Mayan Mission: Successful weeks at work, Concerts, Cenotes, Serious Blessings!

"You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you." - John 15:16

"Lord, teach us to pray." - Like 11:1

Hello World from San Ramon! This is Adam writing to inform everyone that all is well here in Mexico! The people continue to baffle me by their overflowing generosity, the Lord continues to change hearts and bring workers to this little corner of harvest's field. The Missionaries and friends who have come to grace us with their presence have been outstanding, and everything is going smoothly and perfectly. I am shocked by how easily the missionaries who flew in 12 days ago adjusted to the culture and people, and I am deeply grateful and deeply impressed by their zeal for the work they did in the classroom and at the Church construction site. MC Robichaux, Sarah Roland, Chris Link, and John Trufant flew out after 10 days of hard work this week end, but not before they were able to enjoy a benefit concert for the mission hosted by Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville in Cancun. Bob Walters and Brett Stewart of Brotherbrother flew in (on incredibly cheap airline tickets arranged by a friend of the band - another little miracle ennabling almost the whole band of brotherbrother to be present!) to join myself, Chris Cole, and John Trufant on stage for a fun night of dancing, witnessing about the mission, and celebrating with two hours of music. The concert was a good success and Chris Cole and I are looking forward to playing more benefits in the coming weekends in an effort to raise more funds and more awareness about the great need of Chruches in this Prelature (they need 137 Chruches to meet their population of Catholics - wow). Jessica Pankus, Ariel Roland, and Courtney Paquin are staying until September 3rd and are looking forward to more time in the village this entire week! Chris Cole continues to be an incredible help and support and a wonderful "detail mind" who gladly makes up for my own deficiencies in that area. Harris Moriarty and Davis Hester are happily arrived in Cancun and are excited to see San Ramon for the first time this evening. All is well and God is good! He is blessing us abundantly!

You will see here some fun pictures showing a little bit of the excitement from the last two weeks. We began our two weeks of missions with the new missionaries by going to Izamal, a Marian Shrine in the center of the peninsula made famous by Pope John Paul II's two pastoral pilgrimages there in 1979 and 1990. The Church there was beautiful. Painted yellow with many wonderful arches around the courtyard stretched before the Church, it looks extraordinary against the dazzling blue skies and cloudwork of the Yucatan. We offered the pilgrimage for the success of the mission in God's eyes, and that He might help us to build the Church in San Ramon but more especially to build the Church in our hearts. After all, what good is a Church if the people who are meant to use it do not know how to pray with their hearts? It was a beautiful time, and Mary blessed us for our full day pilgrimage when we were surprised yesterday when a wealthy Catholic Hotel owner in Cancun invited all of the missionaries to go out for a day on his fully stocked 55 foot yacht for a tour of the Cancun Lagoon, the Hotel Zone, and the Isla Mujeres. We went snorkeling in some of the most beautiful blue water I have ever seen! The day was long and relaxed and we saw flying fish, sting rays, sea turtles, and fish of all kinds and colors. We enjoyed this wonderful day all because this man wanted us to enjoy a blessing for the work are doing and have already done in San Ramon. WOW! We're still a little shocked after experienceing such a luxurious gift. All of this occurred yesterday, which was the feast of Mary, Queen of Heaven, and I am taking that surprise as Mary saying "Thank You" for the pilgrimage and giving us this gift on her feast day. We are all very humbled by how good God is and how he takes care of His missionaries! We don't deserve any of this!

Last week was an incredible week of work in San Ramon. It has been difficult to keep work moving at a steady pace because the work crew is relying on the presence of the architect three times a week to guide the construction. The architect, like many in the culture down here, is not the best at showing up when he said he would and that leaves the work halted until he arrives. Thank God, these last two weeks have been much better and we were able to accomplish a great deal with the extra hands of the new missionaries. The people of San Ramon were very, very happy at the end of the week and it was very uplifting for everyone involved. Please pray that the work in the future weeks will be even more fruitful than it was in the last two! God is Great!

The girls have just been wonderful with the kids. We are now renting a car for the weeks in San Ramon in order to reach all five towns for teaching every single day. It has really been awesome seeing the children fall in love with this new batch of missionaries. The girls are making the best of their free time here by learning how to make tortillas from scratch, spending hours talking to these beautiful Mayan mothers, and helping take care of the little ones. One family even asked MC Robichaux to be the Godmother of their child to be born in December! An amazing compliment and act of confidence on the part of the Mayans to show their respect for the wonderful things these missionaries have done here in this little pueblo. Awesome!

Please pray for stregth for the missionaries as this can be exhausting work, and please pray also for grateful hearts for all those involved in this mission. May God's great peace rest upon you! Looking forward to seeing you in person sometime in the future!