Spring Break Missions in Mexico

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Over Spring Break, a group of NCU students joined with a group of students from Eugene Bible College  and went down to Mexico for a Missions Trip. Their main goal was to build a house for Pastor Javier, a man who has been ministering down there despite his inadequate housing condition.

After meeting Javier at an outreach called "Amor por Tijuana," missionaries Mike and Kathy Brant made it a priority to get a house built for this man and his family. Once down there, the combined NCU-EBC team joined with another group from Waverly, Iowa composed of mostly adults and their children. These people had more construction experience and created an instant bond with the college students.

Sophomore Nicole Klingerman, the Embracing the Nations Coordinator at NCU, helped see to it that this trip was made possible. With some help from NCU's Pastor Steve Poetzl and his close friend from Eugene Bible College, Nicole and the team went down and will forever remember what they got to be a part of.

"From a leader's perspective, it was absolutely amazing to watch the process of personal growth for every individual on the team," said Klingerman. "From the moment of everyone's interviews until now, everyone has changed for the better in one way or another."

The team also had the opportunity to see Pastor Javier in action at a nearby colonia, preaching to all those around. While in these colonias, the NCU students had the chance to make gospel bracelets with the children and play games with the soccer goals and other sports equipment they had with them.
Klingerman said, "The best part of the trip for our group though, would have to be when Pastor Javier (the one we built a house for) ministered in the Colonia that we were passing out clothes for. It made building his house completely worth it because we were able to witness first hand the ministry that would continue when we left. The fact that we could be a part of blessing a man that is blessing Tijuana was completely humbling and something that we will never forget."

At the end of the week, they dedicated the house to Pastor Javier, giving him a basket with the new key to his house, oil to represent the Holy Spirit, salt to represent the Earth, bread to symbolize that God will never let him go hungry, and fruit for the fruit of the spirit.

All of the students were touched in many different ways from one experience or another. Robert Bell, a member of the NCU men's soccer team, said, "My favorite part was going to the Mexican Church.  The people were so alive in their faith, their joy and their worship.  They were dancing around and they weren't afraid of looking silly.  They were so welcoming, and loving.  It was worship in spirit and truth and I wish we had that here in America.  Often times it seems like we look down on Mexico because it's inhabitants are trying to cross our borders but I look up to them. I admire and respect them."

Junior Mike D'Eliso, another member of the trip spent most of his time building the house. He enjoyed being alongside Javier, hammers in hand, building away despite the language barrier. "It was really nerve wracking to go out along the edge of the roof top, knowing the possibility of falling was always there," he said. "Even though we couldn't understand what the other was saying, the fact that we were experiencing this together was really cool. We were both taking the risk together to build something great."

For Wendy Hernandez, a freshman, who is also a soccer player at NCU, the trip was an eye opening experience. She was able to work as a translator for most of the week, and was so well received that she was offered an internship in Tijuana to be an interpreter for other groups coming in.

A number of the students had the opportunity to visit an AIDS hospice. While there, they met a man named Oscar, who was in his early 30's and had contracted the virus while in a US Prison. He was deported and left on the streets, as the rest of his family was still in the states. He eventually ended up at the hospice, and told the team that his main prayer request was to understand why God would allow him to have this illness.

Junior Britni Steiling said, "When I was talking to Oscar I had one of those moments where I was overwhelmed with the heart of God for this man. I was literally moved to tears by the brief glimpse of God's sweet compassion and grace for him, despite any poor decisions he might have made to get to this point in his life. God looks at that man, who is seemingly just skin and bones, and sees his precious son. Experiencing even the slightest understanding of the depth of God's love for his children is breathtaking , to say the least."

Klingerman hopes that by telling of their experiences, members of the team will inspire other Northwest Christian students to embark on a future mission trip. She said, "I think everyone at the school should have at least one opportunity to partake in a short-term mission trip because it makes people realize the truly important things in life."