charge of a government subsidy program and they have been convinced that Josias' parents cannot afford to pay. Armonía is a civic association and has not budgeted for this outlay so the hospital will cover the important and expensive medicines. We still need to finalize the details between the clinic and the hospital, and it is probable that we will have to provide blood donations as a type of payback for the services provided. But if everything goes smoothly, we can bring him home today under this new arrangement. If not, we will have to wait until Monday.

You will also be pleased to hear that Pilar is improving slowly having fallen ill last Sunday. Her stomach was seriously hurt by the medicine prescribed earlier this week; we had to return to the doctor for more tests and to change the antibiotics and painkillers. Thank God that they're now working and that she slept better last night. This morning, she was able to have some food which indicates that her stomach is mending. Her fever is lower and I thank everybody for your prayers for her health.

I ask also that you pray about Armonía's resources because the last month has been a difficult time with many unexpected expenses for doctors and medicines. We hope we can recover soon whilst continuing to labor in our other projects around Mexico City and Oaxaca . An update on the summer's activities is coming and we remain thankful in the Lord for the creation of the new Armonia Friends blog (http://armoniafriends.blogspot.com ) in Orlando , a new Armonia Trust administrator in the UK, your prayers, your phone calls and your love.

With love and blessings in Christ.
Saul Cruz

Armonia Update

2007-10-10T20:59:00.000-04:00

Dear friends,

There is good news regarding Josias. While the doctors still do not have a definitive diagnosis, Josias is much better. The lesion discovered in his lung is closing. It originally was observed as the size of an apple, but had shrunk to about half that size as of 5 days ago and to about a quarter of its original size as of today. He is no longer battling spiking fevers. It appears that the strong antibiotic he has been taking is having the desired effect. They have ruled out a number of causes including cancer. All of the test results are not yet in (and could take up to 60 days). It is possible that the lesion was caused by tuberculosis in the past, but so far this is an unproven theory that the doctors have not confirmed.

The doctors do believe that he will be well enough to attend school within a couple of weeks. However, the university has said that because he is now so far behind, they will not readmit him for the current year. The good news is that they will allow him to defer his acceptance until next year and guarantee his admission. The bad news is that they will not refund his tuition already paid for this year, nor credit it to next year's tuition. (That's a loss of about $1800). Please continue to pray for Josias' recovery and direction for pursuing his university education.

Please also pray for Pilar. She has been battling severe headaches and fever. There was some concern that because she had spent so much time with Josias in the hospital, perhaps she had been infected with whatever he has. However, it is now believed to be a rather severe sinus infection. Unfortunately the medicine prescribed for her had such a devastating effect on her stomach that she could not continue to take it. Many tests have been run and others are continuing to be run. (In fact, when I spoke with Saul today, he was in the doctor's office with Pilar). Please pray for Pilar as well as Saul who is taking care of her.

Financially, these events are also challenging for the Cruz family. Please pray for this aspect and consider if you can be a part of the solution.

Greg

Hornos

2007-10-01T09:32:00.000-04:00

This is the Hornos video Saul put together.
The first song is sung by an Australian called Steve Bevis.

Give it a few seconds if it doesn't come right up. It's a huge file.

Josias Update

2007-10-01T08:40:00.000-04:00

Dated: 9/29/07

Here is more news about Josias from the Juarez Hospital, Mexico City.

I am glad to tell you that Josias has successfully come through a bronchoscopic procedure undertaken this morning. He was put under a general anesthetic while a bronchoscope was put into his lungs by some of the most important doctors in the hospital. He is now in the recovery room with Pilar and his father where these same physicians will be monitoring his recuperation.

Yesterday, Pilar had a strong conversation with the chief doctor of Josias’ floor, then with the vice-director of the whole hospital and finally with the principal. The three of them were initially in agreement that they did not know what was wrong with Josias but that they would discover more over time. Pilar insisted that Josias should be moved to a more specialized Center for respiratory diseases.

Since the hospital where Josias is at the moment has all the equipment necessary for further examinations they denied this possibility. Pilar threatened to go to higher authorities because it is impossible to accept their denial of their professional duty. The reasons for this problem are that the hospital does not want to lose face by admitting that they can´t do more. It has lots of money and plenty of important doctors but they are too busy with giving grand lectures, teaching students and making a name for themselves. This means that if you are a nobody in this hospital, they let you die.

In contrast, we are reminded of Jesus, who did not fall into the trap of fame as word of his ministry spread and the crowds gathered. Instead, he decided to go to other towns and villages not yet reached, to preach the good news to the poor and welcome all who came to him. What a challenge this is for us at Armonía; to avoid the world pursuit of fame and instead follow in the footsteps of our Lord!

Finally, yesterday the doctors apologized and agreed that more needed to be done. Josias went this morning for the procedure, during which samples of his lung tissue were taken. We pray that this will facilitate some sort of specific diagnosis. They have already told us that they found evidence that when he was younger, he suffered from some sort of pulmonary disease which no-one treated.

Please thank God that all the Armonia communities have been responding to our need for help in looking after Josias for 24 hours a day, every day. Everyone has been praying hard and we invite to you join us in continuing to lift the situation up to God.

We would also like to thank those of you who are trying to help us with the expenses we are experiencing as a result of this. We praise God for your partnership with us.

With love in Christ,
Saul and Pilar Cruz.

OPC Labor Day Clinics

2007-09-27T11:54:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-26T14:24:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-26T14:21:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-26T14:12:00.000-04:00

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

2007-09-14T10:15:00.001-04:00

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.