A team from Church of the Advent in Denver, Colorado went on a preliminary scouting trip to visit La Iglesia del Gran Pastor (“Gran Pastor”) in Fresnillo, Mexico, in the state of Zacatecas. A team of Cindy Hamilton – Deacon, Shaun Tay Canady -Vestry, Huck Burns – Vestry, and Loyce Burns – Missions Team, flew out of Denver on March 2, and returned on March 7, 2018. They experienced full days of travel going and coming, so were on the ground for 4 days in Fresnillo.
The team was exploring the possibility of Advent entering into a special friendship with Gran Pastor that could potentially last long into the future. The initial focus was to get to know the leaders of Gran Pastor and build relationships.
The trip greatly exceeded expectations! It was a very rich cultural experience and allowed surprisingly deep friendships to form in a very short period of time. The team is very excited about the future possibilities of mutually encouraging and supporting each other in ministry.
Day by Day Account by Huck Burns
Day 1 – Saturday, March 3rd: We spent the day participating in Gran Pastor’s children and youth ministries. We spent a lot of time with MeredithOmland, and American missionary who has served Gran Pastor for many years. Meredith spearheads the children and youth ministries. We were very impressed with these ministries. Gran Pastor has built up a lot of trust with the families in the neighborhood who allow their kids to participate. We were also impressed with how Gran Pastor is fostering the next generation of leaders in the church through these ministries.
Day 2 – Sunday, March 4th: We attended the regular church service. 
Cindy Hamilton preached the sermon entirely in Spanish and did a superb job. She spoke about our unity in Christ through the Holy Spirit. We also presented a short slide show and book to the congregation with information on Advent that Shaun Tay had prepared. Sunday afternoon, we took the Vestry of Gran Pastor out to lunch and enjoyed great conversation with them about the possibilities of working together in the service of Christ.
Day 3-4 – March 5th-6th: Meredith took us on some sightseeing tours during the day, 
including a tour of the neighboring City of Zacatecas (a colonial city with lots of history). We also visited a church in a neighboring town called Plateros where the Holy Child of Atocha is located. This is a small ceramic icon brought from Spain in the early 1800s to which people from all over Mexico make pilgrimage to receive physical healing. We all felt quite disturbed spiritually in this place as we witnessed thousands of people bow down and kiss the ceramic child in the hope of receiving healing. We also read various testimonies on the walls of the church that seemed to indicate people thought the child could provide salvation.
In the evenings on Monday and Tuesday, we presented 2 two-hour workshops on the topic of “Suffering, Joy and Christ in Us.” We shared with the congregation how God has been working in our congregation to grow us in faith and joy in the midst of grieving for Pastor Rob Parris as he faces the challenge of brain cancer. We explored walking through the challenges of life in the hope and joy of the Gospel. The format of the workshops was very interactive, with lots of breakout sessions to discuss how God was speaking to everyone. We also included some worship music.
The most special part of the trip was the time we spent in conversation and building relationship. Two families hosted us in their homes, and we enjoyed hours of conversation around the table, etc. The people of Gran Pastor received us very warmly and with incredible hospitality. The Mexicans truly take hospitality to the level of an art form.
-Huck
In the future, the team is excited to explore possible ways Advent can support and encourage Gran Pastor and vice versa. Some interactions being considered are: the Gran Pastor scholarship program for kids, the Lay Pastor, completing his studies and getting ordained and Gran Pastor helping Advent reach out to their Spanish-speaking neighbors in Denver.