Little Mexico!

Last night I returned from a short-term missions trip to Baja, Mexico. I and 14 other fellow youths headed out after the Christmas service to San Diego, spent the night, and at 4am left for Tijuana. We traveled to Tijuana, Rosarita, and Ensenada while there. We did outdoor evangelism - shared the gospel and sang christmas carols in Spanish, then handed out humanitarian aid such as food, clothing, and gifts for the children. My most memorable moment would have to have been when, during a smaller evangelism, we sat around with a bunch of local teen guys to talk about the gospel (the meaning of life, God, Jesus, etc.) and one kid sat next to Duka. What I noticed was that they both had the exact same pair of shoes on; same color, same brand, same size. Only Duka's were newer and less worn. The other kid's shoes were dirty and falling apart. Duka asked him to switch shoes. I felt like this was an awesome example of how the Holy Spirit calls to act in certain ways. I would think about this small act for some time afterwards. Paul called us to consider others better than ourself in Philipians 2:3 and Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 that "whatever we did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." This was a beautiful example for me. Not did Duka sacrifice a pair of new shoes, but he took on the used, worn ones as a trade. This not only respects the other kid (with a new pair), but also humbles the one with the older shoes. Yet through all of this, both remain equals.

My first impressions of Mexico was like with any other country. Everytime I enter a new country there dawns on me this realization that "things are different here" - the systems, culture, language, standards of living, laws, worldview, etc. In some ways Mexico is just like the US. It has nicely paved roads (where they exist), the same brands of clothing, milk, sodas, candy bars, jeans, hoodies, shoes, cars!!! I was surprised to notice more cars in Mexico than in Ukraine, a supposedly second-world country. They build houses from brick and concrete, just like in Ukraine. They have electrical outlets and posts just like in the US. Their machinery is just like in the US. The way the construct their sidewalks is just like in the US. They are more laidback than people in Ukraine and in the US. On several occasions I was expecting getting chewed out by some people (i.e. security gaurds, police, soldiers, store owners, street vendors, etc) as with previous experiences in Ukraine, but was pleasantly surprised that some of these people just wanted to chat and say hi. So hopefully I will be getting pictures up somewhere. It's too bad that I don't own a digital camera. I think this won't be the last I see of Mexico.

Fin?

I just finished my last final for my last class of my undergraduate academic career.  That's one small step for me - one giant leap for my familykind.  No one in my immediate family has went on to pursue a master's level degree.  So this should be interesting.