OUR JOURNEY TO CHICAGO...
ADAPTED FROM OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
How would I respond?
Mission experience at the Family Empowerment Center
by Sandi Perez
Our family’s first introduction to the Family Empowerment Centers was in April of 2014. I was given the opportunity to lead a small team of college age students on a mission trip at FEC. Our task was to work for one week at FEC helping to run a Spring break program for kids ages 6-13 from 9 am -2 pm every day.
I felt very inadequate for the task at hand. The majority of the kids who attend the programs are Hispanic and therefore speak Spanish. I hadn’t worked with that age or been in an inner city environment for a very long time, and my Spanish is very limited. Monday morning, I knew I had been the wrong person to lead this trip. My husband, Carlos, would have been such a better person to interact with these students. He plays soccer, he leads, he teaches, he speaks SPANISH! WHY was I the one to be here?
As I was facing my own insecurities I also had to encourage the other team members and help them thru their fears in the tasks we were facing. The first day the kids were separated into groups and I was given 11 boys, ages 7-10!
Thankfully I had a helper in my room who had worked with kids with lots of energy who also struggled paying attention. She was able to give me several pieces of great advice for how to handle these boys. Through her advice and a lot of prayer each day became easier. As I spent time with these kids they opened up and shared part of their lives with me. I was given a glimpse into a world I had never known.
By the end of the week, when that same helper came back, she entered a completely different class. There was peace and structure. Her advice helped, but God met me that week and showed me what He can do with a willing vessel. I could not have lead the class alone. It was Gods patience, love, and wisdom that sustained myself and the other team members. He gave us the courage to keep at the task at hand; loving others.
The Bible tells us to love everyone but the world tell us to be suspicious, guarded, the world says that everyone is after something, you can’t trust anyone. Early one morning as I sat on the couches in front of big windows looking out over the street. I could hear the bus outside, making a stop and picking people up as they went about their morning business. That morning, God gave me a vision of myself getting on a city bus with my children. During the week, when the program was finished for the day, we were able to spend time in the community learning about the area and the diversity of it. We were told to be smart concerning our surroundings, for example “don’t walk around with your cell phone out”, and “don’t leave your purse sitting anywhere”. I walked around trying to be free and kind to the people we crossed paths with, but in the back of my mind were the questions, “who are you really?”, “Are you going to steal from me?”, “Are you a drug dealer?”
As I climbed on the bus God asked me the question “how will you respond to the other people on this bus?” Would I hold my children close to me and tell them to not talk to anyone? Would I look suspiciously at the other people, judging them and assuming they were going to try to grab my purse? Or my child? Or would I look lovingly at them? Would I smile and show others the Love God has poured on us? Will my family give that love to EVERYONE? Will I teach my children by my actions to live with our hands open, knowing that whatever we have, God has given it to us?
As God spoke to my heart that morning, my heart broke. The Spirit showed me the fear that was in my heart and he showed me the love that is in His heart. In those moments he opened my heart and eyes to a people and a life I had never before truly thought I would be called to.
