I have been meaning to sit down and write an e-mail to all of you for the last couple weeks, but time has gotten away from me! I can't believe I have been back from Mexico for two weeks now! It feels like just yesterday that I was writing to ask you to pray for me.
I have been thinking about how I can sum up my time in Monterey Mexcio and the "right" words have just not come to me. I guess if I had to just use one word, it would be AMAZING. The Lord did for more that I could have asked or imagined. I honestly did not know what to expect as I boarded the plane early Saturday morning July 17. Although our team had been meeting together for the a few months, I still felt like we did not know each other very well and did not know what our week was going to look like. I can honestly say we felt your prayers! The Lord provided for us all week and worked intricately in each of our hearts throughout the week.
For the most part our week consisted of working alongside a church that Redeemer has been partnered with for awhile. It is a church plant of Mission to the World called Cumbres Del Rey. we helped put on their Vacation Bible School every morning, we did a few small projects around the church in the afternoons, and we spent many hours with the people in the church. It was such an incredible encouragement for our team to be with this church all week. Sometimes it is hard for me to think outside my box of the USA or even New York City, but God's work is being done around the world. God is doing so much in and through the lives of the people at Cumbres. I loved spending every morning with the children of the church and neighbors around, but honestly my favorite part was building a relationship with the pastor and his wife, some of the key leaders of the church, as well as the MTW missionaries. I feel like I soaked up every bit of time around them and just learned a ton from their lives.
Other than spending time with the people of Cumbres, we went a couple afternoons to a local orphanage, Casa Hogar, and spent time with the children there. It was fun to love on them and play with them for a few hours. I was sad and overwhelmed to spend time with the kids. It is so hard for me to understand why they are there. I want them to have moms and dads to take care of them and love them, but that is not the life they have right now. As we drove away each day I was burdened with the realization that our world really is broken. There is hurt everywhere and there are children without parents. I wish I could change that, but I can't. So all I knew to do was love on them while we were there, and pray for them.
And while talking about hurting people.....we spent an afternoon visiting with some of the people of Monterrey who lost their homes in the storm Alex. Oh my heart just broke. In the area we visited these people did not start out with much, but now they have NOTHING. We walked with them for awhile as they showed us where their homes had once been and listened to their stories(with the help of translation) The hardest part for me was wondering "when will they get help? will they ever have a house again?" Although Mission to the World is trying to help these people, money is limited. I still think about some of the people I talked to and wonder are they still just sitting on that tree stump waiting for help? Oh I want to help them! It was such a good wake-up call for me to once again remember how blessed I truly am. I struggle so much with contentment in my life and I have been given so much! I would hope that our team was an encouragement to the people we talked to, but honestly I think they ministered more to us. I walked away from our visit truly humbled.
I loved every part of our trip, but honestly my favorite thing was probably our team! You never know what is going to happen when 9 very different individuals who do not know each other very well come together for a week and literally spend 24/7 together. I was so nervous about leading this team, but I have to say it was awesome!! Everyone had such a servants heart the entire week. I feel like we truly came together as a team and sought to serve one another and serve the people of Mexico. we all had different things to bring to the table and it was so neat to see how God used our different strengths and gifts for His glory in Mexico. Not only that, but we had a blast together! we laughed really hard and loved being together. I love how being on a missions trip as a team can make people very close in a very short time! Although I would definitely say there were some challenging moments being the team leader, God definitely went before me and it was such a joy to lead this team! I am so thankful for His guidance through it all!
I know this e-mail has gotten long, but I wanted to share with you what I could. I am so thankful for your financial and prayer support as it would not have been possible for me to spend these days in Mexico if it were not for you. I really do believe God used this trip in the lives of many. Relationships have been built and lives have been impacted and that does not end after a week. God's work is continuing to be done down there from the 8 short days that 9 people spent in Monterey Mexico and I know God's work is continuing to be done in my life.
I still think about my trip daily and am praying about what my role might be in missions in the future. I don't know what God has ahead of me, but I am thankful for the opportunity I had to serve in another country. For now, God has me in New York City and that is it's own missions field:-) I am praying and ask that you would pray for me that I would be a light in this city. Just today while on my way home from work I had the opportunity to minister to a woman who was very high on drugs. I can not stop thinking about her hours later as it once again reminds me how many hurting and lost people their are in this city tonight. I pray that God would use me here me where I live to further His kingdom. I also hope that I will have the opportunity to go back to Mexico one day!
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