What a YWAM Outreach Looks Like (Tons of Photos)
In the Yucatán Peninsula there are thousands of Mexicans who are deeply religious Catholics.
But there's a problem. And it's tragic.
Many of them have combined their Catholic traditions with ancient Mayan beliefs and rituals. That means there are villages full of people who kneel before statues of Jesus - while practicing idol worship and consulting witch doctors.
But it doesn’t have to stay this way. God is sending missionaries and using the local church to reach and disciple his people. In 2022, one small YWAM team reached thousands of people in Quintana Roo. Here’s what it looked like.
Not Your Usual Holiday Festivities
Most people ushered in 2022 with the usual Christmastime and New Year festivities. At that same time, a team of young Jesus-followers - student missionaries from Youth with a Mission - plunged into the unknown: they boarded an airplane with the intention of living in Mexico for the next 6 weeks.
The YWAMers started their trip in Cancun and traveled inland several hundred kilometers until they reached the villages: pockets of civilization that peppered rural Mexico. Some of these were developed enough to feel like small cities, while others were made up of traditional adobe dwellings with sparse electricity and no Internet to be found. The team spent the next month-and-a-half evangelizing, doing park ministry, preaching, and supporting the local church.
God does amazing things on Outreaches like these. Often only a handful of people get to hear the stories, and even fewer get to see them. In February I travelled to Mexico to meet up with the team. I captured stories of what God was doing on the field, and was able to provide the team with pastoral care.
I thought you might like to see some photos from the YWAM outreach. They’re attached below, along with some notes.
Because this team committed 6 weeks to living in Mexico, there are hundreds of people who've committed their lives to Jesus for the first time.
On-the-fence believers have recommitted their lives to Jesus.
And many more have had a chance to see that Mayan practices are incompatible with following Jesus.
If you're reading this right now, you're a part of this story. Thank you so much for you prayers, support, and encouragement. Together we're fulfilling the Great Commission.
Until all have heard,
Tommy