The Pioneers
There was a saying we use to have
in youth ministry that if its not hard then we
don’t want it. One day 13 of us were called
to be held to our word, and to take on a challenge
that would change the rest of our lives forever.
We had seven months to prepare ourselves to embark
on a mission that would stretch us and change the
way we think about want and poverty. We were preparing
for the worst and hoping for the best. We had to
put ourselves totally aside and dedicate every
moment and prepare to be totally dependent upon
God. We had no idea what we were getting into nor
did we know if our presence was to be welcomed
or persecuted. We were called to go to Chihuahua,
Mexico to in essence become pioneers. We went places
and did things that no other team had ever done.
The most amazing experience in ministry for me
was the day we went to a rehab center. There, about
100 men who were bound by drugs and alcohol surrounded
us. We began to lead the men in a time of worship,
and I was amazed to see such a hunger in the men
there. After an incredible word shared, there was
a time of prayer and God began to move in many
of the men’s lives. I was videotaping and
due to the large number of men it was difficult
to see. I got up on a chair so that I would have
a view of what was going on. As I was scanning
past, I noticed a small room at the far left corner
of the room. The men in that room were being detoxified.
These men were unable to come out so they put their
hands and bodies against to door just to get a
touch of what God was doing. As I watched my youth
pastor and another member of the team pray for
the men by placing their hands on the door, I began
to cry because I realized that I truly needed to
be as hungry as they were for the things of God.
It made me re-evaluate my own life so ask myself
one question, “How hungry was I for God and
what was I prepared to do for Him?” The answer
to that question came on the last day we were there.
We climbed a mountain and there we left our dreams,
fears, and everything else that held us back. None
of us were ever the same again.
By Beth Weinowitz
