2019 Christ Church Katy- Juarez Mission Trip Report

Report from Tuesday, August 6.

Our trip so far has been eventful, sometime traumatic, and a blessing in many ways. As you may know, some of us came frighteningly close to being in the Walmart in El Paso when the shooting occurred. Just the night before, I had sent out an email asking that you pray for our safety and we saw God answer that prayer. We were and continue to be shocked and grieved at the injuries and loss of life in El Paso on Saturday. Let us continue to lift this city and our nation up in our prayers.

We crossed over into Mexico on Saturday afternoon. After a quick unpack and orientation, we were treated to some delicious food at a local restaurant. We were eager to rest after a busy and emotionally taxing day.

Sunday morning came, and after our breakfast, we left early for church and were given a bus tour of the various church plants. We saw Promesa de Vida, which is the mother church for the three other churches that have formed. We also saw the temporary meeting place of Iglesia Christiana Del Sur as well as the land where they hope to build. We were short on time, so we proceeded to Torre Fuerte, where we worshipped with the saints of God there. The entire service was in Spanish, except for the sermon, which was translated into Spanish for the people. Benjamin Garcia did a fine job of bringing the message I delivered into the native language of the people there. Some of the ladies fixed us a delicious lunch, after which we came back to the hotel for some rest. Our evening was spent together with a meal and a game of Fishbowl, which is basically an amalgamation of Taboo, Password, and Charades. We had a great time together, and learned that men can be good communicators, as the score gave evidence.

Yesterday morning and today, most of the team were at a local school painting one of the buildings. We heard from the pastor over our lunch time on Monday that they have struggled a lot with being able to gain a foothold in this community. Many in the community are very closed off to outsiders and unwilling to listen when they seek to make gospel connections and invite them to church. Their desire is that through these deeds of mercy within the community, they might help the people see their desire to do good and be a help to them. The mission team worked very hard and made substantial progress in making this school a more beautiful place. They have an inspection there tomorrow. Please pray that the inspector will be pleased with the progress made and will see the reason behind what the church is doing there. While most of the team worked at the school, some helped at Torre Fuerte and other places doing other jobs.

Last evening, we had our first park outreach. While the missionaries here have done these outreach events each week with various teams, they have not yet done one at Torre Fuerte. This is the church where we are doing the English Camp. Because the neighborhood children are not used to having this happen each week, our numbers were smaller last night. Each night, we do a section of a skit, provide a craft table, do a short ESL lesson, and sing songs with the kids. We enjoyed the time last night, but we are praying for more children this evening. Please join us in this prayer. Also, please continue to pray for our health, safety and effectiveness in ministry.

Till next time…thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for us.