Before I was committed to this mission trip, many things had been happening in my life that I didn’t expect to be happening. For instance, I quit my job and went back to school to pursue my life-long dream of becoming a physician so that I can serve people overseas. With some time in between quitting my job and going back to school, I heard about an opportunity to go to Mexico for missions with some of my fellow church members. What I didn’t know was that this Missions trip was quite different from how it was planned out, but I was glad I went with a team that was as devoted to serve God as I was.
Compared to my previous missions trips, preparing and going to Mexico missions was a bit awkward for me. This was in part because we prepared a missions program with no scheduled plan in Mexico. We were not sure if we were fully doing our program in Mexico. At first, I thought God didn’t want us to go to Mexico because of the lack of communication with Pastor Kyle even a few weeks before our departure date. I was worried and skeptical that this missions trip would happen but with a committed team I did not lose hope and God was able to make our trip happen.
The gospel was working in many ways in Mexico. Pastor Kyle was able to provide many necessities to the Mayan community, which included basic education to the children in the Yucatan area. When the Mexico team and I went to see a family who was struggling, even to have a roof over their heads, we learned that our donated funds to Pastor Kyle would be used to create a home for this family. With our resources gathered from the team and our supporters, we were able to contribute one-third of the necessary money to build a home for that family. This included a new plot of land with rich, growing fruit trees and access to electricity and water.
During the week in the Yucatán Peninsula, where Pastor Kyle is situated, I realized God has been showing me how much stress, anxiety, and worry I had back at home. This in turn, made me distant from God, as though I was on one side of Grand Canyon and God was on the other. When our team joined Pastor Kyle’s morning devotions Monday thru Friday, God was speaking through him to me, that I should have more wisdom to overcome this worrisome attitude that I had.
When Pastor Kyle shared his past experiences and life during one of his morning devotions, I was surprised by how God had this master plan for him, but it seemed as though nothing was going the way Pastor Kyle has planned it for himself. For himself to be a pastor and a missionary in Mexico seemed like God’s calling to him.
Reflecting on my life, I came to the conclusion that I had made the right choice going back to school. The dilemma and worry I had came from trying to discern whether or not it was the right choice to go back to school at my older age. I had been questioned by others why I would waste money and time going back to school. I was also questioned about marriage from older folks who compared my situation to their own and told me that they got married at my age. I sometimes ask God if this is some reminder from Him that I should concern myself with these matters. But then I question myself, “Is God really showing me something or is it just the people around me who are telling me these things?”
What I learned while I was in Mexico was that God is in ultimate control of these things. To be planning my own things that I can necessarily control, I somehow feel I can’t at times. The problem with that sense of control with my life is that I can’t hold or grasp that full control in doing what I want to do and expecting the outcome that I want.
After experiencing my week with the Mexico team, I wanted to live differently in light of what God taught me on this trip by living in the truth of God. Still, God has been testing my faith and dependence on him instead of relying on my own worldly plans. But I want to truly live for his glory and salvation, trusting that he will take care of me throughout my life, not worrying about what I will do in the future.
“My son, do not forget my teaching, But keep my commands in your heart, …” (Proverbs 3:1)
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ...” (Matthew 6:25)