By Rob Wall
It’s 3:00am, and I can’t sleep. It’s probably because I’m getting older…yet, I’m getting older! I’m not sleeping, because the Lord continues to place on my heart hard things. The people of Mexico, this ministry, and our staff consume my thoughts. They sit on the front lines of darkness and still find the energy to wake each morning with a passion for reaching out to some of the most beautiful people in the world. Families that would change their whole day, just to spend an hour with us. Families that understand how significant relationship is, give what little they have to invite us into their homes and pray over us before we leave. Humbling, especially as we are guests in their country, community and lives.
Many of the streets we build on have no name, but the families that live there, do. They are diverse and come from every part of Mexico. They have experienced things that would scare us, take us out of our comfort zone and change our worldview. This diversity is so precious and speaks to every one of us. It is the raw material that helps us understand the dirt, plastic and human condition that defines people I call my friends. This is our beautiful world and something that is untouched by the politics of today. The enemy tries to have a foothold, but the world is really run by those hearts that the Lord seeks out. It is His.
After 25 years, God continues to show Brenda and me that these streets are not just made of dirt but born in life…relationship. These are real families, that hurt, love and know the same Lord. In Canada, we have our separate churches, individual houses and yet the greatest lie is, “we are an Island.” Why does it take a journey abroad to understand that missions starts back home?
However, one of the blessings Brenda and I have, is knowing a community amongst the many churches and families that visit Mexico. We get to hear the heart of so many people wanting to make a difference back home and abroad. Nothing happens by chance, and every person that has contributed might never understand the value of that time. I hear over and over again, from grown children, how “someone from another country came such a long way to spend time with me,” and they’re changed because of that moment. I love 1 Thessalonians 5:11 because it speaks into who you were when you came down. Wanting, but also giving.
This season, I learned of a young girl in Canada who spent her free time collecting bottles for a family. She raised all that money, on her own, and those bottles built a family a house…a home. Can you imagine what it took to raise thousands of dollars through pop bottles? For a home and people, she never met? It’s the widow’s mite, the things done in secret and why you never talk about the things that matter. She gave of her heart for someone that may never know.
God doesn’t want our money, He just wants our heart…
Thank you for being Jesus to so many families and the allowing the Lord to reach out to our friends. In that, you have literally cemented foundations into communities that would otherwise not have hope. What you have done in secret does not go unnoticed. Thank you!
