Oct. 8th and 9th

Last Saturday, I got to experience a kids' outreach that this ministry does every other Saturday. It's called La Jungla (The Jungle). In a neighborhood called Santa Fe, the ministry has a building which they open up to the kids to come and eat breakfast, play games, do crafts, and then hear a Bible message.

When we got there, Steve was explaining to me how this particular neighborhood was known for its witchcraft and drug dealers. As bad as it currently is, he was telling me it was even worse in the past. We then entered the building and started setting it up and getting ready for the kids to arrive. The walls were painted with animals from the jungle. Their was a little eating place in the back on one side and a playhouse on the other side. In the front was a stage. On the stage, you could pull off some boards which uncovered a little pool area which was filled with little balls (the type you'd find in a ball playpen). In the pool area was also a slide which we pulled out and set up so that the kids could slide down and land in the pool of balls. Upstairs was a place where they could do crafts, a shaky bridge they could run across, and a pole they could slide down to get back on the first floor.

When the kids finally started coming, I was put in charge of the slide and ball pen to make sure that the kids only went one at a time, feet first, etc. After the kids ate and played, we all cleaned up and sang some songs and Chuy gave a Bible message on Jonah. Then it was time for them to leave and a second group of kids came. While the first group was mainly younger kids, this second group was mainly older ones. We did the same routine with them – they came and ate, played and did crafts, sang a worship song, and then had a Bible message. It was a great experience and the kids definitely had fun.

On Sunday, I got to go with some of the kids and house parents from the farm to the kids' parents' visitation. The second Sunday of every month, the kids are taken to the “Luz de Vida” school. (This building belongs to the ministry and is used on Tuesdays and Thursdays where a handful of kids come for extra help after school.) This Sunday, though, it was the meeting place where the kids eagerly awaited the arrival of their parents so they could spend an hour or so with them. It was nice to see how excited the kids were when their parents and/or grandparents arrived. They would sit down and talk with their parents, some of them getting little gifts or goodies from their parents. The last half hour, the parents attended a workshop and then the kids said bye to their parents before leaving. Their were lots of pictures taken before we left. While some of the kids only see their parents this second Sunday of each month, some of the kids visit their parents or grandparents weekly or every other week. Unfortunately, though, on the flip side, there are one or two kids who didn't come with us this Sunday because their parents are completely out of their lives.

Please keep these kids in your prayers. I know how special kids are to Jesus and these kids are no exception.

I have also posted some more pictures, including pictures from last Saturday in La Jungla. I've had some feedback that the link I have for the pictures isn't working. So if you can't get to the pictures from the link at the top right of this blog, try using this link:

 https://1drv.ms/f/s!ArvNj6ImbMIfhCFZOR4qbTewZeAI