Juarez09

Click on the thumbnails below to see all of the pictures from the trip:

Juarez 09

Juarez09 #2

Juarez09 #3

Back in the states

We finished the house!!! Today at around 2:00 the final piece all of the clean up was finished and we were able to dedicate the home to Vicki and her family. I am going to be honest, I am not sure their was a dry eye in the group. It was so cool to be able to hand the keys over to her and her family and tell her "Welcome Home."

An overview of the day.... We were able to finish around 2 and head over to a Gordita stand for some Mexican food. After that we made one last stop so some of the students could pick up some Mexican Coke a Cola (Yes it does taste different) and we easily crossed the border. As we were leaving, I was so relieved to know that not once on the trip did we witness any sign of violence or danger. After getting to El Paso we stopped of at our hotel and then the group was treated to a big dinner at a local El Paso restaraunt. It was nice to unwind and laugh together after a hard week.

This has been an amazing trip for our group. Right now as I type there are two of our students sitting and talking to our guide Travis about what they can do to intern with Casas Por Christo in the future. To see the students pour out their everything for this mission was very humbling for me. We should all be very proud of these High School students.

We fly out tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers over the last 4 days. The group felt those prayers and we made it known to them that people were following the trip on this blog. If you know or have a student who went on the trip, make sure to grab them and ask them about their experience.
The luckiest Youth Pastor alive,
Matt

Day 3 in Juarez

Two things I have learned you don't do in Juarez...

1. Assume the road signs are marked correctly. For example, when the youth pastor has a van load full of students and he turns onto a one way road into oncoming traffic because there was not a sign that told me different. Yeah, you dont do that.

2. Assume that you can say "English words" in a Spanish accent and expect the locals to understand a darn word you are saying. For example, today we ran out of ice on the work site. I grabbed Alex Whitmore (no, he only speaks a little French) to go to a local store to pick up "purified ice." I got the store, told them I needed icea (yes, I added an "a" to ice) and I fake shivered. The guy looked at me confused. Alex picked up a piece of ice in the cooler and the guy nodded his head. I told him "Pure, Pure, Si.." He again looked at me like I was an idiot. He went back, packed a bag of ice and came out and put it on the counter. I said "Pure, Pure?" No response. So, I picked up a piece of ice and pretended to eat it and said "Si, ok?" He shook his head and said "Si." I paid him some pesos and moved on. When we got to the van, Alex looked at me and said "You know, I am not sure that this is Pure, what if someone dies?" I told him that I trusted the man behind the counter and that I was sure (not all that sure, but I had to comfort Alex) that the ice was totally pure. Anyway, I got to the site and one of our guides told us that the store was legit and we would be fine. By the way, no one has died from ice poisoning.

I say all of this for you to get a good laugh and pass it on to the elders with a note of concern for the health and safety of your children :)

We had a great day today! This morning we were able to put up all of the outside part of the walls, finish the roof and begin dry walling the inside. Tonight we worked hard getting parts of the dry wall up and the students put "stucco" on the walls. The kids had a chance to play with the neighborhood kids tonight and Andy Kuhn got a soccer game going with some of the neighbors. Today we went to the Soriana (Mexican Wal Mart) and bought a Kitchen Table, chairs, towels and some other items for the home. It was cool to let the kids hang out around the store and see them interact with people.

Tomorrow we are packing up from the church we have been able to stay at. We should be finished with the home by noon tomorrow! The students (and adults) are so excited to pass off the keys to the home off to the family, it is going to be a great day. Be praying for our return to the states tomorrow. We will need to go through some check points and hopefully we will have no hold ups.

Forgive me for my improper sentences and slurred stories, we are all pretty tired tonight. Thanks for your prayers and thoughts this week. See you tomorrow night.

Matt

Day 2 in Juarez

It was difficult getting up this morning! We were all pretty tired and sore from a long day yesterday. Luckily, this morning was cloudy and cooler so we had a little jump to our step and accomplished a lot. During the morning we were able to put up the walls to the house, which made this mission a reality to the kids and really pumped them up. We had a great Siesta time this afternoon. Alex Whitmore and John Phillips cooked burgers and dogs on the grill and we walked over to a local market for some Mexican Doritos and soda. This evening we were able to get the electrical in the house, the insolation up inside the house and put on the base of the roof. About 20 minutes before we were about to finish we noticed a storm coming in from the east. At that time we had no roof and a house with dry wall on the ground and insolation in the walls. Our guide was worried that both of these would get wet so the students kicked into overdrive and put the roof up! They are working very, very hard and I am really proud of them.

The family that we are building for has been watching us build for the last two days. It has been really cool to interact with them (they laugh at me because I know NO SPANISH). They are very excited about the house and I can see a great feeling of appreciation from them even if we dont speak the same language. Today we asked for a list of things that the family might need for their new home. Vicki (the mother) told us that she really wanted a kitchen table and chairs for the home. So, before we leave we are going to go to a local store and buy them the table and a few other items for the home.

On another note, we have seen no violence, and have not once felt in danger. We know that this is due to your prayers and the security that has been set up by the national government.

Thank you for checking in on us. Tomorrow is a full day of putting up dry wall, finishing the outside walls and getting the roof done. Be praying for the weather to be somewhat comfortable. See you tomorrow night.

matt

Day 1 in Juarez

Two words come to mind when I think about our day, Hot and Proud. We had no problems entering into Mexico this morning. We passed through 2 military check points and both of them gave us no trouble. A normal summer building schedule for Casas Por Cristo starts about 8 in the morning and goes till Noon when the group will stop for a Siesta. It is too hot to be working outside during the afternoon, so the groups will take a break and resume around 5. We arrived in Juarez about 9:30 this morning and didn't begin building till 10:30. Because of that late arrival, we decided to work through the afternoon in order to get the foundation laid and be able to put up the walls to the home on the second day. Needless to say it was a long and hot day, we went through over 50 gallons of water! After the long day we had the foundation laid and it will be an easier path for the rest of the build. I was very very proud of our students, they worked so hard in order to get the foundation laid. At the begining of the day our guide told them about the importance of getting the foundation laid and they took it as their personal mission to make it happen today. We had a nice relaxing evening with some chicken on the grill for dinner (Thank you Lisa Volz, Sylvia Sfuentes, and Andy Kuhn).

Tomorrow we will be putting up the wall of the home and begin working on the roof. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow.

We are in El Paso!!

After a long day of travel (that began at 3:00 this morning), we have made it to El Paso, Texas. The students are all pretty tired but they have had great attitudes and I am so proud of them. Tonight we are staying at Park Hills Christian Church in El Paso and crossing the border at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. Tomorrow we will be meeting up with our Casas Por Cristo rep, crossing in to Mexico through New Mexico and begin laying the foundation for the home. We had a great night of prayer and worship last night and we can feel your prayer support.

Specific Prayer needs:

-That we would get some good rest tonight and be charged up for the first day tomorrow.

-Unity with the group. I know that this is an area that Satan is going to be on the attack with our group.

-For the family we are building for. Just think, tonight they are thinking about the home they are about to have.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. We will continue to update the blog while we are in Juarez.

Matt

And We're Off...

Its 2:45 am...we are about to wake up all of the kids. There are three of us adults who have not been able to sleep at all, so please be praying for all of our attitudes today. :) We're all excited and ready to go.

We had a good hour of worship and prayer time last night. Matt had us pray for the city of Juarez, the family we are building for, travels, and each other.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

PS...if you leave any comments of encouragement or prayers, we'll try to read them to the team throughout the week. All you have to do is click " # comments" below and fill out the form.