A 25 hour day
We departed from Havana, Cuba at 10 am and landed in Mexico, Cancun at 10 am with a 1 hour flight. This is how we experienced a 25 hour day.
Some background information, we travelled for 17 hours on a truck/ bus from Santiago to Havana in the heat with our knees around our ears and sandwiches packed! We slept at the airport, leaving the comforts, security and love for our Cuban hosts behind and entering the UNKNOWN. The host unknown, the plan unknown, the nation unknown. What we do KNOW is that God is with us. He has prepared the way and is in complete control. When team members asked, do we have a host? Our team leader replied “Yes!” This was true… we had a host… we just didn’t know who it was … Yet.
We arrived in Mexico, Cancun airport. The first Mexicans we met were the immigration officials. When immigration officials ask if you are a missionary, you say No, we are tourists. But this specific immigration official had seen the Isaiah 55 reference on our team shirts… We quickly realised he was asking us if we are missionaries not to kick us out of the country but in fact to invite us to the local church that he is assistant pastor of. We explained that we came to Mexico trusting that the Lord would connect us to people he wanted us to meet, serve and experience God together with.
Pastor Abel invited us to a service they were having that night. This was a special event at the church as they usually don’t have services on Wednesday evenings. So trusting that this was of the Lord, 11 of us pitched up at the church… backpacks and all.
We were welcomed like old friends and honoured guests. The pastor was eager to hear more about us and what on earth we were doing in Mexico. After the service at 10.30pm plus a total of 2 days travelling we still weren’t sure where we were sleeping, possibly camping on the beach which we still had to find. One of the church members asked the pastor if we needed a lift to our accommodation… the pastor said "yes, I think they are camping on the beach." That very church member opened up her home to our team of 11! Incredible! The more we spoke with the pastor the more we both knew God had been planning this all along, what a divine moment!
God lined everything up and prepared this meeting to the finest detail!
-The list of impossibilities started before we even set foot into Mexico… Visas… This is a testimony on its own but to summarise it for you: We needed an appointment to even get into the Mexican embassy in Cuba which you have to make 6 months before you go. We were reminded that we are citizens of heaven and ambassadors of Christ therefore having the rights of an ambassador and so believing in this, we arrived and the embassy doors opened for us. It takes 10 days in RSA to get the visa and is only valid for 180 days but our God is full of surprises and we walked out the same day with the visa in hand that is valid for 10 years! We got a frequent travellers visa where you need 3 stamps in your passport in the last year…Some people on the team are travelling out of the country for the first time this year and only had 3 stamps in their passport! Thank you Lord!!
-Our host just moved into a house far too big for them and was not quite sure what to do with all the space… problem solved!
-Our host was not even coming to the service until a last minute decision and had to stay behind later than normal after the service to sort out some things which led us to meet them.
-Our host decided 2 days before we arrived that she would clean out the spare rooms and prepare them for guests that she didn’t know were coming.
-Our host is the Architect of the church building that we are helping at therefore takes us to work with him and knows exactly what we need to do!
-The church is currently under construction and they were in need of help to finish the building on time.
-Two days before we arrived the pastor’s wife was sick. In prayer God told her to stop working so hard on the church building, that she should rest and that He would send her help… the next day we arrived.
-People ( who our host doesn't know) arrive at the house we are staying at with crates of food wanting to bless us and spend time with us sharing so much of their hearts with us, what a blessing that so many of them speak English!
-In prayer for Mexico we felt the 3 main focus areas were youth, healing and prayer… Please pray with us to see God move in these areas.
Since we have been here, without mentioning that God had put this on our hearts to anyone, we have been at the youth leaders meeting, youth sport events and met many members of the youth. We have been on a hospital visit and invited to pray for people in their houses for healing, where we experienced God healing people through prayer! We have been to prayer meetings and had countless opportunities to pray with people and see God speaking into their lives.
-The people who are in this incredible God story are “normal,” our host is a young family (A married couple 25 years old with a 1-year-old daughter) We are not special or anymore loved by God than anyone else. All is by God’s grace!!! He even gives us the faith and willing hearts to say YES to the impossible, step out in faith (which starts where possible ends) and experience God in action before our very eyes. What a privilege to experience the living God we serve! HE IS ALIVE!
-It is an amazing experience so far to see how We are not Pioneering this journey into Mexico... God is!
-Hebrews 12; Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith.
-How wonderful it is to not be able to take credit for any part of this testimony of Jesus, what else can we do but worship and praise Him! Thank you Lord your goodness is unending.
-Isaiah 55 verse 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,” declares the Lord. Verse 11 “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I send it.”
Your kingdom come in Mexico!