Testimony By Chris Salib:

My stay at the Coptic Orthodox Church Santa Maria y San Marcos in Tlyacapan has been a spiritually strengthening experience. Before I set foot on the church grounds I was unsure of what exactly I wanted to accomplish here. All I knew was that I wanted to be enlightened with the presence, wisdom, and knowledge of God. I was willing to do any task that Father Zakaria requested of me in order to help the church and the people of this town. During my three week stay here the majority of my duties focused on painting and repairing the church. There was no pressure or any stress, but I performed my job with pride and within whatever deadlines Father Zakaria kindly asked of the group.

The overall attitude here is very relaxed. The Mexican people are very kind and are very understanding of non-Spanish speakers. I do recommend, however, brushing up on conversational Spanish before coming, or you may have to rely on hand-signals and acting out phrases as we did.

The group I was with did some “preaching” around this small town, but I would much rather call it, “talking with the townspeople.” We would set out, about three to five of us, with a Spanish Bible, an English Bible, a lot of prayers, and simply ask random passer-byers in what broken Spanish we knew, if we could read them a verse from La Santa Biblia. Most people accepted; others declined politely.

The situation among the townspeople here is that approximately 97% of them are already Catholic, but rarely go to mass, and have been taught to view church as an uninviting place. They usually go out of guilt or fear that they will disappoint God or anger Him, not because they really want to go.

Our missions was to, as I like to say, “Spread the Love,” by approaching the people with a friendly and calm attitude and try to show them God’s love through our behavior. This is one point I mean to stress. Since the language barrier hindered us from communicating exactly what we meant to say, our collective actions and demeanors were even more important in the attempt to show the character of an Orthodox Christian. We often read 2 Corinthians 5:17 because we felt it was a powerful verse that succinctly conveyed God’s message.

Overall I had a very enjoyable experience. Quiet Time was my favorite part of the day, and I would often take several Quiet Time breaks during one day if there was a lapse of free time. With beautiful green mountains towering in the background and several secluded spots on the church ground itself there is plenty of opportunity to relax, meditate, and contemplate God’s purpose in your own life.

There are small restaurants all over town, food is pretty cheap, (average meal is about 60 pesos~ about 6 U.S. dollars) and the church members are extremely kind and hospitable people. I suggest packing minimally, but bring some sunscreen, spiritual books if you wish, and an open heart. It is much easier to understand the will of God when you leave all your distractions behind you.

إختبار مايكل عازر

مجيئي إلى المكسيك لم يكن صدفة بل بتدبير إلهي! قبلما انتهيت من ماجستير بالهندسة من ولاية كولورادو كنت اتحدث مع أهلي عن الذهاب إلى مصر، ولكن قرر والدي المقيمين بمصر المجيء إلى الولايات المتحدة لزيارة الأقارب و لم أعلم ماذا أفعل لمدة شهر و نصف حتى يأتوا. لا أعرف هل كانت فكرة أم حلم اني اذهب للخدمة بالمكسيك، ولكن حينما استيقظت بحثت إذا كانت توجد كنيسة بالمكسيك على الانترنت فلم أجد ويبسايت ولكن علمت بوجود كنيسة قبطية ارثوذكسية عن طريق ويبسايت كنيسة كليفلاند. بعد ظهر نفس اليوم كنت اتحدث مع إحدى أقاربي فقالت لي إن لديها email أبونا زكريا البراموسي المسؤول عن كنيسة المكسيك، فارسلت له email ووجدت أبونا يتصل بي هاتفياً بعد يومين يرحب بفكرة مجيئي. وفعلاً جئت إلى المكسيك و مجيئي هنا كان حقاً ليس صدفة أو فكرة عابرة لأني استفدت الكثير. استفدت من خبرات أبونا زكريا و دروس الكتاب والخلوات. ومع اني لا اتحدث أسباني إلا أن الشعب المكسيكاني شعب مرح محب يرحب بالضيوف، وكانت لغة الإشارة والابتسامات هي اللغة التي استخدمتها إلى أن وصلت مجموعة من الولايات المتحدة تتحدث الأسبانية و قد كانت قوية وفعالة، فاصبح لدي أصدقاء من كل الاعمار. استفدت كثيراً من الفترة التي مضيتها، فبعد القداس أتكلم بالإشارة مع الكبار و العب مع الأطفال و بعد مضيهم كنت أعمال على إنشاء ويبسايت للكنيسة و المساعدة في ترتيب خلاجي أسباني لكي يتابع الشعب القداس أثناء الصلاة و دهان الكنيسة من الخارج و أيضاً تنظيم الكتاب المقدس باللغتين العربية والأسبانية. المكان بالمكسيك مجهز بالكامل للخلوات والرحلات فالغرف مريحة و يوجد مطبخ مجهز ويوجد سوق بجانب الكنيسة وأيضاً مطاعم كثيرة جداً. أشجع كل من تسمح له الفرصة المجيء لإختبار عمل الله الحي.

Testimony by Maryann Salib

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim 1:7
I have only been here in Tlayacapan, Mexico for a short amount of time, and but I have already seen God working powerfully in the mission here. This verse, from this morning’s quiet time sums up my experience here thus far. I arrived knowing the first part of the verse- the spirit of fear. Fear for many reasons... not knowing exactly what I would be doing on this mission, fear that I wouldn’t be helpful, and most of all, fear that my spanish wouldn’t be sufficient. Until this trip, I had never been able to confidently carry a conversation in spanish with a native speaker, largely due to fear of messing up. Knowing that I was only one of two people on the mission, aside from Abouna, who had studied the language, I knew there was no way I could avoid it. God was calling me to get out of the boat, to step out in faith, and let Him carry me on the water. God wasted no time. The first day, after liturgy, we went out for my first “preaching”. We divided up into groups, and went around the neighborhood, speaking with people and inviting them to the church for the medical clinic and activities we were having the next day. Being Pentecost, I prayed that God would reveal to me the power of His spirit, and maybe also the gift of speaking in tongues, or at least in Spanish, while He’s at it. And He did. Granted, conversations weren’t perfect, but by His grace, we received prayer requests, introduced people to the church and saw God’s work and His heart for His children in this place. When we returned however, I felt that though things went well, it wasn’t an experience filled with mighty rushing wind, or fire. But just in case, I thought that I had spoken on my own, the next day, I could barely hold a two minute conversation with some of our Mexican friends. His Spirit does not always come in the form of a mighty rushing wind, but it comes, when requested, and it never fails. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13 But it’s not just a spirit of power, but a spirit of love. Here in mission in Mexico, I have seen the power of love to share the gospel. Love, not just human wisdom and knowledge has built this church, and made it into a strong, and very blessed church. I think about how often in the States, we complain when things in the church are not translated from Arabic to English, and I’m humbled as the Mexican people love and embrace the church as it’s taking form and as the hymns are being translated accurately into Spanish. Here in Mexico, I have seen our heavenly Father’s desire to pour out His Spirit of power and love on us, so that we may be equipped to serve Him. We need to ask, but also be willing to step out of the boat, to let go of whatever fears may be holding us back, and trust Him. Like St. Peter, we don’t know what’ll happen when we get out of our boats, whatever it is that makes us comfortable, but we know that Christ is out there on the waves, and as long as our eyes are on Him, we know He’s going to do something great!