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

Nothing Short Term...

In case you missed out on our last Beyond Building digital magazine, we're making each article available to you here. 


Casas por Cristo 

is creating an opportunity to live out the words of the gospel through life and actions.

Joining together churches, individuals, families and communities across international, cultural and language barriers, we bring the extreme needs of families living in poverty to the attention of people with the desire to make a change.  

A beautiful picture is painted as God allows us to be part of a story bigger than we could ever fully understand. The moments that team members see in a week or the larger picture that we see over the years, is still miniscule to all of the detailed work that God is doing in and through Casas por Cristo.

We watch in awe as our teams walk through riverbeds into the jungles of Guatemala carrying materials and tools to create a home. Neighbors come from all around to carry buckets of sand and water upon their heads to help complete the build. Language barriers become invisible as serving through love becomes the only language necessary.

We stand with families and teams in México as the prayers of the faithful in two different languages fill the air and tears stream down faces. The Holy Spirit overwhelms us and in those moments, nothing else matters.

We eat meals with families that we know have nothing to give, yet make sure that we have had more than enough. 

We watch children play with one another for hours as though they have no idea we speak two different languages. 

Families that previously received homes are now leading bible studies and giving back what they have been given to bring God glory.

We are a part of something bigger than we can comprehend or understand.

We are all a piece of the partnership in God’s beauty and his church and his plan.

We want to share with you all that we see that you may not be a part of on your short week serving with us. We want you to know that in 19 years of ministry we have watched communities become transformed through building homes. There is nothing short-term about the long-term impact that you and your families and churches are having on the cities of Juárez and Acuña, México and San Raimundo, Guatemala; and we hope that there is nothing short-term about the impact they are having on you.

If you are reading this you know about Casas por Cristo.  

But, do you really know Casas por Cristo?  

Do you know that our main goal is not to build homes, or to eradicate poverty? 

Our main goal is to reach the people of México and Guatemala with the love of Jesus Christ. We seek to do this by partnering with and working through the local church in each community that we serve. Our goal as a mission organization is to give the local pastors tools to reach out within their communities to minister to families that they would otherwise never know. 100% of our work is done through a pastors committee in each location that we serve. These pastors live and work within their communities and know how to best minister within each environment. We seek to work through them, not around them. In this way we stand in the gap, acting as a link between the American, Mexican and Guatemalan churches.