GOOD THINGS ARE HAPPENING

Yes, it is already that time of year! Our entire team is wholeheartedly looking forward to spending Christmas with our kids! The Mission has had the privilege of celebrating 34 Christmases with children in need. Whether they are part of our orphanage and in our care 24/7, or attend our education and after-school care programs, we make sure that they experience the love and joy that every child deserves to experience this time of year.

Ivet and Josefina grew up in The Mission’s orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. With Ivet arriving in 2013 and Josefina in 2008, they are both irreplaceable parts of our family. Now, they are moving to Romania to complete their second year of our School of Missions and to serve kids who have stories like their own.

For the first time since March 2020, all of our Education Program and Family Care Program students will be welcomed back on The Mision’s campus in Mexico! For a year and a half, due to government-mandated COVID-19 regulations, our incredible team of teachers has been working hard to create distance learning programs that are equitable and accessible for the families with students enrolled in our programs.

In 2021, The Mission welcomed visiting teams back to our Mexico campus and loved it! Although we have health and safety precautions set in place, many do not yet feel comfortable traveling. So far this year, The Mission hosted less than 10% of the teams that we would typically host on an average year. Not only do we love the camaraderie and hope that each of you bring, but those visiting teams are how we fund the many projects and programs that care for children and our team. Will you help us continue to build, once again?

It was 1994; I was 17 years old and had just moved to The Mission’s campus in Tijuana, Mexico. I had grown up visiting The Mission almost every spring break or summer with my local church. Now, I was “house mom” to 22 girls. Yes, you read that right. I, fresh out of high school, was the full-time caregiver to 22 beautiful and wild girls, with ages ranging from 6 months to 17 years. They had come from unspeakably painful backgrounds and I got to love them. I was their preschool and kindergarten teacher, confidant, protector, their bad dream chaser-awayer, pancake maker, swim teacher, manicurist and memory keeper.

It’s 2021; 34 years since the doors of The Mission welcomed its first group of children into our family. Now, our team is made up of many of those first kids who came to us in 1987. You may have heard us say this before, but The Mission has cared for over 5,000 children since 1987. We do not take that lightly. Whether a child is with us for a month or 18+ years, we consider it a privilege to love them.

Twice a week, School of Missions students and team members of The Mission provide community services to the surrounding neighborhoods. In both Mexico and Romania, many of the communities we serve do not have running water or an affordable option for garbage removal services. Oftentimes, the team will hand out fresh water and food or pick up garbage from peoples homes. When teams visit for short-term missions trips, they serve alongside of us!

For most of our existence as a non-profit, The Mission has hosted short term missions trips. It is how we have had the pleasure of connecting with many of you that are reading this! On an average year, in both Mexico and Romania, The Mission hosts about 1,500 people from around the world. Over the years it has become abundantly clear that these trips are not only impactful for the people in the communities you come to serve. Those who travel to a different nation to donate their time, are deeply impacted and so are we.

It’s 6:45AM, in Romania, and Sofia was just woken up by one of our staff members. Each day our team goes to each child’s house to help them get to the bus that will take them to our campus. If Sofia isn’t awake and dressed yet, we help her. Some days she doesn’t have shoes to wear; so we carry her to the warm bus that is waiting for her each morning.

The Mission’s campus in Tijuana, Mexico is currently serving 166 students. With many public schools only offering classes through the 6th grade, oftentimes teenagers end up dropping out due to high tuition costs of private high schools. In 2020, we were extremely proud to have 19 first generation high school graduates.

It was 2005, Erika was six years old. She was living in a 10x10ft “house” with her biological mother and three siblings. It was a situation full of extreme neglect and sexual abuse. She says that she didn’t know who God was but kept praying that He would take them to a safe place; if not all of them, at least just her siblings. Their biological mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol; she was a prostitute. When her biological mother needed money, she would take Erika out with her at night. Erika was only four years old when this began. Erika’s prayers were answered and social services removed them from the situation and brought them to The Mission’s orphanage on the Mexico campus.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas! It has been said before but it is still just as true: we couldn’t do this without you!

One of the first things we realized was that the communities we wanted to serve in Romania, mostly Roma villages, spoke a language of violence. In their nation, they were considered outcasts. Throughout the early history of the Romania, the Roma people were enslaved; it wasn’t until 1856 that the were freed. The affects of hundreds of years of oppression are still very much present in their day to day lives; leaving them marginalized and under-resourced.

It was 2004, Carmen was five years old, when she, her six other siblings and mother were living underneath a gazebo in a public park in Tijuana Mexico. At just five years old, she was dreaming of becoming a math teacher. Twelve years later, Carmen has just graduated from our three year School of Missions and has begun working in the on-site jr high and high school; teaching children who have similar stories to hers.

Currently, both Romania and Mexico are still closed to non essential travel. Until that is lifted, we will not be hosting any missions trips. With that being said, we are accepting bookings for 2021 and would love to help you with that. If you would like to start planning your next trip with us, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team at groups@themissioninc.org.

Delia is 12 years old and has been part of our 12-hour care program in Romania since 2018. On one of the very first scouting trips our team took to Romania, they met Delia in one of the Roma [Gypsy] villages outside of town. As the team walked through the village, asking God what He wanted to do in Romania, Delia followed. She was very hungry for affection and attention; Delia never left their side that day in 2016.

At The Mission campuses in both Romania and Mexico, we have over 450 children enrolled in K-12th grade and our family care programs. Our family care program, at the Mexico campus, was opened in 1991. The elementary, jr high and high school opened later in the following years. That journey began after seeing a massive need in the communities surrounding our campus in Tijuana, Mexico; childcare was expensive and out of reach for most families. Along with that, most families needed two incomes which meant that both parents were working. After looking into it, The Mission team found that many teenagers dropped out of school to stay home and take care of younger siblings. As of 2018, we are honored to be not only serving families in Mexico but also in Romania.

In 1995, when they arrived, the girls’ hair was so unkept that they had dreadlocks full of lice and feces, along with open sores on their scalp from untreated ringworm. They were incredibly malnourished and ready for family. I specifically remember getting to give them their first bath. As I washed the caked-on-dirt off of their bodies, cut their hair, picked out lice, gave them clean clothes and care bears; I knew that they were mine. This was what my strong “yes” and consistency could bring. I was their house mom for one year and then eventually began overseeing the entire orphanage program.

As you can imagine we, along with countless other organizations, are being deeply impacted by the preventative measures being requested by governments. When a global crisis like this presents itself, “missions” doesn’t end although missions trips generally do. Because of that, unfortunately, one of our main sources of income ends as a result. Multiple trips, along with the Jesus Culture Missions trip scheduled later this month, have been cancelled or postponed in the past few weeks. These are incredibly difficult conversations to navigate. It is a balance that can only be lead by the Holy Spirit, as we lean on God and say no to fear; all while using common sense to keep one another safe and honoring what our governments are asking of us. Because of multiple trip cancelations that have happened in the past few weeks, we at The Mission are faced with over $100,000 in lost revenue.

As this past year comes to a close, we can’t help but reflect on the goodness of God and the generosity you all have shown. Thanks to you, 2019 was our most impactful year yet! More children were rescued, loved and restored than ever before. Your prayer, financial gifts, child sponsorships and missions trips have made all it possible.

As 2019 comes to a close, partner with us by giving the gift that transforms nations. Each day The Mission impacts over 650 children. That is only made possible through YOUR generosity. We know you have options when it comes to end of year giving. Right now, you can give directly towards the work we are doing in the nations. You’ll receive a tax deductible receipt immediately.

Worship truly is at the center of everything we do as a ministry. Because our team places a high value on daily corporate worship, it has instilled a value for His presence in our children. It is here that God encounters and heals our children and we believe that we are raising up the next generation of worshippers. The multi-campus church in Mexico and Romania as well as the daily worship and devotions held at each base, wouldn’t be possible without our very own Leo Lopez.

For over thirty years our Mexico base has been growing and helping people in need. Although the goal remains the same, our vision to get there has expanded; we are continuing our fight for an orphan-less world through orphan-care as well as many other outreach and education programs.

God is moving in Romania and we are honored to be part of what He is doing. In April 2017, through a series of divine appointments, we found ourselves signing a purchase agreement for our 80,000 square foot facility in Sighişoara, Romania. Since then God has been faithful to meet us as we stepped out in faith!

This June, over 300 people joined us from all over the world, at our Mexico base, to pursue the presence of God together and see heaven come to earth. This was our sixth year partnering with Jesus Culture for the annual JCME trip and it really is one of our favorite times of the year! 

Growth is happening in Romania! Over the past few months, thanks to visiting groups, we have began the process of remodeling the second floor in our facility. The entire floor is 10,000 square feet and will eventually house our commercial kitchen, dining hall, classrooms and a recreational area for the children in our program.

Meet Octavio (13)! He has been attending our jr high school in Tijuana, Mexico for the past year. Before joining the school, Octavio said he often felt alone and the sense that he needed to defend himself from others. After a few weeks of being with us, he began to notice how affectionate our team was. Each day, through simple acts of kindness, Octavio experienced the love of God and began to learn how to trust others.  

Two months ago, he won first place in a regional art contest!

Meet, the Fernandez Anderson family! Last year, we welcomed Jazmin (10), Katie (8) and Nichole (7) into our elementary school and family care program.

Although each of them were born in Tijuana, their parents are not Mexican nationals. Due to a lack of correct documentation for the children, the siblings had never attended school. Since first joining the school, we have seen an incredible amount of growth in them!

Meet Sheila, she is the kindergarten teacher at our Mexico campus. In 2004, when she was just four years old, Sheila and her siblings joined our family care program! Twelve years later, in 2016, she came back to volunteer in the program for a few months. Sheila wanted to create the same fun and safe environment that she and her siblings experienced when she was young!

Kiko (Jesus Alberto) arrived in 2013, when he was just five years old. He and his two siblings were placed in the orphanage because of an abusive home life. Because of that, they did not trust people and were not taught to value education.

For the past five years our community has had the privilege of fighting for love and family for Kiko and his siblings.