What does a good youth group look like? How do we minister effectively to the next generation of the church? These are questions we keep in mind as we volunteer with our church to students here in the mountains of North Carolina. In the same way Katie Moore has a heart not only for the new church in mountains of Mexico, but also for the youth in her village. Read her story below the picture we have “reprinted” her email from December of 2018. You can also read more about the Nahuatl work here
Yesterday the Nahuatl believers had their first (annual?) Christmas party. There is no cornmeal in the village, no oil, no sugar, and no flour, so we settled on refreshments of popcorn and atole, a traditional rice or oatmeal drink. We had planned to do outside games, but the day dawned grey and bitterly cold, so instead we huddled inside coloring and watching a short film about the Nativity.
Coloring and preparing the Nativity characters
The older kids present naturally gathered around one table and were talking and goofing off as they colored. I couldn’t help thinking, “Hey, that’s our church youth group right there.” Like other youth workers around the world, I pulled a chair up to the table and began to make a fool of myself in order to get them to laugh. These children are in a unique position to impact their community, as they will be some of the first adults to have grown up hearing the truth. Some of them have personally accepted the truth; others just tag along with their parents, especially if there’s food. Please pray for these young people, for their futures, and for the truth to bear fruit in their hearts.
The older kids enjoying their coloring
We had been studying the Nativity story together for several weeks, and it was a joy to know that the name Emanuél means something personal to a small group here. God was not satisfied to leave us abandoned to our sins, but sent his Son to live “with us, in our together.” That gift continues to resonate with me, and with my fellow believers in Las Moras this season.
Trying to keep warm during the Christmas party
Merry Christmas from the believers in Las Moras and God’s blessings in the New Year.
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