Women of Vida Abundante, a local congregation here on the island led by Pastor Mariela Cruz Laynez, celebrated Christ’s love with 17 members of SAIL on Friday, January 20. SAIL is a bible study cruise group of women from various states in the US.
Differences in culture, language or religious affiliation do not hinder the celebration of incredible faith among these women! Pastor Mariela shared an inspirational message about the role and strength of women. She highlighted Vida Abundante’s key challenge for 2012 . . . to acquire land to construct a worship center over time. A number of SAIL participants and others have donated funds to match contributions from families in the congregation to make the first of two payments for the land.
Highlights of the joint celebration included a liturgical dance performance by the team of young women pictured in the front row of the photo, communion referred to here as “Santa Cena”, prayer and SAIL singing “Bind us together Lord, Bind us together; O bind us together with love . . .” What an uplifting experience!
SAIL’s day-long visit to Cozumel also included hosting a fiesta with daycare children at NUAFA, a tour of KaoKao Chocolates, and lunch at Cameron Dorado where the owners thanked SAIL for their mission efforts to benefit Cozumel children and families. SAIL works hand in hand with Friends of Cozumel volunteers. Our projects focus on quality childcare and children with disabilities; famlies in need, education/learning opportunities, and ministry. Our goal is to help families and organizations become self-sufficient.
SAIL’s visit is a GREAT lead-in to 2012 mission efforts. Mission volunteers begin arriving on the island tomorrow to prepare for our Friends of Cozumel sponsored Mission Week February 1-8.
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
Gracias to the Stolle family from Plano, TX who combined community service with their family vacation in July. Lyndall Stolle, an Advanced Placement English Teacher, contacted Friends of Cozumel to identify donation and volunteer needs. The entire family, including dad Mark, supported the effort by gathering items and being donation “sherpas”. Lyndall and the girls, Catherine and Caroline, volunteered a couple of hours one morning to preassemble paper packets for 125 backpacks. Afterwards they briefly visited a school property being renovated during summer break . . . what an eye opener to learn about local schools and some of the challenges teachers, administrators and families here face. 
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Last February, when Byron and I were in Cozumel, we watched as David Dean, the Chaplain at Texoma Chapel, presented Eloisa, the director of NUAFA a beautiful leather-bound Bible. As Eloisa held the Bible she shared that she is beginning to have trouble seeing small print. We have had multiple requests for large print Bibles from others having trouble seeing. I began to process this and thought, another one of those things we take for granted is that when we begin to have trouble reading, we go to the local stores and purchase a cheap pair of reading glasses. The wheels were now turning in my head and I remembered that I could purchase reading glasses at Dollar Tree for only $1. Now, I have to be honest, I was thinking glasses were cheaper than the large print Bibles, not even taking into consideration that if you can’t read your Bible, you can’t read anything. As soon as I got home, I began picking up a few extra pairs of glasses each time I was in Dollar Tree. Karen took some glasses to Eloisa and she was SO thankful. By the time I boarded the plane for Cozumel in July, I had accumulated about 40 pair of glasses. Little did I know what an impact these glasses would make on lives of those I met.
When we distributed school backpacks at Vida Abundante, we put out the reading glasses and invited children and mothers to take a pair if they needed them. One young lady who would be a high school student, worked diligently trying to find the right glasses that would help her read her books. There were lots of smiles on lots of faces as they found the right magnification. The best part was still to come though. 
One dollar can totally change the life of someone. I’m afraid that I am guilty of taking my possessions for granted as I am also guilty of not appreciating all that God has done for me. By American standards I am just a middle class citizen, but by the standards in Mexico, I am very well to do. What if I had been born in Cozumel to a family out in the jungle? What would my life be like? Would I even have the opportunity to know who Jesus is? Would I get to go to school? Would anyone even care if I didn’t have enough to eat? Would someone spend $1 to bring me some glasses so I could read?
Life’s journey is not to arrive at the gate safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting “Lord! WHAT A RIDE!”
Miraflores is a “planned development” that began a couple of years ago that contains a couple of different models families can purchase. 
The school year begins in late August and stretches through the first week in July due to extended school breaks throughout the year. For example, students only attended school for half of April because the last two weeks were spring break around Easter holiday. Schools were in session about half of the month of May due to the local Cedral festival and other holidays. 
I would like to think of it on a larger order. The fact is that we are all spending a limited amount of time on earth and one day we will leave it behind. When we look back, what kind of legacy will we leave behind? Did we truly make a difference in other peoples’ lives? Can we recall times when we stopped to help someone in need? Did we use our resources (time, money, skills, etc.) to help others or only to benefit ourselves? Every day, we are presented with opportunities to help others less fortunate than ourselves. The key is taking a moment to help others. It may be as simple as giving someone a friendly word of encouragement when they’re down, an offer to take a friend somewhere if they don’t have transportation, sharing some food, offering to help with a project when you have the skills. Are you making a difference, or “Just Passing Through”?
Owning a piece of land to develop a place to worship has been a dream for Vida Abundante’s (Abundant Life) congregation. For years the congregation has borrowed space to worship in a garage, rented a small empty building and when they didn’t have the funds to pay the rent, they moved to a rented lot. Members have been working tirelessly every week to earn money by cooking/selling food, used clothing and other efforts just to raise enough money for the rent, electricity and water. 
They’re a growing congregation willing to work hard to create a more stable center for worship for the purpose of reaching out to help other families in need. Click
During church service Sunday evening Pastor Mariela announced the first step church leaders are taking to turn their dream into reality . . . They have set a goal to raise 30,000 pesos ($2,700 USD) by December 1, 2011 for down payment to purchase a lot. Each adult is asked to personally contribute 1,000 pesos ($90 USD) and each child 300-500 pesos ($27-$45 USD). Children are encouraged to save 2 pesos daily by not purchasing a snack like they normally might do and putting the money in a can to save until December. For most adults 1,000 pesos is a daunting amount of money, especially during the next seven months when tourism is low (and therefore many people will not have work). For those who work, the general minimum wage is about $4.70 US per day (not per hour); not enough to support a family let alone contribute to the congregation’s goal. “Professional” minimum wages range between $7 – $16 USD per day depending on the type of job. Curious about wages in Mexico? Go to: 
Vida Abundante has not asked for donations for the down payment nor did Pastor Mariela ask us to personally contribute. Larry had volunteered to play the keyboard for special music during the service. We looked at each other and instantly independently decided we wanted to contribute too so we raised our hands and made the commitment. Later Larry shared with me “It is less than $20/month for the next seven months so I can easily set that aside by not eating out once a month.” I’ll pose the same question as Pastor Mariela did . . . Who is with us? I admit that I THOUGHT about raising my hand several more times and making the commitment for several other Friends of Cozumel volunteers/donors as well as the 
Sewing Classes: ~20 women continue to attend sewing classes 3 afternoons weekly. See the photo of participant (at left) with instructor, Elizabeth (right). The class has just finished learning flat pattern design and are sewing their first of 10 garments during the four month class. Projects vary depending on skill level (i.e. simple bouses, dresses, shorts, fitted jackets for two-piece special occasion outfits) and include sewing for other family members or friends.
Iguanas thrive in these hot, dry conditions. They seem to be more visible and active than ever. Several newcomers took up residence in our backyard while I was in the US. The “regulars” include eight iguanas plus three land turtles . . . a small version of “Wild Kingdom” when they are all out and about. As I am typing this blog posting an iguana is scratching at the sliding patio door looking inside . . . the nerve! In contrast to their energy, I feel perpetually “wilted” in the unrelenting heat. 
Visiting Jose’s family yesterday afternoon was a humble reminder that many local families have little or no relief from the elements . . . no AC or fans, no well water without rain so washing dishes, clothes or bathing is limited. 
WOW . . . A record number of 23 women are participating in a new four month long sewing class sponsored by
