I recently had a wonderful conversation with Dr. Juan Miramontes Carillo who is a professor and researcher at the medical university in Tepic. Not only is he an expert in his field but he is also a dedicated Christian. We discussed the possibilities of helping more of the indigenous students finish their education and assisting those that are called to a career in medicine.  With the support of different groups and individuals, it is exciting to think that their dreams can actually become reality!  We also discussed the importance of providing Christian fellowship, discipleship and counseling while they are in college.  He mentioned that in addition to spiritual support, his church also has some living quarters that can be used for students in need. It’s wonderful to see the Lord’s hand at work! Dr. Juan also invited me to come and speak at his church when we come down.

I’d like to mention that the medical community in Mexico emphasizes preventative medicine and the use of medicinal plants to great benefit. Dr. Juan has been investigating a certain plant found in Sonora, Mexico (just north of Nayarit ) that exhibits potential for treating diabetes 2  and strengthening the immune system. This plant has already been tested in Japan and has shown very promising results. He is collaborating with a mutual friend, Dr. Basilio; an agricultural engineer, who received his doctorate in Bonn, Germany. I will be sure to pass along the results of their findings to you.  Isn’t it incredible the way the Lord created so many plants for our well-being!

Dr. Miramontes Carillo is also working to bring a preventative medicine and homeopathic college to Tepic. This will be a tremendous opportunity for the indigenous students whose culture already is receptive to natural foods and herbal remedies.

The picture below is of Dr. Basilio showing me a unique operating system for greenhouses that can be easily and inexpensively constructed out of local materials.

If you’d like to see more photos like this one, please go to our special album by scrolling down on the right hand side and then clicking on FIELDS FOTOS.

Gabriela

To begin this new year, I’d like to share a message written by Jill Carattini of RZIM ministries.  It resonated with me, especially since I recently returned from an extended trip to Mexico where I saw first hand the debilitating effects of the drug wars on the people.  Perhaps we think that if we build enough walls, virtual, cement or wire that somehow their cries will bounce off them back onto their own native soil and never reach us.  It’s as though by blocking the people from our sight we can prevent their suffering from affecting us.  But God hears and sees them and when His Spirit lives in our hearts, we will too.

I think that Jill’s article inspires us all not to grow weary in well-doing!

Monday, January 17, 2011
Faces in the Crowd
Jill Carattini

…”When the foundations are being destroyed,” cried the psalmist, “what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).  When need is deep and poverty unplumbed, when hopelessness seems one long, uninterrupted lament—from screams of natural disaster and tears of economic disaster to the silenced cries of injustice across the world—what can I do?

For more please copy and paste this link:  http://www.rzim.org/resources/read/asliceofinfinity/todaysslice.aspx?aid=10788

De La Tierra - 2002 - National Center for Farmworker Health

Over the years I have met many migrants (temporary foreign workers who come to the United States to perform agricultural labor) and I have seen how they live first hand. I once visited an orchard where the migrant laborers were respected and treated like family and a nursery where the seasonal workers were housed in a large comfortable barrack-like building. They could go and shop for their groceries, were given access to classes and could even go to church if they wished.

Harvest of Hope - 1998 - NCFH

But there is also a flip side. I saw cases where the men had no idea where they had been brought. They were not allowed to go into town except on rare occasions and lived in deplorable conditions. One such farm worker who my husband knows personally was told by his employer that if he dared complain to anyone that he (the employer) would kill him. The waiver of tenancy rights prevents workers from having any visitors which makes it difficult for them to contact a health care professional, legal help or other services. The wife of a migrant farm worker in Tennessee told us that many people couldn’t work in the tobacco fields because they became dizzy and started vomiting.  (symptoms of pesticide poisoning).

Seguimos Adelante - 1995 - NCFH

Most Mexican workers prefer to come across legally on an H2A   questworkers visa, but in order to do this, they have to borrow a large sum of money to pay for the privilege. One young man with a wife and children back in el Vado de San Pedro, arrived on a farm and after working hard for several weeks had the misfortune to be injured on the job. The farmer took him to a chiropractor friend and when he learned that the injury would prevent him from working for a while, shipped him back to Mexico post-haste, where he is now in serious debt and unable to work. In Kentucky, where he was hired, there is no workman’s comp. for migrant workers.

When such a significant debt hanging over a migrant’s head, he or she is unlikely to complain. Few if any migrants would even know where to get help. If they have the misfortune to have an abusive boss, their vulnerability and ignorance give him an unfair advantage.

Nuestra Abundancia... Kauila Clark NCFH

The H2A visa is also a very cumbersome and expensive process for farmers. It involves three government agencies (when it can be hard enough to deal with just one!) a lawyer and an agent. You would think that such an ordeal would be enough to discourage the hiring of any migrant workers. In actuality, such a complicated system only encourages the farmers to hire migrants who are undocumented and could possibly be the victims of human traffiking.

Please pray:

1. that our legislators will be given wisdom to design just laws governing the H2A visas and to simplify the process.

2. for more humane treatment of our migrant workers.

3. that the farmers who do their best to provide a mutually beneficial experience for both themselves and their workers will be blessed.

4. that protection and justice will be provided for those who are being abused.

5. that if the opportunity arises for us to give aid to our migrant workers we won’t hesitate to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves as God asks us to do in Proverbs 31:8-9.

Recompensa al Final de la Jornada - 2005 - NCFH