It was the summer of 2002 and I was 15 years old. My church was going to Mazatlan, Mexico for a short term mission trip. I signed up right away! I knew nothing about Mexico or missions. I was a "baby" Christian who was very gung-ho for anything that had to do with the Lord.
That was my first experience with fundraising. I have to say, it was much easier then :) I raised all that I needed (I don't remember how much it was, under $1,000 I think). We had team meetings, learned dramas, and prayed a lot.
I was ready to go serve the Lord in Mexico. Or so I thought.
I was ready to go but was I ready to be completely changed? I knew that I was going to experience poverty, and a very different way of life. Our leaders did a good job of preparing us for that. But the thing no one can fully prepare you for is what your first mission trip to a 3rd world county will do to your heart.
I remember being so utterly excited! I wish I could find my journal from that time. That would be fun :) I was packed. One weeks worth of stuff packed into a huge green heavy suitcase. I remember feeling extremely American (not in a good way) with how much stuff I had. I had clothes, shoes, bed, pillow, bible, and baby wipes to boot. I was ready!
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We landed in Mazatlan and it was HOT! I mean H.O.T.T. hot! And it smelled. The air tasted strange. There was no air-conditioning inside the airport. No one spoke english. Costumes was scary. I whispered to myself - I'm ready...
We got to where we would be staying for the week. A church in the middle of many buildings on a very dirty, busy street. This church would be home for the next week. The girls slept on air-mattresses in the sanctuary, the boys slept on the open air roof. Windows lined the sanctuary wall, no screens but rather heavy metal bars. Tin covered the boys on the roof... encase it rained. The one bathroom was hit or miss. You could flush - just not toilet paper or #2. It smelled. I looked around my home for the next week and once again whispered... I'm ready.
Our mission while in Mazatlan was to help the Pastor, to go out and perform Human Videos/Dramas in the squares, evangelize on the streets, and be a light for the Lord. We went to many different squares around the city and set up a sound system. The Pastor would give a short message, we would perform are drama, then we would talk to anyone who wanted to know more about Jesus. Well a few people would actually do the talking since most people on my team did not speak spanish - like myself. We walked a lot. That was most of our days. Walking, talking, performing. We were able to reach a lot of people, many people were very curious of all these white Americans. It seemed like they were listening.
(Me & my Pastor with kids of a small village we went to)
I have 2 memories of that week that will FOREVER be ingrained in my heart and mind. 2 memories that would change my life FOREVER...
One of the days some of us where given the opportunity to go to the city dump to minister to the people who lived there. I didn't care if I was selfish or not... I was going no matter what! I was the first to jump into the back of the pickup truck, ready to go. We drove quite a ways with about 10 of us teens in the back of the truck. (Side note: drivers in Mexico do not obey the lose traffic laws... I thought for sure I was going home to meet Jesus during the drive.) We made it. I stared. I held back the urge to vomit at the smell. My eyes burned from the dust. But then I saw in the distance kids running and laughing. My senses took a back seat.
(Kids whose home was at the city dump)
I have always loved kids! Always! We got out and slowly approached to dump community. Naturally the boys went over and started playing soccer with the kids. I sat down with some of the little girls. We had brought coloring books and crayons with us so we spent a long time coloring! I didn't know what they were saying and they didn't understand me but we laughed and I told them "muy buena!" - very good or "bonita" - beautiful. They began drawing pictures for me! Many of the drawings were of flowers that said "Dios es amor" (God is love). They knew God loved them. In their precious hearts, in the midst of their poverty they knew God loved them. I still have those pictures!!!
(little girl named Rosa and her grandmother)
Before we left the dump that day a little girl name Angelica came up to me. She looked at me with these eyes that could pierce your heart. Her hair was dark, she was covered in dirt. I bent down to look her in the eyes and she handed me a gift. That day Angelica gave me a necklace that she had made, one that she would sell to make money. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen - a necklace made of fishing string and a butterfly pendant. I hugged her, told her "muchas gracias!" and proudly put that necklace on. I wore that necklace everyday for the remainder of my time in Mexico. That beautiful butterfly necklace is lovingly placed in my memory box - it is one of my treasures.
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The second memory that will never leave me is one of a young man named Maynor. Maynor was a kid that didn't believe in Jesus but liked hanging around the church. My guess is that he felt loved there unlike at home. The Pastor told us Maynor was a regular but just couldn't get to the point of salvation. Over the week Maynor and I would talk... well kind of. He didn't speak english and I didn't speak spanish but we made it work somehow. The team and I had a lot of fun hanging out with Maynor. He was a really sweet kid.
(Me and Maynor at the church)
In Mexico church lasts a long time. 2 hours is short. 3 hours is normal. 4 hours is common. A few days before we were to leave Maynor came up to me after service. He wanted to ask me something. I got one of the boys from the church who spoke english to translate. Maynor looked at me and told me he wanted to know Jesus. I looked at him with wide eyes and a huge smile and said OK! I had no idea what to do, I had never lead anyone to the Lord before, so I grabbed one of the spanish Bibles that we had highlighted the main salvation verses in. We sat down on a pew - me, Maynor, Cris (one of the boys from the church who spoke a little english) and Zach (one of my teammates who spoke a little spanish). And right there through broken language Maynor gave his life to Jesus!!!
(Maynor reading the scriptures - wearing his new cross necklace. Me, Cris, and Zach - plus other team members encouraging Maynor. This was the most amazing experience for me and my teammates!)
I had never seen Maynor smile so big in the days I had known him :) One of my teammates Ryan gave Maynor his cross necklace and we gave him one of the Bibles. Maynor came to see us everyday until we left. The last day we were there Maynor gave me a silver necklace. I wore it along with my butterfly necklace. Now they are both lovingly laid next to each other in my memory box.
I have pictures of the dump, the little girls and Maynor in my room. I look at them on a regular basis. Never forgetting what they did to my heart that summer of 2002.
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I have other memories from that mission trip. Brushing my teeth on the street outside the church with a bottle of water. Eating things I didn't know existed. Walking to the mall to use the bathroom. Seeing my very first (and hopefully my last) open air meat market. Learning how to say 'God bless you' in spanish (Dios te bendiga). Not showering for 6 days straight. Oh yeah, so many memories!
I left Mazatlan, Mexico after a week but Mexico never left me. That place, those people changed my life forever. I knew I would never be the same and I was right. I was ruined. God gripped my heart for missions. God gripped my heart for poverty and His love for people in other countries.
God called me to become a missionary when I was 15 years old as my feet were covered in dust on the streets of Mexico...
~Nicole
p.s. sorry for the poor picture quality. i had to take picture of pictures :)
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