Ministry Day 6: Love Out Loud Merida

“Love Out Loud” Outreach in Merida: Saturday, 12/5/09
As our time here in Merida seems to be vanishing in thin air, we are now treasuring every last moment we have at our new Mexico home. Somehow, it is already Saturday, the day we leave to go back to the “un-Mexico-like” Cancun. But before we could even start thinking about leaving, there was Heavenly work to be done and souls to be won as Calvary Chapel Merida hosted the “Love Out Loud” outreach that targeted the young and old alike within the community. Some of our ministry groups stayed behind to help Garfield with food preparations for the lunch that was being offered, while others went with our trusty translators, Angelica and Kerri, to spread the word and invite people to the event.

The rain clouds soon cleared away with the opening of the outreach and the children and their parents assembled in the school area in front of the beautiful, newly painted mural that our art team had tirelessly worked on for two days straight. The children were thrilled by all of the worship music, skits, and activities that were presented, and relationships between the Mexican kids and our team were quickly formed.

Underneath the surface of the fun and festivities of the outreach, an exciting development was brewing. One of our translators, who was of the Catholic faith and a friend of Pastor Sammy’s daughter, approached a few students on our team and inquired into our faith and wondered what made us different. With that divinely-appointed opportunity, Alex Garcia, Dustin Dowling, Kendall Kerrigan, and David Greenburg eagerly shared the Gospel and about their precious relationships with Jesus Christ. As the Holy Spirit filled their conversation and convicted the translator’s heart, she finally made the decision to invite Jesus into her heart and form a relationship with her Heavenly Father.

With the assurance of salvation that both of our previously-unsaved translators (Christopher & Maria) now had, the day came to a perfect close. As we debriefed in one of the CCA classrooms after helping clean up the remains of the event, Topher challenged and encouraged us to continue living as sold-out disciples on our home mission field in Fort Lauderdale. For some, that meant a commitment to continual evangelism and for others, it meant getting involved with Liquid ministry outreach groups. All of us were indescribably sad to leave this beautiful place where God had used and changed us, but we were also reminded that if God can use us to win over one-hundred souls for the Kingdom in a country where we don’t know the language, He is by all means able to use us at home.

After eating our final “cena deliciosa,” we said our tearful goodbyes, hopped into our vans, and began our 3 hour journey back to Cancun. We arrived at the hostel late that night and immediately went to sleep. Goodbye Mexico! Prayerfully, we will return soon!

Danielle Germaine and Class of 2010