A Kind-Hearted Person

 

Al and I help sponsor a teen-ager named Mayra at Cristo De Su Mundo, a mission in Oaxaca, Mexico through the non-profit organization, Foundation for His Ministry. After many letters between us, Mayra invited us to come and visit her at the mission; however, at this stage in our lives, it seemed easier to arrange for an online meeting with her!

At our first session, we received a double blessing—meeting Mayra of course and meeting Annie Schmidt who oversees sponsorship at the mission. Annie arranged for us to sponsor Mayra in the first place, translated our letters from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English, and then interpreted for us during the meeting.

While we spent most of the time conversing with Mayra and getting to know her better, we discovered that Annie also had an interesting story. When I asked if she’d be willing to share more about her journey at a separate meeting, she agreed.

Annie, originally from Minnesota, first visited the mission at the suggestion of the campus pastor of North Park University in Chicago. Upon graduating from the university with a double major in Psychology and Spanish, she was wondering what to do. Since student groups had gone down to the mission in Oaxaca many times, the campus pastor had good things to say about it and encouraged her to go.

She decided to go for a week and see what it was like. The mission was in a beautiful setting surrounded by mountains. It consisted of the home for children and a primary school.

In October, 2012, she returned to Cristo Por Su Mundo with the plan of staying for the school year and teaching in the school. Although she hadn’t been through teacher training, she was well prepared with her background in Spanish.

She liked the staff, the community at the mission, and especially the children.  Three little girls, sisters, as well as other students would often come to her after school, asking for help with their homework.

Instead of packing to go back home to Minnesota when school was out, she decided to stay on at the mission as housemother for the nursery, caring for three pre-school aged boys and a 2-year-old girl named Kayla.

 Annie took full-time care of them until an opening came for a housemother for the “little girls,” including Kayla.  During the four years of being their housemother she began thinking about adopting Kayla.

“God put it on my heart,” she shared during our interview.  In 2019, as a resident of Mexico she began the adoption process, which was finalized in 2022.

 Annie’s parents were both strong Christians, encouraging her involvement in church and volunteering in Christian camps through high school. Her experiences at summer camp impacted her life in a positive way. However, she never dreamt that she would become a missionary.

 As a child, her idea of a missionary was someone who lived in a hut somewhere in Africa, much different than her life at the mission in Oaxaca for the past 12 years.

At present, she lives on the grounds of the mission with her daughter Kayla and their dog, Oly, working as Sponsorship Secretary as well as helping in the financial department.

She fondly remembers the little girls that she cared for as housemother… their surprising her with cards or sometimes saving their food, like pancakes left over from breakfast and cookies from dessert, to make her a special “meal” when it was her birthday.

 Some of them have gone on to the University of Tiajuana, and are living in the house near the campus which also is supported through FFHM. Annie has gone to Tiajuana to visit them; and every so often one of the girls drops into the mission to say “hello.’”

 Her advice for people planning on going to the mission field is to “make sure you have a way to sustain your spiritual life. Don’t confuse working for the Lord with your relationship with the Lord. Otherwise it is easy to get burned out.”

Now that is great advice for all of us! Thank you for inspiring us with your kind and caring heart, Annie…and for serving God’s children in Oaxaca.

 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV