Our first team here in Xenacoj was amazing. It was a group of ten people, with six being students that came out of Indiana. Many of them had not traveled on a missions trip out of the country before, so it was all a very new experience. It was so great to see God work in such a new group. This team installed stoves in widow’s houses, worked with children in local schools, did a feeding ministry, and did sports ministry in the community. Their willingness to serve was an extreme encouragement.
The team that came in had recently dealt with a pastor that they knew that had recently been killed. It was a very difficult time for several of the students and leaders. During one of our Big Group sessions in the week, we noticed where one of the students appeared to be troubled. After going to pray for her, we realized that the passing of the pastor they knew had still not yet been resolved. We prayed over her and the others who were still upset by this, and that moment of having believers praying peace over them is what they needed to have resolution in their lives. It was an incredible moment of seeing God move in the lives of that group and our team.
This group also had several moments that truly stretched their comfort zone. One such account of this occurred in one of the schools we did children’s ministry in. The students did not know Spanish, but attempted to learn and communicate with the children. The language barrier made it somewhat awkward for a few of them, but they persevered. One of the older students, had a particularly difficult time at first with this situation. The first day in the schools, he did not know what to do with the children at all. But as time went on during the week, he became more accustomed to it, and eventually was in his element with those kids. It was a tremendous blessing.
Our stove projects involved Onil stoves, which are manufactured from mainly concrete, and are wood-burning. We placed them in widow’s homes so that they had a safe surface to cook on that did not present a fire hazard, and so that smoke would not fill their homes. One of the youth leaders, stepped in right away and led the construction of the stoves with the teens, as he had years of construction experience. The youth gained such a satisfaction in installing those stoves to better the community, and it showed in every one of their smiles.
