Thank you!
I cannot begin to tell you about the impact that you have made for the kingdom of God with your support of my team going to Mexico this year. I wish I could spend hours just telling you about all the things that went on down there, but I can’t. So for now I am going to tell you about some of the biggest highlights of the trip so that you can get a feel of what went on and then maybe we can some day sit down and I can tell you more!
Let me start with alittle over view of what we did while we were there:
The first and most important part of what we were doing while we were there was to love on the kids. When talking with the Antonio and Alejandra Lara about the kids there, we learned that the majority of the kids there are not what you would think as of orphans, for they still have parents, but they are there because their parents are no longer able to take care of them, won’t take care of them, or have left them. Thus our first and most important priority is to show the kids real love and what it means to follow Christ. One of the kids that captured all of our hearts, his name is Jonathan, was described to us as “a wild animal” when he came to the orphanage. Through the love of the workers and care from Antonio and Alejandra he is becoming more and more manageable. I myself could see this just in the time that we were there, with the love and disciple that we were able to give him in the week we were there. I could see that by the end of the week he would respect me and listen when I told him to do things.
The second reason was to teach the kids useful skills that they can use in life. So while we were there, we were able to put on three different classes. There was computer, sewing, and cooking classes. We feel that the classes went really well and the kids were able to learn a lot. At times I think that we learned as much as they did!
Third was VBS with activities every morning. Before breakfast we would do a skit and sing songs with the kids. This year we decided that we wanted to teach them about what it means to follow Jesus and used the stories like Jesus calling the disciples, when he allowed the little children to come to him, and when Jesus asked Peter to take care of his sheep. Then on the last day we shared a couple of our testimonies of when we came to Christ and what it means to us to follow Christ.
One last thing that we were able to do with the kids, was taking them to the movies! This is something special for the kids, to go out to a movie with their friends! There is so much joy in seeing their happy faces and the excitement that they have as we walked up to our seats and then the how they became fixed on the movie as it starts.
So now that you know what we all did while we down there, let me share some of the greatest highlights of the trip! The greatest of these is the many prayers that was answered, and some right in the middle of the prayer. Being that I can only share so much here in a letter, let me give you some of the best ones. So as we crossed the boarder in two cars, it got very crazy and we got separated even before we crossed into Mexico. Being that I have been to Tijuana twice before, I pulled over and tried to find where they were and called the other car, so when I called them they said that they were going to find a place and stop. I hung up and had the girls in my car pray and later was told that as the other car was praying, I called them back and knew exactly where they were, which was only a block away!
The other and probably most awesome answer to pray was our prayer for a translator. Let me go back alittle so that you understand the beauty of this answered prayer. I had tried many different options before we left to find a translator, and all my options came up fruitless. So as we went down without any translator we were just planning to just use what skills we had and make best of the situation. The first two days went well, as we only played with the kids and Antonio, who runs the orphanage speaks a little English, was able to communicate what we needed to do. Then on Sunday at church we had a guy sit behind us and translated the service, which is not unusual, and then after the service we were talking with him and ended up exchanging numbers. Then on Monday night after a day of doing our best with our own skills and the help of a Spanish Bible, Abe texted me and after a short conversation told us that he would be with us in the morning! Not expecting much out of him for the week, thinking that he would only chill with us during the day, he ended up staying with the whole week and exceeding all expectations that we had! Looking back at the time leading up to the trip and also the people that we had looked into having being our translator, I can see that God had his hand on us. Abe was an amazing translator, had a very good knowledge of Tijuana, and children’s ministry. He ended up being a great guide as we went into the city to do shopping for our ministry and our own personal souvenirs
So as I end this letter, I just wish I could tell you more. But for now I will leave you with this much. I pray that I will be able to share more with you in person. I pray that God will bless you as you have blessed me with your prayers and support!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you
My love to all of you in Christ Jesus
Jerome Peterson
:)
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