Thoughts on Acuna mission trip, Spring 2009:

 
                There are so many things that happen on mission trips that it’s really difficult to narrow the experience down to the most important issue, the neediest people, the most exciting event, or even the funniest moment.  I think that when one is removed from his or her comfort zone, many of the emotions and experiences are amplified, raw and powerful.   Certainly being immersed in an impoverished society makes everyday life in America seem a bit mundane and even trivial.  We take so much for granted as privileged Americans, even though most of us are in debt, feeling the pinch, cutting back on Sushi, and watching our 401k’s swirling around the drain.

Every time I have been on a mission trip I meet people who have one thing in abundance: FAITH.  Pure, unadulterated, unswerving, from-the-heart faith.  A perfect example is a woman who was living in a hovel comprised of boxes, cardboard, blankets, and tin.  Her 11 year old son has leukemia, she has congestive heart disease, and all five of them have signs of malnutrition.  She does not have the means to get them medical help on a regular basis.   When we went back the next day to deliver food, her house was completely gone.  Razed.  Poof.  Another team had promised to build them a new Casita, and had told them to tear down their old house, but that team never showed up to build the new one.  She was just sitting there on the slab with her kids.   I asked her, “Are you frustrated?”  She said she was not.  Then I asked, “Are you sad?”  She looked at me like I was crazy, and answered, “No, of course not.  I have faith.  I know that God will provide for our needs.”  It made me weep, as much for her as for the truth that I could never respond so gracefully and full of complete confidence in God’s plan for me.  It was simply humbling. 

There is so much work to be done in Acuna.  The needs seem endless but include: nutrition, education, school supplies, latrine construction, housing construction, medical, sanitation, church construction, musical instruments and instruction for the orphanage, cloth diapers, water purification systems, volunteers to help create Proyecto Reyna for breast cancer patients and survivors, psychological support for victims of abuse, recovery programs for drug and alcohol addiction, support for the local pastors and missionaries, somebody to start a community garden, grass roots business (such as sewing, embroidery, knitting), etc, etc, etc.  The list goes on.  I believe that God has a place for all of us to make a difference, whether it’s here at home or going on the actual mission trip.

 And here’s the high point….we go to make a difference for them, but the people there always pray for us.  We always end up blessed.   Faith, baby, you just can’t beat it!

 Kristen Meaders