Matilde

This little girl
won my heart.

Nava's Garden of Eden

The little Baptist church in Nava is covered by beautiful trees, including avacado and lemon trees. The lush vegitation thrives on the little stream running through the property, and I wouldn't even venture a guess on its origin.
But the lot is kept clean, swept by the members of the church and truly a haven for those seeking refuge in the little pueblo.

Blowout

I guess on most trips to Mexico, I've experienced some type of mechanical problem with the transportation.
This trip had an exciting blowout, even before crossing the border.
Our driver, Cliff Morris, was great and kept his cool. No real damage to the vehicle, thank the Lord.
But it was quite interesting to see all the human jacks holding the van up. The soft shoulder made it difficult to raise the wheel high enough.

More Pictures

Bringing Smiles in Mexico

My children have experienced many Vacation Bible Schools in their lives, but I can’t say they’ve ever been to one that served snow cones.
That was the treat for the children at the end of each VBS last week in Tepeyac and Nava, Coahuila, Mexico.

Twenty people representing from churches in Aspermont, Haskell, Clyde, Abilene, Anson, Rotan and more joined together the 19th of July to head south to Mexico. Several denominations were knit together for one week of serving our friends on the other side of the border. My son, Todd Krausse and I went from Aspermont Community Church, as well as our pastor and his family, Greg and Robin Goza and their son, Jake, who live in Anson.

Dr. Wayne Cadenhead and his wife, Yuvi have a “well-oiled machine” as they have been taking groups down to Mexico for over 25 years. When it started out, most of the trips brought them to Acuña area, the other side of Del Rio. However, in recent years, they have seen more need below Eagle Pass in Nava and Tepeyac.

The two little churches are a wonderful contrast. Nava is set in a town that has sidewalks and lots of trees. The Primera Iglesia Bautista San Pablo is a small church that has been there for many years. The children were from the neighboring area and many came for miles, some walking and others picked up by the vehicles we brought. One of the workers described the vehicle full of children as they “tumbled out” of the van, laughing and playing, excited about the fun they would have that day. Most of the families there are very poor compared to our standards and most of the children came without parents.

The church in Tepeyac was the Templo Evangelico Monte Horeb and we did our VBS classes outside as the church was so small. Tepeyac has a population of about 150 people so it was easy as we walked around the town inviting everyone to the VBS Sunday afternoon. During the week, a goat kept us company, and walked through the church as we sang shared with the children. We had classes for adults, youth and two groups for the younger children. Each day, there was a story and a craft or two for them to work on, and all the children sang the songs they had memorized over the years. The children enjoyed having their faces painted, and some even washed it off and came right back to have their faces painted again!

Both churches enjoyed the puppet shows the group performed and the kids loved hearing the puppets tell about the Bible Stories of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego, and Daniel in the lion’s den.

The group started each day with breakfast and a time of devotions in the church in Eagle Pass where we stayed. It was a great opportunity to get to know the other people in the group and we enjoyed singing with Dr. Wayne and Greg Goza playing guitar and Cliff Morris playing harmonica. Dr. Wayne taught us many songs in Spanish that we already knew in English, so we were able to sing together for the evening Revival services in Nava. In all honesty, I can say we made a joyful noise to the Lord!

We did get some rain from the tropical storm that came in to Mexico on Wednesday, and it continued to rain through Friday. But it didn’t dampen the spirits of the children and adults who attended the VBS.

The kids all looked forward to the snow cones, or “yukis” at the end of each day, when the workers made snow cones for every boy, girl and parent. Although it was hot in Coahuila, the refreshing treat made it a fun end to a great day.
This was my first opportunity to join Dr. Wayne and Yuvi, but I look forward to participating again next year.