For the past several weeks, we have all eagerly awaited the day when we would go to pass out the Christmas Boxes we received.
This is the 3rd year we have done this and while each year has been a blessing, this year was very special.
We only received about a fifth of the amount of boxes we received the previous years. We know that there are many who desired to give, but were financially unable to. Living internationally, we have come to very much understand the costs involved in shipping, and we know it has been a hard year for many. We considered not doing it this year, but felt the Lord wanted us to and we wanted to give this opportunity to give to those who were able.
We had originally planned to go to a new area where Daniel has been wanting to begin preaching. We were going to take the boxes along with some tracts and New Testaments and go house to house covering that area.
But with fewer boxes, we didn't want to go and only give some of the children a gift and not the others.
So we began to pray about where we should go...43 boxes sent and while we knew they would be gladly received by any boy or girl, we felt the Lord would lead.
As many of you know, Daniel has gone out to preach each week in the village of Jesus Maria and its surrounding areas for over a year now. It is a very hard area and after a year of preaching, only a few have listened, many have rejected the message, and not one has come to Christ. Daniel has been met with resistance we've never seen before.
Daniel's uncle, who pastors a church in our hometown area and has a deep burden and heart for missions, encouraged Daniel to seek ways to help the people there...show them that we love and care for them.
Daniel was first allowed to preach there because the door was opened by us giving them clothing. Daniel recently worked for hours fixing a couple of guitars for a man who lives there.
There are not many children who live there; it's strangely quiet and lonely especially during the week as the few children who do live there are sent to and board at a school in town.
Knowing that schools were out on vacation and
seeking ways to reach out to these people, we felt the Lord would have us give boxes to the children there. We certainly had enough to give to them!
I had to be very careful about taking pictures. While a couple of the homes have always allowed Daniel to enter, many of them have not. He told me that he wasn't sure if we would even be allowed to give a box away a some of these homes as they have been less than friendly to him often yelling at him or hiding when they see him coming. But we determined to make an attempt at each house where we knew there was a child.
We are so glad we went! Daniel was able to see and talk with people who he hasn't seen in months; they allowed us to give their children a gift and were truly grateful. One home in particular who has completely ignored Daniel for months smiled and waved at us as we left. Daniel was shocked. It's the first friendly gesture the have ever shown towards him.
There was only one home where they would not accept the gift; another lady from the village went with Josiah and I to try to give the boy there a box, but the lady of the house yelled at us to get away. Even the lady who went with me was surprised at the anger.
It is Christ that they continue to reject. Please, please pray for them. Daniel is anxious to go back to preach this coming week.
With the boxes that remained after covering the village, we went to the homes of some of our most faithful church children. Sunday, I found it it was the only gift they any of them received this year as times here are hard too. How very happy they were and what a joy it was just to see their faces.
Thank you so much for giving and for praying.
I was able to get some shots from the car of some of the homes in the village.
Thank you for the update on the Christmas boxes. Truly what a blessing you were able to give the gifts to these children that have hardly anything. I think the concept of poverty here in the US is almost luxury to those in Mexico. Seeing the pictures of those houses just reminds me of how much I truly have to be grateful for. The second picture (the one of girl with the car in the background) is just beautiful. The delight in that girl's eyes is amazing!
ReplyDeleteMay God bless your dear family!
Anna
Yout pictures remind me so much of a mission trip I went on to Los Moches, Mexico when I was 17. I spent a month there in the summer and the village looked a lot like that. I still remember the face of a little down syndrome boy that was rejected by all the people. He wore rags and was mocked by everyone. His name was Felipe and he took a liking to me. I spent my whole month with that little boy holding my hand. We built a church in that little village while we were there.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, God bless you for your work! I pray that He will send the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the people so they can hear the Gospel message as your husband preaches.
Oh my, the smiles are worth a million words. Very precious.
ReplyDeletePrecious pictures! My sister and her husband are missionaries in Mexico (near Aguascalientes, working in several villages). Although they're on furlough this year, they took a load of Christmas boxes down the week before Christmas and spent a week having services and giving out the boxes at their church and several villages. They had pictures very similar to yours - what a blessing! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my, I couldn't help but cry when I saw those pictures. My family has tried our hardest to send out atleast 1 box a year and this year my dad got our church involved. Sometimes you tend to forget who these boxes are going to and it's so very awesome to see those children recieving boxes, just like the ones we send out!
ReplyDeleteGod bless!
Emily <3
Hopefully what started out as a little something will be able to become a big something!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for the new year!
thanks so much for sharing this jaynee! I know i haven't commented much lately, but i'm still a faithful blog reader and have been blessed by your family! We too are missionaries in mexico...Guadalajara...and love to read your updates! God bless and Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteJaynee ~ I love this post every year. Seeing the children and knowing their hardships. We felt like them when we lived in Shingletown (eeeks!)
ReplyDeleteHow exciting to hear the little village was receptive to gifts. The children must have been thrilled!
My children were looking at the photos of the houses in the village and they all kind of looked at each other because it resembled their "fort/house" they built in the backyard that is pieced together.
May God bless the gifts that were given and the seeds that have been planted, start to grow!
Hugs~ Cinnamon
Jaynee,
ReplyDeleteCould you please tell me how to become more involved with the "Boxes programme"?
Our family would love to be able to give to this worthwhile cause, but have no idea how to start, nor where to send the boxes. This time of year would be great, as we could put a little something away each week.
My email address is on my blog page under View my Profile, if you would like to let me know how to become involved.
Have a great week,
Blessings,
Jillian
I love the smiles on these kids faces. Our church sent gifts this year to a girls orphanage in Honduras this year. Ive thot many times how I wished I could be there to see the girls open their gifts. These pictures gave me a glimpse of how much these gifts mean to the children. Im also reminded by reading this how God takes our little and turns it into something big. Only he knows how these gifts have softened the hearts of the people in this area. You may or may not see the results right away, but the seed was planted. God bless your family.
ReplyDelete