Bringing Jesus and jiujitsu to kids in a suburb of Juarez, Mexico, where a drug cartel has become infamous for decapitating rivals seemed like the right thing to do for eight members of a Sheridan martial arts gym.

The group recently returned from a weeklong trip that involved working with a church ministry in Anapra, Mexico, that uses jiujitsu to bring practical and spiritual lessons to 100 area kids.

“Jiujitsu, we’ve found, just crosses all the cultures and language barriers, and it’s really an effective tool for not only teaching discipline and self-control, but it provides for healthy relationships with other people” said Jen Barron, who described herself as a jiujitsu student at Sheridan’s Grindhouse gym.

“It gives people confidence,” she added. "And so, for these kids coming from

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