The Migrant Camp

My Blog (The Migrant Camp Week)

My first day on the migrant camp was a slow process of adjusting and taking in all that God was showing me .We started with cleaning and painting the rooms that we would be staying in for the next four days.  After we were done working a couple of girls and I wanted to take a walk around the camp. As we walked down this one little road there was a lady sitting out in front of her home with her baby. So we walked over and engaged in a conversation with the lady. Her name was Maria and her baby girl was three months old, as we talked with her more we found out that she has seven children.  She also told us that she and her husband had come from south of Mexico looking for work and a better life. I felt so blessed to be able to just talk with her and hold her little baby girl. The one thing that we have been learning in our classes was how important it is to build relationships, Therefore, I felt like I was able to put some of our teaching into practice. It was as simple as talking and hanging out with her and her neighbor, and showing a genuine interest in their lives.  I also felt so blessed that they were so open to us being there.

The second day was more of manual work which I love to do. So I helped start a hole that was going to be an outhouse for the community. We also had a time with the children painting nails and showing them good hand washing technics. They all really enjoyed it.  The children were always filled with so much joy and smiles; it amazes me, and showed me that we don’t need material things to make us happy.

The next two days were filled with many different projects, we filled holes that needed to be filled and cleaned drainage ditches out so they would drain better and be more effective. There was an area where they would have to walk through that was filled with contaminated water and garbage so we filled that in and burned some of the garbage. I know that many of them appreciate this and were very thankful. I am so thankful that God gave me this opportunity to grow in what he is teaching me and be a blessing to others. It was hard to say goodbye to them all and especially Maria and the children, but I know that we were able to plant some good seeds of God’s love in this place. I  will hang on to that hope in Christ . I know that he loves these people more than I could ever, and is faithful to watch over them. 

I have learned that God does hear our prayers and we must give our burdens back to him, remembering that he is most powerful and all seeing.( Matt: 11:30” For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’) These are his children and I pray for the ones that don’t know him, that one day they will see and experience his love.

 I want to ask you if you can remember them in your prayers and know that we all live in different ways.  However; just because we don’t have every convenience that we think we need in front of us and at our disposal doesn’t mean that we cannot be happy. Because I did see something different with these people that don’t have the certain conveniences  like running water and electricity .However they still have smiles on their faces, and they opened there doors to us.

Deuteronomy 15:10-11

Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded towards your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.

Blessings and Love in Christ Jesus,

Linda

School Pictures

Our welcome dinner

Cooking up a little Mexican food for the team ........Yummy!!

  
    This is the beautiful site that I end my day         with....Thank you God!!

newsletter

                                Newsletter

                                   This is the view from my room; it is so beautiful!!

Dear Friends,

It has been four weeks here in Tijuana.  I have learned so much about the risks children face each and every day. 

First, let me tell you a little about my day.  I have work duty three mornings a week so I get up at 6:00 am or sometimes 5:30 am to do breakfast prep.  I also have dinner prep two nights a week.  I enjoy getting up early, so after kitchen duty I have quiet time with the Lord and then community time with worship and other topics for the day.

Our class time starts at 9:30 am every day except Saturday and Sunday with a new speaker and Topic each week.  I have been posting on my blog each week the speakers for that week and the concepts and teachings they bring to our classes.  Please check out the details on my blog at lindascall.blogspot.com. 

There have been some hard realities I have had to process and have been going to God with.  I am learning to give it to Him and know that He will take the burden.  I believe we need to be praying and be the light of Jesus for these different risks that children face.

We are also involved in a weekly outreach called Circulo.  This outreach involves going into a local neighborhood and doing an after school program with the children.  We separate them by age and grades and do some teaching with a different lesson each week.  They are given a book for the week to check out like a library system.  They get so excited about this and it’s great to see their little faces shine when they walk around with their books in their little bags, knowing they can take the book home to have with them all week. I think that this gives them a sense of responsibility.  The children are all so beautiful and I love the joy they have in their eyes just because we are showing them attention.  I do believe seeds are being planted by this program and the love of Jesus is shining through. 

In the weeks to come I will be part of another outreach in downtown Tijuana.  We will be feeding the homeless and provide ministry to the kids and women on the streets.  Prayer walking is a major part of the ministry.  It is very powerful to know that God hears our prayers. 

This next week we will be doing a ministry with the migrant workers in Ensenada for four days. It’s a little south of where we are now.  This will be a little bit of a challenge, because we will be staying in the small rooms where the workers live.  We will not have any electricity and will be sleeping on floor. 

We will work with them from the time they start at 5:30 am until 5:00 pm at night.  I know this will be an awesome learning experience.  I pray we will be able to reach them with the love of God, and show them that they have as much worth as anyone else.

 I will be very busy for the next week and hope you will all pray that God will give me the strength to do what I need to do, open the doors that need to be opened, and to bless the people we meet so we might build relationships with them. 

I will also be preparing to make a decision on doing the internship part of this program.  We have a choice to go to Costa Rica or remain here in Tijuana.  I will be praying about this and I hope you will keep me in your prayers. I want to thank you all for joining me throughout this school.  I will keep you all updated on my next move.

With many blessings to you all and love in Jesus name,

Linda

           God’s beautiful art work that I see every day…                                                 This one was purple!!