The Mexico Field began hosting Cross-Cultural Orientation for Kids in the south in 2011 and has since extended the program to the north, where it continues to raise a new generation of missionaries and servants of the Lord. The fourth CCOK was held June 26 and 27 on the Mexico Northeast District with 28 children who attended with their pastors.

During the two days, children learned about missions through singing, listening to stories, and learning about different kinds of missionaries. They are given a "passport" that allows them to board a “boat” and travel to different destinations. They cross the Time Tunnel, where they meet the missionaries of the past, present, and future.

Before bed on the first night, "ship captain" Eunice Zaragoza told the children about her missionary call while she was still a child and related the blessings, miracles, and challenges she experiences as a Genesis Project missionary serving in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

More than 120 children have attended a CCOK, and there are still two more events and a training planned for this year. The CCOK was held with the support of the Global Mission team from the Northwest District, who provided the training.

"It always surprised [me] to see how there are little ones that say, ‘I will be a pastor’ or ‘ I will be an urban missionary,’" said Ana Nava, another captain. "The most amazing is to see the faces and expressions when the children enter the Time Tunnel and look in the mirror as the future missionaries. It has been a great blessing to serve God in such a beautiful ministry; I have seen the hand of God in my life and how it has strengthened my body. Before starting the first CCOK, I had surgery for thyroid cancer and was in radioactive treatment; my body had no strength and was about to give up. To work with children, you need lots of energy … I spoke to God and said that if He wanted me to serve Him there to give me physical and spiritual strength and He did … seeing how children love Him and follow Him, it captivates us …"

Other “captains” included Emma Montelongo, Sugey Barron, Vicky Ramirez, and Israel Alvarez.

Learn more about CCOK by visiting its Facebook page or sending an email to cominoroccidental@gmail.com.

--Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica Region