Who Wants to Go Next Year?!

Wow!  I don't know if I can put this experience into words.  Words are just not sufficient.

First, all praise and glory goes to God.  He truly performed a "two fish, five loaves" miracle with our funds.  The money just seemed to multiply while sitting in my purse.  I can't explain it.  We were able to leave $700 behind for Bruce and Paula to use as they saw fit.

Second, let me say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who gave, who prayed, who encouraged, who provided! This trip was as much YOU building a house for this family as it was us building a house.  We could absolutely not have done it without you.

Third, I can't say enough about what Bruce and Paula are doing in Mexico.  Their mission organization has built about 100 houses...and they only get about 4 work groups in a year (accounting for only about a quarter of what they've built.)  Most of these are built by Bruce, Paula and a few men from Reynosa, men who have had houses built for them and want to share with others their skills and their love of God.  One man joined us who had a house built a couple of months ago, and who came to know Christ as his Savior as a result.  He was there daily sharing in the work for another family.  If only we all had such love and concern for our neighbor and such willingness to reach out and help.  Please visit Bruce and Paula on Facebook or on their blog and, as God leads, support their work.  In addition to providing houses they provide food and clothing and water and dirt for the roads and so much more that is desperately needed in this community just across the border.  We heard amazing stories of needs met and provision given and obedience and service.  God is using them in so many ways.

Fourth, I am so grateful for our team.  What a blessing it was to work alongside the Ruiz and LeMay families.  They are so fun to be with and we had a great time together.  While it would be fun to go again next year together, we have set of goal of each family recruiting an entirely new team, which has potential to exponentially multiply the work being done.

Beyond this, I am so grateful for Trophy's boss...who contributed large quantities of meat which not only allowed us to save money on feeding the team, but provided a wonderful meal for so many who attended the house dedication.

And I couldn't be more proud of my children, who worked so very hard with all their hearts and were truly the "little" hands and feet of Jesus.  They were as critical to this trip as those with bigger hands and feet.

We asked the kids, "If you could have a choice next year of going to Disneyland or going back to Mexico to build another house, what would you choose?"  They unanimously and without hesitation said they would go back to Mexico!

We truly have been blessed to be a blessing!!

If you want to see ALL the pictures (some taken by the kids and not all of particular quality), you can view the three Facebook albums HERE, HERE and HERE.

So, Noah has already put the change from his $10 spending money -- a little over $6 -- in our collection jar.  Saving for next year's trip has already started!

Who wants to join us?!

Meet the Reyes Family

This is the Reyes family. Isidro and Lizet have six children -- Sonia (9), Raul (8), Manuel (7), Julesa (4), and the twins Javier and Franko (3).

The concrete foundation has been poured and these sweet people are waiting for us to arrive and build their house.

I am so honored.  Words cannot express the emotions welling up in me right now as I think of the amazing gift God has given us in allowing us to be of service to these sweet people.  Words cannot express my gratefulness to God for how blessed I and my family are.  We have SO MUCH -- and still we so often complain.  We have no right to be so ungrateful.

Your continued prayers will sustain us during the coming days.  Your generous support has been used of God to make this all possible.

Thank you all so very, very much!

God is So Amazing!

Praise God with us!  We have exceeded our goal!

We are so humbled by the generosity of those who gave...from the large checks to the extra singles in your pocket.

Please know that God will do amazing things through your sacrifices, both large and small.

And as He promises to hear the prayers of His people, we are confident he will continue to work mightily as we are His hands and feet to minister to a needy family and share His amazing love!

Please continue to pray for safety, for unity amongst the three families and the missionaries, and for God to prepare the hearts of the family in Mexico to accept the Great News.

Please pray for us...that God would open our eyes to see and would do a great work in us, softening our hearts to see the need around us, challenging us to sacrifice out of our abundance and out of our need for His children who have so much less than we do, and that we would learn to be content in whatever circumstances God brings into our lives.

Please pray for our animals and our house- and pet-sitter, that all would go smoothly while we are gone.

Going...and Staying

Well, it is almost time to go.  We are excited.

But are we excited for the right reasons?

Are we excited just because we get to have a new experience?  Or because we get to travel out of the country (even if it is just across the border and you can still see the border from there)?  Or because we get to take a "vacation" and get out of the city for a while?

Are we excited to be able to serve others?

Yes, we do enjoy giving.  We do like to share.

But what will we be sharing?  Will we be sharing that which is "more important than the body," "more important than food?"  Will we be sharing that which is important for the soul for eternity?

And if we are concerned about what is important for eternity, can't we just "stay?"  Study in Brown has had a series of posts lately on missions and justice that have given me much to think about, especially this one.

Perhaps "going" is pointless if I'm doing nothing while I'm "staying."  OK, not perhaps.

And am I prepared to preach the word "in [this] season" in Mexico?  What about "out of season" as I'm hustling and bustling about my busy life?

"Can You Share the Gospel" is a challenge to me.  I want to be prepared.  (I'm wishing we could attend the "White Unto Harvest" conference, but it is very unlikely, so perhaps I can manage to get the conference audios.)

In the meantime, I will pray.  Lord, give me a heart "to love the broken right next door," or those standing on the highway off ramp or at the stop light with their "homeless" signs, or those at the homeless shelter downtown, or at the pregnancy center down the street.

And while we are gone, we will actively prepare by:

• Learning and memorizing some effective ways to share the Gospel.  (The Navigators shares three simple ways here.)
• Watch the videos/listen to the audios shared in the "Can You Share the Gospel" post above.
• Make plans for more ways to share the good news as we stay.

Over Three Quarters of the Way!

Wow! We are 82% funded with...11 days to go! We are so blessed by those of you who have partnered with us, and we know God is doing amazing things through the prayers of you who are lifting up us, the mission, and the family who will soon receive a new house.

Our last passport has yet to arrive, but we feel confident that it will arrive in time.

Sweet little Noah is a bit concerned about rattlesnakes, but we studied snake safety in school last week, so they are well informed.

Final preparations are in progress, including hotel arrangements for the trips down and back and vehicle checks.  I will begin a packing list soon, and we are selecting blankets and toys and other items that we can donate to the mission for those in need.

We would covet your prayers for safety.  Obviously there is a lot of dire news coming out of Mexico these days.  So God gave me this verse today, which I am claiming and praying for our trip:

Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble. The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.  -- Psalm 41:1-2

"Whatsoever You Do..."

Note:  This is an introductory post regarding our trip.  Please scroll down to see the latest update.

Dear Friends,

Thanks for checking out our web site.

In February of 2012, our family is planning to join another family from our church on a family mission trip to Reynosa, Mexico to build houses.

Imagine living in this house....

... and then being able to move into this house!

For a long time, we've thought about some day taking a mission trip as a family, but it never seemed financially possible.  And it still isn't, unless God blesses and unless we have your support.

We know that these are difficult financial times.  The trip coordinators in Texas, across the border from Reynosa know that too.  They have seen a drop from 30 people a month coming to build houses to 3 families a year.

The family above knows it too.  The facts are plain.  If you make $40,000 a year, you are richer than 96.83% of the world's population.  If you only make $25,000 a year, you are still richer than 90% of the world's population.

Jesus sees our service to "the least of these" as service to him.  We are warned in James to send more than well wishes, but to actually provide for people's needs.

Will you help us?  Will you send us?


We need to raise a minimum of $4,000.  This will cover our travel expenses, our passports, and half of the cost to build a house.  The average house for a family in Reynosa can be built for $3,500.  Can you imagine that?!  If our two families could each pay for an entire house, we could build two while we are there.  That would raise our goal to $5,800.

We would so appreciate your prayers, whether you can give financially or not.

If you are able to give, there is a "donate" button on the right sidebar.  Whatever you are able to give will bring us closer to the goal.  If you prefer to give by check, please comment below with your email and we will respond to you privately.  Your email will not be published.

We would also appreciate if you would forward the link to this site to family and friends who you think might be interested in supporting our work and the people of Reynosa.

We will continue to keep you posted on our progress and plans, and will look forward to sharing all that God will do in us and for others through this trip.


Blessings,
Trophy, Barb, Gabe, Kate, Jake and Noah

Status Update

January 20, 2012


Dear Friends,

We had a wonderful meeting with the two other families who are part of our Reynosa team.  We can't tell you how excited we all are and everyone is eager to see how God will work -- to bountifully bless a family (perhaps even two) and the missionaries who work full-time with these people.

Our trip dates have been set and they are a little later than originally planned, to allow for better weather and to accommodate the mission's schedule.  We will be leaving March 24, arrive at the mission the evening of the 25th, and be there all week (through Friday, I think).

We were told about the woman they built a house for last year.  She had graciously cooked the workers a meal of bean soup, having only three Kool-Aid powder container lids in which to serve.  She was so embarrassed to only be able to serve three workers at a time and then have to wash the lids and spoons to serve three more.  And she assured them that she used bottled water to make the soup.


One of the final things done by the work team is to "kick the family out of the house" and to set it up before the final "unveiling."  The house might be furnished with plastic patio furniture, new mattresses and linens, window coverings, and other items.  This woman was in tears as she was surprised with a shelf full of real plates and cups and bowls.

You can see water containers in the background here.  photo credit: Bruce & Paula Hepburn

And did you know that the citizens of Reynosa have no running water?  The government has supplied them with containers that they come and fill with water, but water is only delivered approximately once a month, or sometimes less.  So Bruce and Paula (the missionaries) deliver water as they are able.

The things we take for granted, that we assume are basic necessities (and almost our "right" to have) are in short supply in Mexico.  Imagine running out of drinkable water.  Imagine not having enough plates to feed even your family of four.


Our children will be going through their toys in anticipation of packing up boxes of extras to give as gifts to the sweet children in Reynosa.  And we'll be bagging up extra towels and blankets and clothing items.  If you have extra clothing, blankets, household items, towels, or anything useful, we would be more than pleased to take these with us to distribute.


God is blessing a family (or two) in Mexico through the donations you are sending.  We are amazed at God's goodness.  We still have quite a way to go and would love to be able to exceed our goal and build two houses or to purchase extra supplies for the warehouse.

Bruce and Paula (Mexico Missions) have updated their blog with a wonderful post last week:  The Yes Gets Blessed.  Wonderful things happen when we say YES.  Will you say YES with us?

Just take some time to go through their blog and see all the wonderful work they are doing.

Please continue to pray.  We are not quite half way to our goal.  Passports have been ordered and we are awaiting their arrival.  (That's a story for another post!)  The missionaries need a check about a month prior to our arrival to purchase building supplies and get the foundation laid before we arrive.

Thank you,
Barb