The Power of Presence
This past November, GAiN held their first project to Mexico. Working alongside a local team of seven nationals, a layer ofdepth was added to the team of five; contributing to a quickerand deeper connection with the Cuautamazaco community.
During the week, the team did several different things; all with the goal of encouraging the local community of 1,500 people and ministering to their needs.
The team hosted activities with 100 children from the community, DRIME (Disciples Ready in Mobile Evangelism) performed, and the JESUS Film was shown four times in the local dialect (in partnership with the JESUS Film Church Planting Strategy).
Each day, the team also partnered with members from the local church and split up into mini-teams to do a certain task.
One of the teams helped build three concrete block walls in the shape of a large U for the local church. The church had been meeting in a temporary wooden structure, which was leaning at an angle and ready to fall down, and the members were eager to have a new structure to meet under each week. Men from the community came by to help simply because they saw the favor that the local church had.
Other mini-teams left in the morning by foot and visited families that were in need; distributing packages of food and warm blankets.
"It was such a joy to sit and talk with them. It was often a muddy jaunt to their homes, but it gave us a good perspective on the difficult lives that these families experience daily," shares Lindsey Schacter, GAIN's LIFE Teams Manager.
One of the ladies the team met, named Felicitas, shared that she had run out of sugar and beans because she was unable to harvest and sell her coffee crop due to the rain. At one point that week, she was wondering how she was going to feed her family. Ironically, this was the exact time that one of the mini-teams showed up at her house to visit her and give her a package of food. "I had to smile at the timing," shares Schacter. "The team had an opportunity to engage Felicitas in a conversation and share why they had come." For the rest of the week, the team was able to interact with Felicitas and her children. Team members were encouraged to see the peace and joy on her face.
There were many similar stories of families whose lives were impacted because of the 45 food packages and blankets that were delivered to homes in the community.
Among the many amazing people the team met was a little boy named Miguel. Early in the week, the team gave Miguel a pair of used shoes and some new socks. He broke out into a huge smile, put them on his feet, and ran around his house for hours. Seeing Miguel’s joy taught the team a lot about thankfulness as well as the power of presence. By simply being there and being present, the team was a huge encouragement to the local community; thereby demonstrating God's love, in both word and deed.
After our great initial project in November, we’re putting together another project to Mexico. We’re working on the dates with our national partner but it looks like the project will be hosted in June or July and working in a highland community in need. We’ll keep you updated as the dates come together, but if you’re interested and want to get a spot held on the team, fill out the form below for more information.