Perceptions

The trip from Tampico was "close knit" with nine people, luggage and Vacation Bible School supplies piled into a fifteen year old van.  We carried with us a bucket of water for the radiator, in case we overheated during the hour and a half trip.  There was no air-conditioning in the sweltering July heat, but the windows worked, and each draft of air was welcomed.

We arrived in Ebano in late afternoon with our drivers, who spoke only a few words of English.  Our interpreter would arrive the following evening and until then, we were limited in our conversations with our hosts, as none of our mission team spoke Spanish.  We looked around the town and church, and were somewhat appalled to see the conditions that the people of the small town lived in.  The streets were mostly dirt, except for a few main thoroughfares.  The street in front of the church had large holes, one of which leaked raw sewage into the puddle surrounding it.  Some of the houses had floors, but for many of the others, dirt sufficed.  Doors and windows were not a necessary item for most occupants.  Those fortunate enough to have indoor toilets only had the toilet bowl without a seat (this made quite an impression on my teenage daughter, who had accompanied us).  And, the air cooled rooms that we were used to having at home were a luxury that most here could not afford.  My husband remarked as our team met that evening for prayer that, "We have so much and they have so little."

The next morning, "Pastor" arrived to take our group to breakfast and to begin preparation for our first day of VBS (sans interpretors, I might add!).  Dropping us off at his home in the churchyard, he left to pick up children who lived too far away to walk the distance to the church.  And, in a short while, children and neighborhood women began arriving to see the first mission group to come to their church in several years.  The children were beautiful--each one scrubbed and dressed and happy to be going to the church.  And, they were curious!  Their questions flew, but without someone to interpret, we could not understand a word.  It was going to be a long day indeed! 

As we stood talking among our group, and remarking on the enthusiasm of everyone, God saw our need.  One young woman, who was there with her daughter came over to us and spoke to us in English!  She was not a member of the church, nor had she ever attended before.  She had lived in the United States for a short while, and volunteered to help us hurdle the language barrier. 

We learned more about the town and the people with Veronica to speak for us.  We learned of the lack of food in some homes and the very meager wages earned by the workers. There is no public welfare system in Mexico, but neighbors help other neighbors, who in turn pass on the kindness by helping someone else less fortunate.  She stayed with us throughout the week and assisted even after our interpreters arrived, lending an appreciated helping hand and becoming part of our missions team.

The happiness and zest for life that we experienced in the people was contagious, and in even the hottest part of the day, we wold sit outside for hours visiting with our newfound friends, witnessing and talking about God's love.  We had shared testimonies and songs of praise in both languages.  We learned one of the prayers of the congregation was that God would send someone who could play hymns on their piano.  Our mission team was the only one of four that hand not one, but two, pianists!  We held revival services in the evenings at the church, and had come to look forward to seeing each now familiar face--some we knew by name--but all became a part of our hearts forever.

Our final day of Bible school arrived much sooner than we thought.  At the end of the farewell service, the entire congregation gathered outside the sanctuary.  They held hands in a circle and as we joined them in song, once again lifting our voices to the Lord, we wept tears of sadness.  We were leaving behind family--a part of our family of God, and many miles would separate us, so very many that some of them could not even think of traveling so far.  People who gave freely of themselves and of their meager possessions to ensure that we [strangers to them] had everything we needed.  People who worked and prayed and played together and who were content just to be in the presence of God and other believers.  People, who had so few material possessions, yet were happy.  They were not concerned with keeping up with the Jones' or seeking the ways of the world.

My husband summed it up as we were leaving.  He looked around at the tearful, sad faces of these beautiful brothers and sisters in Christ, and said, "When we first got here, I thought we had so much and they had so little, but now I see that in reality, they have so much and we have so little."  Our perceptions had changed in so short a time.  What they lacked in material possessions was more than made up in spirituality and in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

We started our mission trip to share Jesus by teaching Vacation Bible School, and haaving revival in a church in a distant town in Mexico.  We were traveling to minister to those we felt were less fortunate than we.  We returned to the United States feeling that we were the ones who had been ministered to by the people we had met.  And, we felt that we had recieved the most wonderful gift.  We encountered God in Mexico in the First Baptist Church of Ebano.

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