Covenant News

Covenant Women Find VBS Trip an Uplifting Experience

OAXACA, MEXICO (August 5, 2002) - A dozen women from eight conferences completed a Covenant Women Ministries (CWM) mission trip to Oaxaca July 19-28, helping lead a local Vacation Bible School (VBS) and learning about a unique holistic ministry in the area.

"Team members met for the first time in the Mexico City airport, bonded quickly and were inspired to see how their various gifts completely covered the responsibilities needed," said CWM Executive Minister Ruth Hill. "Ministry focused on VBS in a new church plant in a poor community that did not have piped water or electricity. An electrical wire was hung in the church for the very first time while we were there. (Covenant missionaries) Cindy Hoover, with Dennis and Mary Lynne Carlson and Jo Ellen Reeves, planned a wonderful schedule of ministry plus time to explore Oaxaca's cultural highlights."

The VBS week began with 60 children and finished with 120, thanks to a special fiesta day at the conclusion of the sessions. Vicky Love, a Covenant missionary to Puebla, served as the primary VBS instructor for the week. A gospel presentation by a local pastor helped lead 33 to Christ.

The team also visited the work of Fuentes Libres, a holistic development agency started by longtime missionary Nancy Jo Hoover, and met with a group of women ministry leaders in the region.

Cindy Hoover, a pediatrician before beginning missionary service, teamed up with mission team member Laurie Dahms and a local dentist to do extensive medical and dental screening for local children. The accompanying photo shows Dahms (left) and Hoover (background right) examining some of the children. The trio educated children about dental hygiene and completed tooth extractions for a number of children. The team brought 300 toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste to donate to local residents.

"At our concluding devotions, women (from the CWM mission team) shared what God had revealed to them through the experience," Hill said. "Their responses validated one of the main reasons to sponsor such trips: their own lives were profoundly changed."

Hoover was also encouraged by the week's activities. "We've had a very good week of Bible school and dental and medical clinics," she wrote in an email message. "We've had 80-plus kids every day with new ones each day. They've been great kids and are listening carefully to the stories and enjoying the games and crafts. We've also had two good meetings with the equivalent of Covenant Women in Oaxaca, and although there's a language barrier, God's love shone through and connected us."

CWM is sponsoring a Sankofa trip October 11-14 to key historic sites involved in the Civil Rights movement and is sponsoring a mission trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, January 3-15, 2003, to support a Chinese Covenant congregation.

For more information about CWM, its recent mission experience and the upcoming trips, call CWM office staff at 773-907-3332.

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