An Interview with Arturo and Lilia

What is the Imuris Kid’s Kingdom?

                We are a non profit orphanage that is credentialed through Open Bible. We opened our doors 13 years ago to the children of Mexico. We currently have 30 children staying with us. 

Where are you located?

                We are located forty five minutes across the Arizona border in the town of Imuris, in the district of Sonora in Mexico.

How is your orphanage different?

                We operate more like a large family. Most orphanages in Mexico are run like a prison. We are also a community center of type, with the local children and adults coming and going. We provide childcare for many of the single moms in our area.

Where do the children at your orphanage come from?

                Right now they are all children that the government has placed with us. These children have either been taken out of abusive homes or found on the streets. A lot of them have parents who are currently imprisoned.

Tell us more about yourselves.

                We, Lilia and Arturo, are both natives of Mexico. We felt called to ministry in our late twenties. After one false start we knew that God wanted us to work with orphans in Mexico. We worked for a year and half at the Calvary Chapel Orphanage in Baja Mexico. Before the opportunity was provided to acquire the piece of land that is now the Imuris Kid’s Kingdom. We started building the place with our own money. Eventually, through a series of events, we connected with God Is on the Move, which is a ministry through Open Bible. Through there help a team came down and built the structures. Later a group from Mobile Kingdom Builders came down and spent two weeks putting the finishing touches on everything.

Can you tell us more about some of your children?

                We currently have a majority of girls ranging from 3 – 17, although most are between 10 - 17 years old. Usually the government sends us teenagers that the other orphanages are having trouble with. A lot of these children have been physically, sexually and emotionally abused and come here in a broken state. We are able to share the love of Christ with them and walk them through the healing process.

What does a typical day look like?

                We normally start the day with a time of devotions. This is followed by chores and free time. We then will have lunch at 1, followed by a few more chores and some more free time. Free time includes sports, playground, dancing and television. We will then eat dinner followed by a larger group game in the cool of the evening. Also throughout the week we work in life skill classes such as sewing, cooking and baking.

Are you involved in other ministries?

                We have a church building here at the orphanage and run a thriving church. We have Wednesday night services for families; these normally are attended by 50+ people. We also hold women`s prayer meeting on Friday night. Then we have Sunday morning service, we normally have 75 – 100 people in attendance. 
                We also run a Day Care Center for different single moms in the area. There is a factory opening up and we should have 20-30 children from there alone. The mothers are looking for a safe place they can leave their children. This also provides training for the girls that are staying at our orphanage. We charge the mothers a small fee and most of this is then given to the girls for their help.
             We have also sent out three different couples to plant churches in the towns surrounding Imuris. One couple is in Empalme, which is a city that has a high rate of families that have been destroyed by drugs.They also work with a woman's shelter to help abused women, find safety and a place to heal. Another couple is in Benjamin Hill they currently have a 2 acre plot of land with a church on it. They are trying to raise money to purchase 10,000 blocks at $0.30 a block. To create a home for 100 immigrant girls who have escaped violent situations.The third couple is in Hermosillo, which is the capital of Sonora. He is working with a ministry for teen boys.

What are some ways that people can get involved?

·         Please be praying and encouraging all your friends to be in prayer.

·         The children make sock monkeys and aprons that you can purchase or help us sell.

·         We can also use financial donations.

·         We welcome teams and volunteers who want to come and help us here.

·         Also we could use your help raising awareness about our ministry. We are on Facebook.