David

We are packing up, loading up, and coming home. 

Hi Everyone!

I have been looking forward to being able to write to all of you to try to communicate some of my excitement about how pleased I am with how this trip and this team turned out.  Our students were pushed relationally, spiritually, and emotionally for the past 9 days and no matter how exhausted they were, they woke up each morning willing to look to the Lord to refocus them, refresh them, and step out once again to pursue the mission. 

This year, as you might have picked up from the posts our students wrote throughout the week, was different than all our other Mexico trips.  A vision the Lord gave me since my first trip here 6 years ago came to life as our students were partnered with students their own age from a church here in Cancun to serve together, worship together, become friends, and share their love for the Lord.  The results were amazing. Our students were able to minister through work projects like they have in the past and do outreach ministry like they have in the past, but also minister relationally to those that live here and will carry on the ministry after we leave.  They were able to encourage many of their new friends in their faith. One student from the Mexican team, Eric, gave his life to Christ through our ministry. And as a result of their week with us, this team of Mexican teenagers are going to start a youth group at their church so they can continue to pursue the Lord together, even after we leave. 

We say in our training for this trip that, “We are not coming to Mexico to bring Jesus to the Mexicans.  The truth is, He is already there.” This was so very apparent this year as our students got to see the Lord ministering in and through Mexican teenagers in powerful ways on the worksite, in outreach ministry, and in such personal ways. 

Thank you all for your support, prayers, and encouragement.  We love getting the chance to minister in this way and we couldn’t have done it without you. 

See you soon!

David

Can't wait to see us? Well take a look at us now :)

Connor, Chris, Matt, Megan and Chinira hanging out with
our Mexican partners from VidaLife Church

 

 

Our team on our last full day here in Mexico.  Fully exhausted and fully alive.

Savaughn

Hi everyone!

This is our last full day in Mexico. Our time here has been amazing. I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of the greatest people in the world. Over the past eight days we’ve served alongside teens in the community and built friendships with them along the way. These relationships helped make sure we put the focus on feeding into them spiritually rather than simply serving them physically. Everyone is so loving, caring, humble, always willing to put everyone else before themselves without a single thought. Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to them today for the last time on this trip. I’ll always be grateful for the time I’ve spent with them and I can’t wait to see them again!

Pictures, Pictures, and More Pictures!

Chinira and Sydney serving during craft time at the Kingdom School program in Cuna Maya

 

 

 Maia sharing her testimony of God's love and protection.  We got to lead an awesome ministry program for the men at this addiction rehab center.

 

 

We finished our ministry at the rehab center with a time of prayer and worship

 

Our Team got bigger when we got here to Cancun. 

This is all 17 of us with the teen group from VidaLife Church here in Cancun

 

Savaughn and Megan at our Sunday morning worship service at VidaLife Church here in Cancun.

 

 

We spent Sunday evening having fun doing a team building activity at a local mall. 

This is Nadia, Savaughn, and Asia getting eaten by a shark!

 

 



 

Chris A

Today is the 6^th day of our 9 day mission trip and I am still trying to figure out the traffic laws here. I have only been almost hit 4 times, but I enjoy the time I have spent here.

So, today I experienced something I never had before. We went to a rehab center today and preformed dramas, worshipped, and shared testimonies. At one point while we were singing and worshipping a good amount of people threw their hands up and asked for prayer.  It was as if the Holy Spirit had came into the room at that time and washed over everyone. I saw many people crying and it amazed me how powerful God was. A friend and I had decided to go over to one teenager and pray for him, he did not speak English but it seemed like he understood what we were saying that also amazed me.

I will never forget what happened today and I thank you all for your prayers

Maia

Procrastination. That is the name of my game. This entire trip has been amazing and yet every night I would put off writing a blog post for one reason or another. I have seen God move in ways that are unimaginable and yet I was waiting for another miracle around the next corner. Then it happened. I cried. I shared my testimony, tried to hold it together, and I cried. Regardless of the state I was in, I knew I was there to serve. So I did what I wanted to do. I wiped my tears, I put on my big girl pants, and I went out and shared the love of Christ. I did what I was supposed to be doing every single day and the feeling came so naturally. It was like I wasn’t even there. The entire room was praying for the men at the rehab center we did ministry at, as well as each other. By the chorus of the song Dara was singing, you could literally reach your hand out and feel the presence of God. Simply amazing. Then it happened. I cried again. Only this time, I was not the only one. The whole room was wiping away tears. We took a picture, climbed in the vans, and got ready to go eat a well-deserved dinner... only the universe had other plans for me...

A feeling that is not uncommon here in Mexico is to always feel like something is crawling on you. Usually it is sweat. This time? An actual bug. Ants. Fire Ants. My legs are on fire and I do not thing Dara and I have screamed so much in our lives. They say you either have a good time or a great story. This time? I had both. Just maybe not at the same time.

Hey! Take a look at these pictures :)

Edwin, one of our awesome Volunteer leaders from Bridgeway praying for a
couple of men in the center square.

 

Asia Hanging out with some of our newest Mexican friends and ministry partners!

Sam

Hi everybody! 

I wanted to tell you all a little about something I think is awesome down here in Mexico. The other night we were doing a show in the plaza of a nearby mall. We did skits, worship, testimonies and a spoken word. But while that was amazing to do, what really made an impact for me, was at the end, we asked the people there if they wanted prayer. At first, only one or two people who raised their hands. And as we began to pray for these people in need, more and more people raised their hands to be prayed for. And I was able to pray for a man who was going along the path of addiction to pills. I made sure that he knew he was loved and that God was going to help him with that addiction.

I am also excited for tomorrow when we go to The Kingdom School. We are putting on a program for the teens and little kids to get them engaged and teach them about God. I get to lead the opening and game segment of the morning which I am super excited for. Then we are going to a rehab center later tomorrow evening and we get to preach the gospel to patients there. I cannot thank everyone enough for the prayers you all have been giving, and I can’t wait to come home and share amazing stories and show how this trip has changed me.

~Best Regards,

Sam W.

Dara

Hello!

I want to tell you about a little story that impacted me here in Mexico. One day a group of us, from the team, went out in a neighborhood to invite people to our program that we were having that night. We went to this house with two little boys living there. One of the boys we seven and the other boy was ten years old. We asked them where their mother was and they said she was out working. The more we talked to them we found out that the little boys are suffering from hunger. Every time they would go to school they would not eat, instead they would hide their food and bring it home to their mother, so she wouldn’t be hungry. This story left me speechless. I just couldn’t believe that a little seven and ten year old would do that. It means so much to me that we are here connected to a ministry that serves this family in their time of need. Stories like this is the reason why I came to Mexico, to tangibly serve those who are in need and to share God love. I thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. I can’t wait to come back and share more stories about our missions trip to Mexico.

Love
Dara  

Some More Pics!

On the jobsite today mixing concrete. Our team worked for hours making sure the roof of the house was finished before we called it a day.

 

Connor giving his testimony to a plaza full of people, sharing about God's work in his life and encouraging those listening to look to the Lord for help.

 

Drama's communicate even through a language barrier.  The Lord moved and spoke to those in the crowd tonight.  Many asked for prayer and many came to know Him!

 

 

We don't do this alone.  We have linked up with a group of Mexican teenagers this week and have been serving alongside each other as we minister here.  Great friendships and great purpose!

 

 



Chinira

Hola amigos! Hello friends!

I wanted to tell you a little bit about the last four days of our trip here in Cancun. During the trip, we have been partnering with the students from VidaLife group. They are a group of teens that we have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know. There was a language barrier between us on the first day, but I started to use my language skills and talk to them in Spanish while also teaching them English words and phrases. I love working with them on the work site and having the chance to get to know them and their stories.

The team and I also had a chance to do a program in a plaza down the street from our hotel. There were many people there to see us. At first, it was a little frightening to be in front of a large crowd, but as the night continued, we were able to perform dramas, worship the Lord, and shared our stories with the people there. At the end, there were a couple of people who made the decision to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior (This was an amazing blessing) and I had a chance to pray for others in need.

It has been a successful four days with this awesome team that I have loved and continue to grow with each and every day as we are here serving our God. I can’t wait to see what else is in store for us this week and I ask that you would continue to keep us in your prayers as this missions trip is continuing.

Much love,

Chinira

Alli

So were about halfway through our trip right now and it has been amazing to see what God has been up to. We have had the opportunity to work alongside some of the youth from the church here and I have made a lot of major compadres (best friends) haha. It’s been really cool to connect with other students, joke around with them and truly break the language barrier. And it has been really beneficial to my Spanish skills!

Tonight we did ministry right outside of a big plaza and performed dramas, songs, and testimonies. After we also had the opportunity to pray over people. It was really amazing to see how God used us to speak to these people and hopefully change their lives forever. I’m so thankful for these opportunities to grow in my confidence and faith and I hope these are things I can bring back home with me.

Much love,

Alli

Connor

Waking up everyday in a new country is hard, but I realize why I am here and see that it is a blessing.

The amount of work we've already put in is amazing, to be welcomed by the locals and to see their smiling faces, is up lifting. Its very hard to keep up sometimes, but with all the support from this team there is no soilder left behind (but for some reason I keep leaving my water bottle behind! hahaha, literally I lose it everyday , but my leaders are always there for me to get me a new one).

I came up with a saying ,and it is “YOMO’’( you're only in Mexico once) which is my way of saying "you're only going to serve these great people once so make it worth it".

I am so so so thankful for all the support that was given to me , because without it I would not be able to be here and make an impact of supporting the locals, losing water bottles, or seeing God use his great power to heal.

Asia

The unpredictability and flexibility of this trip so far is astounding and intense. Although we prepared for this trip for months, developing our dynamic as a team and what we should expect during this trip, what we have done in the first 3 days have set a steadfast feeling of fulfillment and give me nothing but satisfying hope of what’s to come. I have made so many wonderful connections, although a language barrier stood between me and the people of Cancun. I am truly blessed to be here and look forward to what the rest of the week has in store for me and the team. I’m ready to talk to people using my broken Spanish, and to mix cement and do some hard physical labor! It’s a new and exciting territory here in Mexico! And I’m enjoying every second of it!! J

Some Pics!

Some of the Mexico Leadership praying over our student team on Monday evening. 
Please join with us as we ask the Holy Spirit to move in and through our team.

Sharing dinner with a group of Mexican teens Tuesday evening

Chriss S

  Hey all!
The team and I just finished our first full day in Mexico. We got to mix concrete to help lay the foundations for a house, as well as go out into the surrounding village and talk to the locals and invite them to a program we will be putting on tomorrow.
In the evening we got to practice our dramas and hang out with the teens from Tree of Life. This was really cool as last time I went on this trip, we didn’t get the opportunity to really network with people our age. I so excited for the rest of the week and seeing what God will do through us as a team.

-Chriss

Sydney

Hey guys!

Today was the first full day in Mexico and it felt like I’ve been here forever! We mixed cement for a family’s roof. The missionaries there already built a floor for them and decided they needed a roof too. It was surprisingly fun. At first it was really hard and then I got the feel of it. It was very, very hot and I was sweating BUCKETS but it felt so fulfilling knowing that we were doing it for a family who needed it.

After work we had tacos at the YWAM staff team house and they were so good! Later on we worked on some skits with a few of the missionaries here and it was so fun! We used puppets and that was really great! I learned that being a puppeteer can make your arm really sore but it was worth it.

Before dinner we met up with some of the teens who live here and Mexico and are also doing missions work. We played a game to try and remember each other’s names… I wasn’t that good at it haha! We listened to worship music and a few of the girls and I danced a dance that we learned a long time ago to the song Lord you are good even though we couldn’t remember half of the steps. We went out to dinner after that with the teens and I was really nervous because I don’t know a lot of Spanish but in a weird way it broke the ice. We were both struggling to understand each other and it ended in a good amount of miscommunications, laughs, and we began to understand each other. I had a huarache for the first time today and it was bomb.com.

The day ended with cake and everyone singing happy birthday to me. All in all today was a great day and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store.

Nadia

Hey y'all!
We finally made it after what felt like years sitting in the seat of an airplane! When we landed it didn't finally hit me that we are here in Mexico and it still hasn't. The humidity was a slap in the face as soon as you hopped off the plane. Seeing the tons of people walking through the streets was a bit shocking, because in America we have smaller cities and towns and never this many people all out at the same time.
After we got settled in our room, we headed out to dinner. The food definitely tastes so much better and way more fresh than America (no offense I still love you America).
I'm looking forward to ministering to the older students here and just hanging out with them. I'm hoping they'll be grateful to get a chance to spend time with some kids their ages, no matter the language barrier.
Pastor Mike told me today that you were to give your whole life to Christ and not just give half of it. That really speaks to me because I was only, and sometimes still, give half of my life to Christ. I realize that I need to get my whole life to Christ, because he gives me all of him, so I have to give him all of me.
So give your whole life to Christ.

Love
Nadia <3

Megan

We made it!
After a four hour flight and lack of sleep we are here in Mexico, FINALLY! I've been waiting for months go on this trip and I feel so extremely blessed to be here. This is my third time in Mexico and it's a crazy feeling to be back. We call the hotel we stay at "home", because that's what it feels like. Something I'm hoping happens while we are here is to just connect on a deeper level with God and the kids here. I want to inspire these kids and show them to God. Tonight during our mission leader Mike's message he preached that we don't need to have a certain quality or talent in order to show others to God. This means a lot to me because I really want to reach out to other, but I haven't really known how to show God's love. I've learned that I don't need to have anything except God in my heart and a bit of courage.
From ya girl,
Meg

Here we go!

Ready, set, go!
Our team has been preparing. They have been packing. And they have been praying!
We are looking forward to seeing what these next 9 days will hold. My hope and prayer for this team is that they will put themselves in the same position of service that Jesus does as he shows His love.
Please keep looking here for all of our updates and stories. We appreciate all the love and support you have shown to us. We leave fully funded and fully expectant.

Can't wait to see what the Lord does!
David