Medical Outreach (English Blog)

 On many occasions I’ve mentioned that the most daunting task about working in Oaxaca is the 120 language variants that are spoken here. We can accomplish a lot in Spanish-only, but there is no substitute for hearing the Gospel message in your native tongue, or "heart language." We believe this is one of the main reasons the Lord has guided us to engage in a ministry of empowering those who are called to pastor and can speak their indigenous language. This last month we had the wonderful privilege of taking the Gospel message to four different indigenous groups here in Oaxaca. I’m not able to speak any of these languages, but God in His mercy has called pastors from among them to present his message.

It was very exciting to join with four indigenous pastors who were all working on new church plants in villages with almost no Christian presence. These indigenous pastors have all had a hard time witnessing in these villages, because planting a new church can be seen as something that pulls people away from their native customs. To help in their efforts, we offered to bring a medical outreach, giving the pastors an opportunity to minister the word of life to all who came and received. We formed a team of our family of 5, a dentist, and a clown- and off we went to some of the most difficult areas in Oaxaca! As we provided free dental care and gave out free reading glasses the local indigenous pastors were given the opportunity to share the Gospel message in their own indigenous languages. During this time we saw 25 adults and over 100 children pray to receive Christ. 

Compassion ministries like medical outreaches are an important tool to express God's love in a tangible way. The main goal of this outreach was to earn the right to tell people that there was a God in heaven who loves them, and we
bless them with what we have because of that love. I've often thought that I would be doing this by standing in front of many people, boldly preaching and watching people flood an altar. Although I take every opportunity to preach, I’ve discovered the great joy of sharing the Gospel message through the simple act of giving a pair of reading glasses. It is wonderful to see a face light up with joy when they slip on the right pair, and a blurry page comes into focus, or an elderly woman regains her embroidery art and says “now I can see well enough to thread a needle again.” Many times people will ask, "Why are you doing this?," and they will want to offer us food or money in return. We're thrilled to share with them “I do this for free because God loves me and HE is good, and He loves you, too.” They leave us to chat with the local pastor, who is waiting to share more about Gods love in their language.

 
It was only with your prayers and support that this outreach was possible. We want to thank one of our faithful supporters, Daniel Acosta, who provided the funding for this last outreach. Because of his gift, many heard the Gospel message. There are also many faithful churches that have enabled us to stay here on our mission field. Thank you! We would like to continue doing more medical outreaches with your help. Will you pray about helping fund one of these outreaches? If you can help us please email us at the following address below and thank you once again for all your support! 

efrain.figueroa@agmd.org