Friday, April 06, 2007

Mission to Mexico: Friday thru Sunday

Friday, March 23rd Happy Birthday Mom!!
Drove from Springfield, OR to Bakersfield, CA. and prayed, read and sang together in Dad’s truck. More ‘Live Book in Audio’ for the road. We finished The Magician’s Nephew and started Revelation on Friday. Now Revelation is some reading for you if you haven’t been blessed with reading it yet – It comes highly recommend!

Saturday, March 24th
Bakersfield was the first time I felt I was on a Mission trip and mostly because the area the Church was located in was in need of outreach. We left fairly early headed for Mexico and the routine was pretty fixed by now.. “Play” or “Pause” with a few breaks to wet my whistle or join in with the worship music from Dad’s XM radio program. As we neared the border, I made a critical mistake when I brought up the topic of illegal immigration. By the way, this is not a topic to bring up when you are headed to Mexico for mission work! We agreed finally that you could go ANYWHERE in the world and find legitimate NEED including the U.S.A. and that God’s hand is in it and He is still in control. Praise God for His Grace, Mercy & Love for us!!

I think Dad may have expected more reaction from me as we entered Mexico but I was more concentrated on listening to my heart and anxious not to miss anything the Spirit would try to say to my heart. I have been in several border towns and they are usually very similar so that was not a new experience and the kids were pretty quiet just taking things in. I am sure they were comparing it to our trip to Nueva Vallarta last year. Anyway, there was a lot of expectation on all of our parts and sometimes that is not a good thing. I know how long Dad has been telling me that he sees me working at El Faro and how his vision of my being there has not diminished. I also know that God will have to reveal His will to me directly and confirm it with at least two others. I am certain of one thing-God is not the author of confusion. I want to be in His perfect will for my life more than anything. Anything else is unacceptable – Been there done that!


Since I claim Isaiah 54:5 – 6 as my promise, I can state unequivocally that God will communicate with me like a husband to his wife.
"For thy Maker [is] thine husband; the LORD of hosts [is] his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God."( Isaiah 54:5 - 6)
He is going to share His plan with me in His timing and I will obey willingly.

How did I get off track with the travelogue? Oh, yeah! I love my Lord and can’t stop talking about Him and what He is doing in my life, duh! So back to Mexico..

We pulled into the Orphanage in the mid afternoon and were immediately surrounded by children. Many recognized Dad’s truck and started yelling “Hal, amigo!” before we even stopped. It was so precious and to see his face light up at their cries was priceless! Jordan was the most apprehensive but soon got busy getting unloaded. The rest of that day was somewhat a blur of unloading, setting up tents and getting to recognize the chain of command that was in place. As a first timer who is not a teenager, it took some question asking before I finally got all of the identities figured out for who is who..
Example: I asked Dad what the rules were so I didn’t inadvertently break any. Such as, where are the off limits if any? When can we use the shower rooms? What water source can we use for the solar shower?... After being in the Marine Corps I knew that there had to be certain protocol that was in place but hadn’t been relayed yet and I didn’t want to embarrass my Dad on my first trip with him. : ) In Uganda it was considered an insult to help with the food preparation or service until they got to know you and asked. I don’t know exactly why but it is in my nature to want to pitch in and help and it took a while before the women in Uganda would allow me to even clear the dirty dishes.

I felt at home there in El Faro and could easily see myself there long term. I don’t think I mentioned that to my Dad though. : ) Some places touch me like that though. I could easily see myself in Uganda or Kenya also. We had a brief orientation around the campfire that first night and were told what we could expect the next day.

Sunday, March 25th – Happy Birthday Dad!!
It felt weird not having a time of worship together with all my brothers and sisters in Christ on Sunday, the Lord’s Day. I was up at 4am to spend my time with Jesus and I found myself asking for some specifics from Him that I normally don’t do. Okay, maybe more often than not. I know He likes specifics and I guess it is just fine to ask for them. I was surprised that no one else was up and seeking Him early and surmised most people just stayed in their tents for that quiet time. My only experience has been in Uganda where the whole team is up early in prayer and then a time of worship together before beginning the day of service. My other experience is just my personal experience where I get out of bed and go to my place set aside for prayer. E. M. Bounds has put is so nicely when he said we should strive to be men of ‘much prayer’. I admit it. I was disappointed that I didn’t have others to share that sweet communion with in the early morning hour. (No wonder so many people think I am a Jesus freak) Clarification may be needed here. I am in NO WAY judging or condemning ANYONE. I am simply saying that I have so much enjoyed the early morning fellowship that I experienced in Uganda on my previous mission trips and was really looking forward to a similar time of fellowship. One of the things I enjoyed with Mission to Mexico was the differences in mission, vision and dynamics from my other experiences. What an honor to see so many people who love the Lord working together and growing together in doing the work of God’s heart. It was humbling.


Work day was fun and I got my first idea of just how much logistics is involved and my admiration went up for Dan Hill and the board of Mission to Mexico. I can see that there will be many more lessons learned before the week is done. : ) My heart is full and I know that we serve an Awesome God!

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I love Jesus and want my life to be a reflection of His life in me!

A Good Read...

  • Rooms by James L. Rubart
  • C.S. Lewis
  • Any book written by Terri Blackstock
  • O'Malley Series by Dee Henderson
  • Black, White, Red (trilogy) by Ted Dekker
  • Driven by Eternity & Rescued by John Bevere
  • Under Cover by John Bevere