Mision de Candelilla
A local missions group making hope visible.
Isn’t it interesting how familiarity has the capacity to desensitize us, to round off the edges of things that can touch and interact with our heart? In a sense, familiarity can dull the wonder of everyday objects and events into mundane and seemingly disconnected parts. What first arrested our affections with intrigue can become normal, unimpressive, and stagnant. Things that seemed to have vitality become less captivating as they once appeared. Our attention becomes more of an effort and less spontaneous and easy. What a fascinatingly un-fascinating predicament.
But what if familiarity does not have a single outpost, or a single destination? What if there is more to what we have already designated as “figured out.” When we give ourselves permission to believe that there might be more to something, we are willing to re-consider and re-engage with it. This little extra effort to turn back towards something again can be invaluable. We may realize that what we were passing by possesses more value than we previously conceived. With a little more active interaction, more substance can rise to the surface.
A Closer Look at the Bigger Picture
Take, for instance, the Candelilla plant. A common, native plant to South Texas and Mexico. On originally viewing it, it looks like long, green beans stacked vertically together. It has delicate blooms that wrap around the top of the plant like a dipped cone. It has the appearance of a cluster of candles surrounded by the arid overlay. It’s a Shrub that decorates the desert. Beyond the semantics of its exterior, it produces wax. Wax that has several purposes and application. The wax can even be used for…candles. Candles that can sustain light and split the dark as a fuel source for a flame. Pretty neat. Something that serves a greater purpose beyond breaking up the horizon while passing by.
Mision de Candelilla is also serving a greater purpose through a familiar path of mission service. But take a closer look and you’ll see something special. You might notice something unfamiliar with what appears to be familiar. A short term mission trip that keeps going back. A continuation of commitment that continues because those are the kinds of relationships that truly count and leave impressions deeper than serendipitous single events.
Mision de Candelilla is a locally-based mission group actively working to bridge the borders of Texas and Mexico with hope because they believe there is something more precious than what could easily be considered familiar, people. People and relationships. Relationships worth pursuing and investing in. And these relationships have a bi-directional flow of benefit. Who knew such treasure was right here all along?
Mision de Candelilla. Short Term Missions. Long Term Impact. Lasting Relationships.
Take a closer look at their story: