Hey y’all!
I have a fun surprise this week so imagine a drumroll *does drumroll*... I have my best friend, my roommate, my homie, my amazing sister (no we are not related but she’s like my sister), Bri! Brianna Vivian Pollock is with us today. Just a little bit about Bri. She is one of the kindest and real people I’ve ever met. Without her, I don’t know how Pacifico would exist because she runs the website for me. One time I tried to upload the blog post while she was in Mexico and I epically failed and she still saved the day all the way from Chiapas, Mexico. She’s a graphic designer, tech savvy, works for our church’s media department, and is a production genius. The girl can direct, take pictures, hold a mobile camera, etc. More than her skill set she loves Jesus, is kind, and is wise. She loves super big. Needless to say, I am super duper excited that she’s going to write today. I felt like everyone here should know her considering she is such a help to what Pacifico is. You can find her woven into the stories I tell. She’s one of a kind and is a traveler at heart. She’s visited Brazil more than I have and I’m Brazilian. She’s also been to Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Germany, and now Mexico! I asked her to share with everyone about her mission trip to Chiapas, Mexico. Her testimonies while she was gone were incredible and I think she has some great stories to share. One of her greatest revelations was the power of a smile.
How Did I End Up in Chiapas... or Most Countries I’ve Visited?
So this is actually a funny story on how this all started. When I was 15, I was at my youth group in January and I remember my youth pastor showing us videos of mission trips of an organization called Alive2Love & in my head I thought, “wow that would be so cool,” but I never thought my parents would let me go. However, my younger brother, who was 12 at the time, asked our parents and they said he could go! Clearly, I couldn’t let him one-up me by going to another country first, so I asked to go to and they said yes — and that’s how it all began!
My first trip was in the summer of 2012 to Honduras when I was 15. That trip completely changed my life (for the better), and I was never the same. In that one week, I got baptized in the Holy Ghost, spoke in tongues, got baptized in water, prayed for the sick, led people to the Lord, and got to participate in a mass crusade all for the first time.
Since 2012, I’ve been on 11 trips with Alive2Love to Honduras (6), Dominican Republic (1), Brazil (3), and now Mexico! Each and every trip was different in so many ways. It’s made me grateful to the Lord for little things (legitimately like running water, clothes, warm showers), it’s shown me how to love people more & to see people the way Jesus sees them, & it’s helped me grow in compassion towards people too. Through Alive2Love, I learned about The River at Tampa Bay Church & River University, and in 2017 I moved to Tampa to attend RU, and now I’m a 3rd year graduate and work full time in the media department!
My most recent trip to Alive2Love was just a couple weeks ago to Chiapas, Mexico, and it was my first trip in almost 5 years! The Lord opened the door for me to go on this trip supernaturally, and I was completely blessed with the entire thing paid in full, and I had the privilege of taking photos/videos to document the trip, which was a little desire I’d had in my heart for years. This trip was so special & unique from the others, and it totally wrecked my life to be there and see what the Lord did.
Why We Do What We Do/For the Love of Jesus
One of the main things we always do on these mission trips is split into different teams and go soul-winning! So on our first full day in Chiapas, we went soul-winning before the night service. At the final house we went to, there was a big family there (4 women, one guy, and a VERY cute baby). We had the privilege of leading the entire family to the Lord & then asked if they needed prayer for anything. Three of the ladies asked for prayer for their husbands because they were away from the Lord & their wives (none had been home in a while), doing drugs, drinking, etc..
We prayed with all the women & believed the Lord would bring their husbands home & convict their hearts to turn back towards Jesus. Afterwards, while we were praying for the fourth lady (who had arthritis) & the man (who had diabetes), ANOTHER guy walked up… and it turned out he was one of the husbands!
Pastor Jason (one of the guys from our team), prayed for the man and got him saved & the man and his wife were a wreck. We invited the family to the event we did that night and the guy came to the meeting and got radically touched by God. We later found out that he was away from the Lord because he lost a son recently BUT, one of the guys on our team was going through the same thing & was able to minister to him! What the enemy tried to use for evil, God turned around for good and needless to say, that man’s life will never be the same as he was set free from suicide & depression!
This moment was so powerful, that when our team heard the full testimony the next day, we were all crying at what the Lord had done already. If our entire trip had been for that one encounter, that one life, that one man getting set free from all the bondage holding him back, it would’ve all been worth it.
Smile, Someone Needs It..
One of the biggest differences I noticed from the start on this trip compared to other places I’ve been, was that the people in Chiapas, especially the women, looked so sad all the time. Most of the women had such naturally sad resting faces, and even when we smiled at them, they didn’t always smile back. We eventually learned part of the reason for that (beyond religion) was because it was extremely common that the women would be abused in some way their entire life, and it was honestly heartbreaking to see.
In the past, my friends (especially Kez) always used to always get on me about smiling more, not that I wasn’t happy, but I just didn’t always have the nicest resting face.. but this trip really made me realize just how important smiling is, and just how much power can be in a simple hug. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “for the joy of the Lord is our strength” and Proverbs 17:22 says, “a happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing..” and I honestly feel like I understand these scriptures in a new way now.
There were countless times where we’d be praying for people and they’d just reach in to hug us and just cry. And there were countless times where the more we smiled at people, the more you could see their hearts softening up because the love of God isn’t bound by a language, but it breaks through any barrier — and this was so evident, as the people in this area of Mexico didn’t even speak much Spanish, let alone English!
In all the night meetings, regardless of all being able to understand each other, we played with the kids & worshiped the Lord together! There was one night at the services where all the kids were radically touched and were pressing in, and one little boy came up to me and hugged me and just cried (so did I). And in another morning service, we watched an entire church, full of people of all ages get set free and filled with the joy of the Lord for the first time ever and it was genuinely an incredible thing to witness.
Making A Difference Daily!
To sum up my trip to Mexico, in 5 days we were able to give out over 2 tons of donations (food, clothes, toys, etc.), 150 mattresses, 4,500 blankets & more! But the greatest testimony of all was that well over 12,000 people heard the gospel that week & over 3,600 people accepted Jesus into their hearts, while many more were set free, delivered, healed & filled with joy!
I hope these testimonies encourage everyone who reads them, and I hope it helps you see that you can make a huge difference in the lives of people around you daily simply by letting the love of God be seen through your life, even in something as simple as a smile! Regardless of your age, where you’re from, what language you speak.. the Lord wants to use YOU to be the light in the darkness, all you have to do is be a willing and obedient vessel!
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:16
