Looking Back at a Big Year
2023 was a work and wait year for Abraham and Rachel Lechuga. Their home church has continued to grow and now around 20 people attend. They worship together on the Teach Us to Pray property and have snack and socializing afterwords. Several of the people who attend chose to be baptized this Easter, making this the second year of such baptisms. So far fifteen people have been baptized.
Baptisms
Fifteen people have been baptized so far. This year, the group included Rachel and Abrahams two children.
Thanks to the completion of the new Teach Us to Pray building, Abraham and Rachel were also able to start, in partnership with Oikos, a library for the area. At present, a few of the kids take home a book a week from the library. In December, Abraham and Rachel finished a government-sponsored online program that will officially certify them and the library. They will receive 200 books through this program.
With the Teach Us to Pray building completed, the Lechugas finally initiated school with three children in October and look forward to having more children come. Although the oldest of the three is 11 years old, none of them have attended school, so Abraham and Rachel are taking a few hours four days a week to teach reading, basic math, and beginning English. This reflects the sad reality that most of the children the Lechugas work with do not attend school and so are trapped in the cycle of low-paying jobs and/or prostitution, drug addiction, and alcoholism.
Some teens work in factories and are exposed to harmful chemicals and long hours. Worse than that, they are faced with the substance abuse of the other employees. One teen, although he is only 16, struggles with smoking. He plans to cross the border illegally into the States in order to receive better wages to send money back to his mother—if, that is, he survives and makes it across. There are countless other stories.
During the four days of school, when the kids first arrive, everyone sits down for breakfast, provided by Abraham’s mother, Six. The kids help with cleaning up, and then Abraham, Rachel, or Abish reads aloud a story. Abraham and Rachel take turns teaching reading, math, and basic English, while Abish and Lani work on their homeschool subjects. When one of the women from the family is present, the children can also use the showers, since there is very little water where they live.
The Lechugas pray their work will break the cycle and give the children and teens a way to grow, and that the time of peace they provide will provide some healing.
As in past years, we ran our summer vacation Bible Study. As usual, we provided transport for a number of the participants. This presents a challenge, since Abraham and I are the only drivers, and that means one of us is not present at the VBS for the time it takes to pick up and return the kids. Abraham chauffeured in the morning, so I began the VBS with review, Bible verse practice, and songs with the kids who arrived on their own or were on our route to Huejotzingo where we held the VBS. Then, we had the stories (acted out by volunteers), games, food, and verse memorization before I drove the kids home while Abraham cleaned up after the day's work.
Game time during VBS: busy and fun. Abraham puts a lot of work into researching and designing games suitable for the large age range.
Prayer Requests
Please Pray:
That the children will consistently attend classes with Abraham and Rachel, and that more join
That the participants and their family members will be drawn to Christ as they see him working through the Lechugas
For the welfare of the children. Most of the families the Lechugas work with have deep, unresolved problems. that are, humanly speaking, impossible to resolve. It is heartbreaking to see young children working in factories, exposed not only to the dangerous chemicals but also to the adult substance abuse the children then often take up themselves Several of the children have mothers who are or have been prostitutes. This increases the likelihood that the children will turn to this for support or will have multiple partners because this is what they have seen.
For balance between ministry and family life.
For protection spiritually and physically
Needs
Your ongoing prayers. Huejotzingo is an incredibly dark place to work, one where Catholicism is as likely to include witchcraft and idolatry as worship.
Provision to continue paying for all the Vacation Bible Schools, school supplies, computers, and additional supplies.
Books! We especially need children’s books in Spanish. Contact the Lechugas at kenyara@yahoo.com or abrahamlechuga@yahoo.com to find out how to get them to Huejotzingo
Volunteers for the library and for tutoring