Merry Christmas

Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas! May you be blessed this season as we celebrate the birth of our savior!!

One

Thoughts from a local El Paso volunteer....

Greetings from the dusty streets of Juárez! This March I had the opportunity to be part of a mission trip without spending hours in a van or catching a flight to a distant land. Granted, I did leave the country and the life I am accustomed to, but this dramatic change was less than a fifteen minute drive from my home. I had the honor of being part of a Casas por Cristo build for a young mother and their three small children in Anapra—a small suburb of Juárez. Yesterday I worked with an international team from as far away as China and as close as El Paso, Texas. 

This team met each other for the first time in the early morning darkness at First Baptist Church in El Paso, Texas. As the volunteer team leader, I had assembled a team of many good and close friends. I invited a number of dear friends from Canyon, Texas to travel from the grasslands of the Panhandle to join us on this project in the desert. These friends once called me their pastor, and the bond between us runs deeper than blood.

Joining them were a handful of veteran Casas por Cristo builders from First Baptist Church of El Paso. There was A.J., the former Navy Seal who led by example. Dick, who used his saw to craft the lumber with masterful skill. Jackson, whose smile and positive attitude made any job, whether large or small, enjoyable.  He invited his close friend Bill to add an extra pair of hands to the job site. And finally, there was, “Yooper Bob” who left his home in upper Michigan to live the life of a Casas por Cristo missionary.  He blended skill, experience, and a tearful story to inspire the team to work together for the glory of God.

By my side most of the day were my beautiful daughters Kalie and Jamie. Neither one had ever really been on a job site but they pitched in like they knew what they were doing.  Leading our team was David and Rachel, interns from Minnesota, and the rolling hills of Indiana. Our team was rounded out by a graduate student from UTEP who made his way to our fair city from mainland China. 

This team of strangers soon became family and worked together like a well-oiled machine. Guys who barely knew each other worked together like brothers who had known each other their whole lives. It was a miracle of sorts. But really it was an answer to prayer—not my prayer but the prayer of Jesus. 

Jesus prayed in John 17: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

This week the world saw a glimpse of the glory of Jesus by watching a team working together as “one.”

From Purdue to CpC

Rachel Weller, a summer intern from 2011, is leaving friends, family and familiarity behind to come on board as an apprentice with Casas por Cristo. Her university newspaper wrote an article about her decision to leave Purdue to come and serve as a missionary with Casas por Cristo. Read more about our newest addition and get to know Rachel a little more before her transition to El Paso at the beginning of the new year! 

Senior plans move to Mexico, citing love of culture

Photo Provided by Rachel Weller

12/4/12 Working in Mexico

Rachel Weller, a senior in the College of Science, interacts with a child while in Mexico acting as a missionary building houses.

(article originally posted at http://bit.ly/TIscSJ)
By BRITTANY HERRIN Executive Reporter

After helping build more than 20 houses in Mexico for the less fortunate, a Purdue student said she still cries when she hands the house keys to the family at the end of the week.

Rachel Weller, a senior in the College of Science, vividly remembers the last day of her first trip to Juarez, Mexico, when she was in high school.

“Initially I completely hated it,” Weller said. “It was hot, it was hard work and I had never done construction before.”

Weller said the turning point was when her group of 15 saw the family’s faces when they revealed the new house.

“That was definitely when it was all worth it,” Weller said. “And that feeling comes every time we build a house.”

Weller has visited Mexico multiple times since and is now preparing to move there for good next semester to work as a missionary. She will be the team coordinator for the short-term missions foundation, Casas por Cristo.

Bryson Maikranz, a senior in the College of Engineering, has built houses with Weller in Mexico and said it was an amazing experience to go to Mexico with her.

“When it comes to interacting with the people, especially the family we are building the house for, Rachel takes time out of personally working on the house to get to know them and spend time playing with the children,” Maikranz said. “Rachel knows that the most important thing that she can build for them is a relationship.”

Weller said one of her fondest memories was talking to a pastor’s wife in Juarez. She thanked Weller’s group, started crying and said she was glad people still care about them.

“That was definitely heart-wrenching,” Weller said. “But it’s times like that when it’s all so real and I realize how thankful some people are for what we’re doing.”

Weller said that on her first trip, she thought it seemed impossible to build a house in just under a week, but was surprised with how little they needed for the house.

“Everything is much more simple there,” Weller said. “They don’t need indoor running plumbing, they’re OK with not having kitchen cabinets and they really just need a solid, sturdy house and a roof over their heads and they’re happy.”

She said this idea of simplicity can also apply to other aspects of the culture in Mexico.

“It’s a very chill and calm atmosphere,” Weller said. “We’ve had a concrete truck show up 28 hours late and it wasn’t a big deal. People just go with the flow there and although there are schedules, it is a lot more flexible than here.”

Adjusting back to her

self-proclaimed city-girl lifestyle when she comes back is always a culture shock, Weller said.

“Anyone who knows me can see the difference when I come back,” she said. “I long to be in a culture that places importance on loving one another (but I) have to come back to the fast-paced life of school stuff and appointments.”

Although she enjoys the culture and job in Mexico, Weller said, she is sad to leave Purdue.

“I had wishes and hopes for my last semester at Purdue,” Weller said. “But as much as I love to be here, I feel called to be there and it’s really hard to leave – but I think once I get down there, I’ll be fine.”

Araminta Brooks, a senior in the School of Management, has known Weller since they were both freshmen and said it will be hard to see her go.

“I’m going to miss being able to call her up for coffee, going on runs together, everything,” Brooks said. “I’m so thankful for her and the step that she’s getting ready to take in her life. It takes a lot of faith and love to do what she’s about to do. I’m so proud of her.”

Commissioned

We had a commissioning ceremony today for Brandon and Heather Culp at our pastor's meeting in Júarez. Our pastors and staff came together and prayed over Brandon and Heather, as they prepare to move their lives to Guatemala to work full time for the ministry of Casas por Cristo in San Raimundo. As we laid hands on our friends, the walls of the church echoed with our prayers and praises sent up to God in two different languages.    

It was a beautiful ceremony, but more importantly a reminder of the call that has been placed on each of our lives. Every single one of us claiming to follow Christ has been commissioned to go out and preach the gospel. Although for missionaries, we often have a ceremony or are presented with a certificate when we are sent out to distant lands to follow our calling, the reality is that we have all been called and sent; we have all been commissioned.  

The definition of commission is this: "The act of granting certain powers or the authority to carry out a particular task or duty." Perhaps it adds some sort of validity to our lives and our calling when our friends and family gather around us and reassure us that we have been called to go out and serve our God, but truly, this validation is already ours. Maybe we just need to take hold of it. 

Mark 16:15 tells us, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Matthew 28:19 says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." 

As Brandon and Heather move to Guatemala, they remind us that we have all been commissioned. We are all called to go. We do not need a ceremony, or a certificate, we need to take hold of the calling and responsibility that has been placed on each of our lives with authority and share the gospel with others each and every day.

Team Casas

We need YOU!

In both Guatemala and México, you have the opportunity to give the gift of a lifetime this Christmas. After celebrating with your family, would you consider giving to another? Two families are waiting and praying to receive a home this holiday season.

In Guatemala, Jose Boror (26) and his wife Sonia (23) have no way to provide a safe shelter and home for their young daughter Leidi (2). Our prayer is that this little girl will grow up in a home were she always knows that the body of Christ came to provide for her.

Where: San Raymundo, Guatemala
When: December 30th-January 5th
Cost: $675 per person / not including airfare to Guatemala City
Deadline: November 16, 2012

In Acuña, México, Maria Rodriguez (56) and her son Edgar (10) live in a single parent household and currently have no means of income besides donations from others. With no way to provide a Christmas for her son this year, we can't imagine a better gift for them both; not from us, but through us. What better way to celebrate what this holiday is truly about?!

Where: Acuña, México
When: December 27th-30th
Cost: $500 per person / not including travel to Del Rio, Texas
Deadline: November 16, 2012

For more information check out this link: Team Casas

Preaching Through Action

On his first trip with Casas por Cristo, Jim Runkel returned to his church in Victoria, BC, Canada to share this experience with his congregation...

CASAS TRIP – Oct 4-8 2012

On Saturday last week I gave the sermon and it lasted 8 hours.  But nobody noticed how long I preached because each member of the congregation was preaching for the same length of time.  We preached of God’s love for his fellow man; we preached with each hammer blow, with each 2x4 cut and with each shovel of dirt.  We preached to all the neighbours and to the family whose home we were building.  We showed them by our actions that Jesus lives in us and works through us.  We showed them by how we worked together as a team; always smiling, always showing respect and love to each other.

On Sunday we continued preaching, but never once discussed theological differences.  We worked side by side with our brothers and sisters in Christ to give a family a much needed home.  It was the sermon of love we preached on this Sunday.

In the end, we prayed with our hands on the house; on the house that our hands had built. We prayed that this house will forever be a beacon of light, a CASA por Cristo, a house for Christ; for His love to shine forth.  We gave of ourselves to build a house for a mother, father, and three children; a gift from us to them, but in the end it was us who were blessed the most.  It was us who were given the gift of love and peace which comes from working with Jesus at the center of all we did.

The media had portrayed Juárez as an evil place, a place to be avoided at all costs…but we found Jesus living there and we found love and peace in this place.  We were strangers in this place but were treated, by those whom we came in contact with, like family.  

Rolling Hills Baptist Church team builds house in Juárez, México

We love it when teams go home and tell their local community about all they have seen God do in México and Guatemala. This team wrote an article about their experience for their local newspaper and we want to share it with you. Have you done the same? You have seen the amazing things that God has done, others need to hear your story!

Rolling Hills Baptist Church team builds house in Juarez, Mexico

Selfless Love

A heartfelt and touching video capturing a Casas por Cristo build in Guatemala. Created by Ryan Harris in honor of the Travis Manion fund, this video captures and embodies what the selfless gift of service is all about. We are honored to be a part of this story.

This Week...

We're building homes in Juárez and Acuña, México.  Although you can't be here physically every week, we want to give you the opportunity to join our ministry in prayer for our staff, our teams building and the families receiving each home. Will you take these families to your churches and your own time of prayer as God changes all of our lives this week?

Capital City Christian Church from Jefferson City, MO is building in Acuña, México with Jason Laffan for Ramon, Maria, Miram, Jonatan and Ana Crisneros.
Ramon is a 39 year old policeman and the father of the family.
His wife Maria is 40 and a fulltime housewife.
Their children are Hiram-16, Jonatan- 11, and Ana- 10.
They have been attending Sendero de Amor church for 4 years.

Grace Anglican Church from Sheridan, WY is building with Pete Dockery in Juárez, México for Amalia, Alberto, Santiago, Jonathan, Daniel, Cintha, Ivan and Oscar Alvidrez.
Amalia is a 59 year old single mother and grandmother. She is currently unemployed.
Her 30 year old son Alberto helps provide income for their family, making $70/week.
The rest of the family is made up of her children and grandchildren.
Santiago -39, Jonathan -13, Daniel -20, Cintha- 18, Ivan- 16, Oscar- 13 and Emmanuel-10.
This family was going to receive a double but only has enough land for a two-room single.

We want to put faces to the names of the people we serve and ask you to carry them with us in prayer. These are the photos each family had available to provide. Although they're not the best, they are real, and even across the miles, can allow us to become a part of one another's lives.

[THAT].song.

(Post by 2008 summer intern Kayla Jones)

This morning has been a morning flooded with memories. Memories of a person I used to be, a person I’ve grown out of. Today—windows down and radio up—I made my way home from work/church (what should I call it now?) the song “Better is One Day” came on the radio. I smirked as I remembered the history I have with that song. Maybe you have history with a song, too.

Stories should start at the beginning. To set the stage, in summer 2008 at the age of 20, I volunteered and was chosen to be a short-term building missionary with Casas por Cristo. After 2 weeks of on-the-site/on-the-sand-dunes training, my first team arrived in El Paso, Texas at 6 AM to meet their intern (me) and cross the border into Juárez, México to build a house in 6 days for a family living in poverty. After about 10 minutes of small talk and introductions, a teenage boy in the group raised his hand and said,

“So when are we gonna meet our building intern?”

Slightly deflated [but faking unaffected], I answered, “You just did!”

Puzzled but honest, he replied, “No, I mean the guy who’s going to lead us on our build this week.”

”…Yep, that’s me.” [insert deflating balloon sound here]

The poor kid didn’t know that my confidence was already hanging on by a thread. I had tried to harness the energy of my terror into excitement that morning. I had avoided sharing that fact that they were, in fact, my first solo build. I was pretending I wasn’t 30 years younger than most the adult chaperones in the group. I had made sure I looked the part in my tool belt and work boots. [Full disclosure: I had taken sandpaper to them the night before so I didn’t look like I had escaped the pages of a Home Depot ad]. I had traced the route we would take into the unmarked streets of Mexico and recounted the turns and roundabouts over and over in my mind. I had checked my radio’s battery at least 20 times.

That kid’s comment still took me from confident to incompetent in 2 seconds flat.

When it was time to leave I debriefed the drivers of the two, 16-passenger vans on border crossing, we were on our way. As I walked ahead to my truck, climbed up into the leather bench seat and slammed the rusting door closed, the tears came instantaneously. As I pulled the shifter down to ‘Drive’ I could barely see. I was terrified. I was convinced I was going to get lost, forget the fiber in the concrete mixture, not be able to translate correctly, forget how to wire the ceiling fan, and eventually die somewhere in the dunes of Juárez with all of my unsuspecting team members.

As I turned out of the lot my hand groped its way to the radio knob and I turned it on to drown the noise of my sobs. As I adjusted the volume the song “Better is One Day” began playing and I immediately felt a peace and outpouring of the Holy Spirit on my physical body. My crying stopped. And in that moment I was convinced that God somehow lived in that song. [side note: I wired the fan perfectly and no one died in Juárez that week]

For years afterward (and many times that same summer) whenever I heard that song I was convinced God was present with me. If that song was playing, then He was watching and listening. Guaranteed.

That was 4 years ago and I haven’t thought of that song in a long time. In those four years I’ve grown leaps and bounds in my faith and I can’t identify with my former self anymore; that girl absolutely convinced God lived in a song.

In that song. 

When I heard it this afternoon, I smirked and had a thought conversation with the ever-present, omniscient Lord….

Him: “Remember when you thought I was ONLY with you when this song was playing?”

Me: nervous laughter, “Yeah. That seems pretty superstitious looking back.”

Him: “Well, I am quite pleased we get to hang out more often, now.”

Me: “Me too."

For more on Kayla and her adventures, she blogs regularly at Confessions of a Recovering Perfectionist.

Where Others Refuse to Go

For over 10 years Pete Dockery has served the people of México through building homes for families living in poverty. He's transitioned from a 21 year old college student and intern, to a husband, father and current director of Casas por Cristo. For Pete, following God meant transitioning from a comfortable calling to a choice to endure through an ongoing drug war. Find out why this native Georgian has made his life's work on the US/MX border and continues to serve God in the places that so many others refuse to go.

This interview not only echoes the heart of Pete, but all of the staff of Casas por Cristo. The work is not through. The journey continues.

Taking Your Story Home

Sometimes teams return home to share their stories. When they do, they help carry their experiences into the homes and lives of countless others. Simply, they continue to change lives. This article was originally published by the Killeen Daily Herald in Texas.

Are you using your story to change lives?  How?  We want to help you spread the word! Comment below and give us the link to your own stories!

Originally published by The Killeen Daily Herald  

by: Rose L. Thayer 

Herald/Catrina Rawson - A photo of Patricia and Juan Carrillo and their family hangs on a bulletin board showing
where volunteers from Immanuel Lutheran Church volunteered their time to build them a small house in Mexico. -

When describing the experience of building a home under the hot Mexican sun, all Immanuel Lutheran volunteers sum it up with one simple statement: "It's life-changing."

"It changes your life because you appreciate absolutely everything that we have and that we had the blessing of being born on this side of the line," said Carol Berridge, a volunteer from the downtown Killeen church.

Each year during Spring Break, a group of about 10 volunteers travels to Mexico and builds a home for a family in need through the short-term mission trip organization, Casas por Cristo (Homes because of Christ).

The families must purchase the land for the two-room, 221-square-foot home, with electricity, but no running water. A board of pastors in Mexico selects the recipients and many wait up to two or three years - often living in their car during the interim.

"We come onto sand," said Cynthia Sparks, who organizes each trip. "There's no foundation, no nothing, and by the time we leave, there's a house."

Each week of home-building ends with a dedication ceremony, where the volunteers hand over the keys to the new homeowners.

"That's what gets everyone," Sparks said.

Volunteer Lee Binkley said the ceremony is his favorite part of the week.

"It's inevitable that they always cry, because they may have never had a door with a key. They've never had a house with windows," Binkley said.

But the volunteers don't take the credit for the new home, just as the name indicates.

"It's not from us," Berridge said. "It's from Christ."

Sparks first went on a Casas por Cristo trip in 2004 with a church in Bartlett.

"I said I had to go again," she said, and has now helped build seven homes in the towns of Juarez and Acuna.

She eventually got Immanuel involved, and the church is currently raising money for its fifth trip, scheduled for spring break 2012.

Each trip costs about $7,000 for everything - including all meals, which they bring with them - and for the past three years, they've raised enough funds to cover it. Of that amount, $4,700 goes to the cost of the house.

The group held its first fundraiser in May - a garage sale at the Lampasas home of volunteers George and Judy Morley, where they raised $1,450.

"We get a lot of donations from the church members so that really helps us out," Judy Morley said, adding they have plans for another sale in the fall.

Sparks said many people ask them why they go to Mexico. Why not help American families? She said it's because they are able to make such a big difference, with such a small amount of resources.

"You just can't do something like this is the U.S. for $7,000," Sparks said.

"It's a small amount of money to do a great deed for people that have very little," Judy Morley said.

Now, the church is working to spread the mission trip into other church communities by inviting other churches' members along to learn the ropes.

On the last trip, volunteers from Leander joined them, and are planning a separate trip now.

"Then we double the build," Sparks said.

For more information on Casas por Cristo, go to www.casasporcristo.org.

Opportunities to SERVE

Has it been a while since your last Casas por Cristo trip? Were some of your best memories made giving a home to a family in need? Then we have good news for you! 

We just added a new date for Team Casas Guatemala! Ring in the New Year with fireworks, perfect weather and changing a family's life forever. Reserve your spot right now. The trip is December 30th through January 5th. 

Want to come build but can't make it that week? We have nine trips to choose from right now and will be adding more soon. Stop putting it off and come with us. You will not regret it!  Register Now 

**We also have a special build with a group that needs a few extra hands. Contact us now if you are interested in joining up October 15th through the 18th 2012 to help a family receive a home.**

Mark your calendars for 2012 & 2013 trips!

2012 Team Casas Trips

August 31st - September 3rd | Acuña, México 

October 5th - 8th | Juárez, México 

December 27th - 30th | Acuña, México

December 30th - January 5th | San Raimundo, Guatemala

2013 Team Casas Trips

February 15th-18th | Juárez, México 

June 10th - 14th | Juárez, México 

June 23rd - 29th | San Raimundo, Guatemala 

June 30th - July 6th | San Raimundo, Guatemala 

August 30th - September 2nd | Acuña, México

Simplicity and Love

A few pictures are worth a thousand words...

You never know what a huge difference your smallest effort can make.

One House at a Time

We love sharing what our teams are doing to prepare to build a home for a family in need.  

Even more, we love that this team took our promo video and made it their own.  

This story is not just one of ours, it is all of ours...

What are you doing to raise funds and awareness for your upcoming or past builds??

Summer of Change

A blog from summer intern Jess Hehrer

The beginning of the third day...

Our third intern build was a success. We managed to build a single home with only five interns on site. We definitely cannot take all the credit though. We had some incredible help from Josh Crabbs and Brandon Culp on the second and third day.  The pastors in the area also came out to help us sporadically throughout the week. We definitely wouldn't have finished as quickly as we did without their help.

The first day just about killed us. We had to lower the right side of our house three inches, and raise the left side over a foot. Three of us were there to work on the slab. Three people trying to shovel packed stone. Oh my! 

David broke the pick ax, I broke the mallet, and everyone's sanity broke. For some of it, I was bent over using the claw end of a hammer - trying to loosen up the dirt so we could shovel it out. My back was completely cashed, and I spent the rest of the week regretting the hammer idea. The only thing we got done on Monday was the slab. We were all so exhausted. We went back to the church and passed out. At the end of the day, I couldn't even make guacamole because I was so weak. 

Luckily, the Lord provided us the strength and the motivation to push through and finish the house by Thursday morning. What a blessing it is to be able to provide a home for someone. To have the honor of being used by God, and being that person. The person who is right in the middle of providing a miracle. I tell you...if you have never experienced a miracle as tangible as building a home for a family who has nothing...you are missing out. It changes you. It breaks you. It builds you up, and prepares your heart to overflow with compassion. I would recommend anyone to come to El Paso, TX and build with Casas. Or Del Rio, TX or Guatemala. Just do it. :)

I remember hearing at the beginning of the summer, that by the end of our internship we will be frustrated with each other and ready to go home. I kind of understand what they were getting at with that. Everyone is tired, everyone misses home, and everyone is developing their own style for building homes. The more confident we become, the more personalized our styles are becoming. Instead of building a "Justin home," some of us are building Jason Roth style homes, or Mikell West style homes. We are taking the skills that the staff has taught us over the summer, and customizing them to fit our own personalities. At the end of the week all the houses look the same, but the way we get there is starting to vary. It takes a lot of patience and discipline to work together as a single group with everyone wanting to lead the build their own way. I think we managed it well, and I think that as an intern group we get along super well on the work site. 

I am blessed to work with people who are patient, kind, hardworking, and diligent. I spent most of the week in a terrible mood and it was evident by my actions and attitude. Instead of being "thrown off the island," I got an encouraging letter that broke me of my selfish self-pity. Nothing could have impacted me more than a single note did. I love the people I work with...and even though I am ready to get home and see my family and friends...my life will never be the same without the people who spent a summer building with me and helping me grow into a better person. I can't begin to express the impact they've had on me. I love them.

In Christ,
Jess

Hope

It all began about a year ago for our family when we went to Juárez, México and built a home for a family in need. My daughter Maylee immediately became friends with a sweet girl named Stephanie (Fani) that lived next door. They played all week without even speaking the same language.  We were building Fani’s aunt a home and she was there every day watching as we worked. Everyone in the family was believers in Jesus Christ and you could see the joy in their hearts despite the circumstances in which they were living.

This was in September, so mornings were cold but the days were warm. On the last morning of the build, we circled up to pray and of course, Fani and Maylee were holding hands. Maylee looked up at me and asked why Fani’s hands were so cold. I told her it was because she lived in a cardboard home and they weren't able to keep warm at night. This is when my heart fell to pieces. My little 6 year old pulled on my arm and with tears running down her face, begged me to come back and build her friend Fani a home.

The problem is that Casas Por Cristo isn't accepting new applications for homes in this area because the need is so great but the builders are few. Because of the violence in Juárez, many American churches have stopped going to serve. I couldn’t share that with Maylee so I just looked at her and told her that we needed to pray that God would provide a home for Fani.

Maylee saw a scrap piece of sheetrock that someone on the team had carved a cross into and she asked if we could take it home. On the day that we dedicated the home, Maylee asked for the whole Mexican family to sign her piece of sheetrock. We got home from the build and my husband framed Maylee’s sheetrock art and we hung it by her bed. Every night this sweet girl has prayed for Fani and her family to receive a home.

I just got home from another build in June. Every time I go on a build, I go by and visit with Fani’s whole family. But this time I saw something different. On their front door was something that represented Hope! It was the plaque that Casas puts up to show that they have been accepted to receive a home. Now, knowing that this was completely impossible without God's help, my heart burst into joy. I ran out of the truck crying and picked Fani up with excitement. It was an answer to our family’s prayers. Just because they have a plaque doesn’t mean that they will receive a home right away. The waiting list has typically been 3 years. But we serve an awesome God and I love seeing Him work. God has been working out the details and we are going to be building Fani a home THIS September! This is only one year from when we first met this sweet family.

God has brought a team together very quickly and we will be building the week of Sept. 9-14. We are asking for your prayers as we follow God to build for this family. We are so honored to get to serve God in this amazing way!

David, Michelle and Maylee Godzisz

A Team Leader's Perspective...

(blog from CpC staff member Brittany Girle)


I'm sitting in the back of my truck on Friday morning watching the sun come up. This is the same place I was sitting Sunday night wondering how this week would go and how we would build this home. I had a strong sense that a lot of this week would be out of my control and I would simply be God's tool in whatever way He pleased; that I would need Him, and He would build this home rather than me. This is always how it goes, some weeks this is just far more obvious than others.

I sit here this morning knowing that the task that was set before us is done; it is finished. On the empty plot of land where I stood Sunday, there is now a home. A community came together, neighbors lent their hands, and a team of Americans made friendships and worked alongside a church and community that didn't share their culture or language. 

God used all of us for the work He wanted to complete. 

This week was hard; harder than many I can remember. There were moments when I exhausted every ounce of my being and lost the ability to think clearly. I wondered how I could continue to be used; I had nothing left to give. It was in those moments that I was reminded of the amazing team of friends and family and supporters that surround me. They rose up and filled my mornings and my nights with scripture and strength and encouragement when I didn't have the strength to find it on my own.

At one point in the final stages of completing the home, the Mexican pastor that we were building with all week looked at me and said, "You are not alone. Alot of times you feel like you are alone, but you are not, and you need to know that." This came out of the blue and it stopped me in my tracks.  The project I was working on fell to the back burner and my eyes welled up with tears when he said that he felt like God wanted to tell me that. I told him that especially this week, I knew that I was not alone. I explained how so many people had been lifting me up and encouraging me and maybe more than ever before, I was extremely aware of how much my friends and family support and surround me. Sometimes as a single girl working in a foreign country and living thousands of miles away from the family and friends that I love, it is hard to remember that I am not alone. Today I have no question.

This week was not about the house. It never is. I always tell my teams that but sometimes I have to catch myself up to really believing that.

This week was about God bringing together a community, a family and two churches from different countries to complete a task that none of us were capable of doing on our own. If we had been capable, God wouldn't receive near as much of the glory.

I had a feeling His hand would be far more obvious than mine on this project; I had no idea how much.
Thank you God for giving us exactly what we needed and who we needed to complete the work that you put before us. Thank you for blessing all of us in the process. 

There were so many times this week where I saw God's direction when I had no control of my own. As the leader in charge of teaching others, the whole time I knew it was truly Him just leading me...




- A concrete truck that should have been hours away in Piedras Negras instead showed up exactly when I needed it.
- The rains that threatened every day held off until we had the house covered.
- A church and a Casas por Cristo leader needed to step away from their comforts and serve in a different country and in circumstances where we were completely out of our comfort zones.
- An entire church and community saw God's love cross borders and work for hours to build a home entirely because of Christ's love.
- We were welcomed and blessed by 2 different church congregations and had what we know of church challenged and strengthened.
- A young family that needed a home received one.

This week was about being reminded that we don't have all that we need to make it through, but that God, and God alone, will be faithful to bring us through any circumstance that He puts before us; If we are willing to follow Him there.

Thank you for this week Jesus. Thank you for the fact that I'm sitting in this truck now with the home complete.  Thank you that now there is so much more of you and so much less of me. Despite the fact that you have called me to lead, thank you for always being the one that leads the way.

Some scenes and videos from our week: (click on the play button to see the quick videos)

Preparing the foundation

Building up the entire foundation with rocks

God's provision and blessing of a pump truck

The foundation

5:30am Spanish lessons

At the site by sunrise

Team Building! Trying to get the roof up the side of the mountain.

The daily rain which was completely out of our control

Getting ready for stucco

The church that hosted us

Our mornings

Our site, the community, and church up on the hill

Through the dried up river bed to the church service on the hill

The family we built for, Carina and Paulo

The local church cooked for us daily

So thankful to walk around the corner and see a home!

This home stands on a hill as a testament for the community to see His glory

              

Inside their new home

David, Pastor Julio and Carlos who helped us all week

Thank You Jesus