Missions Resource International

Arriaga, Chiapas

MRI — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:19:00 GMT

                  Arriaga, Chiapas Mexico

      Situated along the Pacific Coast of Chiapas is a town called Arriaga. As you get closer to the water there are many small communities lining the coast line. Many are poor fishing villages, others work for local ranchers, but they all seem to have one thing in common, a need for clean drinking water. In the fall of 2008, God lead us to this area and it has been a continual stream of requests ever since. The water is shallow (around 100 ft deep) and some wells are even artesian, with the water just bubbling up above the ground. The problem is that most of them don't have the money or resources to have a sealed well dug for themselves. Spiritually, there are multiple churches in every community, but there is a very heavy spirit of religion among them which causes division among the brothers as well as a host of other problems.

     God has given us grace with the people and we are welcomed into each community; some even anxiously waiting for 6 months or more for us to come to their village. Granted we are giving them a well for free, a much needed commodity, but what an opportunity to share Jesus Christ with them in a real tangible way. For each community we work in, we show evangelistic movies in the plaza, share the gospel with them, give Bibles to the churches, minister to the kids, and teach health and hygiene to improve their standard of living. Sometimes just sitting and talking one on one is the most effective way to share Jesus.

     All of our work is in the small villages outside the town of Arriaga, but we work from there because it is where all the hotels and places to eat are. Right now we have over 30 requests for water wells, so there is a lot of work to be done in this area. Our prayer is that with every person we meet there will be seeds sown into their lives for the Kingdom of God.

January/February 2010 Trip:
      Gabe and Vic just returned from a trip to Arriaga. Unfortunately, as soon as they arrived our truck broke down and wouldn't crank. Despite the stresses of being in a small town, not having mechanics that know much about this truck, and the fact that it was the 3rd time this truck has broken down in Chiapas; God made a way for the work to get done. They were able to borrow a truck and finish 8 wells.   They supplied fresh, clean water to 2 clinics, 1 school, and 5 churches. When they showed a movie about God's plan of salvation there were several hundred people in attendance.

     We are planning a return trip soon to pick up the (hopefully) now repaired truck. When we go we hope to drill another 6-8 wells, as well as have kid's ministry, some evangelistic outreaches, and hygiene training. We will let you know when the dates are planned. Your prayer support is invaluable on these trips. Below are some of the pictures from the trip.

     On a personal note; we are settled into the house in McAllen, TX. The kids are happily enjoying going to a Christian school and we parents are enjoying the conveniences of American life. While our focus is still on the ministry in Mexico (and wherever else God leads), the move has been what we needed as a family. Thank you for your friendship and continued support throughout these changes. We miss our family and friends in Southeast Texas and hope to get to see you all more often now that we are a little closer.  We love you and God bless you.

Gabe, Jessica, Payden & Audrey

Pictures from the September '09 drill

MRI — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:21:00 GMT

Successful Well Trip and Redirection

MRI — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:14:00 GMT

Hello All,

It has been a while since we posted anything and we wanted to give everyone an update. As most of you know we made the move to live in Chiapas the first part of August and it has taken a little time to get everything adjusted and get back to work.

We just finished up with 4 new wells down on the Pacific Coast in various villages around Arriaga. We were blessed to have Mark Halliburton get to come down and spend some time with us and get to drill again. Due to all of the hurricanes that have passed through the Texas Gulf Coast area over the last few years, he has had to work almost non-stop and has not had a chance to come down for quite a while. It was great to have him down and I want to thank him for all of his help.

Although we have worked in Chiapas for almost five years now (traveling back and forth from Soto La Marina), living here has been a different story. We are much closer to our work but everything else has been more difficult. It is much more difficult for us to get drilling and ministry materials (Bibles, tracts, hygiene stuff, etc.) down here and we are 2 days away from the Texas border where these things are available. Plus we have Vic working with us up in the Reynosa area and it has been harder to be available to help him in any way. So, all of this to say, after much prayer and thought we feel that it is in the best interest of the ministry for us to move back up north to the McAllen, Texas area. Before we made the move to Chiapas we were praying about which place would be better for the family and the ministry, Chiapas or McAllen. After living here for several months it has become clear to us that McAllen is where God is leading us. I guess we had to exhaust the other option first so that we could have a clearer direction.

Between our work in Chiapas and the border area, we will complete over 50 projects this year and for 2010 we are planning around 70. The work has definitely grown and we have even received 14 requests from various countries in Africa over the last year. By basing out of McAllen, we believe that it will be easier to manage the logistics of everything that is going on and will make it easier to go into other countries as God opens new doors. That has always been the vision of MRI, to expand into other countries.

I want to take this time to once again thank all of you who have stood beside us over the years. It has definitely been an adventure, starting out with only 1 or 2 successful wells per year and not being able to speak the language; to this year completing over 50 wells in many parts of Mexico. It has been amazing to watch what God can do. It is not just about the water. For every well drilled, there are many people who have the opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So the more wells and projects we can do, the more people can hear the good news. I would like to invite all of you to continue in this journey with us as we look forward to seeing what God has in store for the future. We haven't hosted any teams over the last few years mainly because we have been trying to get established in different areas, but now if any of you would like to get a group together and come down with us, we would love to have you and I know that it would be a wonderful experience. We look forward to hearing from you.

God Bless,

Gabe, Jessica, Payden & Audrey

Wells and More Wells - plus Exciting Changes

MRI — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:03:00 GMT

     The end of May and first part of June, my long time friend Greg Wallace from Lindale, TX went with me on another trip to Chiapas. Jess and the kids were still tied up with school and were not able to go this time. We first went to a small town in the state of Oaxaca near the Chiapas border to drill at a church there but we hit rock about 30 feet down and after drilling for another 3 or 4 hours on the rock without advancing even another foot, we decided to head to our next location the next day. This location was still in the state of Oaxaca and we were able to complete a good well there at a small church and pastor's house. This pastor and his wife were very poor and I was watching him when we started pumping the well and I think he gave one of the biggest smiles of joy I have ever seen. It is the small rewards like seeing the smile on his face that makes all the hard work worth the effort.

     Next we went to another fishing village on the coast of Chiapas with plans of only drilling one well at a church there. When we got there and started drilling, I found out how big the need for water was in this particular village. Especially since it was in the height of their dry season and everyone was really struggling for water. So, we decided to stay there and drill as many wells as we could. In January on another trip, I had met a local man in the area that drills wells and he is also a Christian. He had told me then that if I ever needed help just to give him a call. So, I called him and contracted him to drill some wells while we were drilling also. Long story short, we were able to complete 9 good wells on this trip, one in the village in Oaxaca and 8 in the fishing village.

     On the Thursday night before we left, all of the local pastors had helped organize a big outreach in the central plaza where I preached, Greg shared a few thoughts and then we gave out Bibles and tracts. When we first started, there were not that many people there but after an hour or so, I think the entire village came out to see what was going on. We have several more wells planned for this village (it is a pretty large village spread out over a large area) and I can't wait until Jess can go so she can have children's Bible classes, we can show movies and have more outreaches there.




     We have shared this with a few people but now we want to let everyone know. For the last few years all of our work has been in Chiapas and God just keeps opening more doors and opportunities for us there. So after much prayer, we have decided to move to Chiapas (it is the state that borders Guatemala). All the trips down there are becoming harder each time (it is a hard 2 day drive on some very bad roads) and Jess is not always able to go because of the kid's school, so we feel it will be better to just live there. We are heading down next week when Payden gets back from YWAM camp to look for and hopefully finalize arrangements for a house. It is always difficult to find a place that has enough space for all of our equipment because they build houses a lot different down here, but we know God has the perfect place for us just like he did when we got to Soto La Marina.

     Once again we would like to thank all of you who have stood with us all these years, spiritually and financially. I look back and it is hard to believe we have been here almost 5 years now and to see how much things have changed and grown since we got here. Without God's help through all of you, none of this would be possible and I thank you all for your obedience to God and your willingness to help see the Gospel spread to those in need.

     We ask that you all be in prayer for us as we start out on a new chapter of our lives in a new place. Although we have worked in Chiapas for several years now, it is always difficult to uproot and move to a new place. Knowing that we have many friends and family praying for us always makes it easier.

God Bless,
Gabe, Jess, Payden & Audrey

Making a Life Changing Difference

MRI — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:15:00 GMT

As some of you may remember from our past newsletters, last year in May we were finally able to finish a water project up in the mountains of Chiapas in a small place named Chimix. There we constructed a cistern to collect water from a small water source that came out of the side of a mountain in order to keep the water clean and also to store enough water to last them through the dry season. Since the first time we saw this place, we have wanted to also be able to pump water from the cistern up the mountain to the church that is there, but because of the steepness and the distance to the church it has always posed many problems. The first problem is that this village is only accessible by foot, so any materials have to be “hiked” into this place and it is not easy. The second challenge was to provide them with something simple enough that they could use it but more importantly be able to maintain it.

A couple of weeks ago, Vic Spillman and I were able to return to Chimix and finally get water up to the church using a series of plastic water tanks (1100 liters) and gasoline powered water pumps. We installed one tank about half way up the hill and pumped water from the cistern to this tank using one pump and then we used a second pump to pump water from this tank up to the tank at the church. Sounds pretty simple right? Well without boring all of you with a lesson about pumps, let’s just say that most of the time the specifications that are listed for pump capabilities (head lift, gallons per minute, etc.) don’t exactly apply when you are in a jungle, at high altitude, hanging on to coffee plants so you don’t go tumbling down the mountain. Here is where “trial and error” are the only rules and a lot of faith. But praise God, we finally hit the right combination and got water pumping. As an added bonus, the pastor of the little church lives below the level of the first tank so we ran a 1/2” line from the tank down to his house and installed a spigot in his front yard. He and his family were so excited because they are the first people in this whole area to now have “running water” at their house. The ladies are especially happy because they are usually the ones that have to carry the water up and down those steep hills.

The people in this area are extremely poor and cut off from many things, so we had to spend time just to teach the men the basics of how to maintain the pumps (check and change the oil, prime the pump, fill it with gasoline, etc.) and we left them with plenty of oil, gasoline(with a stabilizer added) and even the tools necessary to keep everything running. We also brought beans, rice and cookies for all of the families in the community.

After all was said and done, we had a time of prayer together to thank God for his mercy and goodness. No matter how many times you experience it, when you see people living in the conditions that these people live in it really touches your heart. To most people this would be a very crude water system, but to them it can mean the difference between life and death. God bless, Gabe Hilliard

Health and Hygiene

MRI — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:10:00 GMT

     Hi everyone! We returned home this past Monday from being in Palenque and other parts of Chiapas for about a week. This all came about when Living Water received a request from a church in Houston, Texas. A few ladies from the church wanted to have health/hygiene training for some pastors at a local Bible college in Palenque, Chiapas. Since we are the representatives in Chiapas, we got the phone call. It was wonderful to get to meet the students who came from all over Mexico. We worked together with the team from Houston and presented a two day training class. We covered basic topics like; disease transmission, healthy/unhealthy habits, hand washing, nutrition, keeping water clean, and some lessons specifically geared for kids. The goal of the training was to give these leaders tools and ideas that they could use to educate the people in the villages/communities where they work. At the close of the training several of them mentioned ideas that they had for implementing this knowledge. We had a lot of fun with the training and want to thank First Presbyterian Church for inviting us.

     From what we learned and saw first hand, this area of Chiapas is similar to other parts of Chiapas where we've worked in the past. They are mainly indigenous, live very modestly, have very dirty water sources and don't practice basic healthy habits. For example, one pastor that Gabe was talking to explained that in his village the people are so poor that they comb the lice out of their hair and eat it. We also know that the majority of them are plagued with sicknesses due to amoebas and worms. Which is to be expected because the water they drink, cook, and bathe with comes out of a seep hole or river that has trash, feces and other bacteria in it. We are praying about what and if there is anything God wants us to do further in this area. Please help us pray for direction.

   When we left Palenque we headed down to San Cristobal de las Casas to see the Sanchez family. They are still standing strong in their faith. Even though it would be so easy for them to move to another town (to avoid further persecution) they believe that they are to stay put and continue on. Praise God for their faith and endurance. The Holy Spirit is truly with them.

   After visiting them for a little while, we then made our way to Tuxtla Gutierrez to visit Gris. Many of you know our precious sister in Christ and are always asking about her. She is adjusting very well to living in Tuxtla and has already received a high honor from her students at the university. God has blessed her with the ability to succeed at whatever she puts her hands to. We miss her terribly, but are so happy that she is doing well.

   Well that's all for now...we are preparing for our next trip to the coast of Chiapas sometime around the end of the month, first of April. I have to apologize that there are no pictures this time; we went off down there and forgot the camera, oops. I'll end with a scripture that I read this week that was really special to me. May the words of Jesus Christ encourage you today; "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." John 14:21

Sharing Hope

MRI — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:44:00 GMT

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We had another good trip to the coastal area of Chiapas in January. Vic Spillman and Felix Cedillo went with me on this trip and we were able to complete 5 wells. Three of the wells were for three different schools all from the same community, Villa del Mar. We were able to share with the kids about Jesus by giving them each a Christian coloring book and a box of colors. Our last well in the community of Villa del Mar was in the central park area. After working all week with the people of this community we were able to have a community wide outreach one night in the "parque". We showed a Christian movie named “La Esperanza” (The Hope), which gives a really good overview of the Bible from Genesis through the life of Christ and why we need a savior. It never ceases to amaze me how many people we encounter that have absolutely no knowledge of the Bible. It is always one of our main goals to try to give everyone a Bible and emphasize to them the importance of reading and studying God’s word for themselves. Felix and I both shared a message after the movie and we gave out Bibles and tracts to everyone who came. Our final well was drilled for a church in a small community named Rancheria Berlin about 30 minutes outside of Arriaga. There they so lovingly served us a lunch of some very questionable chicken parts. HA! And we wonder why we always have so much stomach trouble.
One day we made a quick trip up to Nachig (about 3 hours away) to visit with our friends the Sanchez family. As many of you know through our newsletters and web site that they have been experiencing a lot of persecution lately. Well, the community leaders (tradicionalistas) were at it again and had cut their electricity and water supply to their home and welding business, as well as banned them from having church services in homes or church buildings. We contacted our attorney (Arturo Farela with Confraternice) in Mexico City and he started the ball rolling to try to get this situation resolved. Fortunately the electricity and water were reconnected after only about a week. We wanted to go and visit with them for a little while and offer them some encouragement. I think that is kind of funny because they are usually the ones who encourage us because of their continued faith through all of the trials and daily persecution they face just for following Christ.

Each trip we receive more requests for wells and right now we have close to 20 more to drill in this particular area. We look at it as a huge opportunity to share the hope of Jesus Christ with the people of this area. They are so excited about the hope of receiving a water well... but we know that Jesus said, "If you drink of this (physical) water you will thirst again". How wonderful to be able to share with them the Living Water who will quench their spiritual thirst forever!
Also, the last week of February we have been invited to go to another part of Chiapas (Palenque) to help with hygiene training and also investigate the possibilities of drilling in the surrounding area. Please keep us in your prayers as we are traveling so much. Thank you! We really appreciate and value your friendship and support.

Reflections on 2008

MRI — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:47:00 GMT

     2008 has been a record year for us in terms of the number of projects we have been able to complete and the number of people who have heard the Gospel. The first few years of drilling here in Mexico, we were fortunate to complete 3 to 4 projects per year due to the difficulty of drilling here in the immediate area (of Soto La Marina) and also due to financial constraints. But this year has been awesome. This year we have been able to complete 21 wells and water cistern projects in 4 different states of Mexico.   (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Hidalgo & Chiapas) Each one of these projects impacts the lives of many people, not only with clean water, but most importantly with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     Also, another well driller, Vic Spillman, from the Texas/Mexico border joined MRI in July. As a result, I have been working with him and his partner, Felix, up at the border area between our drill trips down south. It has been nice working with other people that share our same passion to bring water to those in need. This addition has in essence doubled our drilling projects and we are very excited about the doors this will open for other ministry opportunities in the border area. Already for 2009, we have requests for over 16 wells in the coastal area of Chiapas, an invitation for health and hygiene training in the northern part of Chiapas and also 2 requests from the state of Oaxaca (the state west of Chiapas with a large Indigenous population also).

     December completed our 4th year living here in Mexico, (wow, how time flies) and though we have passed through many tough times and trials, we would not trade any of it for the world. Your continued support, spiritually and financially, over the years has been invaluable to the work we are doing here and without your help we could not do what we do. We look forward to what God has in store for 2009. Thank you for working with us and God bless you.

Fishing Villages - Pacific Coast of Chiapas

MRI — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:58:00 GMT

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     We hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday time with your family and friends; celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior and the many blessings he has given all of us. We had a busy but rewarding month of December. It started with the first two weeks of the month we went as a family down to the coastal area of Chiapas. We worked hard and much was accomplished.

     Gabe, with the help of Chencho and Chuz, two young men from the community of Nachig, were able to drill 4 successful wells. Two in the community of Punta Flor and two in Arenal. Both places are fishing villages, right on the Pacific Ocean. The majority of the men work as fishermen and their livelihoods depend on them getting a catch. What surprises us the most is that even though they are very close to the ocean, we are able to drill to almost 100 feet and find clean, sweet water. The water level actually rises above the ground level.  We are constantly telling them how blessed they are by God to have this kind of water available. Their only problem is that they can't afford to pay someone to drill so deep and they suffer. So us being there has started a frenzy of excitement and has resulted in Gabe receiving 16 more requests for wells. (which is probably only the beginning) This is a two way blessing; we are able to bless them with water and spiritual encouragement and we are blessed to be used by God in a way that is truly impacting the lives of these people.

     While the guys were drilling I had lots of ministry outreaches. In Punta Flor we had 2 different kids outreaches, showed a movie in the plaza and had a community wide health/hygiene class. In Arenal it was similar...2 kids outreaches and 2 movie nights. Each community has its own set of problems spiritually; one place dealt with a lot of homosexuality and the other battles with alcoholism among the women. Both places have Christian churches and we were able to spend time visiting and encouraging the Christian leaders. They have a very tough job!!

     Thank you for helping us do what we do. Being able to sit and eat a meal together with these people, love on them with a hug, stand side by side with them when you're neck deep in mud, pray with them when they are down, share with them a gift of a Bible, watching the kids sing with all their hearts to the Lord...all these things are priceless to us. We are truly grateful to be servants of God. Thank you for partnering with us, words cannot accurately express our gratitude.

"Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord"

MRI — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:24:00 GMT

     The first week of August we made another trip to Chiapas. This trip was special for several reasons. First, we brought our friend, Isabel, from Soto La Marina with us to teach praise tambourine/dance classes to the Christian women in Nachig.  They were eager to learn and asked me if I knew someone who taught classes; I immediately thought of Isabel. Her and her family have been friends of ours for about 3 1/2 years and she has a tremendous heart to serve and a passion for worship. While the indigenous women are extremely strong, they were not used to the type of physical activity required for praise dance; for example moving their wrists or stretching their muscles.  The first few lessons were tough but their desire to learn overcame their physical limitations. By the end of the week they had started to gel together as a group. It was wonderful to be able to resource them with such a great teacher and I pray that they will use this knowledge in a way that will glorify the Lord.

     Second, we had the privilege to be present at the wedding ceremony of Juan and Josefa. They have been together for many years but felt convicted to be married legally. They planned the ceremony so that we could be there. It was such a joy to be a part of the celebration. Daniel, Irene, and kids (also friends from Soto La Marina) were present as well. They caravaned down to Chiapas with us to take a vacation and while there they also got to meet our Chiapas friends.  Below are some pictures from the ceremony.

      Third, I (Jessica) spent three days in San Juan Chamula helping a group from Mexico City with a VBS. They asked me to help at the last minute and we quickly made some adjustments to our schedule so that I could go.  Some of the kids really needed to know Jesus.  On a side note; one day I had a little girl in my class, about 9 years old, who gave me a pair of earrings as a gift. Later that night around 11:00 we were in San Cristobal about to leave after eating a late supper when I heard a little girl yell "Jessi, Jessi". I turned around to find that same little girl with her brothers and sisters loaded down with handmade goods selling them on the street. I asked her where her mother was and she said she was somewhere else selling too. It hit me then that this little girl was about the same age as my daughter and instead of being at home about to go to bed she was out in the cold night, until who knows what hour, having to work and beg people to buy her stuff. I didn't see that little girl in class the next day but she really made an impact on me.

     Lastly, Gabe was able to drill a well with the help of "los flojos" (which means "lazy" in Spanish) That's the nickname Gabe has for the Sanchez boys because they are anything BUT lazy. They are some of the hardest workers we know. This well is right along side the main highway, which is very visible and easily accessible. We gave away evangelistic tracks to people as they walked by. Right now Nachig gets water in their outside faucets every 8 days but soon it will be the dry season and then only every 13 days. Every water well we drill is helping this community to live healthier and see a demonstration of God's love.   Thank you for working together with us to touch lives.