A house, something that seems so simple yet means so much. Often times we forget how lucky we are to have such a simple thing, to have our own home. However, many people in Juarez are not lucky enough to know what this feeling is, praying every single day and night for a home of their own. Not only do they want a home to call their own, but it means so much more than that. It means they have protection, safety and security from the outside. The houses we build: a concrete slab, a bunch of wood, black board, chicken wire, stucco, dry wall, and most importantly a foundation in Christ. For both of the families we built for this year, they were both single moms looking for a way to provide safety and protection for their families.

First Night at Rosa de Saron we cooked a dinner to fuel us for the next day. We sang together in worship and Todd Frisbie did an amazing job exploring the gospel and led a wonderful worship that prepared all of our hearts and minds for the task ahead.

Day 1

The roosters wanted to make sure they didn’t miss the sun, so they began crowing at 4 in the morning. Don’t worry, a good pair of ear plugs made sure that they didn’t keep us awake. Day 1 marks the beginning of a new day, of a new work week, of a new house for a family so desperately in need. We started out the day with the breakfast of champions, egg(whites) and bacon, along with some fruit, yogurt, oatmeal and cereal. After that we headed to meet our families for the day.  Team AC was building a house for a single mom with five children who did not have a home of their own, they were currently living with friends. They had a plot of land right behind their family’s home and that is where the day began. The morning was spent preparing for the concrete slab. Normally, we use a pumper truck to get the concrete into the form. Well, have you even been part of an assembly line carrying back and forth buckets of concrete? After this trip, most of us can answer yes to that question. Since the site was up a hill, it required the good old method of muscles and teamwork. The whole entire family helped us out, even the little ones were running empty buckets back down to the truck and we got some help from team Gordon. God provides in so many ways and with so many hands-on deck we were able to knock it out. Our truck was supposed to be at 11:00 am, but because it came at 3:00pm, we were able to receive help from the other team, a huge blessing and reminder that everything is done in God’s timing, not ours. The best part about day 1 was the home cooked meal our family prepared for us, and it was absolutely delicious. At the end of the day we had dinner at the church and worship together. Worship consisted of Brigham Dion doing worship and then telling us his Casas story.

Day 2

Day 3

The last and final day. The day that finishes the house that has been started in the name of Christ to spread his name across Juarez, Mexico. Like Brigham Dion our casas leader told us, day 3 is when adrenaline stops pushing you forward and character becomes the thing that fuels you. That day I was amazed at how strong the character is of every single person on our team and our casas leaders Brigham and Zach. Both teams worked so hard and we were able to dedicate two houses to two incredible families in the name of Jesus Christ. Dedication day saw a lot of happy tears and prayers. Day 3 also saw some amazing Vacation Bible School programs at both work sites. Team Gordon had three different stations set up for their kids to participate in different activities and they had a lot of kids from their neighborhood show up. Team AC had some vacation bible school time with the kids of the family and their friends. Time was spent reading from La Santa Biblia and the kids loved reading the word of God, eagerly wanting to be the next person to read a passage. After Vacation Bible School the magical word was said: ¡futbols! The kids got so excited about the soccer balls. Some of the members of team AC had the chance to play with the kids before the dedication; those kids are fast and really good at soccer. Before dedication the family of Team AC sang us some beautiful songs in Spanish, and then we surprised them with a song in Spanish as well. Day 3 saw so many things and it was such a good day full of smiles, laughter, and happy tears from both the teams and the families. To end the day, we went back to the church once again, had some dinner and worship. Keith Sennate explored the gospel with us with a message about the importance of flexibility on short term missions.

Words cannot describe how thankful each and every one of us is for the support we receive from the congregation here at Vista Grande Baptist Church. Without the support of this congregation we would not have been able to build two houses for two amazing families. Thank you for supporting us and allowing us to travel to Juarez, Mexico with Casas Por Cristo not only to build homes, but also to spread the name of our savior Jesus Christ. This mission trip is a life changing experience for every single person who embarks on it. ¡Gracias para su ayuda! Galatians 6:9-10 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith”.