A Summer in Mexico

Hi, I’m Grace,

I have been a summer intern in Mexico for the last few months. If you are thinking about considering it, Do IT. I am not gonna lie, it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies and most of the time I was wondering why God called me here, but I learned to trust him a lot more throughout the process. In the end, it was totally worth it and I want to say God is so good. My time here in Mexico is just about over and I couldn’t be more thankful for the experiences, that came along with being an Amoveo intern.

I came down here with the expectation that I was going to be working on projects all summer and being very hands-on but I learned quickly that being a missionary of any kind is a lot more than just project based. That isn’t to say that some times when you go on mission trips you won’t do projects, I’m saying it goes far beyond that. Missional living is a thing! It’s more about cultivating relationships with the people in your community and being able to pray for one another. Based on these relationships, you can learn true meaningful ways to help in your community based on the needs of the people around you. Too often, missions based trips are going and doing what we think would be meaningful and not what is actually needed or helpful…sometimes we can even do things that are not helpful without realizing it.

This summer I learned a lot about that, I had a lot more lifelong connections that I have made through the church, Encuentro, that I attended all summer. The people truly have hearts towards loving God and loving others and it was beautiful to come alongside them, learn about them and work together with them in the community. I also had many moments where I saw God in new ways. One of my favorite moments was a recent camping trip with Encuentro youth. We were sharing testimonies and praying and I didn’t understand a lot of it being completely in Spanish, but it was so apparent that God was there and moving. It was such a beautiful moment to experience and really hits home that God doesn’t just exist in one language or one place, he is everlasting and bigger than we can ever imagine. I felt God’s presence very clearly in that moment and the impact that was happening on the kids right in front of me, as they were being prayed for and worshiping, was extremely profound.

I am so thankful for the things this summer taught me, to Amoveo for teaching me more about serving based on the communities actual needs, for the Carnall family for so graciously taking me in as one of their own and dealing with all my goofiness, for the new friends in Mexico that will be forever family in my heart, and for the memories and moments that impacted me, allowing me to learn and grow so much more.

Thank you Mexico, I love you. ??