Mexico Mission Trip Reflection, final part

It's been over a week since I've been back... so even though I feel I can continue my reflections of my time in Mexico ad infinitum, I feel like I need to wrap these up in order to look forward. I've been self-conscious, that if I continue these reflection pieces for much longer, that I'll be risking becoming one of those people who stay in the past. Thus, the final question I'll be covering is this-

Q: What has God taught me during my time in Mexico, and how can that transfer to life at home?

This was probably the hardest question for me to answer when Dave asked it the first time; I was struggling with wanting to get home. It was doubly tough because I have to admit, I never had a heart for Mexico. In fact, I remember when I began in ministry, I had expressed my conviction that I would never go on missions to Mexico because I did not have a heart for the people or the country.

* It is probably wise at this point to describe how the history of my faith journey has been filled with numerous times when God has challenged me to go much further than I was personally willing to go. When I was interning at Evergreen, Pastor Ken challenged me to minister outside of the Asian American ministry context that I was familiar with.... and that challenge led to five years at Panorama that has shown me that God's ideal is infinitely greater than the ethno-centric limited vision I had before. Ministering at Panorama also directly resulted in the beginning of my missions experiences in Mexico with Dave and Adventures in Life. This has led to my clearer understanding of a "theology of discomfort" where God oftentimes is where I'm too uncomfortable to be under my own power.

With that background, I hope you can understand the divine comedy of how I have ended up working with Dave in Mexico for seven of the last eight years! However, the previous six summers were spent in Ensenada (also known as SoCal light), so this year's trip to Merida and Oaxaca was a vastly different challenge. This trip was truly into the heart of Mexico. But after the two weeks I was there, the only emotions I could muster were of apathy and indifference... like ministry in Oaxaca would be a battle for others to fight.

Yet an interesting thing happened upon coming back. People told me they were praying for me... people asked how my trip went... and I realized that it was a great experience, one that I was fortunate to have had! And not only that, I started thinking about how to do things better next year. The amazing also started happening... I began wanting to go back... ok, ok, ok, let's not go overboard with this enthusiasm, but I just thought it was significant because I'd never felt that way with any of my previous trips. There is a deep and genuine authenticity along with a joie de vivre amongst the kids and others we engaged with that was both refreshing and captivating in retrospect. Though I'll always be a Japanese (American) Europhile at heart, I think I may be falling in love with Mexico. Can't wait to go back!

In the meantime, as we get ready to plant a "different" kind of church, I need to remember the lessons God has taught me over time... that He is often not to be found where I'm comfortable and confident... I need to look to minister where I'm uncomfortable, because that is probably where God is.

Last picture from Mexico, me at a very wet and rainy Monte Alban.

I hope these reflections were coherent and gave you a slight glimpse into my experience and my thoughts regarding my time there. Please contact me if you want to be a part of the team next year!