Caroline’s Testimony
What God does when we let Him...
My trip to Reynosa, Tamaulipas this past Spring Break was a long-awaited and all of a sudden experience with friends and family that served alongside me. Ever since my Aunt and Uncle began serving Big Heart Orphanages over 20 years ago, it has been a dream to join them in a place that they love so dearly.
On Saturday morning, before a Monday departure to Reynosa, 1 called my Aunt, simply to catch up with her. I asked her if she was excited about her upcoming mission trip to Big Heart and the next thing I knew, I was packing my bags to join them the next day! With crutches and a boot I had been moving around on for the past month, I put my bags in the car and slowly felt my empty soul start to fill with peace for what God was about to do. I knew, without the smallest of a doubt, that God was about to do something really special in my heart and the hearts of those around me. My heart was about to become a Big Heart.
Upon arrival, I was welcomed with smiling faces and delicious food. The orphanage was one big family, and the directors beautifully supported this family. God was everywhere in this place. He was in the giggles of the kids when they talked after dinner and among the hearts of the adults who worked hard to support these kids. Love was everywhere.
Throughout the week, we spent most of our time painting the walls of their outdoor sports center and mixing concrete at Matamoros. We worked hard and laughed even harder too. By the end of each day, I lay down on my bed feeling overwhelmingly blessed for each moment that overflowed my heart with gratitude and contentment. Whatever we didn't accomplish, Big Heart staff like Opal, Jorge, and Martin would follow behind us with joy and gladness to complete the job. It was a team effort and a body of Christ that brought us together in ways only God could have imagined.
Now, it is the day after the trip, and for some reason, I really miss the people and kids that I crossed paths with in Reynosa. I have been on other mission trips before. I have served in the heart of Ethiopia and within the valleys of Texas hill country, but I have never quite left feeling the way I felt after Big Heart.
There was something special about this place and something special about the kids that made coming home that much more difficult. Big Heart was a sort of safe haven. A pocket of paradise filled with the hope of kids carving out new lives for themselves, every day.
This experience, I feel, will not be my last one but may just be the start of something wonderful, something undoubtedly and unquestionably gifted from the God of our universe; transforming my heart each and every day.
- Caroline Cutrona (2024 Texas College Team)
