MCC Summer Service helps church reach out to local community

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — In the front room of Iglesia Menonita Rey de Gloria, 18 children from ages 3 to 13 settle at tables, the sounds of English and Spanish mixing through the room. Crayons out, they begin to draw pictures telling the story of their weekend.

In summer 2004, four MCC U.S. Summer Service workers serve as staff for the Summer Kids Center, which runs from breakfast until after 3 p.m. summer weekdays.

In a neighborhood where most residents struggle financially and many parents are raising children on their own, summer programs are a welcome respite, offering opportunities that parents could not manage on their own.

"They can do things they can't do at the house," said Bricia Lozano, who has four children in the program and a toddler at home.

Her son, Ruben, praised the dodge ball games and the time the group spends playing outside. "It's fun," the 11-year-old said.

"I still remember the first day here," said Summer Service worker Nereida Vasquez. The children "were all really shy. They didn't want to do anything. They'd just sit still looking at everybody else. Now they want to color, they want to go outside. They want to read. They want to learn."

Lozano, who does not have transportation or extra funds to spend on entertainment for her children, gives thanks for the center's group activities and games, crafts, Bible stories and Christian videos. Her four children, she said, come home content instead of restless. "I am very happy because, in my house, they were like little caged lions," she said.

Pastor Guadalupe Aguilar began the program when the church, which is in a converted house, started several years ago.

"I would notice in the summer, the kids were just running around in the street. We have always believed the church is for the community," Aguilar said. "So we could service the community in that way."

Summer Kids Center has become a significant part of the church's ministry. Aguilar estimates that more than half of the 40 to 50 people who attend the church on any given Sunday had their first significant contact with the congregation through the kids' center.

Having Summer Service workers to staff the program has provided consistent teachers for the children and freed Aguilar and others in the church to focus on their jobs and other responsibilities.

The church provides breakfast, lunch and snacks for children who attend. A church in Kansas contributed some materials for the program. Workers check out books of Bible stories and crafts from the local library to use.

"Throughout the summer we get to know them better," said Summer Service worker Ruth Iracheta. "We get so attached to the kids, and they get attached to us."