Our family participated in a ministry trip to Mexico in late July/early August. We served for a week at a ministry location of Foundation For His Ministry. I’m slowly rolling out the blog posts about this amazing experience. You can view all posts about our trip by clicking here.  

I wrote this entry for our group’s blog at the end of our first day at the mission.

The morning began, like every morning will, at ‘Sala’, where all staff and visitors gather for a time of worship, through music and through a message shared by someone on staff. After Sala, we took a 4 hour tour of all aspects of the mission… the history, the campus, the vision, the needs, and how God has provided in all these areas over the years. We were guided by a woman from L.A. who, along with her husband and 3 kids, has lived here for the past 2 years, serving on staff. She gave us insight into the culture of this part of Mexico, and what has happened socio-economically to create such great need in the community. 

We saw the outreach center, where people can come for material help… the warehouse, where donations come in every week from the States & Canada and are organized so they can best be used… the daycare for community kids, which does their laundry every day and begins to teach them basic self-care and pre-reading skills… the orphanage, comprised of 7 houses where kids live with house parents and are taught what it means to be in a family… the wheelchair shop, which rebuilds used chairs and custom builds new ones, giving them away to those who need them in the community… the volunteer EMS & firefighter service, the only free services of their kind in the valley… the macadamia orchard, where an original variety of tree has been created to withstand the climate, in order to provide a source of income for the mission… the medical clinic, which is hopping this week… the church… the Bible school, which offers training to students over 18, often sending them to more remote areas of the country to teach people the truth about Christ… and all of this, ALL of it, is done with a clear message that Christ is the only hope for any community, anywhere.

We began a few work assignments this afternoon, scattered over the property, and will continue such assignments both morning and afternoon in the coming days. Tonight, all the visitors will be babysitting orphanage kids so the house parents can have a night off.

What has been overwhelming is the size and scope of this mission’s work. Most of us who have not been here before have been surprised by the size of the property. But what is more overwhelming is the simple, faith-driven approach to the work being done. A motto here is ‘God provides for where God guides’, and we are hearing stories constantly about how that is true. A need in a department is recognized, prayers are offered, and that very need is fulfilled by what comes in on the next truck of donations. Expertise is needed in an area, and before the need is publicized, someone in a visiting group like ours shows up with exactly the skill, experience, and connections needed. For that reason, the structure around visiting groups like ours allows us to see what happens here and participate in it as much as is culturally appropriate.

We have much more to see and much more to learn. God is present in this place in ways we don’t usually think about. We will return home changed, this much we know.