Embracing Healing and Forgiveness

People flow daily into Tijuana, Mexico, a burgeoning city near the US-Mexico border, looking for jobs in one of the city’s 1,000-plus factories.

But Tijuana’s busyness hides another growing reality – a widening gap between parents and their teenaged children, according to James and Barbarita Lee, Christian Reformed World Missions missionaries in Tijuana.

Over the years, the Lees have noticed that area families are growing apart largely due to lack of communication and time.

“Many parents work long hours, sometimes seven days a week, to provide their children with housing, education opportunities, food, television, and internet,” says James Lee.

“Housing costs are high, but television, internet, and cell phone services are relatively affordable and available. While their parents work, children turn to the internet and texting for companionship and acceptance.”

Seeing this as a looming youth crisis, James Lee began focusing on youth ministry in Tijuana with eight local Reformed Presbyterian churches.

In June, they held a joint “Family Reconciliation” event to help families see and address problems in their relationships.

About 40 parents and 60 teenagers attended the all-day event. The parents went to three sessions on parenting while the teenagers discussed and answered anonymous surveys on their relationships with their parents.

“The parents’ first session was on role modeling,” says James Lee. “We emphasized to the parents that their teens are watching their behavior and need them to be examples.”

From there, they talked about making time to listen and talk to their children and using God’s Word as their guide for teaching them how to live. Afterward, the parents and teens came together for a final session on reconciliation.

Facundo, a father of five, was one of those who attended. A quiet man, he is not known for coming to church events. But on this day, he, his wife, and their two teenage daughters all came.

At the end, everyone in the family was crying, hugging, and praying for one another, seeking each other’s and God’s forgiveness. Facundo says a huge burden was lifted from his heart that day.

“Healthy families mean healthy churches,” says James Lee. “We are church developers, not just in the idea of brick and mortar type building of churches, but in building healthy marriages and relationships between family members.”

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