Adult/Youth Servant Trip July 2002
VOLUNTEERS TEACH BIBLE SCHOOL IN ZARAGOSA, MEXICO
The program did not begin until 9:30 each morning,
but before 8:30 children from the neighborhood began arriving at
Santisima Trinidad (Holy Trinity Lutheran Church) in Zaragosa, Mexico.
They were coming for Bible School. For five days, July 29-August
2, the cinder block walls of the church rang with the words "En
Jes£s yo soy la sal de le tierra (In Jesus I Am the Salt of
the Earth)", "Ensalzo Dios (Lord, Be Glorified)",
and "Sonrie que Jes£s te ama (Smile that Jesus Loves
You)". Twenty-five volunteers (16 teenagers and 9 adults) from
St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Barrington, taught Bible school for
the children in this neighborhood of Juarez, Mexico.
Beginning in 1998, Adult/Youth Servant Teams from
St. Matthew have taught Bible School in Zaragosa as an outreach
ministry to the children of this neighborhood. Many of the children
who attended this year's program have participated in Bible school
since the program began. Despite the team's limited Spanish-language
skills, they taught songs and Bible verses and helped the children
complete craft projects related to each day's Bible story. The Bible
story was read from a well-illustrated Bible story book by one of
the team members or students.
The Bible stories for the week were also taught
through a series of skits. As the story was told, team member portrayed
Noah, Moses, Joshua, David, and Goliath. To make the skits more
appealing and interesting, the team members even devised costumes
and props for their little plays. With the assistance of the women
of the Santisima Trinidad congregation, the team served all the
children a hot meal at lunch time. These meals are funded by St.
Matthew and provide the best meal many of these children have during
the day.
On the first day of Bible school, 168 children
registered at the beginning of the morning, but by lunch time their
number had grown to nearly 200. On Friday, the last day of the program,
attendance had mushroomed to 242. The building became so crowded
that children had to sit on the floor because there was no more
room in the church pews. For some of the activities the children
moved out into the yard surrounding the church and to the yet unfinished
new church building while the program was designed for children
ages 5 through 12, children as young as 2 and as old as 16 took
part in Bible school. In order to attend Bible school, many older
children have to bring their younger siblings because they care
for them while their parents work in the local factories. The neighborhood
around Santisima Trinidad is not poor by Mexican standards. While
some homes are small stuccoed townhouses, others are built of cardboard,
packing crates, and shipping pallets. Streets throughout the neighborhood
are all dirt.
The servant team lived at Ysleta Lutheran Mission
in El Paso, Texas, during the mission trip. This is the thirteenth
servant team sponsored by St. Matthew since 1995. In addition to
teaching Bible school, servant teams have completed construction
projects and provided medical care. Since St. Matthew started sending
servant teams to Mexico, the program has had three goals. Team members
are given the opportunity to experience the faith in another culture,
to assist in ministry projects which could not be accomplished without
their help, and to live as a Christian community of faith. The 1997
and 1998 Adult Servant Teams from St. Matthew helped to build the
church building at Santisima Trinidad.
On October 5, St. Matthew will be sending a team of 26 adults to
Mexico to work on construction and medical projects.
