|
 |
 |
 |
The stereotypical “Mission Trip to Mexico”. Every youth group has to have one or they just won’t be considered a real youth group, right? Perhaps these thoughts were subconsciously ping-ponging around inside this thick skull of mine since I was hired here at Calvary Chapel Chico to be the intern high school pastor just over a year ago.
I knew that God had laid upon my heart a burden to go and serve the people of Mexico and to do it like Jesus does for us: NO STRINGS ATTACHED. So my search for the perfect “Short-Term Mission Trip” began. I started to pray and commenced looking on the internet, talking to coworkers, and bugging other youth pastors.
After a short time a close friend mentioned that she had been surfing the net and was looking at the Missions page of the Applegate Fellowship up in Oregon. She was reading about their orphanage that catered specifically to handicapped children and she urged me to check it out.
I did look and immediately my heart was smitten for this place and these people. I prayed some more, wrote some letters to this outreach called “The Mission” and things began to solidify. I had to write via land mail as there is no phone service or internet service where they are located in a little village called Carmen Serdan.
With anticipation seeping from every pore, we left Chico early on the morning of July 25 in three borrowed vehicles (thank you!), and, with two drivers per vehicle, we made it to the Tecate border in a little over 13 hours. On our way out of Northern California God gave us a magnificent sunrise to wake us up when we were approaching Marysville. When we got to Mexico we were shocked as to how quickly the culture changed. Everything from traffic, customs, food, colors, architecture, and manners were radically different from what we were accustomed the moment we drove past the border gate. And on our way in to the Mission, about one hour south of the border, we were again blessed to watch the sun, this time disappearing, as it slowly crawled behind the velvety Mexican landscape.
At the Mission, which currently houses only 16 children, our duties were varying and constantly challenging. They included feeding the pig, washing dishes, trimming trees, picking and hauling granite and topsoil from the side of a hill, and most rewardingly, to spend time with those precious saints, the children of the Mission.
James Evaro and I were spending the first day attempting to repair a water leak in the main line when one of the “children” was out taking a walk with some of her attendees. Her name was Lupe and she was actually more than 30 years old. She was fairly high-functioning and actually appeared to be sort of a “den-mother” for many of the other girls. Lupe and the others strolled by James and I to see what was going on. We made introductions and proceeded to share with her the difficulty of what we were doing. I was not aware of how strong Lupe’s faith was.
I had lightly said to her, “You could pray for us so we can find this water leak”, because James and I were having a time of it due to the fact that we had to dig so deep and around so many obstacles. Lupe didn’t have any problem with that. She is an old hand at praying. She immediately said, “OK”, and dropped to her knees. Now, I don’t know if you have ever seen anyone pray like this or not, but it has been a long time since I have: no pretenses, no doubt, no worries, and absolute trust.
I was looking at her as I listened to the words pour forth. She prayed as if she knew that God was going to find this leak, as if she knew her Father could do anything! I wonder, when was the last time I prayed like that? Most prayers I hear and say are coupled with doubt, preconceptions, and flowery phrases learned from some evangelist on a TV program. This was simple and trusting. I began to weep and this was the first step in my heart being broken during the next week.
As I watched high school students and leaders alike work their tails off I became more and more an admirer of each one. I witnessed and worked along side of 14 year old young men that were changing full-on dirty diapers on fully-grown men. I watched as young women were forced out of their comfort zones to take care of the needs of those who were “less fortunate” than them.
As I watched and worked, it became readily apparent that God had different plans than we had. We went with open hearts that were ready to “meet the needs of those who were needy” but we found out that we were the ones who were needy. We were the ones who were handicapped. We were the ones in need of a diaper change. Well, diaper changes spiritually. You know what I mean. God chose to allow us to be ministered to through the children and staff of the Mission so much more than we were able to minister to them (thank You!). God has an interesting sense of humor. I like that.
I know He has a sense of humor. Our bodies get old, broken down, and limited in what they can do. Hair that used to grow on top is now migrating to places we didn’t know hair could grow, jumping up and down for joy is a thing of the past, and, thank God, we don’t see or hear the new sights and sounds that our bodies produce as they “age with grace”. Tragic? I guess so, but God is going to give us a new body someday and I can’t wait. Now that is my kind of sense of humor. One that will allow us to be fully transformed in the twinkling of an eye. God mixes grace, mercy and humor to show us that He loves us and to teach us to trust Him.
As we were readying ourselves to leave the Mission on July 31, I was shown around the girls’ rooms where beautiful murals of angels and flowers were painted all over the walls. I was again broken down and began to weep as I saw, laying there on some of the dressers and beds, some sketches of the girls from The Mission. The sketches were done by one of our very talented high school girls. They portrayed the beautiful faces of the handicapped girls but they were in their wedding dresses and standing upright in their perfect bodies awaiting the Groom to come and take them home…
Please, get involved in missions work. Let the Lord lead you. Spend your time, money, and prayers on bringing the gospel to the world, even if it’s right here in Chico. I watched first hand as God radically changed our perceptions of “need” and “trust” and “comfort”.
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
"Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"
Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Isaiah 6:8
Click the thumbnails below to view pictures from The Mission!
         
|
 |
|
|
|
|