Stories from the Field

August 2005

Operation Go: Sharing the Message, Hearing the Call

By Emily Walker

Well, World Changer volunteers, you did it. You survived a week in Mexico doing God's work. Whether you were a Truth Tracker, a Seed Spreader, a Salt Shaker, or a Ground Breaker, you were all exposed to a new and much stronger showing of God's grace and love. For some of you, this was maybe the best week of your life. For others, you were made extremely uncomfortable and your are not called to be a Missionary. But either way, you were touched. You saw with your own two eyes how God's love is spread and shared with all the people of the world. And Mexico is certainly no exception. The people are so receptive and open to hearing what our Mexican brothers and sisters in Christ have to say about His love and devotion to this world. And those who are already with the Church are so strong and knowledgeable in the Word. God is so alive and is so strong in these small Mexican Baptist churches, you can certainly feel His presence always.

But what did you really get out of this week? Hopefully it wasn't just a vacation with some work and sweat. I know that at least for me, and I'm sure most of you, that this was a life changing experience. Yes, some of were "tested", but you bounced right back. And I seemed to notice one thing out of most others while we were in Mexico. No matter how hot it got outside, or how sore our legs and feet were, or how tired we were in the mornings, we never complained. And I know that this is because we were always conscience of the fact that we were doing God's work. And how can you complain when you are working for the Lord? When you are doing just what he wants us to do, and that is to spread his word across the land to those who don't know or those who haven't heard. And even though I couldn't understand a word that my Mexican friend was saying to the people when we were saturating in the towns, it still touched my heart. Because it doesn't matter that we don't share a language or any similar customs, we share Christ. And Christ's love has no boundaries. It is only separated by those who are willing, and those who are not. But you know, even those who are not willing to learn about the Gospel of John at the time that we hand it to them, it doesn't matter that much. Because the seed has been planted. The Word is in their home, and there it will stay until an impact is made.

I just want to share a couple of stories with you from my experience in Mexico. On the very first day, all of the groups were assigned and we were asked to prayer walk in a assigned community to prepare it for the future days of handing out Gospels in that area. Thank the Lord I was with Pastor Jerry. When we arrived at the Church and the groups were assigned, we happened to be paired together along with the Pastor of the Church. But when we arrived in our area we were put together with a small boy from the church. He did not speak any English and unfortunately, he did not read our sign language very well. So for the majority of the time, we trusted him in leading us and we silently prayed while walking around the town. But as we got further and further out, we began to feel more and more lost. So we tried to get the boy to take us back to the van but he did not understand. And the radios weren't working so we couldn't call for help. I told Bro. Jerry, I said, "I feel very lost..." And he said, "Don't worry honey, no matter how lost we are, the Lord always knows right where we are, even if we don't." That really touched my heart and all at once I had an extreme trust in the Lord that He would lead us back through the young man. And sure enough, we were able to explain that we needed to go back to where we started. And as we were walking we miraculously stumbled upon the pastor's wife and the other young girl. I knew that this was a work of God and He was showing me how I can always trust Him no matter what the situation.

Then on the last day, I had one of the most emotional days of my life. That morning was an interesting one. We had literally ran out of area to cover and hand out Gospels in, so we trusted the Pastor to lead us to a small community near the church. This was only the second time that all of the teams were in the same area together. And as I was walking around and praying and watching. I saw all of the teams working together. They would skip a house and the next team would get it so that the work got done twice as fast. That area got covered very quickly. And upwards of 100 Gospels were handed out. But as I was watching, one thing came to mind. And that was how much we resembled actual Christian Soldiers. We were all working to fight the war of Salvation. And our battlefield were the streets and cities of these foreign places. We can only hope and pray that someday soon, the battle will be won. But after that enlightening morning, we returned to the church for the last meal, last pictures, and last goodbyes. And as I walked into the eating area and sat down, I looked around and saw all of the new friends I had made through Christ, and all I could do was cry. It was so beautiful to me how God had brought us all together to work for Him. And the last thing I wanted to do was leave that place. Earlier in the week, I had felt very tired and negative and I just wanted to go home. But at that moment in the Church, I knew that Missions would be a part of my life forever. And that being a Missionary may be my call. I am not positive to this decision, but it hangs heavily in my heart, and it will forever. Those people touch you and your spirit and they never truly leave you. I will never forget them.

All in all this week was a glorious one. It was certainly the Work of God and not just of the volunteers such as ourselves who helped to spread His word. But don't forget that this would never happen and there would not be 78 new Christians from this past week without the help of all of us and the other brothers and sisters from across the nation. And one of the most important things that I realized this week, was that, if we can pass out Gospels of John to strangers in another country, why can't we share the Word with the people that we know? The people that are right here in Henry County? I will pray that God will show us all to never be afraid and to always be bold in our Faith. You all displayed extreme love for Christ in your works this week. And I hope that the people of the Church realize this. Whatever expectations you may have had, I'm sure that we lived up to them. God changed us all...and I look forward to future missions. Thank you.