July 2004-Adult/Youth Servant Trip
Early on Monday, July 12, the twenty-nine members
of a mission team from St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Barrington,
unpacked their Bible story books, craft materials, and other equipment
as they prepared for a week of Bible school in Zaragosa, Mexico,
a community on the eastern edge of Cuidad Juarez. Before 9:00am
the church yard began to fill with children.
For the seventh year, Bible school at Santisima
Trinidad, the Lutheran congregation serving Zaragosa, would mean
songs, Bible verses, puppets, skits, stories, craft projects, and
lunch. Many of the 222 children who attended have been part of past
Bible schools.
"As we share the love of Jesus with these
children," reported the Rev. Gerald Schalk, team leader, "we
want to give them the very best week of the summer. That's one of
the reasons they keep coming back." This year's team from St.
Matthew included ten adults, six college students, and thirteen
high school students. For twelve of the team members, this was their
first trip.
The theme of this year's Bible school was "Jesus'
Love." The children learned that Jesus forgives them, protects
them, and provides for them. In response to the love of Jesus, they
can show love to others. One of the surprises for the mission team
this year was the number of parents who attended Bible school with
their children. This makes it possible for the team's ministry to
reach into the families of the children who attend Bible school.
St. Matthew Lutheran Church began sending mission
teams to Mexico in 1995. This was the seventeenth trip sponsored
by the congregation. In October the congregation will send a construction
and medical team to work in the Zaragosa area. "By returning
to work in the same area every year, we have built a trusting relationship
with the local people," Schalk said. "I also helps us
strengthen the ministry of the Santisima Trinidad Congregation."
