The country of Mexico is full of many indigenous people groups. The state in Mexico where we live is called Oaxaca, and this state has the most people groups of all the states in Mexico. In the area where my wife and I live, the dominant people group is the Chatino people. Many of the Chatino people speak Spanish, but they only speak Spanish when they need it. In our town, some of the people speak Chatino, but the majority speak Spanish.
About 20 minutes away from Juquila there is a small town called Yaitipec. In this town, almost everyone speaks Chatino. We have also come to find out that there are less than 10 Christians in this town and they are all really old people that no one takes care of. My wife and I got to meet one of these Christians a few weeks ago.
Before we got to his house, we had to walk up a rocky hill and down a dirt path. The house was tucked away. When we walked inside we instantly noticed all of these ropes hanging in his house. A rope that leads to his bedroom, kitchen, and to other places in the house. We quickly realized that this man could barely walk, even with the help of the ropes. My wife greeted him in Spanish, but he didn’t respond because he only speaks Chatino. Our friend Bety was with us and she was able to speak to him in Chatino. We found out that nobody takes care of him or helps him because he is a Christian, a few times he has fallen and hasn’t been able to get up until the man selling tortillas comes by the next day. We left him some food, encouraged him, and prayed with him.
This encounter was life changing to me. Not only did it bring awareness of the need for the gospel in this area, but it also made me thankful for the community that I have in Christ. I have never had to experience that kind of loneliness because of my faith. I have always had other believers around me, even here in Juquila there are a lot more than 10. I’m convinced that there are other people who have experienced this kind of loneliness for the sake of Christ. May we never take our community in Christ for-granted, and may we always strive to take the gospel to places where it has never been taken before.
-Brett Balsley, GEM Missionary
If you’d like to support Brett and Annie as they serve with GEM in Juquila to share the gospel with this unreached town, you can do so HERE. You can also contact them directly to talk further about what it means to be on their support team and find out how you can be praying for them!