We’re Back From Tuxpan!!
We arrived in Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico around 12:30 am, Saturday, July 18. We were greeted by the sound of ocean waves, a myriad of stars in the sky, and humidity so thick you could cut it with a knife. Mirna, one of the missionaries, told us God was welcoming our team because the Milky Way had never been so clear as that night.
“From this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore” (Hebrews 11:12, NIV). Each day while in Mexico, we spent an hour studying a couple verses from Hebrews 11. This excerpt from the chapter had never been so clearly illustrated to me through our surroundings. The twelve members of our team were divided into groups of two or three where we intensely studied and discussed what God was speaking to us through His word. Then, during evening meetings, we shared together as one large group, learning things such as we are in a relay race and the cloud of witnesses is the Christians who have gone before us. We reveled at the incredible ways Christians before us took God at his word, and our entire team memorized Hebrews 12:1-3.
Our study time, however, took place after many hours of hard work. Monday-Friday we woke with the dawn as roosters crowed and the sun rose above the sea. Our team was responsible for helping prepare and clean-up all meals, so the breakfast crew set-up plastic chairs and tables and set-out the cereal and fruit. After taking our garlic and vitamin B complex pills to ward-off mosquitoes, we divided into our work teams.
Two days during the week we had a break from work and enjoyed building relationships with local children and youth. Our first day in Tuxpan, we hosted an intercultural day at the camp and young people came to meet us, play soccer, and watch the mime we prepared. Arturo, a local PE teacher, came and led us in some activities that caused me to reminisce of my elementary school days. Missionaries Diana and Mirna arranged to have a bus bring any youth from town that wanted to attend. Valeria, the daughter of the bus owner, was the only one who came on the bus. Surface-level, it was a waste to pay for that bus. However, that evening, Diana and Mirna told us how Valeria was not saved. If they hadn’t paid for that bus, she would have never come to the camp or heard the salvation message we presented. They emphasized that it was worth it for just one person.
Our last evening we hunted for crab. The big, blue crab only come out after it rains. Pablo would take a stick and hold the crab still while he broke-off its big claw. We could keep that part and let the crab go free so he could grow another claw and feed us, again instead of killing them off.
It was a blessing to get to go on this trip. I’m sure this won’t be my last trip, and I pray this was the first of many for the youth.
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