Building a foundation

Where once stood a pile of rocks deep in the scrubby jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula now stands a foundation and four block walls – walls that will soon become a tiny Presbyterian church that will serve a handful of Mayans in Nuevo Durango for decades to come.

Eighteen of us, many members of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Peoria, returned home Saturday Feb. 23 from our annual weeklong mission trip sunburned, bruised and exhausted – but ultimately joyous and a little surprised at what we accomplished.

The structure in Nuevo Durango is our second church project in seven years. We finished a similar project last year in nearby Tres Reyes. Both villages are located on the Mexican peninsula about a hundred miles inland from Cancun. We also have done work on a school in Leona Vicario.

We were honored to be allowed to name the emerging church in Nuevo Durango. We settled on New Covenant Presbyterian Church, or Iglesia Presbiteriana Nuevo Pacto in Spanish.

In many ways, it was a typical mission trip. The team bonded early and worked hard together alongside our Mayan maestros, as they are called. These are men in the village who are experts at masonry and construction using time-honored Mayan methods (read: lots and lots of backbreaking work with few modern tools). The daytime weather was hot and sunny (mid-80s most days with stifling humidity) and the nights were comfortably cool.

In a nutshell, we had a blast. We spent our evenings after dinner entertaining the children of Leona Vicario, the Mexican town in which our base is located. I still have my temporary (I hope) tattoo that somehow landed on my upper arm last Wednesday night. The artwork has drawn a few stares at the gym, but no one has yet mentioned it. That's a bit of a bummer since I was prepared to tell an entertaining yarn about a wild and crazy night in a Mexican bar. (Not true, by the way. Honestly sweetheart. It's not.)

The only incident of note was when our Mexican host, Wilian of the Yucatan Peninsula Mission, was stung by a scorpion while digging around in some rocks. After a few scary minutes and a quick trip to the closest medical clinic, Wilian was fine. He reports it was his second such sting and shrugged it off with a smile.

Despite being in considerable pain, Wilian (also a Presbyterian minister) delivered a fiery sermon in Tres Reyes only four hours after being stung. The man totally rocks, trust me. But he really needs to start wearing gloves ...

Many of us spent evenings smoking cigars and laughing on the roof of our base villa. The skies are beautiful in that part of the world, and those nights remain some of the best of my life.

Next year, we are looking to form two 16-member groups that would go down separately. Anyone interested in joining a team should contact Northminster Church at 691-6322 for more information. Slots are limited. Church membership is not required, although a desire to help those less fortunate and a fairly decent work ethic are a must. Bring your own cigars.

Oh, and heavy leather work gloves. Scorpion stings are as rare as wasp stings in Illinois, but better safe than sorry.

CAPTIONS: Terry Towery and others from a Peoria mission group are shown building the foundation of a new church in a Mayan section of Mexico. The mission trip was Feb. 16 through 23.

Members of a Peoria mission group with their hosts in Nuevo Durango, Mexico, where the group built a small church on a recent trip.

About the Author

Terry Towery is a novelist, political hack, former union boss and newspaper editor. He’s also a treasure hunter. He might also be a pirate. We’re not sure. But there are two things we are sure about: 1) he’s cynical in the most awesome way, and 2) he’s married to the cutest roller derby skater you’ll find anywhere.