!Viva Mexico!

I was standing in the middle of a plaza in the city of La Piedad, Michoacan in Mexico. Wearing traditional Mexican clothes and with my arms outstretched, I shouted these words to the delight of the crowd that had come to hear me speak to them about God. "Viva Mexico!" It was a strange feeling, but I loved it.

The local church had presented me with a Mexican serape at the end of the third day of meetings in the plaza and I had put it on to show my appreciation for the gift and my love for Mexico. I felt strangely at home, almost as if I had been made for such moments.

An hour earlier I had been standing on a platform sharing the message of Christ's love with the people in Spanish. After preaching, I'd spent probably about an hour praying with people who had come forward. Some were coming to know Christ for the first time. Others were coming for prayer. All were coming because they believed Jesus had the power to touch and change their lives. On this particular day, I felt almost as if I was watching myself from afar, and I was amazed at what God had done in giving me the gift of being able to communicate in Spanish.

I found myself almost overwhelmed by a feeling that was both strange and wonderful. I was fully communicative in a language I had not even known as a child, speaking to a crowd of people in a world very different from the one in which I had begun my life. The fears and insecurities I had felt just a few years earlier in such a situation were completely gone. I was fully loved and accepted by the people, and I felt strangely and wonderfully at home.

My whole two weeks in Mexico this month were a real joy. We met resistance in Aguascalientes, where the people were forbidden to associate with us by their priest, but even there we had a great opportunity to encourage a small band of Christians who were remaining faithful in the midst of hardships. A number of people came to Christ in La Piedad, Michoacan and in a church in Guadalajara, and I also had the opportunity to work together with my teaching team, Mark Redwine and Hazel Bech, in presenting pastors' and leaders' training to a group of 42 pastors and potential leaders in Guadalajara.

It was such a pleasure to be in Mexico again, and I look forward to the next time God gives me opportunity to return. I enjoyed the best food in the world, spent time with wonderful people and saw God working in people's lives! What more could a guy want?