I am so thankful to be a part of a church who has a Hispanic ministry and is striving to be one body with our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters! In the past 5 years I have led 2 mission trips to Mexico and 3 to the Dominican Republic. These amazing experiences have shaped me in many ways. One of those ways that has made a lasting and daily impact on me is how I have grown to love Latin people, Latin culture, and the Spanish language. One of my bucket list goals I am currently working on is to be fluent in Español. I’ve got a long way to go, but I am determined.
In my short time here with Singing Oaks I have loved the various experiences I have had with our Spanish speaking family! The Anniversary Celebration we had 2 Sundays ago was a tremendous blessing. I loved hearing the story of how Andres and his family came to Singing Oaks and the way God’s hand has been on this wonderful ministry!
In my opinion there are so many aspects of Hispanic culture that we need much more of here in America. In a time of such high racial tensions and polarizing views on immigration I believe we all need to appreciate the value our Hispanic friends bring to this country. Obviously I am about to speak in generalities here, but these are observations I have made from my travels and from my Hispanic friends. Here are some of the reasons I believe the U.S.A needs much more Latin American influence and why most people need more Latin American friends in their lives…
- They have strong family values and they are great friends. When families get together, it’s not just mom, dad, & siblings; it is grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and all their friends too. There’s no such thing as a small fiesta. I have always felt so quickly welcomed by my Hispanic friends and their families.
- Strong family values is the foundation of my next point, which is community and hospitality. I learned so much about what real community is like from the church I spent time with in León, Mexico. In my opinion most Americans today (myself included) stink at hospitality. When I read about how connected, united, hospitable and loving the church was in Acts, I see this exemplified so well in the Hispanic churches I have known.
- Their balance of hard work and relaxation. There’s no doubt about the hard work our Hispanic laborers put in daily here in the U.S. with many of them doing the jobs that seem too hard, too hot or tiring for many others. Many Americans are work-aholics vs. hard workers. There is a difference. The hard work the Hispanics put in is usually balanced well with fun, rest, friends and family time.
- There is also a zest and passion for life that comes through in so many ways. This passion is evident in their music, food, celebrations, affection, friendships, dancing, sports, and worship as well.
- They are Overcomers! As Calvin Henry mentioned in his message, many of our brothers and sisters have fled violence, persecution, extreme poverty and a host of other hardships in order to come here and give them and their families a chance, a hope, and a future. These kinds of experiences and hardships give them a perspective and an appreciation that is pretty foreign to many of us here in this country, especially if we have only known living in middle-upper class America. We need more people in our country who know what it means to survive, and not take life and freedom for granted.
As Americans we tend to assume that we have much to teach other people, but I think the opposite is true. We have much to learn from our Hispanic friends, especially our fellow Christians. I believe a better approach to foreign missions is to make it more like foreign exchange student programs. We send missionaries to work with churches in other countries and they send us missionaries to work with us. America is certainly a mission field with great spiritual needs, and foreign missionaries would tremendously bless our churches. (This is already a trend with many churches in other countries sending missionaries here.) This type of exchange and sharing would create healthier churches and more globally united churches.
One of the results from Revive Texas that had many of the leaders and participants encouraged was the strong turnout from the Spanish speaking churches, especially in our region. There was an evident desire among them to see the Gospel changing lives and the Holy Spirit setting people in our community free from dead religion, sin and disbelief. I have been very encouraged by our Hispanic brothers & sisters in this region during my time with Revive!
Without trying to sound too political, I say we have too many walls in our society already, so lets build bridges instead. Lets continue to celebrate what God has done, and what He is going to do through our wonderful Spanish-speaking family! I want to encourage everyone at Singing Oaks to get involved in some way with our Hispanic family. Reach out and make some new friends. I guarantee you will be blessed. May we increasingly love, accept and honor one another to the glory of Christ who loves and accepts us!