There is always a mix of excitement and apprehension when starting something new. That was certainly the case as we began planning for an outreach in a neighbourhood we had not been in previously and in which we had no contacts. As we planned, prayed, advertised and waited, the jitters and butterflies were flying about, but in the end, the feeling that stuck with us was one of thankfulness.
Back in May of this year we started to plan for an outreach event in a neighbourhood called Las Piramides (The Pyramids), so called because it is located near a half-excavated pyramid dating back to between 600 – 900 AD. This neighbourhood is only 10-15 minutes from our house and it has a decent-sized park that we could use for our outreach efforts – a week-long English course.
Because we did not have any contacts in Las Piramides, we were not sure of the best way to start something new there. We figured people would be receptive to an English course, and that if we advertised enough it would attract enough kids to make the course doable and worthwhile.
The week leading up to the course, which was just two hours in the morning from Monday to Friday, we taped posters to posts and streetlights in the park and the surrounding area. In addition to the posters we also walked around the park and up and down the streets, handing out flyers, which in the end was the most effective method of advertising. It was great to have a bit of help from Pratt, a missionary friend who lives in Querétaro, and Marc, the seminary graduate who our church recently called to serve alongside (he accepted by the way!).
The initial response we received was good – about fifteen kids registered. From experience we knew it was likely that not all would show up, but in the end close to ten kids came, plus our kids and a few kids from volunteers.
Each morning of the course we loaded up our Toyota Sienna with supplies and drove to the park. On the first day we set up on the grass by the soccer court, but the second day Marc had the idea to manually turn off all the sprinklers on the cement pad in the middle of the park. We were pretty sure the sprinklers were not scheduled to go off in the morning, but by turning them off we prevented any surprise showers, and had a dry, clean, and smooth area to do our course.
The actual course was fairly simple – learning english through playing games. To make it more evangelistic, we had a gospel-related word of the day (creation, sin, forgiveness, clean, heaven) and included a message at the end of each day explaining the word. One or two parents were present to hear the message, and we had opportunity to speak to several others.
As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, after the course was done we felt thankful. Thankful that God had opened doors and answered prayers for us to be able to run a course in the middle of a public park and be able to share the gospel openly. Thankful that God provided us with health and energy, and volunteers. Thankful for each of the kids who came and the parents we could interact with.
Please be praying for the kids and their parents who attended our outreach and pray that God opens their heart to the gospel!
The Rabbi's Burrito 