Home. There’s no place like it.
For many of us, our homes are a source of comfort and
security – a place filled with love and laughter where we gather with family
and friends. But for many families in Juarez, Mexico, they do not have a
comfortable or safe place they can call home. The mission of Casas por Cristo
and the VGBC Mexico Mission team is to provide these families with homes of
their own and over Spring Break, our mission team had the opportunity to do
just that for Moya and Hernandez families. After more than six months of preparation,
fundraising and prayer, on Sunday, March 24, our team of 41 volunteers loaded
into vans and headed for Juarez. We arrived at Casas Por Cristo offices in El
Paso to meet our leaders, Brigham and Zach, who escorted us over the border and
on to the Rose of Sharon church where we were staying. We unpacked and right
away a group headed for the local park to play basketball and soccer with some
of the neighborhood kids and teens. In spite of some language barriers, we were
able to laugh and connect with them.
On Tuesday we woke up early and headed to our home sites.
Team Devin’s was a short car ride away from the church. Team Gordon’s was about
a 15‐minute
drive and upon arrival, we realized that this site would be a little more
challenging due to a concrete pad on part of the site and the close proximity
of a wall. Both teams worked diligently to prepare the ground for the
foundation. The concrete arrived and by lunchtime, it was poured and ready to
dry overnight. The teams spent the afternoon building the walls, cleaning up
the site and readying for the next day.
Wednesday was the most labor‐intensive day. It started with the
teams setting the walls they had built the day before and then installing the
blackboard around the exterior. Hanging the chicken wire and nailing it to the
blackboard followed, while others worked on installing the roof. It was a long
day filled with hard work, but was a critical day to ensuring we would finish
the houses on time. Wednesday was also the day of the “Glasses for Missions”
eyeglass giveaway and evangelism event at the Rose of Sharon church. We gave
away 54 pairs of glasses and 21 people accepted Christ! This was a huge answer
to prayer and blessing to the team.
Thursday was our final day at the sites and consisted mostly
of stucco on the exterior and drywall and electrical work in the interior, as
well as installing the door and windows and the final touches, including
flowerboxes below the front window. The weather cooperated and the warm weather
and sunshine helped the stucco dry. Thursday afternoon, some of the team
members from each group led a short vacation Bible School event for
neighborhood children not far from each site. The children were given eggs
filled with candy and coloring sheets and made a bracelet with colored beads
that corresponded to the story of the gospel.
Each team held the dedication services for their families
that afternoon. This was an amazing time of prayer, dedication and singing.
Each team was so blessed by the Moya and Hernandez families when they were
presented with the keys to their new homes. Thursday night worship time was
particularly special because we were joined by Daniel and David, members of the
Hernandez family, who helped lead worship.
Friday morning the teams packed, cleaned up and headed home.
We hit a snag when border issues delayed us for more than four hours waiting to
re‐enter
the U.S., but we were grateful for good weather and no other issues as we made
our way back to Colorado Springs. We are grateful for another wonderful trip to
Juarez to serve Casas por Cristo in its mission of providing homes for families
in need.
