Trip report by Julianna

Hi, my name is Julianna Crane. I just finished 8th grade at Gateway Middle school and I'm headed into Jackson High school freshman. This is the first mission trip I've ever been on and I must say, it's not at all what I expected. It's been two days of mixing cement and digging trenches and I can already feel the muscles growing! Haha, we'll work isn't the only thing we do here. In fact, last night, the whole group took some busses out to an empty lot to do some ministry work. In order to get people to come to our carnival we had to go walk around the streets, handing out invitations. It's really mind blowing how incredibly generous and open the people here are. In one home we visited, I met the sweetest old woman named Maria. When she heard us calling out she came outside and hobbled over to the gate. Rather than standing there and letting us talk to her through the gate, she opened the gate and invited us inside her home. Maria explained to us that she injured her foot a week ago, then just recently dropped a plank of wood on the same foot. She was devastated that she couldn't attend our carnival, but she asked us to pray for her. Well, nobody in my group volunteered to pray, so I decided to give it a shot. To be perfectly honest, I almost started crying right then as I prayed for Maria. I realized how incredibly lucky I am to be blessed with a beautiful home, a family, all the medical service I need, and everything I have. At the carnival, seeing all these people, happy though they don't have nearly as much stuff as I do, and praying for Maria, my eyes really opened to how selfish I have been. I can't remember the last time I thanked my parents for anything or even told them I love them from the very bottom of my heart. After this I don't see how I can go back to how things were. I don't deserve to take what I have for granted. Everything I have belongs to God and whatever I do, I can't forget that. As far as I'm concerned, my desires are and should be my last priority. I'm blessed with the life I have and I'll always remember that.



Pastor Matt and the Mexico Team