We’re now nearing the end of the series on Reynosa, Mexico. It has been such a joy sharing my experiences with you. I hope you come away with some glimpses of Jesus’ heart for the poor, the broken hearted, the powerless. In these last two blogs I’m sharing two teachings I heard that fits right into the mission trip. One came before we left and the other the day we returned.

For the first blog in this series, visit Reynosa, Mexico: An Introduction.

If you remember, the trip to Reynosa came toward the end of an insanely busy and exhausting couple of months. After an unexpected and emotionally draining family situation the end of September, my husband and I traveled from the soggy, cool northeastern states in October to the chilly Colorado mountains in November, to the warm, balmy Caribbean in December. In a space of three months we packed, unpacked, and repacked three different climate wardrobes. At Christmas, we packed again—with work clothes, tools and painting supplies—and despite having very little time for rest and recovery, I wanted to go.

I showed up to Journey Fellowship that morning ready to climb into the van. But truthfully, I was depleted. The chatter in the van as we drove south felt loud. I just wanted to check out and I did for some of the ride, reading my kindle while squeezed between Jon and a very excited Elizabeth Aguilar, whom I now know better and have come to love. On the drive home five days later, I found myself contributing to the excited chatter. Looking back, I can see how Jesus used the first teaching at the end of November to prepare me for his abundant overflow.

My dear friend and artist, Ashley Rogers, founder and director of Created Ministry, taught at a Tuesday morning Bible study on November 29^th. She began with a very important question: What’s in your basket?She then taught on the needs of the many, the story of Loaves and Fishes from Matthew 14 and John 6.

The story comes on the heals of Jesus learning that his cousin, John the Immerser, had been beheaded by King Herod. When Jesus heard the news, he and his disciples left for a remote area to be alone. To grieve and to pray, I would imagine. But the crowds followed. Jesus saw them. Despite any fatigue or personal sorrow, he had compassion for them. He healed their sick. He saw their need for food. Ashley noted, “Even in our grief, our pain, our struggle, we aren’t exempt in giving compassion to others.”

The gospel writers of Matthew and John reveal a problem: a large, hungry crowd quite a distance from town at dinner time. Jesus presents the dilemma to his disciples. They see the situation as bigger than they can handle. They want to send the crowds away. But Jesus sees something else. “Jesus always has a different perspective than the one we have,” Ashley pointed out. He sees through the eyes of compassion.

Some of the disciples bring to him what they’ve found: a more than adequate meal for a boy (five loaves of bread and two fish) but nothing for so many people. “What good is it with such a huge crowd,” one of his disciples wonder. It isn’t. Except in the hands of Jesus. A lunch of loaves and fishes was more than enough for one boy and Jesus made it more than enough for many people. So much so that the disciples collected twelve baskets of leftovers. “Jesus takes our ‘just right amount’ and multiplies it,” Ashely said.

During her lesson, Ashley shared several takeaways that resonated with me as I thought about the upcoming trip to Reynosa, Mexico with Strategic Alliance.

1. We see a problem: People living and scavenging in the dump to survive.
2. Jesus asks us to do something: Roland and Carolyn Ashby who felt God was telling them to respond.
3. We realize the problem is bigger than what we can solve on our own: So many needy. So many needs.
4. Jesus is okay with us being in this uncomfortable space: What should be done? Where do we start? How do we pay for supplies? Who will do the work?
5. We include Jesus, we bring the problem to him: Roland and Carolyn prayed and asked God what he would have them do.

We often find ourselves in a place where we want Jesus to do something but it seems too miraculous. But not when we stop and see what God has given us.

Ashley walked us through a Stewardship Assessment – to look at what’s already in our hands, to use well that God has already provided. Take out a sheet of paper, label three columns at the top with Needs, Resources, Passions. Pray. Ask God what needs people have that he wants you to see right where you’re at. Then ask him to show you the resources he’s already given you. Finally, make a list of the things that inspire you, excite you, that you’re passionate about.

There you go. Now you know what’s in your basket. Based on your passions, ask God what needs he’d have you tend to? What resources has he given you that makes you uniquely qualified to address those needs?

Remember, we’re not meant to do this alone. I definitely saw that in Reynosa, Mexico. There is no way that Roland and Carolyn can build and furnish thirteen homes in five days by themselves. But together, 213 of us can. And we did.

Consider who God has placed in your life. We are not meant to do this alone. You are part of a Collective We. Do the assessment again, this time asking, what do we have together?

Think about what kinds of needs did Roland and Carlyon saw when they first visited Reynosa, Mexico in 1988.

• Families living under plastic bags/card board boxes in/around garbage dump
• People struggling with alcohol and drug addictions, prostitution, illnesses and health challenges
• Lack of schools, education, skills
• Environmental challenges
• Lack of home repair knowledge

What do you think they needed in order to help? How could they meet the needs of all the people?

What was in Roland and Carolyn Ashby’s basket?

• They were learning Spanish
• Roland had experience in the insurance industry
• Roland was a very energetic and persuasive person
• Carolyn was a nurse
• They had several years of experience in mobilizing short term missions, recruiting bible teachers, evangelists, doctors, and dentists
• They founded an orphanage
• They had connections to pastors and congregations

God had given them the skills, knowledge, and abilities they could use to assist the people living in a dump in Reynosa, Mexico. And now, over 30 years later, there’s an entire town filled with families living in homes built by Strategic Alliance, there’s a sponsorship program so children can attend the local elementary school, and there’s a middle school being built in their town so that the children can continue their education.

What’s in your basket?

grace and peace