Our Mexico Missions Trip Team Heads Out
When I opened the office door an hour ago at 7:45 am, the office was dark, relatively quiet, and a little cold. I turned on the heat and lights (which, when I thought about it, is sort of a modern miracle). It’s pouring outside and there is a downspout near my office that makes it sound even more like a deluge than it is.
Pastor Karl arrived around 8:15 am and began to pack up his truck. He had a lot of nervous energy because there are 50+ people arriving soon to gather before they trundle off to Ensenada, this time in the rain. I can appreciate the feeling of having 50 people looking to you for what happens next since I lead Vacation Bible School every year and even in smaller years, there are at least as many sets of eyes looking to me. But Pastor Karl is a planner and I think that the trip will go as smoothly as can be planned for. Plus, his truck was able to hold quite a lot of things which we tarped and strapped down for the rainy journey.
At 9:00 am it feels a little like the calm before the storm. Once people arrive, the air will be filled with an expectant energy, activity, and probably a little nervousness. The logistical planning the leaders have put into place will be of use (which person will go in which vehicle, and which car has room for an extra suitcase). There will be last minute details to attend to (did you remember this? did you have that? and do you need to use the restroom one more time?) and prayer squares to hand out as a tangible reminder of not only God’s love but also to the connection with St. Andrew’s.
The air will also be filled with anticipation and hope. We, as a church, undertake this mission because we believe that God calls us to love each other – even people we have never met or will never meet. We have such anticipation about how God will show up in the building of these houses. We have anticipation about how lives might be changed, even in the smallest of ways. And we have hope because even when things look bleak in the larger world, God is still here at work among us.
Once the logistical hurdles have been cleared and everyone has secured their luggage and ascertained their traveling vehicle, the group will pause, and we will all pray. We will pray for this trip to go smoothly, for the health and safety of these people who will go on it, and the families and people they will meet in Ensenada. We will pray for God to be in all the details between here and there. We will also give thanks for all the people that make this trip possible – there have been many donations of funds, prayer squares, time, and even goods to get this trip to this point. And we will ask God to use this team to not only build these three houses, but to also build a small part of God’s kingdom.
It's now almost 10 am and with it, the next truck to load up pulls up the drive followed by another vehicle dropping someone off. The time is drawing near for the whole team to arrive and with it, the expectant energy and hope. We all go with this team to Ensenada. Even though some of us will remain in place, our hearts and our prayers and our expectant hope goes with them. We all have our roles to play in the unfolding of this mission trip, even those of us who stay behind. The team will carry our hope and love in the work of their hands; the rest of us will carry the team in our hearts and our prayers. And I think God will do the best work with the combination of those two. We cannot wait to see what God will do.
