Today was our last full day in Tijuana and we served at the impoverished community called “Esperanza” (Spanish for “hope”), which is located just outside the city landfill.
Our daily devotions asked us to study 2 Corinthians 10, and reflect on our spiritual strongholds and the weapons God gives us to combat them.
During the morning training session, Spencer Hoyt, Director of Radius Serve, shared 4 characteristics of a good sender:
Senders allow Gospel workers to focus
Senders are in partnership with missionaries
Senders receive eternal reward
Senders sustain the work when needs arise
Spencer also challenged our mindsets around being a sender: Sending is not secondary work, it’s kingdom work. Senders should not be passive spectators.
After the morning session, the team prepared sandwiches to hand out to the people in Esperanza then joined a preparation session to learn what to expect during our visit and how to interact with the people we would encounter.
The final stretch of road to Esperanza was a bumpy dirt road that led to the area just outside the landfill. Once we arrived, we first visited La Roca church to meet with Pastor Julian. We learned about the people of Esperanza and the challenges they face and how the church has been working to help the community learn more about God through visitations and church services, while also helping to meet physical needs, including fresh drinking water.
The team then split into three groups, each led by a Radius intern, to head out into the community. Walking along paths among the dwellings amid the landfill waste, we greeted the people we encountered, providing sandwiches & bottled water and praying with them if desired. We ended the visit to Esperanza back at La Roca church to pray for Pastor Julian and his ministry.
At the daily team debrief, team members reflected on the visit to Esperanza, revealing that the team had a range of emotions about the experience. Pastor Rick affirmed that the range of emotions is expected but he also challenged the group: no matter what emotions we may feel, don’t ignore the experience - use it to change us and take action.
In the evening, the team headed out to their last dinner in Tijuana, visiting a Chinese restaurant nearby.
Tomorrow, we’ll be leaving Tijuana in the early morning, starting on the journey back to Calgary. We may be leaving Tijuana with tired bodies, a few splinters, blisters, and bruised fingernails, but we are deeply grateful to have experienced this gift of 5 days devoted to learning about God’s heart for the nations and serving His people.
