I’m writing this article from an area near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where I’m on a mission trip with a team of Stonecroft women from the U.S. and Mexico. These women are volunteering their time to share the Good News of Jesus here.
In this region along Mexico’s Pacific coast, locals sometimes use a Spanish phrase, ándale, meaning “come on,” “hurry up,” or “get on with it.” That phrase says much about our team’s work. It’s our seventh year of partnering to reach women in Mexico, because God has called us to “get on with it” – to continue the good work He began in us to fulfill His Great Commission.
We feel humbled and full of love, joy, and thankfulness as we see how God has gone ahead of us. He’s prepared the women in this area for an encounter with Jesus. And God’s using us to introduce them to Him, where they are, as they are.
We invited these women to join us for a gathering, a time of togetherness where we shared food, a story, and even a clown show for their children. Many of them attended and brought a friend or a family member. Some returned for the next gathering, smiling broadly and bringing someone new with them. We’ve seen women changed by an encounter with Jesus. Can you imagine what it was like when they ran back home to tell their family how they met Him?
Their response to Jesus reminds us of the biblical story of the woman at the well (John 4:1-41). The Samaritan woman in that story went to the well to fetch water like she did every day. But one day she met a man there who started a conversation with her. He offered her “Living Water” and a promise to quench her spiritual thirst. Soon she discovered He was Jesus, the Messiah, who came to take away the sins of the world.
But she didn’t keep that discovery to herself. She returned to her village to share the Good News with others. What happened next?
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.”
– John 4:39a, NIV
Michelle Cartwright
Mountain Field Director
Inspirational