Mission Day 1

Day 1-Tue 6/12/18 (Allan & Eric D)

6:30 A.M. Cars quickly drifting into the church’s parking lot. Teenagers gather around, praying and hoping for safety before setting off into possibly one of the most influential events that they can ever partake in. In a blink of a morning, the teenagers are more than 500 miles away from home.

I was one of those teenagers, and I can confirm that the journey was hard and difficult. The previous night, my peers and I slept rather poorly, and had to wake up at the earliest brink of daylight. After everyone arrived at church on time and we prayed, the 15 of us all hoped into the three cars and headed out towards SJC via Foothill Blvd in order to avoid the freeway traffic so that we could arrive in a timely manner which we did. Praise God. The flight to San Diego was fairly smooth until just before we landed, we hit a bit of turbulence that was somewhat surprising and frightening for a few but the plane landed safely without a hitch.

After surviving this unexpected air experience, we proceeded to travel by bus from San Diego to Ensenada and even stopped just before the border to grab some In-N-Out Burger, Chick-fila-a and or Chepotele of our choice since they were all in the same shopping center. The ride to Ensenada was about two hours and featured visa document completion and signing at the Mexican border.

It was about 2pm when we arrived to the YWAM base, and we got the opportunity to enjoy the rest of the day with leisure time. We played as a group on the beach nearby and played cards with each other before dinner.

Later that night we ate a filling dinner of Mexican and American beef wrapped in a burrito before meeting the base director (Ronnie) and his wife (Jamie) and the various local group leaders. For our group leaders, we were introduced to Lexi, Collin, and Diana who is our translator.

The day was exhausting, but we quickly realized that the trip was worth the effort. Our guest pastor, John Ray, told us about his story - how he and a group of missionaries made a perilous car journey from Arkansas to El Salvador during the mists of military chaos and political instability to spread the gospel. At the end Pastor John’s group was able to achieve their goals. From our own journey (less dangerous and less lengthy), we learned that we too had achieved our final destination; that we were able to reach the base where we would finally spread God’s word to the people of Ensenada.

We are all blessed by God with companions and community. The laughs of our fellow friends was a sign of motivation from God. For example, Linda ranged the “help button” on the plane, forcing the captain to call her out. On the bus, Jerry’s phone kept on freezing, which was strangely hysterical. After arriving at the base, we went to the ocean beaches, where we talked and played frisbee.

It is now 9:30, and our curfew is in 30 minutes. Tomorrow, we will be training with the same friends and companions that God has blessed us on this journey.