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Buzy: A Faithful Friend Who Shares Jesus to the Friendless |
Buzy: A Faithful Friend Who Shares Jesus to the Friendless Pablo walks alone from school down the dusty, dirt road everyday around 5 p.m. He arrives at his simple cement block home and finds it empty ? something he has become accustomed to. Sometimes, Pablo will find his father passed out on the couch or in bed. His father hasn't held a job for several years and fills his days with alcohol binges. On a rare occasion the young boy will be greeted by a hug from his grandmother, should she not have jobs ironing clothes in their neighborhood. His mother works three jobs to keep his family surviving. She usually comes in to give Pablo his good night kiss before she collapses from fatigue into her own bed. Pablo struggles in school. He doesn't have many friends. He sometimes feels abandoned, alone and unloved. Pablo is 8 years old. Lourdes sits alone, combing her doll's hair. Her bedroom is filled with dolls. She lives on the 11 th floor of a downtown high-rise. The lonely girl has no brothers or sisters to play with her. Lourdes 's parents have jobs that take them out of town quite often. Her parents also have quite an active social calendar. They have provided for a nanny. Lourdes sits alone many nights with her dolls. She often puts herself to bed. There is no story, no good night kiss, no one tucking the covers in around her. Lourdes is awkward in social situations. She has only one friend, her nanny. She wants to act older like her parents. She has started drinking from her father's liquor cabinet and wears too much makeup. Lourdes is 9 years old. Pablo and Lourdes had no one to turn to. What they wanted to see more than anything was that there was someone who truly cared for them, loved them and was there for them. Pablo and Lourdes found that someone in the strangest of places?the radio.
Along with his friends ?Punta Fina? (Fine Point, a pencil) and children Juani, Michaela and others, they take children, hand-in-hand, on great adventures through the Bible and everyday life as they share the hope that can be found in a new friend named Jesus.
?We have made it a priority to provide a high-energy, professional radio program that reaches children where they are and gives them a person of confidence in Buzy. It's often that children are most affected by the social problems caused by their parents,? says Rev. Brian Utter, South America Regional Communications Coordinator. ?These children have lost their trust in the family and their innocence at an early age. We hope Buzy can fill that void of trust in their lives and help restore that innocence while allowing them to experience a new friend in Jesus.? Times A Wastin?
Children experience ?who? God is through those that are on the journey with them. When children encounter warmth and kindness in a Sunday school teacher, the teacher is helping to shape their view of God. When children find a safe, loving environment to explore their questions, again we are shaping their view. Children are also helping to shape our view of God. Matthew's gospel account expresses the words of Jesus as instruction to become like the little children. That will be unattainable unless we pay careful attention to the way children learn and respond. Listening to children we will discover that they have profound insight. George Barna, the author of Transforming Children Into Spiritual Champions cautions us to beware of the temptation to reference children (both implicitly and explicitly) as bait that we will use to reel-in the adults. Avoiding such language as, ?children are a distraction? or ?we need to plan something for the kids while the adults do their thing?, is paramount. Recognizing that children belong to the body will guide our philosophy and planning as we minister to the whole body. When we consider the question, ?Why minister to kids?? it seems to beg the question, ?Why not?? They are moldable, teachable, shapeable, energetic, willing and ready participants in Christ's church. We must be deliberate about how we spend our time with them. We don't have a moment to lose! Margaret Tyler, Children's Pastor, Shawnee Church of the Nazarene A Heart Reached ? A Life Saved: A WMB Testimony
?Three days had passed since the program when I met Claudia. Her belly was just beginning to show signs of pregnancy. What surprised me most was her face, radiating peace with a beautiful smile. She thanked me for the program from the previous Friday and told me it was the key to keeping the life of her baby. She thanked us for the breath and impulse of life and the advice full of hope that had been spilled over the airwaves. Now she has love and respect for God as the owner of life. Claudia had the intention to abort, but that is now a thing of the past. We thank God for using ?El Faro? to rescue a life from the stormy waters of uncertainty.? From Rev. Jesús Bernat leader of the WMB Program ?El Faro? (The Lighthouse) For Soweto
This area is packed with children, many living in harsh circumstances. These children need to hear about the hope that can be found in Jesus. WMB Africa is in the process of talks with ?Helping Hands Africa? to begin airing a radio program focused towards the children of Soweto. Please pray with us and our regional leadership as we seek God's direction and provision for this program. If you would like to contribute to WMB and provide funding for radio programs in Africa or one of the other regions, log on to http://www.worldmissionbroadcast.org/contribute.aspx Chavalitos del Seņor ? God?s Kids at Work in Nicaragua
These three youth are products of the project ?A Glass of Milk and Cookies? which was sponsored by Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. The three sisters began visiting the Church of the Nazarene when they were 8, 9 and 10 years old respectively. Raisa was the first to accept Christ toward the end of 2001. Next, Itza Tatiana followed in the summer of 2002, and the last to accept Christ was Hiledy at the beginning of 2003. Today, these three young ladies are full members of the Church of the Nazarene in Puerto Cabezas. Each Sunday they teach a children's Sunday School class and weekly share their joy and love of Jesus with the children of Puerto Cabezas on WMB's radio program, Chavalitos del Señor (which means ?God's Kids). Through The Eyes of a Child ? WMB Devotional Thoughts
Take another look. But this time, look at it through the eyes of a child. Barefoot and hopping across the grass they discover, one by one, that these glorious little flowers have been masterfully sprinkled all throughout the yard, making it exciting each time one is found. The color is vibrant and makes a wonderful paint as the bud is smeared across the sidewalk. If done just right, it will also give a cheek or chin a nice buttery color. And if they are plucked long, dandelions make a perfect bouquet to give to mom (even if the only vase in the house is a tiny paper cup). A dozen long stem roses couldn't compare to the love and excitement that comes with a sweaty, dirty handful of dandelions. Children are truly God's blessing to the world. They have a pureness in them that we as adults could only hope to regain. Reaching a child and showing them the grace we have through Jesus Christ will not only impact their lives, but the lives of everyone around them. A child doesn't question God's intentions, His plan, or His love. They trust God completely and purely with the innocence that is inside their heart. As children see the world through the eyes of God, so must we begin to see the world through the eyes of a child. Dee Dee Mills Giving to WMB Just Got Easier! |
Every weekend tens of thousands of children like Pablo and Lourdes tune in to hear ?Buzy?, their new ?faithful friend? on the radio. ?Buzy? is a mailbox. His name is actually short for the word ?buzon,' which means mailbox in Spanish. Buzy hosts his program ?Aventuras Con Buzy? (Adventures with Buzy) each weekend on hundreds of radio stations throughout Latin America.
Buzy and Punta Fina impact children every weekend, encouraging them to reach out to their new friend Jesus. Through music, drama, Bible stories and homework assignments, the children learn about Jesus and are growing in their relationship with their new friend. Children are encouraged to do the assigned homework and send it to Buzy.
It is a common misconception that children are born somewhat empty and it is our job to begin to fill them. Research, however, supports that in the earliest stages of life children are developing their language (though unspoken at first), communication and comprehension. While the most rapid development takes place from birth to 5 years, we understand that it continues for a lifetime. When we embrace this as truth we must plan to give careful attention to the shaping and development of children from the very moment they enter our world.
We Reached the Heart and Saved a Life was the show's title that night on WMB's El Faro radio program. The subject was abortion. ?We talked about the value of life, from fertilization to our responsibility and the love of God,? said program host, Rev. Jesús Bernat.
The dream is for a children's radio program to air in the sprawling urban township of Soweto, South Africa. One of the most populous black urban residential areas in South Africa, Soweto is a vision of contrasts. Look one direction and you will see luxurious mansions? look another direction and you will find tin shanties.
At 8:15 each Saturday morning Raisa, Itza Tatiana and Hiledy are preparing themselves in front of the microphones at Radio Caribe 100.9 FM. They do this with the purpose of talking about Jesus to the children of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.
How many dandelions must one kill to make a beautiful yard? If it's not the bright yellow weed, it's the dead, dried head blowing fluff around your once flawless yard. As you shake your head in disgust, you wonder why God didn't just make them grow in one big patch so you could dig it up and be finished.
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