January 15-17th the first National Mixteco Summit was here in Montgomery. I got to be a part of the planning and participating. It was centered on those in the United States who are of the indigenous people group from Mexico. Participants were from all over the United States. Most had been working with this people group for a long time and some were new and curious about who they were.....it was a beautiful experience.
Read an excerpt from a participant who attended.
“While loving the sojourner in our midst was a heavily discussed topic, the greatest impression came when I saw the amount of passion, patience, and intentionality that was reserved for trying to reach these people effectively. I wasn’t around groups and organizations trying to Americanize this culture, but quite the opposite. Research, statistics, life experience, and even a handful of Mixtecs were present, all sharing their knowledge in order to figure out the best possible way to communicate the gospel where language is the largest barrier. After seeing the amount of effort given and the odds that are stacked against them, I am convinced that one cannot truly evangelize cross culturally without a sincere and deep love for both Christ and people. In fact, I even heard one missionary affirm that you must love for an open door. ..Paraphrasing my last session, in order to maximize our outreach, we must be committed to the entire design. Our approach must be simple, effective, and reproducible. Otherwise, when it is our time to leave, the harvest will die as we remove the lights from their lives. Jenny Reese Clark
She added this verse: “Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” Proverbs 19:2
That verse is appropriate for ALL we do for the Lord. We have to LEARN a persons cultural background or life experience in order to effectively minister to them. Not only are there over 1000 Mixtecs in the city of Montgomery, there are numerous people from ALL cultures and backgrounds that live in our city....we MUST be willing to get to know them, love them and let the Holy Spirit guide our way.
Prayer points:
1. Pray for the Mixteco people group here in Montgomery and surrounding areas. Pray for the workers who are already ministering and for those who will come in the future. THIS IS International Missions.
2. Pray for ourselves and ALL of our churches, that we will have both the desire and the knowledge(get it)to minister to those the Lord brings our way!
3. Pray for our city, that the Christians will not lose heart, but continue to love others and honor others above ourselves. That is the call.
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