Breaking the Communication Barrier — Mexico 2010

Beeep! “In preparation for landing the pilot has illuminated the fasten seatbelt sign, at this moment please fasten your seatbelts and put your tray tables and seatbacks in their upright and locked position.” Having flown man other times, this message was so routine it practically seemed like white noise. This time, however, the message was not accompanied by the usual metallic clink of seatbelts fastening, instead I heard the sound of people walking through the aisle. Just then I saw Lynnette Alston, one of our teammates from Tennessee, walking up the aisle talking to people. As Lynnette reached my seat she hollered out in a booming Southern drawl “We can’t land before I get to say g’bye to y’all!” We had a very short layover in Georgia and we didn’t have time to say goodbye in the airport, so Lynnette was determined to get her goodbyes out even at the risk of being attacked by the flight attendant.

In many ways this scene embodied much of what the week in Mexico was about. This being the fourth year we have taken a team to Monterrey, our relationships are growing significantly in number and depth. Each year people seem to be fairly reserved at the beginning of the week and it takes a day or two for us to come out of our shells, but this year it was amazing to see how everyone seemed to pick up literally where they left off. It was a homecoming of sorts as we greeted our dear brothers and sisters from Mexico and Tennessee.

As I marveled at the community and family we have developed, I noticed for the first time the unique communication that occurs among the team and the Mexican people. I am not speaking of a verbal communication, because by many standards that is a significant barrier for many on our team; but there is a stronger purer communication that is seen and experienced through facial expressions and nonverbal cues. Perhaps the fact that we do not have the crutch of verbal communication focuses our entire self on the task of communicating what is on our hearts, and when you witness this firsthand it is an overwhelming experience.

I sat in my seat on the plane thinking about the past week. I thought of all the kids we reach out to through VBS and the basketball camp and the seeds that were planted in their hearts. I thought of all the women that were touched by the crafts, fellowship, and the testimonies they heard from the women on our team. I thought of our dear friends at Bethel and in Tennessee and how hard it is to say goodbye after spending such an intense week with them. It occurred to me then that perhaps one of our biggest crutches to truly communicating with each other is our ability to speak. We beat around the bush, we play games with our words, we bury our thoughts and desires in our expressions; yet when faced with the task of communicating love through a language barrier, we focus every fiber of our being on that task and experience intoxicating results. As I lamented the fact that we were now returning home most likely to regress to our old ways, I was suddenly jolted by Lynnette getting right in Nathan Bergman’s face and planting a big Southern g’bye kiss on his forehead. This was followed by the flight attendant saying, in a very exasperated tone, “Ma’am, please take your seat — we are about to land!” At this I smiled and thought maybe every year, as we see and experience God working through us in Mexico, we take a little bit of that openness and boldness back with us; and that’s what makes this trip such a challenge and a blessing each year.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. God has done so much Kingdom work and challenged and changed our hearts each year we go down!

In Him,
Adam