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