H7 Story: Mexico Missions Trip
Back from Mexico!
By Wendi Kitsteiner
They are back! Fourteen of our FCC’ers just returned from Mexico! Ten high school students and four courageous adults spent nine days working with Steve and Kay Carpenter in Tultepec, Mexico. They helped spread the gospel while also learning more about the Mexican people and their culture. For many, this was the first time they have left the country or served on a mission trip.
The Adults:
The Teenagers:
Nearly everyone dealt with extreme sickness and fatigue during their trip. Whether this was due to an illness or just the altitude (Tultepec is nearly 7,500 feet above sea level), health proved to be the hardest part of the adventure. The weather cooperated. Their hosts were amazing. The people they met were kind and gracious. They spent time helping the Carpenters with anything they needed – whether it be cleaning up a neighborhood playground or running a carnival for the neighborhood kids or playing soccer with locals. They also got to take a day trip to see some of the Mexican pyramids. Fighting their own bodies, however, was quite the challenge.
But instead of me speaking on their behalf, let’s spend this article letting those who were there, tell you themselves!
Graduating senior, Faith Schubert noted the sickness when asked what the hardest part of the trip was for her. “I think the hardest part was watching my team get so sick (altitude sickness is no joke!) Many people were throwing up, experiencing intense headaches, and just completely exhausted. But I was reminded that week that we need those hard times to highlight how good our God is. I saw something so beautiful as my team banded together to push through the sickness to serve each other, the Mexican people, the Carpenters, and most importantly God. Through those hard moments I saw my team find diligence and strength and selflessness and joy that could only come from Christ. I want to say thank you to all the prayers that were prayed over us before and during our trip. They were so recognizable as so many things could’ve gone wrong but didn’t! God was so good!”
Fourteen-year-old Isaac Kitsteiner echoed Faith’s feelings when he shared, “The hardest thing was getting sick, and not being in your own comfortable house for that. Thank you to the Carpenters for being so kind to the people who got sick.”
Alden Wakefield agreed. “The hardest part of the trip was certainly exhaustion,” he said. “Whether that was brought on by the altitude or the constant activity, it was grueling. It really was the strength of God that helped us get through the week.”
The trip was headed by FCC’s Youth Pastor, Travis Chapman, and he noted this hardship when he wrote to his team after the trip: “Many of you worked through sickness and fatigue to minister to others and it was clearly seen.”
It wasn’t just sickness that was challenging for this team, however. “On a more spiritual note,” adult leader Mike Schubert recalled, “the hardest thing for me was adjusting to the cultural expectations: life is slower, nothing starts or ends on time, dinner doesn’t start till 8:30 or later (which about the time I’m ready to head to bed at home), and there is nothing you can do to affect any of it. I had to come to grips with the fact that I wasn’t in control, nor could I influence it in the direction I wanted."
(Mike said another hard thing he encountered was the speed bumps there. They had no give. But that’s neither here nor there.)
Despite all the rough moments, the good definitely outweighed the bad. “Watching the youth of FCC witness to and build relationships with the Mexican people was like watching prayers come to life,” adult leader Jama Doty noted. “Not only the prayers we prayed specifically for this mission trip, but the prayers that parents of our young people have prayed over them for the entirety of their lives. That type of ability to express the love of Jesus doesn’t just happen. It’s something that has been fostered all their lives. Parents, you should be proud of your children and the love they were able to share!”
Faith said that her favorite part of the whole trip was getting to put on a carnival for the kids of the church the Carpenters planted. “Seeing the huge smiles and knowing that I had a part in that was such a blessing and produced such joy inside of me. The games we played were simple, but the kids loved them! They laughed and smiled the whole time and those smiles and laughter were so contagious. Our team was filled with such joy and compassion and that’s a memory I never want to forget!”
Adult leader Michelle Hamilton’s adventures started even before the trip when a passport complication meant she had to fly two days after her team. Then, after arriving, she quickly fell sick along with the others. However, despite these challenges, she took away the opportunity to learn. “As a Small Group Leader, it interests me to visit other youth groups and to learn from and share our experiences and help each of us lead and connect better with our students,” she explained. “It was a blessing for me to sit in the youth group at the church in Mexico as well as a joy to have several opportunities to meet and share with the youth group leaders there. Though our cultures are different, we are both seeking ways to connect with and have relationships with the students in our community and to be able to point them to Jesus and provide opportunities to grow their faith.”
Hannah Staggs, who was the youngest member of the team, was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning. “When we first arrived, everything felt crazy. I told Ms. Jama that I wanted to go home. I was tired, sick, and overwhelmed,” she recalled. But then, they did their first activity. It was an English class, and Hannah recalls that it was at the moment, everything started to shift for her. “It was AMAZING!! I fell in love with the work that the Carpenters were doing and the people in the community!” she joyfully recounted. In fact, despite the sickness that plagued their group, Hannah recalls that everyone stayed positive. “Every time we went through a struggle, God showed up and we all found strength again.” Hannah specifically recalled a church service on a Friday evening. Everyone was exhausted and tired and then everyone started singing songs in Spanish. “As you looked around the room during ‘Reckless Love’ (in Español!), tears were streaming down our faces. What an encouragement!”
The trip was also filled with small, individual encounters that stood out to the fourteen people who made this trip. Leader Travis Chapman recalled meeting a young man named Luis in the airport on the way home. “He talked with me about being closer to God. I gave him my Bible, because he did not own one, and shared how we get closer to God by trusting Jesus as our Savior and we do that through the word of God. He was so excited to receive the Bible.”
Senior Alden Wakefield, who left for this trip just a day after playing in the State Championship Soccer Game here in the United States, had the opportunity to play soccer with the people there. “Even though there was a language barrier, it was easy to jump right into a game of football (soccer) because the love of the sport is universal. It also created opportunities for me to speak to the kids in the neighborhood and make more friends.”
Alden continued his trip recollections when he shared about having the opportunity to meet Giovanni, the father of one of the kids in their English classes. “It was so clear how hard he worked to provide his family with enough money to get by. Even though his work sounded very difficult, (warehouse and factory work), he came to English class with a smile on his face because he loved his family and wanted to learn a new skill. It was eye-opening to see that even though most people there had so little, they were so happy and so welcoming.” Alden also got to meet Johnathan and Alma. Despite the losses of three of their six children, their entire family was engaged during a worship service. “I can imagine that, as they cried, they could only think about meeting those who had died one day in heaven.”
Jackson Radank also recounted a memory of a friendship he developed with a teenager there named Ernesto. He was so impressed by how people in Tultepec, with far less than people have in America, were still so happy and content with their lives. “I thought it was so beautiful singing the song ‘What a Beautiful Name’ in Spanish and seeing people from Mexico who have gone through so much and yet are bawling their eyes out in worship to their Lord and Savior.”
Sage Gourley who celebrated her 17th birthday on the trip (along with Miley Doty who turned 18 on the very last day of the trip), had similar feelings to those of Jackson. “Anytime that I was with the people we met there felt like the best moment. I loved being able to show Jesus' love to them despite the language barrier, and for them to show the same love to us even when we were strangers. I also loved, during the church services, being able to see people in a different country, culture, and language worshipping the same God that we worship.”
Faith came to understand that the beauty she saw in Mexico wasn’t necessarily Mexico itself but the people they had the opportunity to meet. “God blessed us with such an amazing experience, and I already miss the people so much. On one of my last nights there, I was asked what I thought of Mexico, and I responded with, ‘I think it’s beautiful.’” When she heard this, Mrs. Carpenter leaned over and explained to Faith that she could see the beauty because she’d fallen in love with the people. “And I absolutely had,” Faith explained. “It’s true that not everything we experienced was pleasant or pretty, but God showed me the people behind the things we saw and that’s who I fell in love with.”
Leaving was as difficult as raising the funds, getting to Mexico, or battling the illnesses they faced while there. Jackson explained this when he said, “For me the hardest thing was leaving. I felt like we had been doing a great work, and then we were leaving it unfinished.” Sage Gourley was in agreement with Jackson. “The hardest part for me was definitely leaving. I hate being here not knowing if I'll ever get to go back there and see those people again. I also hate not knowing what effect our work there had on those people. I can't possibly pick a best moment.”
Travis reminded the team as they pulled up at the church after nine days out of the country that their work was not done. “It is now our mission to work here in Greene County,” Hannah Staggs recalled. “We will never forget everything God did through the people, the Carpenters, and us in Mexico.”
Travis summarized what he hopes each of the team members will take with them as life returns to normal here in Greene County. “The Lord has placed each of us in Greene County Tennessee. He has placed us in the lives of people here. Let’s allow this trip to be: 1) a reminder that Christ is building His Church everywhere and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it, 2) a fuel to be on mission here in Greene County because the souls here are just as precious, and 3) a memory that we can look back to when we are tempted to complain because our limits are tested or our comfort is disrupted.”
The Adults:
- Travis Chapman
- Jama Doty
- Michelle Hamilton
- Mike Schubert
The Teenagers:
- Cadence Ashcroft
- Mylee Doty
- Ainsley Ford
- Sage Gourley
- Simon Johnson
- Isaac Kitsteiner
- Jackson Radank
- Faith Schubert
- Hannah Staggs
- Alden Wakefield
Nearly everyone dealt with extreme sickness and fatigue during their trip. Whether this was due to an illness or just the altitude (Tultepec is nearly 7,500 feet above sea level), health proved to be the hardest part of the adventure. The weather cooperated. Their hosts were amazing. The people they met were kind and gracious. They spent time helping the Carpenters with anything they needed – whether it be cleaning up a neighborhood playground or running a carnival for the neighborhood kids or playing soccer with locals. They also got to take a day trip to see some of the Mexican pyramids. Fighting their own bodies, however, was quite the challenge.
But instead of me speaking on their behalf, let’s spend this article letting those who were there, tell you themselves!
Graduating senior, Faith Schubert noted the sickness when asked what the hardest part of the trip was for her. “I think the hardest part was watching my team get so sick (altitude sickness is no joke!) Many people were throwing up, experiencing intense headaches, and just completely exhausted. But I was reminded that week that we need those hard times to highlight how good our God is. I saw something so beautiful as my team banded together to push through the sickness to serve each other, the Mexican people, the Carpenters, and most importantly God. Through those hard moments I saw my team find diligence and strength and selflessness and joy that could only come from Christ. I want to say thank you to all the prayers that were prayed over us before and during our trip. They were so recognizable as so many things could’ve gone wrong but didn’t! God was so good!”
Fourteen-year-old Isaac Kitsteiner echoed Faith’s feelings when he shared, “The hardest thing was getting sick, and not being in your own comfortable house for that. Thank you to the Carpenters for being so kind to the people who got sick.”
Alden Wakefield agreed. “The hardest part of the trip was certainly exhaustion,” he said. “Whether that was brought on by the altitude or the constant activity, it was grueling. It really was the strength of God that helped us get through the week.”
The trip was headed by FCC’s Youth Pastor, Travis Chapman, and he noted this hardship when he wrote to his team after the trip: “Many of you worked through sickness and fatigue to minister to others and it was clearly seen.”
It wasn’t just sickness that was challenging for this team, however. “On a more spiritual note,” adult leader Mike Schubert recalled, “the hardest thing for me was adjusting to the cultural expectations: life is slower, nothing starts or ends on time, dinner doesn’t start till 8:30 or later (which about the time I’m ready to head to bed at home), and there is nothing you can do to affect any of it. I had to come to grips with the fact that I wasn’t in control, nor could I influence it in the direction I wanted."
(Mike said another hard thing he encountered was the speed bumps there. They had no give. But that’s neither here nor there.)
Despite all the rough moments, the good definitely outweighed the bad. “Watching the youth of FCC witness to and build relationships with the Mexican people was like watching prayers come to life,” adult leader Jama Doty noted. “Not only the prayers we prayed specifically for this mission trip, but the prayers that parents of our young people have prayed over them for the entirety of their lives. That type of ability to express the love of Jesus doesn’t just happen. It’s something that has been fostered all their lives. Parents, you should be proud of your children and the love they were able to share!”
Faith said that her favorite part of the whole trip was getting to put on a carnival for the kids of the church the Carpenters planted. “Seeing the huge smiles and knowing that I had a part in that was such a blessing and produced such joy inside of me. The games we played were simple, but the kids loved them! They laughed and smiled the whole time and those smiles and laughter were so contagious. Our team was filled with such joy and compassion and that’s a memory I never want to forget!”
Adult leader Michelle Hamilton’s adventures started even before the trip when a passport complication meant she had to fly two days after her team. Then, after arriving, she quickly fell sick along with the others. However, despite these challenges, she took away the opportunity to learn. “As a Small Group Leader, it interests me to visit other youth groups and to learn from and share our experiences and help each of us lead and connect better with our students,” she explained. “It was a blessing for me to sit in the youth group at the church in Mexico as well as a joy to have several opportunities to meet and share with the youth group leaders there. Though our cultures are different, we are both seeking ways to connect with and have relationships with the students in our community and to be able to point them to Jesus and provide opportunities to grow their faith.”
Hannah Staggs, who was the youngest member of the team, was a bit overwhelmed in the beginning. “When we first arrived, everything felt crazy. I told Ms. Jama that I wanted to go home. I was tired, sick, and overwhelmed,” she recalled. But then, they did their first activity. It was an English class, and Hannah recalls that it was at the moment, everything started to shift for her. “It was AMAZING!! I fell in love with the work that the Carpenters were doing and the people in the community!” she joyfully recounted. In fact, despite the sickness that plagued their group, Hannah recalls that everyone stayed positive. “Every time we went through a struggle, God showed up and we all found strength again.” Hannah specifically recalled a church service on a Friday evening. Everyone was exhausted and tired and then everyone started singing songs in Spanish. “As you looked around the room during ‘Reckless Love’ (in Español!), tears were streaming down our faces. What an encouragement!”
The trip was also filled with small, individual encounters that stood out to the fourteen people who made this trip. Leader Travis Chapman recalled meeting a young man named Luis in the airport on the way home. “He talked with me about being closer to God. I gave him my Bible, because he did not own one, and shared how we get closer to God by trusting Jesus as our Savior and we do that through the word of God. He was so excited to receive the Bible.”
Senior Alden Wakefield, who left for this trip just a day after playing in the State Championship Soccer Game here in the United States, had the opportunity to play soccer with the people there. “Even though there was a language barrier, it was easy to jump right into a game of football (soccer) because the love of the sport is universal. It also created opportunities for me to speak to the kids in the neighborhood and make more friends.”
Alden continued his trip recollections when he shared about having the opportunity to meet Giovanni, the father of one of the kids in their English classes. “It was so clear how hard he worked to provide his family with enough money to get by. Even though his work sounded very difficult, (warehouse and factory work), he came to English class with a smile on his face because he loved his family and wanted to learn a new skill. It was eye-opening to see that even though most people there had so little, they were so happy and so welcoming.” Alden also got to meet Johnathan and Alma. Despite the losses of three of their six children, their entire family was engaged during a worship service. “I can imagine that, as they cried, they could only think about meeting those who had died one day in heaven.”
Jackson Radank also recounted a memory of a friendship he developed with a teenager there named Ernesto. He was so impressed by how people in Tultepec, with far less than people have in America, were still so happy and content with their lives. “I thought it was so beautiful singing the song ‘What a Beautiful Name’ in Spanish and seeing people from Mexico who have gone through so much and yet are bawling their eyes out in worship to their Lord and Savior.”
Sage Gourley who celebrated her 17th birthday on the trip (along with Miley Doty who turned 18 on the very last day of the trip), had similar feelings to those of Jackson. “Anytime that I was with the people we met there felt like the best moment. I loved being able to show Jesus' love to them despite the language barrier, and for them to show the same love to us even when we were strangers. I also loved, during the church services, being able to see people in a different country, culture, and language worshipping the same God that we worship.”
Faith came to understand that the beauty she saw in Mexico wasn’t necessarily Mexico itself but the people they had the opportunity to meet. “God blessed us with such an amazing experience, and I already miss the people so much. On one of my last nights there, I was asked what I thought of Mexico, and I responded with, ‘I think it’s beautiful.’” When she heard this, Mrs. Carpenter leaned over and explained to Faith that she could see the beauty because she’d fallen in love with the people. “And I absolutely had,” Faith explained. “It’s true that not everything we experienced was pleasant or pretty, but God showed me the people behind the things we saw and that’s who I fell in love with.”
Leaving was as difficult as raising the funds, getting to Mexico, or battling the illnesses they faced while there. Jackson explained this when he said, “For me the hardest thing was leaving. I felt like we had been doing a great work, and then we were leaving it unfinished.” Sage Gourley was in agreement with Jackson. “The hardest part for me was definitely leaving. I hate being here not knowing if I'll ever get to go back there and see those people again. I also hate not knowing what effect our work there had on those people. I can't possibly pick a best moment.”
Travis reminded the team as they pulled up at the church after nine days out of the country that their work was not done. “It is now our mission to work here in Greene County,” Hannah Staggs recalled. “We will never forget everything God did through the people, the Carpenters, and us in Mexico.”
Travis summarized what he hopes each of the team members will take with them as life returns to normal here in Greene County. “The Lord has placed each of us in Greene County Tennessee. He has placed us in the lives of people here. Let’s allow this trip to be: 1) a reminder that Christ is building His Church everywhere and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it, 2) a fuel to be on mission here in Greene County because the souls here are just as precious, and 3) a memory that we can look back to when we are tempted to complain because our limits are tested or our comfort is disrupted.”
Posted in Tell the Story