The early morning light crested the mountainous peaks illuminating the haze that hung upon their slopes. The lazy mist drifted slowly, as if being called along with specific purpose. In the distance the long crow of a rooster was soon answered by the distinctive bray of a burro. Soft rain spattered on a nearby metal roof, a daily necessity to keep this jungle landscape nourished with the moisture it requires. As I walked the empty, lonely dirt streets of this small Mexican mountain village, Dorothy’s famous Oz-inspired statement rung in my ears…Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.
Margie and I had been allowed the tremendous opportunity to travel to the remote southern mountains of Mexico in the state of Guerrero and spend a few days with the local IMB missionary team working in the tiny indigenous village of Metlatónoc. Sort of a strange twist on the children’s book where the country mouse visits the city mouse. But this time enacted in reverse as these two big city missionaries were visiting the small village missionaries.
Life is all about perception, that is, how you interpret the situation in front of you. And to apply proper perception to the many situations you are sure to encounter, you need contrast. I mean what is black without white? What is good without bad, positive without negative? Combine all that with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, Godly endowed wisdom, and gathered life experience, and you are well on your way to seeing things not just as they are, but in a rich Godly contrast.
Living life in this small remote village for a few days offered a tremendously preceptive look into the lives Margie and I currently lead, and for most of our lives, have led. The first thing that challenged our perception was the journey to arrive in this tiny pueblito. Two and half hours from the nearest city, our journey found us moving through countless curves and twists of a two lane “paved” mountain road. Rockslides littered the road, many times seeing just enough space for one car to slowly crawl through. In many areas the road had simply given way to gravity, leaving gaping chasms open in the pavement, ready to claim any car that carelessly ventured too close. The jungle landscape was slowly creeping into and overcoming the small passage, brush, vines and foliage crowding uncomfortably against the vehicle as we trespassed their home. Goats, chickens, burros, and turkeys dotted the countless switchbacks, all simply living life on these mountain slopes, their glances indifferent to us and our movement through their home.
I don’t think I’ve ever been completely without cell phone service, data, and GPS for an extended period in the last 15 years. Yet here I found myself, no signal to the outside world for days on end, yet another aspect signaling to the new world we were inhabiting. As we travelled for hour upon hour through the empty mountain valleys, it seemed we were not only moving from North to South, but actually back in time. The traces of man slowly started to fade away, no electrical poles, no towers, no buildings, less and less cars to encounter. But what replaced these man-made items was a true wonder to behold. The lush green mountainscapes stretched out before me as a majestic never-ending canvas, the peaks each containing their own unique fingerprints of untouched beauty. Certain rocky plateaus jutted far out, seeming to point the way to some unknown destination. Others reached out to and embraced the next, creating a chain of peaks that stretched beyond the horizon and beyond the imagination. Cedars, pines, towering cardón cactus, and invasive tropical foliage engulfed the slopes in green, the end of the rainy season in this area leaving its mark of hydration clear. We casually passed waterfalls as if the mountains were simply bragging of their ability to channel water in a more dramatic fashion than normal. The journey left me yearning to grab my camera from the back of the car and walk these peaks for years, searching and journeying to capture even an inkling of God’s wondrous creation held deep within them.
We found the village nestled deep into a valley, a smattering of houses and structures climbing the opposing valley hills like playful monkeys. Small towers of white smoke rose into the air from seemingly every direction, a sign of the open fires burning directly within the many one room structures, lunch being prepared. As we drove through the steep muddy streets there was silence in my mind as I absorbed what I was seeing, the juxtaposition of years of “normal life” struggling to process what it was beholding. It made me think deeply about what is normal and how our normals are created. How many days do you need to repeat the same pattern and be exposed to the same environment for it to become normal for you? As I took in the village, I saw a normal that these people knew well, yet one that was strangely foreign to this life.
Which brings up an interesting challenge in the life of an international missionary. What is normal, where is normal, and how do you effectively and healthily shift your normal? The following days spent with the missionary team here in this village helped me much in defining the process of personally shifting your normal. You see, when the call of God to go, share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and make disciples hits the heart that has committed to serve Christ in full obedience, an interesting shift happens. Within this miraculous Holy Spirit inspired formula, your normal is tossed out the window. No longer is carpet, tile, or hard wood upon the floor normal, bare concrete will suffice. Yes, it’s cold to the feet. Yes, it’s not attractive. But it will suffice in this new normal of mountain village living. No longer is a huge house, countless bathrooms, and a huge yard with a pool the normal. Very modest living spaces are inhabited by families with 4 kids, a new normal of family living and family closeness adopted. And no longer is convenience the normal order of the day. Running out to the nearest Olive Garden, the nearest Home Depot, or the nearest mall is 7 hours away through a rugged mountain pass. However for the heart called, the new normal is simple, quiet, and much freer of the addiction of modern distractions.
But at the core of a missionaries normal is one thing and one thing only, seeing that all are afforded the opportunity to hear the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ. And in this small village, this team is doing just that. By simply keeping the gospel at the center of their normal, several months ago they saw God’s salvation touch their first believer. No small feat considering most in this village only speak Mixtec, a native indigenous language only spoken in this particular region of Mexico. And it’s a language as far from Spanish as the east is from the west. In fact, my ear’s short exposure to the language left me thinking it sounded much closer to an Asiatic tongue rather than the romance based Spanish. And in the beauty of God and the blessed multiplication of His kingdom, this new believer told his family, his friends, and his neighbors about Jesus. And in something that gives me goosebumps, the team saw their first believer become 12, all of them walking into a small rock-lined creek for believer’s baptism soon afterwards. One of the single biggest blessings in being in the service of the Lord is when He allows you sweet glimpses of His fruit. This team entered this small village with prayer and fasting to the Lord and are now close to seeing its first evangelical Baptist church formed. Glory be to God for His love for all the peoples of this world and His desire to see them all reunited with Himself.
My time here in this remote Mexican mountain village has changed me. It has permanently shifted my already delicate perspective of what is normal. It is God keeping me on my toes as He constantly asks me to see this life through His eyes and not my own. It makes me think more deeply about my role as a big city missionary compared to what I have just seen, lived, and experienced. And the message is clear. No matter if you live in a bustling metropolis of 7 million people like Guadalajara or in a quiet little village in the middle of the Mexican mountains, the normal of a life dedicated to following Jesus Christ is the same. Tell. Tell all people of the truth that only lies in the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God loves the world and wants all people to know that there is one way and one way only to be reunited with Him in heaven. And that is through the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. Today, I challenge you to see not only what appears to be normal. See not only what you consider normal convenience and comfort. And see not only what your heart desires to be normal. Instead choose to only see the most important normal, telling others of the beautiful redemption that lies within the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
May the Lord today challenge your normal as it moves you farther into His service ~ Dan
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2
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