This summer I spent time with our youth group on a mission trip in the great state of Texas. We went with Mission Discovery, a wonderful organization with Christ as its head and servanthood at its center.
Now, initially, Mission Discovery planned to take our youth group to a border town in Mexico to build houses that we would say looked more like tool sheds for the locals in that Mexican community. However, the drug cartel violence began to really peak in Mexico just a few months before the trip …so Mission Discovery rescheduled us to serve in Hidalgo Co. Texas for a week. According to the U.S. Census, Hidalgo Co. is considered one of the poorest counties in the U.S.A. and after serving their locals and remodeling homes, filling in dirt floors, framing a ceiling, laying insulation where there was none…all the while, being surrounded by the unbelievable poverty of the families in this community; I believe it. This is the poorest county in the United States.
During our time on this mission trip, the churches who were serving with Mission Discovery would gather nightly to worship the Lord and then we’d share what we saw while on-site that day. Many teens would share a mix of heartbreak and hope as they relayed the poverty they saw in these homes (something many of our teens had not been exposed to before) but they’d also comment on the love they saw coming from each of the families. Somehow, without all the digital luxeries or even central heating and cooling, these families took pride in what they did have and loved each other in a very evident and unguarded way.
One night as we were sharing with the group, the worship leader from one of the churches expressed that he would like us all to pray for the family of the house that his teens had been assigned to work on. He told us how he met the mother of the home, let’s call her Magdelaina, a middle aged hispanic woman who is a believer in Christ, and how she was recieving some financial support from time to time from her own 20 something year old daughter…who happens to NOT be a believer in Christ. Evidently, the mother, Magdelania, expressed that the issue of faith and religion had caused some amount of strife between her and her daughter over a few years.
Now there is something kinda humorous you need to know before I continue. While our youth group was serving with Mission Discovery in Hidalgo Co., we had been prepared to conduct most of our interaction with the locals in Spanish either by a hired translator or using or own Spanish language skills that some of us learned in high school. *sigh* Well, there was only one translator for the entire week covering the entire work site for 4 different youth groups stationed at 8 different houses. So, when communicating with the local residents we often had to fend for ourselves…with the Lord’s help, of course. However, on the second day on-site we discovered that most of the school aged children could speak perfect English. We discovered this while attempting to communicate a game of tag to around 15 children who had gathered at a local church yard a block away from the homes at the work site. One of my leaders introducing herself to a group of kids by saying, “Me llamo es Anna…y tu?” with a big grin on her face. She knew something was wrong when the 15 kids only answered with blank stares. Finally, one of the older boys in the group shifted and responded, “Uh…my name’s Carlos…we can speak English.” Oh, …uh, of course you can.
This information is important as it relates to Magdelaina and her daughter. You see, Magdelaina could speak nearly no English and required the translator to communicate with the worship pastor on-site. However, her daughter was raised in both Mexico and Texas and spoke English fluently.
Over the several days spent on the work site, the worship pastor was able to speak with Magdelaina’s daughter as she would arrive at the house frequently to lend a hand. At first, she was very distant to the worship pastor and not at all trusting of all these religious people who wanted to help rebuild her mother’s home. But within a few days, the worship pastor made a connection with Magdelaina’s daughter whereby she was able to “unload” some of her grievences against religious people and open a dialogue about faith, service, and poverty. Poverty was something she knew well.
I don’t know what happened during those work-day conversations between Magdelaina’s daughter and the worship pastor. But, I do believe a mutual trust was opened up. In that trust, two people who disagree on the existance of God gained an understanding of each other…they remained in disagreement… but they understood. The worship pastor was able to share his faith freely and, in turn, shared the faith of her mother, Magdelaina. And Magdelaina’s daughter was able to honestly express her doubt in God and her distrust of His people.
On the last afternoon of work on-site, God orchestrated a miracle. As each week comes to a close, the group takes a last look at their work on the family’s house, they say their good-byes to the family, and …generally it’s a very emotional good-bye…even through a language barrier. Magdelaina’s house, though it was still small, now had a running shower, a ceiling with insulation, and an awning for shade. Hugs were being exchanged with the family and “thank yous” were being said. The worship pastor was just about to load up his youth group into the van to depart but before they left he wanted to leave Magdelaina’s house and family with a proper blessing. However, there was no translator available that could communicate his words to the Spanish speaking family.
Except for Magdelaina’s daughter.
Magdelaina’s family was surrounded by the youth group and their worship pastor. The family embraced as the worship pastor began to pronounce blessings over this newly remodeled home. And, every word was translated into Spanish by Magdelaina’s daughter. As the worship pastor called on the Lord for protection and provision for this family, she echoed in Spanish the very same blessing. As he prayed that the Lord would bless their house with a unified family, so she prayed in Spanish too.
There was not a dry eye in that house…least of all Magdelaina and her daughter.
Some sort of emotional wall broke down that day in Magdelaina’s family. They were united. Is her daughter now a believer? I don’t know and I won’t cheapen the reality of this story by giving you false assurances that she is.
But I do know that God worked a miracle and broke through distrust to create a home where faith is now the currency of their daily lives.
Two weeks ago the Middle School Ministry at Smyrna Assembly held a Spaghetti Lunch Fund Raiser. It was an amazing success and I owe a very big THANK YOU to all the parents, teens, and volunteers who helped!
Remember the movie Bruce Almighty with Jim Carrey? I can remember the stir that movie caused among some Christian circles when folks realized the whole movie was about a man who receives God’s powers and abilities for a time. I remember the newspaper asked folks to write in and tell what they would do if they had God’s power.
God did solve all of mankind’s evils and problems once: HE FLOODED IT.
I’m a big fan of soundtracks. If I had an mp3 player (I don’t…stone age, I know) the vast majority of all the tunes would be tracks from movies and TV shows. I love the sense of music underscoring a story and being swept up by that which is epic and dramatic… especially in my car en route to another day at the office. He, he, he.
