This is a story of our mission trip to the state of Jalisco where we got to help build a house, played with kids, met with families, and got to spread God’s love to several communities.
Dear readers: I’ll be sharing a slightly different topic with this article. You know that I love to write about my travels. This was certainly a different, but amazing travel experience that I’d like to share! 😊
“Do you want to go on a mission trip to Guadalajara” asked my wife one day. That’s where it all started.
Most people think of traveling as an opportunity to go on a vacation, get to know a new place, or visit friends. Combining my passion for travel with a greater purpose resulted in a very impactful visit to the most common places, ultimately shaping me as an individual.
Could we as a team change the world with just one, 7-day visit? (See “Mission accomplished? at the end of this article to get the answer!)
A missionary trip is religious in nature. If you’ve read any of my blogs you know that I love to explore all corners of the world. Mexico holds a very special place in my heart. I finally got an opportunity to visit with a grand objective: help, comfort, listen, teach and spread God’s love to its people.
Accomplishing all those things would take an army of people. In our mission trip, it took a group of people with a huge heart, with faith, and with the willingness to put others before self. Think of it as a Dream Team for missionary trips 😉
Please let me share my experience with you. Who knows? Maybe you realize your next trip should also have a grand objective!
Our goal going into the trip
Going into this trip most of us were not entirely sure what to expect.
The one thing we were all confident about was that we were there for a greater purpose, and that we would let God guide our every action and every word as we interacted with each person we encountered.
A few things were clearly part of the plan before leaving on the trip:
- Help with the construction of a home
- Opportunity to interact with kids and people in general
- Teach about God’s love and help deliver the Good News
Other things, which were out of our control, we simply learned to adapt, keep an open heart, endure, and remain flexible. For example, we had to leave behind a lot of the comforts we enjoy at home for a new place where we had to share facilities with others, manage without hot water and work long days among other things.
Getting through all of this, while keeping a smile and a warm heart, made this group very special!
One of my personal experiences was simply how much love was present in our group, and how we managed to remain resilient against all adversities: planned or unplanned!
Our organizer, Vero, did a great job at helping navigate changes and giving us as much insight and prep time as possible during the trip. Great job, Vero!
Another highlight: Interacting with the kids!
One of the many blessings we experienced during this trip was to interact with the local children. It was an opportunity to both give them spiritual guidance, as well as an opportunity to make them smile!
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Matthew 19:14, NIV
Many of these kids come from very humble backgrounds. One story that left an everlasting impact with us was hearing how the ham and cheese sandwiches we made for the local kids were “the best they’ve ever tasted.”
These were very basic sandwiches, but the quality of the ingredients was better than what they were used to. They asked their mom the next day to make them a sandwich like that to take to school. Talk about us learning a lesson and helping us put things into perspective!
On a couple of occasions during the trip we had an opportunity to spend the day with kids doing fun yet didactical craft activities. They got to color Bible stories, decorate a cross (which was a magnet they could put on their fridge door!), and even build a keychain!
Certainly one of the most amazing parts of this trip was the opportunity to help kids grow in their faith. At the same time, this opportunity also allowed us to create a special bond with them and, in turn, allowed our own faith to grow as well.
Talk about a life-changing trip!
“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.”
Psalm 127:3
The impact we observed
Before leaving Texas to come to this Jalisco trip, we were unsure on how we were going to be received by the local communities. We were very excited to come, but aware of the possibility that we may not necessarily be welcomed in all instances.
I feel it is safe to say that we felt welcomed throughout our trip, and it felt like we were part of a big family.
During one of the evangelization opportunities we had in a small neighborhood in Zapopan, we went knocking door-to-door to invite people to our outdoor event. There were of course people who were not interested in attending, but the response was overall very good. It was great to see the number of people who attended, and to see that they were there listening with an open heart.
Beyond simply attending the event, people were attentively listening, curious, and wanting to learn more about the message we were delivering.
One of my favorite moments of this entire trip was simply standing next to individuals who asked us to pray. It was an amazing experience to stand side-by-side with someone who was sharing their faith, sharing their angst, pain, and simply putting it in God’s hands through prayer.
How this trip changed us, the missionaries
Undoubtedly, we, too, were individually changed as we allowed God to work through us.
One very special moment for me in the trip was to listen to Vy, one of the members in our team, speak through her experience during that week. In her own words, this is what she shared with us in the last evening of our mission trip right after supper:
“So as all of you have known, I’m here on this trip because I heard there was an opportunity to be involved with kids and the orphanage. I’ve shared this with a few people here but I’m not of Christian faith. I’m Buddhist. Weird why would a person of another religion come on a Christian missionary trip? Because in life there will be several times an opportunity will present itself to do good, but it’s up to you to take it or not. So I jumped on the opportunity. Was I scared of being with a bunch of strangers, of different beliefs, and in a foreign country? Absolutely! But I also reminded myself, they are just people. And why should religion prevent anyone from doing good or simply doing what is right?”
Ultimately, even those who were part of the Christian faith came back with a stronger sense of purpose and refounded faith to continue to serve those who need it most.
Those who devote their entire lives
Our trip lasted only 7 days. However, the people who live there and keep the effort alive the entire year have devoted their lives to this greater cause.
I respect these families so much. For us, it was a week of hard work and sacrifice. For them, it is their way of life!
Thank you for everything that you do Jon, Anastasia, Josh, Annie, and the Juarez Rios family!
Mission accomplished?
This was obviously only just the start of a long journey, and not the destination. The planting of a seed, if you will. Others will continue our work after leaving Jalisco. Many of us are already planning to return soon!
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
Matthew 13:31-33, NIV
Do you want to help??
If you want to be part of a mission trip, I encourage you to reach out to your local church and check if there’s any mission trips planned.
If you’d like to contribute to any of the families who are devoting their life to help others in the state of Jalisco, please reach out to me and I can provide you the information!
This trip was organized primarily through Centro Cristiano La Venta. You can email them directly at [email protected]. They would love to hear from you!
You can also donate directly to Angel Ministries!
Logistics, in case you want the details…
Our trip was organized through Christ Fellowship church in McKinney, Texas. Planning for this trip started in the fall prior to our spring travel.
In addition to donations, we raised money through selling food and pastries. This trip was made possible with the help of all our supporters!
This was the itinerary for our trip:
| Day | Location | Agenda |
| Saturday | El Roble | Arrival & dinner 🌮 |
| Sunday | La Venta & Zapopan | Church service, kid’s activity, street event with face painting, balloons, and prizes for the kids |
| Monday & Tuesday | El Roble | Painting and working on a home construction project for one of the members of the church |
| Wednesday | Ex-Hacienda de Zapotlanejo | Outdoor event, kid’s activity with face painting, balloons, a short play, prizes; crafts activity for women |
| Thursday | San Marcos & Oconahua | Visit to orphanage, kid’s activity, work on the facility; visit with family |
| Friday | Tequila | Free day! Check out my Guadalajara/Tequila article for general travel pointers for this area |
| Saturday | Fly-back | 😔 |
We all traveled together, which made for a very memorable flight. Furthermore, the family who runs the church was kind enough to provide us transportation between venues.
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Hi, I’m Iván García—I love to travel and photography. I’m big on road trips, just about anywhere in the world. I share information for people to reach truly great places. My goal is to inspire you to visit these places for yourself.
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