Mexico City Mission Trip Part 5: Final Thoughts
I've had all week to try and put into words what exactly happened on our trip. I can give logistical descriptions of what we did, where went, and what we saw, but there is really no way to accurately describe what happened. This blog will be a bit of a ramble as I am still trying to collect my thoughts. To say this past week changed me would be an understatement.
To be honest I hated Mexico City, but I fell in love with the people there. My heart broke for the hundreds of thousands of lost college students but I found excitement in the fact they all were so open to hearing what you had to say (after we showed them we cared about what they had to say). My heart broke for the people of Tepito, who have been so blinded by the evils of a false god, but joy in the fact that one small church believes that God can still make a difference in such a dark place. My heart broke for the millions of homeless children, many of who we found digging through dumpsters looking for food, but I was moved to tears to see Beth and our team pour out compassion and love that those kids have never felt before.
My heart breaks now because I miss that place and those people. We are planning a return trip in May but it's killing me to think I have to wait that long. I'm really having a tough time adjusting back home.
I've come back with a new outlook toward our large Mexican population here in Kernersville. When struggling with communication I want to do all I can to help them the way so many helped me when I struggled with my Spanish in Mexico. When I see my closet packed full of cloths I rarely wear I want to bag them up and take them to a Hispanic family that may be forced to wear the same thing all week. When I see all the "old" toys from my kids boxed up and collecting dust I want to deliver them to a child who might not otherwise ever experience the joy of a simple toy. I've made it my pledge that before I go back to Mexico City to serve the people there I am going to do all I can to reach the Mexican people in my own back yard with the love and hope of Jesus Christ.
I'll never approach corporate worship the same again. I so often would show up and expect God to do His part while I did mine. I thought that if I designed the best service with the best music, videos, message, and prayers then somehow I would get the formula just right for a "great" service. The way I prepare for a worship service will now be completely different. Less of me and more of God. No more schedules and putting God in a box. No more telling God when he is suppose to show up. If I live my personal worship life with allowing God to do what He wants when He wants without any restrictions, why can't I do this in my church.
We're in the midst of planning for a 1 million dollar expansion to our church building. I can't with a clean heart allow that to happen anymore. What we have now is all we need. Look at everything else we can do with that money. How many people can we feed? How many churches can we support and start? How many missionaries can we send?
This trip also reaffirmed my belief that true evangelism begins with relationships. The Mexican people are about relationships. Time doesn't matter. Schedules don't matter. What matters is the time you share with one another. We were effective in Tepito because Felipe had spent the last 20 years of is life building relationships with the people there. We were effective on UNAM because a group of US missionaries had already begun tearing down wails and opening doors for relationships.
Here we are to busy for that. We want instant results. Even in our evangelism tactics. We go door to door and if that person doesn't accept Christ at that moment then we move on. We allow 1 hour max on Sunday mornings to talk with the God of all creation and our Savior. We consider it a burden if we are asked to help someone out. If nothing else this trip showed me how lazy, apathetic, complacent, and void of passion we (The church in the US) are with our faith. I honestly have more hope for the people of Tepito to come to Christ then I do our country.
My calling is clear now. I am here is motivate, mobilize, and move lethargic believers to a point where God can really begin using them as his hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouth. I'm here to help form a body and take it to Mexico City and to all the ends of the earth. Who's with me?
To be honest I hated Mexico City, but I fell in love with the people there. My heart broke for the hundreds of thousands of lost college students but I found excitement in the fact they all were so open to hearing what you had to say (after we showed them we cared about what they had to say). My heart broke for the people of Tepito, who have been so blinded by the evils of a false god, but joy in the fact that one small church believes that God can still make a difference in such a dark place. My heart broke for the millions of homeless children, many of who we found digging through dumpsters looking for food, but I was moved to tears to see Beth and our team pour out compassion and love that those kids have never felt before.
My heart breaks now because I miss that place and those people. We are planning a return trip in May but it's killing me to think I have to wait that long. I'm really having a tough time adjusting back home.
I've come back with a new outlook toward our large Mexican population here in Kernersville. When struggling with communication I want to do all I can to help them the way so many helped me when I struggled with my Spanish in Mexico. When I see my closet packed full of cloths I rarely wear I want to bag them up and take them to a Hispanic family that may be forced to wear the same thing all week. When I see all the "old" toys from my kids boxed up and collecting dust I want to deliver them to a child who might not otherwise ever experience the joy of a simple toy. I've made it my pledge that before I go back to Mexico City to serve the people there I am going to do all I can to reach the Mexican people in my own back yard with the love and hope of Jesus Christ.
I'll never approach corporate worship the same again. I so often would show up and expect God to do His part while I did mine. I thought that if I designed the best service with the best music, videos, message, and prayers then somehow I would get the formula just right for a "great" service. The way I prepare for a worship service will now be completely different. Less of me and more of God. No more schedules and putting God in a box. No more telling God when he is suppose to show up. If I live my personal worship life with allowing God to do what He wants when He wants without any restrictions, why can't I do this in my church.
We're in the midst of planning for a 1 million dollar expansion to our church building. I can't with a clean heart allow that to happen anymore. What we have now is all we need. Look at everything else we can do with that money. How many people can we feed? How many churches can we support and start? How many missionaries can we send?
This trip also reaffirmed my belief that true evangelism begins with relationships. The Mexican people are about relationships. Time doesn't matter. Schedules don't matter. What matters is the time you share with one another. We were effective in Tepito because Felipe had spent the last 20 years of is life building relationships with the people there. We were effective on UNAM because a group of US missionaries had already begun tearing down wails and opening doors for relationships.
Here we are to busy for that. We want instant results. Even in our evangelism tactics. We go door to door and if that person doesn't accept Christ at that moment then we move on. We allow 1 hour max on Sunday mornings to talk with the God of all creation and our Savior. We consider it a burden if we are asked to help someone out. If nothing else this trip showed me how lazy, apathetic, complacent, and void of passion we (The church in the US) are with our faith. I honestly have more hope for the people of Tepito to come to Christ then I do our country.
My calling is clear now. I am here is motivate, mobilize, and move lethargic believers to a point where God can really begin using them as his hands, feet, eyes, ears, and mouth. I'm here to help form a body and take it to Mexico City and to all the ends of the earth. Who's with me?
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