"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself." ~ Luke 10:27

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In Tijuana, summer may mean those things to a few children, as those who are fortunate enough to go to school are certainly happy for the break, but summer also brings a plethora of emotions unknown to many of us. For many, the absence of school gives children the opportunity to work and help earn money to support their family. "Free time" isn't really free time at all. For others, though they may have unscheduled days, they do not spend their time lounging by pools, eating ice cream, or playing video games in air-conditioned game rooms. Tijuana is desert, and therefore extremely hot. Finding comfort and reprieve from the heat is nearly impossible. With summer, comes a new stress. Education is not free in Mexico, and with the struggling economy, many students left school in June not knowing if they would be coming back. If their parents cannot afford tuition and school supplies, they cannot return to school in the Fall. It is safe to say that for the kids Spectrum works with in Tijuana, summer is synonymous with "uncertainty," "heat," and "hard work."

More importantly, summertime gives Spectrum unique opportunities to minister to kids, as many of them are in a particularly vulnerable place (learning to take on adult responsibilities by working, questioning what will happen to them in August if they cannot return to school, or simply searching for something to occupy them and get their minds off the terrible heat). The most impacting avenue for Spectrum during July and August is Vacation Bible School

By the time summer ends, we will have done VBS in four different neighborhoods over a period of three weeks. The first neighborhood that Spectrum went to was Ejido, and the next week we did double-duty: the mornings were spent in Laguna, and afternoons were spent in Grupo Mexico. In August, we will spend a last week in Pipila. The number of kids who attended was encouraging. Ejido maxed out at 55, Laguna had 130, and Grupo Mexico had 60.

Starting in Ejido was so encouraging, and it set the tone for the entire summer. Ejido is one of God’s prettiest creations: rolling hills dotted with houses and ranches. The hills seem endless, and from the crest of one of them, the only thing that seems to stand in their way is the ocean. On clear days, the contrast of the green hills with the sparkle blue of the water is breathtaking. Take this scene and add 55 children running from various directions to congregate at the two white tents that are Spectrum’s trademark. Standing at the tents, the staff could watch the little dots climbing up over the peaks of hills, run down into the valleys and then reappear, this time a little bigger, at the top of the next closest hill.

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Each day, VBS consisted of songs, stories, games, and memory verses. One highlight of the program each week was doing the skit of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The lesson of having mercy on your neighbors, of loving your neighbors, hit home with these kids who live in situations that often promote the "survival of the fittest" philosophy. The overall message of the week was that God loves each of them, and He has a plan for their lives. This plan involves that each of those kids is going to do amazing things for the Kingdom, and the most practical way that God wants that to happen is for them to love Him and love other people.

What an amazing message to hear on a hot, sticky day. What an amazing hope to cling to when the future is unclear. What an amazing relief to hear when the weight of the world is on your shoulders. VBS gave Spectrum a chance to spend quality time with children who need to be reminded of God’s love for them in the midst of uncertain times. And there is still more to come in Pipila the second week of August. We are looking forward to pouring out love on these kids and wrapping up an incredible summer.

Aaron and Christine Passmore

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