Home At Last..

Well we braved the drug cartels, the swine flu, Mexican food, hot weather, cold rivers, and all the other "dangers" on this trip.
Going on mission trip is always a revelation for me. We cross into a country that smells different, they speak a different language, they look a little different (you can always pick out an American) even the "Mexican food" is different. It always gives me that little anxiety, knotted stomach sort of feel when crossing the border, filling out the visas and watching the bags scanned under the watchful eye of the armed border guard. But the feeling is also one of anticipation, this is not the usual day at the office, this is for a higher purpose. Should something go wrong it would be a noble effort. I can't think of anything more embarrassing than ending my life on vacation..like the joke about rednecks; What are the last words of most redneck men? "Hold my beer and watch this"

Several stories and observations came out of this trip. We worshiped with a little church in Nuevo Laredo, with a preacher named "Paco" Good preacher, but couldn't understand a word, anyway his presentation was good. During communion I noticed something for the first time. The little church had a large aisle down the center, with smaller aisles on the outside. There was room for only 6 or 7 on each row, and just as in America, no one wanted to sit in the middle of a row. The edges filled quickly. The church members sat towards the front, with our group of 45 dwarfing the home crowd. My bride and I sat on row with a young Mexican family with two small kids. When Communion was passed the Mexicans on the inside aisle would pass the tray to the ones on the outside of the row BEFORE they took communion, then took communion when it was passed back by. I'm sure the Mexican members would even be puzzled that I noticed this, but to me this shouted the fact that there was an humble, selfless spirit among these people. A small thing that spoke volumes about their hearts. I believe there is something divine in the simple, selfless lives of these people.

The second anecdote happened on the bus Monday morning heading to the work site. Rick Owen who coordinates all this effort for the past 20 years, recruits young men and women from the local congregations to act as "guides" for the work crews, from hotel to work site. These are not poor, sombrero-wearing peasants, but are young well-educated men and women. Our guide Monday was a young man who taught physics and math in a bilingual Mexican high school. He taught in English.
We asked him how bad the "swine flu" had been in this area. Confusion on his end, puzzled looks,
"Swine flu? Is that flu you get from pigs?"
"No, it was a big deal in the U.S. and it came from Mexico."
"Do pigs have this flu?"
"No, that is just what it was called."
"I think maybe Mexico City had something, but not too bad."
This young,educated, bright young man had no idea what we were talking about.
thanks CNN for creating a panic that hampered the Kingdom work in Mexico. It struck me again that American Christians place more stock in American media, than in God's promise.

Finally, I'm not as young as I used to be. The weather was cooler, there were more workers, and I sustained a lot more bumps and bruises, sore muscles, and fatigue on less work. I think we may have to switch to medical mission trips, they sound easier.

So crossing the border back on Thursday, I was glad to be home, glad to be back in Texas, filled with ideas for ministry, ideas for blogs, frustrated by the lack of faith of the groups that cancelled. You will see it all in the next week or so..stay tuned.

Godspeed,
Don