Tuesday, October 30, 2012

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






Thursday, October 25, 2012

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...


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.  



Tuesday, October 16, 2012

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

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

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.



Monday, October 1, 2012

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.