Soccer, volleyball, four-square, swimming, picnics….

It feels a lot like summer camp with fun and games, good food, children of all ages and lots of love.

But it’s not.

Actually it’s a group of adults who traveled many miles to build relationships with the children at Casa Hogar La Familia, a children’s home outside the city limits of Quecholac in the State of Puebla, Mexico.

“You’ve heard of weight loss camp, baseball camp and all kinds of camps. I tell people it is like going to love camp,” Brian Walter said. “The children are so loving and it opens up your heart.”

About six years ago the Kingfisher Federated Church was searching for an international mission to support. Walter contacted Bill Lee, an acquaintance and founder and president of Embrace the Dream Foundation, about the possibility of getting involved with his foundation.

The foundation manages all the financial aspects of the children’s home, connecting donors and volunteers with the ministry, as well as working as a liaison for the on-site houseparents/directors.

Shortly thereafter, Walter, Lee and a group of volunteers from the Kingfisher area were headed for Mexico.

Since then, a group of volunteers has made the trip six times in the last five years.

“There have been 26 different individuals from the Federated Church that have participated in the trips,” Walter said. “Some have been only once, while some have been as many as five times.”

Currently the children’s home has 31 children, a set of houseparents and three volunteers. The children range in age from toddler to high school.

The upper level of the building functions as a church and lower level operates as the children’s home.

The current houseparents have worked with the children for over 13 years. They not only oversee the daily operation of the children’s home, but also conduct worship services twice a week for approximately 160 members from the community.

“The houseparents have dedicated their lives to the children,” Liz Walter said. “They have a clear mission for the children and they lead by example.”

Their goals for the children are to teach them about Jesus, provide the support of a loving family and to encourage the children to attend college or technical school in preparation to support themselves and their families in the future.

“The children only speak Spanish and it can be a challenge,” Brian Walter said. “But you can communicate your feelings much better than you think.”

Nicolas Lopez, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Emanuel in Kingfisher, made the most recent trip as a translator and volunteer.

“It is a special place where they are so full of joy. They show you so much love,” he said. “I believe I received more from the experience than I gave.”

The volunteers also help with maintenance and repair projects while they are there, but spending time with the children is a priority.

“A big part of what we do is develop a closer relationship with the children,” Brian Walter said. “Their appreciation and love for us has really been transformative in my life and in the life of our church.”

These experiences, he said, have helped him reflect on the meaning of the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:3 - “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Many of the children have been abandoned by their parents and the children’s home is not only a place where their basic needs are met, but where they thrive on the love they receive.

The first year Lee arrived at the home, he said, there were five siblings who were brought in that had been living in cardboard boxes on a vacant lot.

Through the years, he said, he has become very close to the them in particular and one will graduate from nursing school this year, one is studying to be an accountant, and the others have done well, too.

The children work well together and watch out for one another, Liz Walter said.

“They are like a big family,” she commented. “They are so genuine and readily open their hearts to us.”

The Federated Church not only sends mission teams to Mexico every year and contributes financial help, Brian said. They also have delivered suitcases of toys, t-shirts, medications and homemade quilts.

“The children do not have many personal belongings and so the quilts have been a treasured item for them,” he said.

Presently, 10 churches and three individuals provide most of the funds for daily operations, including the Kingfisher Federated Church, Lee said.

Embrace the Dream Foundation is supported by many people and much of those funds are used to cover students’ tuition for college or technical school according to Lee.

“The foundation pays tuition for all students to attend a college or technical school as long as they maintain a ‘C’ average,” Lee said. “There would be no way these kids could go to college without the people of Federated Church and others like them.”

“All the people from the Federated Church love the children and are very easy to work with. They are a blessing and have been very generous as a church and individually,” Lee said. “They are a part of us now and I don’t know what we would do without them.”

Brian Walter said he feels both sides benefit.

“I believe the trips have really helped those of us who have gone to become more humble, accepting and loving,” Brian said. “They have also helped us to rediscover a childlike joyfulness regarding life’s basic activities like playing games, drawing pictures, sharing meals and worshiping God.”

The mission trips to Casa Hogar La Familia are not limited to the Federated Church, Brian said.

“We are always looking to take new people on the mission and we encourage anyone that wants to get involved, whether a church or individual, to reach out to us,” he commented.

“We have developed a relationship with the children. They feel very much like a part of our family.”