A big Christmas thank you!

On Saturday, a group of people from the church went to do ministry with children and teenagers- through a variety of activities. The activity was held in a place called "Niños del Sol" and it is a housing facility for teenage boys who have no family- they have either been abandoned or removed due to various reasons- the primary of those being drug abuse. Also brought in were 100 children- mostly between ages 2-10, from the casa escuelas- which are house churches for children in poor neighborhoods.

The worship team from the church was there to do a worship service- concert style. The teenagers were more interested in this than the younger children. It was a great time of worship. The music director also gave his testimony and led times of prayer.

After the worship time, the groups were split up. The younger children were involved in small group activities while the teenagers were learning values and how to show them to people around them. Things like having patience, peace, love, self-control, etc. These are things that these boys do not have or do not know how to put into practice. The Gospel message was also presented to some of them from our own local missionaries.

Next on the agenda was a drama skit- for all children. The drama is a re-enactment of Noah's Ark and told from the perspective of some of the animals. The younger children really liked the drama- but even the teenagers paid attention.

The teenagers were then led to a chapel where they were spoken to about having a relationship with Jesus Christ and that it doesn't matter how many problems you have in life, Jesus can set you free! Many of these young men accepted Christ as their Savior.

The young children were also exposed to the Gospel. The evangecube was explained to them and they were told about how much Jesus loves them. They were then shown love by being given gifts.

Now, this is where the Christmas thank you comes into play. I was told that we had boxes to give to each child. Each box has things in it but each one is different. What a suprise to find out that the boxes that we had recieved were the Operation Christmas Child boxes. So many people help out each Christmas by filling shoe boxes with toys and needed items for poor children around the world. Well, we received 100 of those boxes! Thank you to all of you who fill a shoe box every Christmas to help poor children around the world.