All Souls Team at Dedication of Students Residence

The dedication ceremony of the Students residence was poignant. The beautiful Oaxacan mountains surrounded a large plane, the sun beat down and for the 200+ who gathered - neighbours, local dignitaries and children from the Summer Course and their parents - a feast was served. Saul and Pilar Cruz shared their vision for the Students residence, and the Community Centre to be built there.

The residence for young indigenous students had taken 2 years to complete, and we felt privileged to contribute in just the last two weeks. Our team of 23, in itself cross cultural with 9 nationalities represented, found ourselves forming strong relationships with the students through our common tasks together – running a Summer Course for about 50 children each afternoon – and painting the Students residence. Despite little language in common, we had become a wider family as we walked alongside Armonía and tried to understand the meaning of true community in Christ with others around the world.

We pray that the residence will continue to be a welcoming home for generations of students as they develop intellectually, socially and spiritually – building possibilities for their future and avoiding the need for illegal migration. We also pray for funds for a second residence.

Back in Mexico City, we were challenged by widespread urban poverty, and in the same way by our own preconceptions of poverty. We participated in another Summer Course, visited Armonia’s three Urban Transformation Centres and also spent time with the Hornos community, who were displaced because their fragile shacks had been built on the side of a steep, sandy cliff and had began to collapse. In re-housing the community, the government provided one small room for each of the families, with up to 8 people. Some in this community had much praise for God, though little material comforts. For us it is often the reverse.

We are deeply grateful for all the support given to us in order to make this trip possible. Each team member returns with their own story enriched in some way – friends made, thoughts about poverty alleviation challenged, holistic gospel emphasised, dependence on God reinforced, serving others tangibly modelled and a new sense of becoming a community and family in Christ. Our adventure isn’t over. The challenge now becomes applying what we’ve learnt in our own contexts.