The Faces of Oaxaca...

As I have served over the years in Oaxaca, one of the things I have seen in a people with little to celebrate in life is an indomitable spirit, proud of their Oaxacan heritage.


I put this little picture book together last year and would like to offer it up to you.  It makes a great gift to someone who has served with us, or would just appreciate the art of photography shown in the faces.


The photography was primarily done my friends at Mission Focused, a great group of people trying to document in pictures what God is doing around the world in mission.


Click here to see the book and to order it.  It's not expensive and every book sold helps fund a little bit of what Adventures in Life Ministry is trying to do in Oaxaca, Mexico.


If you want a copy in Spanish, let me know.  Those will be available soon too!

More From Jesus is the Answer Short-Term Missions

Fresh off our success with quick easy short-term mission adventures, Jesus is the Answer Short-Term Missions has just announced a new venture sure to excite millions of faithful believers looking to make an impact in the world today.


Why should you hide what you do for the Kingdom under a rock?  Doesn't the word tell us to "let our light shine before man?"


For you and many others just like you, this is the question they have been asking... How can I do good for Jesus, and be famous for doing it?  


Ask no more!


Jesus is the Answer Short-Term Mission is now offering a chance not only to change the world at a great price, we are going to film it and make you the star of your very own reality TV Series!


That's right.  For a small add on fee to our regular short-term mission trip, you and your friends will not only be blessed by getting to help some poor impoverished people understand true faith like we do, you'll be able to watch yourself transform their life when you get home!

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 I've been serving with Jesus is the Answer Short-Term Missions for years and have always felt like something was missing after one of my trips.  Now I know what it was.  No one was able to see me doing good stuff.  Now all of my friends can look at me and want to serve and be famous just like I am!

Molly W., Second Methodist Church, Helmutville, Iowa

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Director Sam Burnett said “This is a different twist on a kind of short-term mission trip evangelicals have done for a long time.”  “It turns short-term mission into an entertainment model, where you can feel good watching it, people feel good doing it and you and your friends can get exposure.” 



"Look" he said, "young people today want to be on television, they want to be famous.  What better way for that to happen than to marry their world changing hope with television and entertainment?"


When questioned about the potential to exploit poor people for the financial gain of Jesus is the Answer Short-Term Missions or the television network, Burnett scoffed.  "These poor people want to be on television too and if it takes a reality show like this, so be it.  The bottom line here is that we are doing good.  Are we gonna make some money on this? Absolutely, but we will be reinvesting a large percentage of our profits into helping even more people achieve their goals to do good and be famous."


So what are you waiting for?  Add this option to one of our regular trips for the small amount of $49.00 and for less than two C-notes, not only will you be helping some poor person understand Jesus like you, you'll be on your way to stardom.


But wait there's more... if you call today, we will give everyone in your group their very own DVD of the show that was filmed on their mission trip signed with thanks from the poor person you helped.


Don't be left behind!  Operators are standing by now.  


Call us immediately at (634)723-SAVE to book your trip with Jesus is the Answer Short-Term Missions and be sure to tell us you want the reality show upgrade and free DVD!

Nothing like this could be further from the truth...

Think we're Kidding?

A Texas Sized Love Affair

I spent the last week in Texas.  Like the popular jokes say, everything really is bigger in Texas.

Especially churches.

Everywhere I looked there were gigantic church buildings, almost all of which had mega-sized electronic billboard signs.  No matter where you went, one of those larger than life signs would be giving you a bible study schedule, a bible verse, or telling you that God wanted to have a little talk.

Now as most of you know, I travel, serve, and live a significant amount of my life in Mexico.  As we look at the people of Mexico, we are able to see that although a significant number of people identify with the Catholic Church, many are what we would call “Cultural Catholics.”

As Protestants, there are times when we speak almost derisively about the average Catholic and his or her faith.  We argue that even though they are connected to their church, the reality of Jesus is not making a real difference in their lives.  To put it another way, there seems to be a disconnect between Sunday and Wednesday.

Every Sunday millions of Mexicans flow into cathedrals and chapels all across the country, yet on Wednesday, that Sunday experience seems to auger no real transformation.

Driving through Texas, looking at the millions of dollars that have been spent on these massive churches, I was confronted with the same questions.

Are our churches making a difference in the daily life of people here in the United States?  Or, as we say about our neighbors to the south, has the US church experience become just part of the culture for a majority of our people?

Has church here become what my friend Camilo would call just a show, much like it would be described in Mexico for the Catholics?

I’ve been asking pastors here recently a very simple question... “Who in your church is in love with Jesus?”  Not the concept of Jesus, mind you, but Jesus himself.

I wish I could say these pastors were rattling off lots of names, but I can’t.  The last pastor I asked got a little contorted and told me that was a very hard question.

Really? 

Let me just say that if in our ministries, whether they be here in the United States, or around the globe in countries like Mexico, China, or perhaps Uganda, we are not seeing people come into a loving relationship with Jesus, something is wrong.

If we are not seeing lives radically transformed by the reality of the Gospel, something is wrong.

If all we are seeing is people who know a lot about Jesus, but are not passionately committed to loving and living for Him day by day, something is wrong.

I fear that many people here in the US have become little more than culturally Christian, much like the great majority of Catholics in Mexico.

What say you?  

Is it all as my friend Camilo calls it, a show?  Or can you say that the great majority of people in your church are passionately in love with Jesus?  How about you?

I hope and pray you are able to say you have a Texas sized love relationship with Jesus!