Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

For the past week we’ve been in Jerusalen, Mexico working along side a local church.

 

Jerusalen is a small “pueblo” or village that is about 30 minutes away from Palenque. Most people speak Ch’ol, and some speak Spanish. Many people go to Palenque to work, however Jerusalen seems to be a fairly self-sustaining town. The streets are full of “pollo” (chicken) and “pavo” (turkey). The mornings are full of the sounds of waking roosters (very loud roosters), pigs and dogs.

   
There is a river that runs through Jerusalen and is very peaceful and
refreshing. We spend many mornings there enjoying the reprieve from the
heat and the time in prayer.
 
 

The church is small but full of passion. Francisco preaches  with power and authority and the prayers of the people are honest, empowering and full of thanks.

 

Our days so far are simple and slow. We spend our mornings in prayer and as a team. After our lunch that is prepared by Ruth, our  amazing cook, we are blessed with time to nap, play cards and enjoy the company of our new family, the g:racers.

In the afternoon we have jobs with the church like cleaning out a building or preparing for service. We have also been able to prayer walk, and meet and pray for some of the women in the town. This is difficult because of the language barrier (none of the g:racers are fluent in Spanish, or ch’ol for that matter…). But with our handy Spanish to English dictionary (whom we have fondly nicknamed Lorraine) we have been moderately successful.

 

Friday in Jerusalen a Guatemalan evangelist came for a Crusade. People from Palenque and other surrounding pueblos came to hear this sermon. Tuesday, we spent the afternoon sweeping and scrubbing the concrete floors of “la Bodega” to prepare.

Friday, the men moved chairs and sound equipment and the women prepared tamales. We were able to spend the day with the women, learning how to make chicken tamales. From butchering the chicken, to pounding the masa, we were able to be involved. We got our hands dirty, and the result was delicious.
 
 
 
 

Saturday we headed back to Palenque for part 2 of the crusade at a local church. In the afternoon, before church we were able to stop by a waterfall park called Misol-ha. It was a beautiful experience in the jungle, complete with a cave and bats.
 

Jerusalen has been a wonderful first home of the race. We have been surrounded by love, hospitality and encouragement. We have been able to grow as a team, and learn more about the plans God has for us on the race.