To Mexico

Excerpts from my reflections on Mexico letter...
The trip was so much more than I could ever have imagined. It’s hard to imagine in advance what a missions trip will be like and all the experiences that will be involved. I knew the basics of what we as a group would be doing but God took us and accomplished so much more than our human plans. The 48 of us, ages 12-82, arrived at the orphanage in Reynosa Monday morning and were able to immediately start getting to know the children there. There were around 50 orphans, ranging from age 3 to 17 and they loved to just hang out in the courtyard around the building when they weren’t in school – playing soccer, basketball, drawing at the picnic tables, painting fingernails, or just talking. Even though many of us could not speak Spanish, and therefore could not carry on a conversation with a child, our group leader reminded us often of the importance and impact of just loving on the kids – hugging them, playing with them, just touching them – all without words. This could be very frustrating at times when I couldn’t even ask a child a simple question. But our Lord and His love surpasses language barriers, and even being able to learn single words here and there with the aid of the children helped me to connect with them and show Christ’s love by being interested and involved in their lives. One of the things that really blessed me personally was watching other members of the team interact with the children. It was obvious that God really brought to this team people with a heart for children and for that ministry.
One of the coolest things was getting to see the body of Christ at work in a very tangible way. With so many different ages in the members on our team, not everyone was able to do everything. But I saw how the younger members would run around and play basketball with the orphans, ministering to them in that way; and I saw those who were older on our team able to minister by just holding the little orphans on their laps or sewing little bean bags for them or helping cook a great meal. It was truly a real-life example of how there are all different parts of the body and they all have different jobs but the body needs every single one of them to function properly.
I was really impacted by the complete destitution and poverty that we encountered. In addition to working with the orphanage, our team was able to do several outreaches to the slum sections of the city, called “The Colonials.” We would break into teams and walk through the rows and rows of thin, dirty, wood shacks with only sheets for doors. The children (of which there seemed to be an infinite number!) would come streaming out to get candy from us or to grab a person’s hand and just follow along with the group. The leaders who knew Spanish would share with any adults who came out that there would be a service and soup kitchen later on that night. Being in the middle of all this, the reality of the hopelessness and fear that grips this world hit me pretty hard. And yet, at the times when I felt the most depressed by all the poverty, I would see a child smile at me or a mother hug her son and I realized that God is infinitely present even when all seems darkness and destitution. He has not left these people alone. Even though I was not able to do a lot, I saw that if I am obedient to whatever God calls me, every action, no matter how small it seems to me, will further His kingdom. This is exciting to me and just deepens my desire to continue following my Savior as I prepare for the future and seek Christ’s heart in serving others.