Yakima Women Build on Firm Foundation

by Major Ruth Sundin – 

The Yakima Temple Corps Women’s Ministries, under the direction of Corps Officer Lt. Christine Torres and Home League Secretary Eloisa Romo Rivas, has been active and creative in its desire to be helpful to the people in their community.

First, they began to lay a foundation of good teaching, offering two series: “What Happens When Women Pray” and “How to Raise Your Children as Christians in a Non-Christian World.”

Next, they began to pray for their community. Rivas, a young woman with a great heart, is also a Sunday school teacher. She works with youth who are coming out of gangs. A wife and mother of two babies who is faithful and loyal in her service to the Lord, Eloisa reaches out to the youth and helps them make right choices.

In addition, as a response to the Welfare Reform Act which left the Hispanic community at a great loss because many were not citizens and no longer qualified for assistance, the Home League began providing citizenship classes for the community. Three members of the first class are now United States citizens.

The Home League is providing ESL (English as a Second Language) classes so the people can find year-round jobs rather than seasonal work. Sewing, crocheting, and cooking on a tight budget are taught as well because many of the women have large families, but no way to buy clothes, blankets or shoes. They try to keep the older children in school with shoes, but the little ones wear crocheted booties.

Maria de Lourdes first came to Home League at the invitation of her children. She accepted Jesus in a leap of faith, and began to pray for her husband. He started attending the English classes and Men’s Fellowship. He, too, came to know the Lord, stopped drinking, and began to spend more time at home with his wife and five children. This spring, Maria and Martin de Lourdes became Senior soldiers and three of their children Junior soldiers, all because Maria was invited to Home League.