PBMC’s young adults go to Mexico
“Maybe we can get 10–12 people!” Those were the thoughts of Jonathan Neufeld and Pete Hiebert when they first began planning a mission trip for the young adults group at Picture Butte Mennonite Church (PBMC). An opportunity to volunteer at El Buen Samaritano (a seniors home) in Vicente Geurrero Baja California, Mexico, was presented to Jonathan in early 2024. Jonathan then presented this opportunity to the small group of young adults and the idea was received with much interest. At the time of the signup deadline, 29 eager individuals had signed up!
In early 2025, Picture Butte young adults travelled to Mexico to assist at a seniors home.
November 21, 2024, the young adults group hosted a fundraiser to raise money to pay for the projects that needed to be completed at the seniors home. A generous number of items were donated to be raffled off and carnitas were prepared and sold for supper. The day of the fundraiser, they were surprised with a terrible snowstorm, and it was hard not to be discouraged as they no longer expected many people to show up. To everyone’s surprise, it was a full house, and the supper was sold out before the evening was over! After the donations had been counted, the team was overwhelmed by the success of the fundraiser—the goal was (marginally) surpassed.
The team flew out on February 5, 2025, escaping a cold snap in southern Alberta. Welcome Home Outreach Ministries, a preschool and daycare that hosts short-term missions teams, provided accommodations. A list of projects was waiting for the group at El Buen Samaritano. It included building a new clothesline, building a pergola to provide shade, cleaning out and building shelves in the storage room for donations, and painting all of the seniors’ rooms.
The team wasted no time and got straight to work. With 29 people, there were a variety of skills and professions that provided a diverse and efficient team to complete these projects. The team was divided into groups based on their work experience—among them were welders, carpenters, arborists, concrete workers, mechanics and many more. The facilitator of these projects said he had to jump out of the way so he wouldn’t get trampled—the enthusiasm and initiative of the team astonished him!
The elderly folks watched as the team worked. Each senior owned next to nothing and with nothing to do but sit around all day everyday, they enjoyed the change of pace in their environment. They loved having so many young folks around to talk to. Although only two out of the 29 people on the trip were fluent in Spanish, and the language barrier made it difficult to understand each other, the seniors still chatted up a storm.
The majority of the time was spent working on the projects, but throughout the week small groups took turns fellowshipping and playing games with the elderly folks. The team also sang for them which the seniors absolutely loved.
This experience touched the hearts of everyone who went on this trip—to step out of the comfort of their own lives and step into the world of these seniors. It put into perspective how many things we take for granted in Canada, and how comfortably we live.