Lindsey's Story and Vision - OneEarth Jubilee

Below is a wonderful story and vision from Lindsey Mercer-Robledo in San Cristobal, Mexico. So personal and human. Through her message, you are invited so clearly to make a contribution to the amazing ministries of Jubilee before the end of December, 2025. Your donations, unless otherwise designated, will be redistributed among all four Jubilee Circles.

But there’s more. So much more.

Lindsey also invites your donations to a special fund. It is a fund that’s been in gestation throughout 2025, our 25th anniversary year, and now is being born as the New Year comes. This special fund will continue until the funding needs are met through your donations and special grants. The centerpiece of this fund is the building, its promise, and the vision for ministries which Lindsey has described with passion and information. Please make plans to contribute significantly to this special fund in the months ahead. Four donations have already been pledged.

The Mighty Presence of the Spirit be with us all,

Lindsey Mercer-Robledo, Lee Van Ham, John Michno, Kyle Holberg
This Jubilee mailing is a joint effort of the people named above.

P.S. Please remember to tell others about this great opportunity to effect real change with their donations.

“He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.”
Luke 1:52—Mary’s poem (magnificat) in her visit to cousin Elizabeth.

Lindsey’s Story and Vision

Earlier this year, we met a woman named Samaria at an alternative market called REPASUR that Alter-Nativas was involved in founding in San Cristóbal. At first, it was just a brief exchange among tables of handmade products and fresh harvests, but something about her presence and the pride she took in her work stayed with us. Not long after, she invited us to visit her farm, and that invitation became the beginning of a much deeper relationship.

When we arrived at her land for the first time, we saw the world she had built with her own hands: honey from her bees, vegetables and fruit she tended herself, and the coffee plants she cared for season after season. Being there made it clear that this wasn’t simply a woman selling products; this was someone deeply connected to her land, someone whose work carried history and purpose.

Through Alter-Nativas, we began helping her strengthen the business she was already building. We shared tools to improve packaging, guidance on how to present her products, and opportunities to enter alternative markets in San Cristóbal and surrounding municipalities. Watching her take each idea and run with it showed us her determination and potential.

But the relationship grew far beyond business. On her farm, Samaria showed us what it truly means to live off the land, to depend on it, respect it, and shape your days around its rhythms. She shared with us not only her methods of planting and harvesting but also the patience, care, and resilience that guide her work. These were lessons rooted in experience, family tradition, and a way of life that asks for both strength and humility.

Somewhere along the way, the support we offered became a true partnership, and that partnership became a connection that has changed us as much as it has changed her. Every visit, every conversation, every shared effort has deepened our appreciation not only for her work but for the bond that has grown between us. And perhaps the greatest honor of all was when Samaria invited us to become her daughter’s godparents, a gesture that showed just how meaningful this relationship has become for all of us.

Stories like Samaria’s remind us why this work matters so deeply. They show us what can happen when community, trust, and opportunity come together in the right place at the right time. And it is precisely this kind of work that we want to continue growing here in San Cristóbal. But to do that, we need stability. We need a space that is our own.

For years, the San Cristóbal Circle has operated out of rented homes and borrowed spaces rooms. We have made each place work, but the reality is that gentrification has changed everything. Housing costs have soared, displacement is accelerating, and renting has become both financially unstable and emotionally exhausting. Each move disrupts our programs, limits our ability to serve, and affects the relationships we have spent years nurturing.

More importantly, renting keeps us from planting the long-term roots that this community deserves.

That is why we have launched a fundraiser with a bold but attainable goal: to raise $90,000 to purchase land and build a permanent center for our work. A home where we can offer workshops, classes, and community gatherings. A space to host producers like Samaria, store and distribute products, cultivate new projects, and strengthen the network of relationships that make this work possible.

But this center is more than a facility. It is a promise. It will be a guarantee that the spirit and teachings of Jubilee Economics Ministries will continue to be grounded, visible, and alive here in Chiapas. It will carry forward the values that guide us: economic justice, simplicity, generosity, reciprocity, and care for the earth. With your support, these teachings will not fade or shift with each new rental contract. They will have a permanent home.

This center will allow us to expand programs for local producers, welcome more women and families seeking economic opportunities, and create a place where sustainable living and shared learning can happen every day. It will give us the security to dream bigger and the permanence to follow through.

Every contribution, whether large or small, becomes part of the ground on which future relationships, future stories, and future possibilities will grow. Donors are not just funding a structure. They are investing in a long-term vision for justice, dignity, and opportunity in Chiapas. They are helping build a home where people like Samaria can continue to rise, where communities can learn and gather, and where a more equitable future can take root.

We have seen firsthand what is possible when just one relationship is nurtured with care. Now imagine what could happen with a permanent home dedicated entirely to creating more of these moments. This is the future we are inviting you to help build.

Your support can help create a place where transformation is not only possible but inevitable. A place where people are welcomed, taught, empowered, and inspired. A place where the teachings of Jubilee Economics Ministries can continue to flourish. We hope you will join us in making this vision real. Together, we can plant the roots that will sustain this work and this community for many years to come.

Join us in building this home. Your gift today helps plant the roots for a more just and sustainable future in Chiapas.