Keeping Up With the de la Peñas

Read the latest from Ryan and Leanne de la Peña and follow their work with Casas por Cristo.

We are here!!! It wasn’t easy and the first week wasn’t pretty, but we survived and are excited to call El Paso home once again.  After a six day road trip full of adventures including a snowstorm, late nights driving, more bathroom stops than I can count, and some fun time spent with family and friends along the way, we drove into El Paso during the peak of a nasty sandstorm.  We are so thankful for the group of friends that showed up with lunch, groceries, toilet paper and strong arms to unload the moving truck.  However that first evening several of us started feeling ill.  By Tuesday, Ryan, Leanne and 2 year old Landon all tested positive for a nasty case of the Flu. The rest of the kids have had a variety of symptoms, but thankfully didn’t need anything other than some extra rest.  Once again we watched in amazement as friends brought more meals and even a practically new bed as we weren’t able to bring our old one with us. They made sure that our children were alive and taken care of, as Ryan and I were really wiped out by the virus.  

So here we are two weeks later, thankful to be healthy and even more thankful for all the little and big ways that God provided and protected us during our transition.  Last week Ryan jumped right into building as he and fellow staff member Jason Roth headed to Juárez with Bethel Church all the way from British Columbia, Canada. Despite the wind and rain, they succeeded in building 2 singles with only 10 people.  In March, Ryan is scheduled to build with 2 or possibly 3 more teams in Juárez.  So please pray for us as we continue to settle in and also prepare for the birth of our 7th baby in April. 

To step back for a minute, in January, Ryan was able to fly from PA to El Paso for a short weekend build with The House of God, whom we had both previously worked with many years ago.  It was a joy to be able to give the Vasquez family a home and to connect with some old friends. 

If you have previously made a pledge to support us, now is the time to start sending in your monthly support if you haven’t already. If you haven’t considered coming alongside us financially, we would ask for your prayerful consideration.  We do need to raise additional support and would love to have you as part of our team.  The easiest way to give is through Casas por Cristo staff page. You can set up to make automatic monthly payments or just a one time gift. If you prefer not to use the internet, you can also mail in donations to the office address, P.O. Box 971070 El Paso, TX 79997.  

Thank you to each of you who have given and/or committed yourselves to giving.  We are excited to get back into the swing of things here and to see how God will use us!

Summertime and the Living's Easy

But that's not what you're looking for; not every week at least!! Grab your friends, your family or your neighbors and spend a week with us this summer building a home for a family in need. We promise, there is no better way that you could spend your week! 

We have opportunities for you to serve in México and Guatemala. So what are you waiting for? Check out your calendar and join us. Our México and Guatemala trips are right around the corner!

June 10th - 14th | Juárez, México

June 23rd - 29th | San Raimundo, Guatemala

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

August 30th - September 2nd | Acuña, México

For more info check out our Team Casas page or e-mail us at questions@casasporcristo.org

A lifetime of faithfulness

In his 97th year, Harold James is an inspiration to us and a reminder that we are all called to serve God with our whole lives. May his words and faithfulness inspire you as they have us.

Keeping Up With the Roth's

Read the latest from Jason and Janette Roth and follow their work with Casas por Cristo.

"That Trip Changed My Life"

(taken from CMF International http://bit.ly/YuOB9T)

Students and staff from the Globalscope El Pozo campus ministry in Puebla, Mexico, will make the team’s sixth spring break trip March 25-27 to build houses for poor families with Casas Por Cristo, a Christian organization based in El Paso, Texas.

“Five families now have homes because of the five trips El Pozo has made,” said Kami Burns, the El Pozo team leader, “and this year’s we’re changing that number from five to seven.”

The group plans to build both a three-room and a two-room house in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. They have raised more than $6,000 toward the nearly $12,000 cost, and recruited 17 of the 30 students they will need for the project.

“Sometimes this project sounds too crazy, like these are goals we can’t accomplish,” said Kami, “but the name ‘Casas Por Cristo’ reminds me every time I say it that these houses are built by Jesus Christ, and 13 more students and $5,548 more is completely doable for the Son of God.”

The previous trips have been life-changing events not only for the families who receive the new homes, but also for the team participants, including Kami herself.

“In 2008, in my last year of school at Georgia Tech, I decided to go on Christian Campus Fellowship’s spring break trip to build houses with Casas Por Cristo in Ciudad, Juarez, Mexico, for the first time,” said Kami. She had spent time as an exchange student in El Pozo the year before and was excited about reconnecting with her friends there.

“That trip was crucial for me … I realized just how much I loved being in Mexico,” added Kami. “I wasn’t sure when I’d be back in Mexico or when I would see my Mexican friends again, but the lump in my throat when I left told me that maybe God was telling me something. That Juarez trip changed my life.”

Other students have also been powerfully affected by the trip, said Kami. Rada was a young girl with only a slight connection to El Pozo who went on the 2010 trip on a whim.

“The community she discovered on that trip connected her to El Pozo,” said Kami, “and over the course of the next year, she started an internship with us, gave her life to Christ and was baptized, and today she still works on our staff. That trip changed her life!”

Yet another student who was impacted by the trip was a graduating senior, Armando, who had been part of El Pozo for years, but went on his first trip with Casa Por Cristo in 2010.

“Amramdo fell in love with Casas Por Cristo on that trip and interned with them last summer,” said Kami. “There he was baptized and made a commitment to ministry. He interned with El Pozo this fall and is now preparing to join the Casas staff in Juarez and Acuna full time this summer. That trip changed his life!”

If you are interested in joining El Pozo on this trip contact Kami Burns. If you’d like to make it possible for more students to go, you may donate here. Prayers are also requested for the venture, said Kami.

“Since the beginning of the semester we’ve been praying at 2 p.m. every day, and asking supporters, friends and students to pray as well,” she said. “Please join us in praying for God to provide the people and the money to build two houses, and for the families who will receive them.”

"This Love Is Not For Cowards..."

We spent our weekend over President's Day in Juárez, México building a home for a family that lost their husband/father two years ago to murder.  Every person that came to construct this house into a home didn’t just show up, they fought to be here.  They drove across the country with their children and with strangers, standing in their own faith, to show this family an unconventional outpouring of love. They fought to go to a city where no one else wants to go, to give of themselves, to a family that they had never met; but one desperately in need of hope and restoration and a reminder that God has not forgotten about them. We're thankful that this Team Casas crew came together.  We're even more thankful that Berta and her family have a home and a daily reminder that God has not forgotten about them but loves them deeply.

(some scenes from our dedication and weekend build)

Are You Our Next Intern?

With summer right around the corner, and our search for interns in full swing, we asked former interns how their summer with Casas por Cristo affected their lives.  Here's what they had to say...

David Lebby:

If I were to sum up my summer into one sentence it would read, “It ruined me.” My summer had three phases: humility, discovery, joy.

Humility: I was immediately humbled by the overwhelming nature of the work and my complete and total inadequacy.

Discovery: I began to discover that my inadequacies were so pale in comparison to God's overwhelming power and will to use me.

Joy: I found the most intense joy of my life abiding in God from day to day, serving the people of Juárez, being used despite my crippling personal shortcomings.

When I say my summer in Juárez ruined me, I mean it ruined me for the ordinary nature of a life built around my own capabilities and birthed in me a persistent desire for the extreme. Things only possible through Him.

I think everyone enters a Casas internship with flaws detrimental to the role that a leader plays. It was one of my life’s greatest pleasures to watch God overcome these flaws.

Jess Hehrer:

I went into the Casas por Cristo internship with the desire to be challenged and enlightened. I had no idea that in a few short months I would leave as an entirely new person. The three months I spent working alongside the other interns and CpC staff were the hardest months of my life. I was constantly challenged spiritually, physically, and mentally.

Over the course of ninety days something crazy happened. I began to rely on the Lord more than I ever had in my entire life. I was able to witness His power, might, and grace, and I personally experienced His strength, peace, and provision. God slowly but surely changed my heart to reflect His.

Serving as an intern with Casas por Cristo has easily been the most rewarding experience in my life thus far. It opened my eyes to a community that has been forsaken by its people, but not forgotten by God. As an intern I learned to act in faith and speak with boldness. The rewards of this internship program are far more than I ever expected, and I owe Casas por Cristo everything for allowing me to participate in such an incredible opportunity.

Rachel Weller: (apprentice with Casas)

My time with Casas has taught me to pray big prayers and never put God in a box.

Jessica Selburg: (summer and winter intern with Casas)

Interning with Casas brought me out of my comfortable Christian bubble and into courageous wonderful pursuit.

Brittany Girle (full-time missionary with Casas since 2004)

I had no clue that a Spring Break trip in college would change the course of my entire life.

Justin Kirklin (full-time missionary with Casas since 2009)
My internship set the foundation for the rest of my life. I now see Jesus as my life and my treasure.

Jason Roth (full-time missionary with Casas since 2007)

Not to be melodramatic, but it did change the course of my life. I had never considered working in missions, or moving accross the country to El Paso. God has better plans than my own. 

We are still accepting applications for internships this summer.  If you are interested in giving 3 months of your life to see how God will use you CLICK HERE or contact Justin Kirklin at jkirklin@casasporcristo.org