This past weekend my family joined our church in a mission trip with Hands of Mercy - Mexico. This is a wonderful ministry that uses the gift of a new loft home as a tool to share the love of Christ.
Our church usually sends two teams of approximately 25 people down 2-3 times per year, but there were only 31 members of our church who left early Friday morning for Maneadero, a coastal town just south of Ensenada. We usually build two houses, but this trip we were only scheduled to build one.
Due to financial difficulties, my family wasn’t originally planning on joining this particular mission trip. God answered my prayers – just a week before the trip circumstances changed, the team made room for five more and we were able to go!
The weekend before the trip we meet at the church for the prebuild. This is a lot of work, but lots of food, fellowship and fun! We prebuild the walls, roof and floors, then load them up on a large trailer to haul into Mexico.
We leave early Friday morning for the approximately 9 hour drive to Maneadero, on the coast of Baja California just south of Ensenada. Friday night is a fun night of more food and fellowship with the families at Rancho Casitas. Saturday it’s up before dawn for breakfast and then we head out for the build site!
Sunrise At Rancho Casitas
This trip we were blessed with a site near the estuary and a spectacular view of the ocean and Ensenada. The cool ocean breezes throughout the day were much appreciated by all! What a great team we had. Everyone worked very hard. The young family who were receiving the home were onsite to see the progress of their new home! The father, … and even the local children all pitched in!
Family's Children Help Paint!
Showing love to the people there is as important as building the house. My friend Nick built a tree swing for the children out of some scrap wood and extra rope.
Neighborhood Boys on Tree Swing
Another friend of mine, Kathleen, built an extra, small table for the family and painted it a matching blue. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and handed them out to all of the neighborhood children. We played with the children and laughed with them!
They have so little, yet they are still so happy! We Americans have so much, yet still always manage to be so miserable.
Raising the roof takes nearly every body’s help! It is always a little scary. It is so heavy and I worry it might fall on someone. It is very exciting when that final roof is fit into place.
Once that is done, the finishing touches are added, like the stairs, curtains and cook-table. We always donate sleeping bags, rice, beans, propane, and other small household goods to the families. We also leave the extra scrap wood and paint for them to use for any projects they may like to add on. By this time the neighborhood children are all running in and out of the house, excited to see what it looks like and wanting to play upstairs!
Once the house is finished we gather around with the family and bless the house in the name of Jesus, give the family a Spanish Bible and the key to their new home! This is a moment of great celebration, filled with joy and many hugs and tears! I always feel like I know the family by the time we are finished.
Building these houses for these families are a such a blessing for them, but the greater blessing is the changes that it makes in my life and the life of my family.
When we are finished we pack up, head back to the Rancho and have dinner, worship and testimonies – one of my favorite parts of the trip. It’s a lot of fun to hear how the trip has affected the different people who have participated. Many new, close friendships are made during one weekend of service! I usually go to bed early, but my kids and a lot of the younger adults, enjoy time at the campfire before going to bed.
Sunday morning we get up EARLY and head home – every one of us changed for the better!
Thank you Jesus! Amen!
