(Kyrda Harrington was active with Mizzou Christian Campus House. She and her husband Michael (whom she met through CCH) now live in Kansas City, MO.)
Eagle Pass, Texas and Piedras Negras, Coahuila are mere minutes from each other. Each city lies on either side of the US-Mexico border. I’ve made the trip between cities about a dozen times, and it’s amazing how much of a different world and culture the two places possess. It’s an even bigger change when I compare it to the mid-Missouri culture I’m used to. On these trips, I’ve seen vinyl siding become colorful concrete walls and oaks and maples are replaced by cacti and palms. You start seeing speed limits measured in kilometers per hour, and you begin to see an OXXO on every corner. At a glance, the two cultures are so different. As I’ve learned more about the culture and formed relationships with the people there, I’ve found belonging and similarities that weren’t obvious at first.
As a sophomore at Mizzou, I said yes to a mission trip to Piedras Negras. I joined many other students from the Mizzou Christian Campus House and spent a week accomplishing some work projects at a church camp about an hour outside of the city. That summer, I returned with two other college students and got the opportunity to serve at the camp during their week for elementary school kids. I returned on CCH’s annual trip four more times. On those trips, we worked at churches throughout the area, returned to do more projects at the church, did some work projects at a local ministry, and got to help with a couple VBS weeks.
Over time, I got to become friends with our annual hosts. Even on my first trip, but especially on subsequent trips, I was immediately accepted and cared for by this family. We’ve been able to maintain a relationship over the years and share pieces of our lives and pray for each other on occasion. It’s been so cool to foster this relationship from a thousand miles away. This family, although so different from me, became a family away from home on many of these trips. They encouraged me and prayed for me and have allowed me to be a part of their lives at times. When I look at how this relationship grew over time, I am encouraged about what it looks like to be a part of the body of Christ. You don’t have to look like someone or live in the same place or agree on everything to love someone well and to be a brother or sister in Christ. I have been encouraged by how they reached across borders to uplift me over the years.
I have several favorite memories from my trips, but some memories stick out to me and have strengthened my faith in incredible ways.
I remember sitting in a church pew in Piedras Negras with two of my American peers and our host family. We attended church with them on Sunday before heading to camp for a week. The entire service was in Spanish. I knew enough Spanish to be able to understand some pieces, but I was getting a little nervous about the week ahead. At some point during the service, we sang some worship songs. I remember recognizing a song and being able to sing along in English. It was amazing. I think it really hit me then that our God is multicultural, that he is not the God of America alone. I think we tend to get wrapped up in our own bubble, but that experience was eye-opening. America isn’t God’s favorite, and it is one of many nations that make up a nation of believers that serves under the rule of its creator--God. In Corinthians 12, Paul writes about the body of Christ. He says, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many” (ESV). Our cultures look different, but we are all part of the body of Christ. The same blood saves us all and the same Spirit lives within us, whether we live next door or across the globe.
I have had several other worship experiences where a language barrier did not impede the presence of the Lord. One year, we took our trip over New Year’s Eve. One of the churches we were serving that year invited us to their New Year’s Eve service where we got to worship together. They included English and Spanish worship songs and some with both. After we worshipped together, they invited people up to share about what God had done in their lives in the past year and what their hopes and prayers were for the upcoming year. Some of our group shared, and we got to hear about the goodness of God working in their community as well. It was an amazing blend of cultures, just many people who love the Lord coming together to celebrate all that he has done and all that he will do. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi and expressed his thankfulness for them in his letter. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,” (Philippians 1:3-5 ESV). As I read this verse, I’m reminded of the joy and thankfulness I have had for my partners in spreading the gospel in northern Mexico. I got to view them as co-harvesters in Christ’s field and co-heirs in Christ’s promises to those who put their hope in him.
As I look at these experiences, I have no doubt that they give me tiny, imperfect windows into what Heaven will look like. When I think of coming together and worshipping, I get hope for Heaven. I look forward to gathering together with other believers and basking in God’s goodness. Culture, language, age, gender, political beliefs were not factors in our worship, and they surely will not matter when we get to spend eternity worshipping as one. Revelation gives us a picture of Heaven where borders and labels are irrelevant. John writes, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10 ESV). I, for one, look forward to that partnership with my brothers and sisters in Christ from around the world in bringing glory to God forever.
As we move through a season that is difficult for many, I pray that we can look to the future with hope. I pray that we remember the glory that is to come after the things of this earth are long gone. I pray that we can move toward unity now and look forward to the ultimate multicultural community that we get to experience in Heaven.
