Mexico Wrap Up
Been home from our mission trip for almost a month now… and enough time to take a few moments to scribble down some overall thoughts on our mission trip to Merida, Mexico. So here goes…
* It was an interesting week for me- being “the leader” in a good way. Most trips I’ve been on before I was more the hang with the students guy- this time around I was the “leader” which was actually something I really enjoyed. It’s interesting seeing myself in a different way. It’s a good thing and in many ways natural and part of the season of life I’m in. I’m very grateful the team trusted me and followed where our trip led us.
* One of the fun parts of being a leader who delegated to great leaders is that (especially at VBS) I found myself with not a lot of things that I had to do. What I mean is that we broke our team into 3 teams and each team had an incredible leader. (Art, David & Joe) Each of them met with their team to plan & pray for their part of our trip. They all knocked it out of the park… every night. My role was to simply hang out and make sure they had what they need, troubleshoot anything going on and connect with the leaders we were serving. It was cool to be able to let go, trust and watch things happen. I felt like my director at North Point a lot (that would be Coach Shef for you blog folks) he does a great job of trusting leaders and letting them do what they do. It was a cool experience.
* Even a few weeks later I feel a strong connection to our team. My friend Rick said it best- “There is always something special you share with those you are in the trenches with.” Well said. It seems that most of our team still shares that strong bond from our experience. We had a get together last night and it was great to see everyone again.
* It struck me when I was preparing for a talk for July 4th- the city we were in (Merida) was developed in the 1500′s from the Mayan’s. The United States hasn’t been around that long. Crazy how much God has blessed our country so quickly.
* The “win” for this trip was two-fold- first t serve the fine folks at Shalom with whatever they needed from us. I hope and pray that we did that well. Secondly it was for the parent/student team to have a shared experience that caused a deeper connection to each other. It’s hard to gauge that so early after the trip- but it sure seems that the Lord did that and more. It’s something our ministry leaders have been talking about for a while now- partnering with families to create cool experiences that have spiritual value. These trips were our first 2 shots at doing that and from my perspective I’m very excited about this season of our ministry.
* As we begin to move from it, it’s cool to hear that the church we did the VBS at has had an increase in attendance. It’s cool to hear some stories of how God is working in the hearts of our team. It’s cool to be reminded that the God of Atlanta is the God of Mexico and the God of the Universe. It’s real easy to kick back and only see God where you are- it’s so refreshing to be reminded that God is at work all over our world. His Kingdom is not our church buildings- His Kingdom is His people. It was an incredible honor to serve some of His people with some of His people.
* Have had a bunch of people ask me if I would go back. In a heartbeat. Even last night a lot of folks on our team want to go back next year. Cool stuff.
Lord may you take everything from our trip and use it for your glory…