We do not do it because it’s fun. We are not here to experience a different culture. We do not search for the self-satisfaction of helping someone else. We do not come to prove we can do it or to see how far we can push ourselves. It is not about us.
There is a need. We are called to serve those in need. Something in our very fiber commands us to obey that call. That is why we line up in caravan after caravan after caravan of vehicles with “Mexico or Bust,” “Jesus Saves,” and “Van 6 rules!” scribbled in the dust of windows while food, tools, camping gear, and passengers test the weight and space limitations of those vehicles. Accordingly, that is why we chomp at the bit to work longer and harder than would normally seem imaginable in weather that can swing from suffocating heat to torrential downpour in a day. It is why we can enjoy braving bone-jarring roads, breathing dust, drinking lukewarm water, and sweating constantly. It is how we can evacuate communities because in ten minutes the roads will be impassable because of rain, return to a weather-destroyed campsite wherein everything is soaked through, fashion a dinner in six inches of standing water, crowd into a box truck for a few songs, and end the day with smiles across our exhausted faces. Indeed, it is why we would do it all again the next day if necessary.
A spring serving the poor of Mexico in the name of Christ has a beauty that transcends normal patterns of thought. Truly, we do push ourselves to see if we can do it. We do feel the rewarding joy of helping those in need. We are blessed to experience a rich and beautiful culture. Undeniably, we are able to observe the determination of people to conquer severe adversity, despite various failures along the way. And we do have an alarming amount of fun. However, the true beauty lays in the fact all of these results come after we have made our agendas secondary to the necessities of others. We are loving someone in need. It is glory to God. The rest is a byproduct.
Thanks from all of us to all of you who continue to make this happen. Our lives are such that we are in a constant position to see people at their best when situations seem at their worst. And I believe seeing people at their absolute best, despite any circumstance, is to briefly look through the eyes of God.
There is a need. We are called to serve those in need. Something in our very fiber commands us to obey that call. That is why we line up in caravan after caravan after caravan of vehicles with “Mexico or Bust,” “Jesus Saves,” and “Van 6 rules!” scribbled in the dust of windows while food, tools, camping gear, and passengers test the weight and space limitations of those vehicles. Accordingly, that is why we chomp at the bit to work longer and harder than would normally seem imaginable in weather that can swing from suffocating heat to torrential downpour in a day. It is why we can enjoy braving bone-jarring roads, breathing dust, drinking lukewarm water, and sweating constantly. It is how we can evacuate communities because in ten minutes the roads will be impassable because of rain, return to a weather-destroyed campsite wherein everything is soaked through, fashion a dinner in six inches of standing water, crowd into a box truck for a few songs, and end the day with smiles across our exhausted faces. Indeed, it is why we would do it all again the next day if necessary.
A spring serving the poor of Mexico in the name of Christ has a beauty that transcends normal patterns of thought. Truly, we do push ourselves to see if we can do it. We do feel the rewarding joy of helping those in need. We are blessed to experience a rich and beautiful culture. Undeniably, we are able to observe the determination of people to conquer severe adversity, despite various failures along the way. And we do have an alarming amount of fun. However, the true beauty lays in the fact all of these results come after we have made our agendas secondary to the necessities of others. We are loving someone in need. It is glory to God. The rest is a byproduct.
Thanks from all of us to all of you who continue to make this happen. Our lives are such that we are in a constant position to see people at their best when situations seem at their worst. And I believe seeing people at their absolute best, despite any circumstance, is to briefly look through the eyes of God.
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