Spiritual Formation | 12/17/2025 10:20:00 AM

Written by: Cameron May
 
Hello from Baja!
 
This was our second full day here, and we spent the entire day at Iglesia de Cristo in San Quintin - one of the churches planted by Baja Missions.
 
We arrived to find a team of teenagers/young adults eager to join us in painting the church's two children's classrooms. After running to the store to grab the brightest blue and yellow paint they had to offer, we got to work.
 
It took about 5 minutes to confirm that, while we are men of many talents, painting is NOT one of them. However, with a mixture of Spanish worship music and the Lipscomb/Duke MBB game on the radio to inspire us, the rooms were looking pretty good by late afternoon.
 
Panfilo (our Baja Missions leader) ensured us that the paint was "bueno," but we have a sneaking suspicion that they might be touching up our spotty paint job once we leave…
 
After the painting was done, we helped facilitate a game night that the youth pastor, Braulio, was hosting for the youth group. We played rock, paper, scissors (better known here as "piedra, papel, o tijera"), musical chairs, tug of war, and a big game of soccer before eating empanadas for dinner.
 
Dinner started off fairly quiet before the Google Translate conversations started flowing and everyone was cutting up. The kids began to interrogate us about our significant others, and pictures started making their way around of wives and girlfriends (or for Copp and me, our wannabe girlfriends). By the end of the night, we had made many new friends and connected with the group in a meaningful way!
 
Throughout the day, I noticed a few things:

--Pinot, the lead pastor, was quietly working alongside us the entire day…at one point even taking out all of the trash. I am sure this isn't out of the ordinary for him, but it reminded me of the value of humility and the call on our lives to serve no matter what that looks like. Thank you Jesus for Pinot's willingness to serve and for his model of humility.

--Everyone had a part to play today…it reminded me of everyone's unique role in the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 12). Our guys were painting/playing with the kids, Panfilo helped direct and made sure everything was going well (he is the great mediator haha), the teens were helping all over the place, an amazing group of ladies was making us meals throughout the day, the younger kids were keeping everyone on their toes and infusing joy into the day…it was a great picture of how the kingdom is designed to operate.
 
--This group of guys is amazing. Malachi and Copp are constantly connecting with the kids, always going to great lengths to learn more Spanish and communicate with them despite the language barrier. Mason embraces whatever is put in front of him and does it well and with intention. And Spencer is leading us so well, rolling with the punches and setting us up to serve others at the highest level.
 
We started and ended the day by reflecting on Jesus's call to take up our cross and follow Him. This is an intense ask! After all, Jesus ended up carrying His cross to a place where He would willingly die for the sake of those He loves. Are we willing to follow in those footsteps? Are we ready to be obedient in the midst of suffering? Are we "all in" on a lifestyle that seems backwards to the world?
 
We want to be faithful witnesses to the gospel, no matter the cost. We know that the better way is a life submitted to whatever the Lord has for us. It's not always going to be easy, but it is guaranteed to be rewarding and life-giving.
 
Thank you Jesus for bringing us face-to-face with this reality during our time here in Baja. Be with us during the rest of this trip and as we go from here. Amen!!