World Renewal International

MONDAY, JULY 15, 2013

Our first day of VBS was a hit!

More than 100 children packed into the Contreras church here in Mexico City to play game, have snacks, sing songs and learn about Jesus and the good news. It was a great day for our team as well. Cameron and Marisa raced on ... well, not sure exactly what they're called ... kind of like overgrown roller skates with handle bars. Morgan shared a testimony with a room full of kids. Debbie held and smooched babies on and off. Jaye and Scott battled the language barrier and helped kids with crafts about Paul's conversion in Acts 9. Matt shared his testimony and interesting details about life in Indiana and the United States. These first few days have uncovered some discoveries about the culture and people of Mexico City. Some reflections include: The people are all very friendly and are very happy to battle through language issues to talk. The children are very respectful. They sit quietly and listen to messages and interact very well with us. Teens are a huge force in helping with VBS and making sure that everything goes off without a hitch. They are focused and driven. They don't need to be told what to do; they just jump in and help where they need to. Some teens -- and even some of the younger children -- are very strong leaders. Pastor Mario and his wife, Betty, have huge hearts for The Lord and are doing everything they can to spread his love and the gospel. Five women squeezed in a kitchen the size of many people's closets and mass-produced spaghetti, hot dogs and oranges -- very impressive. We had a great hourlong debriefing time at the end of the day where we discussed what had happened and what we had seen God do during the day. Karla, Renata and Maria Jose very graciously took us downtown to see the fine arts palace and the downtown square. We visited a cathedral, saw an Aztec temple and had a metro ride. Karla and Matt almost got closed in the metro doors but narrowly escaped! Tomorrow is day 2 of VBS. Please pray that more children will come, that children's hearts would be opened to the gospel, and that our team would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading.

            Our group going to Mexico 2013