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These are the most common questions we receive about our family and ministry:
FAMILY
1. How did Gary meet Bettina?
Gary went to Weisbaden, West Germany for 3 months as a summer missionary student intern in 1979. He met Bettina at a Teen Challenge Coffee House ministry. They wrote letters for a year and then Bettina visited Gary's family in St. Louis the following summer. A year later they got married in Frankfurt, Germany after Gary graduated from Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri.
2. Do your children speak German?
No, our kids only speak English and Spanish.
3. Where do your children go to school in Oaxaca City?
They attend Oaxaca Christian School which is located at the Assemblies of God Bible School. The school uses a North American curriculum in English and has classes from 1st to 12th grade. The school always needs teachers so check out their web site.
4. What kind of unusual food do you eat in Mexico?
Probably the most unusual typical dish in Oaxaca are "chapulines" which are fried grasshoppers. They taste a lot like barbeque potatoe chips, red, kind of crunchy, not juicy. The first time we ate them the Zapotec ladies started to laugh. We asked, "Why are you laughing?" They said, "Oh Brother Gary, if you like our food just go ahead and eat the whole grasshopper, but we don't eat the legs because they usually get stuck in our throats!"
Another surprisingly tasty dish is barbeque goat. Our favorite daily staples are hand-made tortillas and black beans, and yes, real Mexican food is "picante" very hot and spicy.
5. Is it cheaper to live in Mexico than in the United States?
The short answer is still yes, though the difference in the cost of living is getting smaller and smaller every year mainly due to the free trade agreement. Groceries are generally cheaper but gasoline costs about 2.20 dollars a gallon. Haircuts cost 3 dollars but electronic items generally cost 30 per cent more than in the U.S.
Our son has had a few jobs here in Oaxaca City. He worked at an Internet cafe, all day for 70 pesos or about 6 U.S. dollars. He got a better job at a hardware store, all day for 132 pesos or about 11 U.S. dollars. Now do you see why so many Mexicans are willing to work in the States for $5.15 an hour?
MINISTRY
1. How did you know that you were called to be missionaries?
Gary felt a call from the Lord to serve Him full time so he went to Bible School with a desire to be a teacher. After he went to Germany on a summer missions assignment in 1979 he began to realize that he would like to work outside of the United States and learn a foreign language. As he prayed about this, the Lord opened doors for Gary and Bettina to go to Mexico as a missionary associates (helpers working under the authority of other missionaries). After working in Chihuahua, Mexico for 3 years we received full missionary appointment with the Assemblies of God in 1986. To sum it up, God gave us a consuming desire to be missionaries, provided opened doors to work outside of the U.S. and confirmed our missionary calling through the brethren.
Bettina had a dream that she would marry Gary and work with children in the mountains. This is what we did in Mexico from 1983 to 1987.
2. Why are you doing missionary work in Oaxaca City, Mexico?
Gary received a vision of 4 Mexican Indian men in 1987. Gary asked the Lord what the vision meant and the Lord said that these men belonged to Him. They were going to do something that Gary couldn't do. They were going to reach thousands of their own people with the Gospel and they wouldn't be afraid of persecution. The Lord told Gary to go to them, stand with them and encourage them. When we shared this vision with our missions director for Latin America, he said that these men were in Oaxaca, Mexico.
We spent a year and a half sharing this missionary vision with the Assembly of God churches in Illinois. These churches believed that the vision was from God and sent us to Costa Rica in 1989 to learn Spanish and in September of 1990 we arrived in Oaxaca City, Mexico.
3. What kind of Indian groups live in the state of Oaxaca.
Oaxaca has the largest indigenous population of any state in Mexico. It has 17 different Indian ethnic groups. It's 3.5 million people are made up of descendents of the Zapotec, Mixtec, Chatino, Trique, Mixe, Mazatecs, Chinantecs, Cuicatecs, Huaves, Nahuas, Amuzgos, Zoques, Chontales, Chochos, Ixcatecs, Tacuates, and Popolacas peoples. The Zapotecs and Mixtecs are the largest Indian groups.
4. How many missionaries have been sent by the Mexican Assemblies of God?
Fifteen years ago the Mexican Assemblies of God only had 2 appointed missionaries working in Guatemala. Today there are 30 missionaries that are working outside of Mexico, 18 of whom have studied with us at the Missionary Training Center. Any Mexican that wants to receive missionary appointment with the Mexican Assemblies of God is required to study with us at the Missionary Training Center in Oaxaca City.
5. What is Missionette ministry?
Missionettes is an Assembly of God ministry that seeks to win girls between the ages of 4 and 17 to Christ. Sort of like Christian girl scouts, the Missionette program provides activities to help girls grow physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. The Fivefold Purpose of Missionettes:
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