Baja Mission 2006 - Massanutten Presbyterian Church

Baja Memories by Ann Jordan, Sept. 2006

Baja was my first mission trip and it certainly will not be my last. Words can’t do justice the tremendous life lessons I received during my week in Mexico. The ability to really make a difference in such a tangible way was remarkable. My first impression of the children my build team was to serve was dramatic. Jazmin, age 5, ran up to our big white van on the first day of the build, happy, excited, and perhaps a little nervous at the flock of gringos pouring out. I scooped her up and said “Hola” in my happiest voice. Her face lit up as the others greeted her with the same exuberance. Soon after, her brother, Visosqui, age 8, appeared. More “holas” and hugs followed. We soon asked where their mother, Josepha was, only to be told she was working in the tomato fields. At once I felt sick, realizing that the two kids were probably left alone all day fending and taking care of themselves. The awful truth of that reality became only more disturbing as we discovered their surroundings to include scorpions, broken glass, lots of rusted metal, and big scary insects locally nicknamed “deer slayers” because of their tenacious nature. My mind had trouble wrapping itself around the dangers inherent in their little lives. How would my own children (coincidentally or not, about the same ages) fair in this environment? Alone… How would I feel, as their mother, having no choice but to leave them to themselves because I had to go to work for 12 hours to bring home earnings of $4 to feed them? It didn’t take long for me to “get it.” We weren’t in Harrisonburg, Virginia anymore, and this was the culture I would spend the next seven days immersed in, like it or not.

Like it I did, and as the days passed, I gladly accepted my role as a disciple of Christ and his message. I watched as Jazmin disappeared each afternoon for her “nap” and Visosqui disappeared to tend to his sheep and goats, acting as their shepherd, wandering over the hills of Santa Fe, laden with volcanic ash and a few scrubby bushes from which the animals could feed. So many responsibilities for ones so small.

By the third day of the build, word had gotten out that food and water (ours) was “on the hill” and soon the population tripled! Lots of kids arrived, and lots of kids supervising their younger siblings. We had fun playing with them in between the hard work of the house build. They were like children everywhere in the world—hungry for affection, attention, and love. But unlike here at home, also hungry for sustenance. Even in their accelerated grown-up world, where babies aren’t named until they reach a year old because infant mortality rates are so high, they still like the same things kids do everywhere. They love playing soccer, having water dripped over their heads, blowing up balloons, kite flying, and just plain giggling. In a country where the life expectancy is a meager 51 years old, life is short and unfortunately, not always so sweet.

I left Mexico, with a true sense that they had given me far more than I had given them. I have hung a picture of both Jazmin and Visosqui on my wall at home to remind me of my time there. However, my experiences don’t have to end with me. I have shared with my husband, my children, my friends, and now my church family, some aspects of what a mission trip is about. I hope the stories and pictures will keep us all mindful of our blessings and responsibilities to be true examples of God’s love through our words, our acts, and our failure to never remain complacent. In the words of Edmund Burke, “Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” It all matters and it all makes a difference. Josepha, Jazmin and Visosqui will remember us, and we will certainly always remember them.