This week, my team has been serving in Jerusalen, Chiapas (Mexico). Our main purpose here has been to pray. It sounds so simple, yet it has been profoundly powerful. We have been able to talk to many of the people here (using the little bit of Spanish we know) and pray for them. We have visited homes and served in the Maranatha church, which is literally in the back yard of where we are staying.
As we drove to where we would be staying for this week and next week, I was struck by the poverty in this area. My initial reaction was, “God, I can’t do this!” It is so different from my home. The floors are concrete, the room we are staying in is all concrete with “windows” chipped out of the wall, the kitchen is open and the chickens occasionally run through it. (There is also a pet parrot that lives in a cage hanging from the kitchen ceiling.) Roosters crow all the time and there are pigs living right outside our room. There is running water and electricity, but the town itself is very dirty. My initial reaction was not to touch anything or anyone because it felt dirty to me.
Now, my reaction has totally changed. As I meet the people here, I realize many things. God is still God here just as much as he is at my home. God provides for these people everything they need. They have food, water, clothes, work, and loving family and friends. The family we are staying with is so warm and inviting. The food is amazing! We have been so spoiled. Every meal we get to have fresh limeade! We’ve had empanadas, tostadas, spaghetti, papaya, mango, cantaloupe, bananas, boiled chicken, and scrambled eggs. The Lord’s provision has been amazing. He has taught me so much already about how He is our sustainer and provider. It is not about where or how we live, but that God is the center of our lives no matter our circumstances. It is in seeking him that we find life.
