Student Missionaries Return from Mexico!

by Inda Williams

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WOW! As I reflect on our week in Mexico, the word WOW keeps bursting into my thoughts! That week so greatly exceeded my prayers and expectations that I was left in a state of awe! I can’t tell you the number of times tears filled my eyes during that week! Our God is truly an awesome God!

The house building projects were such a small gift and yet such a life altering gift for our beautiful Mexican families. But what a tip of the iceberg! Yes, we left them with a relatively "luxury condo" that they can dwell in but the biggest gift was left in the hearts of Mexican & American children of God alike. The tender bonding that went on between the light and dark skinned during play, during work, during lunch, during sweat, during tears, is the true gift shared between each one of us and of them. I had the privilege to watch our beautiful American children cast aside their masks, facades, armors of coolness, phobias of cleanliness and jump right in, free of all social weight, and just PLAY! Play, hug, kiss, pray & cry together with our wonderful new friends. Can you imagine what it’s like for an 18 year old young man, at the peak of maintaining his coolness, cast all that aside, pick up a snotty-nosed, dirty-diapered, dusty baby and kiss her? In front of everyone? It just doesn’t get any better than this, right?

 Wrong, read on…

The VBS (which ministers to the mothers as well) students grew from 120 to 175 to 190 in the three days, all packed in the tiniest of churches, in 100 degree heat, totally tuned in to the message. From the front it looked like a sea of brown skin, brown eyes, brown hair, dotted by our own white faces – just beautiful! I was granted the honor of witnessing about 20 Mexican children accept Christ into their hearts. Oh dear God, how wonderful you are!

But, hang on folks, let’s take it one more step…

Just when you think you’ve experienced the best week of your life, God comes along and slaps a little icing on your cake! You begin to wonder just how much more of this you can take! I just have to take a moment here to note that we were fed so well spiritually not only at the work site and VBS but each evening during chapel time as well. We had praise and worship, a wonderful message (laced with humor) by a fabulous guest speaker, and God Sightings – an opportunity for students and adults to share how they saw God at work during that day. (This is certainly a life altering exercise in that it makes you view your day from a different, selfless perspective!) I had one girl to tell me she’s prayed more during that week than in the last several months!

On the second to last night there, 4 of our boys slipped out of Chapel during our chapel time. After a little while it became obvious that some boys were missing so a leader went out to find them. This is what that leader saw – 4 boys sitting in a circle, one with a Bible open in his lap as 3 of them ministered to one. What a beautiful sight! Think God was smiling on that one? Hang on…the boy that was being ministered to, there in the dark by 3 of his closest friends, proudly announced later that night during Chapel that he had accepted Christ as his Lord & Savior! So huge! One of our youth is saved!

Think God was finished by now? Nope. Read on.

The last night was about the best possible ending to the most fantastic week of my life (and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that). The Holy Spirit has such a wonderful way of slipping through the crowd and finding its way into the cracks and crevices of unfilled hearts. After chapel time was over on the last evening, TLC stayed in the chapel for a little more P&W by Justin Joiner, our Youth Minister of 2 whole weeks by that time. Our guest speaker stayed behind as well for one more lesson for our group. As he concluded he performed an alter call and (are you sitting down?) 11 more of our beautiful children accepted Christ into their hearts as their Lord & Savior! WOW! Now that’s about all a heart can stand! There were tears everywhere!

What a wonderfully, blessed way to end such a fabulous week that, for many, became discouraged and didn’t want to come, was in it for the community service hours, or whatever! Who could’ve known but only our God?! The reasons these children came on this trip may be as varied as there are colors in the rainbow, but I know that by the end of the week, we all were united as one family in Christ. I am so thankful that I am a member of His family!

The dedication of new homes for our wonderful families!  The students, through a love offering, were able to supply each house with a bed, linens, curtains, pots & pans, a silver cross and a Bible.  Each of the children received new shoes, an outfit, some boys received toys and the girls, accessories!