Outreach Part 3: Mahahual & Xcalak

And now, the long-anticipated concluding post about my YWAM Denver Outreach! Here a few stories about our travels to Mahahual and Xcalak.

Mahahual

While in Mexico on Outreach, we spent about a week and a half traveling to 2 remote fishing villages in the southern regions of the country. Up first was Mahahual, a village on the ocean with lots of cruise ships and tourism.

Street where tourists from cruise ships come to shop

Picture of beach down the street from the church we stayed at

While there, our entire team stayed and slept in a one-room church building just blocks away from the beach. We visited the surrounding villages, as well as the tourist district, praying for people and leading many to the Lord.

We also led several church services at the church that was hosting us. It was a great opportunity to encourage the pastor and congregation. The church had experienced a lot of division and conflict, so it was good to help them regain perspective and hope by reminding them that God is here to heal all their wounds.

One of the things that struck me the most about Mahahual was that the vendors and restaurant owners realized very quickly that we were not tourists, and they were quick to open up to us as a result. Building relationships with them was super easy, and the restaurant workers were happy to direct us to where we could go for more reasonable food prices, among many other tips they provided that helped us along the way.

One man even gave one of our ministry groups an entire grilled chicken just as a sign of hospitality! It was really tasty too. =)

Here are a few of my teammates hanging out by a beach home in Mahahual:

In Xcalak

Xcalak was an even smaller village than Mahahual, and we were one of the first groups (if not the first group) of missionaries to come to that region of Mexico. We spent quite a bit of time praying for and encouraging the pastor of the church there. He has been living and ministering in the village without much of a support system for many years.

The village itself is very spiritually dark, so the pastor there has come up against many conflicts and challenges as he continues doing God's work there.

We were only in the village for a couple of days, but we hosted a few church services, did dramas in the park in the center of the village, and did some door-to-door evangelism. Xcalak already has seen a shift through a decrease in drug and alcohol abuse, and we were able to continue making a positive impact in the community and atmosphere by ministering to the people we met.

At the end of this post are a few photos of one of the dramas we used at the park in Xcalak called "Forgiveness." It portrays how Jesus saves us from various distractions and temptations in our lives.

So, I hope you have enjoyed reading about the various places we traveled and the types of ministry we did there! Seeing all these new places and seeing what God wants to do there impacted me as well as the countless people we met. It has been a privilege to learn more about how God sees the world and to show others the gospel which is intended for all.

Outreach Part 2: Cancun

Hello, friends!

As promised, I am back to share more of my Outreach adventures with YWAM Denver. We spent the majority of our time in Mexico in downtown Cancun. Our team lived in an apartment building in the heart of the city and did a variety of ministries there. Typically, we had one ministry activity in the morning, an afternoon siesta, and an evening ministry. Some of the different kinds of ministries we participated in include:

1. Door to door evangelism - We visited people in a couple of colonias (small living communities) and prayed with them, invited them to local church events/meetings, and simply tried to bless them in some small way. Here are a few photos of one of these small communities:

One of the most memorable experiences I have from visiting one of these colonias was stopping by a family's house who had recently accepted Christ and had begun going to church together. The father said that they had been fighting every single day until converting. At that instant, a peace came over their entire home that they could not explain. We were able to pray with them that the Lord would continue to bless them with grace and peace and that He would grow their faith individually and as a family.

2. Street ministry - We had worship sessions, performed dramas, and delivered testimonies in parks around Cancun to create ministry opportunities for passersby.

Group of us performing a skit called "Me" in a local park in Mexico

 While the idea of performing and making public declarations of faith may intimidate and overwhelm some, it opened up so many doors for us to talk to people about their walks with God. Many people were introduced to Christ because of our team performing dramas in the streets and asking if those present wanted to receive Him.

One man even yelled out in the middle of one of our presentations, asking what he could do if he does not know Jesus! A translator pulled him aside and told him exactly what to do while we finished our testimonies and dramas for the rest of the crowd.

3. Kid's Programs - We performed for kids in local colonias and helped out regularly with an after school program twice a week.

After school program

Trying to make 11-year-olds dance

 

 

The group I worked with was mostly middle school aged kids. We played games with them, taught them some English phrases, and shared a Bible story with them every time we met. Their favorite day was kickball day. It was great to get the chance to work with them over several weeks and to build relationships with these kids. Over time they began to warm up to us more, and we were able to share with them how they can have dynamic lives walking with God.

Other Ministries - We also visited a prison, a hospital, and a rehabilitation center, introducing many individuals to Jesus, praying for the sick to be healed, and encouraging whomever we met.

Of course there are countless stories and many more adventures to tell. There is no way any one blog post could give you a full picture of what our life was like in Cancun for 6 weeks. But here are a few snapshots of the activities we did and just a few surface pictures of the people we encountered. I hope to post a few more in-depth experiences in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading, and look out for Part 3 about our travels to remote Mexican fishing villages!