Millar College of the Bible Mission Trip

Day 25! It has been so incredible to experience living in Mexico during these past few weeks, and we praise God for many things! Bringing us through the heat with strength, energy, and health is just one example of the ways that God has provided for our team. In many ways, living in Mexico has gotten so familiar to us that it will be somewhat hard to transition back into life in Canada.

It's surprising how fast we were able to adjust to living here! Now we've been here long enough that the novelty of certain things has worn off and we begin to take things for granted. Peter touched on this in devotions this morning. An example he used was experiencing the beauty of God's creation here. When we first arrived, everything was new and exciting. We were so in awe of the things God placed in this beautiful country. But after seeing these things all the time, it doesn't take long before you become desensitized to them. We were challenged to look at God's creation in a new way. To praise God for His creation and how He reveals Himself and His beauty to us through it, worshipping Him as the King of the universe.

Today was a bittersweet day in many ways, as it marked our very last ministry program event. We travelled to a community new to our team called Hunucma, where we met another C-Quest partner Pastor Ricardo. Before heading out we were told that Hunucma is a very hard city. And though its population is around 35,000 people, you would never know it because of the poverty. Since we were in a poorer area, we added a new aspect to our ministry – handing out clothes to the people who came to our program.

Pastor Ricardo is a church planter who has been working in this community. Over lunch we found out that his work hasn't been without hardship. He told us that when he first started his work in Hunucma, he faced a lot of persecution because the people were afraid he was only there to take away their religion. Pastor Ricardo made it clear to us that his goal is not to take away their religion, but to give them the truth. As our program proclaimed, we have a choice of who we will serve and what we are going to do with our lives. Sadly, many people in this city choose to worship other gods. Idols are quite prevalent in the Mexican houses and like the home right next door to the church, is only one of many. Yet through Pastor Ricardo's efforts, God is bringing changes to this seemingly hopeless place. He is beginning a transforming work in the lives of many Mexican people!

We ended today with an exciting event at the C-Quest base – a fiesta for all the ministry partners and friends from partnering churches! It was so fun to have many of our new Mexican friends all together in one place. And it was a beautiful night to celebrate the work God has been doing here in the Yucatán through these believers, who are walking in faith and obedience to what He has called them to do. It's been amazing to rub shoulders with so many people who trust God daily, and who lead lives of full surrender and reliance on the Lord. We are blessed to have met these Mexican brothers and sisters in the Lord. Serving alongside them we've seen a beautiful picture of the unity Christ brings to believers! What a privilege it has been to see the work that God is doing here among the Mexican people, and we are excited for what He will continue to do!

Throughout our time here in Mexico our team has been challenged in the area of time. As humans, and specifically in Canada, it seems we measure so many things by time. We so often want things to happen and to be done in our timing. Yet God has reminded us time and time again that He orchestrates things in His timing. It's been pretty humbling at times to see and be a part of something that clearly could only have been God at work!

We are so grateful to have had this experience, and we are thankful for those who have had a part in this journey with us. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers as we have been serving in Mexico over this past month. You will never know how much it has meant to our team to have so many people supporting us and standing behind us in the ministry of prayer!