Puebla, Mexico Mission
After a year of raising funds, our 19-person team of world changers set out for Puebla, MX, to bring the message of God’s love, hope, and forgiveness to four villages within the greater Puebla area. Traveling with mission teams through the years has always had the same impact on the team members. They go with an intention to fulfill the great commission as Christ’s ambassadors on earth and come home with the awareness that that same intention must follow them in their average daily lives. This is the power of short-term mission trips!
Our first stop was Amigos de Fe church in Tlaxcala. Our goal in this location was to outfit the children’s and youth space with furniture and equipment to aid this church as it ministers to 100 students weekly. After meeting with the pastor and assessing the needs, we went to IKEA to get some things to accomplish their wish list. The Foosball table, arcade basketball goal, and air hockey were lugged over with our team…we were happy not to be taking them home! With one full day of work, our assignment was complete, and we were off to our next stop…the city of Tenancingo.
The next three destinations would be guided by our friend and ministry partner, Liz Dyvig. Liz is a missionary to Mexico who splits her time between stateside ministry and ministry in Mexico as she travels back and forth every other week. Yes, that’s a lot of travel! While in Tenancingo, we did street evangelism to invite people to an evening service and conducted a mega sports camp for the kids in the village. Teaching the kids American football was great. We played a version of flag football in the blocked-off street in front of the Amigos de Fe church in Tenancingo. The Tenancingo children’s enthusiasm was not lacking! After snacks, bible study, and ministry time, many responded to salvation. Our team fell in love with this group of kids!
Our next day started with a bus ride to a remote village. And by remote, I mean down washed-out dirt roads and in the middle of a cornfield! After setting up a small canopy to block the blazing sun, another church service was conducted. Adults were ministered to by part of the team, and others conducted a children’s church. Clothing distribution rounded out this day….there were smiles all around except for one 5-year-old who was so distraught that we had to leave. He was having too much fun playing on the bounce house that we had brought with us. A small team from the Tenancingo church sets up this makeshift church each week to continue to witness and disciple in this village.
Our fourth stop was in the city of San Pablo Del Monte. Here, we visited a newly started home group by the Amigos de Fe Tenancingo church. It amazes me that even though the church in Tenancingo is a new work, they are still reaching out to plant other churches. Our time in San Pablo Del Monte was brief but powerful. A street was blocked off using our bus (never allowable in the States but acceptable there), the tent was set up, and we had church right in the middle of the street. Many responded to salvation and deliverance from past hurt. We dedicated children and homes to the Lord. This was very important to the people. A street vendor who traveled from several miles away “happened” upon our service, stayed, and heard the gospel with the 20 or so others from the area. There are no coincidences with God!
Mission trips take much planning and sacrifice, but the rewards are always worth it. The impact on the place visited is only matched by that of the team members who sacrificed to serve. It seems Jesus knew precisely what He was talking about when He said to, “go into all the world and proclaim the good news”. He knew the good of the gospel was so good that it blessed the proclaimers and the hearers!