Blog

It was early March, 2023 when I reached out to Marcy Bryant about tutoring students through the MCC Shine program at A. Montoya in the fall. I knew the background check process took time and I wanted to be ready for the new school year.

Marcy introduced me to Felisa Palfery, who immediately started the ball rolling. When I was midway through the process, an urgent request arrived for a reading tutor for a third grader to start as soon as possible. Then, just before my clearance was approved, we received an urgent request for a math tutor for a third grader.

And so it was that I found myself in early April tutoring two third grade students. And the blessings poured in. First, I met the two caring and talented front desk staff who all day juggle scores of tasks and who inspired me with their kindness and devotion to everyone in the school. Next, I met the school counselor, whose outpouring of love for the students shines like a beacon. I was touched by so many that I met and got to know at the school - the students I tutored, their teachers, and many other school staff.

Everyone at the school expressed sincere gratitude for my service. However, for me, the abundant gifts I received surpassed anything I could imagine. The gift of relationships with so many. The gift of witnessing the growing confidence and skills of a student. The gift of creating a safe space for a student to share about the death of a beloved pet. The gift of living God's will for me. The gift of being inspired by the many who go above and beyond for the school. The gift of being challenged and developing my skills. The gift of engaging with students, teachers, staff, fellow tutors, and the exceptional members of the Shine Core Team at MCC.

Not all of my experiences were easy or as expected. One day, a student disappeared as we were walking back to the classroom. I had to confess to the school counselor that I had lost my student and waited for her to be found. I then was able to witness and learn from the school counselors who firmly handled the situation with kindness and compassion.

As I was finishing tutoring this past school year, I told my fifth grade student that the following week would be our last session together. “Noooo!” he responded. Certain he was disappointed that we would be unable to finish the exciting book we were reading, I assured him that he could keep the book after our last session. When he told me he had other books he was already reading, I asked him what made him sad that our sessions were coming to an end. “Not seeing you every week.”

I have no words for the beauty of God's blessings.

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If you’d like to experience the blessings of serving with Shine, talk to Wendy Erickson or Marcy Bryant.

I’ve been coming to MCC my whole life and I’ve always grown up surrounded by fellow believers, so it was easy to call myself a Christian. But once I started high school it became harder to surround myself with those like-minded people on a daily basis. I struggled to figure out how to make my faith my own. 

This summer God answered my prayers and opened the door for me to serve at Lone Tree Ranch. There were some obstacles but He removed them all and allowed me to have this opportunity and reassured me this was where I was supposed to be. Lone Tree Ranch is a Bible camp outside Capitan, NM. They allow for different churches from all over New Mexico and Texas to bring their youth programs and other organizations to the camp and do high-adventure activities while keeping God at the center of everything they do. 

This experience was truly unlike anything I've ever done. Being surrounded by fellow believers who are around my age or in the same stage of life as me, pursuing the Lord in all they do, was a new experience for me. We lived and did life together, while encouraging each other to deepen our relationships with God. Whether it was leading staff devotionals in the mornings, having conversations about our faith while cleaning, or worshiping with each other every night, you could see and feel God’s presence working in all of us. 

Not only could I see Him working in our lives, but I also got to see so many kids get saved at camp. At our share night every week, we heard many different testimonies coming from kids of all ages and walks of life. One that stuck out to me the most was of a young man who had been coming to Lone Tree for a few years but he was not a believer. Last summer when he came, he said that he would believe when this specific tree on the camp property was not standing. This year when he came back that tree had fallen over and no one knew why. That week at share night he accepted God as his Lord and Savior. There were so many more stories like this that I got to learn about while talking to the campers and building relationships with them. 

Although I thoroughly enjoyed all of the different weeks, I think the one that personally impacted me the most was our Joni and Friends family retreat. Joni and Friends is a Christian organization that helps support families who have family members with special needs. When they come to Lone Tree, they get to watch their kids have experiences and do things that they would usually not get to do, like riding a horse or going on a zipline. Watching how much these families sacrifice while still having so much joy and love for the Lord is something I’ll never forget. Even though some of the kids have already gone through things that many of us will never have to experience, the joy they had could not be mistaken for anything but the love and joy of Jesus. 

This summer has grown me in ways that I never would have expected. God knew exactly what I needed when He opened this door for me. The Lord was able to show himself to me in countless ways. He also blessed me with amazing relationships and changed my perspective on so many things, while also challenging me to make my faith my own. 

Dulce (30) is a mother of four — Gregory (18), Scarlet (15), Steisy (8), and Jesús (7). Gregory and Scarlet are both sponsored children. Through child sponsorship, Dulce participated in a parenting school led by Food for the Hungry, which empowered her to change the trajectory of her children’s future.

Dulce and her husband Juan are raising their four children in the community of Solares de Villa in the Dominican Republic.

In Solares de Villa, Dominican Republic, high school dropout rates and teen pregnancies plague the community. Dulce’s family was no exception. Her children couldn’t read and they struggled emotionally and academically.

Before her involvement with FH, Dulce’s home life was chaotic. The children were unmotivated to do household chores and were not doing well emotionally, physically, or in school. Most notably, the older children couldn’t read.

Although she gained solace through seeking the Lord and learning about salvation, Dulce felt powerless to help her children. She felt that her life lacked purpose, and she didn’t know what she could do to change it.

Dulce joined the parent school, which was established through the partnership between child sponsors and FH. The parent school equips and empowers parents and caregivers with training to improve their daily interactions with their children. This training also promotes children’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills which has a positive ripple effect in all areas of their life – academic, social, and interpersonal. Additionally, the parent school prepares children to become future leaders. This shows how child sponsorship can positively impact whole families and entire communities.

Dulce’s perspective on education and development notably changed from her training at the parent school. She eagerly applied what she learned at home and has witnessed an impactful change in her children’s academic and social development. She was able to apply this in her children’s reading skills through the “art of storytelling” and use of colorful illustrations. Remarkably, in a short time, Dulce’s children have made progress in their schoolwork and her teenage children have greatly improved their reading skills. And, her husband, Juan, and children now regularly do household chores and share more responsibility.

Dulce has also found a new purpose in life — she eagerly participates in a group for leaders who are mothers and is also a volunteer in a local mental health group.

Dulce hopes for a better future for her family. She dreams of her children becoming exemplary individuals who strive to please God. Now, she is eager to participate in more workshops and wants to see her family continue to learn and grow.

She has the dream for the Solares de Villa community to improve their youth engagement. She also hopes to see the community grow, offer technical courses, create job opportunities, and make new recreation spaces.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 states, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children.”

Dulce’s story is a powerful example of how child sponsors help FH partner with local communities so parents have the skills to raise their children to reach their full potential. Child sponsorship opens doors to a better future for children, extending to their families and communities challenged by poverty.

FH. Child Sponsorship Opens Doors to a Better Future for Families. July 26, 2024.

https://www.fh.org/blog/child-sponsorship-opens-doors-to-a-better-future-for-families/

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) To know Christ – this is the hope and goal and purpose of our Women’s Community Bible Study – to learn to know his Word, to see his Word confirmed by his faithfulness to us, to see Him glorified as we share his faithfulness with one another, to learn to cry out to Him together in prayer as we lay out our needs to our Father.

Women’s Community Bible Study is just another opportunity at MCC to do all the “one anothers” of Scripture – to love one another (John 13:34, 1 John 3:11), to accept one another (Romans 15:7), to bear with one another (Colossians 3:13), to serve one another (Galatians 5:13), to seek the good of one another (1 Thessalonians 5:15), to confess to one another (James 5:16), being like-minded, having the same love (Philippians 2:2).

We look forward to beginning a new study mid-September. We meet on Wednesday mornings from 9:15-11:15. Please pray with us that women from MCC and our surrounding community would come together in a spirit of unity and love (Psalm 133, Ephesians 4:3), ready to take up the “sword of the Spirit”, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), so we will be able to stand against the enemy (the world, the flesh and the devil), and to fight deception, stand for truth, and be doers of the Word, not merely hearers deceiving ourselves (James 12:22-25).

This is a BIG prayer request, but we worship a BIG God with a big sword (Hebrews 4:12). So, let’s go out with joy as we sit at the table together and “eat” God’s Word (Jeremiah 15:16 – “When your words came, I ate them. They were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty.”)

“I have learned so much from my daughter. I am embarrassed to say that I should be the example of how to grow with the Lord, but she is the one who is showing me.”

This statement was made, through tears, by a grateful (and proud!) mother at our intern celebration. She was referring to the fact that her high school daughter has made time alone with the Lord a daily habit, is practicing Bible study methods and is arranging to spiritually mentor younger children in their church. This young lady, who started with us at Juntos when she was six years old, also led one of our Kids Club classes and has become an example to her peers of what it looks like to enjoy a relationship with Jesus and share Him with others.

A second mom shared how her daughter has become a completely different person after participating in the internship the last two summers, part of which included one-on-one discipleship from a Juntos staff. “She has come out of her shell and been encouraged to try new things. She was really dealing with anxiety and depression. Knowing she could be honest and that her mentor would love her no matter what has given her confidence she never had before.”

Mid-July marked the completion of our second Juntos internship in recent years. We had three young leaders (aged 17-19) commit to an eight-week paid internship. They not only helped us with programming and spent time with kids, but they received extra training in basic spiritual disciplines. It was surprising to us that all three mentioned that learning to study the Bible independently was the highlight of the internship for them. They were surprised that they could learn so much from God’s Word on their own and the practical tools they received has made Scripture much more exciting and accessible to them.

One of our main goals at Juntos is “spiritual generations.” By this we mean that we not only want to lead kids to Christ and disciple them, but we want them to be able to do the same. You can imagine our joy when one of the interns told us that she had offered to start meeting with a middle schooler from her church to mentor her and show her how to read the Bible. As we praised God together, we were reminded that the plan for spiritual generations that Jesus laid out for His disciples takes a long time, but it really works!

We are grateful for this current season at Juntos. While God has always been at work, it appears that the “harvest” is more plentiful than ever! After many years of sowing and watering, He is proving his faithfulness to us in the form of these young people who have caught the vision to make disciples. He promises us that our labor is never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58) and we are seeing, once again, that our God is a promise keeper!

Laura Jenkins has been involved with Juntos since 2005 and currently serves as the director. Juntos offers weekly meetings, summer programs, leader training, small group Bible studies, tutoring, and mentoring for kids in the International District of Albuquerque. If you’d like more information about serving with Juntos, call the Mountain Christian Church office.