October 9, 2006
By Alliance missionaries to Mexico
Where do the drawings and scribbled notes that children bring home from Sunday school end up? Often they are stuck to the refrigerator or hidden under a stack of papers to be filed away. Sometimes they go straight to the wastebasket. But once in a while, a Sunday school picture has lasting impact.
Rosa*, a Mexican friend, called the other day, obviously crying. She told me of a drawing her young daughter had made in Sunday school that will perhaps get framed. “It was as though God had sent me a letter in the mail,” Rosa said.
Several days earlier, a family member had received a threatening call at work. The angry voice on the other end claimed he was aware of all the family’s movements and was planning to kidnap one of them if certain demands were not met.
That five-minute phone call changed Rosa’s life. Since then, she and her family have been looking over their shoulders. Special instructions have been given to teachers and school administrators. Family members have taken alternate routes to their destinations. Rosa cannot even feel safe leaving her children with relatives.
In the midst of the kidnapping scare, Rosa opened the mailbox, and a little Sunday school drawing fell out. The first thing that caught her eye was a sticker that said, “He cares for you.” She opened the card to find the following verse in crayoned letters: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Along with it was a cover letter sent by the Sunday school superintendent, reminding the parents, “You are not alone. God has promised to never leave or forsake you.” At a critical moment, in a personal way, God made His presence known to Rosa. No wonder she cried.
Mexico has the highest incidence of kidnappings in the world. Some threats are hoaxes. But many are not, and people do not know when to take them seriously. Pray for Rosa and her family, along with others in the church whose lives have been affected by the same menace.
*name changed to protect identity