It is a beautiful summer evening at Eagle Rock Lake, with a quiet sense of fellowship and community, as about 15 local parents and relatives of children attending Living Word Ministries Kids Fishing Clinic gather near the grill filled with burgers and hotdogs. Looking over the lake, groups of children take turns casting, waiting, and reeling in under the guidance of Pastor Peter Martinez.
“Have you fished before?” Pastor Peter kindly asks an 8-year-old boy visiting from Albuquerque. “Go grab a worm from the pail of dirt and bring it here, I’ll get you set up.” The boy sprints off to the pail as the pastor fastens a bobber to the line. The boy comes back with a large earthworm held at arm’s length. “Ok, now you have to eat the worm!” says the pastor, and bursts with full laughter at the boy’s disgusted face. “Ok, well maybe the fish will like it better, hito (endearing term for young person).”
Pastor Peter fits the worm to the hook and demonstrates how to cast, then hands the rod off to the boy for practice.
“We’re here today to prepare the kids for the Fish Fiesta this weekend,” says Pastor Peter. “Go get yourself a hamburger,” he says as he continues to instruct other kids.
Meanwhile, his wife, Pastor Gayle Martinez searches for more paper plates as the pair continue to feed and help attendees learn how to fish. When asked about the turnout, she smiles. “We’re very pleased with this event; we have had about 50 kids.”
In February, Living Word Ministries was involved in planning and hosting an Asset Building Community Development workshop (or ABCD) in an effort to hear from the community on what they would like to see more of. The main theme from the meetings was to create more activities for families and kids in the community. Since then, Pastor Gayle and Pastor Peter have been working diligently to carve out these opportunities, the fish clinic being only one of the events they’ve created for the community.
Other undertakings they’ve been involved in are planning and hosting the first ever Questa Car Show, PromGirl Boutique (a boutique for prom dresses), tea parties, outdoor game events, and movie nights.
These undertakings take plenty of effort and resources. “We have received funding for these activities from the LOR foundation and Chevron grants,” says Pastor Gayle when asked how she is able to pull this off. “I love our groups of volunteers, they make all the difference.”
Pastor Gayle was previously director of Parks and Recreation in Taos; therefore her expertise in planning and developing events comes in handy as she works to serve the northern Taos County communities.
Keep an eye out for more events hosted by Questa’s Living Word Ministries by following them on their facebook page: facebook.com/LWMSite.
