Missions

I want to take a moment to write about what I have learned here in La Mision about mission work.

Erin and I moved down to La Mision without much training. We just came with a heart to be obedient to God. And that is fine, but we really have loved getting to work with the ministries that are happening down here.

One of them is Open Arms (Brazos Abiertos). Their website is www.openarmsmexico.com

It was started five years ago when two people, Heidi and Daniel Elizarraraz, moved to La Mision. They prayed and decided to open up a daycare for children in the community.

They had, and continue to have a great strategy. Daniel grew up in an orphanage in Mexico. His family was unable to take care of him and so they put him and his brothers in an orphanage.

That is a reality here in Mexico. Many people consider the orphanage a better alternative than keeping the family together because they can’t afford to eat. Sometimes kids choose to be in the orphanage because of the abuse that they are running from.

I have been blessed (and horrified) to hear the stories of the kids who live at Door of Faith Orphanage. Kids shouldn’t have to face that kind of stuff. No one should!

Door of Faith Orphanage is a blessing to the community. They do a great job of raising the kids in a family environment.

Heidi and Daniel understood the culture. They prayed and sensed God calling them to start the daycare. It is a great strategy. This is why…

The children at the daycare come from families in the community that need to work. The parents would have to leave the children unattended or else someone would have to stay home. This frees up the parents to work.

The children love it. They have activities and friends to play with, and food.

 Each week at kids church, the kids pray for things that they are thankful for. Kids in La Mision understand that food is a blessing. They make a point to say that they have food on their table.

Through this gift to the children, the parents have been invited to learn more about the ministry. They love the freedom to leave their kids in a place they can trust, and be free to work, or find work.

Every so often, the daycare then puts on a service full of worship and a speaker that is able to communicate the Gospel. Many parents have been transformed into a life of following Christ, because they have seen the effects of the love of Christ on their children. They see the hope.

This not only benefits the children and their families. Many employees are hired to work with the kids or build the grounds for the daycare. It is a great job for a mother because she can be with her children, have support, and earn money for her family. One worker just had her child a month or two ago and is already back to work, because she can. And she doesn’t have to leave her child.

  The momentum is strong for this ministry. They are impacting families in a very real way and lives are being changed.

The only problem is that groups are cancelling on them. This ministry depends on support from the US. But many groups are not able to come down here because of the fear. More groups have cancelled this year than any other.

And when people don’t come down here, they forget about the ministry that is happening. 

Out my window

I just wanted to write to tell you what I am looking at. I sit at the desk in our office, and look out my window at the big mountain. In the fields behind us is a dirt road. Walking down the road was a goat (or a sheep, or a ram, I don’t know). It is black and white and has some little horns. It strutted down the road, and checks out the pony that is feeding from his mother, who is tied up to eat the grass in this area. They eyeball each other but he continues on. He then avoids a horse that is not tied up and runs around a puddle from last night’s rain. Then he gets to a pack of four dogs that are hanging out. The goat/sheep/ram/thing charges at the pack of dogs, and one of the dogs starts barking at him and then chases him as he tries to get away. But he doesn’t chase for long.

The goat then heads toward the pony, but the pony is now closer to his mom and so this scares the goat and the goat runs into the trees.

Meanwhile, three calves are in the road. Soon, a man riding a bike and smoking a cigarette tries to round them up. One gets away, so he has to get off of his bike and walk his bike up a hill. Soon, he manages to get his calves headed back to the farm and all is good.

I love looking out my window!