Back in February our church held a "Compassion Crusade." Yes... I know February. I'm quite far behind in posting pics to the blog! In fact, I think I may start scheduling two to post a day till I can catch up.
Anyways, the Compassion Crusade was a Saturday morning when all the Sunday School classes partnered up with local mission and parachurch organizations. And we all went out to do ministry for half a day. Some painted, cleaned, handed out food, took people grocery shopping, did door to door evangelism, etc etc. I wasn't sure how preschool friendly a mission could be for our class... but was I ever surprised! Time and time again, my kids remind me that preschoolers and babies don't limit opportunities to do missions. They open new ones.
Xtreme Teams, International was the organization we worked with. It was started by a missionary when he came off the mission field to "retire" in San Antonio. Word got out that he knew some languages few others spoke and the school district asked if he could help with interpretation for some refugee families. Next thing he knew, XTI was formed. He works at mentoring teams of everyday Christians to reach refugees through relationships and education.
What was our mission that day? Befriend a refugee family. They're from Somalia, part of the Bantu people group - one of the top ten least reached people groups in the world - and one of the five most persecuted. Joshua Project says that 0.00% of Bantu people are Christian. 100% are Islamic; this family included.
The family is a mom with eight children. Our mission was to take the kids out for some American fun in a Christian environment. Not evangelize, just befriend. XTI is big on mentoring and leading people to Christ through relationships - which I completely agree with! No showing up, sharing Christ, then disappearing forever. There's another couple that already is working with this family - they have an ongoing relationship and hopefully, one day soon, will have the honor of leading the mom & her kids to Christ - making them one of the first Bantu people, ever, to accept Christ!
The couple working with this family welcomed the help in getting the mom's kids out of the house to go have fun. They get almost zero contact with American life, even though they live in San Antonio. And rarely do the kids get special attention like this.
So a few ladies took the mom and her baby out to go grocery shopping. And a few different couples each took a child or two to take to a park, go bowling, etc. XTI encouraged us to have 1 on 1 experiences with the kids to help them feel special. So our family - and 2 families from our SS class - took two kids out to the park. A 5 year old and a 3 year old. It was a perfect fit for us! Our kids had just as much fun as we did. And we never would have experienced it, if it weren't for our kids :)
Anyways, the Compassion Crusade was a Saturday morning when all the Sunday School classes partnered up with local mission and parachurch organizations. And we all went out to do ministry for half a day. Some painted, cleaned, handed out food, took people grocery shopping, did door to door evangelism, etc etc. I wasn't sure how preschool friendly a mission could be for our class... but was I ever surprised! Time and time again, my kids remind me that preschoolers and babies don't limit opportunities to do missions. They open new ones.
Xtreme Teams, International was the organization we worked with. It was started by a missionary when he came off the mission field to "retire" in San Antonio. Word got out that he knew some languages few others spoke and the school district asked if he could help with interpretation for some refugee families. Next thing he knew, XTI was formed. He works at mentoring teams of everyday Christians to reach refugees through relationships and education.
What was our mission that day? Befriend a refugee family. They're from Somalia, part of the Bantu people group - one of the top ten least reached people groups in the world - and one of the five most persecuted. Joshua Project says that 0.00% of Bantu people are Christian. 100% are Islamic; this family included.
The family is a mom with eight children. Our mission was to take the kids out for some American fun in a Christian environment. Not evangelize, just befriend. XTI is big on mentoring and leading people to Christ through relationships - which I completely agree with! No showing up, sharing Christ, then disappearing forever. There's another couple that already is working with this family - they have an ongoing relationship and hopefully, one day soon, will have the honor of leading the mom & her kids to Christ - making them one of the first Bantu people, ever, to accept Christ!
The couple working with this family welcomed the help in getting the mom's kids out of the house to go have fun. They get almost zero contact with American life, even though they live in San Antonio. And rarely do the kids get special attention like this.
So a few ladies took the mom and her baby out to go grocery shopping. And a few different couples each took a child or two to take to a park, go bowling, etc. XTI encouraged us to have 1 on 1 experiences with the kids to help them feel special. So our family - and 2 families from our SS class - took two kids out to the park. A 5 year old and a 3 year old. It was a perfect fit for us! Our kids had just as much fun as we did. And we never would have experienced it, if it weren't for our kids :)
We opted to take the kids to a local park to play.
Our kids had a great time playing with their new friends!
It amazes me how much Ruth's changed since February! :)
The double slide was a favorite. All the kids would race down it together.
Sometimes before the last racers were done... ha
After a few hours at the park, we headed to McDonalds
where the kids asked for white ice cream and french fries. ha!
After McD's, we took the kids home. And watched as their neighbors came running out to greet them. Slightly jealous that they got to go on a fun day trip. But the kids were so generous to their neighbor friends. We weren't out of the van 5 minutes before every leftover fry, every happy meal toy, and every last chicken nugget was handed out to friends as they excitedly talked about their morning.
We spent some time in the family's home afterwards - it's polite in their culture. Though we felt like we overwhelmed the 2 bedroom apartment that was decorated so much that it felt like walking into another country. We hung around until it was time to head home and get our kids down for naps.
Since working with this family, the founder of XTI has set our SS class up with another large Bantu family. They're also refugees, Islamic and welcoming to American relationships. Slowly our class will get to know this family through fun activities (so far we've just had a BBQ). And maybe God will choose to allow one of our SS members the privilege of leading the family to Christ. Apparently the father is closely related to the leader of the Bantu tribe. Imagine the impact on the Bantu people if such an important family were to come to Christ!!
Pray for XTI and the ministries they have with local churches and refugees. Pray for the everyday people who are missionaries right here in San Antonio, reaching out to refugee families. And pray for our class as we make time to make an impact in the lives of this new Bantu family. What a celebration it will be when Bantu people are no longer on the list of the most unreached people groups!
On a side note... Nathan has had the opportunity to befriend another little boy who is Islamic. As I've said many times, my kids never cease to amaze me at the doors they allow to be opened just by being kids. Nathan says this little boy, Yaseen, is one of his two best friends. His mom is very open to hanging out this summer. I've yet to spend much time with her. Pray for Yaseen's family and for me, as I get to build a friendship with the mom and share Christ through my everyday life. It's a scary thought to witness to a Muslim, but maybe that's exactly why God allowed Nathan & Yaseen to meet and be such great friends!
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