I am eternally thankful for the incredible eight week opportunity I had in Mexico to observe missions, learn about and experience Mexican culture, serve and love alongside the church, and meet so many amazing new people. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I learned and how to put it into words, and this is a rough attempt to do that, so bear with me …

One of the biggest revelations for me was the beauty of the Holy Spirit and the way it is moving everywhere that Christians are, among different cultures, nations, people groups, languages, etc. Simply because I’ve grown up in the American church, I have an idea engrained in my mind of what a sermon, worship, and a church service should be like. Different people and cultures have different ways of communicating, worshipping, and loving, but God is using them to reach their communities and families with the gospel as well.

I saw a boldness in the Mexican church that I don’t see as much here to serve and love and share the good news. I met Christians with unbelievable testimonies of God’s grace and goodness who were not shy or afraid to share their stories as examples of God’s power and love. It was a display for me of the burden that we as Christians need to have to share our faith and see our friends and family saved. It definitely renewed my sense of purpose as I return to Colby in the fall and begin my sophomore year. I pray that God will give me opportunities to share what I’ve learned in Mexico with my friends and classmates and that I will constantly looking for moments to share my faith with boldness and love.

The Mexican church and the missionaries I met were a living example of the reality of Matthew 16:24-26 where as Christians we are commanded to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Jesus. It’s not enough to say we believe and continue on with school, work, etc. as silent or secretive believers. It seems to me like the religious taboo in the United States is one of the instruments of Satan to scare our faith into silence and make us believe no one wants or needs to hear what we have to share. As a Christian, even without having ever experienced serious persecution, I live in somewhat constant fear of being shunned or rejected if I speak up and share my faith. This is somewhat of the reality in American culture today, but it was cool in Mexico that certain people were receptive and open to hearing the gospel and would sit and talk with us for hours about their lives, questions, doubts, etc. This doesn’t mean there isn’t fear, resistance or persecution of Christians there, because there certainly is, and I heard stories of those responses as well.

Side note: Much of the persecution comes from Catholics, who are largely worshipping the Virgin of Guadalupe and practicing a syncretized version of Catholicism, a combination between Roman Catholicism and Aztec pagan idolatry.

Anyway, seeing the way God opened doors and the receptiveness among some people was encouraging and confirming of the strength and hope of the gospel in reaching lives. I realized I have been living a lot of my life in doubt and fear of the truth and power of the gospel because of what American culture says about what people care about and what is popular and acceptable. This trip confirmed for me God’s goodness and perfection and the fact that humans are broken and depraved but God is perfect in everything, and so much bigger than what we can see or imagine. Seeing the way Mexican Christians and missionaries love and share the gospel and the growing church there gave me a glimpse of God’s plan, that is so much bigger than American cultural values or my fears of being rejected.

I know this is a pretty general recap of some of my reflections, but I hope it is encouraging and confirming of the power of the Holy Spirit and the importance of not being silent Christians but instead loving, serving, talking and praying that the Holy Spirit will move in people’s hearts. I pray that God will open doors and that we will all experience the boldness He has given us to share the gospel, because it is what we have been called to do.

Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Just got back from two incredible weeks in Guadalajara, serving and learning alongside youth at a youth retreat, visiting an indigenous mountain village, and spending time in the city with Pastor Fernando, his family, and his church, Grace Bible. It is always amazing and humbling to be around other believers, especially in a different culture than your own, because you realize how much they love the Lord and how the Holy Spirit is alive and moving all over the world.

Quinceo was a small, mountainous indigenous village about three hours from Guadalajara, with a population of about 7,000. Along with four other interns, Bryan, from the local church in Ixtapaluca, and Pastor Fernando, I had the incredible opportunity to spend four days living with and learning from these people. The women wore traditional outfits, gorgeous, colorful, embroidered blouses and full, sparkling, long skirts. The people opened their homes to us and welcomed us with kisses and greetings. We ate five meals on the second day because everyone from the church was so generous and showed their love and kindness by feeding us.

I met two girls, Rosie and Esperanza, who really touched my heart. They were only fifteen and ten years old, and they followed me around and kept inviting me to dinner and to stay overnight at their homes. I could communicate with them in Spanish, although the primary language in Quinceo is Purehpecha, the indigenous language, which was impossible to pick up. I loved that I could have a conversation with them and learn a little about their lives. They both hugged me with tears in their eyes when it was time for us to leave.

Back in the city of Guadalajara, we stayed with families from the church and worked with the pastor and his family for the next few days. We had the opportunity to go to a missions update, where a man who had been serving with his family in Pakistan for 12 years talked about his experiences living among Muslims and sharing the Gospel. The next day at church, we got to be part of a Skype call to missionaries in Turkey, who have been there during the revolts and for numerous years earlier. It was incredible to see how the church, of probably only about 200 people, is moving and serving the Lord around the world. The missionary from Pakistan shared a couple videos with statistics on numbers of unreached people around the world, which shocked and challenged me. One of the videos said that 2.5 billion people around the world had never heard the gospel, primarily people in Muslim and Buddhist countries. It was shocking to hear that number and to hear that the man and his family were the only Mexicans at the time living in Pakistan, among a sparse sprinkling of Christians. It makes me think about the passage in Matthew 16:24-26 where Jesus says that anyone who wants to follow Him must pick up their cross and lose their life. Both the missionary family and the Muslims who received the Gospel surely encountered this command face to face constantly. The missionary family as they struggled to adapt to Pakistani culture, had to sacrifice food and comforts and Christian community that they were used to, and Pakistanis as they would have to deny their culture, lifestyles, families, friends, and personal safety and well-being to follow Christ. It definitely makes me think about a future in missions and the ways that I can love and serve those I know who don’t know the Gospel. Again, it was so beautiful and humbling to see the passion and love for service of this church in Guadalajara.

Back in Mexico City with the other interns and missionaries in this area, I am praying for God to continue softening my heart and opening my eyes to whatever he wants to teach me. I have been feeling homesick lately, just for the comforts and summer fun that I’m used to, but God continues to make my time here fruitful.

*Photo credits to Marcy Metzger

Just a quick shout-out to my younger sister, Beth, who got baptized in Lake Michigan at a youth retreat last week. I am so thankful for her friendship and amazing heart for people and God. I know that God will take this step to continue to move in her heart and use her for His incredible and perfect plan.

Love and blessings! Thanks for reading!

It’s been a busy past week here in San Juan! I just got back tonight from the community center’s “graduation,” marking the culmination of the year’s classes and the start of a summer break. Everyone who teaches classes at the community center, whether it’s sewing, English, computer skills, art, or basketball, does it voluntarily. Most of them have full time jobs outside of their teaching responsibilities, so a small ceremony like this to honor not only the students who give of their time to learn, but also the teachers who make sacrifices weekly, is really important. I have been really touched from what I can see of the teachers’ humble hearts. Also, watching the kids in the computer class present their powerpoint projects with photos, animations, and special effects, really made me reevaluate skills that I have that I’ve taken for granted. Where I’m from, simply attending public school everyday, even with minimal effort, basically guarantees competence in Microsoft Office. If you didn’t take the computer classes offered, you likely figured things out in your own time on your home computer since essays, power-points, and projects assigned regularly required knowing these skills. Also, seeing how difficult it is to learn English, but also seeing the students’ eagerness and determination, makes me realize how lucky I am to have been raised in an English-speaking environment. Knowing English is something that I’ve always taken for granted, until I see others struggling to pronounce vowels or read the alphabet.

I also had an interesting experience today with a young boy named Jonathan, probably about seven or eight years old. He walked up to me and muttered under his breath, “Japonesa” … or “Japanese.” I’m used to the karate jokes, the questions about whether or not I speak Mandarin, and the squinting of the eyes. However, it is unsettling and continues to bother me slightly even though I hide it with a smile and polite giggles. I told Jonathan that I was Chinese, not Japanese, but that I was also American because I have lived my whole life in the states. He shrugged and continued to mutter, “Japonesa.” Every time he saw me throughout the night, he would squint his eyes and giggle, repeating “Japonesa” in the same childish tone. I didn’t quite know what to do, because I knew he was just playing and didn’t know any better, but his persistence still bothered me. No matter what I told him, he refused to listen or even try to understand. These kinds of experiences reinforce two ideas in my mind. One, it is crazy to me what young children notice and care about. They have no fear or shame in staring or pointing out differences in appearance. I guess I was once that way too; in fact, I know I was … but that’s a story for a different time. Anyway, it shocked me that Jonathan didn’t even care who I was, where I was really from, or that I was trying to communicate with him in his own language; all he could see was that I was different, and he wasn’t going to forget it. I love interacting with kids, which is why it saddens me a little when I want to talk with them and love on them but we can’t even move past differences in facial features. Going along with this, I realize not only how lucky I am to have grown up in a diverse area where people of all different backgrounds, religions, races, and ethnicities live and work together, but I also realize how important it is for other people to get this experience. We hear that the world is increasingly globalized and interconnected, but some people in San Juan have probably never seen a Chinese person before. I guess all I can do is smile and politely explain who I am and what I’m doing here, in hopes that my interactions with people may have a slight impact on their engrained world-views and maybe change the experience of the next Chinese person who visits … 🙂

But really, it has been an eye-opening first couple weeks here. I have learned a lot about missionary life and I’ve had the opportunity to meet lots of people and hear lots of different stories. I realize that the sense of adventure and excitement that drove me to short-term mission trips in the past is not synonymous with everyday missionary life or the reality of spreading the gospel. Missions is really just living life with the purpose of evangelism, making friends and disciples. But it is a long, challenging process and not constantly full of the thrill of short-term missions. However, at the same time, I am continually seeing ways that it is very rewarding and fulfilling.

The O’Brien’s and my host family threw me a wonderful mini surprise birthday celebration tonight! Here are a few photos from that!