Mexico: Dec ‘07/Jan ‘08

Below you will read the personal stories from our Reynosa Mission Team. One of the unique things about this team was that it included men, women, adults, married, single, collegiates, youth, children, and whole families. This uniqueness created an incredible dynamic that enabled our team to minister in various venues and many different ways.

Our team didn’t arrive on the field until late Thursday night and into Friday morning. We spent Friday morning recouping, resting, and preparing for our ministry at one of the local churches. We actually ministered in four different churches during our trip. Each afternoon, we would lead a VBS outreach involving puppets, Bible story, gospel presentation, craft, and recreation/sports. Many times this would spill over into prayer time with the adults, fellowship and food (often homemade tamales), or even a worship time. Our team visited a nearby orphanage and had the opportunity to prayerwalk the campus. On Sunday, we divided into two groups and lead out in two different worship services providing children’s ministry, testimonies, music, and preaching.

On our last day of ministry, we divided into three groups. One group remained at the campground where we stayed and went door-to-door with Spanish tracts and information about our ministry partner’s church. Another group traveled back across the border to gather supplies for small repairs to the campground. They repaired toilets, showers, lights, and an electrical panel to name a few of the projects. They even constructed a second soccer goal to go with the one on sight. The last group went back to a church that we had been serving in on two other occasions. They led another VBS and then celebrated with everyone by breaking a pinata.

We stayed at the campground that belongs to First Baptist Church of Reynosa. Surrounding the campground are literally hundreds upon hundreds of newly built government houses. These houses obviously represent families, many of whom desperately need to hear the gospel. There is no church within miles of this area, so the possibilities are endless for future ministry. Our ministry partner, Pedro Menos, is a dedicated pastor who has a heart for the churches in the Southern Baptist Association there in Reynosa and Rio Bravo. Pedro is like an unofficial associational director that has a heart for family restoration and church planting. In fact, he is launching a ministry called “The Family Rehabilitation Center” in January ‘08 that will focus upon marriage and family counseling and restoration, which is a major need in the community and within the churches.

I pray that you not only enjoy reading the journal entries from out team, but that you will consider being a part of our next Mexico Border Mission Trip.

Written By John Mueller

Mexico: Dec ‘07/Jan ‘08

I came on this trip with my family, knowing I wanted to go to honor my parents, but not sure how God wanted to use it in my personal life. Now, on the second day of the year and the last day of our trip, there is no doubt that God has softened my heart to Him this week in a way I have not felt in a long time. Among my “God Moments” have been the over-generous hospitality of our hosts, especially Ruth and her children cooking for us three times a day, and the many children who have been such a joy to play with though we can’t understand a word they say. They remind me of my God’s special tenderness towards children and his understanding of their every need.

One of the biggest God Moments this week, something that I hope stays with me a long time, is the testimony of one old mama at our New Year’s Eve celebration on Sunday night. I sat by her early in the afternoon and helped her make a Gospel bracelet, and my heart was stirred just being in her presence. She was stooped and grey-haired, with a precious, missing-teeth smile and soft wrinkled hands. She was there with her daughter and grand-daughter – a pillar, no doubt, for all three generations of her family. She was without a husband, or any men, for that matter, but she was all the strengths of ten husbands packed into her frail body. Her Bible alone was a testimony of her faithfulness, with is worn leather cover and yellowed pages. It has been well-loved for a long time.

In all my 21 years of wisdom, I know how easy it is for my faith and faithfulness to falter. At the slightest dry spell, I begin questioning whether my God was ever there at all. I hope that someday I will be like this woman – worn by life’s difficulties but ever-true to the One she knows saves with love. Thank you, Lord, for reminding me of Your faithful goodness through this precious daughter of Yours.

Written By Kara Lasse

This mission trip has been such a great experience for my family and me! One thing God showed me during this trip was the uniqueness of His creation displayed in each person. God has gifted each of us in such different ways, and the way He put this team of 20 people together was remarkable. We had such a variety of gifts that people used to reach others for Christ.

About two hours before we left for our first Bible club meeting, we broke into our groups for preparation time. As people volunteered, or got assigned their jobs, it was awesome to see them throw their hearts and energies into their task at hand. My group was the puppet team, and we found out right then that we needed to have two different shows besides the one that we had prepared before coming. I was so thankful that God had prompted me to bring extra materials that I did not think we needed.

Whitney Lasse, Erynn Lasse, Kailey Miller and Bethany Miller were our puppeteers and they jumped right into practicing without any complaints. They did their show seven times while we were there! At times, their arms got so tired they could barely keep them up. Other times, they got so tickled behind the stage that it nearly fell over! They had a great time together sharing God’s word in Spanish with the puppets and singing Spanish songs.

Two of our group that knew a little Spanish were suddenly prepared to tell a little story in Spanish and teach a craft in Spanish. It is amazing to see how God works when we are stretched and asked to do things that without Him we could not. They both have learned to communicate so much better in Spanish and I know they were a blessing to the children.

Another thing that was great about the trip was getting to see our three children serve KIDS, love on them, and share God’s word with them. It made such an impact on their lives to see the way others live and really appreciate the basic luxuries we have been blessing with in the U.S. – like warm showers, tap water that we can drink, and toilets that you can flush paper down! I am so thankful to God that our family got to be a part of this trip. It was an experience we will always treasure!

Written By Michele Miller

This is a man that works at the camp we are staying at named Margarito. He works Monday through Friday on daily tasks and little jobs around the camp. He lives in a little shack on one side of the camp – it is about as big as a large bathroom (not big at all). He has six dogs that he faithfully takes care of. He is a quiet man, but on Saturday, I tried to talk to him (with my very broken Spanish). I asked Him if he had family nearby and he said no. I asked him if he had friends in Reynosa and he said “a few”. He must be terribly lonely. Pedro, our team leader, said that Margarito is not a Christian, but he is coming to know the Lord slowly. So many times we have seen him just watching our team – watching us eat together, watching the kids play, and watching us come and go. Seeing him makes me think about how lonely and broken this world is – how lonely and broken we all are! I hope that interacting with and watching this team this week has sparked something in his heart. I hope that this week can be a part of his testimony someday. I hope that this lonely world can be touched, loved and healed by simple conversations with God’s children. I hope that this week, even if there were no radical changes that we could see, I hope we as a team touched those who were watching and made an impact on eternity by our daily love that comes from Jesus for those around us.

Written By Whitney Lasse

During the middle of the week, we went to a very poor part of Reynosa. We went to a small church. Everyone that was there, you could tell that they were having a blast when the ladies there (at the church) were serving the team food. I noticed this old man sitting on the bench in the church (He didn’t seem to be enjoying himself…). I tried talking to him, but he didn’t respond very well. I started to walk away when I looked at the bracelet we made with the kids that were there. I turned around and gave the world man the bracelet. It was the kind of bracelet that “shares the gospel” with the colors Black, Red, White, Blue, Green and Yellow. When I gave it to him, his face lit up. He smiled so big! He got up and gave me a hug. When this happened, I realized that the smallest thing can really help a person. Even though we couldn’t communicate with words, we can still spread the love of Christ by serving other people and loving them even more.

Written By Erynne Lasse

While we have been in Mexico spending time with Mexican children and doing VBS, it has been hard to understand the Spanish that the children speak. During one of the nights at a church, while people were giving testimonies, I found out what it meant in the Bible when it says the tribes, tongues and nations will come together in Heaven. Now I know through this mission trip what in Heaven, I will be able to talk to the children we met on this trip.

Written By Chaz Miller

God has touched my heart in many ways on this mission trip. He has shown how deprived the people in Mexico are and how much they need the gospel to be spread. We have gone to churches and the Children’s Haven International Center. It is a place for children to go when their family breaks up or children that have been abused. God has shown me how much they need the gospel. I have been blessed so much by how the people in the churches received us and how God used us to share the gospel throughout the town of Reynosa. I love playing with the kids at the churches, too. They love soccer, and that is my least favorite sport, but I have learned to love it. Our team would have VBS at the churches and the children were so nice and understanding since I could not speak Spanish. I will leave with a new understanding of the gospel and when I return to Fayetteville, I will use some of the things I have learned to share the gospel.

Written By Joshua Mueller

Mexico: Dec ‘07/Jan ‘08

Something that caught my attention was how accepting people are. They didn’t even care that we spoke a completely different language, but they still did everything just as good as us. Something that made me sad was the poverty. I’ve seen pictures of places like this, but I never, ever dreamed I would be in a place like this. It’s changed how I feel about what I have at home. We have it way better than they do. Everything is made out of concrete and concrete brick and that’s it. The floors are concrete, too. I’ve not seen any carpet so far. Most places don’t have any electricity. They all use outhouses and don’t have any plumping. Those that do have plumbing, you can’t flush the toilet paper down the toilet, so you have to put it in the trash – so you can imagine the smell. You can’t drink the water because it has bad bacteria in it. So we are using water bottles for everything. They also don’t have hot water so the showers are freezing. We have it way better at home then they do. Just think we only have to stay here for a week – these people live this way all the time.

Written By Jesse Turner

Yesterday we went to a church that had lost their pastor and attendance had decreased from around 60 to 10. The church was situated in a neighborhood and several children wandered in from the surrounding area during the VBS time. The children of the church knew scripture very well.  Clark Lasse offered the message, Lisa Turner and Michelle Miller sang a duet and Whitney Lasse and I gave our testimonies. The people seemed very happy that we came to worship with them. Clark’s message was very fitting for this congregation. He spoke of the Israelites and how God delivered them when they had no other hope. I am amazed and excited how God matched the message He gave through Clark with the church’s need.  In the evening, we met with a church that is starting a family rehabilitation center. We had a great time of testimonies and worship.

Written By Marty Turner

Mexico: Dec ‘07/Jan ‘08

This being Sunday, we had the opportunity to worship at a local body. The singing in both Spanish and English was wonderful. To have each tribe proclaim in their tongue praises to Christ is truly a wonderful experience. To know we serve a God who is not limited as we are by language is awesome. The song Amazing Grace is just that “amazing” in any language when proclaimed from the heart to our Savior.

Written By Richey Miller

This trip is very similar to the one I took during Spring Break in 2007 with Fellowship Bible Church. The thing that really sticks out to me is how truly loving and caring they are in Mexico. They don’t have much and yet they are the ones trying to bless us. I can’t comprehend how they can do this. How can they possibly love us so much more than themselves? It is one of my New Year’s resolutions to try and love others more than me. It is what God is calling me to do.

Written By Jon Lasse

Today was my 18th wedding anniversary and I want to share with everyone what happened to Marty and I that made this day one that we’ll never forget.

Our team was doing a VBS at our host, Pedro’s, church. After spending time doing various activities with the children and adults everyone gathered back into the small sanctuary. At this time Pedro asked Marty and I to come to the front by the podium. In spanish he explained to the congregation that it was our 18th anniversary, to which everyone applauded. Then in english he told us that they have a special song they sing to couples on their anniversary. They started singing the song and then one by one, members of the congregation came up to us and gave us hugs, kisses, and personal congratulations & advice. It was quite an unexpected blessing. The sincere joy on their faces and the warm wishes they verbalized to us (through a translator) was such a tremendous gift to us.

Here we often take for granted someone’s anniversary and don’t really recognize the milestone. But we need to change that. Our children need to see true joy and blessings being poured out on couples who’ve reached another year of matrimony. In a day where the institution of marriage is under so many attacks, we need to show our children that there are marriages that last and bring great joy to the individuals and to God.

Marty and I will both remember this anniversary as one of our richest memories.

Written By Lisa Turner

Mexico: Dec ‘07/Jan ‘08

Today I met a five year old girl who’s name was Layda. She hung-out with me for almost all of the VBS. It really taught me what it means when God says that every tribe, tongue, and nation will be in heaven. I hope that I will get to see her again – either on the earth or up in heaven.

Written By Bethany Miller

The Bible verse that has seemed to fit the theme of my time here so far is Philippians 2:13 – “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” When I was preparing for this trip, I thought my main “duty” would be to play music and then help out a little but with the other ministries. I ended up with presenting the gospel in Spanish and playing a little bit of music. That might not seem to be a big deal except that it’s been 18 years since I’ve studied Spanish and I was “volunteered” to do this the day after we arrived. Let’s just say that my Spanish speaking skills gave a whole new meaning to “speaking in tongues.”

I was resistant at first; feeling frustrated, unprepared, unworthy, and wondering why God would choose me for this. But, I knew I could not say ‘no’ and was determined to do my best as I constantly shuffled through my Spanish-English dictionary and desperately tried to recall verb conjugations I learned in high school. While my Spanish is rudimentary and plenty of mistakes were made, there was an undeniable sense of satisfaction and joy in knowing I was obeying God. I’ve been extraordinarily thankful that God continues to work on me and through me, challenging me to grow in new areas and get our of my comfort zone – all with the condition that I’m not alone and not on my own.

Sunday night, Pedro (the pastor we’re working with in Reynosa) complemented me on my Spanish-speaking skills and asked how I became so good at it. I could only laugh as I told him the story, knowing it was not me but God who was working in me for His pleasure.

I don’t know if anyone will be saved through my Spanish (or lack of it), but Pedro’s wife, Ruth, told me afterwards that my testimony did encouraged her to learn English better. She said it was not only important for her but was important so she could do God’s work. She has been scared to do it, but seeing me do something that I was also scared to do encouraged her to break out of her own comfort zone and see God’s work in her life.

Written By Jennifer Gidden

When we first arrived in Mexico, I thought it was going to be awesome. And after my first day, I didn’t like it. I was wanting to be back in Arkansas. I prayed to God, asking that He would help me be a SLOB. I also tried to remember to delight myself in the Lord (Psalm 37:4). The next day, we had VBS. I actually enjoyed myself playing with the kids. I knew God answered my prayer. He made me a S.L.O.B. (Servant, Learner, Offering, Blessing).

Written By Jeremy Mueller

Mexico: Dec ‘07/Jan ‘08

I have come to be truly conscious of my vanity here in Reynosa. Today as I took my second shower in cold water (since there is no warm water available at our camp); cleaned the dirt off my hands before eating some tamales our gracious hosts served with wet wipes from my car; used an outhouse as it was the only ‘bathroom’ available at the church we visited – I realized how truly blessed I am to have running water, toilets that flush, sinks with soap to clean my hands before eating, etc, etc.

In America, many of us take these ‘necessities’ for granted, while in the areas we’ve ministered to here in Mexico, these ‘necessities’ would be considered luxuries. How many people are there in Fayetteville or Northwest Arkansas living in such conditions? We don’t see them, but I’m sure they’re around.

Written By Lisa Turner

This is our second day into what’s been a great experience. I didn’t get to go with the team yesterday because Whitney was sick and I was the logical choice to stay behind with her. But I had a great time playing jump rope and “football” with Pedro’s kids. From what Pedro told me later, they seemed to enjoy it, too.

This morning I got up earlier than the rest of the gang and joined Joyce who had already been up for an hour or so. We had a good talk. We both are feeling stirred by this “mission” experience. I was feeling much like I did on previous short excursions to India – like a fish back in water. My comment to Joyce was as follows: “I heard someone on the radio this week say that happy people are folks who are doing what they love to do – what would be a hobby for them – and getting paid to do it. I’d be doing what I’ve love to do anyway and hopefully have my needs met in the process.” Joyce felt much the same way. Since college she’s wanted to serve in a mission context but concluded when she married me that God was likely closing that door for her. We both feel quite strong that God may have such an immersion (long term) missions experience in His “cards” for us.

During our morning run, we ran the entire length (2.5 miles and back) of the housing development that adjoins the campground. As we were running, the Holy Spirit was just bombarding me with “a vision” and strategy for planting a church in this community. He even gave me a name for it: the church in _____ (name of the community which I can’t remember at the moment). The whole time I was talking about it, my heart was “burning within me”. I told Joyce I’d commit to learning Spanish this year if I could be part of the team that would come in a year to launch it. As I’m rehearsing in my mind right now what I want to share with the team later, my eyes are welling up with tears of excitement.

None of us ever fully understand what God works the way he does. Who knows? Maybe this little moment of “inspiration” could be the start of the advance of His Kingdom into this little corner of the world’s darkness. Pedro says there are tons of “internationals” moving to Reynosa because of the businesses here. Maybe we could work into our long range plan – ISCA – Reynosa!

Written By Clark Lasse

Within minutes of arriving at our first site, I realized that interacting with children that didn’t speak the same language would be more difficult than I thought. Before attempting to communicate with the children, my brother came up to me and said, “We all laugh in the same language.” Not only was that pretty funny, but it inspired me to play with the kids. God taught me on the first day that even if you can’t understand each other, people can be brought together in Christ to learn about Him. Through every struggle and obstacle that we have faced and will face, God has been and will be with us through His blessings and provisions of friendship and family on this trip.

Written By Kailey Miller

Today we visited a church that was located in a very rural, farming community. The team did a VBS type program for them featuring a puppet show, a craft, a Bible story and recreation. About an hour into the program the children and most of our adults were outside the sanctuary playing and having a great time. I decided to look for some of the women and so I stepped back into the sanctuary. A few seconds later Joyce Lasse joined me inside the room. We found all the ladies inside sharing with our interpreter, Pedro, who is also a Pastor. While they all spoke in spanish, I was riveted to them, hearing them tell Pedro about their trials. In what little spanish I do know, I could tell that he was telling the plan of salvation to a couple of the ladies, and sharing about matrimony with a couple more. One lady in particular was having a very difficult time and while Joyce went to sit by her and comfort her while she softly cried, I asked Pedro to share with the ladies that while we may look different and speak different, we all have similiar problems in life and that as sisters in Christ we must shoulder each others burdens.

Those ladies were doing an excellent job of sharing each others burdens that day, and after we prayed with them I hope they feel like we truly do care what they’re going through. Later while sharing a meal with them, a few of our ladies gathered around a sweet woman named Juanita, and we prayed over her and whatever life situations had brought her to such sorrow that day. Pedro explained that we wanted to pray for her and encourage her, which is hopefully what we did. I know she couldn’t understand what we were saying, but I truly hope she felt our love. I ask that you too pray for these women, living, raising children, and worshiping God in conditions that we would find difficult. Ask for the salvation of them and their husbands (some married, some not) and their children.

I need to mention that Pedro is bringing a Couples & Families Conference to them on January 26th. Please pray for this opportunity to be widely attended.

Written By Lisa Turner