As we are almost done with the week two of our team members are going to write about how they came to the trip and how it has impacted them so far.....
By Shuen Lim
It is just crazy how fast this trip has flown by! I’ve gotten to swim with the little kids, have dinner with the older kids, help out with the work project, and much, much more. I have loved every moment this week. God has been using our team to do great things on this island and He has also been using the people here to teach us and bless us so incredibly much.
It seems like so long ago that Mark and I talked about the possibility of me coming to Cozumel. I still remember it so clearly… God planned the whole thing out. It all started in July 2013 when he was in Brisbane, Australia leading his annual mission trip Down Under. It happened in a matter of 7 minutes while we were on our way to a meeting one night. I was telling Mark my plans after graduating University – holiday in Singapore; mission trip in Thailand… I didn’t have any plans after that. Out of the blue, Mark said I should go on the Cozumel mission trip he leads.
My jaw dropped and I had nothing to say for a few moments. It was crazy because I was just about to open my mouth and ask Mark whether it would be possible for me to join the Cozumel team. I didn’t know if it would work with me not being a Lipscomb student… clearly it wasn’t a problem as I didn’t have to do much else to apply for the trip but say yes to Mark. The way this trip just fell on my lap was an amazing answer to prayer. The month prior to everything falling into place, I had been praying for God to open doors to where and what I could do once graduating. He definitely did… and here I am close to a year later in 2014 in Cozumel with the Lipscomb team. I feel so apart of this team and it has been such a joy to serve here in Cozumel, Mexico. I am so thankful God has placed me here with this team to serve the kids at Ciudad and the people in this community. It has definitely been a trip of a lifetime and I feel so blessed to have a God like my God who looks after me and leads me step by step.
It is just crazy how fast this trip has flown by! I’ve gotten to swim with the little kids, have dinner with the older kids, help out with the work project, and much, much more. I have loved every moment this week. God has been using our team to do great things on this island and He has also been using the people here to teach us and bless us so incredibly much.
It seems like so long ago that Mark and I talked about the possibility of me coming to Cozumel. I still remember it so clearly… God planned the whole thing out. It all started in July 2013 when he was in Brisbane, Australia leading his annual mission trip Down Under. It happened in a matter of 7 minutes while we were on our way to a meeting one night. I was telling Mark my plans after graduating University – holiday in Singapore; mission trip in Thailand… I didn’t have any plans after that. Out of the blue, Mark said I should go on the Cozumel mission trip he leads.
My jaw dropped and I had nothing to say for a few moments. It was crazy because I was just about to open my mouth and ask Mark whether it would be possible for me to join the Cozumel team. I didn’t know if it would work with me not being a Lipscomb student… clearly it wasn’t a problem as I didn’t have to do much else to apply for the trip but say yes to Mark. The way this trip just fell on my lap was an amazing answer to prayer. The month prior to everything falling into place, I had been praying for God to open doors to where and what I could do once graduating. He definitely did… and here I am close to a year later in 2014 in Cozumel with the Lipscomb team. I feel so apart of this team and it has been such a joy to serve here in Cozumel, Mexico. I am so thankful God has placed me here with this team to serve the kids at Ciudad and the people in this community. It has definitely been a trip of a lifetime and I feel so blessed to have a God like my God who looks after me and leads me step by step.
By Zach Short
So this is my first year on the trip to Cozumel. I came into the trip very late, in late December/early January, and the trip has been everything and more than what I thought it would be. It was interesting how I joined the trip. I think it was the night after Christmas, and I was in my room back in Indianapolis and for the longest time I felt like I hadn’t really prayed to God sincerely. So I got down on my knees and I prayed, and somehow it came about that I told him that I wanted to go on a mission trip over spring break; I didn’t care where or with who, but I told him I wanted to serve. So the next day, Anna Bishop texted me and told me that there was a spot open on her mission trip to Cozumel, Ciudad de los Angeles. At that point there was no question what I would be doing over spring break.
The trip has been great. There have been several Kodak moments like a little Mexican kid sitting on my shoulders or little kids running around with smiles on their faces. I knew that those would probably happen, but even greater things have happened for me, the group, and the children. I’ve seen a lot of unity here in Cozumel within the church and the community. The carnival (Wednesday) was the day that it finally hit me that there is no greater joy than unity. People who don’t even know each other were having fun and running around, and not giving a care in the world about who anyone else was, and there were so many smiles. Another one of the big projects that has made a big impact for the both of our groups was our work on one of the house inside of ciudad. I’ve been thinking about service a lot and how it can leave one party feeling compensated for and another feeling a little self-righteous usually, but with unity that is not the case. Now that I think about it, even though I have thought about it but didn’t truly feel it, the work that we’ve done here is for the church as a whole. Just like mi casa es su casa, mi iglesia es su iglesia. We are all one church, and over in Cozumel, my church needs encouragement and love just as my church back home does. My church in Cozumel does not have as many resources, but what I can do for them I am glad to do. The house inside of ciudad is just as much my home as it is the kid’s home, and the kids have certainly accepted me into their home just as I would want them to. I feel like there’s so much separation in the U.S. between churches and even churches of Christ alike, but my church here tells me that unity brings so many more blessings. I hate to leave my church here, but I hope that I take back the blessings that they have lavished on me to my church and Lipscomb.
So this is my first year on the trip to Cozumel. I came into the trip very late, in late December/early January, and the trip has been everything and more than what I thought it would be. It was interesting how I joined the trip. I think it was the night after Christmas, and I was in my room back in Indianapolis and for the longest time I felt like I hadn’t really prayed to God sincerely. So I got down on my knees and I prayed, and somehow it came about that I told him that I wanted to go on a mission trip over spring break; I didn’t care where or with who, but I told him I wanted to serve. So the next day, Anna Bishop texted me and told me that there was a spot open on her mission trip to Cozumel, Ciudad de los Angeles. At that point there was no question what I would be doing over spring break.
The trip has been great. There have been several Kodak moments like a little Mexican kid sitting on my shoulders or little kids running around with smiles on their faces. I knew that those would probably happen, but even greater things have happened for me, the group, and the children. I’ve seen a lot of unity here in Cozumel within the church and the community. The carnival (Wednesday) was the day that it finally hit me that there is no greater joy than unity. People who don’t even know each other were having fun and running around, and not giving a care in the world about who anyone else was, and there were so many smiles. Another one of the big projects that has made a big impact for the both of our groups was our work on one of the house inside of ciudad. I’ve been thinking about service a lot and how it can leave one party feeling compensated for and another feeling a little self-righteous usually, but with unity that is not the case. Now that I think about it, even though I have thought about it but didn’t truly feel it, the work that we’ve done here is for the church as a whole. Just like mi casa es su casa, mi iglesia es su iglesia. We are all one church, and over in Cozumel, my church needs encouragement and love just as my church back home does. My church in Cozumel does not have as many resources, but what I can do for them I am glad to do. The house inside of ciudad is just as much my home as it is the kid’s home, and the kids have certainly accepted me into their home just as I would want them to. I feel like there’s so much separation in the U.S. between churches and even churches of Christ alike, but my church here tells me that unity brings so many more blessings. I hate to leave my church here, but I hope that I take back the blessings that they have lavished on me to my church and Lipscomb.
This is a picture of Jesse Dunn, Shuen Lim, and Zach Short cleaning a house today.