Summer Outreach Bears Much Fruit
We're back from a month in South America! It was a successful trip and a great growth experience for the 26 kids and 9 adults who participated in it. We were able to minister to thousands of people in schools, plazas, a prison, a national fair and other locations throughout Paraguay.
One of the most eye opening experiences was going to downtown Asuncion to minister to about 50 street children. Wild kids who live by begging or stealing come to a church for a hot meal served every Saturday. Most of their mothers are prostitutes and the girls join the profession at age 12. If they have fathers at home they are usually addicts or alcoholics. Sniffing shoe polish is the most common high. Our kids were in shock over their condition and behavior- violent and virtually uncontrollable, and they ranged from 2-12 years old! Barefoot or wearing layers of ragged clothes to keep warm, they were a heart wrenching sight. After a simple meal of rice, yuca root (a starch we ate regularly there) and bananas, we watched as one boy scraped everyone's leftovers off their plates into a bag and took it home. That sounds revolting to us but for them things like this are just a part of survival. As we discussed this experience later, our kids had been deeply moved by what they saw.
We prayed with people to meet Jesus in many different settings. A time that stands out in our hearts was when one of our teenagers prayed with an illiterate 11-year-old shoeshine boy in the plaza to give his life to the Lord. The boy, Marco, followed us around for the rest of the trip and gave out Gospel tracts with us downtown. He was like the team mascot and everyone wanted to take him home.
We saw a lot of spiritual growth among the teenagers during the outreach. At first many kids seemed intimidated and hesitant to approach people after a performance. God worked in their lives and gave many a deep burden for the lost. The kids gave very powerful testimonies and showed much more boldness than before.
Juarez Outreach A Success
Fifty children, teenagers and adults from Christ Episcopal Church in Plano, Texas spent a week in Juarez investing their time and effort into local ministries. Many of the outreach events took place at an orphanage in the small town of Zaragosa, where the team led a Vacation Bible School and did construction on the property. Other small groups helped in construction at a nearby church and painted the pastor’s home.
The team visited a home for teenage drug addicts, a men’s rehabilitation center and a church service at another home for men who are trying to break free from their addictions to drugs and alcohol. Evangelistic ministry at a park and in the red light district in Juarez rounded out the week. It was a fulfilling and eye opening time for everyone involved.
Junior Team News
The King's Kids Junior Team is excited about serving the Lord this year! October is our training month, as we are a performing arts team. The kids will be learning several songs, choreography and dramas in English and Spanish. We are preparing them to minister the gospel effectively to the different people God sends us to reach.
Although we use the performing arts as a tool for evangelism, our primary focus is to have each child on this team come to know God even more and to love Him with all that they are. The fact that people receive Jesus is an out flowing of the purity and sincerity that they see in the children's relationships with Christ.
We are also expecting that this year will be filled with opportunities to show God's amazing mercy and love for those who are less fortunate and cast aside. In November we plan to help winterize homes in Anapra, Mexico. The whole family will be invited to participate with their children to show the love of Christ in a practical way. We believe that parental involvement in weekend outreaches produces more effective discipleship since it is followed up at home. In December we hope to go to a rehab center or possibly serve a meal and perform at a mission for transients and the homeless. Please pray for us as we go about setting up our different ministry outreaches that God would direct us to those He wants to touch.
If you have any ideas of outreach possibilities (you may have contacts that we do not) please call us at 581-8744 and we will pray about them. We look forward to a year of growth in knowledge and love of our very worthy Savior!
Senior Team Reaches Out
This year’s Senior Team has 46 teenagers who are eager to begin a new year of ministry! We usually only accept 35 young people on a team, but this year we had many applications from committed Christian kids who want to reach others for the Lord.
We began the year with a three day retreat near Cloudcroft, New Mexico to seek the Lord and build relationships among the team. All during October, the kids are learning dramas and choreography with a Gospel message. Our first time ministering this year was at Cohen Stadium before a concert by Jars of Clay, a popular Christian band. The kids did a great job and are prepared for a busy year.
Many new ministry opportunities are coming our way, including an invitation to work with a church on the Mescalero Apache reservation near Ruidoso, New Mexico and a community outreach in Fort Hancock. We also have an invitation to return to a rural community near Albuquerque where we held a youth camp and shared the Gospel in a drug saturated area last year. God sparked a new work among youth in the area which has spread to 11 churches and raised up full time workers and teenagers who continue to spread the Gospel in the US and Mexico.
Please keep these young people in your prayers as they share the love of Jesus this year!
Welcome our New Staff!
Dave and Mary Arnold joined our staff this summer after 12 years of leadership at the Youth With A Mission base in Chico, California. Their six children range in age from 4 months to 17 years, and are involved in the local King’s Kids programs. Dave’s responsibilities include overseeing the practical service and construction projects at our camps in Juarez, Mexico. Mary keeps busy homeschooling their children and works with the local teams. We appreciate their servant hearts and the gifts and abilities they bring to our ministry!