This morning when checking my emails I received the message that the group we were going to join for a mission trip to Mexico was cancelling their trip. The violence had gotten too severe in the location where we were headed. The hotels where we had stayed for two of the last three trips had been the scene of the latest kidnappings. When we looked at the pictures from the news stories it was in the lobbies where we would gather before loading the buses to the worksites. It was a little chilling to realize that the Mexican military was blockaded from the hotels by the cartels involved in the kidnappings. So the man who had started the mission effort 25+ years ago had made the decision to suspend all group trips to Mexico for this summer.
We were saddened. My bride had made the trip for all but one of the efforts for the past 13 or 14 years. I had witnessed her willingness to step in beside teenage boys and girls and shovel gravel, pour concrete, cut rebar, clear brush, build forms, dig trenches, handle an electric-powered jack hammer, tie concrete forms, haul lumber, handle a wheelbarrow, and drop to one knee and visit with a three-year-old from the local church in the heart language of God's people. It was not uncommon for us to blow out the tennis shoes we wore, tear holes in the work gloves, ruin tee-shirts with wet concrete stains, and give away bags of hard candy. You can look at pictures from years gone by and see the same old visor she wore on each trip, I have an old hat that is beyond repair, but a reminder that there is work to do, and it is work that requires sweat and labor, faith and trust, love and hope. Only in the past few years have we roomed together on our trips. For all the earlier trips we were room chaperons for the kids we went with. The girls always loved having my bride as their chaperon, the guys always put up with my being theirs. But we were always reminded that the work is important, that it was up to us to do it, that it was a small price to pay for the gratifying accomplishment of spending a week doing precisely what we felt the Lord was calling us to.
So how can this come to an end? There are a number of explanations that leap to mind.
It is too dangerous. Let me tell you that I believe that mission is never safe. We have a very narrow view of mission if one of the requirements is that it be as safe as Vacation Bible School. While every precaution was taken to ensure safety (Rick used to tell us that if anyone were seriously hurt or killed, then the effort of building churches in Mexico was over)the risk was always there.
Perhaps this stoppage is temporary. The work will continue when the work environment is better. This could be, Rick is reaching the age where he is ready to finish the work he has started. This effort has been driven by his stubborn refusal to be thwarted. So perhaps someone else will pick it up, or it shifts to other locations.
It could be that the work as it is currently done is over. God has chosen to shift to the next level, the next iteration of the work in Mexico. The church may not need more buildings, but more leaders, more followers. This is Spirit work. I think God may be willing to let the work shift more to disciple-building, and less concrete pouring. Are we ready to help there? The American churches have far more man-power and money than spiritual discernment, so I'm not sure how much help we might be. As the scripture says, "Some will sow and others will reap." Perhaps we need to be content with our role as "sowers."
My bride and I are sad. We have had to find other groups going that will let us tag along, but we have made great friends, laughed about the work, struggled with the setbacks. We hugged this morning and wondered if this portion of what we do is over. We can still work (not as fast or as hard as before) but are stopped because of the sin in the world. It seems that Satan has temporarily won the battle, the war is far from over. We want to go back, there is nothing quite like having Rick say to us, "You are a pretty good Mexican." This is his highest praise.
Godspeed out there. Two seasoned missionaries are ready to roll, keep us in mind.
Don
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