This was another in the series of long but fulfilling days. In the morning, we ended up with crews working in three different directions. One group handed out flyers in a local neighborhood with Pastor Salvador promoting our movie night that evening. The ideas it that by holding a movie night, we are creating a witnessing opportunity for the local church, so it was great that Pastor Salvador wanted to pass out flyers door-to-door. Another group was finishing up painting the inside of Pastor Salvador’s church. The final group finished up installing the foam in the worship space right by our dorms.
After lunch, we split up again, but in a different way. The vast majority of the group went to a local community center to put on a Vacation Bible School type program for over 50 elementary school aged children. With that many kids, there was a certain level of chaos, but the kids seemed to really enjoy the whole experience. This left a skeleton crew to make 150 bags of popcorn for the movie night.
After VBS, we rushed back, ate dinner, threw Mark a birthday party and loaded back up to put on a movie night on a basketball court right behind Salvador’s church. Now, this court had no free standing walls, so we had to project onto a whiteboard that we brought with us that was leaning against a pole. The court, also, didn’t have its own electricity, so we had to run a series of totally same extension cables from one of there nearby homes. We watched Inside Out with again more than 50 community members. Some kids came back for more popcorn probably 5 or 6 times. The parents made it the whole way through the movie, but at some point, more than half the kids were playing soccer.
However, what I really want to tell you about is the story about the border crossing that I promised to finish telling. I finally can now that the situation is fully resolved. It starts all the way back in Houston. As we were getting onto the entrance ramp to the beltway, Rick and I noticed something that we thought was weird – a Passport bouncing along the roads. We both saw it, talked about it for a couple minutes, and just dismissed it as one of those weird things. Flash forward seven hours, we are at the border to cross into Mexico, and we hear from the other van that we need to stop. Tony isn’t sure that he has his Passport. Rick and I still don’t think anything of it; until, Tony’s digging for his Passport goes on for a number of minutes. Finally, we put two and two together and realize that the Passport, that we saw bouncing along the highway back in Houston, could have been Tony’s. We hurry out of the van to tell him because at this point, we only have 15 minutes to complete the crossing before the bridge closes. We make it just in time. They literally close and lock the US side behind us.
We get half hearted assurances from the Border Patrol that there won’t be any problems, and I tell Cris, Tony’s wife, where the Passport might be. About an hour after we arrive in Mexico, we get a call from Cris that, yes, she found the Passport, and, yes, it was on the entrance ramp to the Beltway. She overnights it, and, today, it arrived.
The joke that we’ve been telling is that this would only be a funny story after the Passport arrives. The reality is that clearly God was with us. Rick and I both saved the day because we knew where the Passport was and ruined the day, by not realizing what that Passport bouncing along the roads could mean. It all worked out though.
Vaya con Dios,
Pastor Trey
No matter what we have been doing this week– working construction or teaching VBS we have all seen the Holy Spirit during this entire mission.
While teaching VBS today, I was struck by the fact that the students, in my group, had never even heard of Jesus. It was truly humbling to know that we were planting the seed of Jesus Christ into these children. Now, it is my prayer that someone waters this seed so that it will grow roots, sprout, and one day bear fruit.
This evening, all of us went to a neighborhood and created our own outdoor theater with popcorn, lemonade, and a movie with a dry erase board as our screen. The kids and their families were so excited. One boy told Vanessa and I that he had never seen so many Americanos. After sitting for a second with a perplexed look on his face he said, “Actually, I have never seen an American before.”
-Margaret Jones
Thank you so much for this opportunity to share this blog with you. I would like to thank Jesus for the small churches of the world. These are churches, Brides of Jesus consumed with the Holy Spirit and made with the hands of God. They thrive on love, passion, and the Holy Spirit. I have been so fortunate to see this in the service I attended Sunday at Iglesia Metodista Jesuscristo es el Señor. Pastor Salvador has a small but powerful congregation. I have also been so blessed to work on the construction of the Church being built at Manos Juntas, what a wonderful feeling knowing God is using my hands for his Bride. The area we are in is consumed with poverty but the Light of Jesus shines bright. Our mission has been very rewarding. We work hard, pray hard, and continue to share the love of Jesus where ever the Lord sends us. Thank you so much for your prayers. We do appreciate them.
-Jimmy Jones