How many Australians does it take to open an industrial sized yoghurt tub? It’s a good question.
Our team is Remco, Wing, Steffen, Raychell, Jesse as leader and myself (Kezz). So our outreach to Mexico began.. And it began like an adventure.
As we arrive in LAX airport I notice that America smells different and we are already in miscommunication with the Tijuana base about who is picking us up. As it turns out we are meant to be in San Diego, where our new friend Nolan is waiting for us. So we run for a bus, then we run like crazy people to a train. The train ride was beautiful, seeing the west coast of America and the boys immediately make friends and start evangelism with the people on the train.
Getting into San Diego we meet with Nolan and he takes us to some good old American takeaway, In and Out. It was some really good grease, then on to Mexico. Crossing the border was actually exciting, speaking Spanish for the first time while getting our visas and driving on crazy Mexican roads.
The Tijuana base is beautiful, overlooking the ocean and we are staying in a little house just down from their office. We can climb out onto our roof and see out to sea. It’s actually quite cold here, which most of us were unprepared for, but we have purchased panchos etc.
Brooke and Omar have been our best friends here, what an amazing couple! They also just got engaged! They have organized our ministry while we are here and have done a fantastic job.
We have been able to head into the colonias (slums) and help with the houses, play with the kids and build relationships with the families there. The children are amazing and we all have our little special favorites already. The Mexican people are incredibly hospitable and totally fun, providing us with cinnamon tea while we work and so many hugs. We also had the opportunity to go to downtown Tijuana, (Zona Notre), and serve soup on the street and speak with the people. It really is an entirely different world than what we are so used to. We spent some time talking to a man named Oscar who told me about his life and trying to get clean from drugs, his openness touched my heart and he was so grateful for the soup, I hope we will see him again. Children all over absolutely love Wing and Raychell, even though we cannot understand what they are saying most of time, they do not even care. We also spent time in the juvenile prison on Thursday, which was so great. The boys we met were so open to talk and Omar translated for us. We shared the parable of the prodigal son and Wing shared a testimony of healing, which were both well received. We spent a lot of time just talking with them, they actually taught us how to steal a car and shared about their lives and we are really looking forward to seeing them again next week.
Youth Street was also fantastic! Remco, Wing and Ray all taught dancing, Jesse went on sports team and Steffen and I went skating. We pick up most of the kids for Youth Street and here they have the greatest problem of all… Too many kids! There was around thirty boys on skate teams alone and I was seriously worried we would get busted by the policia here, for packing the vans out. Steffen shared a testimony of God’s protection and the effectiveness of prayer. The Youth Street staff here, do a great job, but they are really under-staffed. There are kids running around everywhere! But this really is an amazing ministry and I’m excited for next week.
We had our first day off today but we all went to church called Hope Chapel, run by an American family and they were really great. They were such a welcoming church and we received many hugs! We also got opportunity to learn to barter at the markets and have some great team time with Omar and Brooke.
We really have had a great first week, the Tijuana base has really welcomed us with open arms and we all love it here and would love to stay and help longer. We also got to visit the Ensenada base through the week, which was also beautiful. Even helping out in the kitchen is a total joy! We’ve had our vans searched by Mexican marines which we all thought was hilarious, they are so scary looking, we have eaten a lot of tacos, laughed so much at and with each other, had dance offs with kids, we’ve almost fallen off cliffs in vans, had bon fires, we have some great bathroom stories and I’ve driven a massive van/truck on the right side of the road and broken my finger building. God has so much in store for this area of Mexico, He really is taking ground and we have been so blessed to be a part of it.
We need to pray for Youth Street as they are still pioneering this ministry here and they are in a process of developing culture, which can sometimes be challenging. Our team personally needs prayer for continued unity and good attitudes toward our ministries, sometimes seeing so much hardship makes you feel overwhelmed and a little hopeless but we are renewed through faith and hope from the Lord, that we are doing what He has called us to and that He is working in things we cannot see. We also need prayer for our journeys to Mazatlan next weekend, currently we are not too sure how we are getting there so we are waiting on opportunities from the Lord.
Youth With A Mission Newcastle (CRICOS No. 02157G)
in partnership with Youth With A Mission Canberra Inc
Trading as Institute for the Nations - Australia (RTO 0449)
ABN: 40 345 561 378
Nationally Recognised Training
YWAM Newcastle currently offers two courses which are accredited courses recognised through the Australian Qualifications Framework. They are:
Discipleship Training School (Certificate III in Discipleship, course code 51825)
School of Evangelism (Certificate IV in Evangelism, course code 51965)
Nationally Recognised Training
YWAM Newcastle currently offers two courses which are accredited courses recognised through the Australian Qualifications Framework. They are: