A Week Of Ministry
Ordinarily, I would have sought some transition time to continue the process of unpacking and getting settled in our new home, however this week we have the priviledge of having my Sister, Brother-in-law, and nephews and neices here on a week long family mission trip along with their church's youth group that my nephew assists with. The name of the church is Abiding Savior Free Lutheran Church and they brought about 31 youth and 15 adults down to Monterrey, Mexico (plus two children).
They had orientation on Sunday and began Ministry Prep on Monday. Tuesday we went out and did door-to-door evangelism in a rough area that has a lot of gang activity. The team did an awesome job and God had our back. We met one group of about 4 little boys on their walk home from school. We stopped them by the local tienda (store) and began talking with them.
After walking them through the Gospel Message, we asked them if they wanted to pray. They seemed to get embarrassed and none of them wanted to pray (a little peer pressure going on). I invited them to come to a program that the team was holding and the boys said they couldn't go down that street (it was about 1 block away). I asked why and they informed me that, although they are not in a gang, the gangs in that neighborhood know where they live and they are associated with the gang from their block. If the rival gang sees them down on their street, they will chase them and beat them up. Keep in mind, these 12 year-old boys are not even in a gang, but because of where they live they are associated with the gang in their neighborhood.
I invited the boys to come to the program with us and offerred to walk them home afterward to ensure their safety (since I'm such a big, tough guy). Two of the boys took us up on the offer. When we got down the block to where the program was going to be held, one of the boys, Andres, wanted to pray. He did, and confessed sins and issues he struggles with and invited Jesus into his heart. It was awesome! We later hooked him up with the Pastor at the local church we were serving and he took Andres under his wing.
The team did their program and several youth involved in the local gang hung around to watch. While they seemed more concerned about staking out their turff, they took in the music, dramas, etc. The Abiding Savior Team is awesome!
They had orientation on Sunday and began Ministry Prep on Monday. Tuesday we went out and did door-to-door evangelism in a rough area that has a lot of gang activity. The team did an awesome job and God had our back. We met one group of about 4 little boys on their walk home from school. We stopped them by the local tienda (store) and began talking with them.
After walking them through the Gospel Message, we asked them if they wanted to pray. They seemed to get embarrassed and none of them wanted to pray (a little peer pressure going on). I invited them to come to a program that the team was holding and the boys said they couldn't go down that street (it was about 1 block away). I asked why and they informed me that, although they are not in a gang, the gangs in that neighborhood know where they live and they are associated with the gang from their block. If the rival gang sees them down on their street, they will chase them and beat them up. Keep in mind, these 12 year-old boys are not even in a gang, but because of where they live they are associated with the gang in their neighborhood.
I invited the boys to come to the program with us and offerred to walk them home afterward to ensure their safety (since I'm such a big, tough guy). Two of the boys took us up on the offer. When we got down the block to where the program was going to be held, one of the boys, Andres, wanted to pray. He did, and confessed sins and issues he struggles with and invited Jesus into his heart. It was awesome! We later hooked him up with the Pastor at the local church we were serving and he took Andres under his wing.
The team did their program and several youth involved in the local gang hung around to watch. While they seemed more concerned about staking out their turff, they took in the music, dramas, etc. The Abiding Savior Team is awesome!
posted by Ron Wilson | 2:27 PM
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