This past week was outreach week for us
Novas kids! All 5 teams went to different towns in Mexico and did
ministry and were there from Saturday through Friday…except for 2.
My South Africa team and the Swaziland team went to the Island of
Love which is an hour or so from the Gateway. All 10 of us and
Eleazar (our friend and translator) were staying in this little room
that was a house, with 5 beds. We did a lot of different things to
help out the people from this island town, like play with kids,
preach in the mission churches, preach in the church that we were
coming to do ministry for, renovate a church, construct a building
for the children to have Sunday school (instead of meeting at a bench
under a tree), and got 11 cases of E.Coli.
Novas kids! All 5 teams went to different towns in Mexico and did
ministry and were there from Saturday through Friday…except for 2.
My South Africa team and the Swaziland team went to the Island of
Love which is an hour or so from the Gateway. All 10 of us and
Eleazar (our friend and translator) were staying in this little room
that was a house, with 5 beds. We did a lot of different things to
help out the people from this island town, like play with kids,
preach in the mission churches, preach in the church that we were
coming to do ministry for, renovate a church, construct a building
for the children to have Sunday school (instead of meeting at a bench
under a tree), and got 11 cases of E.Coli.
The family that was hosting us taught
me a lot about the Kingdom of God, perhaps more than I learned while
I was training at the Gateway. The pastor and his wife, Pastor Leonel
and Sister Ester, did not charge us a dime to come and stay with
them. They didn’t ask that we bring enough food to feed us for the
whole week. Nothing. She asked if we could bring a sack of rice,
beans, flour, and sugar, which we did. When we got to the island, she
didn’t use that food to feed her family or our teams, she gave it all
away to the community she lived in. With one sack of each of those
items she was able to bless 3 churches. How is that different than
here in America? In America, nothing is free. Almost everyone lives
to help out just themselves and their families. But what I learned on
this island is that that it is certainly not like that all over the
world, and it certainly should not be like that in the first place.
Jesus calls us to serve…and we translate to serving only while on a
missions trip or at a church activity, not in real life.
Parents, have you ever noticed that
when you come home from the grocery store with your car full of
shopping bags that your kids miraculously have to use the bathroom,
or are complaining their butts off about how they had to, “stop
doing their homework,” or “missed the best part of the TV show?”
I am positive that we are all guilty of this, I know for a fact I
have done that countless times, but spending the short amount of time
that I did on this island helped me realize how selfish I have
become. The day we came onto the island and were taking our daypacks
and pillows off the boat, dozens of townspeople came to help us bring
our stuff back to where we were staying. Most of those people came
running, literally. And, no, they weren’t doing this so they could
steal our stuff. They did this because they genuinely love to serve.
Have I been keeping that attitude? No. Have you been keeping that
attitude? You’ll have to answer that for yourself. Something I
learned in Mexico was that it is a privilege to be able to serve God.
A privilege!
when you come home from the grocery store with your car full of
shopping bags that your kids miraculously have to use the bathroom,
or are complaining their butts off about how they had to, “stop
doing their homework,” or “missed the best part of the TV show?”
I am positive that we are all guilty of this, I know for a fact I
have done that countless times, but spending the short amount of time
that I did on this island helped me realize how selfish I have
become. The day we came onto the island and were taking our daypacks
and pillows off the boat, dozens of townspeople came to help us bring
our stuff back to where we were staying. Most of those people came
running, literally. And, no, they weren’t doing this so they could
steal our stuff. They did this because they genuinely love to serve.
Have I been keeping that attitude? No. Have you been keeping that
attitude? You’ll have to answer that for yourself. Something I
learned in Mexico was that it is a privilege to be able to serve God.
A privilege!
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were
serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward
everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
-Ephesians 6:7-8
serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward
everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
-Ephesians 6:7-8
Think back to when you were a child and
you saw your Mother in the kitchen baking cookies and you wanted so
badly to help her make them! Why did you want to help her? Because
you love her! And your Mother more than likely said, “Yes, I would
love your help, sweetie!” Even though our parents accepted our
offers to help them, it would have been loads easier for them to
decline the offer because we made things more messy and difficult.
But she said yes because she loves you. This is just like our
relationship with God, our Father. We want to help him, by sharing
the Good News and bringing Him glory, because we love Him. But it
would be way easier if God declined our offer because we mess up
everything since we are so sinful. God accepts our offer to help Him
and His kingdom because he loves us!
you saw your Mother in the kitchen baking cookies and you wanted so
badly to help her make them! Why did you want to help her? Because
you love her! And your Mother more than likely said, “Yes, I would
love your help, sweetie!” Even though our parents accepted our
offers to help them, it would have been loads easier for them to
decline the offer because we made things more messy and difficult.
But she said yes because she loves you. This is just like our
relationship with God, our Father. We want to help him, by sharing
the Good News and bringing Him glory, because we love Him. But it
would be way easier if God declined our offer because we mess up
everything since we are so sinful. God accepts our offer to help Him
and His kingdom because he loves us!
Endure hardship as a discipline;God is
treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
If you are not disciplined, then you are illegitimate children and
not true sons. -Hebrews 12:7-8
treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
If you are not disciplined, then you are illegitimate children and
not true sons. -Hebrews 12:7-8
This eagerness to serve was really a
paradigm shift for me. Everyone loved to serve! The children loved to
swing us in the hammocks, the women loved to cook our food, the
townspeople at the missions church brought us food, the fishermen
gave us beautiful seashells. They have such beautiful hearts, just
like the heart of Jesus.
paradigm shift for me. Everyone loved to serve! The children loved to
swing us in the hammocks, the women loved to cook our food, the
townspeople at the missions church brought us food, the fishermen
gave us beautiful seashells. They have such beautiful hearts, just
like the heart of Jesus.
Now, let me explain the title of the
blog…and part of the first paragraph. While we were at the island,
every single person got E. Coli, except the people who live there. Me
and another girl got it first,
the first day we got there, and stopped eating. Therefore, our case
was not as bad as the 9 other people’s. But, we got it anyway. On
Wednesday night, everybody’s E. Coli worsened, and we went through
more than 4 rolls of toilet paper in a period of about 8 hours. Some
people were vomiting, some people had fevers, but everyone had
diarrhea. Many people pooped their pants, had to leave their underwear
in the out house hole, had to take care of the business in non out
houses because there was no way they could hold it, were forced to use
soiled toilet paper, and fell out of outhouses, toilet paper in hand
and pants around the ankles. We came to the agreement, at 6:30 on
Thursday morning, that we needed to get
out promptly and go to the hospital. We were off that island by 8:00
and back in America at the hospital at 10:00 am. Every single person
got a shot in the butt and a bunch of prescriptions, myself included.
blog…and part of the first paragraph. While we were at the island,
every single person got E. Coli, except the people who live there. Me
and another girl got it first,
the first day we got there, and stopped eating. Therefore, our case
was not as bad as the 9 other people’s. But, we got it anyway. On
Wednesday night, everybody’s E. Coli worsened, and we went through
more than 4 rolls of toilet paper in a period of about 8 hours. Some
people were vomiting, some people had fevers, but everyone had
diarrhea. Many people pooped their pants, had to leave their underwear
in the out house hole, had to take care of the business in non out
houses because there was no way they could hold it, were forced to use
soiled toilet paper, and fell out of outhouses, toilet paper in hand
and pants around the ankles. We came to the agreement, at 6:30 on
Thursday morning, that we needed to get
out promptly and go to the hospital. We were off that island by 8:00
and back in America at the hospital at 10:00 am. Every single person
got a shot in the butt and a bunch of prescriptions, myself included.
Boat=our sole mode of transportation on the island. It was
actually really cold, which is not what you would expect at an island
in Mexico! Here we are on our way to construct the Sunday school
building at one of the mission churches.
actually really cold, which is not what you would expect at an island
in Mexico! Here we are on our way to construct the Sunday school
building at one of the mission churches.
Team South Africa, Team Swaziland, Eleazar, Pastor Leonel, Sister
Ester, Emanuel, and some other members of the church celebrating
Garrett’s and Sister Ester’s birthday. We celebrated their birthdays 3
and 4 days early because we went to a house this day that actually had
an oven! There wasn’t an oven here, so we had to be very resourceful.
The cake was fantastic! Pastor Leonel and Sister Ester sang the famous
and super long Mexican Happy Birthday song to Garrett and all of us, it
was a lot of fun!
Ester, Emanuel, and some other members of the church celebrating
Garrett’s and Sister Ester’s birthday. We celebrated their birthdays 3
and 4 days early because we went to a house this day that actually had
an oven! There wasn’t an oven here, so we had to be very resourceful.
The cake was fantastic! Pastor Leonel and Sister Ester sang the famous
and super long Mexican Happy Birthday song to Garrett and all of us, it
was a lot of fun!
*Blog originally written by Cait Evangelista.
Yeah Becca!!! Glad to hear transformations of mindsets and habits in your life! It’s crazy cool when this happens in our life! Love ya and carry the presence of God wherever you go!