We’re continuing our time-delayed coverage of the Spring Break Chi Alpha Missions Team from March 10-17. If you need to catch up you can start at this post and continue to this point.
Wednesday, March 14
Before Mike and the team landed here in Merida, he had several planning sessions with them. In one of those planning sessions, he gave each member of the team a packing list of items that they’d need for the trip. Among those items were flexibility and a servant’s heart. It became the chant of the trip. Each time we loaded up to go somewhere, someone asked if we were bringing along our flexibility and our servant’s heart. Wednesday was just one example of how important those items would be.
After the Tuesday kid’s service in the football stadium, the pastor asked us to plan to host the children one more time, this time in the church for their regular children’s service. Originally, we were planning for 4 services: two on Sunday, one on Tuesday and another on Thursday for youth. Getting short on material, I didn’t know what the team had in their bag to pull out on short notice. Also, after some hectic days of work and ministry, I thought that a few of the students might be looking forward to their break. Still, approaching the members with the news, having packed their flexibility, they all were willing to go forward with the service.
After some last-minute planning, the team was ready. We had a skit, a testimony, some songs, and a project, probably about an hour of material. However, after the hour was nearly over, several kids were still arriving. Pastor asked us to continue the service so that the latecomers would be able to be involved as well. I went to the team again with the news, partly expecting some exasperation, but, servant’s heart intact, they were all happy extend things. A song and another skit later it was time for “pato, pato, ganzo” (duck, duck, goose) on the patio.
We can list a host of other situations that required those essentials, the need to repaint the Pastor’s home because the wrong color was delivered, the fact that our hotel came equipped with only one shower, and the need to drive 30 minutes to another town to get team cash because Muna didn’t have an ATM. Nevertheless, because the team came equipped with the necessities, even the lack of necessary rooms didn’t check their stride.
Planning to minister in the near future? Don’t forget to pack your flexibility and servant’s heart!
