Elsa’s father did not claim her when she was born. At age 3, her mom moved to Texas and did not return, leaving Elsa to be raised by her aging grandparents.
As an adult, with her husband and children, Elsa moved to Saltillo, Mexico, where there were very few churches with believers. Elsa longed for Christian friends and a church, but when her husband discovered she was with Christians, he would beat her and tell her not to go.
Because there were so few churches, even those that gathered would encourage parents to avoid distractions by leaving kids at home.
But the Holy Spirit had a hold on Elsa
from the beginning, telling her how important it was to teach children about the love of Jesus.
Elsa began with her own children and soon included more kids from her community. When they came to her house to learn about Jesus, she did what she knew –
she loved them
. And they continued to come.
Two years ago, Elsa first came to a KidZ at Heart training with her adult daughter and son-in-law, Claudia and Perry. All were very involved in the training and took extensive notes. As soon as the KidZ team left that year, Elsa, Claudia, and Perry immediately began implementing all they had learned to teach the boys and girls in their community. Every week, they held a gathering for children who were from a variety of backgrounds: single parents, unbelieving parents, hungry, poor.
When the KidZ team arrived to continue training in July 2019, Elsa wanted to talk to me. She showed me pictures of the children they had been teaching in the past year and told me how they were implementing what they had learned the year before. What a blessing to hear her excitement and see her return for additional training!
Claudia has started a WhatsApp group with everyone she knows locally who is teaching kids. She gives tips, answers questions, and literally teaches everything she has learned through the KidZ at Heart modules to those around her. This year, she asked when she could become a trainer! If you would like to financially support our work in Saltillo or around the world, we invite you to
GIVE HERE.
