By Jacob Martens
I am writing again from the Glessners’ backyard, and this will be my last chance to write from Mexico. I have been thinking about the way the houses are situated in Mexico; they seem to start on the sidewalk if not the curb, and concrete or brick walls make up the fences. It seems like a paradox: there appears to be no yards, but they are hidden behind solid brick walls, and I gather there are many people in them. What’s more, there simply appears to be more people out and about walking the streets. This morning we drove through the neighborhood, and I saw a family walking up the street, and I recognized Andric walking to the daycamp.
At the beginning of the trip there were many uncertainties for how the Sunset team fit into the vision of the Pueblo de Esperanza team. It has been fun to watch our four costumed characters develop into a story that was made up along the way. Over the course of the four days, a new character was introduced each day. You may recall the Andrew was El Capitan, and Kelley was la pirata who kept trying to attack Andrew. On Wednesday, Andrew was joined by his sailor Caleb Davenport, or marinero, who attempted to ward off the pirate attacks. However, the pirate captured the marinero but the captain took Caleb’s place instead. On the fourth day, First Mate Caleb took control of the ship, but stow-away Caleb Kamalu was found on board without his ticket or a pasaporte. I won’t give it all away in case others would like to tell the rest of the story, but lets just say the Gospel was presented in a fun way through these characters, and I’m not sure how the plot would have unfolded if it wasn’t truly a marriage of minds between both the teams from Sunset and Pueblo de Esperanza.
It seems like we’ve accomplished all our goals. As I write this blog , part of the team is out shopping for the rest of the equipment to set up the sound system. Another part is finishing the basement of the GOTA de Esperanza, and the ladies are at the church celebrating all the hard work the Pueblo de Espernaza ladies put into the program. Last night, the Sunset men had their own fellowship time with the Pueblo de Esperanza men; as an icebreaker, we shared two things we had eaten that were true, and one that was a lie. Fitting for a bunch of guys, there were a lot of confessions of eating organ meats and other strange exotic animals. Then we discussed a video about character development and how only a response to the Gospel can help us grow, and that the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) is not a buffet line, but something every Christian life should produce. Most importantly, ten kids at the club biblica (daycamp) responded positively to the Gospel and invited Jesus into their hearts. So it seems befitting to conclude with prayer requests.
Pray for the ten kids who have made this first step of faith; pray that their change of heart can ripple through their community and through the generations. Pray for the GOTA de Esperanza community center, for God’s timing and provision that will finish the second and third floors of the center, and that their American flag football community outreach will continue to make contacts with the unreached. Pray for David, Puebla de Esperanza’s missionary to Uruguay, and pray for 18 year-old Fernando, who will be a deckhand aboard OM Logos Hope for the next two years in Africa. Pray for Ray, the Glessner’s intern with the magnetic personality that everyone would like in their ministry. Pray for endurance and wisdom of the Glessner’s ministry. Finally, pray for the families of Pueblo Nuevo, for the relationships with the team that have taken root this week, and that all involved be in tune to receive God’s will in what’s to come.