What a Great Year
God has done great things in and through Casas por Cristo this year. We completed 269 homes ministry-wide, exceeding our initial goal of 250 homes. God is good! That means 269 families now have a safe and secure place to call home and a constant reminder of God's love and provision. We built 42 homes in the Dominican Republic, 62 homes in Guatemala, 63 homes in Acuña, and 114 homes in Juárez.
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House 5,000
One of the major milestones for Casas por Cristo this year was completing house 5,000 in October for a single mother in the Dominican Republic. The team of all women from Northside Christian Church in New Albany, Indiana faced some challenges as they worked through the rain and mud caused by Hurricane Matthew. The locals watched and stared at the spectacle of a group of women doing construction work, something that is totally out of the ordinary for Dominican culture. Not only was this project a major milestone for Casas, but it was also special because it was Allie Crabbs' very first time leading a build all by herself. Allie and her husband, Josh Crabbs, moved to the Dominican in 2015 to serve as full-time field coordinators for Casas there. Moreover, this build happened during our busiest week yet in the Dominican Republic with seven homes going up at the same time.
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A Time to Build
This year, Casas also launched our A Time to Build campaign with plans to build a new Administrative Building and International Operations Warehouse for our headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Our vision is to use the new spaces to expand our ministry to 12 more Latin American countries. Casas held a special ground-breaking ceremony with our staff and board members on September 9 to celebrate all of the plans coming to fruition. We also tore down two existing buildings on our property, began fundraising, and submitted plans to the city for approval. We are excited for all the future holds and for the work God is preparing in advance for us to do.
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| A Time to Build Groundbreaking Ceremony |
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Tornado Relief Homes
In May of 2015, a devastating tornado swept through the city of Acuña, México, destroying homes and displacing families. As a result, a company called KB Global Care contacted Casas about partnering to provide relief homes for the affected families. The city of Acuña donated the land, KB Global Care provided the funds for the home building materials, and Casas provided the volunteer teams. Scott DeWitt, Director of Acuña, worked countless hours on this partnership to provide seven homes for displaced tornado victims this year. Every year, the cities of Del Rio and Acuña come together to celebrate their amistad, or friendship, with a special ceremony where one influential member of the community is recognized for their efforts. We are so honored to announce that as a result of all his hard work, Scott was named the 2016 Mr. Amistad by the city of Acuña. He is the first American the city of Acuña has chosen to receive this honor.
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| Scott DeWitt with the mayor of Acuña and their wives at the Amistad Ceremony |
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Staff and Interns
Additionally, Casas enjoyed serving with 20 interns and one apprentice this year. These young men and women raised their own funds and sacrificed three months of their time and energy to build homes for families in need and serve in our administrative and field offices. We could not have survived our busy seasons without their help. Their passion for service brought a wave of refreshment to our ministry. In September, Casas hired Brigham Dion as our Intern Manager to help fill a much needed void in our internship program. We look forward to seeing how Brig will invest in, disciple, and nurture our interns in the future. Also, Casas hired three other full-time missionaries this year. Wayland Dietrich moved to Guatemala in January as a Field Coordinator, Josh Imhoff and his family moved to El Paso in July to serve as Project Manager of the A Time to Build project, and Donnie Stubblefield joined staff in August to help us with team recruitment and development. We are excited about all the gifts that our new staff members will bring to the table to help our ministry.
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Donate
We praise God for all the great things He has done through Casas por Cristo this year. We would not have been able to accomplish so much without your generosity. Thank you for your partnership. Help us continue in our mission to serve families living in poverty by making a year end donation.
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