I am quickly adjusting to the fact that I am white (gringa). Everywhere we go, we are stared at and you can hear little voices whispering, “Mira, gringos” (look, white people) You see children smile at us then quickly hide behind their mother or run away. You see people stick their heads out the doors to see us and then when eye contact is made they quickly return inside. We have been blessed to travel to 4 different villages in the past week. Three of those villages have never interacted with white people. Each village was different. The people were hesitant in each village, but their responses were different. In San Juan, the children warmed up to us eventually and enjoyed playing with us. In another village (that I can´t pronounce or spell), the children were extremely scared of us. In this village, there is not one person that reads and they do not attend school. The children would not come near us. We slowly began to reach them, by playing ball with them and doing what they do. I am pretty sure I made the biggest fool of myself as I copied the little girls as they twirled around in the skirts clapping their hands. I am not sure what I was doing, but they laughed and they slowly began to come closer. It is amazing to see the way that God can break down cultural walls and language barriers. In the village of Mango, we were welcomed and the kids warmed up to us very fast. We sang songs with them and gave many high fives. Soon, we were walking through the villages each of us holding hands with children on each side. (below is the picture of the church at San Juan)
I am so thankful that we serve the same God in the U.S. as they do here in Mexico. While debriefing last night, we looked back on the ways that God had used us to love on people and to provide these people with positive experiences with “gringos” and missionaries. We were the first missionaries in each of these communities. In each place, we held a children´s service and an adult service. We preached about being the body of Christ and loving people and loving God. It was neat to see the ways that we were able to bless and encourage the community. We were able to pray for the sick and invite people to know Christ and be filled with the Holy Spirit. They blessed us through their hospitality, their cooking, and their smiles.
We have today and tomorrow off then will be returning to Santa Maria until Friday and then to a village called Jerusalem for the last week of January.
Please continue to pray for us as we enter these communities, that God´s presence would be felt and experienced, that people would come to know Christ personally, and for continued health and safety.
I am so grateful for all of you. Know that while you are praying for me, I am praying for you!
