The Poza Rica, Mexico mission trip included the following members from Oak Creek Community Methodist Church: Karen Anderson-Eberhardy, Diane Balmes, Bryan Burton, Bonnie Clement, Eric Eberhardy, Estella Gilgenbach, Tamara Kemnitz, Cynthia Swedish, Harold and Alicia Walker, and Jim and Diane Wittenberg.

Karen volunteered to be the group’s journalist and submitted the following letters.

It’s Sunday night and we have arrived safe and sound in Poza Rica, Mexico. So much has happened since we left Milwaukee at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. The biggest adjustment for us is that we went from chilly 43° to hot, humid, 87° weather. Yesterday, we rode in vans, (with Pastor Miller and Doug Clement as our trusty drivers), an airplane, mini vans, a bus, and taxis. We felt as though we were in the movie, Planes, Trains & Automobiles - although we didn't see John Candy.

Mexico City was very busy and filled with all sorts of stores and homes. As we headed east to Poza Rica the landscape became arid.  We saw Agave cactus that are harvested to make Tequila. As we drove up into the hills the vegetation became very green and lush.

Pastor Samuel, his wife Blanca, and several women from the church greeted us at 10:30 p.m. with a spectacular meal of cheeseburgers and French fries. They are wonderful hosts and have made us feel most welcome.

Juan Carlos and Ramon have taken us under their wing since the airport in Mexico City. They are in their early 20s, and came from a city called Hermosillo (in Sonora Mexico). They have a great sense of humor and do an excellent job of interpreting and explaining everything for us. Alicia is invaluable to us and, as usual, answers all our crazy questions about how to say this and that in Español.

The church service at El Sinaí Methodist Church was very touching. The guest pastor and Pastor Samuel both welcomed us. They were very kind and took the time to have Ramon translate the sermon to us. During the service the members shook our hands and gave us hugs as they told us "Dios te bendiga" (God bless you). Several of us had tears in our eyes.

They are keeping us well fed and tonight the youth group played a game with us. Many of the teenagers practiced their English on us. It's funny to speak half English and half Spanish; we always seem to manage to get our message across someway.

Well, it's after 11 p.m. and we have a big day ahead, so it's time to close.

Our first job was to build two ladders so that we could work on building and replacing roofs. Probably the best way to explain the day is to recount some of the thoughts that we shared with each other at the end of the day. People were touched by the kindness shown by the homeowners as they covered our belongings from the rain, brought chairs and tubs for us to sit down on, and brought a table covered with a pretty tablecloth so that we would have a place for our water bottles. To show her appreciation, the mother at one home offered us fresh coconut. Working side-by-side with the homeowners made both them and us feel good. Pastor Samuel decided to have some fun with the walkie-talkies, that we used to keep track of each other, when the women stopped back at the church to use the restrooms. He put one next to Blanca's stomach (she is expecting her first baby in July) and we sang Jesus Loves Me. Blanca said the baby liked the singing because it gave a little kick. Team members also mentioned how well we worked together and how frustrating it felt to not be able to stay until everyone's house could be finished.

We spent the evening playing games with the Pastor and parishioners. Some of us went for a ride to see the city at night.

The last few days have been a mix of emotions for us. They’ve been filled with fun as team members find the humorous side to the situations we find ourselves in. For example, seven or eight of us squeezed into the back of a covered truck on little child-sized chairs. We’ve dubbed it the easy-bake oven because we come out well done on our trips to the work site. Yesterday, it was 108° in the shade with extremely high humidity if that helps describe it a little better.

The work that we’ve been doing is both rewarding and frustrating. It feels very good to know that we’ve put a roof over eight families’ homes. It was satisfying to complete a roof for the small mission church Pastor Samuel has started in a town called Coazintla, located about 25 minutes from the church by car. The Pastor spends an hour taking the bus and walking up steep hills twice a week to nurture this congregation. It’s also sad and frustrating because there is so much need – we all wish we could do more. We’ve also had the opportunity to make two very special friends, Israel and Gerson, two teenage boys from the church. They show up at the work sites everyday to cheerfully work beside us.

Thursday night was very moving as we met with the parishioners for a short service. Pastor Samuel read the scripture from the book of Matthew 25: 31-46 (Mateo in Spanish). Alicia did a beautiful job of interpreting his sermon. He spoke about how we can choose to let God into our hearts and, when we do, our light will become brighter as the work we do will be God’s work. (Of course, he said it much more eloquently than I just did). The parishioners sang a hymn for us in Spanish and we sang, Here I Am Lord, for them in English. At the Pastor’s urging we each found a partner and prayed for each other. Even through we often didn’t know the words we said for each other, it was wonderful to know that we were in each other’s hearts and empowering to know that as Christians we were united in doing God’s work. The service closed with the youth group performing a pantomime for us. They are very talented and convey an inspirational message to the audience without saying a word.

We are all very grateful for the leadership of Pastor Samuel, Alicia, Ramon, Juan Carlos, Bryan, and Tamara. Their enthusiasm, organization, and sense of humor help to make this a productive and meaningful experience for us.

Finally, the kindness and appreciation of the people we’ve helped and the parishioners have touched our hearts. Several women and girls have made fabulous meals for us. We certainly never expected to have gourmet cooking when we signed on for this trip. Each day Blanca and a few of the women from the church ride out to the work sites to serve us lunch. Through Juan Carlos I told the women that I hoped I could find a restaurant that makes food like they do back in Milwaukee. The women smiled and said, "No, we wouldn’t find one because the food was made with love." I’m certain they’re right. The food they’ve made for us has given us the energy to keep working in spite of the heat, rashes, cuts, bruised fingers (we do miss those nails now and then), sunburn, and other ailments we just won’t mention.

Friday night we celebrated Juan Carlos’ birthday with a cake and a homemade card. The youth group sang for him and we enjoyed listening to them. We also made a thank you card for Ramon. They are both amazing young men. We admire their dedication to doing God’s work.

On Saturday, we had a chance to be tourists as we visited the El Tajín ruins located 12 miles southeast of Poza Rica. Tajín means "thunder" in the ancient language of the Totonaca Indian tribe. This city began around 100 B.C. and continued until around 1200 A.D. It was uninhabited when the Spaniards arrived and was discovered by accident in 1758. It is an excellent example of pre-Columbian architecture and contains some magnificent pyramids.

When we first arrived we had an opportunity to watch an ancient ritual known as the Papantla Flyers. Five men dressed in traditional clothing climb a pole that simulates the trunk of the Tsakatkiwi tree. The tradition is that without being dragged on the ground, the tree is carefully taken from the forest to the church courtyard and set up in a hole two meters deep, together with a hen, flowers, wood, alcohol, and incense. Ropes are attached to the top of the pole and the thirteen downward loops multiplied by the four flyers represent the cycle of fifty-two years and the arrival of the new sun. The rope is twisted around the top of the pole and the men slowly descend upside down as the ropes unfurl. While these men fly through the air, a fifth man, perched on the top of the pole, plays a flute and drum. The essence of the timeless ritual has not been lost and is a major source of identity for the Totonacs people.

Pastor Samuel, Blanca, Efrosina, and Lucha and her family wanted to treat us to a swim in the river after some heavy duty shopping at the ruins. We headed over to the Cazones river where Diane Balmes made the plunge soon to be followed by several others who had fun splashing each other and cooling off. From there we headed over to Israel’s home for a surprise party. His mother and sisters served us a delicious supper. We had fun meeting his family and taking all sorts of Polaroid pictures.

Sunday morning was the crowning touch to a tremendous week. Pastor Samuel told us that the Bible Study would be replaced with a farewell service so that we would have time to catch our bus. Alicia helped translate the Pastor’s message for our team and thanked the parishioners for their hospitality. We gave the congregation a donation to help support a shelter that they are starting up. We also bought a flower arrangement as a sign of appreciation for the women who cooked our meals, the men who took the bus to work so that we could use their trucks and car, the women who let us use their homes for showers, and the teenagers who sang and shared their faith with us. Pastor Samuel said that every parishioner helped to support us in one way or another.

He then asked each of us to come forward as he told the congregation something about each one of us. Some of his comments were serious and some of them made us laugh. As we came forward the women from the church pinned the women from our group with a beautiful butterfly. Each man received a ship as a remembrance of Poza Rica. All of us received a warm hug. The little packet of tissues that Juan Carlos held up for the group was hardly enough. The Pastor then invited the congregation forward to say goodbye to each of us. The warm hugs, kisses, and handshakes moved us deeply. Many of the people knew our names. Even though we couldn’t always understand each other’s words our love for each other came through loud and clear. Finally, we filled the church in a large circle as we held hands and the congregation sang a beautiful hymn. Words can’t adequately capture the experience. This will be a memory that all of us will cherish for the rest of our lives.

After one more wonderful meal many of the youth and several of the parishioners sang for us as they hugged and blessed us one more time. Susana, a parishioner who helped orient us to Poza Rica, gave each of the women a beautiful, handmade wall decoration with flowers and a Bible verse. We said our final good-byes with tears in our eyes and headed home.