Home from Acuña!

Home from Mexico, where there are two new houses built for two families that needed them. I always have mixed feelings coming home from a mission trip. I love my country and enjoy the pleasures and abundance we have here. I also enjoy living in this area where we have a sense of security. 

 On the other hand, I am reminded of how much I waste, how much my solution is - "just go buy a new one". How much clean water I dump out, use to bath in, and flush, without a thought of how precious clean water is to most of the world. It is the aftermath of a mission trip for me. I feel humbled, sad, happy, and honored to have had this opportunity.

Many people wonder how we choose the people we build for. There is a board of Pastors in each community that Casas por Cristo builds in. Those pastors together look at applications and advise the staff of Casas Por Cristo. Sometimes people are on the list for a long time. There are certain requirements, like they must legally own the land. When we go to build, we do not know of what faith (if any) the family practices. Our mission is to show the love of Christ through our actions of love.  The houses are little, and basic structures, with a concrete floor, 2-3 rooms, wired for electric, but no plumbing. Walls are insulated and drywalled, but the drywall is not finished out by the volunteers. The houses have blackboard on the out side walls, covered by chicken wire (to hold on the stucco) and then stucco (cement mixture). The family must finish out painting the outside and drywall. The roof is insulated and covered with black paper and rolls of green roofing. This type of house is appreciated, it keeps their family warm, and dry, even though it was built by mostly unskilled volunteers. Many times, the families, neighbors, or pastors, will help on a worksite, and or feed the volunteers a meal - which is expensive when you are talking about feeding 25 people.

 This week I met some amazing people who are seeking, following, and sharing the love of Christ. A young man that is being called to ministry, and is fearful of that, but left his business, and is following His call. A missionary that has a great balance of instructing us, but empowering us to learn. A pastor that was called from alcoholism 14 years ago, and followed His call to a much less appealing part of his country from his home where the climate is beautiful, the economy is better, and was safer than the border. I visited college and high school students on our team that grow in their faith, are not afraid to stand up and share their faith. I met a teenage girl that gave me a present, when she doesn't have much at all - I was there to show her the love, and instead, I was being shown. I was invited to make a fool of myself by a group of teenage boys up the street, by dancing with their group. Of course I have no rhythm, but they sincerely had fun and I had more fun. I rode in a van of good men with excellent conversations - the kind of men that put their families first. I met 71 year old man that could out work us all, was so funny, loves Jesus, but still struggles with sin, just like the rest of us. I met an 18 year old girl with a 2 year old baby that shared with me her concerns about raising her baby in an impoverished border town. Arturo,  a young man with epilepsy recognized us as Christians and asked us to pray for him by name.  I could go on, but you get the picture.

So, who got more out of this trip - the families who have new, but humble homes, or those of us that went to serve and now have humbler hearts?

Acuña Mexico 2013

Five years ago, I went on my first mission trip.  Our church partners with an organization called "Casas por Cristo".  I had no idea what I was getting myself into. As the time to leave came closer, I began to doubt if I should go.  I wondered if I could really make a difference. After all, I did not have building skills, I thought I might just be in the way. I was not in good physical shape - overweight, and not used to extreme heat. I could not speak Spanish, so I had no idea how I would even communicate with the people there.
But I had made a commitment to my church, and to my daughter, so I loaded up and went anyway.

And there is where I learned that "God does not call the equipped, but equips the called". Somehow I learned to hammer in nails... and take out bent nails. I discovered that sheetrock is very heavy, and that you cut it with a box knife. When me and Natalia were asked to wire the house, I was terrified - I couldn't do that - I had never wired anything, but a drill was put into my hands and a box of electrical wire with a few instructions. No one but myself questioned whether or not I could do it. With a lot of smiles and hand gestures, all of us connected with the Mexican family members. Now there is a little house in Juarez Mexico that a family lives in with their children, and they call it home.

Last week my family and I returned to Mexico, but this time in Acuña, to build my third house, (it was my daughter's sixth build). I still don't have many building skills, I am still overweight, and God still equipped me to do His work. The only thing that has changed is my language skills. I have been feverishly studying and practicing Spanish for the past year,  so I could communicate better and learn more about the family that we were building for. This year, my new friends, Raul and Maria, and their 5 month old baby Jerith received a house, not from me, or my group, but from the One that they had prayed to. Raul works hard, and is also the youth pastor and sound engineer at his church. Their pastor came every day to help our group build the house. It was so fun to get to talk to Pastor Roberto - he likes to talk and was very patient with my Spanish skills.

 From that first mission trip, I learned so much, and each time I learn more. I am not afraid to go to Mexico or any other place. I am not afraid I will not be equipped or valuable to the cause. I even bought the Casas por Cristo shirt that says:

This LOVE is not for COWARDS