An Adventure To Mexico.

Today I had the pleasure of sitting down for a couple of hours and reading Alice In Wonderland. It is really quite a fantastical story. It has inspired me to share a story of my own.

In sixth grade I was a short, unusually shy, and overzealous little guy. I didn't necessarily like being shy, however, but I wasn't quite sure how to go about being anything else. In fact, at one point there was a leader in our youth group who wondered if I was not a foreign exchange student. I of course was not a foreign exchange student, but during the summer between sixth and seventh grade I did have my very first opportunity to actually be a foreigner somewhere. I had the tremendous opportunity to go with my youth group down to Ensenada, Mexico so that we might build a house for a family in need.

It was a ten day trip. The first three were spent in preparation and the during last seven we built the house. The evening before the day we were to go out and start construction the group of us found ourselves up on the roof of the YWAM base we were staying at. Our youth pastor urged us to step out and begin to encourage each other in the simplest ways, telling each other things we appreciated about each other. It was a simple task, but the next day we were about to share the love of Christ with people of a completely different culture, and it was imperative that we at least be able to share such a love with one another first.

Although to me the eighth graders on the trip seemed to be giants of people, I was eager nonetheless to share what simple things I appreciated about their company.

"You're a very cool person."
"Thanks for being my friend."
"I like your passion for Jesus."

These were some of the things I shared. Simple things. Easy enough to say. But by the time I was sharing with the fifth person I could hardly bring myself to speak. Tears had begun to stream down my cheeks. My legs gave out. I fell flat on the ground, completely surprised by joy. I'd known Christ since I was a child, but never like this. The presence of Jesus was real, even tangible in that moment. Maybe it sounds crazy. Maybe it is. Maybe not. Maybe a savior who died for the world happens to care so much for both community and individuals that he decided to completely change the life of a shy little sixth grader. And my life was certainly changed.

And tomorrow I leave on another week long trip to Mexico. It's been eight years and I haven't been able to recover from that first trip to Mexico. This next week I'm not building a house but I am getting to serve the people of Mexico through a local church that my church has been able to partner with now for three years. I am extremely excited. Your prayers are very much appreciated. I'll write again in a week with great stories from down south.