Home from Mexico

I have been home from the Mexico Mission Trip for 1 week.  However, it still feels like part of me is still in Mexico.  Maybe it is because there was a group of us from Canada, united for one purpose - to build a home for a needy family.  Now being back home, there is too numerous tasks/to do items that I need to accomplish.  Maybe it is because our experience in Mexico is simple living.  We work, we eat, we sleep.  We work, we eat, we sleep.  There are less distractions.  And we get to have great tasting tacos.  It is always a valuable experience.

I have been to Tijuana, Mexico 10 times since 2006.  For seven of the trips, I went to lead a team in building a house along with Amor Ministries.  For three of the trips, I went to visit Francisco, my friend that I met on my third house building trip.  We have also hired Francisco to be a translator for the last four trips that we have gone on.

There is a different way of life when you live in Mexico.  Most families are trying to survive on $400-600 per month.  Most do not have hot water, electricity, indoor plumbing, or private transportation.  They purchase their food daily from small shed like stores that are all over the neighbourhood.  They use public transportation to go to work.  As well, they work 6 days a week for 10 hours a day.  There houses can be poorly built shacks with no floor and a leaking roof.

That is why we are working with Amor Ministries, helping one family at a time.  When a home is built, there is hope for the family.  They do not have to worry about shelter.  Their limited resources can go towards other necessities of life.  Their children are better provided for.

Watch the video below on what a house can do for a family:

So I come home from Mexico realizing that I need to be grateful and generous.  Grateful for what I have and generous with what I have.

The Mexico Experience

We have been in Mexico for three full days and it has been a really great experience!

On Sunday, we had breakfast at around 7:00 and then headed out of camp to find Francisco Ortiz.  We built a house for Francisco and his wife Isela in 2008 and have stayed connected with them ever since.  Francisco speaks English, so we have hired him as our translator for our last four trips to Mexico.  He also is a lay Pastor in his church and we have supported ministries that he has been a part of.

After picking up Francisco and his family, we drove to Rosarita and enjoyed a Mexican Church Service.  It was a short one by their standards 2.5 hours.  Everybody felt that it was good to be a part of and even though we could not understand the language, we could feel the Spirit of God moving amongst us.

Then we went for lunch at a restaurant along the ocean.  However could stomach it had Octopus, Crab, Shrimp or other fish.  There was also Beef tacos for those who did not like sea food.

On Monday, we met the family that we were building the house for.  There were two brothers, one with a family, one that is single.  They will be sharing the home with their mother who is too sick to come outside.  We pour the cement pad on a very hot day and started framing the walls for the house.  The kids were tired by the time they came back to the Amor Camp.  Many of them were tired well before the day was over :)  Mixing cement by hand is hard work!!

On Tuesday, we were able to finish framing the remaining walls and set the house together after lunch.  We went to a local taco stand for lunch and had some great Tacos!  Everyone enjoyed them!

By the end of the day, we had the roof on the house, tar papered the roof, ran wire all around the building (in place of plywood) and put the tar paper on the outside of the house.

Wednesday we will be putting the chicken wire up and hope to start stuccoing by lunch time!

An interesting thing happened while I was taking Francisco home on Tuesday. At his house I got a text message from Shelby Neudorf.  She had been phoned and texted by someone who had bought Jesse's stolen Iphone!  They had bought it for $150 from the person who had stolen it and were willing to sell it back to us.  We think it was stolen earlier in the afternoon from the jobsite by one of the neighborhood kids.  So Francisco, my dad and I (Mark) drove to where the phone was taken and purchased it back for Jesse.  It was an expensive reminder to be very careful with items on the jobsite!

We were also able to hear from one of the Pastors who is on the Amor Mexican Board.  They choose who gets to receive the houses that are built.  He told us his life story through our translator Francisco.  It was truly remarkable how all of his family came to Christ.  It was also a powerful story of redeeming grace and how his dad went from an alcholic and violent man, to a faithful, loving follower of Jesus Christ.  God is amazing and following him is the most important decision you can make in your life!!

The second day of the trip is always much more interesting then the first day.  After driving for 18 hours, it is nice to only need to drive for a little over 10 hours on the second day.  We woke up in First Mennonite Church of Aberdeen had breakfast and packed lunches.  We then headed out with the next stop being Salt Lake City, the home of the Morman Tabernacle and Convention Centre.

The impression one receives when walking around the two city blocks is this is Morman Mecca.  Crazy amounts of money have been spent here by the Morman Church.  When you take the tour it is also interesting that the Morman Church is trying so hard to sound orthodox, just another Christian denomination.  They do not mention anything about their beliefs in how humans can become a God of a parallel universe if you live this life right.

Then, six hours later, we are in Las Vegas - the city that never sleeps.  Lights everywhere.  People trying to have fun spending money.  Both of these stops will be challenged once we meet the people of Mexico.  Las Vegas feels so shallow when you are building a home for people that have much less then us.  The tour at the Morman Centre is put into perspective when mixing cement and building a very small home for a family that is very gracious and content.

Yesterday was also Good Friday, a day to remember the main reason that Jesus came into this world.  Sure he showed us how to live a fulfilled life here on Earth, however, he also came into this world to save us.  He died on the cross for each one of us.  If you were the only person living on earth, Jesus would have died for only YOU.  We need to let him have the steering wheel of our lives, give over our lives to Jesus.  This will give us eternal life in paradise and a fulfilled life here on earth.  May we proclaim the power of the cross to others today.

Mark and Gerald are currently in Calgary, waiting for a morning flight to Los Angeles.  From there they have a two hour drive to our rendezview point at the Amor Ministries office in San Diego.  The group travelling by van has a five hour drive from Las Vegas to San Diego.  We should meet up with each other in mid afternoon, travel into Mexico and have a supper cooked by Mexican volunteers.

Tomorrow, we go to a worship service in Tijuana and spend some time along the beach!

The longest day on the road trip down to Tijuana, Mexico is completed.  We are half way there.  It is truly a blessing that we left a day before an April Snow Storm in Saskatchewan.  Most years, we leave on Good Friday, but this time we are wanting to be in Mexico to celebrate Easter!  Now, while back home there is slippery roads, we are driving to Las Vegas where the high for today is 28 degrees!

We need to show a great amount of gratitude to Tim Satterfield and the First Mennonite Church of Aberdeen.  For six of our seven trips, we have been able to stay at the church for the first night.  We greatly appreciate the hospitality and the bagels/fruit that they provide us with.  They have shown support for missions and service through their hospitality.  Here are some pictures of the church.

Today, the group will be spending time in Salt Lake City, seeing the Morman Convention Centre and Grounds.  They will be arriving at Las Vegas for night.

Pray for safety.  Pray for the drivers Jesse and Jon.  Pray that the team will bond while travelling together.  Pray that they will be ready to be used by God on route and in Mexico.

Blessings!

Today, April 17th, a group of youth and leaders from the Youth Farm Bible Camp started a journey.  A journey to bring hope.  A journey to find hope.  A journey across North America to build a home for a family in Mexico.

The Escobar family is eagerly awaiting out arrival.  They live in a community called "Terrazas del Valle 2" in Tijuana, Mexico.  They own land and have one small house with a bad roof and poor floor.  The Mother, Blomdina (57) owns the small lot with Nobel (son, 33) and Griseydi (20) living with her.  A new house is needed so that Nobel and his future wife can move into the new home.  Nobel is the only one working and earns $70 per week as a janitor.

When we go to build houses in Tijuana, we partner with Amor Ministries.  They typically build a 11' x 22', two room home with a slab floor and stucco finished exterior.  Doors and windows are provided for every house.  An Amor house is a simple design, built according to the standards of the community so that a group without skilled labor or power tools can still complete the project.  Here is a picture from one of our earlier mission trips.

Pray for the group as we travel for the next three days.  We are already in Montana and will be arriving in Idaho later tonight.  Tomorrow we drive through Utah, and a corner of Arizona, arriving in Las Vegas for night.  On Saturday, we will arrive in San Diego and rendezvous at the Amor Ministries office before going into Mexico.

Sunday will be spent at a Mexican Church and spending some time on the ocean.  Monday we start working!!