Prodigal Magazine

MISSION SPOTLIGHT
I learned a few things on a recent short term mission trip to Mexico City.

I learned a few things on a recent short term mission trip to Mexico City.

I learned that hunger is a very subjective thing.
I learned that the world we live in is much smaller and much larger than I thought.
I learned that a smile can cross a language barrier much faster than my awkward translations ever could.
I learned that I (still) have much to learn.

Our short terms mission trip began as a casual discussion during a backyard summer party.

Our small group had been meeting for years — learning, praying, and supporting each other. Two of the group members were leaders at Gateway, a group that organizes short term mission trips around the globe. They always had interesting stories to tell about exotic places and the people they met and worked with during their trips. During our summer party they began talking about a Mexico City church in need of leadership training.

Glancing around the backyard, we realized what the church in Mexico City was searching for could be found in the people right in front of us. The people in our group held varied degrees of skills and experience – pastors, teachers, men/women/youth ministers and leaders, and prayer warriors.

Our casual discussion turned into something more serious.

We realized that God could, in fact, be calling us as a small group to travel to another country to minister our brothers and sisters there. We prayed, we discussed. And, holding hands and trusting God, we decided to go.

As the world (and God) works in mysterious ways, we encountered numerous roadblocks along the way. Dates and travel plans were changed. People struggled with health, money, and the decision to take our children with us.

And, as God does still bless us with miracles, we found ourselves walking off a plane into Mexico City almost exactly one year later.

We found ourselves working alongside the people of a passionate and growing church in the organized chaos which is Mexico City. With a heart for evangelism and compassion, the Mexican people immediately embraced us with their gracious and generous natures. The church had little materially, but was spiritually and emotionally rich.

Our group taught English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, organized and ran a Good News Club (similar to Vacation Bible School), and met with church leaders to help them organize their growing ministries. Our children (all under the age of ten), made many friendships and blessed the family-friendly Mexican people. We offered advice, we prayed, sang, and listened.

As with most mission experiences, we received more than we gave.

Words are so inadequate to describe the experiences we had during our trip. Bits of memories are still fresh, and come easily to mind. Children begging in a crowded downtown market, their eyes huge and insistent. Block after block of crowded neighborhoods, brightly colored storefronts next to decaying lots. An old woman sweeping the street in front of her home after a storm. Beautiful displays of fresh fruit and vegetables.

We were treated to authentic Mexican meals prepared lovingly by a woman who took a week of vacation to cook for us. Church leaders drove us to the market, the airport, and for a day of sightseeing, never complaining about the horrendous traffic or the long hours. Our group was blessed with hugs from the Mexican children after they performed special songs they had prepared and practiced for our visit. One woman stayed up late into the night before we left, making beautiful homemade bookmarks marked with each of our names.

Thank you, they told us before they left. Thank you for the blessing that you have brought. But we were equally, if not more blessed.

As we said our final goodbyes, we realized that we were all “in this together”. We all shared the common bond of Jesus’ love. We held their children, and they held ours with the same love that crosses boundaries and language.

Jesus teaches us to love. To love God, ourselves, and our neighbors. Our small group was given the gift of expanding our view of the “neighborhood”.

Now, as we gather around the background grill at home, we are linked to our brothers and sisters we’ve met in a vastly different place. Our small group remembers the stories and adventures we had during our trip — the food we’ve eaten, the impossibly crowded streets and houses, the sprawling landscape.

Most of all we remember the people, their smiling faces offering us friendship and the hope that we find in Jesus’ love.