Doing good in a dangerous area

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, October 13th. This is WORLD Radio and we thank you for listening.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Vacation Bible School, but not the one you’re probably thinking of.

REICHARD: Not unless you’re thinking of teaching VBS in one of the most dangerous places on earth. A city that averages eight murders every day.

That’s where WORLD Senior Writer Kim Henderson went for this report- Juarez, Mexico. And to a church doing good in the heart of the city.

AUDIO: NEWS CLIP

KIM HENDERSON, SENIOR WRITER: Violence scars everyone in Juarez, even the very young. Sharing the gospel in such a hostile environment requires people with a real sense of purpose.

AUDIO: [SPANISH HYMN]

Like this team of VBS workers gearing up for the big week ahead.

It’s Sunday afternoon at Iglesia Bautista Pacto de Gracia, or Covenant of Grace Baptist Church. The church meets inside a big gym. The doors are open, and speakers must almost yell to be heard over the hum of swamp coolers running full blast.

AUDIO: [SPANISH SERVICE]

After the service, it’s time to eat. A group of men go outside and stir a big pot of peppers and chicken over an open fire. Inside, large dispensers filled with fruit juices are waiting. The lemonade has mint leaves floating on top.

Pastor Raul Torres directs the action, although you might not know it. He’s pretty unassuming. At 33, he has a kind smile and contemplative demeanor.

TORRES: My parents moved to Juarez when I was a year or so . . .

Torres is the son and grandson of pastors. While in college, he felt compelled to take the gospel to difficult places. Torres helped a friend plant a church in southern Mexico, then served as a missionary in the mountains of Chiquaqua. Now he’s back in Juarez, a place with its own kind of difficulties.

TORRES: (broken English) Five years ago, it was very common, not only in churches, but just any sort of business that looked prosperous, the cartels, and even some people witnessed that even police were involved in that—paying a monthly fee to just leave them alone.

Torres believes VBS is important for the kids in their church, as well as the ones they’ll invite to come.

TORRES: . . . to plant the seed of the gospel, that's what at the end will bring a difference in their lives 10 or 20 years from now to know God through Jesus Christ, to be born again . . .

The team meets the next morning to hand out VBS flyers. First, though, they spray themselves with a bottle of sunscreen, 100 SPF. This is hot, sun-drenched terrain. Then they set off in groups to canvas the neighborhood south of the church.

One American volunteer tells me canvassing is effective in Mexico because the culture is different. It’s more open than what he’s experienced back home.

He may be right. On Tuesday, more than 50 children show up for VBS.

By Wednesday the number swells to 74, but the team doesn’t seem fazed. Their faces shine with joy as they herd the children through the rotations. Crafts, recreation, and such.

Carol Calderon, one of the workers, fills me in.

CALDERON: We all have love for each other. I know Christ put His love in us, and I love it here. It’s wonderful.

Calderon is a homeschooling mom who really shines when she stands before a group and teaches the Bible lesson.

Others on the VBS team focus on singing.

AUDIO: [VBS SINGING]

And the week’s memory verses.

AUDIO: [MEMORY VERSE]

Tucked away here among smiling children asking for chilies with their snacks, you can almost forget about the armed guardsman down the street. The ones surrounded by sandbags, watching for attacks.

But no one who lives here can forget about the hostile environment in Juarez. Nora Moreno is on the VBS team. She’s also someone who has suffered loss. Her 21-year-son got involved with the wrong people, and they murdered him.

Through an interpreter, she explains why it’s important to point the kids at VBS to Christ.

NORA: (SPEAKS SPANISH)
INTERPRETER: . . . today's youth are feeling that it's time to make their own decisions about life. And maybe they're being influenced by schools or maybe bad friends. And they're making bad decisions.

But even against that backdrop, the members of Iglesia Bautista Pacto de Gracia don’t crusade against drugs and cartels and corruption. They just lift up Christ.

And Pastor Torres thinks that’s the only fix for what’s wrong in Juarez, and everywhere else in the world.

TORRES: I think that activities like this, like VBS, are just an eternal investment and not only for their souls, but even for our society. That children here will hear the gospel and become good men for their generation.

AUDIO: [SINGING]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Juarez, Mexico.

REICHARD: To learn more about Mexico’s culture of violence, read Kim’s story in the latest issue of WORLD Magazine.

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