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Many of you have inquired about our personal safety due to all the news of violence that the American media reports. Most of what you hear is true, but thankfully we live in a very calm city that has, for the most part, been spared from the violence. Although Hermosillo is the state capital of Sonora and is home to nearly 35% of the state’s population, it is not considered #1 in violent crime. We are truly grateful for that and praise the Lord for keeping us out of harm’s way. We exercise common sense and are cautious and observant in our daily lives, but overall life here is very safe.
Our work continues to grow on several fronts. Many people ask missionaries, “Where is your church?” I suppose that is a valid question. However, for us, the answer is not easy. Since 2005 we’ve started no less than 4 churches and are currently working in 2 of them simultaneously. Our desire is to be facilitators and trainers, so we work closely with our Mexican partners and pastors. We try to stay out of the “spotlight” as much as possible and work behind the scenes to equip and train local people. In addition to the 2 churches, we are also working with migrant farm workers, university students, and are just beginning to develop a ministry to an indigenous group that lives about 35 miles west of Hermosillo. With these 3 ministries, that brings the total to 5 “streams” of ministry in which we are currently involved. On top of that I (Alan) serve as team leader with supervisory responsibilities for 5 IMB families. Whew!
Pray for us especially in these days as our mission continues to reorganize, revision, and transform itself into a global mobilization force.
In other news, we’ve enjoyed an unusually cool and wet winter and spring in Hermosillo. However, it looks like that might be behind us. Yesterday topped out at 102 and Friday’s forecast calls for 104. We have washed the AC filter and will probably use AC for the first time this afternoon! But that’s life in the “City of the Sun “. Ha! Ha!
Donna and I, our two semester missionaries Ashley and Kathryn, and many of our national friends all suffered recently from a stomach virus that made its way around Hermosillo. When such days come, we are reminded of how blessed we are to be in generally good health and suffer from so few occurrences of sickness.
Our family back home seems to be doing fine. Continue to pray for our son-in-law in Iraq and for our children, grandchildren and extended family who are in Louisiana. We are in the planning stages right now for our summer vacation and hope to make it to Louisiana for a few days to see them.
God bless you!

Last week I traveled to Lima, Peru to attend a training meeting for team leaders across the Americas. It was my first trip to South America and my first trip south of the equator. The week went very well and I enjoyed Lima, but I am glad to be home.

Lima is a large city, maybe 9 million people or so. We stayed and met in a section of the city called Miraflores. It was probably as clean, modern, and safe as anywhere I’ve ever been. I was surprised. The streets and sidewalks were spotless, not a piece of trash to be seen. As a matter of fact, the sidewalks seemed to have been polished or coated with some kind of finish. They were smooth, almost brilliant, and would seem to be very easy to sweep clean.

Perhaps the most amazing thing that I saw were the moneychangers. These were guys standing on the streets with handfuls of money. They wore vests with their name and number, the location where they were supposed to be working, and with large dollar signs and euro signs. They had rolls of money that “would choke a horse” as we say in the south. It seemed evident to me that things were pretty safe if those guys could stand around at night with money like that.

In terms of the meeting, we spent lots of time going over the new IMB strategy and focus. There were lots of questions and some of our colleagues were not happy campers. Change is difficult, and particularly so for us Baptists. I pray that each will find comfort in the calling that God has placed in his life and that these difficult days will soon pass.

The media is reporting that the recent earthquake in Mexicali has claimed 2 lives, injured 230, and left about 35,000 affected with damage or lack of utilities. Mexicali may not be one of the best known Mexican cities, but it’s a city of nearly 1,000,000 people situated along the California/Mexico border. Pray for these victims. We do not have IMB personnel assigned to Mexicali. The nearest families are in Tijuana, some 110 miles west (and cut off by the damaged highway), and us, about 330 miles southeast.

The “annual” university worker’s strike appears to be happening soon at the University of Sonora. For the last several years, the union has made demands for salary and benefit increases. Typically the university administration rejects the demands and the campus is locked down. Students are the most affected by this process. Last year the strike was not settled until the summer and the students never returned to classes. Our concern this year centers around our efforts to start a campus ministry. We are not sure what will happen if classes are suspended and the campus is locked down. On the one hand, there could be lots of students with lots of time on their hands. On the other hand, many who are here from out of town, may simply go home for the summer. Pray for God’s will to be done.

A 24 hour stomach bug seems to be going around Hermosillo. Several of us have been hit with symptoms of varying degrees over the last couple of days. Pray that we’ll all be back to 100% soon.

Our colleagues L & P are relocating this week. Pray for them as they pack, drive 750 miles, and get set up in the new house.

Finally, pray for our friend L. and her children this week in the loss of their husband/father.

Today’s Hermosillo paper, El Imparciál reports that 10,000 migrant farm workers will NOT be arriving in Sonora soon to work in the agricultural industry. It appears that the Mexican government is checking northbound travelers for flu-like symptoms at Sonora’s southern border. Each year, thousands of Mexicans make their way north to work in the fields. These measures are in place at least until May 10.This signals a tremendous impact since the grape crop is nearing maturity. Table grapes are typically harvested beginning near the end of May and all through June. Other crops in productions include canteloupe, watermelon, cucumber, and squash.

The situation in Mexico City appears to be improving. Yesterday was the second consecutive day with zero deaths from influenza. Health officials, while optimistic, say that the situation won’t turn around overnight. The flu will continue to spread for a time, they said.The government reports 397 total cases of H1N1, with 16 of those dying and 381 surviving. The distribution of cases is: 285 in Mexico City, 45 in Mexico state (near Mexico City), 29 in San Luis Potosi, 7 in Tlaxcala, and 5 in Aguascalientes.(All these areas are in central Mexico, 800-1000 miles south of us.)

Perhaps the greatest economic impact in Mexico will be on tourism. Tourist dollars are the number one source of income in Sonora. Not only does our state have destinations like Rocky Point (affectionately called Tucson’s Beach), San Carlos, and Alamos, the federal highway Mexico 15 bisects the state carrying thousands of people south to destinations like Mazalán, Guadalajara, and Puerto Vallarta. Obviously, hotels, restaurants, and gas stations will feel the pinch from less travelers, and that will result in layoffs or reduced income for many Mexicans who already struggle to survive.

Finally, the government is taking advantage of the long holiday weekend and ordering non-essential businesses to close from May 1-5. Essential services such as hospitals, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. will remain open but should take precautions. Friday, May 1 is labor day around the world, and is celebrated as such in Mexico. Tuesday, May 5 is the celebration of the battle of Puebla. Many businesses and government offices already had planned a Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon long weekend, but now are adding Tuesday to that.

We are fine here. No symptoms and don’t know anybody that has any. As a precaution, we’ve cancelled our weekend services at all three churches. We’ll be back on a regular schedule on Wednesday, May 6, we think.

As if life in Mexico isn’t interesting enough, what with the drug wars and the unstable economy and all, we get the swine flu thing. Actually, we don’t have it. But it’s affecting us to some degree.

Earlier this week, the news story broke that a large number of people were sick and some were dying from a new strain of flu. But I guess you would have been hiding under a rock somewhere if you didn’t already know that. Anyway, Mexico City has been hit the hardest. The government shut down schools, businesses, and almost all public gatherings. The catholic church closed their doors. Sporting events, night clubs, restaurants–not happening either. Later in the week, the school closing spread to the entire country. In Sonora, they closed everything from daycares all the way to universities. (The professors at the University of Sonora were doing their annual strike anyway, griping about low wages.) A day later, the governor reluctantly closed down the livestock festival and Hermosillo’s equivalent of the State Fair.

We’ve noticed a considerable number of people wearing masks around town. Traffic is lighter than usual. Yesterday, state officials held a press conference stating that there were not any confirmed cases of swine flu in Sonora. Most of that is happening 1000 miles south of us. However, in solidarity with the federal government, Sonora is complying with the closings.

We decided that it would be wise to postpone our Thursday kids event. I just couldn’t see the justification for gathering together dozens of children, when the local government is taking precautions to keep them at home. Unless the situation persists, we’ll be back on a regular schedule next week.

We’ve been thankful for many of our friends who have called to check on us. Most are kind and concerned. Some give us the “don’t you think it’s time to get out of Mexico” speech. And,…..the answer is no. God is doing some great things here and we are humbled to be able to see that. We wouldn’t trade this experience for all the tea in China, no pun intended!

On top of the swine flu, there was a 5.7 earthquake in Mexico City this week. The peso took another hit and fell a few points. (That’s not bad for us in the short run, but not so good for Mexicans in the long run.) But those tremors were 1000 miles or more from us. Not even a slight movement here. Just hot and dry!

Thanks for reading. Keep us in your prayers!