Hello friends and family,
This is our last week here at CSOM, and I’m feeling the weight of that today as I reflect on our time in Mazatlan and the mountains this past week. It was the climax of the trip for us, the time to test ourselves and put in action what we had been building up to. It’s hard to put into words all the ways God has met me during this time, and I have this sense of needing time to process and rest, but also never wanting it to end.
We spent 4 days in Mazatlan at CC Maranatha, sleeping there in the Sunday school rooms at the church, and helping with a VBS they put on for their community. It was amazing to connect with this church in a way we hadn’t yet with the others, staying with them long enough to form connections and a mutual coming alongside one another. I also loved how they were reaching out to their community, with a group of 50 or so kids showing up to their VBS, and hearing that 90% weren’t from their church.
It was also the home church of one of our fellow students, Manny, who God has called to be a missionary to the Muslims in Spain. After 4 weeks together we’ve all grown so close, so it was really sweet to get to meet his family and see where he’s been serving the Lord and preparing to be sent out from. I’m incredibly inspired being around all these people who have the mission calling on their life and hear how God is leading and giving them fire to go.
After the VBS was over, we had a 6 hour van ride to the San Gregorio Mountains, where we were staying with the Cora Tribe. There has been activity with sharing the gospel there for a little while now; CSOM has visited there twice now, and a partnering Pastor from another Calvary Chapel goes there often as a missionary. His name is Antonio, and he brought another group from his church with us.
The Cora tribe is a small indigenous people group, with their own language and culture apart from majority Mexico. They live in these beautiful mountains, and are protected by the Mexican government, who limit and police interference from the outside world. Even as we were going up we were being instructed on what to say we were doing up there in case the officials stopped us.
Something really special about this trip is a family who came with us who are in the process of moving there and planting a church. Elias, his wife Santana, and their daughter. They believe God has called them to share the gospel to the Cora, and we got to be part of their introduction to the tribe.
We did a few outreaches and humanitarian works there, to bless the tribe and share the gospel. Antonio’s team brought volunteer nurses who passed out medicine and medical supplies, we gave out shoes and blankets, and we did children’s ministry with the kids.
I think the moment that stuck out to me the most on the trip was my time helping Santana share the gospel during the medical outreach. She’s Cora, and the hope of being one of the main evangelists since she can speak the heart language of the tribe. But she is shy and struggles to share the gospel in the same ways I do, and I related to her so much in the moments I sat with her while we were sharing. She spoke only Spanish and Cora, and our English/Spanish translators kept leaving, and there were frustrating moments where people were willing to hear the gospel, and she couldn’t find the words to share. My heart went out to her.
I was able to talk with her, and hear her story, and her heart for sharing the gospel with her people, and how God has called her since a long time ago, and I believe God will do a great work through her.
I felt convicted about my own fears and the things that tongue-tie me, the way I haven’t prepared myself for sharing the gospel. I was reminded of Moses in the Bible, who was afraid to be God’s mouthpiece. I don’t want my fears to have any hold on me, to let them be stronger than my heart for the lost. I’m praying for Santana, and for me, that God would fill us with His Spirit and we would have boldness to share His word.
As far as our comforts went on the trip, our 3 days in the mountain tested us. No showers, we used outhouses, humid weather, sleeping in tents on hard floors, and almost the whole team ending up with food poisoning by the end of it.
But they just make for better stories. We kept joking, “it’s for the gospel!”
Overall, I think the Cora tribe is a place hungry to know Jesus. The children were bright and always following us around, so fascinated by everything we did. The Mexican team who came with us and our Spanish speakers had amazing results with the adults too, even leading some to Christ in the time we were there.
For me personally, I felt such a peace about my dreams and my call, being there reminded me of my time in Nepal, and I felt assured that God is calling me to a place like this. I loved hearing that a church is going to be planted there, and God is sending someone to disciple the people.
So, to sum up my time at CSOM, I would say I have been challenged to really be on fire for Christ. I already felt the call to missions, but God needed to refine me and prepare my heart to be seeking Him first. To correct my misconceptions about missions and the church and provide a path for me.
I’m going home next Sunday, and I’m so grateful for my time here, and the divine ways God led me here. I’ve been praying Isaiah 6:8 since I became a Christian 10 years ago, “Here I am! Send me.” To see God answering that cry from my heart, I am beyond humbled.
Prayer Requests:
For Elias and Santana, and their plans for a church in the tribe. That God would use them mightily among the Cora.
For Pastor Antonio and his work on the mountain, he needs funding for a new van and supplies to serve the tribe.
And for me, as we wrap up our time here and spend in the next few days seeking the Lord, that I hear His voice and how He wants me to step forward from here.
Blessings,
Heather
Login To Leave Comment