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we returned from our amor mission trip a little over 48 hours ago. here are some fresh thoughts…right off the grill:
to be sure, i have a lot of emotions as i reflect back on our annual trip to juarez. it has been two years since we last made the trip from lewisville to the border town of el paso. two years since we built houses and took bucket showers and connected with people from another country. it was time to go again.
but going didn’t make sense to a lot of people. there has been a legitimate concern over violence in mexico. but as i said in a letter to our men’s group last week, the war on drugs in mexico appears to have escalated since 2003, but it has been being fought on the streets of border towns since i was in college.
is there more violence in the past decade? probably. the publicity in the media has certainly escalated! the texas state department is now saying things to spring break travelers that should have been said all along. the warnings to avoid downtown areas and night travel and public intoxication are all prudent instructions.
it would have been a lie to say that there were no risks in traveling to mexico. there have always been risks. we have made this trip to juarez 13 out of the past 16 years with our youth group…and 8 out of the past 9 years with our men’s group. it was with great awareness and tremendous sensitivity to the concerns of parents and loved ones that we chose to go this year.
as you should know by now, there were multiple acts of violence in juarez while we were there. the final act…the attack on american citizens that caused the evacuation of the u.s. consulate…resulted in a decision by amor ministries to close down their operations where we were working and send us back across the border immediately.
first of all, i want to give a major shout out to amor ministries on their concern, informed decision-making and total professionalism in the way they took care of our group in the face of crisis. this is why we work with amor and place our trust in their leadership! they constantly placed the needs and safety of our group ahead of every other concern.
here are some lessons that came through loud and clear from this experience:
the north point church family is the best! the support, understanding, encouragement, sharing of resources and expressions of faith were amazing.
our group has the “dna of service” deep in our spiritual genes.
our men were incredible. the friendship…the bonding…the humility…the honesty…the willingness to give…the sensitivity to god’s leading…all of it was simply awesome.
it was so cool to see a bunch of brand new, young and inexperienced kids step up to the bar that had been set by youth groups of year’s past… and exceed it! watching them assimilate into a culture of service was inspiring…
trust means everything. without it, groups cannot function. the north point leadership team trusted our staff to make the decision to go. we trusted amor ministries to give us an accurate assessment of the level of risk we would be facing…and provide a safe plan for our trip. parents trusted our faith in amor and our diligence in planning and attention to details. kids trusted our leadership on the trip. we trusted the decision that amor made to have us stop our trip early and leave the country. yeah, trust means everything.
because amor is trustworthy, we will resume our work in juarez as soon as amor says it is safe to go back.
it was incredibly difficult to leave the work site with unfinished houses. the fact that it hurt so much to leave is, in itself, a great sign of growth!
as we were leaving, a lady from the neighborhood asked how she could get a house. knowing it might be a long time before anyone comes back was very, very sobering. and an absolute confirmation that we have to come back.
there is a lot of bad stuff in the world. a lot of bad people doing bad things. i get it. but that’s not the whole story. the world is also full of a lot really, really good people. we met some of them on this trip. many of them were people in the neighborhood. each time we traveled through the streets, we were provided a security escort. as we left the country on sunday evening, we had a security escort all the way to the border. amazing!
i don’t know the answer to the problem of violence in mexico. it looks like it could get worse before it ever gets better. i definitely don’t know the role that the u.s. should play in the plan…but i would love for us to remember that mexico is our neighbor. they are not our enemy.
i was having a conversation with a good man yesterday. he is an upstanding, honest, hard-working, church-going, american citizen. here was his answer to the problem: “we need to build the wall…put our military on top to patrol it…and then sit back and watch ’em all kill each other.” that sentiment was echoed on the radio today as i drove around. my heart ached.
there are no easy answers. we live in a sinful, broken world. but i believe that jesus lived and died that we might have life and have it to the fullest (john 10.10). i believe that people…all people… deserve to have their basic needs taken care of. all people, regardless of where they were born, should have clean water to drink and a roof over their heads and food on their table and a safety as they live out their days.
i also believe that jesus’ followers are called to respond to the needs of the poor and the oppressed and the broken and the outcast and the strangers and aliens. i believe the story of the good samaritan is a modern-day parable of the response the church should be having to the world.
when jesus calls us to pick up our cross, die daily and follow him…there is inherent risk. the calling is not to safety or comfort but to obedience and self-sacrifice and humble service.
i am often embarrassed by the priorities that american christians live by. this is not stone-throwing…just a realistic awareness of how far we have wandered away from the lifestyle of the early disciples and the heart of the gospel. but the potential for change is never far away.
i’m glad we went to juarez. we are all better because of the experience. there is nothing i would do differently, if i had it to do over again. we will be back again.
until then, pray for our neighbors. pray for the churches in neighborhoods that are gripped by fear…that they would be beacons of hope and shelters of peace. pray for families to be strong and wise and to turn to the grace of god through christ. pray for amor ministries…for their vision and stability and purpose.
and give thanks to god for the courageous…those who would put the needs of others before their own safety and comfort…those who provide hope and inspiration for the rest of us. we need them.
we need to be them.
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