Todd Luke - December 2020 Update

Mexico

Dear friends,

Maria and I traveled to Xpujil in October. I returned to the Chicago area a week later. Maria will continue to work there until December 10. She has plenty to do. I will be back in Xpujil to meet with all our cistern owner partners after Thanksgiving. A snapshot of the week follows below. But first, I will share a portion of a thought that kept coming to mind during my first visit to Xpujil since the pandemic began.

Work

All over the Calakmul region, entire families work so hard, trying to survive. By God’s grace, humans can work and bring in the harvest. He cares for his creation, in part, through human labor. After God created the heavens, our planet, and humans in his own image; he gave us the task to fill the earth, subdue it, wisely govern its creatures, cultivate the soil, and care for it. Work is not a necessary evil. It’s a valuable part of God’s health plan for us and all of creation. As we consider how to help the poor, the weak, the widow, the orphan, the alien, the hungry, the thirsty, the prisoner, the old, and the sick—we do well to be mindful of work’s sacred origin. Whether we go to Xpujil in person or contribute a portion of the fruit of our labor so that others can work together for God’s sake to build cisterns, God uses work to bring health to individuals, families, and communities. As we labor, it is altogether reasonable to constantly thank and praise God for the opportunity to do so. For as great as work can be, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

The Flight

The flight to Cancun was almost full. Many families with kids. Everyone masked. Easy.  

Cancun Airport

Very busy but not overcrowded. The immigration lines were long but moved quickly. Everyone masked.

The Drive

Mexico’s COVID alert system goes from Red (total lockdown), Orange (small-scale partial reopening), Yellow (medium scale reopening), to Green (back to normal). The first four hours of the drive are in Quintana Roo, which is in phase Yellow. The farther we drove, the fewer masks we saw. Grass was long and uncut on most towns’ soccer fields. But often, a small portion of the field would be cut by locals so they could kick a ball around for a small-sided game. I’ve found that the soccer field’s condition is a good indicator of community health.  

Xpujil and Castilla Brito

Campeche is the only state in Mexico currently in phase Green. Churches are open for worship on Sundays. Congregations wore masks over the summer, but most have given that up because the sanctuaries are not crowded and receive a steady flow of fresh air. Folks wear masks inside stores. Xpujil is as busy as I’ve ever seen it. Businesses are open.

The Villages

Outside of Xpujil, agricultural activity is buzzing. Fields are being cleared, winter corn is being planted, summer corn is being harvested, and the “first cutting” of jalapeño peppers are being picked. Good to see dozens of seventy-pound sacks of peppers stacked on the side of the road waiting to be bought and loaded into trucks.  This means that farmers are getting paid.

Schools

All schools are closed. There is no online schooling. Teachers send assignments to families in PDF files sent to cell phones. Students copy the assignments onto paper and then do the homework. Every couple of weeks, students submit stacks of homework to those who will deliver it to teachers working from home – several hours away from Xpujil. The government installed free public access Wi-Fi hotspots in the villages to facilitate this process. Not every family has a cell phone in the Calakmul region. 

The Bee Ranch (Once Again)

In 1997, we purchased 25 acres of land to have apiaries (bee yards) for our “Introduction to Beekeeping” workshops. Starting in the mid-2000s, we tried to convert the land into a productive “food bank” for penned sheep. Sheep rustlers and naturally occurring jungle reforestation frustrated our efforts. Today, most of the property is once again covered with a variety of flowering trees. My long-time Presbyterian beekeeper buddies, Alfredo and Luis, maintain around sixty beehives in two apiaries there. The bees were very busy during my visit. It feels much better to work with nature rather than against it. For over twenty years, Luis and Alfredo have helped grow responsible beekeeping in the region. Alfredo, Luis, and I received our first stings together – way back when – as we learned the beautiful art, science, and business of keeping bees.

Victor  and Raul

Victor – our long-time partner in charge of our cistern building operation – is busy with a variety of agricultural tasks. He reports that families in the villages of Manantial, La Victoria, Guillermo Prieto, and Carmen Dos are excited to build cisterns with us in 2021. Pretty soon, Victor will set the schedule for our annual year-end meetings with all our cistern owner partners. Then he will drive to each village where we have built cisterns to notify the families. These notifications cannot be done with a phone call, group text, or email. Victor drives to each village to spread the news. Raul has been Victor’s right-hand man at cistern work sites for over a decade. In April, Raul was diagnosed with type II diabetes. He lost a lot of weight and tired easily. He adjusted his diet, gave up soft drinks, and saw a doctor who prescribed Metformin. He felt normal again by August. Raul is now back at work and looks good.

 Muchas Gracias

 Todd Luke

Read more about the Luke’s ministry HERE.

THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts totaling $50,400 for Todd Luke’s support and $2,000 for the cost of one cistern. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.