2008 Stories

I Want My Life to Count
Surprise phone call starts one Mexico City student's journey.
April 29, 2008
by Sarah Freyermuth

Pablo Sanchez wanted to make a difference with his life. He just didn't know where to start.

Opportunities abounded among the over 18 million residents of Mexico City where he lives. Still, Pablo searched for better direction.

He asked his pastor. He read a book. Pablo even considered becoming a missionary. Eventually, a vision emerged to start on his campus, amid its roughly 1,000 students. But the task still seemed insurmountable.

Until his phone rang.

Unexpected Phone Call Brings Clearer Direction

The voice on the other line belonged to Emily Bastine, a staff member with Campus Crusade for Christ in Mexico City.

At first, the American's unexpected call confused Pablo. "When I answered the phone, I only heard her strange pronunciation that wasn't from my country," he says through a translator.

But after hearing more of what she had to say, Pablo realized she held the direction he had waited for. Her offer included assistance, encouragement and training for him to begin a student ministry on his campus.

Pablo's vision took on a new form. Fellow students could hear about Christ while he could use his gifts and abilities for God. "I saw it as impossible to talk to the whole school, but I felt that when I talked to Emily, I could complete my mission," he says.

One-time Opportunity Pays Off

Emily's call resulted from a pioneering search for Christians on the campus of Pablo's small dentistry school. The world's second largest city boasts nearly 400 universities and colleges, reportedly attended by over 1 million students.

But, Mexico City's campuses are not as accessible as they are in the United States. "There's security on each campus, and you can't get on without an I.D.," Emily says. Obtaining permission for non-students often only happens once, removing future possibilities. "You get one shot to try and find somebody or you're done."

Accompanied by a group of visiting American students, Emily got through security. The group began conversations with students, asking about their spiritual beliefs and if they knew anyone who loved God. One young lady, sitting alone, said she knew of one guy named Pablo. She gave Emily his cell phone number.

Surprisingly, Pablo did not even know this fellow student who had his number. "Even though it's a mystery for everyone, it's a sign that God wants to do something," he says.

Pablo and Emily scheduled a meeting off-campus for the following day.

Equipped Students Take Ownership of Ministry

The Campus Crusade team in Mexico City offers evangelism and discipleship training opportunities and ongoing support to nearly 70 student leaders, like Pablo, throughout the city. "We love and care for them and equip them to reach their campuses," says Emily.

Passing the baton of ministry serves several key purposes. "If we go on a campus, tell the gospel and no one trusts Christ, the gospel still leaves with us," Emily says. Finding believers already present creates opportunities for growth and dependence on God, not the staff members.

Pablo immediately embraced this vision and encouraged 2 of his friends to join with him. "Now I see that we are the ones that need to work," he says. "This is the work of those who are inside the school."



Students United by EM Staff to Start a Movement
March 10, 2008
by Kat Gately

Week two of Spring Breakers. We headed out to campus at IPN Turismo. In January, we had met two students, Navi and Melissa, while speaking at a local church. So we brought a Spring Break team to help them really launch a movement on their campus. We hit campus looking for more Christian leaders and sharing our faith alongside the Mexican students.

Through a series of events, God led us to meet with the director and secretary of the campus, who we found out were Christians. In their office, they explained how they could lose their jobs for helping Christians start a group (the campus is closed to religious affiliation), but they would grant us special permission to enter the campus whenever we needed because they wanted their students to know the power of Christ.

In the cafeteria, the Spring Break students found two more Christians who had been praying to start a group but were never able to find other students to help them. Attempts had been made, but they felt their dreams had failed. We connected the two groups, and in one day we finished with four students committed to praying for their campus. Just two days later they held their first meeting!



Student Comes to Christ and Wants to Start Movement
March 5, 2008
by Matthew Wiley

During the first week of Spring Break groups, we focused on a private, prestigious campus called Universidad Panamericana. Although difficult to enter, we were able to convince the security to let us tour the campus for a few hours. We had a few good conversations with students, but no one seemed interested in starting a Christ-centered movement.

A bit discouraged, we walked toward a courtyard area where several students were gathered. Since we had a number of folks in our group who did not speak Spanish, I decided to ask whether any of them spoke English. To my great surprise, one of them quickly answered that they all did. That gave us a burst of optimism, but as we pursued the conversation, it was clear that they were disinterested in our topics of choice. They all left to go to class a few minutes later, and we were left feeling the same as we had before.

Suddenly, from behind us, we were approached by a student who had overheard us speaking English with the other group and had been intrigued by our discussion. Diana explained that her mother had accepted Christ just last year and she had seen a wonderful change in her mother’s life since that time. Diana had been wanting to pursue the same avenue, but had not found anyone her own age that was a believer.

We spent the next hour or so speaking with her about Enfoque México’s vision for colleges in Mexico City and how she could start a movement on her campus. We agreed to meet on Friday, at which point we spoke more about the Gospel and why it was important for her to receive Christ. Though she didn’t feel ready at that point to make a decision, later that night at our weekly party for Spring Break and Mexican students, Diana prayed to receive Christ with Beth, one the Spring Break students.

The Lord was truly moving on campus that day. At just the moment when we started wondering whether we might find anyone interested in reaching their peers, a student who we ourselves had not even approached overheard our conversation and decided to approach us. She was ready to receive Christ, but needed someone with whom she could relate in order to make that decision. Diana is now in the process of finding other students at Panamericana to start a movement as she begins her walk with Christ in earnest.



First Movement Launch of 2008
January 21, 2008
by Joe Cross

Our newest team member, Matthew Wiley (pictured right with Andrea Byl), has already jumped into the fun in only his second day on campus. He pioneered at Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana today, along with Becky Choate (another great new staff woman pictured below) and Andrea Byl. Matthew put his newly acquired movement launching skills to the test as he searched for a movement leader. After talking with a few students, he was told he should wait to talk with a girl who would be out of class in 15 minutes.

When she appeared, the trio cast the vision to the unsuspecting young lady. The look on her face made Matt ask if she thought this was weird. To his surprise, she said that she had just been wondering how she could have more of an impact for Christ!

They walked the student through some basics and made a follow-up appointment. Upon returning for the follow up visit, they were introduced to another strong leader who helped initiate a new movement that continues to this day.