Mexico experience

Hola amigos

I arrived back from my 2 week mission’s trip to Mexico on Wednesday.

We stayed in a community called El Papalote. Throughout the trip we had opportunities to serve in that town as well as in the surrounding communities. During the day most of our time was spent on the building project. We were laying the foundation for a classroom at a local church. This involved lots of digging, pouring concrete, working with rebar and on the last day we started plumbing and placed the first layer of bricks.

One morning we went to the local school. We played with the kids and feed them lunch. Other days we spent time at a daycare or at the garbage dump feeding people

As a team we ran 6 kids or church/family events. We were split up and put in charge of a specific event. I ran the event in Nueva Mexico. We sang songs, played games, did crafts, performed a skit, taught a lesson and ate snacks! Everyone's event with very well and the kids had a blast. It was encouraging to see us come together, support one another, learn from mistakes and to see each person step up and lead their event with confidence.

In the evening we had all the pastors and students from the school we stayed at join us for supper. There was opportunity for conversation or playing with the many children around. This girl (Carla) in the picture is very dear to my heart. The very first night we ran around and tickled each other and after that she was glued to my side. She is super sweet.

The language barrier made communicating hard. The kids especially knew zero English. At times it was discouraging. But God redefined relationships for me and showed how meaningful just being together is. The kids just clung to all of us and loved playing. Carla would often just sit with me and hug me. In relationships communication is a great way to grow together and learn more about each other. Although when communication is not an option or if its hard, God can still work and do amazing things. It was so awesome to watch the connections made between the Canadians and Mexicans. They were so intentional with us. Despite the language barrier they were very patient and tried their best to communicate and understand what we were saying. They would ask us deep questions or basic questions about our life.

There was one little boy (5 or 6 years old) I was playing with and he was teaching me how to count to 20 in Spanish. It was so cute. I kept messing up the pronunciation and when that happened he would come real close to my face and tell me even louder how to say it properly. Once I finally got it right he was super happy. It was so funny.

Participating in their church services was very humbling. I especially enjoyed the singing. Often the tune was similar and so we would sing in English and them in Spanish. God really used those moments to emphasize to me the unity of the Church. I also saw the unity in the way the different pastors helped, encouraged, and support one other.

We also got the opportunity to go on a few adventures. We hike a volcano and explore some sand dunes/caves

Thanks for your prayers.

Sabrina Thiessen

Learning about and participating in Missions

Hello,

Last weekend we attended Missions Fest in Vancouver. We left camp Thursday morning and experienced Vancouver a little first. On Thursday we Tandem Biking down the Stanley Park sea walk. It was beautiful! We even stopped part way and had a sand sculpture contest on the beach (in January).

On Friday morning we went to Granville Island and checked out the markets and all the little shops. After lunch we headed over to Missions Fest. We were there Friday and all day Saturday. This was an amazing event. I was overwhelmed by the many booths present and all the seminars to choose from. Missions is huge. God has placed a burden and passion in people's hearts for a specific country, ministry or injustice around the world. It is amazing to see how each organization is targeting something specific but they are working together for the greater good of preaching the gospel to the lost souls in this world.
I went to one seminar about everyday evangelism. I really enjoyed this seminar. The speaker was informative and passionate about the topic. One thing that stuck out was the idea of taking every opportunity you have. So often we wait for the perfect opportunity to share the gospel but everyday God gives us many chances, whether big or small, to do his work here on earth. We need to obey and seize each opportunity; we never know what God will do with what might seem so small of an act.


We recently finished another class. This last week we had 'Perspectives in Missions'. Our professor had been a missionary kid in Congo and also went back in his adult years. So he had lots of experience and knowledge on the topic of missions. I really enjoyed this class. We learned about why we do missions, different aspects of missions and things we may encounter in missions.
I leave on Tuesday for Mexico. I am extremely excited but also unsure of what to expect. I know God has placed me on the Mexico team for a reason and I cannot wait to see what He is going to do through me and through the team as a whole.
I am excited about experiencing a new culture. To have my eyes opened to what life is like in a different part of the world. I am looking forward to connecting with and worshipping with believers in a different culture. As part of this trip I have the opportunity to lead a children's event in a community called Nueva Mexico. This is super exciting
I also know that this cultural barrier may create challenges. In class we talked about the challenges of cross-cultural missions and how easy it is for miscommunication to occur. Something that may seem normal and acceptable in Canada may be completely disrespectful or unthought of in a different culture (or vice versa). Already our leaders have informed us a bit about what the culture is like. But I pray that God will help me to be observant and aware of what is happening around me.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Sabrina Thiessen