About 200 people attended the free contemporary Christian music concert at Parque del la Concha on Feb. 4.
The Christian music concert that took place in Cozumel on Feb. 4 was a moving experience. Fifteen days later and 1,512 miles away, about 600 more people also got to experience it.
Just a couple of days after returning to Nebraska from their mission work in Cozumel, Gary, Julie and Jay talked about their experience during two worship services at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Lincoln.
“As we sang you could feel the spirit of God move through the crowd,” Gary said as he described the Cozumel concert. “People joined in the song and then, unrehearsed, other praise bands joined us on stage. As we all sang, Pastor Marilea began to pray over the top of the music. It was a very powerful moment.”
The St. Mark’s congregation watched a slide show of Cozumel mission photos projected onto 2 large screens as Gary, Julie and Jay performed “Hosanna In The Highest” –in Spanish, just as they had in Cozumel.
“It was clear that God doesn’t care what language we speak or what country we live in or whether we’re rich or poor,” Gary said.
St. Mark's Church in Lincoln, Neb. was the site of the second "Cozumel concert."
St. Mark’s Pastor Dennis Hanneman closed the presentation saying “We think of our neighbors near and far and even those who are strangers. We lift up our prayers to them.”
— Phyllis
1.Volunteering enables us to put things in perspective about what is truly important. Helping families struggling to provide basic needs of food, water and shelter for their children is humbling compared to things we tend to focus on in our daily lives. Photo at left: Roger helped Jose’s family access water by installing a manual pump in their well.
2.Volunteering challenges our problem solving abilities. Not having access to resources typically available in the US or Canada causes us to think differently. We can’t assume the same solutions or materials will work in a tropical climate or an environment where families and organizations may not have reliable services (i.e. electricity, transportation, protection against environmental elements). I jokingly say in the US, some problems can be solved by throwing money at it . . . not so in Mexico. Photo at right: A plan for collecting rain water from the family’s roof, flowing down a tube to store in barrels had to be based on materials available and a process the family could easily maintain over time. 
3.Volunteering results in personal growth, learning and discovery often leading first to frustration, then followed by a sense of accomplishment. You can’t walk away from significant volunteer experiences without having changed or gown in some way. It may be overcoming a language barrier to get the job done, require you to work outside your expertise and/or stretch you to address a personally uncomfortable situation. Photo at left: Roger (back) and Larry (front) install the rain water collection system. The first try seldom works (true in this case) and often requires multiple trips to secure supplies and tools. Mission volunteers quickly learn projects take 2-3 times longer than we “think” they should! 
4.Volunteering allows us to share the grace of giving/receiving genuine expressions of appreciation without strings attached, expectations or a sense of entitlement. Photo at right: Jose’s family was so appreciative that one of the children cut fresh coconuts to share cocunut milk with mission volunteers for helping the family access clean water for bathing and washing clothes as well as for dental fluoride treatments provided for the children by Dr. Julie. 
One of the first timers, Roger Hoy, made the comment as we were returning back to town from installing a water collection system for Jose’s family “You know…regardless of the kind of day you’re having, you just can’t help but be happy when you leave that family.” Now, this comment wasn’t reflecting the warm feeling you have after you do a good deed. Roger was pointing out that every member of this family seems to have a smile on their face whenever you go out there. The children run out to greet you, anxious to engage and offer their assistance as “project apprentices” and the adults are forever grateful for our efforts. I have yet to have anyone go out to this home for the first time and not leave with the same impact, saying “these people have next to nothing and yet they all seem so happy!”
Women of 
We work with many single parent families supporting several children on the minimum wage of ~$7USD per day as well as extended families who may have only one person employed supporting 8-12 children and adults. 
Allow me to introduce you to an effective way to share your compassion with a family living in Cozumel. They are called despensas, a simple box of food put together by the MEGA store you can order from the Customer Service desk and they will prepare it within a day. Each despensa or box is packed with basic food to support a family of 4 for a week. The store packs the supplies with an itemized list ready for you to pick up for only $20 USD. 
Picture this: Big smiles and excited chatter while dozens of kids stood in an orderly line in extreme heat and humidity. What were they waiting for? Ice-cream, perhaps? No, they waited for notebooks, pens and pencils, protractors and the other things that would make it possible to attend school.
(photo left) Volunteer LaFonda traveled from Texas with friends to spend her August vacation helping out. As she helped clean children’s feet so they could try on donated shoes, she said “It’s such a blessing to be part of this. I don’t know who’s happier–the kids or me.”
FOC helped 125 children this year with a goal of 150 for next year. Volunteers have done a great job of gathering some of the needed supplies during back-to-school sales in the U.S., but we’re still seeking donations of backpacks, children’s and young adult’s athletic shoes, scientific calculators, and Spanish/English dictionaries. They’re simple things but they have the power to bring huge smiles–and send a child to school. ~~ Phyllis
