Sowing Seeds

     When we were at camp the other week, I had shared a few devotionals with the older boys' group. One of the themes that I focused on was the principal of sowing and reaping from Galatians 6:7-8: 

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

I encouraged the boys to seek God and to read His Word, even when it seems like God's not there or isn't talking to them; I encouraged them to keep sowing.

     Anyway, with multiple staff going on vacations and such, this week I was moved into the middle-aged boys' room. There are three groups/dormitories in the boys' house: Los Chiquitos (eight of the younger boys aging from about 3-9), Los Medianos (The nine middle-aged boys aged from about 10-13), and Los Grandes (The six older boys aged from 13-16). Each night, there is a person responsible in each room to make sure the boys go to bed, wake up in the morning, clean the dorm room, do their chores in the room (such as sweeping and mopping the floor), and then send them off to the kitchen/dining room/living room where they have morning devotions and breakfast. The person that usually sleeps in Los Chiquitos's room went on vacation this past week, so Kris - who is from Canada and has been here for many years - moved from Los Medianos to cover Los Chiquitos. With Kris in with Los Chiquitos this week, I took over his spot in Los Medianos for the week and will be in with the medianos next week as well (Kris is going back to Canada for his wedding, so he'll be taking some time off). I have my own little room and bathroom off the main dormitory of the boys' room. All three of the dormitories are set up like that so the adult sleeping there has their own little place within the larger room.

     Each day, there are three guardias (caretakers) that watch the boys. The staff rotate responsibility, and I have already done guardia duty a few times now. With it being school vacation, the guardias for the day are technically off-duty at 9:00 pm when they send the boys to their dorms and the adult of that dorm is then in charge of that group. Depending on the person in charge of the dorm, sometimes the boys can play for a little while, brush their teeth, and do whatever else they need to do to get ready for bed before lights are out. For the medianos, sometimes Kris would read them a story or play music as they fall asleep. Although the boys have morning devotions, church, and other times the staff here sow spiritual seeds into their lives, I also wanted to take advantage of some times I can also sow seeds into their lives. I downloaded some Bible stories in Spanish that I could play for the boys at nighttime before they go to bed, which so far, they seem to like.

     Also, while at camp doing the devotionals with Los Grandes, I had mentioned to them that they should read God's Word daily which was a way to sow seeds to the spirit. I asked them if they had Bibles and most of them said no - they only had Bibles in school but not in their dorms. I asked them if they wanted a Bible, and one of them - who seemed very engaged during my devotionals answering the questions, helping fill in my blanks when I struggled with the Spanish vocabulary or grammar, and seemed to be familiar with the Bible - said that he would. Looking on Amazon.mx (That's Amazon, but for Mexico - where everything's priced in pesos, so that it looks super expensive but isn't necessarily. $1USD is about 20 pesos.), I found Bibles for only 25 pesos each (about $1.25 USD). I bought a few of them along with some other things. When my package from Amazon arrived, it was sitting outside my room in the medianos' dormitory. A few of the boys saw the package and asked what I got, so I showed them (Bibles, a few sharpies, a mouse for my computer, and shampoo). I forget if I asked or if one of the boys just said it, but one of the boys asked me for one of the Bibles and said he didn't have one other than the one in the school. I told him sure if he would take care of it (sometimes the boys don't take care of their things), and he said he would. I told him I'd give it to him later that night. There was once or twice later that he reminded me about it and asked if now was the time he could have it - which was nice to see his eagerness. The next morning I gave another one of the Bibles to his older brother who was the one at camp that had told me he would like a Bible.

     Last night for a story, I told the medianos how I wanted to share with them the story of Samuel from 1 Samuel 3 when Samuel was a boy in the temple under the care of Eli and God had spoken to him at night. As Samuel was just a kid, knew about God, was under the care of someone else who would teach him about God, and did not live with his parents or see them very often, I thought this story had many similarities to the boys' lives at Pan de Vida. I emphasized the importance of having a personal relationship with God and having God speak with them personally through His Word and prayer. I encouraged them to read God's Word for themselves and pray to Him and not just rely on the morning devotional lessons they get each morning and the fact that they attend church each week - that's not the same as a personal relationship with God.

     Overall, it has been going well here, and I've been enjoying my time and have been forming better relationships with the boys and staff. I've been continuing to master the Spanish language, though I still have a ways to go; I'm thankful, though, for how much I do know of the language and that I can at least communicate in Spanish - even if my grammar and pronunciation aren't always great. I am enjoying it here and am looking forward to be used more by God to continue to sow seeds into these boys' lives.

Galatians 6:9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

     For anyone who may be wanting to know how they can pray for me and the kids here in Pan de Vida, here are some prayer requests. Thank you for those who have been praying for me and the kids and staff here and have been participating in that spiritual sowing into these kids' lives through your prayers. 

Prayer Requests:

• That the boys would have a personal relationship with Jesus and grow in Him and would be interested in reading His Word daily.
• That if any of the boys (or girls) here have not accepted Jesus into their hearts as their personal Savior and sacrifice for their sin, that they would understand what that means and would ask Him into their hearts and then start that personal relationship with Him.
• That I would take advantage of the opportunities God gives me to speak into these boys' lives and be a light for God so that they see Jesus in me.

Blessings,
Derek

Note: Because this website is public, I purposely left out names of specific kids, but if anyone wants more details or stories about the kids mentioned or wants specific ideas of how to pray for specific kids, leave a comment below and I can contact you and share more in detail what's going on or answer any questions you might be curious about.

Camping

      This week we took the kids camping in the woods in the mountains in Hidalgo, Mexico, which is the Mexican state next to Queretaro. It's about a four or more hour drive. We got up before sunrise on Tuesday morning and camped in the woods until we left Friday afternoon. During our trip, we did some hiking and got to see some nice views from the mountaintops. At times, especially at night, it got chilly enough for a coat - not really the type of temperature most people think of when they think of Mexico.

     For the week, the kids were divided into four groups with adult leaders for each group for competitions and games. (In my pictures/videos, you can see some of the teams' cheers that they created.) We played games like races, dodgeball, capture the flag and more. For meals, the four teams that were created for the week took turns making meals and washing the dishes. At night, we slept in tents with about two adults and five kids assigned to each tent. We had morning and evening devotion times where the kids would divide into small groups with a leader and have a small Bible devotional. I got to lead a few devotionals with the older boys group.

     Overall, it was nice getting to know the staff and kids better, especially some of the girls in Pan de Vida that I haven't really gotten to know yet. As nice as it might have been to have this experience, though, it certainly was nice to sleep in a warm bed last night instead of the hard ground in a cold tent and to finally take a hot shower again.

     If you want to see pictures of our time camping, you can click up on the top right link for pictures and go to the folder that says "Camp Pictures".

First Few Days

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     The first few days here, I've been getting to know the boys and trying to learn all their names - I have learned almost all of them except for a few of the older ones - as well as learning more about what daily life is like here - at least what it's like during this month of their summer vacation. I'm helping in the rotation of being a "guardia" (caretaker). Basically, three volunteers are the guardias each day for the boys (the same would be for the girls' house). The guardias' job is to watch the boys, make sure they stay out of trouble, and that they do any chores that they have to do for the day (particularly cleaning up after breakfast and dinner).

Aqueduct of Queretaro

     Breakfast is at nine and I'll go down and eat breakfast with the boys. After breakfast, the boys clean up. They have specific jobs to do such as the dishes, sweeping, etc. Then, they usually hang out and play unless there's something else on the agenda. For instance, on Thursday, all the kids got to go to a basketball camp. Friday was my day to help as guardia and the boys helped cut the lawn using sickles and machetes to help cut some of the brush and long grass that the lawnmower didn't get in the area where the fruit trees were. There's usually a late morning snack such as fruit or cookies and a drink. They have a late lunch around 2:30, which the girls, boys, and staff all eat together in the girls' kitchen area. Then they have the afternoon to hang out and play some more. Dinner is around 6:30ish and then the boys do their chores of cleaning up and hang out until bedtime and/or watch a movie.

     Dany and Betania, the son and daughter of the directors of Pan de Vida, offered to take me to see the center of Queretaro on Saturday night. Altogether, five of us went. I got to see the famous aqueduct of Queretaro as well as some other popular spots.

     I updated the Google Drive folder with more pictures and videos that I took over the past few days and captioned many of them. If you wanted to check them out, it might give you a better picture of what it's been like the past few days.

     Tuesday we leave to take all the kids camping. I'm sure I'll have more to share after our three or four-day camping trip. Until then! Hasta luego!

Pan de Vida

 

     I know that while I had mentioned it to many friends and family back home, there were still some of you that I hadn't gotten to give all the details to. However, basically, God has provided an opportunity for me to help out at a Christian children's home in Queretaro, Mexico. The home is called Pan de Vida, and they have about 40 boys and girls that they help take care of. If you go to Pan de Vida | Children Of Hope and scroll down, you can see a video of Pan de Vida and just some of what they do. I'll leave it up to you to watch that video if you'd like; it is very informative and will give you a much better idea of what the place is like. You can also visit the other web link given at the header of this blog for more information about the home. For those of you who like to be kept up with what is going on and how God is working in and through me and others here, this blog will hopefully help you feel part of it all. Up on the top right of the page, I have included a link to a Google Drive where you can see pictures I upload throughout my time here.

     So, anyway, I left Tuesday morning, and after traveling all day, finally arrived very late at night at Pan de Vida. This morning, I got to meet the boys and eat breakfast with them. (The boys' house and the girls' house are separate buildings on the property.) After breakfast, Enrique (the current director of Pan de Vida who also goes by Kike) and his wife Grace gave me a tour of the property, introduced me to many of the others here at Pan de Vida, and shared more about the ministry.

     One of the many things that is so wonderful about this ministry is their focus on the children's mental health and mindset. Many of the kids come from abusive situations and have a victimized mindset. However, at Pan de Vida, they are shown love from the staff but are also taught responsibility and structure. For instance, the kids work together to complete chores each day such as cleaning up their rooms, preparing meals, cleaning up after meals, etc. In the center of all that the staff do with the kids and teach them, they constantly point the kids to Jesus, a relationship with Him, and a life guided by Biblical principles.

     After spending some time learning more about the ministry, I hung out with the kids in the field where some of us played charades, some played with Legos, others kicked around a soccer ball, etc. (If you look at the pictures, you can see some videos of the kids playing charades.) Soon after that, we had lunch and then many of the boys went swimming in the pool. (The boys and girls switch days when it is their turn to be able to use the pool.) I stayed behind and played Legos with three or four of the boys that didn't go swimming. After swimming, the boys hung out and played until dinner. (I uploaded a few videos and pictures of a couple of the boys playing with bubbles.)

     Overall, it was a good first day getting to know the kids - particularly the boys whom I'll be working with the most. I'm still trying to learn all their names, but they are wonderful kids who are so welcoming (and help me with my Spanish). Talking with Enrique and Grace, I'll be helping out a lot with "los medianos," the middle-school-aged boys. Kris, who is a volunteer who will be leaving for a little while to return to Canada to get married, currently helps take care of this group of boys. I'll be shadowing him and will be helping to fill in while he's away. Also, next Tuesday, the kids and staff will be going on their annual camping trip out in the woods; so I'll be going camping with them next week.

     That's it for now, but please don't forget to check out the pictures and videos through the link on the top right of this blog.  Also, feel free to share this blog with anyone else you think might be interested and feel free to leave questions/comments or contact me.

Blessings,

Derek

Picture taken without changes from: File:Queretaro in Mexico (zoom).svg - Wikimedia Commons

Oct 17 - Oct 21

Last Monday, the kids at the farm didn't have school. We took a few of them to the river which was within walking distance of the farm. It was a nice day and the kids seemed to enjoy it. Tuesday, Chuy and I went to Cazuca again to work with the kids there. Wednesday and Thursday were work days around the farm and today Chuy and I went to Cazuca again. Tomorrow we have the Jungla.

You can find some pictures, including pictures of the time we had at the river, at this link:

https://1drv.ms/f/s!ArvNj6ImbMIfhE8-tgfQG1OtGzdN

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

Update: September 24 - Oct 3

I've been in Colombia a little over a week now. Here's a little bit of what I've been doing here in Colombia so far:

So I arrived in Bogota, Colombia late Saturday night and was picked up by Alex, a young man that serves in the ministry here at Bogota. Sunday morning, I went to church with Steve (He and his wife Evie head up the Formando Vidas ministry). After church, I was invited over to Alex's place and got to meet some of the older teenagers / young men that live with him. He has about five or so youths that live with him – sort of like a mentoring program from my impressions. We talked, ate lunch, and had a good time.

Although I spent the first couple of nights in Bogota in the ministry house which they used to house guests, on Monday I went with Steve and Evie to the outskirts of Bogota where they have three homes and a cabin. I'm going to be staying in the cabin with a young man named Chuy who's 21. (His name's pronounced like the English word chewy.) He's from Venezuela and knows some English. Altogether, out of the three homes that they have here on their property they take care of about nine kids at the moment. I got to meet some of the other volunteers and staff here on the “farm” (which is how they often refer to the land here that has the three houses and the cabin). That afternoon, I helped Peter with some work around the farm. Peter is the same age as me and is bilingual. He grew up in Formando Vidas since he was very young.

On Tuesday, Chuy and I went to Cazuca which is an hour or so from Bogota. In Cazuca is a woman named Mary who moved to Colombia from Australia and has been with the ministry for eleven years. Since 2007, she has been working with the kids and families in the neighborhood of Cazuca. In the morning on Tuesdays, Chuy runs a soccer program for some of the older boys. In the afternoons, there's a kids' club that Mary runs in her house. From 2:00 – 3:00 the younger children can come and play with games and toys in a playroom which is the first floor of her house. (She lives up on the second.) Then, from 3:00 – 4:00 it's the older kids' turn. The clubs meet every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. Fridays are similar to Tuesday with the exception that the kids in the soccer program come to Mary's house to play instead of having the soccer program. On Saturdays, it's a time for Bible study and teaching the kids about Jesus. Mary was telling me how her vision was to have a time to build relationships with the kids (which we do as we play and interact with them on Tuesdays and Fridays) and then go further by giving them God's Word and helping them learn more about Jesus. Altogether, it was a long day, but a good day.

Wednesday and Thursday Chuy, Leidy, and I (Leidy is one of the older girls that lives here), did some work around the farm. Friday and Saturday, I went with Chuy again to Cazuca to work with the kids. On Saturday morning, the soccer group came to Mary's house to have a Bible lesson and then we all went outside to the soccer court so the kids could practice some soccer drills and then play a game of soccer. After the soccer group, we helped with a group of little kids that came to Mary's house. We sang songs and talked about how the Holy Spirit is the one who gives us joy in our hearts. The kids then colored a heart as a craft to go along with the lesson.

On Sunday, I went with a couple of the families on the farm to a church in town that they attend called La Calera. Today (Monday) we went into town for a meeting. Every Monday, everyone in the different ministries of Formando Vidas get together and have a meeting. We sang worship songs (in both English and Spanish since many staff are bilingual and a few only speak either Spanish or English). We had a sermon from a pastor who was visiting from Venezuela and then we had a time of prayer.

Thank you to all of you who are praying for me and for the work God's doing here. Please keep it up. I have also uploaded a few pictures. To see them click on the link at the top right of this blog.