It's been a month and four days since I got back from Mexico. I wish I'd though of writing about it on here a lot sooner. I didn't have time nor a computer to update the blog while down there, but I did keep a journal, which I ended writing in multiple times a day, because there was so much going on that I did not want to forget. If you've ever been on a missions trip before, you may know what I'm talking about. It seems that God uses every little thing to open your eyes, and teach you, whether it be something new, or something you've heard a thousand times, but never really understood.
I was a little nervous about this trip, when it came down to the last few days before we left. I'd heard many things about culture shock, and people getting sick that I wasn't sure I still wanted to go. I had recently read a book about a girl, who was my age, who had gone to Mexico on a missions trip. The book encouraged me a lot. I decided to do as the girl in this book had done, and ask that God wouldn't show me Mexico with my eyes, but with His. He did. And boy, did it catch me off guard.
Driving across the USA/Mexico border was the start. There is an instant change in everything, the two countries are so very different, even though they are next to each other. Plus, there is this huge fence with barbed wire rounds (I wouldn't be surprised if it was an electric fence), right on the border, so, if the obvious physical differences weren't enough, you could tell where the border was. Everything was different once you cross the border. Even the richer Mexican cities look very poor by our standards. Many houses are in shambles, there are no fire departments, or any other form of government provided help for the people.
When we were driving through one of the cities, we saw a huge pillar of black smoke. As we got closer, we saw that it was a complex on the side of the road, fully engulfed in flame. And no one was doing anything about it. There were at least four families losing their homes, and all they could do was watch. That was a huge eye opener about how the government is in Mexico. They don't care about the people. At all.
Despite the bad things I saw driving into Mexico, there was something about Mexico that gave me a peace in my heart. I felt like I belonged there, which was a feeling I have never before experienced. It was truely amazing. And the more time I spent there, the more I felt at home. Like I was made to be there, reaching out to God's hurting children. Building houses, helping those who so desperately need help. I was very sad when our short week came to an end, but at the same time, I was grateful for everything God had shown me, and taught me.
When we were at our job site, working on building the house, or playing with the neighborhood kids in the street, I saw the people around me through God's eyes. I had no idea who most of them were, and there was a language barrier, because I speak only a little Spanish, and they spoke no English at all, but I loved each and every person I met, with a love I'd never experienced this strongly before. Before my trip, I asked that God would let me see this trip and the people I met on it through His eyes. And He did. I've come home full of God's love, and I don't intend to ever stop loving people with His love.
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