July 2008 Letter

Dear Friends,


Twenty-three people, ages four to past sixty, three languages, innumerable church and mission backgrounds, on a forty-five by fourteen foot boat, stopping in eleven communities along three rivers. Lots of numbers, but far from dry and boring!

In our last letter we mentioned trips to the Beni. Covered in jungle and crisscrossed by rivers, it is one of nine departments that compose Bolivia. Over the past few years, it has been hard hit by flooding and this past year was especially bad. Even before the flooding we had been drawn to the area and by its needs – Placido makes several trips a year - but now the need is even greater. We try to make one trip a year with a larger group and our last trip was this past May. This is where all the numbers come in.


Considering the differences, the close quarters and the conditions, we had amazingly few skirmishes or mishaps. We did have two scares. First, the boat we were supposed to use sunk before we got on it (the timing was, of course, fortunate). Then, once on the river in the replacement boat, we hit “Something.” To the children’s great joy, the crew and the old men in the next village said it was a giant “beast” said to live in that bend of the river. The more cynical on our team insisted it must have been a submerged log. If you judge by movies, the cynics are the first to be eaten in this sort of situation! We did see several anacondas swimming in the river and one, especially, was quite big enough to cure me of any desire to swim. We also ate caiman tail, which tells me that there are some of those around, as well. However, no one was eaten, although some were a bit jumpy after this.


At any rate, there was some excitement because whatever we hit severely damaged the propeller and we began to drift aimlessly. One of the brave crewmembers jumped in the river, broke off the damaged blade and we struggled into the next community to replace the propeller. Fortunately we had a spare one.

Some of the communities had churches, others were unchurched and in still others there were a few isolated Believers whose faces lit up when they joined us in some favorite old choruses. We offered ourselves in service, in keeping with II Corinthians 4:5, “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus sake.” Sometimes this meant giving an antibiotic, pulling a tooth, or performing minor surgery. Sometimes it meant playing with the kids or listening to and praying for someone who had recently lost a loved one. Other times it meant showing a movie for the enjoyment of the whole community or taking down pertinent information for our survey of the area. Once it meant helping some women move a huge log into a position more accessible for clothes washing in the river. The most important thing is not checking off an item on our agenda, but listening to the felt need expressed by the people and working to meet that need in Jesus name.





I enjoyed seeing the children on our team accept without complaint the rustic conditions – cold bucket baths, “whatever we could fish or gather” for food and hammocks for beds. This is one way to center down and discover the difference between “needs” and “wants”. I frankly look forward to it and am grateful that my kids are exposed to it.



Upon returning from that trip, it was back to business in our free clinic, “El Refugio” as we prepared for a team from Orange Hill Baptist Church. With them we went to the Ayoré village of Poza Verde and surrounding areas, including a refugee camp made up of flood evacuees. We worked with women and children, while the men focused on the men and boys, especially the 12 to 17 year olds, at risk for drugs and delinquency. They spent time in Bible study and in work discipleship, struggling to teach responsible forest management skills and model Christ’s love and concern for these guys and their communities. Once again, giving of ourselves in service was very important and I wish I had the space to tell you about all the beautiful things that happened that week!

This weekend we leave for another week in Poza Verde for the church anniversary and then for a few days with a team from East Cobb Presbyterian Church. We will be working on several community development and church projects with them.

For those of you who read our last prayer letter… Although Maria died without the aid of pain medication, as did the elderly woman forcibly removed from the hospital by her daughters, Rodani is doing great. Some friends from Oklahoma are sponsoring his transportation to the hospital since he needs to go every day when not hospitalized and his home is far away. Please continue to pray for his healing.

Also, please remember in your prayers:
• Our Ayoré co-workers, especially Benial with his continual health problems, and those who were discipled by the McCalls - now back in the States after their two-year commitment
• Those who have lost their homes to flooding in the Beni and in Santa Cruz
• Erabi, the teacher in Poza Verde, who recently put his faith in Christ after many years
• The Ayoré boys – that they will feel the love of Christ through Placido and the Ayoré men who are holding different retreats and camps with them throughout the year
• The newly established national association of Indigenous Christian leaders – some of our people were able to go to the first meeting and are excited about it

Our family is scheduled to go North for a short US assignment. We plan on leaving Bolivia at the very beginning of January and travel for about 6 weeks. We are determined to visit as many of you as would like to see us or would like us to visit your church or small group. We know that some have not seen us since 2000! If you would like a visit, please contact us!

We’ll let you know how God works!

Love,
Toni for the Mercados