Articles
Managing Partner Jerry Myers Reflects on His Recent Mission Trip to Villahermosa, Mexico
October 2, 2007
In April, my 17-year-old son William and I joined fourteen others from our church on a mission trip to Villahermosa, Mexico. Ranging in age from 16 to 85, our group was truly intergenerational. An ongoing relationship began ten years ago when our church built the first building for the seminary in Villahermosa. Ever since, with groups from our church traveling to Villahermosa at least once each year, we have helped build and maintain programs at the seminary, do projects in the surrounding community, and participate in worship in many of the local churches.
The poverty in much of Mexico is overwhelming. Even in larger cities like Villahermosa, Mexico suffers from poor infrastructure, high unemployment, and a generally poor economy. While our hosts warmly welcomed the money we brought, they were equally appreciative of our willingness to roll up our sleeves and work. We painted seminary buildings, planted grass, and cleaned out drainage ditches during our stay. When rainy weather prevented work outside, we organized a craft program for several hundred Mexican children who were attending a two-day camp at the seminary.
We scheduled our visit to Mexico during Holy Week. Most of the local churches held some sort of worship service every day. We participated in worship services at four different churches. Our church hosts made us feel welcome and we were usually asked to come to the front of the church to say a few words about ourselves. Few us spoke Spanish and even fewer of our hosts spoke English, so the introductions were challenging. After several of these experiences, I was able to master the pronunciation of the word "abagado," which is Spanish for attorney. One of my warmest memories from these worship services came when, after our group sang "Blessed Be The Tie That Binds" from the front of one of the churches, the entire congregation stood in unison and enthusiastically sang it back to us in Spanish. Then we all sang it together in our native languages.
By the end of our visit, we had formed dear friendships with our Mexican hosts. We also developed stronger bonds within our own group. It was great to get back to America, where it is not hazardous to drink water from a public fountain, but William and I will cherish special memories of our time spent with our neighbors to the South.
Several of Smith Debnam's lawyers and staff have participated in mission trips over the years, and many regularly volunteer in our community.
