Wow, what a month this was!
The main event of April was the trip to Mexico, so I’ll start there. There were eleven people in our crew that headed to Mexico on April 2nd, Joel and Danielle, Nolan and Jenny, Justin, Sandra, Ace, Donny, Logan, Aidan, and I. Besides our own carry-on bags, we each were in charge of a checked bag full of Spanish Bibles, clothes, hygiene products, and other items from the warehouse to give to churches and people in need. We brought a lot of Bibles down, and we gave every one of them away, praise the Lord!
We were picked up from the Monterrey airport by the staff of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Monterrey. We stayed at their mission base, and they drove us everywhere we needed to go, fed us, and worked as interpreters for us. They were beyond helpful in every way.
One of the first things I noticed about Mexico was how different it is from anywhere I’d ever been before. The houses, architecture, road system, cars, almost everything was a new experience. Monterrey is situated in a valley in between some really beautiful mountains, and we had an amazing view the whole time we were there.
Day One started with devotions on the roof of the mission, which had a balcony built on it. That is the way we started every day in Monterrey, and I know our quiet time with the Lord is part of why the trip was so good. We made sure to be intentionally focusing our minds on God and His Word. Then we sorted the clothes and supplies we had brought down to hand out. Aidan, Donny, and I got to fix the door lock on one of the ministry’s vans. In the afternoon, we split into several groups and went into the city. The YWAM staff had been praying about the specific area we went to, and as we talked to folks on the street or sitting on their porches, we found them very open to talking to us and hearing about God. We would ask if they wanted a Bible, and if they wanted us to pray for anything for them. It was a new experience for me, praying for someone I had just met through an interpreter, but I believe it stretched and grew me. A lot of people didn’t have Bibles, or wanted one to give to their kids or grandkids, and we even had to go back to the van to get some extras we had brought just in case. We gave out about 40 Bibles that day.
If I gave an exhaustive report of the trip, it would be a long, long newsletter, and it takes me a long time to write, so I’ll try to just hit on some of the highlights. On the 4th, we went to a men’s rehab center in the city. A lot of the men there shared how God had delivered them from addictions to alcohol and drugs, kept them safe from evil, and brought joy into their lives. It was really amazing to see the joy they had, and they were all excited to talk with us and asked us to pray for them. I learned that the chairs we were sitting on were donations from the CMTS warehouse, so it was really neat to see more of the results of what we do at CMTS, and how the service that we do at CMTS every day is helping people in other countries every day.
On the 6th, we went to a town called Santa Catarina, about an hour away from the YWAM base. We went there with a local pastor, Pastor Adrian. He has multiple ministries, and one of them is helping out this village with food and clothes and stuff. This was a really poor town, the houses were made mostly of pallets, with crumbly cinder blocks and rusty tin roofing. Some of us helped with a kids Sunday School that was going on, and some of the others talked with the mothers. (The men were all out working.) Then we helped hand out the food and clothes Pastor Adrian had brought, and Bibles that we had brought, and we had a time of prayer too. A consistent theme everywhere we went was praying for the people we came in contact with, even if the person didn’t understand English, they would know that you cared. It was definitely something that was uncomfortable for me to do, but that’s okay. One more thing about Santa Catarina, it was right next to some big mountains, and they were just beautiful. I thought it was really neat that God gave these dirt-poor people a spectacular view of His beautiful creation.
The 7th was Sunday, and we went to Pastor Adrian’s church service, which was in a tent in a park. It was a really good time of worship and prayer, and a good sermon. In the afternoon, we went back to the Men’s Rehab center for a service. One of the YWAM staff, Diego, who also had been one of our translators during the week, gave a great message about the Prodigal son. Aidan also spoke to the guys, and the Lord spoke through him to give them a really powerful message of encouragement. Then there was a lot of praying for people, and singing, and everyone had a really good time. These guys were in a rehab that was close to a prison, with basically no possessions except clothes and a Bible, but they were filled with joy at what Jesus had done for them. It encouraged me a lot.
On Monday, we had a really good worship time with the YWAM staff in the morning, and the rest of the day was our tourism day! One of the staff, Oby, took us through some of the cool sights of Monterrey, and we went to some souvenir places, and we got to see the solar eclipse! It was 95% complete in Monterrey.
Tuesday was our final day in Mexico, and we went to a migrant center in the morning. We handed out the last of the Bibles and tracts, and a lot of hygiene kits and clothes. Joel and Nolan gave the guys haircuts, and we talked with them while they were in the barber chairs. That was another new experience.
This whole trip was full of new experiences. Every single day we did something that was new for me, and I was able to grow and learn a lot from the trip. We left Wednesday morning for the flight home, and all the time on the airplane flight was great for reflection on the week. It seemed to fly by really fast. All during the trip, I learned more about the Bible and knowing Jesus from CMTS and YWAM staff, I experienced talking to and praying for people I had just met, I saw various living conditions different from my own, and I saw the difference having Jesus in your life can have.
I am so thankful to God for having me come to CMTS, and for everything I’ve learned here, the people I’ve met, and being able to go on this trip to Mexico. In February, Joel and Nolan asked me if I wanted to stay for another year, in an extension of the Equip program, and I have decided to stay for it. I’ll be going home for June, and coming back to CMTS the last week of July. Now I am working on starting to raise support and letting people know what I’m doing. It’s crazy to think that it’s just one more month before Equip will be done. And just one more newsletter too.
Thanks a lot to all of you who are praying and supporting me!
Talk to you later,
Caleb
“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
Ephesians 3:20-21
