Zenoids Doing Good: Mission on the Move

I know that I’m not alone in longing to find purpose, desiring to do good, wanting to contribute to something greater. For me that’s key: I’m only a small part of some amazing greater good that is transpiring. And I count myself blessed because of that.

A Life of Contrasts

Mornings filled with buzzing, happy children, preparing to dash out the door to school – but not before besitos (kisses) on the cheek to each one of us.

This image of happy, healthy children is in stark contrast to the reality of their pasts: the majority of these children spent the most formative years of their lives living in a men’s prison with their parents in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico.

Chiapas is poor and laws sometimes fail understanding. Legally, families of incarcerated men can live in the prison. The prison resembles a commune: four walls surrounding an open space, with rooms sleeping six to eight prisoners and their families. During the day, prisoners roam free, attend church; many grow food on plots of land, work in a woodworking shop, weave hammocks or act as vendors to other prisoners to supplement the monthly governmental stipend of 600 pesos, or $60 USD.

All prisoners share this common space – the same space where young children run and play in what they call “home.”

Fearless Action

I recently spent a week in Tapachula as a member of a short term mission team through Mission on the Move, a nonprofit run by Hope and Steve Shearouse that provides a home for children who were living in the prison. Here, children are cared for by Mexican house parents and attend school and church. They are given hope for a future – a safe, educated, prosperous future. I have spent four summers working in the homes and lived there for 10 months after graduation. Each time, I am more moved by the transformations in these children’s lives.

Stories of Transformation

Now 20, Ulises came to the boys’ home when he was nine after his mother was arrested. When he was 15, his mother was released from prison and wanted Uli to move north with her. However, he decided to stay, graduated from high school and is now studying at the University of Chiapas at Tapachula to be an English professor.

Or take Danny and Moises – brothers who lived with their mother in the women’s prison. Mischievous boys, misbehaving at every turn, causing trouble in their disobedience. Now, Danny is in dental school, Moises graduates high school next year and wants to be lawyer; their mom is free and they visit her on a monthly basis, but they too, didn’t want to walk away from the opportunities they now have.

My experiences serving have fundamentally shaped my worldview and defined my passions. It’s my hope that everyone has opportunities like this – because, although cliché, you get much more than you give. These kids have my heart.  I can’t wait to go back.