From Nashville, Tenn., to San Quintin, Baja California Norte, Mexico in 19 hours. That might have been the longest day of my life, but where we arrived and the week we experienced made the end well worth the means.
This is the fourth time I have gone with Lipscomb on a spring break mission trip to San Quintin, a small town about six hours south of San Diego, Calif. Our trip works with the non-profit called Baja Missions, which has started more than ten churchs on the Baja peninsula.
To say this year’s trip started off with a bang would be an understatement. We woke up on our first morning to a tsunami warning, but that didn’t stop us from immediately starting to work with the Iglesia de Cristo en San Quintin.
There are three main components to our trip: building a house for a family, visiting the homes of members of the church, and Vacation Bible School (VBS) classes for men, women, teens, and kids.
The house visits continue to be the most meaningful part of this mission trip for me. The church members we visit always have huge smiles on their faces when we come to their homes to spend time with them and pray for their families. They are always so inviting and so appreciative of the little amount of time and supplies we give to them.
It is there, in their homes, that many long-lasting relationships have been formed with the church members.
Jose Arturo, a little boy who always seems to be at the church in San Quintin.
On Sunday, there was a soccer game between the Mexicans and the Americans. Unfortunately we Americans lost, but it was so much fun watching the Mexicans wear Lipscomb soccer jerseys that had been donated by the men and women’s soccer teams.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the team traveled about two hours north to another small town called San Vicente. At this church, we visited the home of a husband and wife in their 80s, who had moved to this tiny town because they felt called to start a church there. The couple, Lola and Guillermo, started the church under an olive tree in their front yard, a scene that is depicted above the baptistry of the church building now in San Vicente.
We also had VBS classes in San Vicente, painted a few interior rooms and the outside of the church building and visited church members in their homes.
During the two days our team was in San Vicente, we also sent a small group to a tiny coastal town about thirty minutes east called Erendira, where the most recent Baja Missions-sponsored church has been started.
Just like our theme for the week “No Boundaries,” we were able to build relationships with other christians even though we spoke different languages. God truly was evident in our trip.