Servant of God: Serving in Mexico… Building Houses..!

Monday morning everyone was excited to finally get out onto the work site… especially the boys. We had our regular morning routine before heading out. The morning session was given by Michelle on how we will not be overcome. She shared her testimony as a missionary on the field when her husband got sick and ended up dying just a few years ago. Her message was especially impacting for me as she shared the story about when her husband was sick and she prayed that God would heal him but even if He didn’t she was going to praise God. I don’t know how many times I have prayed for Matthew to be healed… am I still willing to praise God if he is never healed? Would I praise God even if he died? God never promised to remove the trials from us but He does promise to walk with us through the trials and provide all that we need.

Breakfast and Devotional...

Guys all ready to serve...

The first job site for my team was up a hill which meant that we had an AWESOME view. Once again we were the last to leave which meant that we did not get all the painting supplies that we needed but we made it work. We were building an addition to a house but the area was not big enough so Sam had to make adjustments to the measurements. At every build site we would introduce ourselves to the family and pray for the day.

Our view for the day...

Introducing ourselves to the family...

The students got right to work learning how to measure the wood and saw the 2X4’s. We then started building the walls on top of each other since the space was limited. We got all the walls up before stopping for lunch. After lunch we had to finish the roof and paint the house. Even with all the complications and learning process the students worked hard and enjoyed the process. After completing the house we once again prayed for the family. I had the opportunity to pray in Spanish. My only disappointment was that there were not any children around to interact with throughout the day.

Measuring the wood...

Weston teaching Izzy to saw...

Building the walls...

Lowering the walls..

Putting the walls together...

Homemade for lunch...

Sam doing the roof...

Painting the walls...

Our first completed house...

Throughout the week the students had the opportunity to buy souvenirs from locals that were approved by Caravan to set up shop outside camp. They loved being able to special order item as gifts from friends and family.

After dinner Michelle gave another message about who God is and how we need to surrender to Him. Since Jesus was willing to suffer for us than we need to be willing to suffer for Him. She said that knowing her husband would die she would still be willing to do it all over again because laying down your life for Christ is worth it… God was already working on my heart..!

Graham and his new blanket...

On Tuesday morning Eddie’s son Aaron gave the message and shared about his ministry in Ecuador. His message was about who we will deny… ourselves or God? Everyone has a cross that they need to bear… what is my cross? The focus was on the fact that we need to be more than just a fan of Jesus but a follower.

Alex having a quiet time...

Today’s building site was by far my favorite one. We built a house for Victor, Alicia and their two boys. One was away at camp for police officers in training and the younger son, Isaac spent the day with us helping out. His cousins and other neighborhood kids joined in on the building. The students had a blast interacting with the kids and teaching them how to do the work as well.

Working with the kids...

Water break... every 10 minutes or so...

Isaac working on his own house...

Ready to put the walls up...

Victor helping with the work...

Posing with Isaac... sweet kid

The crazy boys we worked with...

Lunch was down the street at Alicia’s parent’s house. It was a beautiful location in the shade which we all appreciated. After lunch I had a blast talking to Alicia and getting to know her better. We finished the house and then took a picture with the family and all the kids who helped.

Lunch time...

Another delicious meal...

The painting crew...

Painting and roof work at the same time...

Alicia and the girls...

Group photo with the finished house...

Today was our day for showers so we headed off as soon as we finished. We then had the opportunity to go out to eat as a church. I helped all of the students order their food in Spanish. The food was delicious. We finished dinner just in time to head back to camp for our evening session.

Brad gave the message about his experience in Papa New Guinea. A couple of the quotes that stuck out to me were: “If you don’t want to be changed than don’t read God’s Word.” “Will you obey the Word or just hear it?” “When God speaks to us, we know it.” I don’t have any doubts that God is calling me to be a teacher for students with special education. He led me down this road every step of the way. That doesn’t mean that I don’t need to be involved in reaching the 3100 language groups that don’t have the gospel message in their language. The question is how do I need to be involved? One way I can be involved is by working alongside the youth who are going to make a difference and change lives for Christ.

We had only about 15 minutes to get ready for bed… the last couple days we have been busy from wake up at 6:00 am until bed time around 10:00 pm. This was not going to change any time soon.

All clean... finally

Our cook for dinner...

Abby was happy with tacos and cucumbers

I finally got to eat...

On Wednesday morning, Ron gave a message about how we need to “Go, Send, or Disobey”. God is not calling everyone to go onto the mission field although we are all commanded to share the gospel with the lost. Some of us need to remain in the States and pray for lost people groups and support missionaries going out to them.

Today my prayer was for God to continue to soften my heart. My desire as I start my new job is to keep my focus on Christ. I know that life will be super busy but I don’t want to be so busy that I don’t take the time to love my co-workers and live out the gospel before them… but that also means that I need to keep Christ as my focus and allow His word to heal me.

Our job site was way out of town so we didn’t even get started on the house for Juan and Carmen until after 11:00. Unfortunately there were no kids in the neighborhood but that did mean that we were able to complete the house quicker since we had less time. Of course, we had another complicated build, like every other day. The foundation was slanted some so we had to use 2x4’s to connect the addition to the house.

Third house and bathroom...

Girls were professionals on the hinges...

Trying to fit the house on the foundation...

The lunch Carmen made was delicious as was the cucumber lemon juice she made… one of the neighbors even stopped by with fresh lemonade for us. As leaders we made sure out team stayed well hydrated. After lunch we finished up the house and decided to use some of the extra wood to fix their bathroom wall, add a door, and put on a roof. Before leaving we met a neighbor lady who wanted information on how she could get her own house. It is quite the process so we gave her the number to contact the Caravan office.

Oh so good...

Connecting the addition to the house...

Added bonus... fixing the bathroom

Since we had such a long drive out and back we got to camp just in time for dinner so we decided to do laundry after dinner. At the laundry mat we were able to meet Marco and America, siblings who spoke English and wanted to talk to the group. Since we were already going to be late for the no talent show we decided to stop for ice cream before heading back to camp. We made it back just in time for the end of the show… and only had about 5 minutes before they turned lights off for bed time…