The Help of God
Sharing the love of Jesus
Not by Works
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
The kids recently learned John 14:6 (“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”) and we had a discussion about Jesus being the ONLY way for us to get to Heaven. A lot of the kids have been raised in the traditional Mexican Catholic teachings and have probably heard many times about all the Dos and Don’ts in order to get to Heaven one day, including attending every mass. It got me reflecting on this verse, and thank God our salvation isn’t based on works! We’d never make it. Having a relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way we can be saved; by accepting the most selfless, generous gift ever given, we will live with Him forever one day! I asked the kids what they do when someone gives them a gift. Do they pay the other person for it? Of course not! That would mean it is no longer a gift. So why do we think we need to “pay” God for a gift He’s given us? All we have to do is extend our arms and receive this marvelous present already paid for by Jesus, given to us by God. We then serve Him, but out of gratitude for what he has done for us, not because we feel we must earn our salvation.
The last few months have been busy for the Garza family! A lot of work went into fixing up and adding on to the mission. We now have two classrooms, tile in one of the rooms, everything has been painted and decorated, with new handmade frames around the windows; we just need more desks! The kids helped decorate and organize the classrooms and hopefully have a sense of ownership now. They’ve been working hard learning bible verses and studying their schoolwork. This week we have changed our plan a little and are no longer teaching a different verse every day but will now be focusing on a specific story every week and learn one verse with each story. Kids learn and remember things much better when a story is involved, so we’ve decided to try this new approach to ensure they are really learning and not simply memorizing.
Our small group is still going well on Friday nights, with about 15-20 adults attending every week and around 20-30 kids. The women have done a couple different activities selling food to members of our church to raise funds for the building and to help their families. We have gotten a lot of positive feedback regarding the bible study and are happy to have the privilege of witnessing growth in their spiritual lives. The greatest way to have an influence on our society is by creating strong families who seek God!
A few people from our church have given of their time and talents to bless the people near the mission with free hair cuts and free dental work on a couple different occasions. They have been a huge blessing, as a majority of the people in the area we are working in do not have the resources to take their children to the dentist or even go to get a tooth pulled themselves. This is the way the church is supposed to work, but unfortunately we as Christians feel too comfortable often times, and we don’t see the need around us. But when we see our brothers and sisters blessing those in need, it blesses us to know we are a part of the same Body of Christ.
As many of you have probably seen, we have also been working on a second house for a needy family. Brenda was born with polio and struggles to walk with a crutch. They were living in a little shack with a very uneven dirt floor which made it even tougher for Brenda to get around. Brenda’s mom lives with her and her husband to help with the two kids, Luisa and Santiago. Santiago is five and has asthma so he was constantly getting sick because they didn’t have enough shelter and struggled with humidity problems. When it got cold, the north wind came in because the walls weren’t sealed at all and there were plenty of holes through which the cold air entered. Unfortunately we haven’t received enough funds to complete the entire house, but the kitchen and two bedrooms are finished (they just need a couple of doors). The kitchen is unfinished as of now, but we trust God will continue to provide for this family in need. If God places it on your heart so support this family, we have set up a Gofundme page, where donations can be made. The web address is: https://www.gofundme.com/houseforbrenda
In March, our church (Eliacim) hosted it’s first annual youth camp over spring break. A couple that runs a childrens’ home in a village just outside Matamoros offered to let the church borrow their facilities and land for the camp. Almost 100 kids from four or five different churches and the childrens’ home attended and it was a big success! Everyone had a great time: they played games, learned Bible verses, invented songs, each group created their own banner, they listened to the Word of God, and made many new friends. It was a blessing to be a part of this youth camp and we look forward to the next one!
Our plans for the next few weeks are preparing for VBS the first two weeks of July and a trip to Veracruz to support the work at the mission in Cabellal. Please keep our church and our family in your prayers during this busy time! As most of you know, our small family is growing as we are expecting another little member in November of this year. Please pray for continued health during this pregnancy and strength for the work at hand! Elliam is constantly growing in stature and intelligence. He knows the ABCs and shapes in English, and counts to 10 in both Spanish and English. His vocabulary is also growing daily, for which we are grateful, haha. We have been blessed with great health, and thank God for keeping all of us healthy. Thank you for your prayers and support for our family, we appreciate it more than you know! Without your prayers, we wouldn’t be able to continue on, so thanks!
God bless,
The Garzas
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- Second room at mission
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- Building painted!
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- Tile at the mission
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- Handmade window frames!
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- Christmas party with kids and small group
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- The kids were proud of their decorations.
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- It looks like a classroom now!
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- Kids’ Day celebration
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- Presents for Kids’ Day
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- More gifts for Kids’ Day!
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- This group won the bible verse competition.
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- Some of the small group attendees.
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- Free hair cuts!
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- Free dental work!
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- Valentine’s Day gifts
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- Brenda’s old house
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- Working on Brenda’s new house.
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- Eliacim Youth Camp 2016
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