WHY GIVE UP?

It was a typical day in Tecate, Mexico. Mission Discovery staff were driving in circles through the colonias – neighborhoods where extreme poverty is the normal way of life. Thick dust clouds followed our truck closely, in a pattern that indicated the one thing that happens every time we begin to look for worksites. We were lost in Mexico again.

Mission Discovery is raising $100,000 by December, 31 and looking for volunteers to serve in 2021. Will you help us reach our goal and join us on a mission trip?

Ana, who goes by Mama Ana to just about everyone she meets, is our ministry partner in Tecate. She was sitting in the truck beside the lost staff getting jarred around by rough dirt paths that some people call roads when she decided to call Eva and ask her to meet us at a gas station. She would know where to go.

She greeted us with a smile of relief, hopped in the truck, and led us to the land that she and her husband had been preparing for months. Usually, Mission Discovery worksites are in rough shape and a lot of preparation needs to be done before getting to work, but this site was flawless. The old tires that built up the ground in anticipation for a home showed the dedication and hard work of the couple. They had a dream of putting a roof over their little girl’s head that would provide safety and security as she grew up. It was a dream that nearly missed its chance at reality.

I was there with my measuring tape, mapping out the dimensions of the house when I noticed her tears. Mama Ana began to translate for Eva, who was having trouble speaking. She explained that a few months earlier, after all of their hard work, they gave up. They had to. The unthinkable happened. Eva’s husband was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer and couldn’t move without feeling extreme pain. His days were numbered, and suddenly, all of their dreams of living a happy life together caring for their daughter, Ingrid, were defeated, and all that was left was this empty plot of land. But God had other plans.

Mission Discovery teams serve intending to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the world’s poor. When the group came to build a home for Eva and her daughter, we didn’t know that an eternal home was being prepared for her husband. But, Kingdom seeds were planted that week, and before her husband passed away, he was led to Christ by Mama Ana’s husband, Peter. A temporary home and a permanent home in one week. All because a group of people said “YES” to a mission trip. God is good, all the time!

Mission Discovery is actively looking for teams and volunteers to serve in 2021. We have domestic and international trips available starting in March.

Eva and Ingrid have become dear friends of Ana and Peter. Ingrid calls Peter “Grandpa.” She cries and asks for candy when she misses her dad. Here’s the most recent candy delivery.

The best part of this story is that it doesn’t stand alone. It is just one of the thousands of Mission Discovery stories that didn’t happen this year. Eva’s story occurred in 2019. We had over a thousand people signed up to go on mission trips in 2020 before the coronavirus halted our plans. But God had other plans.

This year, God showed the Mission Discovery family just how resilient the ministry is. Before the coronavirus hit, our teams built several homes in Guatemala and worked on a school in Jamaica. Even during the coronavirus, we were able to build a church, start to finish, in Haiti by using the local labor force. Also in Haiti, we were able to provide clean water year-round to tens of thousands of people by building a cistern in their community. Our child sponsorship program, HOLD the Children, continued to support 475 children across Guatemala, Jamaica, and Haiti. 45 children who live in our orphanage on the Northern coast of Haiti received care and education. The ministry continues stronger than ever today, which was only made possible by those who donated. Thank you donors!

In Christ alone,

Jimmy Rivera

President, Mission Discovery

P.S.

There are thousands of stories like Eva’s from the past, and we believe there are thousands more coming in the future. Will you be a part of this journey? Mission Discovery wants to raise $100,000 to finish 2020 and begin a new chapter in 2021. Will you help us?