While facing the hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic that has often prevented people from gathering face-to-face, the LHM-Uruguay staff remains steadfast in their mission to share the Good News. Using social networks and multimedia as the main tools, LHM-Uruguay reinvented the way they do ministry.
The LHM-Uruguay ministry center is known for their dedicated work that focuses on children, women, and youth. Over the last several years, the staff has held many activities and events that bring a good number of women and youth participants to the ministry center building where they are then connected to a local church for additional follow up.
Some of the most popular events have been the Junior Chefs workshops and the School Assistantship for public school children. Since in-person events had to be paused during the pandemic, the LHM-Uruguay staff looked for new ways to stay close to the children. They were then enlightened by a “little star” known in Uruguay as Estrellita.
Estrellita is a character that was created in 2008 when LHM-Uruguay held events to distribute care packages to around 5,000 individuals. Paula, a ministry center staff member, grabbed the first costume she found at home and used her gift of teaching to share the Gospel with children through this newly-created character. She was an instant hit with the kids and her name became Estrellita, which means “little star.” Since then, Estrellita is always ready with an expression of wonder at the love and goodness of God.
Paula knew in her heart that the answer to the question of how to stay close to the children during this time was to let Estrellita be with the children, but through a screen. Estrellita could virtually invite children into her home every Thursday for a time of connecting through YouTube videos.
From there, the question became, “How do we do this?” The ministry center staff recruited Joaquín, a 17-year-old boy who participates in the youth meetings at the local Lutheran church. After starting a successful family business with his father a few years ago, Joaquín discovered new gifts and talents, including being a genius with cameras. Joaquín accompanies the ministry center staff each week as they shoot and produce the videos, most of which are filmed at the ministry center.
The weekly videos are about Estrellita, a curious 7-year-old girl who is happy about life, loves her family, and is a close friend of Jesus. She tells viewers what is in her heart and how the Lord teaches her to be a better person through the stories she reads in her Bible. She learns in the Bible that Jesus loves her and forgives her for her sins. Estrellita has many special friends who join her in the videos to share the teachings of Jesus.
In only a few days, the number of subscribers to the LHM-Uruguay YouTube channel grew by 100. Each video has a couple hundred views, with the number continuing to grow each week.
After a short amount of time, the LHM-Uruguay staff realized there is an audience eager for this content and Estrellita’s videos are providing hope for people and children during this difficult time. The responses to Estrellita’s videos have been positive and most importantly, the children enjoy the videos.
In addition to providing hopeful content, the ministry center staff reached out to their audience offering a Bible as a gift to families who do not have one at home. More than 50 people contacted the office requesting one. It is clear that Estrellita is opening doors for conversations with the people of Uruguay who desperately need to hear the Gospel message.
You can view Estrellita’s videos on the “Cristo Para Todas Las Naciones Uruguay” YouTube channel.