Mexico North, Day 1: Encouragement

Sunday came and we attended Shalom church of the Nazarene in Guadalajara where the district superintendent that picked us up yesterday pastors. During the service, Maura and I were called in front to share some words of encouragement.

Before we spoke, the pastor said that they have been praying for us and our visas and I believe our very presence there as we stand was already an encouragement for all the people that have been praying for us. I was actually overwhelmed to hear how many of them have been thinking about us and are partnering with us by giving and praying.

I’ve also seen how this field is well aware of the missions opportunities in this region. The youth have declared their desire to attend the next campamento orientacion misionera happening in their district and seek God and follow His call for their lives and be part of their local Maximum Mission.

I remember one of my conversations with Erika when we were still in the Dominican Republic. That was the time we were wondering if we are really making an impact in the short time we have in the sites. But I told her that our very presence and testimony how god brought us to serve here is a great encouragement to the youth in the places we go to; that God can also use them wherever they come from, and that He can send them and enable them if He calls them to be missionaries.

Today Maura and I also met Maria Eugenia or also called Maru, our site coordinator for Mexico north. She travelled with us to meet the rest of the 12:7 Serve team.

The 10 of them were divided in two places where they served for a week. AJ, Erika, Helen, Chennice and Absolu served in Mezcala while Estela, Dani, Carlos, Lynda and Alan served in La Piedad.

Today, the group that went to Mezcala met me and Maura at the bus station and we travelled for 3 hours to meet the rest of the team in La Piedad.

The team finally became complete after being away from each other for more than a week. It was an encouraging reunion. However, after 15 minutes we were told we had to be separated again to stay in different houses and rest for the night. Such a surprise for some of the team who thought we would be together again finally. So funny!

P.S. The autobus we rode was interesting! It was like an airplane hehehe! I mean, it had the LCD screens and seatbelts and signs. Nice nice!

Transition from the Dominican Republic to Mexico North

The day has come for me and Maura to go to Mexico. We left the DR in the afternoon and prayed that everything will go well.

Unfortunately, I don’t lack stories to tell about how the immigration people scare me. We were sent to an office to pay because they said we exceeded one day of our stay in the DR. Then after we paid them, another officer sent us to the chief for interrogation.

The man asked Maura if I spoke in Spanish. Then he never looked at my eyes, never looked at me at all and only directed all of his questions to Maura which were about me. I understood all he said and how he was kind of wondering why we were on such a trip and how rich we are to be able to travel this much. Maura answered all the questions smartly and she explained that the churches are helping us in this trip. Remember we don’t really mention anything about being missionaries so I also get worried as soon as they ask me what I am studying, and then I say Master of Divinity. Then they look at me from head to toe. Maybe I don’t look anything at all like a seminarian and so they wonder what I’m talking about. Hehe.

Thank God that after 15 minutes in that office, the officer let us go. There are times I think “what if they send me back to the Philippines?” but God is with us and faithful all the time.

Our first flight was to Panama and a layover and from Panama to Guadalajara, Mexico.

Again, we had to pass through immigration and I praise the Lord that the only question they asked me was who I was travelling with. So I pointed to Maura and we had matching shirts so they just let me go like that.

Then we got to customs, and we had to press a button and when it shows a red light, they bring you to someone else to check your luggage. I got a green and Maura got a red so I waited for her outside after they checked my luggage.

Thank you for your prayers during these travels.

The district superintendent picked us up at the airport with his wife and they waited for us until around 2am when we arrived. Then he sent us to Sandra’s house where we rested for a while.

In the morning, Sandra showed us around Guadalajara and we tried some Mexican food like pozole which is a soup that has white corn and chicken. It’s yummy. We also tried tostadas and sopes.

The place is beautiful and I am excited for what God is going to show us in this place.

Dominican Republic, Day 27-29: Waiting

Maura and I had to travel to Santo Domingo; so we left Santiago at 6 in the morning so we can arrive at the Mexican embassy at around 10am, on time to get our passport stamped with the visa. When we got there, we showed our letters and documents to the consul and we asked if we can get our visa after lunch because we already had made plans to leave the Dominican Republic at 3pm.

The consul said, we have to wait for our passports to be released on Thursday.

Maura and I looked at each other. The funny part was that we were excited to leave and go to Mexico, but then we also got excited to hear that we are still staying at the DR for a few more days. I know that is silly but we have loved this place that God granting us two extensions to stay here seems to be a treat for us.

With that news, we went back to the work and witness house and bought food to cook for the next 3 days because we were told that our ticket to Mexico was rescheduled on Friday.

What do you do when you wait?
The verses on Psalm 27 is always an encouragement to me:

13I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
I don’t like waiting… but since I don’t really have another option but to wait, I try to make the waiting time worthwhile.

It’s always a valuable lesson when it comes to waiting on the Lord. He is not just staring at me as I wait impatiently, but He is working on my life even though I don’t see exactly what it looks like. He is making my wait worthwhile by sending me experiences, and people that give me lessons in life that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise.

He is teaching me so much about patience. In these times, God is also calling us to rest on Him, and I am thankful for this time to rest physically, and dwell on His word and promises.

Maura and I also tried to connect with our friends here in the DR so that we can hangout with them one more time before we leave. It was great that they made plans for us and have made themselves available.

On Thursday, Maura and I went to the Mexican embassy once more and received our visas with gratitude. The wait is finally over (at least for the Mexican visa), and I am sure that all the people praying for us are very encouraged as the Lord answered our prayers.

I remember all of the churches that have said they are praying for us, and all of the people that have said encouraging words. Thank you! I know I am not alone in this journey.

P.S. Maura and I got to watch the Avengers again for free, and in 3D, and we got to see more places in the evening. Thanks to the youth that have toured us around and for the house of Eddybett and their hospitality. I will never forget you all.

Dominican Republic, Day 26: Laugh and Cry at the Same Time

Maura and I finished our work in Santiago today with the kids at the child development center. We had a great lunch with Pastor Julio’s family and we just chilled in the afternoon. Ronnie and Joselito taught me a number of Spanish worship songs and we jammed all afternoon. This is one of the songs we played:

After that, Joselito taught me how to play merengue on the keyboards and as I was so into it trying to make my hands work with the synchopated beat… Maura comes out of the room screaming and jumping up and down…

She said: “We got it! We got it!”

So I looked at her wondering what it was about and so I said: “Huh?? What happened!”

She stared at me with her eyes wide open and kept on saying “We got it!”

Honestly my mind was blank. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting the Mexican visa to come this soon. I was just talking last night at the church during my testimony time that the Lord will give the visa! And it’s such a shame that I wasn’t at all thinking about it. So when it finally dawned on me that she was talking about the visa… I was stunned.

And then I hollered, “Oh thank you Jesus…” and then I was laughing, and then was crying at the same time.

And then was jumping up and down… and then I had to go to the toilet because I was shy they were all looking at me crying and laughing like crazy. I whispered a prayer and gave my thanks to the Lord who has called me and has given me a promise: “Never will I leave you, nor forsake you.”

He answered our prayers, and I am filled with so much joy.

In the evening we celebrated with Pastor Julio’s family and had pizza at Domino’s.

I really had a wonderful time here at Santiago.
The Lord is never late and he has once again showed His faithfulness.

If you are waiting on the Lord; keep placing your hope on Him.
He is enough!

Dominican Republic, Day 23-25: My Adventure with Maura in Santiago

Maura and I visited the Mexican embassy to find out what we should do next. We brought to the consul the “tramite” which shows where we are exactly in the whole application process, and he just verified it on their records. He told us to return 5 days later to see if there will be any progress. So while waiting for our visas, our trip to Santiago began, but first, we had chaofan at Chinatown. I felt at home. :p although I’m not from China, but you know what I mean.

It was a 3 hour trip from Santo Domingo, and as soon as we arrived at Pastor Julio’s house, we traveled again to Los Hatillos where they have planted a church. I got to share our testimony and Maura explained the 12:7 serve project. The church prayed for our visas. It’s nice to see a growing church and we were blessed by their hospitality. They served us wonderful dinner and I enjoyed the fried cheese hehe. We had a great evening and also a long sleep.

For the first time, I was able to sleep a lot. The next day, was Saturday and we went to evangelize the community around the church, together with the youth of Mahanaim church. We went from house to house. The highlight of this time for me was when we entered a house with men that looked like gangsta boys. Hehe. I was happy I was wearing my DR cap I felt like I’m dressed like a bboy like them. Haha. I felt empowered at that time and I felt compelled to share to them. Maura translated for me, and in the end, the boys received the Lord. Jesus saves and touches hearts. The boys had a lot of questions but we tried to talk to them and explain Jesus’ love and grace. I hope the youth would follow up on them.

In the evening, Maura and I shared the Sex, Lies and the Truth Workshop at the church. The people saw that the presentation was really relevant for the youth in their community and they became aware of this truth.After that Maura and I walked around the community in the evening with the pastor’s son and we bought ice cream so we chilled.

The next day was Sunday, and we went to the church of the District Superintendent in another town. When we got there, boom! He told me to preach! Good thing we were ready and Maura translated for me. It was a great time. The DS brought us to the Heroes park in the afternoon, and then brought us back to Pastor Julio’s place, where we had a service in the evening. Maura and I shared our testimonies at the church. They also prayed for us and our visas.

The youth invited us that evening to eat cachapas in a corner. These are food from Venezuela something like arepa, and it was delicious. Maura and I had bonding time with the youth and I suddenly missed my youth group back at home. It was fun to hangout and talk with them.

The next morning, we went to a child development center and we taught the kids a bible story and played games with them. We also translated the song “with Jesus in the boat you can smile in the storm” to Spanish, at that very moment so it was nice to sing it in Spanish.

It was a great time being with the people in Santiago. I will miss all of them. Let us pray for the people in Santiago and the work the people are doing to serve their communities.

Dominican Republic, Day 21-22: He Gives Peace in our Hearts

I still can’t believe that the team finished the time here in the Dominican Republic already. Time went by so fast. One of the youth that we met at the camp invited us to the Botanical Garden/sort of Jurassic park for free. So we went there and enjoyed the sight.

Erika’s birthday will be on May 8 and we already know that I and Maura won’t be with them in Mexico at that time, so we planned a surprise party for her to celebrate her birthday while we are still complete. It was funny because I was the one that brought her up to the room, and made her think we are preparing for a surprise for Eliezel and Tammy, and so she was so happy preparing her gifts for them. So when we got down the house, the lights were out, and she probably thought oh wow, we have a surprise for them, only to be surprised by the cake and the balloons and the screams. Carlos and Dani made the carrot cake for her. It was fun!

The team had a dinner with Eliezel and Tammy, and we shared our thanks for how they hosted us so well. I will never ever forget this couple and all the encouraging words they have said. Eliezel has been a great example for me and I have learned a lot from him.

Before we went to sleep, Erika and Alan took over me and Maura, because they are the team’s coordinator for North Mexico site. So they briefed us for the plan in North Mexico: EVANGELISM. Yes, and they mentioned that the team will be divided into small groups and will be separated in North Mexico. So… that’s something to look forward to.

The next day came and the team left me and Maura after lunch. I cried. I don’t know why I became emotional. Maybe part of me was thinking, what if we don’t get the Mexico visa, then that could mean being apart from them for 6 weeks… It’s funny how I already miss them.

Anyway, Maura and I tried to go out and so we took a taxi. I’m so proud of us for going out and it was just the two of us. We went to a cinema place which was near IKEA! The team planned to buy a wedding gift for Eliezel and Tammy so Maura and I went there to choose our gifts. I really enjoyed my time in Ikea window shopping hehe! Afterwards, we went to watch the Avengers and then went home. After our diversion, we came home and felt like the Work and Witness house was too big for us. It was sort of sad. Maura and I started to pack our things to be ready tomorrow as we head to Santiago.

While I was sad that we won’t be with the team, part of me was excited that we will be going to Santiago. God surely listens to our hearts’ desires. I told Maura that I enjoyed the DR so much God was giving me an extended time to be here, and to which Maura gladly agreed. We both giggled.

The Lord was surely giving us peace in our hearts, and so it was a good thing.

Dominican Republic, Day 20: God’s Perfect Time

Today’s our rest day, supposedly… but for me and Lynda, today was our trip to the El Salvador Embassy. So, we got up early and prepared our papers for our trip to the embassy. When we arrived, we were asked to fill out forms and do other things… after 30 minutes, the lady told us that our Guatemalan embassy is enough for us to enter also El Salvador!!! I almost wanted to jump inside the room, and then was suddenly unbelieving, so I asked the lady “are you sure??” hahahaha. And then she said that the consul saw our Guatemalan visa and since it is part of the CA-4 countries (Central America 4) which includes: El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras, that visa is for all the four countries. Oh wow, I can’t believe my ears. The Lord is so good.

I haven’t shared with you yet that I applied for this El Salvador visa when I was still in the Philippines and they got my passport and it was sent to their consulate in Japan. I waited for more than three weeks, and have faced lots of challenges with the fund transfer only to find out that they had issues with the transfer, and then later on they said that if they stamp the visa at that time, which was February it would already be expired before I could enter the country in June. So they said it is best if I just get it later somewhere else. It was crazy because that was the time I was supposed to leave the Philippines and they were still holding my passport in Japan, so I asked them to just return my passport even without the visa, and up to now we are still unsure how we can refund the 65 dollars that we sent them. Haha, now I am reminded of the crazy visa applications back home. I have so many stories to tell.

Anyway, I am very happy! We went back and pretended to have a sad story to the team, but we cannot contain our happiness so we weren’t good actors at that time. The team went to Jumbo for grocery time and I went to an internet shop instead to Skype with my family. It was great to catch up with them. I realized it’s been more than three weeks since I talked to them, and my mom was wondering why I wasn’t talking to them.

God is so good, and I know that the Mexican and Panamanian Visas will also come in His PERFECT TIME!