You Better Watch Your Mouth!

Mexico 2008

I found myself for the 9th time returning to Mexico for a mission's trip. This would be my 4th time leading a team from my current church to our village in Irapuato, Mexicali.

We almost did not go to Mexico this year. For 3 years our church has journeyed to Mexico through APU Mexico outreach. This year, however, would be different. Unable to make the deadlines for APU this year as a result of overwhelming work at church, we would not be able to return for our 4th year. This decision was hard, but necessary. Yet the decision to not return to Mexico was not acceptable to one girl from our youth group, Angelina Franklin. I have placed Angelina in charge of our VBS ministry for the past 2 years and she is a brilliant girl who loves the Lord and is a gifted leader of children. Once she found out we were not going to Mexico through APU she told me we had to go on our own accord. Well, the only week available for me to lead a trip was the last week of July. Do you know what that means? It means there are cooler places in Hades.

Eager to go to Mexico, Angelina pushed me to set up a trip to our village. I agreed under the condition that she set up a huge fundraiser and got youth involved to which she responded enthusiastically, "For sure!"

Thus I took at team of 15 to our village in Mexico. Not going through APU, we were able to stay at our pastor's new house (a team of 65 from Sacramento built our pastor a two story house, the bottom story being two rooms full of bunks, 3 showers, 2 bathrooms, and AC!) Not only that, we were provided with 2 home cooked meals every day we were there. I'll put up a slide show later on of some great pictures Audrey took while on this trip.

I have to say, this felt more like a retreat than a mission trip at times (except when we were working in the heat)

Anyway, in regards to this trip, I have to say I saw God work more powerfully than on previous trips (of which God also worked in powerful ways). Two of our women discovered spiritual gifts (one spoke in tongues, the other was used to heal two women). These girls are not known to be charismatic as it were, nor do they have stories in which they have been around healing or speaking in tongues. Rather, I have the impression they thought those things were true but for the "spiritual" people. In addition, several "small" miracles took place throughout our time, people were used by the Lord to touch others, prophetic words were spoken and confirmed, and I could go on.

I think the point of this blog, rather than giving a short and inadequate summary of a very powerful trip, is to remind my readers that when we as Christ followers actually surrender to God, that is, when we move from the idea of surrender or the articulation with our lips of surrender but actually letting go and trusting God to work in ways we cannot fathom God will blow us away. Ask the two women who didn't expect to be used by God in any way more than being on the construction team or VBS team but were used to pray in another language over the women of our village and used to heal two skin infections. Praise and honor and glory to God Almighty!

posted by Izzy @ 9:32 AM