Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesians 5:1-2
Two weeks and three days left of CCP in Mexico. The past two weeks have been focused on having spiritual conversations with ITESO students. My ministry partner, Sarah Bujold, and I were able to study the Bible with two girls this past week. Everything that the girls said was extremely encouraging! They seemed to have a good understanding of the Gospel and want to know more about our faith. Sarah and I have been praying that they will accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior by the end of the summer.
Having spiritual conversations with the students has been surprisingly easy. Because the Mexican culture is so friendly and open, they have been so receptive of our beliefs. Since ITESO is a Catholic school, we’ve been able to use the topic of Catholicism as an opening to spiritual conversation. The Catholic Church in Mexico is seen as corrupt and evil to multiple students and professors that we’ve spoken with. One professor that Laura Caponigro and I talked with mentioned that her cousin was molested by a Catholic priest. Since then she has had many negative experiences with the church. We were able to invite her to our Protestant Church and plan to meet with her again for coffee. Laura and I prayed for our professor and hope that we can see her at our church on Sunday.
Sharing the Gospel with lost students has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have never intentionally spent time with people for the sole purpose of sharing the Gospel with them. Cross-cultural, relational missions is what I wish to pursue after college and I am truly getting a taste of that here. Though I am tired and sometimes tempted by the appeal of Mexican culture, Christ is becoming more and more constant in my life. I must be dependent and filled by the power of Christ in order for this mission to be successful. We praise God for the ways He has used us in spite of our tiredness and weaknesses.
To Him be the honor and the glory!
Hannah Swanson