Posted March 18 2019 "Mexico 2019"
This is an older post from my previous blog.
I went to Mexico again and again it was amazing. This statement might seem like it’s a little lacking in enthusiasm but trust me that is not the case. This is my twelfth year going down and honestly it shakes me just as much as my first year, just in different ways. Sure it’s not really a new experience at this point but there’s always something beautifully unique about the trip.
This year certainly was unique. The weather in Juarez can be just a moody as weather in Michigan. This year was the windiest and coldest year that I have experienced. I’ve been caught in sandstorms before, I’ve experience rain before, and I’ve even experienced pea sized hail, but each was a fairly brief occurrence on an otherwise good build with hot weather. This year we had a whole bunch of issues that knocked us back right after another; from delays in getting vans, to insurance backups, to health issues, to the weather we had it all thrown at us. It got stressful for everyone to some degree on different levels.
It got me thinking about an old thing I heard years ago. When we are doing things to glorify God’s kingdom, Satan will push back. We just pushed back harder. God was with us each step and he used the roadblocks placed in our way as opportunities to show our strength and honor him. Every time there was something blocking us we stood strong and said “we’ll figure this out.” We got news that one of the build leader’s dad had what was suspected to be a heart attack and the outcome was unclear. We prayed and supported him throughout the week. We had crazy strong wind that blinded us and made working difficult. Then rain came with the wind and that risked damaging our sheet-rock (drywall) and insulation. Then the wind blew harder and tossed me around on the roof while trying to secure a tarp to protect the building materials. Then the temperature dropped to below Michigan’s temperature (which was completely unfair) We were cold, wet, sore, and tired and we pushed through. We lost power at the SHOC (the building where we stayed while in mexico) and we had electrical issues with our house that we built (turned out to be bad light switches.) We had times where we all got grumpy with each other and we made the decision to be less grumpy and move on.
Out of all the issues we had we never stopped working. We weren’t just building a house for a family, we were showing a small part of God’s limitless bounds. Austin said that knowing that the family was watching him work and serve kept him doing everything he could, so that they would know that they were loved. I love this thought. God doesn’t give up on us so why would we ever give up on His works.
Our leader Zach described our build perfectly. Each build site is marked with a yellow plaque to show where the leader needs to go. There’s a number on it registered in their system and helps them keep everything in order. To the family, the yellow plaque has a very different meaning. To them the yellow plaque means hope, hope is coming and they will have a new house that they can live in. It’s a promise of hope that they will have secure walls that will keep them warm and keep the elements out. Then when the build is complete that yellow plaque is replaced with a white plaque that is nailed above the door. To the family that means that hope has come and that God is hope.
Satan didn’t want this house to be built. He didn’t want hope to be shown here. He kept throwing curve balls at us and tried to derail us but we never stopped. We went to a broken forgotten part of the world and gave them hope. This year my big takeaway from Mexico was that when we are doing Godly works Satan will make it difficult. And when it gets difficult I want to stand up and say “I got this, I can do this, I won’t give up.” My favorite Mexico shirt has the saying “I need Mexico more than Mexico needs me.” It’s so true because God can use anyone to build a house but God can use a house to show me how to be strong for him and that through serving his people I can be a better person.
I always go to Mexico to serve, but through that service, I always end up growing a little more in my faith and a little closer to God.
I went to Mexico again and again it was amazing. This statement might seem like it’s a little lacking in enthusiasm but trust me that is not the case. This is my twelfth year going down and honestly it shakes me just as much as my first year, just in different ways. Sure it’s not really a new experience at this point but there’s always something beautifully unique about the trip.
This year certainly was unique. The weather in Juarez can be just a moody as weather in Michigan. This year was the windiest and coldest year that I have experienced. I’ve been caught in sandstorms before, I’ve experience rain before, and I’ve even experienced pea sized hail, but each was a fairly brief occurrence on an otherwise good build with hot weather. This year we had a whole bunch of issues that knocked us back right after another; from delays in getting vans, to insurance backups, to health issues, to the weather we had it all thrown at us. It got stressful for everyone to some degree on different levels.
It got me thinking about an old thing I heard years ago. When we are doing things to glorify God’s kingdom, Satan will push back. We just pushed back harder. God was with us each step and he used the roadblocks placed in our way as opportunities to show our strength and honor him. Every time there was something blocking us we stood strong and said “we’ll figure this out.” We got news that one of the build leader’s dad had what was suspected to be a heart attack and the outcome was unclear. We prayed and supported him throughout the week. We had crazy strong wind that blinded us and made working difficult. Then rain came with the wind and that risked damaging our sheet-rock (drywall) and insulation. Then the wind blew harder and tossed me around on the roof while trying to secure a tarp to protect the building materials. Then the temperature dropped to below Michigan’s temperature (which was completely unfair) We were cold, wet, sore, and tired and we pushed through. We lost power at the SHOC (the building where we stayed while in mexico) and we had electrical issues with our house that we built (turned out to be bad light switches.) We had times where we all got grumpy with each other and we made the decision to be less grumpy and move on.
Out of all the issues we had we never stopped working. We weren’t just building a house for a family, we were showing a small part of God’s limitless bounds. Austin said that knowing that the family was watching him work and serve kept him doing everything he could, so that they would know that they were loved. I love this thought. God doesn’t give up on us so why would we ever give up on His works.
Our leader Zach described our build perfectly. Each build site is marked with a yellow plaque to show where the leader needs to go. There’s a number on it registered in their system and helps them keep everything in order. To the family, the yellow plaque has a very different meaning. To them the yellow plaque means hope, hope is coming and they will have a new house that they can live in. It’s a promise of hope that they will have secure walls that will keep them warm and keep the elements out. Then when the build is complete that yellow plaque is replaced with a white plaque that is nailed above the door. To the family that means that hope has come and that God is hope.
Satan didn’t want this house to be built. He didn’t want hope to be shown here. He kept throwing curve balls at us and tried to derail us but we never stopped. We went to a broken forgotten part of the world and gave them hope. This year my big takeaway from Mexico was that when we are doing Godly works Satan will make it difficult. And when it gets difficult I want to stand up and say “I got this, I can do this, I won’t give up.” My favorite Mexico shirt has the saying “I need Mexico more than Mexico needs me.” It’s so true because God can use anyone to build a house but God can use a house to show me how to be strong for him and that through serving his people I can be a better person.
I always go to Mexico to serve, but through that service, I always end up growing a little more in my faith and a little closer to God.
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