Mission Trips - Mexico trip 2006

Mexico Mission Team 2006
For the past three summers the High School students at Morgan Hill Presbyterian Church have participated in ministry with Rancho De Sus Ninos (His Kid's Ranch). The Rancho is located between Tecate and Tijuana, Mexico and has been in operation for over 15 years brining many people into a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. A Christian Orphanage is an oddity in Mexico. They get no public funding, support or recognition. Instead the only things they receive are more and more children; whom they take in with great joy. Every summer hundreds of youth group students from across the United States receive a chance to participate in the ongoing ministry of RDSN. Our students were certainly touched through their experiences. This report will serve as an overview of the different areas of ministry that all of the students had a chance to participate in during the week of June 26th-July 1st.

A Hard Day's Work!
The first experience of Mexico this past year was filled with what everyone would come to know and love as exhaustion. Not only are students not used to working hard for extended lengths of time, but they are also not used to working hard in the hot sun. The team would quickly learn to "hand" mix cement, paint roofs, shovel rock and learn the proper technique for lifting heavy bags of cement mix. The first four days of the trip were filled with this sort of heavy work.

This year’s trip proved to be a bit more challenging than previous years. In past summers the weather was more favorable. It seemed as if this past year that it was not only hot, but a bit humid… the air just felt heavy. Likewise, a lot of students had a harder time adapting to the water, which doesn’t make for a good combination; consequently, we saw more students get sick this year than before.

Students learned perseverance and endurance as they worked harder and harder each day. Although, it may not of seemed pleasant at the time, the work still paid off at the end. Seeing the end product of the work was one of the most rewarding experiences of the trip. Our team worked on an outdoor amphitheatre for the duration of the week, which was put in use as the Rancho brought in all of its surrounding church plants for one big worship service that was filled with rocking music, passionate teaching and hundreds of joyful faces. That final experience will stick with most of the students for a long time.

Bringing the Word!
An important part of the Rancho's ministry is centered on planting churches and supporting previous church plants. The main facility at RDSN also contains a Bible college that actively feeds into their new church plants. New churches pop up all around the Tijuana Colinias and get new pastoral staff from the Rancho. Groups that come into RDSN get to participate with local congregations directly and also get to serve and promote new church attendance through what is known as the "Evangelism Trailer".

The Evangelism Trailer is a giant trailer that goes around with a huge sound system, folding chairs, and tons of flyers to promote the event to the Colonia. Basically, it is a portable church service and would be akin to MHPC going out to Community Park, setting up a sound system and inviting people to come and hear some testimonies, see Christian themed skits, watch a movie or hear a speaker and finally receive an invitation for a relationship with Jesus Christ. Our students actively participated in handing out these flyers door to door, sharing their testimonies, as well as producing kid-centered dramas and skits. The people who came forward for the invitation were invited to church at the local congregation in order to effectively disciple new believers. It was truly an amazing thing to be part.

Ministry in the direct church services was no less exciting. Students had a direct chance to work with elementary age children in a Sunday School setting, share what God has done in their life in front of the Spanish speaking congregation and invite people directly – going door to door. In short, the students had a chance to speak God's Word to children and adults throughout the Colinias, something which was very powerful and moving.

Pushing Kids on Swings!

The highlight of the trip is usually the time spent at the daycare facility. RDSN supports a daycare that meets within a quarter mile of their facility. This daycare buses in the orphans from the Rancho, as well as students from the surrounding Colonias. Most of the kids come from homes filled with neglect or abuse and are dying for positive interaction with people.

The students planned and put together a Sunday School type program that featured songs, games, skits and memory verses to communicate who God was to those young kids. However, the highlight was not the programming that happened, but being able to hang out and play with those kids. The daycare time ends with some free play time that allows the students direct one on one interaction with the kids. Students have a chance to push kids on swings, play tag and practice their Spanish while they shared the love of God with people who were hurting. There were a few students who even had the opportunity to play with kids that they saw there three years ago. Most of the students who were on this trip felt that this time was too short and would have loved to have had more of an opportunity to share God's love with the next generation of kids.

Coming Back!
Coming back home is always a shock. You have your own bed, a nice warm shower, food that you are used to, as well as ice cold water. However, there is always a little bit in you that does not want to come home yet. There are so many stories from the individuals on the team who were changed or saw God moving in a way that will leave a lasting imprint on their lives. The team members are listed below, all of whom have stories of how God impacted their life in that week's time.

2006 Mexico Team Members:

Students:

• Amanda Wong
• Christopher Lahr
• Christy Wright
• Eric Tolson
• Erica Turnlund
• Greg Wong
• Jamie Inouye
• Jason Baker
• John Baker
• Josh Fawthorp
• Karen Buck
• Koedy Brant
• Kyla Hanes
• Lacey Kral
• Mary Boyd
• Michelle Upton
• Monica Allen
• PJ Boyd
• Sierra Nicholson
• Sydney Main

Staff and Chaperones:

• Aaron Cross
• Ashley Cross
• Burton Vigil
• David Frederick
• JoAnn Peterman
• John Lira
• Michelle Baker
• Pamela Frederick
• Pat Sullivan

Thank you for giving this team an opportunity to minister and for supporting God's work in Mexico.