Trip to Cangrejo

On May 20th I took a group of 9 men from Sinaloa to Cangrejo for a short visit. The group was led by our friend Hector Robles, a pastor from La Cruz. This was a follow up trip to the one Hector, Agustin and I took back in October of last year. Hector's group brought 2 tons of corn, 300lbs of beans, 40 despensas (bags filled with basic food items such as; oil, flour, salt, sugar, chilis, etc.) and more than 60 pairs of ladies shoes. As well they brought a huge movie screen and projector so we could show the Jesus movie dubbed in the Cora dialect.

At first we were a bit nervous because more and more we are hearing news reports of people getting robbed on the roads back in the mountains. Since the vehicles they were riding in have license plates from Sinaloa we ran an even greater risk. You see, the Sinaloa cartels and the cartels here in the mountains don't get along very well so with Sinaloa plates they would tend to be more aggressive toward us. So, the morning before we left we prayed. We all know that God protects us and watches out for us, but it is in times like these that our trust in Him is tested. I find that I am comfortable trusting God as long as I am convinced that I am following His will and not just trekking through the mountains for the fun of it. During our trip to Cangrejo everything went slow, but smooth.

Arriving in Cangrejo we met with one of the community leaders and arranged for a place to sleep and a place to eat. As usual we were well received and as we ate dinner a number of people from the town stopped by to say 'Hi'. In the morning we drove down to the waterfall for a look around. While we were there we explored the fenced in area that the community has set aside for their corn fields. For the last year or so we have been working on the idea of providing a tractor with farm implements (but I will save that for another post). That afternoon everyone gathered at the town hall and we distributed 110lbs of corn, a despensa, and 4lbs of beans to each family, and shoes to all the ladies. Then as it got dark we showed a cartoon of the crucifixion of Jesus and then the Jesus movie in Cora. During the movie, and it is a long movie, no one left. Everyone watched attentively until the very end. In the morning as we were getting ready to leave a lady and her granddaughter approached me and she gave me a Cora bag. I asked the granddaughter if she wanted to sell it to me or if it was a gift. She asked her grandmother, who doesn’t speak Spanish, and then translated back to me that it was a gift of appreciation for all that we had given them. The grandmother spoke again and the granddaughter told me that she wanted to know when we would be going back to show the movie again. What an amazing commentary on the effectiveness of showing the movie in their native tongue.

On our way home we stopped in La Mesa del Nayar at the school that our friend Pascual runs. We had saved 2 bags of beans, some despensas and the remaining shoes for the school. Pascual seems to be doing well for someone who has a pacemaker and a dislike for following doctor’s orders. After a short visit there we headed back down the mountain to Cofradía.

Thank you so much for your prayers and your support. This trip was a huge success in many ways in spite of the physical and spiritual challenges. As well, just as I was leaving for this trip we were blessed with the finances we needed.

Again, thank you.