A guest post from Kelli VanMiddlesworth, who was one Crosspointer who served and was on the recent mission trip to Isaiah 55 Deaf Ministries, in Reynosa, Mexico.  Here is part of her story…

 

People keep asking me how our missions trip went. I always respond with, “It was exhausting and absolutely amazing…”

Because there is so much to tell that its hard to put into just a few words. I will not take the time to bore you with the details of how I thought I would go there to do some serious physical working, and ended up sewing for days on end. Which turned out to be the greatest blessing to my heart anyway. Instead, I will tell of just one defining moment…

It was the moment that Isaiah:55 layed the cards on the table.

Isaiah:55 is a deaf ministry for the children of Reynosa. To live here in the states and read that sentence seems like a really nice thing. “Oh, a deaf school. Thats great…” But it is so much more than that. These children that are deaf, are being shuffled through the school system from grade to grade, and end up leaving without basic ABC’s. All due to the fact that not a single person knows how to communicate with them. Not even their families. They end up as deaf adults who can not read or communicate. Leaving them with no hope for any kind of future…

Think about that for a second. Not only do they live in extreme poverty. (I saw a multitude of homes with cardboard for roofs and walls) But they have no basic way to talk to anyone. They are prisoners in their own bodies. Try not to talk in any shape or form for one full day. Now try to place your sweet child in that position. Now remind yourself that we are all God’s sweet children.

Isaiah:55 brings these children in. They teach them sign language, as well as give their parents the chance to come in and learn too. They also have a sewing class. (which is where I landed) This class gives the teenage girls a chance at learning a trade. They have learned how to make a basic shoulder bag, headbands, the cutest little tutu’s and were in the process of making ruffled skirts when I was there. I got to teach them how to hand stitch a few different types of flowers out of scraps (which teaches them how to use their fabric wisely and to make things for free) to be embelishments for anything they produce.

So I had a chance to interact with a few of the girls one on one. Without words. But I could see the desperation in their eyes. I can still see it, I will never forget it. They want to learn anything they can and they want to go as fast as possible so they can take in as much information possible on every single day.

This brings me to the defining moment that I chose to share. It was the closing evening. They had told us of how you can sponsor a child for a mere $360 a year. An unreal number, and completely doable. I mean thats what I spend on groceries in a few weeks. Yet even when I heard it, it was so typical of me to lump it in with the “starving children commercials that I see back home…” The ones that my gut fights against because we have starving people in Peoria. But I shamefully admit that I never help there either.

Then she started lying the cards on the table… With each and every page she lay down, another very real face looked up at me. And in the midst there was my sewing students picture, my heart broke into a million pieces. She has a terrible story, way beyond her being deaf. That I will not share, because she is a part of my family now. We will support her in any way that we can. But it looks like that starts with the chump change of $360.

And that will change her entire life. I am thankful to have been a part of this trip. I am thankful to be a part of Isaiah:55 for the rest of my life.

How was our missions trip? It not only changed our lives, but it is changing Juana De la Cruz Munoz’s life as well…