Ministry Changes

Children's ministry has always been something that Andrew and I have loved. Since we have been together we have worked well as a team in that area. In all that goes on here it has been such a joy to set up Mex-i-Kids in La Loma and to then see it spread to other areas. Just this week we heard of another Mex-i-Kids that will probably be opening. It isn't even in an UNIFAM church and we have never been to it but the daughter and son-in-law of our pastor go there and they want to run the club as a follow-up to their own Holiday Bible Club (VBS).

As a missionary mum I am so blessed to have some support here. Fellow missionaries are happy to babysit and are more than capable. Tabitha and Oscar love their missionary Tios and Tias (aunts and uncles in Spanish). I'm also blessed to have Robin, mum of four, with an incredibly similar outlook on the area of ministry and family.

Recently I have felt a growing pressure in the area of my involvement in Mex-i-Kids particularly for the stress it is obviously putting Tabitha under. It all came to a head one morning just before we went home on HMA. Andrew was away so I went to Mex-i-Kids with mum (who was visiting) and the kids. As I talked to the kids and did my organisational duties I had Tabitha hanging off my leg (Mum was attending to Oscar). Eventually in a moment of utter frustration she stood in the middle of the room and let out a blood curdling scream. The room instantly went quiet and time stood still for a bit.

Apart from the frustration of always being petted and carried (mentioned last week) there is the problem of Tabitha's travel sickness (we give her medicine before going to La Loma). Also she just cannot sleep in the nursery there so she gets tired and very grumpy. Saturday and Sunday are two long days for both kids. The bottom line is that at this stage of our family life Mex-i-Kids is not the best ministry for us all to be involved in.

As I have been praying about this I felt burdened about a ministry that could work alongside family life. A couple of years ago Robin started a ministry in her church called MOPS (Mothers of pre-schoolers). I asked her what she thought about the possibility of stating a group in La Loma. What I am about to write is an incredible story of how God was at work way ahead of me planning the way and how He has confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that this is His will.

Robin excitedly told me that she had felt God burdening her to start MOPS in another church. Before I even went to her she had gone to the leadership group of the MOPS in her church and shared that burden. The girls are more than prepared to lead their MOPS forward and just this week voted in a new co-ordinator. They told Robin that they would gladly help to train a Mexican team in the new area.

We had a meeting this week with our pastor and his wife in our home. I discussed the problem of co-ordinating Mex-i-Kids and suggested MOPS. In fact both were excited as they have been talking about starting a MOPs group. Some ladies have even been approached. There is a huge need for MOPS in the church and even this morning as I looked around the congregation I saw many young mums. There are also several young mums who would be great on the leadership team.

There was just one more area to cover. Who could take over my role in Mex-i-Kids. Miguel and Guille suggested someone who might be interested though she is going through a difficult situation at the moment. We spoke to her yesterday and as I explained the situation and what we were asking her to do her response was amazing. "It's like God is telling you what to say," she said. "I have felt Him telling me to be more involved in ministry but I wasn't sure how or where." What a confirmation!

This morning in one of the bible readings at church a verse from Isaiah 25 jumped out. On this mountain (La Loma means the hill and it is probably more of a mountain!) the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples. I thought about the other group of people (young mums) that will be reached through this new ministry and through the food of His word.

So this week I have my first meeting with Guille and Janette. Guille will be the director of Mex-i-Kids and Janette will organise the events. We have asked for prayer for such a person and Janette is a great person. I will be training Janette as far as I can though she will probably have loads of great ideas and ways of working herself.

I also have a meeting with Robin and Guille to discuss MOPS. We will initially be looking for ladies to form a leadership team with us. After some time of planning and seeing the other group in action we will eventually begin our new group in La Loma. Our first meeting will probably not be before the New Year but there is a lot of work to be done before then.

Andrew will continue to go to Mex-i-Kids at La Loma twice a month. The other 2 weeks he will visit the other 2 Mex-i-Kids groups. We also hope to get more intentional about encouraging the other teams and drawing together leaders to share ideas and resources. This afternoon we have a meeting with the co-ordinator of the Tultitlan group (up north). We will be looking praticularly into training materials.