Tom & Carolyn McFarland Family

The Challenge of Educating Missionary Children

Providing a good education for your children while serving as a missionary can be a very challenging task! In remote areas home schooling may be the only real option, but it can require much parental time. More populated areas like Oaxaca City where we live have various types of schools, each with their strengths and weaknesses. We chose the popular option of a private Christian school, where Carolyn is an elementary teacher and our 4 children attend, called Oaxaca Christian School (OCS). OCS is specifically for missionary children, but is not a boarding schooL To keep the cost down OCS is staffed mainly with volunteer teachers who come to Mexico to serve in support of missionaries.
Over 20 missionary families have children at Oaxaca Christian School and Carolyn’s teaching provides a real service to many parents so that they have more time for other ministry. Every year OCS is in need of teachers and staff If you have a teaching background would you pray about helping at OCS for a year or more? Maybe you or a group may want to spend a week painting the school, or do another project? Oaxaca has a nice climate most of the year and many interesting tourist sites such as pyramids. If you are interested in helping at OCS please let us know through our contact information on the other side of this page.

Meet Oaxaca, Southern Mexico

Location The State of Oaxaca (Wa-haw-ka) in southern Mexico is mostly mountainous, but it’s southern edge borders the Pacific Ocean and has tropical lowlands.
Capitol Oaxaca City (400,000 people) is the capitol & is centrally located in the state about one mile high up in the Sierra Madre mountains. Oaxaca City is also centrally
located between Mexico City (225 miles to the northwest), the Gulf of Mexico (150 miles to the northeast), and the Pacific Ocean (100 miles to the south).
Economy Oaxaca is one of the poorest states in Mexico, yet it does have such industries as mining, tourism, lumber, and farming. Over half the people of Oaxaca still have
dirt floors and no sewer system, while nearly 25% have no electricity.
Languages Mainly Spanish, with at least 116 Indian dialects! Several of these dialects do not have even a portion of the Bible in their language! A challenge to pray for!
Population There are about 3.2 million people in the state of Oaxaca, almost half of whom are direct descendents of the Aztec Indians. Today there are 16 tribal groups in Oaxaca. The 2 largest tribes are the Zapoteco and Mixteco, each with a half million people. Many of the most unreached are among the Mixteco tribal groups. Language and cultural distinctions divide the tribes into about 155 separate groups! Although Oaxaca is about half the size of the state of Kansas (USA), it contains the largest concentration of different ethnic groups in all of the Americas!

Recording Ministry

It looks like the vision of having a recording studio in our own home will soon become a reality, Lord willing! A used computer with good potential was donated to us last summer and a recording program was loaded on to it. Unfortunately tests showed the computer needs a better sound card to make quality recordings. Because of gifts from people like you, this summer as we travel to the USA we expect to get the sound card and a number of other pieces of equipment still needed, everything from a microphone, to headphones, to speakers and more. Over several years we have reported how Tom has put to use through ministry outreaches the Jesus Film and scripture recordings made in Indian languages. A year and a half ago Tom felt led of the Lord to concentrate less on distributing and more on actually making these recordings. He has been working in the recording studio of a fellow missionary an hour away and looks forward to being able to work at home more. So far Tom has contributed toward making recordings in over 18 languages of Mexico! For example, he helped dub the Jesus and Luke films into 11 languages and helped dub parts of the Bible into 7 languages. The films are good evangelistic tools and can attract large crowds. Both the film and scripture recordings also help meet a great lack of knowledge about the very elementary concepts of Christianity-among Indian Christians and even pastors in Mexico. Many Mexicans and especially the Indians cannot afford enough schooling to learn to read well, so these audio recordings in their own language have been very helpful. For each new recording native speakers must be brought in and they usually need help to cover the costs of travel, lodging, and food. If you would like to sponsor a recording project for a particular language, you may do so through our contact information at the bottom of this page. As always, we want to conclude this letter by saying how very grateful we are to so many of you who enable us to minister in Mexico through your prayers, gifts, words of encouragement, and your friendship in Christ! Thank you and may God bless you!

Profiles

Tom & Carolyn married on August 29, 1987
- The McFarlands have 4 children: Melody (1-10-89), Valerie (6-28-91), Josiah (12-5-93), Joshua (1-25-96)
- The McFarlands joined Calvary Int’l in 1995. After completing one year of missions/language training in Guatemala,
Central America in 1997-98, Tom & Carolyn began long term ministry in Oaxaca City, southern Mexico in August 1998.
References:
Pastor Paul Taylor, 700 Wakarusa Dr, Lawrence, KS 66049. Phone (785)-841-5685. Email: MustardSCF@juno.com
Pastor Ken Huhn, 773 Soinmerville Dr. Pittsburgh, PA 15243. Phone (412)-429-0850. Email: Swordflame@aol.com

Missionary Work

General Vision Tom and Carolyn have a God given desire to bring the love of Christ to the most unreached people groups remaining in the world! An unreached people group views itself as different from others because of language or other distinctions. They know little about Jesus & will remain this way unless someone crosses bathers like language or geography.
Specifics Since 1998 the McFarlands have ministered to unreached people groups and helped strengthen churches among them using various forms of evangelism, teaching, and practical help through medical and construction teams. Many people in Oaxaca cannot read, so Tom concentrates on recording into Indian languages parts of the Bible, basic teachings, and the Jesus Film. Tom has distributed recordings and shown the Jesus film in many language areas. Carolyn is an elementary teacher and has spent much of her missions work teaching the children of missionaries. Carolyn’s work at Oaxaca Christian School greatly helps the parents of 20 missionary families concentrate more on ministry than educating their children.

Calvary International

Founded in 1981 and based in Jacksonville, FL, Calvary has about 100 missionaries on 5 continents. Their goal is to reach the lost in every nation and fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission in this generation. Calvary uses various ministry approaches and believes that as different organizations partner together, the cause of Christ advances more rapidly.

by completing this form and mailing it to Calvary International, P0 Box 10305, Jacksonville, FL 32247.
if God is leading you to support our missionary work for the first time or in a greater way, please let us know
You Can Be A Partner!
You can have a part in reaping a great harvest of souls in Mexico! Will you consider sponsoring Tom and Carolyn either with a new or increased pledge of monthly support?
The Bible asks in Romans 10:14,15, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard..and how can they preach unless they are sent?”
The answer is they can’t — unless — through the generous partnership of friends like you, missionaries are sent with the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth! Thank you very much for your gifts and prayers!!
Budget Goals
$100 per month, to cover recording expenses or
$100 one time gift, to help sponsor a recording project for a specific language group.
For each new recording a native speaker must be brought in and often they need help to cover the expenses of travel, lodging, and food. Would you pray about helping to put the Jesus film or a portion of the Bible into the heart language of an Indian group in Mexico? Thank you!
Tom and Carolyn McFarland Family
Missionaries to:
Oaxaca, Southern Mexico
Crossing barriers
To bring
The love of Jesus To unreached
People groups!

NOTE: Please send and make checks payable to Calvary International, but also write our missionary #219 on the memo line of your check to insure it reaches us. Calvary will send you a tax-deductible receipt. Calvary info: Phone (904)-398-6559 Web Site: www.gotonations.com Thank you!!
Here is how you may contact the McFarlands:
Mailing address: Apartado 6-7
Email: McFarland@spersaoaxaca
68021 FOVISSSTE
Phone from USA: 011-529-51-513-5621
Oaxaca, Oaxaca
Mexico
for more information check out their page at Gotonations.com