Christmas Posadas in Juarez and El Paso

Las Posadas are a beloved Christmas tradition in the Hispanic community. “Posada” is literally an archaic Spanish word meaning “inn,” but today it is used to describe the ceremonial reenactment of Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging in Bethlehem, which can be found in Luke 2:1-7.  The custom is believed to have originated in Spain but is no longer common there.  Today Las Posadas is celebrated primarily in Mexico but may be found in many other Latin American countries as well.

A posada is essentially a procession through the streets stopping at various houses (or “inns”) while singing a song of responsive verses in which Mary and Joseph ask for lodging but are repeatedly turned away.  At the final “inn”  Mary and Joseph are finally welcomed in and a celebration ensues.  YLM mission churches are blessed to have musicians from Mariachi San Pablo to accompany the traditional Posada song and sing other Christmas carols as the group walks from “inn” to “inn” looking for lodging.  Often the traditional Posada song is sung acapella and prayers or other songs are said as the group travels from “inn” to “inn”.

The procession in search of lodging is led by children dressed as Mary and Joseph.  It is also common to have an angel carrying a star.  The rest of the crowd divides into 2 sections to sing the parts of the innkeeper and the expectant couple.  Finally at the last stop, the innkeepers welcome the weary travelers in and everyone is enters the “inn”.   After a brief message about how Jesus continues His posada daily for a place to stay in each of our hearts and lives, the party commences!

There is generally a piñata or 2, and ALWAYS a feast of traditional Christmas fare: bunuelos (fried pillows of dough seasoned with cinnamon and sugar), champurrado (a chocolaty beverage thickened with masa (corn flour)), and tamales (corn dough with either a sweet or savory filling steamed in a corn husk).

Here at YLM, there is a posada at each of the Mexico mission sites as well as one here in El Paso. Typically, posadas take place in the nine-day period from December 16th until Christmas Eve; ours started earlier with one on Monday the 14^th followed by a day off on Tuesday and then 2 each day for the rest of the week.

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you from all the staff and volunteers at Ysleta Lutheran Mission.

Mary and Joseph from Cristo Rey

Looking for a room at Cristo Rey

From the inside group at Cristo Rey

View from the outside at Cristo Rey

Cristo Rey actors

Cristo Rey actors with some of Mariachi San Pablo

San Pedro y San Pablo

Starting the posada at San Pedro y San Pablo

Walking at San Pedro y San Pablo

The procession at San Pedro y San Pablo

Dancing El Sapo at San Pedro y San Pablo

San Pablo posada at the Mission

San Pablo actors

San Pablo Posada

San Pablo at YLM

YES, you can stay here, open the doors

Mission San Francisco

Mission San Francisco

Mission San Francisco

Mission San Francisco

Santisima Trinidad

starting out at Sin Paredes

Watching the show at Sin Paredes

Good crown at Sin Paredes

Kids at the Sin Paredes posada

Walking up the hill towards Sin Paredes

Enjoying the Posada at Sin Paredes

Posada at Sin Paredes

Santa pinata at Sin Paredes

Pinata at Sin Paredes

Pinata at Sin Paredes

Multitudes of angels at San Lucas

Kids singing with the Mariachi at San Lucas

Leaving San Lucas

Preparing for Maximum Impact this Christmas

Elvira and volunteers are working every day to sort donations to give to the poor this Christmas.  YLM is preparing to provide 1,500 Christmas gifts to children  and to distribute 1,470 food baskets, 836 jackets, 600 hygiene kits and 1,200 blankets.  Also, our Mariachi group will be adding their joy filled music to community gatherings in 6  sites throughout Juarez and 7 in El Paso and Las Cruces.  Later this month a servant event team from Mayer Lutheran High School in Mayer, MN, will arrive to build three houses for families in Juarez, lead a basketball camp, and make repairs to a mission church.

“Who else is going to be God’s voice in Juarez?  Not the military, police, or government officials…  As they work to bring order, we work to bring mercy and grace to all,”  commented Stephen Heimer, COO of YLM and vicar at San Pablo Lutheran Church.  ”What we do in response to the suffering and sorrow that exists in our valley will make a lasting difference in the lives we touch this Christmas and throughout the year.”

If you would like to join us on the front lines of hope this Christmas, please consider sending items or making a financial gift today.

Fun, Successful Golf Tournament Raises $6,000

November 2nd marked the first annual YLM Human Care Golf Tournament organized by local supporters of YLM and the LHMI.  Over 70 men and women golfed in the tournament, many of whom were Ft. Bliss soldiers who received the opportunity to golf free-of-charge from corporate and individual sponsors.  In the end, over $6,000 was raised for the extensive work of YLM and the LHMI in reaching out to people in our El Paso/Juarez valley.  The amount raised includes $1,600 of matching funds provided by the El Paso Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.  We are very thankful to the many people who organized and ran the tournament and to all the sponsors and participants whose contributions  have enabled us to assist the needy this winter.

Registration, the morning of the tournament.

The golfers await the “shotgun start”

Give a Gift to Change a Life

The 2009 Christmas Giving Catalog is now available online and in printed form.  Those of you who wish to reach out with God’s love to the poor this Christmas will find 17 ways to do so here.  With your help, YLM will be blessing 1,500 children with Christmas presents this month.  Also we plan to build three homes in Juarez and distribute 1,470 food baskets, 836 jackets, 600 hygiene kits and 1,200 blankets.  Reach out to the people of El Paso and Mexico by giving a gift today:

Choose from 17 ways to

help others this Christmas

1,200 Meals Served on Thanksgiving Weekend

“Blessed to Serve”…and that is what they did. On Wednesday, November 25, a group of 25 from Our Father Lutheran church in Centennial, CO, made their 15^th annual pilgrimage to El Paso. They joined up with Servant Event Coordinator Erin’s parents, brother, and sister from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, MO, to serve the Lord on the border. The theme for the week was “blessed to serve.” The group cooked, transported, and served over 1200 Thanksgiving meals of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, ranchero beans, salsa, rolls, and cake at San Pablo on Thurdsay, Cristo Rey and San Lucas on Friday, and Santisima Trinidad on Saturday. Each meal followed a brief worship service honoring the real reason everyone was gathered together to enjoy a fantastic meal. They also cooked for the over 100 volunteers who come toYLM every Saturday and left behind enough food for the attendees at this Wednesday’s King’s Table luncheon at Sin Paredes to have Thanksgiving too.

To many, that would be enough to keep everyone occupied for the three work days that were put in, but not for this group. Not only did they feed 1200 hungry people, but they also painted YLM building #1, formerly leased to the El Paso County General Assistance program and now home to Mariachi San Pablo and San Pablo’s Sunday school classrooms. The building really does look sharp, and our hope is to paint the rest of the campus buildings with the same colors eventually.

Just in case that still wasn’t enough, 6-7 people also helped “winterize” a trailer in Horizon City on Friday and Saturday mornings. The family, a mom, a dad,  their 2 young sons, and another one on the way, basically live in an 8 foot by 26 foot trailer that you would tow on the back of your truck when you went camping. Leaking roofs, a plywood floor, and broken windows were all tackled by the crew. A new roof was built over the trailer (and sealed to prevent water and cold air from getting in through the top), windows were sealed with black plastic, and new tile was laid on the floor. Please pray that we will be able to build this family a new home in the coming months.

The group also went to the market in Juarez on Thanksgiving Day, and spent each evening in a Bible study that tied the lives of 2 “minor” characters in with the “blessed to serve” theme. They departed early on Sunday morning, November 29.

Their dedication was truly inspiring; we praise God for this ongoing tradition at YLM and can’t wait to do it all over again next year!

42,000 lbs of Potatoes in Two Weeks

blurry but very happy

When a truck of food arrives from donors, it is always a wonderful task to distribute the food to needy families in a timely manner.  On September 28th, when 42,000 pounds of potatoes arrived from Orphan Grain Train we immediately began to distribute them.  Because of the great need to assist hungry families in Juarez we determined to find every way possible to get the needed food accross the border.  Currently, ADUANA (Mexico’s customs office) is currently not approving many (if any) bulk shipments of donation food to cross the border; however they do allow people to take up to three bags across at a time.  Learning this, members of the Juarez missions and churches rose to the task of coming to El Paso, to the YLM campus, to pick up potatoes to take accross and deliver to the churches and neighbors.  One of these volunteers told us, “We are happy to help in this small way.  God has been good to provide help to us through the church and this is a way I can help others too.  I have a passport and can cross to El Paso, but there are many others who cannot.”  Elvira, Rosy, Karla, and Javier coordinated volunteers to get the food into the hands of families who need it.  In a little less than two weeks, the entire shipment of potatoes has been delivered in El Paso and Juarez.

Vital Partners: Lutheran Hispanic Missionary Institute

Even before the dust settles in today’s violent conflicts and economic troubles, we realize there is both a short-term and long-term need for well educated, Christian, Spanish-speaking teachers and pastors in our valley.  Deep damage is being done in the lives of  Juarez residents, especially the children and youth, by the cartel violence.  We praise the Lord for the current pastors, church workers, and volunteers that are holding high the cross of Christ and shining his light in Juarez.   More leaders are needed  who can bring God’s Word to bear in people lives for a long time to come.  For this reason, even as we make plans to bring physical aid to more families this year and as we pray for and support the current pastors and missionaries who work in Juarez, we realize that we must work together to raise up more leaders for ministry.  To this end we are blessed to have Pastor Schlak and the Lutheran Hispanic Missionary Institute as partners working by our side in El Paso and Juarez.

Please pray that God would bring more students into the Institute to be educated in the Bible and practical church planting skills.  As we seek out potential leaders from the YLM missions and churches, please consider donating funds for scholarships or other needs.  The courses and curriculum are excellent and the teachers are exceptional.  God has placed this Institute here in this El Paso/Juarez valley at a crucial time to send out leaders who can bring God’s promises and saving presence in to the lives of hurting people.

Pastor Schlak is Director of the Missionary Institute

Rosy Lira, has taken what she’s learned and trained Sunday School teachers in Juarez.

Pastor Javier Lozano is completing his education at the institute and serving three missions in Juarez

All these young Sunday School teachers have been trained by Rosy and Javier with materials received from the Institute.

Miguel Muñoz’ leadership of YLM’s mariachi ministry and Sunday School teaching is enhanced through the Theological training

Vicar Stephen Heimer enhances his seminiary education with intensive courses at the Institute.

Save the Dates:

Reformation Festival

On October 31st, LCMS churches AND the  Juarez Lutheran churches will gather together for the first time for a joint worship service celebrating the reformation.  Lunch will begin at 12noon in the YLM dining hall and the service at 1:30 in the San Pablo sanctuary (both at 301 S. Schutz Dr., El Paso, TX map).  Choirs, Mariachi, Praise Band, and Keyboard will lead music in what promises to be a most diverse and united gathering of God’s people.  Lunch tickets can be purchased in advance for $7.00 /plate.  A special offering will be collected at the service to benefit the excellent work of the Lutheran Hispanic Missionary Institute.

YLM Human Care Golf Tournament

Mark your calendars and make plans to attend the YLM Human Care Golf Tournament on November 2, 2009  at the Vista Hills Country Club in El Paso, TX.  The 4-man scramble will begin at 12:30pm.  Mexican buffet dinner with door prizes and entertainment by Mariachi San Pablo will begin at 5pm.  This event is being held to raise funds to bolster outreach to the El Paso/Juarez valley during this time of conflict and crisis.

Juarez Lutherans Building Sunday School

Members of the Juarez Lutheran Churches (San Lucas, Cristo Rey, & Santisima Trinidad) are pursuing the dream of providing Sunday School classrooms for the children the new mission in Anapra.  On Sundays, begining at 5am, families from the Mexico Lutheran churches began to gather at the mission site to volunteer their skills.  Many of the men are unemployed (or work only a few days a week) during this economic downturn.  They have received help from the church in the past and are happy to lend their skills to the needs of the church now.  These hard-working men in the past worked long hours, six days a week in construction and in factories.  While the men build the retaining wall, their wives and children help divide bulk food donations in to food baskets for their families and others in the community.  They also prepare a meal for the men in the kitchen.  Sixty-five different families have taken part in the construction effort, and YLM is providing funds to purchase construction materials and food for this necessary project.  Bulk donations for the food baskets come from various U.S. donors.

One of the first tasks was breaking up the huge rocks needed for the retaining wall. Pastor Martinez pulls out the sledge hammer.

The land above the retaining wall is cleared to make space for the future classrooms.

Pastor Lozano leads the volunteers in a morning devotion.

Clearning land and digging the path for the retaining wall & property boundary

Group shot of that week’s helpers.

Retaining wall as of Sept. 9th. The wall extendes over 2 meters below ground.

The Sunday School teachers and Pastor Lozano.

School Supplies for Children

As everyone knows, the end of August brings back to school time. One of the programs that we do here at the mission is an annual backpack distributon. These backpacs are filled with all the necessary school supplies that a child would need and of course a backpack to carry them in. As an added bonus, this year, the computer company Dell donated 1200 backpacks to us. You will see from some of the photos that these are very large, nice backpacks. Makes me happy that I have a Dell computer. Let’s hope that they think of us again next year if they have another surplus.

Last Saturday, August 29th,  the mission  passed out around 500 backpacks full of supplies, and Elvira says she has to put together another 650 for the missions across the border in Juarez. That sure is a lot of pencils and paper. As soon as she gets done with the backpacks, it is time to start thinking about the jacket, blanket, and Christmas toy distribution. Never a dull moment here, and it is so amazing to see how we can help all our brothers and sisters in Christ everyday.