This past weekend I drove to Oaxaca with three friends from the church. Oaxaca is beautiful and very different from the chaos of Mexico City. The fields and mountains, the warm wind, the swaying grass…oh how I needed to see and feel that.
We packed the van with supplies for a medical mission with AIL Ministry that is ministering this week to four towns in Oaxaca. Towns where Spanish is a second language for much of the population.
In Mexico City we reach out using English, music, sports and art. In Oaxaca, Dave, Gaspar and the group pulls teeth, gives free medical care, and distributes clothing and food. In both areas, donated wheelchairs and hearing aids have opened many doors.
Why?
We do it because of the love of Jesus motivates us to do it. Jesus healed many and had compassion on the sick, lame and blind. Should we not as well? Jesus looked on the multitude and saw people. He used one small boy’s lunch to feed a crowd. He talked a lot about Himself. He encouraged people to believe.
It’s clique to say, but the cross has both a vertical and horizontal element to it. The most important aspect to be sure is the redemption of man through Jesus, the reconciliation of the sinner through the sacrifice of Christ. But as a friend in Oaxaca likes to say, it’s hard to share the gospel to someone when their stomach is growling. Feed them first. Then feed them.
