Reflections

As this year comes to a close, I am reflecting on the impacts our mission team had on the community of San Jose. We have had the chance to present a review of our mission twice to our church and once to another church with future presentations during the upcoming lenten season also to another church that is going to send a team to San Jose in 2008. Bringing the word of God to our focus group - the teenagers of San Jose, was a challenging opportunity and completely rewarding experience. God's plan was far greater than our own and was clearly working in this community before we arrived. We came up with this idea of holding a religious lip sync contest and it blossomed almost majically into "Evento Musical Cristiano" - which was grande by the way. The organizer from the community posted a sign at her home store that said - [Attend without Fail] - and they did! 200-300 Daily for 5 days in horrible (to us) heat. It was amazing to meet the boys that were touched by the word of God and attending church with them. To see the community supporting each other - across the board - all the different Christian faith churches. Chatting with the leaders of the church's and hearing about the challenges they face in their lives. Exposing children with talents that no one knew they had - giving them a forum to express their beliefs openly and honestly in such a creative manner. Being invited to pray WITH people in clearly desperate situations, praying for people that asked us for needed prayers, praying for people that didn't know we were praying for them. The connection to Christ was clear in the lyrics that were submitted to us by teens - most of them tell their own stories of how the Lord helped them or how they searched for and found Him. Sharing our testimonies and encouraging everyone that attended the daily events to look to the bible for answers to the most difficult times in our lives. Leaving behind 200 bibles for their community. During the week, we were emphasizing the promises of God: God loves you, knows you, is with you, treasures you, and forgives you. It will truly be a week that none of the teenagers, their family and friends or our team will ever forget. Experiencing the love of God is everlasting.