Project Jesus For Children

«New Life»

Team worker Danny and Project Director, Bill Davidson went out to a rural school in Puriscal, Costa Rica. There they met Janet, the school's religion teacher. She's a wonderful believer (Catholic) and these are some of the statements she shared with us:
- Something changed inside of me when I saw the film for the first time, - The film and the guide have put new life into our classes, - You have no idea as to where this film and guide have reached. This is one of the far corners, - I have lent out my film and guide so many times to catholic church groups and whoever else that I am afraid for them (we gave her a new film) - The Lord bless you richly for all this (and in that statement they include the supporters - they know it comes from them).

«Learning to Forgive»

Again this week there was an interesting showing in a high school in Puente de Boyaca (Colombia) where the school gladly received the film. At the part in the film where they stress forgiveness the grade eleven students began to ask forgiveness one of another. Then they asked their philosophy/ religion teacher, Nidia Vargas, to forgive them for the way they had treated her. She began to weep as well as some of the students. And for sure I could not keep the tears from my own eyes.

«Carlitos»

We call Carlitos our little giant. He stands not much over five feet tall and lives and works by himself with the project in the Leon/ Chinandega area of Nicaragua.

On my last trip to Nicaragua I felt I should make a special effort to go be with him as somehow I felt he needed extra encouragement. No one had been able to contact him in the last while and I was concerned. When I arrived at his apartment, I found that he had jst returned after spending a week in the back country staying with a teacher and doing the schools in that area.

Smiling, he mentioned that the teacher had had cows and that he had never eaten so much cottage cheese and tortillas in all his life! Carlitos certainly wasn't discouraged. Driving back the hour and a half to Diriamba, the city where his parents live, I asked him what the Lord was teaching him in these days.

His response was a classic - "When I see the way that the Lord is working with the principals, the teachers and the students, I realize I am nothing more than the equipment boy! I just carry it around and He does the work".

«La Esperanza de la Vereda Jaguito»

Carlos Avila is beginning the work in the schools in his native land of Columbia. Here are the contents of an email he just sent me.
«Amongst the various schools I was able to visit this week was one called "La Esperanza de la Vereda Jaguito" in Tauramena, Casanare. It is a public, primary school with only 50 students and the principal is a believer. It was gratifying to see how they all participated throughout the showing. When I was just finished, the teachers left as they had a visitor, so I asked them what I should do. Their reponse was "read the Bble". So when I asked the students which of them wanted to read, I was surprized to see 10 line up and others say they woud read from their desks. Each one read a verse of Luke 24: 36 and onwards. What really made me happy was to see the respect that they showed for God's Word even when a class mate stumbled in their reading. When we finished the chapter I asked them what was next, to which they responded that they wanted to sing. So they all sang a praise song. What impacted me was the influence that that Christian principal had in her school. These children were being prepared for life, with the main goal of praising and serving God.»

«Years later»

As a Project Jesus team, every member fasted and prayed one Monday. Chema Lopez, a national worker from Nicaragua, sent us this story about that day.

«My youngest daughter and I were sitting out on the street around 6:00 pm that evening. We had fasted and prayed all day, even the dog didn't get anything to eat. We were enjoying the cool of the evening when a young fellow around 18 years of age approached me and said:

'"Hello, you don't know me but I know you. Seven years ago, when I was in grade 5, you came to my school and shared a film about the Lord Jesus. I commited my life to Him that day and took home the little book you gave me.

I shared with my family what I had done but my dad did not accept Christ. We had a very poor home. Sometimes there was something to eat, sometimes not. I had to sell tortillas on the street to help make a living for my family. My dad was rough on my mom and our home was dirty. But a month after I received Christ, I saw my dad reading that little book, and he was crying as he sat there. He must have accepted the Lord that day because things began to change. He treated us better and our home became loving and beautiful. We started to attend a Christian church and today I am on my way to unniversity".»

The amazing part of this story is that the film showing, when that boy received Christ, took place within 2 weeks of the project starting in Nicaragua in 2002.