Our Trip to Eloxochitlan, part one!
It has been a while since I wrote anything on my blog, but I thought that this would be a good medium to share some of my thoughts from my family's recent mission trip to Eloxochitlan, via Oaxaca, Mexico. The missions organization Adventures in Life Ministry organized the medical trip that Nicole, Kimi, and I went on, from October 11th through the 18th, 2014. Eloxochitlan is a remote town/ village located roughly five hours northeast of Oaxaca city. It was a great experience, one that has hopefully started a lifelong passion for missions with our daughter, Kimi.
Before getting into my thoughts regarding the trip, it is probably important to describe what we actually did, while noting the demographics of Eloxochitlan as well. Dave Miller, the head of Adventures in Life, shared his thoughts on the trip here. It's worth the read, as Dave has over twenty years experience doing ministry in Mexico. In the article, he described the trip as "the hardest week of ministry" he had ever experienced. It wasn't physically difficult for the most part, but the jarring magnitude of the needs of the people in the town left an emotional toll on all of us. But more on those later... for now, the basics.
The population of Eloxochitlan is around 4,000, with the vast majority of its population living in a state of extreme poverty (less than $2 a day). It's safe to say that tourism is not a major revenue source for the town as well. The five hour car ride I mentioned earlier was not an easy one. It was full of winding roads that is improbable for most to endure without feeling some element of nausea. Kimi did not do the trip well, she threw up twice and was generally rather miserable. By the time we got to Eloxochitlan, I think Nicole and I were both on the verge of succumbing as well... definitely a feeling of relief to get out of the car.
In a huge contrast to what we were expecting, our accommodations were amazing. The ministry site was at the house/ restaurant run by the mayor of the town, Manuel, and his
wife Mali. Next to his house was a trout farm, so our first meal was a soup with trout and an individual grilled trout. Kimi and I loved the meal, though Nicole may have been a bit too hungry. She ended up swallowing a fish bone in her haste to eat... and the bone ended up staying lodged in her throat for several days.
Nicole, Kimi, and I actually stayed next door at David and Elisa's house (Elisa is Manuel and Mali's daughter). It was somewhat surreal, as the interior of their house could easily have been mistaken for a house in California. David and Elisa were great hosts, and we are looking forward to staying in touch with them and their daughters, Valeria and Mimi. Kimi describes Vali and Mimi as "my friends," which is significant because it is the first time she's ever described anyone aside from her cousins as "friends!" We love their family and are hoping they can come visit us sometime soon!
One that note, it seems like a good time to end this entry. In the next entry I'll share about the actual medical clinic and how that went for us!
Before getting into my thoughts regarding the trip, it is probably important to describe what we actually did, while noting the demographics of Eloxochitlan as well. Dave Miller, the head of Adventures in Life, shared his thoughts on the trip here. It's worth the read, as Dave has over twenty years experience doing ministry in Mexico. In the article, he described the trip as "the hardest week of ministry" he had ever experienced. It wasn't physically difficult for the most part, but the jarring magnitude of the needs of the people in the town left an emotional toll on all of us. But more on those later... for now, the basics.
The population of Eloxochitlan is around 4,000, with the vast majority of its population living in a state of extreme poverty (less than $2 a day). It's safe to say that tourism is not a major revenue source for the town as well. The five hour car ride I mentioned earlier was not an easy one. It was full of winding roads that is improbable for most to endure without feeling some element of nausea. Kimi did not do the trip well, she threw up twice and was generally rather miserable. By the time we got to Eloxochitlan, I think Nicole and I were both on the verge of succumbing as well... definitely a feeling of relief to get out of the car.
In a huge contrast to what we were expecting, our accommodations were amazing. The ministry site was at the house/ restaurant run by the mayor of the town, Manuel, and his
Nicole, Kimi, and I actually stayed next door at David and Elisa's house (Elisa is Manuel and Mali's daughter). It was somewhat surreal, as the interior of their house could easily have been mistaken for a house in California. David and Elisa were great hosts, and we are looking forward to staying in touch with them and their daughters, Valeria and Mimi. Kimi describes Vali and Mimi as "my friends," which is significant because it is the first time she's ever described anyone aside from her cousins as "friends!" We love their family and are hoping they can come visit us sometime soon!
One that note, it seems like a good time to end this entry. In the next entry I'll share about the actual medical clinic and how that went for us!
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