AN ANCIENT LAND AND THE ANCIENT OF DAYS

Left to right, Lloyd, Pastor Vazquez and his wife and Pastor Chapas.

It's hard to describe the many contrasts in Mexico. We drove slowly on dirt roads into remote areas in mountains and we drove on four lane highways across flatlands. We spent nights in high places surrounded by soft green hills and we stayed along the Emerald Coast on the Gulf of Mexico. In one cafe near a beautiful plaza pigeons walked around our feet searching for crumbs. In the night green geckos clung to the walls and ceilings watching for insects. Old men rode burros and carried heavy loads while young men sped around town on motorbikes. And always there was the feeling that we were traveling across an ancient land.


In 2009 we drove through Mexico distributing Spanish Bibles.  Our first destination was the old village of Ocampo, nestled in a high valley in the state of Tamaulipis.  The village was established in the early 1700s near an old Catholic mission.  Indians who lived in the nearby hills joined the Spaniards in farming the land and raising sugar cane.  The place was first known as Santa Barbara.

We stayed in the home of Pastor Carlos Chapas on a shady cobblestone street at the edge of town.  The place was full of the sound of turtle doves singing in the enormous old trees.  Almost every backyard was home to chickens, roosters, one or two pigs and lots of fruit trees.  Since there was little traffic, there were always dogs sleeping in the middle of the streets.

Pastor Chapas guided us into remote areas in the countryside, down narrow winding lanes looking for small churches.  In one area we met Pastor Rodrigo Olvera Vazquez who had been crippled since childhood.  After giving the pastor a box of Bibles, we had prayer together especially for his healing.  And we all felt the presence of the Lord in this secluded and quiet place.

We stood holding hands in that ancient land praying to our Father in Heaven, the Ancient of Days.

"I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool:  His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire."  Daniel 7:8-10

To be continued.....

Very old trees grace the plaza in Ocampo.