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I.C.E.N.

Huichihuayán, Huehuetlán Municipality

Instituto Cultural Evangelístico Náhuatl

On Tuesday of the week I spent in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, we went to the Cultural Institute for Nahuatl Evangelism (Instituto Cultural Evangelístico Náhuatl), more colloquially known as “the school.” Located in the town of Huichihuayán (wee-chee-wah-YAHN), this is more precisely a preachers training school, where men from all over the Huasteca come to learn how to preach the Gospel and to learn more about God’s Word. In recent years brother José Hernández Félix has been the director, and he has brought about many good things for the school, and accordingly the student body has grown greatly.

The concrete building is well furnished, even with a kitchen where a hired cook fixes the meals for those staying there. The inside of the building is painted a pleasant lime green colour, and as you walk in the door you will find yourself in the main room of the building, alternately used as a classroom and a dining hall. Down the hall are some classrooms and a bathroom. It is really a nice facility, and I am so glad that there is such a work going on in that area to further the kingdom. Read More

¡Wana tukapu’!

In the Huasteca of Mexico I had the opportunity to partake of much local cuisine, from Potosian enchiladas at the hotel, to chopped up nopal (that is, prickly pear cactus) at a preacher’s home. As Mr. Dugan told me, This is real Mexican food!

Zacahuil

Zacahuil

While in Mexico we attended the wedding of the son of a certain preacher, and after the ceremony they served all the guests a very singular dish dubbed zacahuil (sah-kah-WEEL). I think this is a Huastec food, but I could be wrong. At any rate, I was told that it resembles a gigantic tamale, and its method of cooking is quite fascinating. Read More

Chalchocoyo

Matlapa municipality

Church of Christ at ChalchocoyoAfter visiting the congregation of the Lord’s church at La Soledad Monday morning, we travelled to the town of Chalchocoyo (the name of which means “guava” in Nahuatl). The church at Chalchocoyo is one of the biggest in that region, and there was a great turnout considering it was Monday.

Upon arriving we were greeted by a bunch of children on the road, who were very interested to see us. We were soon led down the hill to where the church building was, and entering we saw Bienvenidos los hermanos de Aledo, Texas written on the chalkboard. It was here that we first met brother Nicolás (a local preacher) and Abraham Antonio, who led the welcome song when we were all assembled. After this Mr. Dugan introduced each of our company, and when this was accomplished Nicolás spoke in Nahuatl inviting anyone to come forward if they had something to say to us.

First a young man came up, and he was able to speak good Spanish. After him was an elderly man of 80 plus years who knew only Nahuatl. However, this did not hinder the message in any way, for what he said was translated to Spanish by Nicolás, and then brother Jesús translated into English. It was quite interesting to observe this process, and I was glad I didn’t have to rely on too much filtering. After that a monolingual Aztec lady came up and spoke to us; all of these thanked us for coming and gave us much encouragement.

A meal followed, with the regular fare. We ate in their old building, which was built on a higher level than the old one. It’s a smaller building, and one reason for its abandonment was foundation problems. It served us well as a fellowship hall, however! Read More