Denise’s Leftovers D “May I Tell You a Story?” BY DICK DUERKSEN
28
enise and her family attend a small church that has big dreams. And bigger prayers. Each year the congregation asks God to lead them to a place in which they can “make a difference” for Him. Sometimes God sends them to a place nearby, but often the call is to a needy community in a neighboring country. Usually Mexico. “When we’re planning a mission trip the first thing we do is pray for God’s leading,” Denise explains. “Once we know where we’re going to work, we send someone to visit and listen to the folk, to see what they might like us to do. Then we start raising money for the construction, travel, food, and a hundred other expenses.” *** This time God led Denise’s church to a small congregation, Iglesia El Buen Pastor, in Juárez, Mexico. They sent a member to see exactly what the congregation needed. The report was grim. The Juárez church building needed to be painted inside and out. The roof was leaking and would have to be rebuilt. They also needed new chairs, lots of materials for the children’s programs,
February 2020 AdventistWorld.org
some plants around the church, and tons of Spanish Bibles. “Mission trips like this are the best thing our church does,” Denise explains. “They bring us together in service. Sure, they take a lot of work, but because we’re doing the work together, and because we have to pray our way through all of the challenges, these adventures in faith make our congregation stronger. “Our mission team worked hard right along with the members of the church in Juárez. The weather was hot, and we all quickly sweated through our clothes. The men rebuilt the roof and worked on a dozen other maintenance projects. All of us painted the church—inside and outside—till it shone like new.” When Denise’s team was done with everything on the list, they decided to hold a celebration party, a huge party, for all the local church members. “We thought that maybe 40 or 50 people might come to the party. So I went to the store and bought 40 packages of cookies, crackers, and doughnuts, along with 25 gallons of juice,” Denise says. “At first about 20 people came, then 30, then 45, then 70. Finally more than 150 people crowded into the small church.
