Post-trip thoughts

Thanks for your interest and prayers during my mission trip to Mexico! The blog mostly focuses on my daily activities during the trip, so I thought I would email my overall impressions from the trip.

As normally happens with mission trips, I went to serve other people, but received more than I was able to give out. Just like returning from a really good retreat, it is difficult to describe my experience to people who weren’t there, and Power Ministry is a very different experience from my other mission trips. The best I can do is to say that it was like a combined men’s retreat, Christian conference, and really fun work day. We worked hard on construction, but there was so much more happening around the building.

One of the best experiences was hearing the stories from the local pastors and missionaries, and seeing their faith in action. They start with nothing, but pray for, and receive huge things. Through their prayers, they receive truckloads of food for their communities, or large parcels of free land for their churches, orphanages, or outreach centers. Then they pray again, and Power constructs them a building. This trip was a reminder that God still does miracles, and I have to be asking Him for big, miraculous things.

It was also interesting to see how we men bonded together on the trip. Each year we get about half of the guys back from previous years, so there is always a large group of new guys to meet and get to know. As an introvert, I really dreaded making small talk over meals, and trying to remember everyone’s name (we wore name tags the whole trip, which helped immensely). However, I really looked forward to our discussions in the vans. We were mixed up for each job site and long drive so that we were forced to meet new men, but that gave us the time to get into deep discussions and sharing about each other’s lives. In a short time, I gained dozens of new, deep friendships.

Since there was such variety among the guys, I was able to find a wise advisor on almost every van ride. At 51, I was still one of the younger guys on the trip, so there was an amazing pool of experience and wisdom to draw from. I was able to share my struggles and challenges with these guys, and get all kinds of great advice and ideas on how to parent adult children, manage extended family relationships, keep my marriage fresh, and many, many other areas where I needed wise advice.

Finally, being in a different culture and seeing how other people relate to God gave me a better understanding of who God is. The “Mexican Style” of prayer is for everyone to pray out loud at once. At the top of their lungs. I’m certainly more comfortable with a solemn, orderly prayer where everyone takes turns, which we mostly did when it was just us guys. However, it was a positive, emotional experience to gather with the recipients of a house, church, or orphanage, circle around them, and bless the building in loud mayhem.

In summary, it was an amazing, faith building experience and restorative retreat, all in one. Make sure to check out the daily details, including pictures, on my blog, and let me know if you’d like to join me next year, either in prayer, or in person.

Rick

Day 7 - Magdiel Bible College, Matamoros Mexico

Today we went to Magdiel bible college in Matamoros Mexico, where we encouraged the students by giving them new shoes and praying with them. Then we drove all the way back to San Antonio. Tomorrow we will debrief in the morning, and then fly home.

Day 6 - Raynosa, Mexico

Today I worked on a shade pavilion between two classrooms at the Refugio de International orphanage. We put purlins across the beams, so that another crew could install aluminum roofing in the afternoon. It was fun to work on the roof, but hot in the sun.

 

In the afternoon, I went back to the rescue mission, where another crew had placed "my" trusses and the purlins on the pavilion roof, so I helped put aluminum roofing on that pavilion.

Tonight we drove to Brownsville, TX; tomorrow we'll visit the bible college and make another long drive. Pray for our health, because several of the men are passing around a cold. We haven't had any injuries, so God is certainly keeping us safe.

Day 5 - Ryenosa, Meico

Today we went to church at Alianza Christiano in Reynosa, where we "lead worship" for a congregation of about 5000. You can see me on the left attempting to both mouth the words and carry a tune for a Mexican praise song that I haven't heard since last year.

It was really fun to see what they've done with the buildings we made last year. We left them with empty shells, and they finished them into a really nice nursery and medical clinic.

 

In the afternoon, we put on a f

Today I

Day 4 - Reynosa, Mexico

Today we traveled across the border from Hidalgo/McAllen TX to Reynosa Mexico.

This morning I built trusses at Senda de Vida, which is a refuge for people who are from out of town and have no money. It also has a Senior Citzen's center for older people who don't have family or resources. We are building a pavilion, which is a structure that covered but open on the sides. We build a lot of these because then the locals can fill in the walls, and we can return another year to do other finish work. We change around a lot so we can participate in many projects, so a different team put our trusses up in the afternoon.

In the afternoon I put siding and a porch on a community center. The community center will be used to distribute food like rice and beans, as well as clothing, and to hold outreach events.

Day 3 at Acuna, Mexico



 Today we worked on a church in Acuna. In the picture you can see the new church building on the left, and the old one on the right. The old building's walls are made from old pallets, complete with wide open gaps in the boards, and the roof is a leaky tarp. The location is on top of the hill, so the wind went right through the old building. It had lights inside, but the entire building was powered with a plug that was plugged into an extension cord. The new building has windows and doors, and a roof that doesn't leak. The pastors and their wives cried when we gave them the keys.

I installed electrical fixtures, outlets, and switches at the church in the morning, then we drove down to McAllen, TX, over 300 miles, so we can work in Reynosa, Mexico in the morning, over 300 miles of driving. All of our border crossing have been smooth, with only occasional inspections, because the border guards are getting used to seeing our 11 vans go through at the same time - thanks for your continued prayers for border crossings, health and safety.

Day 2 - Acuna, Mexico



I had a great day today, although the weather was in the 40s and windy. In the morning I put siding on a house. In the picture you can see the house we are replacing, which is literally a cardboard shack. We ate tortas from a local vendor for lunch.

In the afternoon, we went on "Joy Tour," where a local missionary gathered a group and spoke, then we gave away food and clothing. Afterwards, we went to pray with individuals in their houses. It was a tight fit to put 16 men into one of those little houses, but the families were very grateful for our visit and our prayers.
In the evening we returned across the border to eat more man food - steak and potatoes. Tomorrow we will work in Acuna again, then drive down the state to Hidalgo, TX, so we can work in Reynosa, Mexico the next day.