Our first ever Village Youth impact trip was a massive success. 10 students and four leaders made the trip down to Oaxaca, Mexico a couple weeks ago. The group was a mixed bag in that some on the team have been traveling down to Mexico for the last 10 years, and for others, this was their first airplane ride, ever! There was excitement, but also nervousness before we embarked: what would this trip hold for us?
Early Saturday morning we made our way to YVR and began our journey. The students started the trip timidly, but that all changed quickly. By the middle of our trip, we had taught in four different schools, and been trained to give our testimony and share our faith. We had seen 37 people give their lives to Jesus in a park in Puerto Escondido and were debriefing back at the missions base we were staying at. The ethos of the room was almost the exact opposite of how it started. Roars of laughter erupted one after another, nicknames were being thrown around, sentimental moments were being shared, and the overall consensus was that we were in the middle of a very special team.
I could not be more proud of the group. They worked so well together and gave it their all with anything they were tasked with. Whether it was doing a drama at a school of 500, sharing their testimony to strangers in a park who don’t share your language, or translating between our Mexican hosts and other students, they did everything with excellence. This was the kind of team that you want representing Jesus and his mission here on earth. We all came in with the expectation that we were going so that we could help others, but we found ourselves being ministered to and changed the most.
As we finished the trip, we were all struck with the same question, “what did I even accomplish?” This question was on our minds as one of the missionaries said his goodbye. He spoke a word that perfectly summarized what this trip was for us. He said, “You all came, and with your actions you planted a seed in our community, let me try to assure you that we promise to take care and tend to that seed.”
It was great to know that all you may have done is start something, but those on the ground are now working off of our efforts to further the name of Jesus in their communities. We couldn’t have asked for a better trip.
-Michael Chinchilla, Director of Youth