On July 7th I woke up at 3:30 in the morning to go on a Missions trip that I never thought I would be taking again. Now let's back track a little to... 3 years ago. I went to San Luis for the first time when I was 14. It was the greatest trip ever. But while I was there I picked up some sort of stomach bug. Long story short, it made me very VERY scared to ever go again. I'm the kind of person who is flat out miserable when I don't feel good, and not feeling good in a different country was hard for me. Especially at 14. So the next two trips after that I turned them down. Mostly out of fear. So when they announced the 2012 Missions Trips I had no set plan about where I was going to go. Some of my friends knew right away that they were FOR SURE going to Mexico, or FOR SURE going to Haiti. I, on the other hand, had not a clue. I prayed about it and talked to several different people about it. I ended up applying to Mexico, and getting accepted. So I figured, okay... I got accepted. That must mean something, right? I was still confused. Still terrified. Still up to my ears in fear. Everyone told me to trust in God, and that he would make a way, and his will would be done either way. It started getting closer and closer. I don't remember when exactly, but I found out about a very bad and violent shooting that happened in San Luis. Needless to say, I was telling myself I was not going on this trip. I did not want to. In any way, shape, or form want to go. I know it sounds terrible, but trust me... it gets better! So let's fast forward to Youth Camp(which was 2 weeks before we left for Mexico). I went to Youth Camp without a clear answer from God about weather or not I was really supposed to go on this trip. All of Camp I prayed about it, and as camp neared it's end, I was just as, if not more, scared then I had been. Almost everyone I talked to told me "sometimes you just have to do things scared." So I was relying on that. So back to July 7th.... I woke up, and first thing I thought was.. "I don't want to go." I cried as I packed the last of my bag and got ready. Once I arrived at church and saw my team, I felt a little better. A little reassured that I would have fun. After a long day of traveling, we arrived at Bethel Orphanage. Believe it or not... it was not until my foot touched the sand that a remarkable peace came over me, and God told me that this is where he wanted me. Everyone greeted the Children, because they had known them from previous years. None of them knew me, so I just sat down and marveled that I was actually there. As days went on, the fear was taken over by joy. But I knew that I was still holding back. I still wasn't letting God use me in the ways that I knew he could. We did Shut In Ministry 3 days. The first two days they split us into teams, one to go the first day, and one to go the second day. I volunteered to do the second day because I knew full well that I was not in anyway prepared for the things I was going to see at the Shut Ins. (Shut Ins are homes with people with disabilities, or people that can't afford to live anywhere else. They usually live in shacks made out of whatever they could find.) So I spent the day before just preparing myself, and asking God to prepare my heart. The day came, and I was a little nervous. We went and saw 5 people, all with a lot of needs. But the one that stood out to me the most was this older woman. Her name was Carmen. In all honesty I don't really know what was wrong with her. Something with her hip, or back, or both. But I do know that she had been bed ridden because of her injury. When we arrived, they had a very tiny house made out of signs and pieces and wood. And a piece of cloth was their door. They had an old couch on the front "porch" and some chairs. Right when we got there we were told to go in immediately and start praying because she was in a lot of pain. I will never forget walking through that cloth, and seeing this womans face. She was in pain. She was in A LOT of pain. She wouldn't even open her eyes, she was crying and moaning. We laid hands on her and prayed, then we all shuffled out to the porch while her husband and the woman who came with us cleaned Carmen up, and tried to move her. Carmen was in so much pain, that she could not move. We sat on the porch for an hour and a half and listened to this poor woman scream in pain. We were all silently praying and crying. It was so hard. I've never felt so helpless. The woman came out and told us that they had called an ambulance. And that was that. She was taken to the hospital. The next day(I think...) we got word that she was home and we took the whole group to visit her. This time, the sight I saw walking through the doorway was different. She was smiling. And greeting us. Still in her bed, but looked as happy as ever. And I remember I looked into her eyes, and the pain I saw the first day was no longer there. She was happy. Carmen may not have been healed completely, but God definitely did something inside of her. And it was the most amazing thing to witness.
Another thing we did was Village Ministry. These are always tear jerkers. Basically all we do is a human video or something, testimonies, and there is a message. And then we hand out beans and rice. At the last Village Ministry we did, a lot of people came up for prayer, which was great. And there was also a lot of kids at this one. After the prayer, everyone started heading back to their homes. And I did what I always do, station myself in a specific spot where I can see everyone walking. I watched the people and children run done the sand roads. That very moment, is when God revealed to me why he had brought me back to Mexico. And that was simply to stretch me. To get me out of my comfort zone. To get me to take a step of faith, and to trust in him with my entire heart. I broke down crying. It was so incredible and amazing, the feeling that came over me in that moment. I can't describe it any other way then purr joy. PURE. JOY.
After a lot of ministry, hard work, sweat and tears, it came time for the final fiesta....... Which is almost the complete opposite of a fiesta haha. It's out last little party with the kids at Bethel, and when we say our goodbyes. Aka..... the hardest thing in life.
After pizza, singing and dancing, pinatas, and the L from hell....... the kids had kind of dispersed and I went and sat down on the ground with two of my friends, Bethy and Rachael. We were all bawling our eyes out, but I stopped for a moment and just looked around. I saw genuinely happy people. Happy people that have nothing. I mean, these kids are well taken care of, but they aren't with their families. They don't have as much stuff as kids here do. The people of San Luis are some of THE happiest people I will ever meet. Seeing that... makes you so grateful.
So, that's a very brief ( believe it or not :P ) summary of my trip. If you'd like to know more feel free to ask! :)
