Well, I guess it would be unfair and inaccurate to say that I only go to Mexico for one or two reasons. But...there are some that stick out in my mind more than others.
I attended my first mission trip to Northern Mexico in 1990 and I have attended every year (except one) since then. It's not always easy...I have had to leave my businesses when they really needed me, a pregnant wife, kids, opportunities, friends...every year there are always plenty of reasons for me to NOT go. Yet, I keep going.
About a decade ago we built a house for a man named Fransisco, and his family. He had a great wife and two beautiful kids, a boy and a girl. Fransisco was a friendly, energetic and humble man in his late 40s or early 50s and he and I spoke many times throughout the week. He was poor, very poor, just like most of the people that we build for, but he had such joy in his heart. I needed to understand why.
He told me about his belief in Jesus Christ, and how he was filled with joy that was beyond description because of this. He told me this while we sat on the edge of a dusty path, right after he shared with me that he made just a couple of hundred dollars a month. And while he told me his story, he smiled.
What was so ironic about the trip that year was that Fransisco (the fellow we came to help) was sharing Christ with me (the missionary) in ways I had never seen. I started to understand (perhaps for the first time) what it meant when we are told in scripture to always be ready to answer for the joy that lies within us. Fransisco was ready, and he showed me through his life.
Later that night he shared a meal with me that his wife prepared, and no doubt it was many days wages worth of chicken and homemade soup. I have never been so honored and humbled. I knew then that I would always come back to serve. To serve the poor that truly need help. To serve those that are traveling with me. To serve our awesome God.
That, my friends, is why I go to Mexico each and every year.
I find it always amazing that people who embrace being humble have the most joy in not only what they do, but also how they live.
I think it is one of the most profound spiritual gifts that can bring a tear to my eye.
Posted by: Michael Sainz | March 13, 2007 at 06:44 AM