Out of all of the ministries we have done at the Mission, garbage ministry–also known as community outreach–is my favorite. It’s actually my favorite thing we do at Rancho. Legit, this is one of the reasons why I decided to come back to the Mission after my mission trip. Let me tell you a little more about it.

As a group, we choose a place to go to (whether it’s somewhere like Villas, Antorcha, etc.), and then we split up into teams of three to five people. In our groups, we each go down different streets. As a team, we move from house-to-house to connect with people and tell them one thing “We’re taking away garbage for free.”

In Mexico, it costs a lot for getting your trash taken away, so people end up having a lot of it in their yards. Not to mention it’s also all over the streets, and the stray dogs are around and eat it plenty. So when we let people know we are talking garbage away for free, it catches their attention.

However, picking up trash is not the main goal of the ministry, surprisingly. It’s actually connecting with the people. While a few people are picking up the trash, the others are having a conversation with the people. We ask them how their day or week is going, how we can pray for them… honestly, just getting to know the person and loving them. 

And they get to feel that love. We’ve also been able to share prophetic words and pray for the sick and see them healed. In fact, in February, my friends and I were praying for people–a whole family that was sick. Almost all of them felt better after we prayed. Also, the mom of that family had a foot injury. That was healed, too.

Another week, we were doing this thing called a treasure hunt. At the Mission, a treasure hunt is when you ask Holy Spirit to give you a picture or a name or something, and then a prophetic word to go with it. Maybe you get a name like Mario, or other times you could get a picture of a turtle. This time, I got a picture of a birthday cake.

My team and I got to the first house along the street, and the couple that lived there didn’t seem like they wanted to talk, so we were taking their trash instead. However, as I was setting some of the trash into garbage bags, I noticed that in the trash can was a box for a cake!

And so I got to talk to the couple about my word of knowledge, asking them if someone in their family had a birthday in the recent week. It turns out, their son had just turned two years-old! Holy Spirit gave me a prophetic word for their child, and that was just one moment where I got an opportunity to bless people and encourage them about the future.

Most times, garbage ministry is just like that, because the thing we want to represent in this ministry is God’s love. And the way to do that is through action and ahavah and agape–love in action.

When I got to the Mission in August, I realized it sucked to not know Spanish. I barely spoke a word of it, other than “hola” and “mucho gusto”. That was literally it, I promise. So it became my mission to learn it.

Okay, more like a “mission” because I continually lost my focus for the entire first trimester. I only learned maybe thirty words for those three months, and that was with my friend and our “Spanish/English” class, and then also working in the coffee shop. But that’s it.

Then came December, when I went to Mexico City for the whole month. The people I stayed with didn’t speak any English. I had to learn fast. Half of the month I was really frustrated because I didn’t have anyone to speak English to. I probably only had six or seven calls with my friends and family (the ones that spoke English, at least) for the month. Everything else, I was forced to speak Spanish. But, hey, I picked it up rapidly after that.

By the middle of the month I could have a so-so conversation with a person. At the end, I could have a casual conversation. Then in January, I spoke to some people only in Spanish–good Spanish. Though I did become lazy for a little bit. I started to stop practicing my Spanish with native Spanish speakers if I knew they could understand me in English.

I kind of started to lose my Spanish. Luckily, I picked up on that pretty quick. That pushed me to want to restart and learn again–learn as much as I possibly could. I practiced speaking only Spanish with everyone I could, and I wrote down phrases, slang, or words that I knew I would be constantly using or rapidly forgetting. I listen to music with Spanish lyrics, and I am currently reading a book that is in Spanish.

And you wanna know something? That hard work has been paying off. At the Mission, we have a lot of groups that come in (pretty much just Americans), and so we need a lot of translators for when we go out on ministries. In trailer ministry, I got to help be a translator. If you recall, that has been one of my main goals at the Mission. I finally did it!

Don’t get me wrong–I still have a lot to learn, but it feels so amazing to know how far I have gotten in my process of learning. There has been one person in particular that has motivated me a lot and has made me feel encouraged in my learning of new languages–and she is one of the best translators at the Mission. She always translating for the leaders, and in classes. Not only does she speak Spanish and English, but she also knows Romanian. 

She has helped me with ways to learn the best, and she’s so amazing as a person, too. Her name is Sierra. 

If you have been wanting to learn Spanish (or, honestly, any language), here is a list of things I compiled that will help you to learn effectively.

1. This might be surprising (especially if you have tried it before), but Duolingo works wonders. You might not think this is an effective tool, but if you use it consistently (and by that, I mean daily), it will help teach you the basics of Spanish. It helps a lot with the grammar, too. The only thing with it is that some of the words (depending on the country you are learning Spanish for) don’t apply. In Mexico, at least. And the only reason for that is because Duolingo teaches you the Spain version, and that is more proper than in countries like Columbia, Mexico, etc.
2. It’s so good to learn slang. It’s different for every Spanish-speaking country/region, but I promise it’ll help. In Mexico, they use a LOT of slang when speaking. It’s important to learn what the terms mean, because you can use the slang all over the country you may be wanting to travel to. Plus, it’s just fun to know. I’ve been told by a lot of Mexicans that I sound more Mexican because of how much of their slang I use.
3. This is fun for me, but I love to listen to Spanish music, especially if I can read the lyrics. My personal recommendation is listening to the Los Angeles Azules. That may just be because I love them so much. But the main reason I recommend this is because when you know the words, or how they are separated so it doesn’t sound like a bunch of jumbled up phrases, it will help you understand the language when it is being spoken directly to you. On top of that, it will help you to know how the words are supposed to sound.
4. Similar to the previous, if you watch a movie. Either set Spanish subtitles with English audio or vise-versa. This technique will also help with learning how words are used, and when they are used. When you get really familiar with the language, I recommend trying to watch your show or movie without subtitles and in Spanish audio, or Spanish audio with Spanish subtitles.
5. It’s always good to have a language dictionary on you, and it’s a lot better than Google translate, which is actually kind of sucky with most translations. That way you can search for words on hand if you are trying to have a conversation with someone.
6. This is probably the best one, but if you have the ability to move to a country where you can learn Spanish–that is literally the best opportunity you will get. Like with what happened with me, I didn’t have the ability to speak my native language. However, the cultural immersion helped me to learn Spanish FAST. Like, in a month. If you can’t do that–then find people that know Spanish and ask if you could practice your Spanish with them.
7. At the Mission, we are blessed to have a translator for every church service, class, and daily devotionals. If you have a similar opportunity to hear a translator, take it. Instead of listening to the English, listen to the Spanish instead. Your brain will still pick up the English, but if you focus on the Spanish, that will help you to learn more. 
8. Have grammar charts with you, or in a place that you go to all of the time. Like, with verb conjugation and verb tenses and sentence structure. That will help you with speaking or writing in Spanish, and understanding sentences better. 

Honestly, those are the best ways to learn. That is how I learned. The best way, out of all of those, is cultural immersion. I promise. And, of course, it will take effort. But in the long run, it’s worth it. Not only is it cool to know another language, but it is so useful and sometimes necessary for situations. Not only that, but if you love people like I do, you just want to be able to talk to everyone. I promise, it’s a lot more fun to speak to Spanish speakers when you actually know what they are saying. Te prometo. 

When we first arrived at Rancho, all of the leaders reminded us to think about why we said “yes” to the School of Missions. All of us students have our own reasons for coming to the Mission–whether it was a prophetic call, or they saw it in a dream, or something. For me, the story starts in 2018. And, actually, it doesn’t even start with me. It starts with my sister–Markie.

That November, she came to the Mission with a large group called Global Celebration, and that was for about three or four days. But it was there that some things radically changed–for her, that is. She met the love of her life there–who is now her husband. Not only that, but she fell in love with the Mission, and so she decided to go back as a summer intern the following June.

I, on the other hand, in November, was already starting to stress out. I was just finishing up my last year of high school (I was homeschooled, so I worked ahead so I could graduate sooner in January), but I still had no idea what I wanted to do. There were so many pathways–so many doors that seemed to open up all at the same time. I just didn’t know what to choose. By then the Mission wasn’t even something I was looking at, since I was only going to go there in June for a mission trip that I wasn’t even that excited about.

But as we got closer to June for my mission trip, my heart did start opening up to the idea of a School of Missions–but the one I chose just happened to be in Hawaii. That is, I was accepted and was going to go to YWAM Kona. God was opening up the doors for me, if that was a path that I wanted to choose. But something in my heart didn’t feel right, although I was adamant that it did.

I remember being told by people that were close to me that I didn’t belong in a School of Missions, or that it wasn’t worth my time. So, at the same time I signed up for YWAM and was preparing for that, I also looked for online college along the side, because apparently I “belonged in a college because God blessed me with intelligence for that kind of thing.” I didn’t even know what I wanted to do in college.

Another door that also opened up was working with my parents in their business–they were part of an organization called Amway Global, which was a dream I had since I was a kid. So, yes, muchas puertas.

But soon enough June rolled around. I was determined to leave for Hawaii the September after this, but, of course things changed. I came to Tijuana, Mexico, to Rancho de Sus Ninos (ranch of His kids). In the small amount of time in the seven days, a lot changed in my heart.

Since my sister was there, too, I talked with her a lot. I was stressed, and I was so confused. I was feeling a lot of stress in my house, so I just wanted to leave, and it turns out that was the reason I was determined to move as far away as possible from Pennsylvania–kind of just to search for myself to see what I want to do with my future. 

And do you want to know what she recommended? Come to the Mission. There’s a School of Missions here.

I didn’t even realize there was a School of Missions until she told me about it. But I told her I would think about it. The next day, I talked with my brother, who was a youth leader on the mission trip, and he totally agreed. I was shocked, especially because he did YWAM in Louisville and that was one of the best decisions he has ever made. So I got the information from one of the leaders about School of Missions, and then I went back home to Pennsylvania. The third day I was back from my trip to Mexico I signed up.

But I still felt unsure. I kept asking God if this was His will for me–to come to School of Missions. Or if I needed to go to YWAM, or if I needed to go to college. But I heard nothing from God. For the entire month of July I was heavily doubting, especially because I hadn’t received my acceptance letter from the Mission, and I would have to leave at the end of August.

But He ended up speaking to me through my youth pastor. She was speaking at our youth group about being God’s slave or His friend. And she looked me directly in the eyes for almost the entire sermon. And one of the things that she said stuck with me and answered everything: “A lot of the times, when we feel like we can’t hear God when we ask Him for direction about the future, it’s not because He isn’t answering. It’s because He wants us to make the choice, and then He comes along with us.”

Or it was something like that. Either way, it blew my mind–it blew my perspective of the situation out of the water. So I took a hold of that, and I decided in that moment that I’d go to School of Missions if I got my acceptance letter. And it was about two weeks before I had to leave that I got that–halfway through August. 

So I told my parents I was leaving. I don’t think that, at first, they believed I was leaving. Just my sister–because she also signed up so we could do School of Missions together. I quit my job, and raised more money, paid for my plane ticket–everything. And about the last week before I was about to leave, my sister told me she wasn’t going anymore.

En tonces, not only was I going to live in Mexico–I was going to live there alone without any of my family who I wouldn’t even see for Christmas. That scared the crap out of me. But I still followed through. I knew something was here for me, and I trusted in God–that He would take care of finances, safety–everything. And here I am, in Mexico, living my life here the best I can.

And let me tell ya–I’m glad this is what I chose. There are still promises I am waiting on for while I am here, like being able to finish paying for tuition and such, but I’ve learned here that God never breaks a promise. And if He allowed me to choose to be here, and if He knows it’s a desire in my heart, all I have to do is trust in Him.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

— Psalm 37:4

In October, I told my parents that I did not have enough money to come back home for Christmas. Instead, I was going to stay at the Mission and work for them all December. It honestly hurt, because I didn’t want to be alone here while everyone else was enjoying vacation. I didn’t want to work. I had this rough cough that wouldn’t go away, and it kept me up at nights. I thought I had it because I never got to eat healthy food and exercise, but God showed me different.

The weekend when everyone left, when I was at church, God opened my eyes to an “addiction” that I had–and that was work. Since I arrived at the Mission, and honestly even before that–I had not rested or giving myself a break to relax and recharge. It was constant work. And even if I wasn’t doing something for school or had a weekend off, I didn’t rest–I was always going to groceries or doing chores.

And when God explained to me what was going on–why I was so sick–I asked for rest. But I remember I told him, “If you give me an opportunity to rest, I will take it. I just ask that I get to go to Mexico City because most of my friends that I want to be with are there.” Keep in mind I didn’t tell anyone about this. This was between me and God.

The next Monday, I had my first day of working at Rancho–and it sucked. There was so much, and I was so stressed. So that night I went to Villas for groceries (but honestly also just to get out of there) with my friends Monique and Aldair. As we were going through one of the stores, I received a phone call from my friend Fanny (who was in Mexico City at that time). She said to put Aldair on the phone so he could translate for her, because her parents had a gift for my birthday which was that Wednesday.

After a few minutes, Aldair told me I had to pack my bags. When I asked why, he said it was because I was going to Mexico City for the month. Like, the whole month. God answered my prayer! As my birthday gift, Fanny’s parents bought me a plane ticket to go to Mexico City, and they paid for every expense on my trip. And not only did I get to spend time with Fanny’s family, but I saw almost all of my friends who live in Mexico City, and I traveled to Toluca, which is a few hours from Mexico City. 

This really showed me that not only does God answer prayers, or help us, but He also cares about the things we want–the things that we desire. He didn’t have to send me to Mexico City–He could have sent me back to Pennsylvania with my family. I think it’s really cool that that specific door opened up, because it helped me to see that God is the perfect gift giver, and that He really cares for us and for the desires of our hearts.

I want to use this to encourage you. I understand at times we don’t feel like God listens to us, or that He doesn’t give “good gifts.” But I promise–He knows you better than you know yourself. And He knows those secret desires buried deep in your heart, so I encourage you to give those to Him, because He knows how to give it to you. 

He did it for me, and I know that He’s going to do it again, because I asked Him. And He promised me He would. He will do the same thing for you too, if you just ask.