Then Came Thursday

It all started like a normal Thursday. This group typically ran 15-22 kids, but the past couple of weeks we've had 8-10 as many are on a quick vacation before school starts (next week). I started with a dozen kids today, and before I knew it I was running out of craft supples and losing count of how many kids were there. (Note that they range in age from 1 to 10 or 12 years old.) Fortunately, my fabulous 16 year old assistant Julio was prepared to do a tae kwon do demonstration with the kids, so as they finished the first craft project I sent them out to work with him. He quickly had them lined up and began teaching them a few basic stances, etc.

The kids love Julio, and they really enjoyed this activity and listened well.

At the end of their little session, Julio was diligent to teach them that tae kwon do is a sport and is not to be used to fight in the streets. When we went back in to do the last stage of our craft project, I had Julio start coloring with the ones who didn't have a craft. By the time I helped the kids finish their craft and was trying to figure out how to dispel the chaos in order to do the lesson/story for the day, Julio was calling me over to his corner. Some girls were asking him some questions that he wanted me to answer for them.

First, they asked why I don't teach about the other stuff. When I asked what they meant, they talked about how their relatives pray to the virgin (which in some cases refers to virgin Mary but also often refers to one of a couple of other virgins like Guadelupe) and to the saints. I explained that I only teach things that are in the Bible and that we should be careful to only follow God and to read His word and not add anything to it. They continued to talk about relatives who ask for things from various saints, etc, (including Santa Muerte which I believe is evil and very dangerous to mess with!) and how their requests are often fulfilled. As I continued, in my less-than-stellar Spanish and amidst all sorts of distractions and interruptions from other kids, to try to explain what I believe, I prayed for guidance. I knew I had to be careful not to say anything that would offend their families and cost us our opportunities to share, but at the same time I didn't want to compromise on Truth. So, I made a point of telling them that I respect their relatives but that I was telling them what I believe and what the Bible says. Then I gave them an example to think about. I asked them to imagine that I wanted it to rain, so I prayed to the tree in front of the house, pleading for rain to fall. If it then later began to rain, should I assume that the tree caused the rain? I pray that in this way they can begin to see the danger in attributing things to the saints or virgins instead of recognizing that everything they receive comes from God.

Please pray for these precious kids to grow up knowing and accepting Truth, and please pray that their relatives will be delivered from the deception of these false gods.