Fourteen college students from Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton, recently participated in an international World Changers mission trip to Mazatlan, Mexico.
The students participated in door-to-door evangelism, presenting the gospel to 8,000-9,000 people in their homes, Fee Fee student minister David Martin said. During the evenings, they assisted with Vacation Bible Schools and neighborhood block parties.
The students saw 36 teenagers and adults become Christians.
“It was neat seeing the students share their faith cross-culturally,” Martin said. “It’s one thing to teach (about evangelism), but another to see them put it into action.”
The students divided into groups to prayer walk, with two people in the front and two people on each side of the street following and handing out the Gospels of Mark or John.
Janet Wylie, Fee Fee Baptist Church’s pastor’s secretary, said it was especially challenging approaching the first house and using the Spanish sentences they were taught. She and the students quickly discovered that the Mexican people were very patient and interested in what they had to say.
“It was always meaningful to see the people we talked to respond,” she said, adding that many came to the evening block parties.
At the block parties, the group painted faces, presented a skit called “The Redeemer” and showed the movie Facing the Giants in Spanish.
David Hackney, a Southwest Baptist University student and Fee Fee student intern, said the trip showed him how much Catholicism had a hold on the culture. “People think being Catholic is enough to be saved, but there is more than that,” he said.
He enjoyed being able to put the gospel into the hands of so many who had not had the opportunity to read it.
It was the first trip Wylie has taken outside the United States. She called it a “special treat,” though a bit scary since she doesn’t speak Spanish.
Wylie learned that bonds develop, even in the midst of language barriers. “It was wonderful to meet with children in the evening, even though we mostly communicated through smiles and gestures,” Wylie said.
The group was also able to worship with local congregations, where they learned the Spanish words to familiar hymn tunes.
Hackney urges anyone who gets the opportunity to participate in an international mission trip. “It’s an eye-opening experience,” he said.
Above: With the help of an interpreter, Jacob Middendorf (right), a collegian from Fee Fee Baptist Church, Bridgeton, uses a multi-colored soccer ball designed to convey the gospel and other biblical truths to youngsters in Mazatlan, Mexico, during a recent World Changers trip. Fourteen college-age volunteers represented the church on the mission trip.
