October 2009 Letter

Dear Friends,

Wow! 2009 has almost slipped through our fingers. It’s a good thing our times are in His hands; otherwise I think I’d be frightened at how fast it goes. Retreats held, buildings constructed, crops planted, trips made…so much has happened and I want to bring you up to date on some of it. I also want to let you know that you can see more frequent updates by going to the Ayoré ministry site. This will give you an overview of the ministry as well as information on specific projects.

As you know, we had to move out of our large rented offices. Although we miss all the space, we decided against renting another full-sized place because of the cost. In March we rented a small office in a clinic, and began doing much of our primary care out of a room in our home. Initially it seemed like a setback, but we believe there are exciting things ahead, including the possibility of a national foundation to work alongside of SAM. Because of the current political situation, North American organizations are somewhat limited. A national organization could permit us to build a long dreamed-of clinic. Please join us in praying about this.

In April we were proud to participate in the inauguration of an early child development and nutrition center in the squatter’s camp of Barrio Bolivar. This began as an impossible dream, and was fulfilled thanks to the prayers, generosity and hard work of you and of our team here in Bolivia. We are still a few thousand dollars short of truly completing the project, but the children are already using it. If you are interested in seeing more, you can follow the links on the ministry site.

In May we had a great kids' retreat for a group from that same urban camp. Our team planned and worked toward a low kid to counselor ratio which worked out amazingly well.

FUA, a tiny village in the Eastern Bolivian bush, was established by Ayoré people trying to move their children away from the city dangers of prostitution and drugs. This year we were able to work with them to put down the foundation of a small chapel. In June a team from Orange Hill Baptist Church in Georgia joined us. They brought the chapel almost to completion and we hope to apply the finishing touches before December. Because of the remoteness of the village and the lack of water in the immediate area, progress is extremely slow on any project. There is much to be done in the whole area – in FUA and beyond. Please pray for us as we try follow God’s leading for us. For April of this coming year we have a “service trip” planned for the area beyond FUA toward the east, as well as continued contact with FUA and several other Ayoré camps in the region. Before a service trip we ask a community how we can best serve them in Jesus’ name. On the trip we try to follow up on the answer to that question.

July found us on tributaries of the Amazon in the Beni region, doing medical and evangelistic work along with representatives from Autumn Ridge Church in Minnesota and Grace Bible Church in North Carolina. We are planning three trips to this area next year. Two will be boat trips, but the third is planned as a medical/surgical evangelistic push based in a town called Magdalena. The purpose is to encourage the Christians there and help them reach out to the needy in the area around their town.

In September the church in the Barrio Bolivar camp celebrated its 13th anniversary. It was a joy to look at pictures of the first little tent we set up and see how the church has grown in both structure and in number of people. The church building has been refurbished with the help of a team from Trinity Presbyterian Church in Virginia. They helped finish the Sunday school room so it can be locked and kept clean. Before this, drug addicts would go in and leave behind a great deal of filth, making it almost unbearable to be in.

September was also a big month for agriculture in Poza Verde because the sunflower crop was harvested. Please pray for the men who involved in this aspect of ministry. They need extraordinary wisdom to work in a difficult cross-cultural situation, with limited funds and great needs and pressures. Placido and Ken Massey have been joined by Jason Weigner, who arrived with his wife, Jenna, under a two year commitment. Jason has a degree in environmental science and will be working on developing micro projects and “chacos”. We are also praying for another community-wide development project to touch felt needs and fulfill government requirements for use of land.

Please continue to pray for us as we strive to remain faithful to God’s calling on our lives and find out where He is working so we can join Him.

Love,
Toni for the Mercados