September 2006
Dallas, Texas

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from our Lord Jesus Christ!

We arrived back in the United States on July 9 after five full years in Yucatan. We have now settled into our new house in Dallas, Texas, and are flexed to start home assignment for the coming year. The house we have is a part of the international mission ministry of Highland Park Presbyterian Church, just across the street, and only a few blocks from the Tom Thumb grocery store and public library. David, today, finishes his first week of 10th grade. He found two freshmen from Mexico to eat lunch with. It seems he is finding his way in the new environment and actually taking his homework seriously! Kristen has started her 4th level English classes; those which are supposed to prepare students for the ACT tests. Her college is about 30 minutes away, and as she does not yet have an American driver’s license, I have been doing the shuttle service. Martha is getting back into quilts! Her only problems are, as usual, a big enough worktable and a sore back from not being able to find a chair her size.

Do you ever have occasion to wonder if an opportunity is a blessing or a temptation? This happened to me just after we arrived here. Was Amazon dot com, with thousands of books available a blessing or a temptation? I checked with two spiritual authorities (me and myself) and they assured that so long as I read the books, Amazon dot com is a blessing. Thus I found a blessing, and me and myself are happy too! One I recommend, if you like poetry, is Oblation by Rachel M. Srubas. She is a Presbyterian pastor who uses poetry to meditate on the Rule of St. Benedict. I liked it a lot.

While we are here this year we have five pretty large “try to find” things:

Offset printer. We really need to increase the amount of Christian materials printed in Spanish and other languages of Mexico.

Farm tractor or tractors, for use in northern Chiapas.

Someone who knows about cashew trees and processing. Before leaving Mexico we helped a Tzeltal village plant 200 cashew trees but I don’t know much about processing and marketing. 

Folks interested in helping to form a Presbyterian Benedictine monastery in Chiapas. We have several invitations from indigenous Presbyteries there, but we need to create a network of participants if it is to become a reality.

Any jeep or pickup truck over 10 years old and in running condition. This is to drive back and use in Mexico. We can import a 10-year old vehicle for about 500 dollars.

Finally and most importantly, we are still actively looking for sharing times, especially after the New Year. I am happy to drive or fly wherever there is an opportunity. Please don’t think we are over burdened. This is our best chance to see you and we do want to if at all possible. If you happen to locate any of the items above let us know and I will arrange to pick the things up. If you are interested in working with a Presbyterian Benedictine network please send me your email address. You may contact us by phone in Dallas at (214) 521-1460 or email us.

In His presence there are endless consolations.

Don and Martha Wehmeyer
Valerie, Kristen and David

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 67