The government agency responsible for oversight and training of Community Day Cares (in the most challenged parts of the city) approved our proposal to invite their workers to a training on how to nurture and teach the children in their care using a Christian program presented by a Christian psychologist who had done work most recently with the government of China working with families and children there. Dear friend and supporter Kathy, her daughter Evi and deaconess student Elle from St. Louis were our “guest” team this week.
On the U.S. side, on the night before (or should I say the early morning hours of the big day) we were up until 1am preparing materials for the Saturday workshop. On the Mexico side, staff member Tere M. was up until 2am preparing folders, putting together the teacher’s packets for the workshop on Saturday.
We first arrived at the home of a Mexican woman who insisted we have breakfast with her. She was so happy to show us here Habitat for Humanity house and proud she had just put down flooring and her bathroom. We feasted on fresh mango, papaya, watermelon and melon.
When we arrived at our workshop site at 10:20 all the teachers were already assembled. We figured we would have to wait for them to arrive so we didn’t rush but when we arrived they were all seated and ready to go!
Kathy made it clear to the women that since these workers spent 10 hours or so with the children in their care, they were most important in the lives of these young and infant children and as such their job #1 was to nurture them so that they could develop in a secure and loving environment….one in which children could develop and thrive.
Not only were community day care workers from all over Tijuana present, but a few of our Lutheran pastors and Sunday School leaders were there too. This created another point of contact for the participants. Kathy’s main job this day was to teach them how children learn best. Each concept came alive when she, Evi and Ellee put the class through a sample or experience themselves. All this interspersed with bible songs they were learning to share with their children, it was such a lively and engaging presentation that 3 1/2 hours went by with NO BREAK! That would be unheard of on this side of the border, huh?
The Gospel Message and Bible STories were the content of the course on how to effectively teach children. These were women with little or no exposure to the Bible. I was amazed at how well they learned the fruit of the Spirit when Kathy had them pass a little straw with a paper fruit on each other (that we had looked up in the Bible together) while reciting them to each other. Kathy explained that these were the characteristics we wanted each of the children to display. They were then asked to write down the ones they remembered on notepads shaped like…..you guessed it, fruit! They were amazed at their own recall. Also, when a photo card was shown to them that had a hand and five elements important to life depicted in drawings: The Bible, Praying, Sharing with Others, Loving God and Going to CHurch, they later closed their eyes and could easily recall all five of these! They were amazed that they could use these same techniques to teach the children.
Each school received a packet of teaching materials, an adult Bible and a children’s Bible, a variety of booklets (that CPTLN publishes on various high impact topics which this year was underwritten by an LWML PSWD mission grant) for the parents of the children in their charge. They received a hygiene kit and two quilts from OGT in their official LLL Convention Briefcast (donated from Minnesota North’s 2007 LLL District Convention), they were delighted. Crafts and prizes were made and donated by members of All Saints Lutheran CHurch in Bellevue, Washington the congregation sending Kathy and Evi.
In the afternoon we gathered with elderly at another location. The dirt roads were filled with so many deep ruts the team had to get out and walk as I gingerly made my way down the roads trying not to fall into the worst ruts. My little NEON is such a longsuffering missionary car…..we were scraping all the way, but nothing broke. We brought a meditation from God’s Word and prayed with an especially sick elderly man. Elle led the group in stretching exercises with a HP bouncy ball sent by the Bellevue congregation. Evi and Elle played with the children while Kathy and I had two counseling sessions. We met a woman who had 16 children and nine died! She was helping to raise two great grandchildren now. She was a woman of very humble means but said she didn’t have any problems, she just wanted to tell us her story and have us pray with her.
We brought home tamales for dinner (prepared by one of the women we met who supports herself in this way)……we packed up and chatted about the amazing things God allowed us to experience. Please thank the Lord in your prayers for our friends Kathy (hubby Pastor Rodger who sent personal letters to each pastor and worker which were an amazing encouragement from the Body of Christ and made some of the workers cry), Evi and Elle. We are grateful for their gift of time and talents. We ask God to bless them richly.
Love, Melissa
P.S. Keep Ellee and Kyle in your prayers as they will receive their call assignment on Tuesday for his vicarage and her deaconess internship.
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