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CrossTraining’s church partner Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church recently returned from Juarez, Mexico, and a week-long mission trip. This year, the short-term mission worked on several things while in Juarez, but perhaps none more important than the relationships with area families, youth, and adults through soccer and other activities, as they share in the Timothy Project: CCPC Juarez 2016 Final Update.

Team member Ruben Rodriguez gave this summary of their time,

A few weeks ago we returned from an incredible trip down to Juarez, Mexico.  Our team was comprised of a couple of families, some high school students, and adult volunteers. All were there to help run VBS and do work projects.  The area of Juarez we stayed in is impoverished. Most houses are made from simple brick and mortar, crude door and widow coverings.  The people who live there are on the lower income scale. Most of them working long and odd hours to earn enough money to buy food and keep their electricity on.  Despite the hardships that people live in, there is no shortage of joy or hope among them. We always celebrate with them on arrival, and share in their sadness when we leave.

Nowhere is that kind community more felt than the several times a day that we played soccer. We play with children, high school students, and adults from all around the neighborhood.  We would play a quick pick up game in the morning, one in the afternoon, and then a larger one in the evening – usually late into the night.  These are games go for an hour or longer at a time, with people of all different skill levels joining in.

Much like the rest of the trip, the thing we’ve gleaned most from these times with the Mexican people is that they are not interested in whether we can or cannot play, the level of our skill, etc.  The thing that is most important is our willingness to enter into community and relationship with them, be that while building a house together, running VBS alongside them, or kicking a ball on a dusty field as the sun sets behind the Hueco Mountains.  There are dozens of stories we brought back with us about meeting new people, incidents of athletic greatness and sportsmanship on the field, kids who stuck out to us during VBS – but the one thing that continues to resonate with us long after coming home is how much we are missed by our friends in Mexico, and how much we miss them in return.

If you would still like to make a contribution to this project please note (Timothy Project: CCPC Juarez 2016) in your donation and use the Donate Now link to make a secure PayPal donation. Your financial gift helps CrossTraining cover associated costs of providing bibles, soccer balls and equipment, and other outreach tools.

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