Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCA)

Good news, prayer, and patience

Julia Londis bridges gaps at Cristo Rey

By Shannon Geiger

Published May 1, 2009 in Witness

Julia Londis teaches at Hodges Elementary School in Mesquite. Three years ago, she went on a PCPC mission trip to the Philippines. While there, a friend asked her to pray about helping with the youth back in the states at Cristo Rey Presbyterian Church, a bilingual, predominantly Hispanic congregation in North Dallas planted by the Southwest Church Planting Network. After spending some time praying, she said yes.

Of the 120+ people who attend Cristo Rey, more than 40 are children, and Julia pours her heart and time into the small group of high school girls, meeting, texting, going on retreats, and just hanging out. “I see a craving in them to surrender their lives to God. They hunger for their lives to be different. Some are in the midst of saying, ‘Yes, Lord, I want my life to honor you.’ Some are on the cusp of saying that, and some, I have no idea,” she says.

Julia doesn’t speak Spanish, but all the girls speak English. Some come from wealthy Anglo and Hispanic families while others are from less affluent, immigrant families from Mexico and other non-Latin countries. Some will be the first in their families to go to college, but others may not go. Acceptance letters range from Yale to community college, if they get in.

“Really, we all struggle and go through the same things, sins, and heart issues our whole lives,” Julia says. The American cultural influences are the same we see all over—alcohol, sex, lust, success. I think they overall question how Jesus and His Word affects their lives... I try to do my best to be real and not spiritualize answers but share how God is bringing me through the journey he has me on.”

Some have parents who have recently accepted Christ, and the family’s notion of encouraging kids to attend Bible study and youth events is unfamiliar. Others have to help their family cleaning businesses or work other jobs to make ends meet. Julia freely admits she doesn’t know the right or best thing to say or how to lead them. The work can be challenging and isolating; the church is small, without a singles’ or college group to pull people in to help.

Julia says, “I pray that the girls would earnestly desire to know God, and that they would desire for their lives to be about Christ now, no matter what they choose for their lives after high school... When they are discouraged or their hearts are broken and they can’t stop crying or are just so angry, I pray that they would cling so tightly to our Savior who offers hope, and trust Him that He is molding them to be more like Him. And as I pray, I cannot help but realize how I so desperately need Him in these same very same ways.

“I always tell people that Cristo Rey is like my family, and I feel real community there with people who care about me and who I care about, encouraging each other in Christ. The longer I am there the more I treasure the relationships... I love that it’s small, my pastor knows me, and there are diverse people from different cultures and walks of life.”

Along with teaching, Julia is studying biblical counseling at Redeemer Seminary in Dallas and looks forward to whatever the direction the Lord takes her next.

“I get so encouraged when I feel God has shown me what to share either in Bible study or just in conversation and to see how it affects them in that very moment and in the days to follow... Of course, I get frustrated and disappointed when I’ve been encouraging them one way and they still choose the other, but I’m humbled when I realize that I do this very thing with God and also with friends, and He renews my compassion by having me remember over and over His amazing grace.”