Mexico September 13-17
Update from Tim Endean, written as they finished their last evening in Mexico.
Dan Brooks and I are returning from a quick trip to Mexico where we spent the last few days doing strategic planning with missionary Andrew Shields, working to develop a camp.
God has provided wonderful ministry opportunities for Andrew to serve churches in the Chiapas area not so far from Guatemala. The area has a history of strong Roman Catholicism, mixed, of course, with ancient local religions. The result is a messy paganism with a façade of Christianity.
Andrew was recently able to purchase a property and begin developing it as a site for both a Bible institute and a camp. The Bible institute is operational with 9 students right now. Many of these students have received a formal education only into high school, and some never that far. By God’s grace, the institute will enable these young people to minister effectively in the coming years.
We were able to take 2 hours with the Bible institute to teach the students some basic principles in Christian camping and counseling. By God’s grace, these young people can be counselors for the camp in the coming months and years.
As we finished, the students shared how the 2 hours of training had helped them understand dealing with sin and spiritual growth. One shared, “The tree example helped me a lot. Sometimes we have bad fruit and don’t know why.” This student in particular was excited to see how Ephesians 4 addresses the importance of renewing our minds.
The key all along, for Andrew, has been the introduction of a camp program. He was familiar with CampsAbroad from a previous ministry further north. And when God moved him to the south, he immediately knew he wanted input on developing this camp property.
Dan and I arrived Monday afternoon and spent many hours with Andrew talking all things camp as we were driving, walking the property, driving, eating and driving.
The property has great potential, spreading from valley up the side of a mountain. On Tuesday, we navigated through the thorns, jagged rocks, and large spiders to the top of the mountain with the students. Along the way, they have discovered three caves so far on the property. They lost one of the caves for the moment, but they’ll find it again. Andrew actually knows some experienced spelunkers, and is considering the possibility of offering rappelling into the cave as a camp activity under the supervision of those experienced cavers. Not just any basic camp activity!
The community has generally been friendly to the camp so far, but there is a constant risk that people may try to make life difficult for him, since he is not Roman Catholic. Please pray that God would grant him favor as he seeks to spread the gospel and strengthen surrounding churches.
Andrew is seeking to be strategic and Bible based in his planning from start to finish. Please pray that God will provide wisdom and resources as he moves forward. And please pray that God would use this place to impact many teens for Christ.
Tonight we are staying 30 minutes from the airport, so we will leave at 3:30am to catch our flight. Thanks for praying!
