Children’s Fiesta for Jesus a Big Hit
Many kids professed faith in Jesus! (click on a photo to see it larger)
The kids were told to hug as if it were Jesus – it was a powerful time.
Over 100 children and about 70 adults showed up at True Path Ministry‘s Casa Cristiana El Alfarero (ministry house) on Saturday, July 2 for the Marcos 10:14 (Mark 10:14) kid’s club kickoff event. In addition to the many kids we had good support from local churches as four pastors and one evangelist came to help.
Plus there were many Christian teens and adults that showed up to man the carnival style games, pray with the children and enjoy the day. But, most importantly the Lord was blessed as many of the kid’s professed faith in Jesus and all worshiped.
The day started early with many balloons to inflate for the entrance arch and dart throw game. A very good five member Christian band who had come from a tiny village near the mountain town of Iturbide set up their instruments. Martin and Juan started the charcoal grill and began cooking the hot dogs. The face painters put on Stephen’s clown make up. The benches and tables were set in place and the carnival type booths were setup – we were ready for the kids.
Samuel Lopez and his son posed for a photo with Stephen, the clown.
The True Path Ministry team (Stephen, Tonyia, Martin, Anna and Yessi) had planned for the Fiesta to start at 10 AM, but like most events in Mexico it was not on time. We actually began around 10:30 as the constant stream of arrivals slowed. Stephen, the clown, entertained the kid’s as they came in and waited for the games and Bible study to begin. The band started playing Christian songs and Yessi, who is our teacher for the kid’s club, started fun group games. They all had a Biblical message twist.
Pastor Jose from Dieciocho de Marzo, a small community about ten miles northwest of Galeana, preached a sermon intended for young hearts. He is especially good as a preacher for children. Many of them professed faith in Jesus. Several who had a medical issue asked for special attention and Evangelist Romero was called in to help pray. He has a especially strong gift of healing from the Holy Spirit.
(Updated) Yessi asked the kids if they were getting love at home and many faces were suddenly downcast. She sensed the Holy Spirit telling her the children had a strong need to get a loving hug. She told them to form a line and hug these adults as if they were hugging Jesus. They needed to be reminded that not only did we love them but above all Jesus loves them.
Martin, Tonyia, Stephen (in normal clothes) and Pera (Pastor Jose’s sweet wife) had the wonderful experience of hugging each child. We could tell that some of them have an especially bad home life and just needed someone to show them love. Several hung on with a tight squeeze and tears in their eyes. We could feel their hunger for a caring touch. It was a very moving experience showing them the love of Jesus with a simple hug. What an honor!
The kids formed a line to get a hot dog and kool-aid and the free carnival type games were opened. The games included face painting, a balloon pop with darts, bobbing for apples, ring toss at Coke bottles, ball toss in water cups, water color painting and ball throw at plastic bottles. All the booths had a line of kids waiting their turn. The very good face painters were especially busy as every child walked away with an image on their face.
Christians from several local churches helped.
It was an amazing day filled with the love of our Lord. This is a very poor area and most of these kids could never afford to go to an event like this if it were not free. Several were excited to hear we would have a weekly meeting with them and we got the names and contact information from each of the kids. Please pray the children will remember how God touched them on this day and that they will come back to learn more about Jesus! The club will begin weekly starting this Wednesday.
Lupe, who is up in years, threw a dart the balloons.
The hugs were powerful.
Martin had tears in his eyes as he hugged the kids.
Pera (Pastor Jose’s wife) gave loving hugs too.
Martin and Juan cooked hot dogs.
Anna poses with the clown, she is an important part of the True Path Ministry team.
The entrance had a balloon archway.
Louis helped set up the dart throw game.
There was good local support to help with the event.
The band played Christian songs for a couple of hours.
Evangelist Remero (left) and Pastor Reynaldo came to support the event.
Worship time was powerful.
Many parents came with their children and we registered them.
The grounds of Casa Cristiana El Alfarero were full of people during the event.
These boys found our utility trailer was a good spot to eat their hot dogs.
Long-time missionary Judy visited with pastor Jose.
The water color area was fun for many of the children.
This girl is proud of her face paint.
Face paint fun.
Patricia worked for hours painting faces.
Tonyia took hot dogs to this couple under the trees.
Toss the ping-pong ball in the water cup and get candy.
Adults also enjoyed the games.
Tonyia holds the youngest member of the band.
Busy face painter.
Throw that ball straight.
Wet faces were a result of trying to get an apple.
Kids liked to pose with Stephen, the clown, and the balloon clown.
Talking with a friend.
