The Best of East Texas

I wish I had time last week to blog about some new friends from ETBU. I didn't, so now I am catching up.

When I became a missionary in northern Mexico I was told that a big part of my job would be working with volunteer groups. It was something I had really been looking forward to, although I had heard enough horror stories about the headache these trips could be. Fortunately, my first group was a large and crazy crew from East Texas Baptist University. They were here on their spring break to work with college students at Tec de Monterrey.

I have to be honest and admit that when they first showed up I was a little overwhelmed. There were about 20 of them and one of me, and I was supposed to know what to do. I hope I acted more on top of things than I felt. Fortunately, neither I nor the group came into the week with any expectations. At least I don't think they had any expectations. Whatever the situation, God turned it into an awesome experience.

We really only had three days to get things done, so we had to move fast. The strategy was simple. We started out on Monday by prayer walking the campus and asking God to move in a mighty way among the students here. As usual, He came through. Tuesday we were able to meet dozens of students, and even attend an English class were one girl gave her testimony. The language barrier was no barrier at all, as the Mexican students who were drawn to the group were able to communicate in English. On Tuesday night, we had a cultural exchange party at my apartment. It was a blast. Drawn by God, good conversation, a rockin' band on my back patio, and some good food, about 30 Tec students spent the evening hanging out with the volunteer group. By the end of the night, I had met many new friends who were interested in either practicing English, playing basketball or soccer, or even studying the Bible.

On Wednesday (this was a week and a half ago), the American students were back on campus meeting Tec students for lunch and continuing conversations that had begun the night before. Thursday morning we took a trip outside of town to a waterfall called Cola de Caballo, which means horse's tail. The group got to do a little hiking and pose for some good pictures. As they pulled away on Thursday afternoon, all I could do was thank God for them and for the way He had used them in such a short time here. Although it was exhausting and a little crazy at times, I wouldn't have changed a thing. I just want to say thank you to the ETBU group (and the guys from Laredo), and tell you guys that I can't wait to see you down here again. You did an awesome job, and I pray that you continue to let God use you at home like you did here in Mexico. Dios les bendiga!