Goodtree Christian Fellowship: What we Learned
The thought of taking our entire family on a mission trip was exciting and daunting. Exciting, because who could pass up traveling to Mexico and living in a house on the beach, especially when accompanied by friends and family? Daunting, because we did not know how the kids, or us, would do in the heat and humidity, or what ministering in a foreign context and not speaking the local language would look like. Fortunately for us, we were well taken care of on both accounts.
The kids, and us, did well with the heat: drinking lots of water, resting when needing to, and going strong the rest of the time. Time swimming in the ocean and cenote at Dzibilchatun (google it) helped us cope with the heat as well. Although hot and sweaty the entire time, we embraced the change of climate and enjoyed our time together.
When in a foreign context, whether looking for an unknown location in one’s home city, or navigating the day to day in a foreign country, someone who knows the way is indispensable. Fortunately for us we had three terrific guides for most of our trip. Jorge, David and Jerry not only helped us communicate with the people we encountered, but embraced us as their own and quickly became part of our team. They provided a much needed bridge between the Canadian and Mexican cultures, helping us communicate while ministering or trying to find the bathroom.
One of the biggest impacts on the trip for us was to see the ancient abandoned city of Dzibilchatun as well as the very populated city of Merida. Both were bustling Mayan cities until the 1500s when the Spanish arrived and took over. In both cities the Spanish established a cathedral right in the middle of town destroying the way of life that had existed for generations. As we pondered this situation, while marveling the cathedral in Merida (purportedly the oldest in North America), it was sad to think that these European explorers all but wiped out the Mayans as they brought disease and weaponry that the Mayans were powerless against. It made us stop and examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) and ask, “are the ways I am ministering about me, or about those I am ministering to? Am I walking in the faith?”
Each of our kids had a different highlight, for one it was learning more about Adam and Eve as he participated in sharing the creation story and humanity’s struggle with temptation through C-Quest’s program. For another it was to witness the ruins and villages and see the different cultures of this place. And for another it was to witness the disparity between life in this part of Mexico and our life back home.
Overall this has been a great experience for us as a family and as part of our church community. Our entire team deepened in relationship with one another as we served together; something the people of this area do so naturally.
-Tyler & Angela
We entered Progresso Mexico with 11 kids and 10 adults (out numbered!) wide-eyed and open-eyed ready to minister with C-Quest. We shared the word of God and were blessed by the hospitality of the people and the staff of C-Quest. We battled heat and humidity, short showers, sometimes no showers, some very hungry mosquitos, two sprained ankles and one crazy infection...we all survived by the grace of God. God is good. Mission accomplished but the work goes on. With the Lord's help we pressed forward and God was glorified. As we make our way back home, it is the beginning of a new journey for the Huh family. Thank you C-Quest.
-John
It is very hot and humid in Progresso, Mexico but God has really blessed us with the weather by providing some rain and wind. I think C-Quest has really blessed us with the shelter they provided and the food (the churros especially). The kids in Mexico are great. They have nothing but they look happier then we would ever look. I really think this trip has taught me gratitude for the things we have, which the Mexicans can only dream of. It is very hard to imagine living in poverty every single day with all the bugs (in my short time here it was horrid) but overall I think I speak for the entire team saying that overall had a awesome epic time in Progresso. May God Almighty be glorified. Thanks C-Quest for everything.
-Samuel
