visited a family yesterday. the ramos lopez fam. mom, dad, and 5 kids living in a mud and cornstalk box towards the top of Buena Vista. the mom, Vicenta, had a sister that passed away a couple months ago (unexpectedly) leaving several young kids behind. 2 of the girls (Visenta's nieces) now live with her: Maivelyn 7, and Joselyn 11.
the 2 nieces are precious. the whole family is precious. my heart breaks for the 2 girls who lost their mom. they seem happy. they were thrilled to have visitors, and quickly became attached to my daughters Madi and Brooke.
definitely feeling led to help this family. i have been thinking about them a lot. they are an obvious candidate for a 12x12 home considering their living conditions. but my heart tells me there are going to be other ways too...
one pic is of the outside of their home, the other of the inside. below jake's elbow is Joselyn, and next to Brooke on the bed is Maivelyn.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
ruth's stove
one of the major health issues in this area is because of 24/7 fires burning in the homes. the mom's and the kids breathe in the smoke all day long. i am convinced that people die of lung cancer at young ages having never known what killed them.
donated by the jackson family, we are almost finished building a much safer & healthier stove (with chimney) in the juarez home. praying God will bless this gift and use it to improve/preserve the health of this beautiful family.
donated by the jackson family, we are almost finished building a much safer & healthier stove (with chimney) in the juarez home. praying God will bless this gift and use it to improve/preserve the health of this beautiful family.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
salmo
Salmo has stopped by my house numerous times since we moved into Magdalena 11 months ago. every time he has asked me for a house.
responding to the knocks at the door for houses has become difficult. there seems to be no "right way" to respond, other than simply trust the holy spirit to lead in each situation. sometimes God puts a feeling inside my gut that hints "no" or "yes" or "maybe." other times i just explain the process. and sometimes i just say "ok, lets go see your home." that is what happened with Salmo yesterday.
he was so excited to take me to his home. i could tell, he was thinking "finally i got something other that the run-of-the-mill answer!" turns out, Salmo and i are practically neighbors. his house is on the corner of my street, about a 60 second walk.
rough situation. 6 kids, 1 who is married and has 2 of his own. all 11 of them crammed into a dark, dirty, tiny dwelling.
when Salmo introduced me to his baby, a 1 yr old boy, the excitement on his face struck me. as he held up his son, smiling ear to ear, he kissed him on the cheek 3 or 4 times. it was sweet. having not seen too many guatemalan men show this type of affection to their kids, it definitely caught my attention.
i woke up thinking about Salmo today.
responding to the knocks at the door for houses has become difficult. there seems to be no "right way" to respond, other than simply trust the holy spirit to lead in each situation. sometimes God puts a feeling inside my gut that hints "no" or "yes" or "maybe." other times i just explain the process. and sometimes i just say "ok, lets go see your home." that is what happened with Salmo yesterday.
he was so excited to take me to his home. i could tell, he was thinking "finally i got something other that the run-of-the-mill answer!" turns out, Salmo and i are practically neighbors. his house is on the corner of my street, about a 60 second walk.
rough situation. 6 kids, 1 who is married and has 2 of his own. all 11 of them crammed into a dark, dirty, tiny dwelling.
when Salmo introduced me to his baby, a 1 yr old boy, the excitement on his face struck me. as he held up his son, smiling ear to ear, he kissed him on the cheek 3 or 4 times. it was sweet. having not seen too many guatemalan men show this type of affection to their kids, it definitely caught my attention.
i woke up thinking about Salmo today.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
nice work day...
us boys (me, jake, mark, isaac, and eli) spent the day working on the 12x12 jobsites. great time. not that shoveling dirt all day is a blast in and of itself, but cutting up and goofing off with the construction guys is priceless. i love 12x12 work days.
being on the jobsite is also a great way to spend time with the families we are building for. as we're working i like to watch them - to get a feel for how their daily life works. today, maria cooked chow mein for the entire crew! on top of that, kerrie and gina brought sandwiches... so we were all full bellied for the afternoon push.
it was all fun and games until jake got smacked in the head from a shovel dropping into the ditch he was working in. no biggie... a few tears shed and we rubbed some dirt on it.
being on the jobsite is also a great way to spend time with the families we are building for. as we're working i like to watch them - to get a feel for how their daily life works. today, maria cooked chow mein for the entire crew! on top of that, kerrie and gina brought sandwiches... so we were all full bellied for the afternoon push.
it was all fun and games until jake got smacked in the head from a shovel dropping into the ditch he was working in. no biggie... a few tears shed and we rubbed some dirt on it.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
great birthday: the 12x12 party
dec 31st was my birthday. it was also the day that we threw a party in Buena Vista celebrating the 2009 blessings of the 12x12 Love Project home-building ministry.
every family we have built a home for (going back to sep 08) attended. 19 families so far, including the 2 that are currently under construction. also in attendance were the families of the 6 full-time construction workers on staff, as well as the jackson family, our friends visiting from the U.S.
we served and american meal including fresh burgers from McDonalds. the idea behind that was that we wanted to give special thanks to the families and support from the US that keeps the sponsored homes coming... plus the locals have never had anything like it before so we thought it would be fun for them to enjoy an american meal.
everyone attended. they laughed, played, ate, shared, prayed, and mingled. for me personally, it was nothing short of breathtaking. at one point as i looked around, it felt like time stood completely still. it was as if - for a split second in time - the poverty, problems, and challenges within the lives of these families had disappeared. for a few hours, no one had any worries.
several times throughout the event i was fighting back tears. after i shared some remarks, several people came up to the microphone and said such wonderful things. i was shocked at how many people chose to come forward and share. it was extremely special.
romelo had donated pinatas for the kids, and as the kids played i watched the parents laughing. when it was my turn to put on the blindfold, blanca suzanna laughed uncontrollably as i did karate moves against the pinata. blanca is a young girl who comes from a horrifying upbringing of abuse. she is very slow to show emotion...
after the party, every family lined up to hug me and wish me a happy birthday. while i never intended the day to bring any attention to myself, it sure filled me up as i received hugs and kisses from these special people. we have a unique and special friendship with each family, and seeing them all together in one place truly helped me put in perspective how special the relationships are that we have, as well as remind me of the amount of work that has been done in a short time.
after the party we delivered a pila (sink for washing clothes) to a family who had no water. the jackson's had given this to them as a gift. we hooked up their pipes and installed the pila, then we hustled home for showers. off to dinner in the city (another treat from the jackson family), and returned home for new years eve fireworks...
an extremely special day - a birthday i will never forget.
every family we have built a home for (going back to sep 08) attended. 19 families so far, including the 2 that are currently under construction. also in attendance were the families of the 6 full-time construction workers on staff, as well as the jackson family, our friends visiting from the U.S.
we served and american meal including fresh burgers from McDonalds. the idea behind that was that we wanted to give special thanks to the families and support from the US that keeps the sponsored homes coming... plus the locals have never had anything like it before so we thought it would be fun for them to enjoy an american meal.
everyone attended. they laughed, played, ate, shared, prayed, and mingled. for me personally, it was nothing short of breathtaking. at one point as i looked around, it felt like time stood completely still. it was as if - for a split second in time - the poverty, problems, and challenges within the lives of these families had disappeared. for a few hours, no one had any worries.
several times throughout the event i was fighting back tears. after i shared some remarks, several people came up to the microphone and said such wonderful things. i was shocked at how many people chose to come forward and share. it was extremely special.
romelo had donated pinatas for the kids, and as the kids played i watched the parents laughing. when it was my turn to put on the blindfold, blanca suzanna laughed uncontrollably as i did karate moves against the pinata. blanca is a young girl who comes from a horrifying upbringing of abuse. she is very slow to show emotion...
after the party, every family lined up to hug me and wish me a happy birthday. while i never intended the day to bring any attention to myself, it sure filled me up as i received hugs and kisses from these special people. we have a unique and special friendship with each family, and seeing them all together in one place truly helped me put in perspective how special the relationships are that we have, as well as remind me of the amount of work that has been done in a short time.
after the party we delivered a pila (sink for washing clothes) to a family who had no water. the jackson's had given this to them as a gift. we hooked up their pipes and installed the pila, then we hustled home for showers. off to dinner in the city (another treat from the jackson family), and returned home for new years eve fireworks...
an extremely special day - a birthday i will never forget.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
blanca
so many awesome things have happened in the last week, i haven't been able to keep up with it all in my journal. but today was so amazing, even though i am in bed with my eyes half-shut, i am forcing myself to take a minute and jot something down.
about 6-8 months ago we met a precious girl named blanca suzanna. at 13 years old, she had already had experiences in her life that are totally unimaginable. her story is one of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and extreme poverty.
today, after God beautifully connected different events into place, we celebrated as blanca and her family moved into a new home.
the crazy thing about today was seeing firsthand the transition from the old house to the new. with a team from journey church here helping, we tore down their old house, and moved all of their belongings to the new home-site. but as we dug into their existing home and personal items, we had no idea what we were going to find.
the soot was so thick on the furniture and roof that it turned anything or anyone who touched it completely black. the beds were ripped up, and full of urine, excrement, bugs, and dirty clothes. the house was utterly disgusting. as we worked, we were all quietly emotional, and thinking the same thing.
i am finishing up a video that i will post that gives more detail about this special story, but for now just wanted to share and praise God for today's events.
the day ended with this sweet girl and her family waving us goodbye from the front porch of their new home. the bright pink house behind them (her favorite color), blanca was giddy with joy - something that we have not seen often since our friendship began.
i will never forget the last hug she gave kerrie and i.
about 6-8 months ago we met a precious girl named blanca suzanna. at 13 years old, she had already had experiences in her life that are totally unimaginable. her story is one of abuse, neglect, exploitation, and extreme poverty.
today, after God beautifully connected different events into place, we celebrated as blanca and her family moved into a new home.
the crazy thing about today was seeing firsthand the transition from the old house to the new. with a team from journey church here helping, we tore down their old house, and moved all of their belongings to the new home-site. but as we dug into their existing home and personal items, we had no idea what we were going to find.
the soot was so thick on the furniture and roof that it turned anything or anyone who touched it completely black. the beds were ripped up, and full of urine, excrement, bugs, and dirty clothes. the house was utterly disgusting. as we worked, we were all quietly emotional, and thinking the same thing.
i am finishing up a video that i will post that gives more detail about this special story, but for now just wanted to share and praise God for today's events.
the day ended with this sweet girl and her family waving us goodbye from the front porch of their new home. the bright pink house behind them (her favorite color), blanca was giddy with joy - something that we have not seen often since our friendship began.
i will never forget the last hug she gave kerrie and i.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
romelo
we headed out as a family today to pay the staff and check on the current houses under construction. this month we are building 2 very special homes. one of them is for romelo, who is our foreman for the 12x12 construction crew. with his home, we are completing the original 12 homes sponsored by journey church.
after building the first 11 houses, we all decided to reward romelo's family with a new home of their own. their living conditions are not much different than many of the families we have built houses for, and he has never once complained.
romelo loves the 12x12 ministry, and loves building homes. he believes in what we are doing. at each key ceremony, i notice him... he is always having the best time - laughing and celebrating. he blushes when we publicly thank the construction team, but he is always willing to share a few words.
for me, it is a joy to see him taking so much pride in building the current 12x12 home - this one for his own family to enjoy.
after building the first 11 houses, we all decided to reward romelo's family with a new home of their own. their living conditions are not much different than many of the families we have built houses for, and he has never once complained.
romelo loves the 12x12 ministry, and loves building homes. he believes in what we are doing. at each key ceremony, i notice him... he is always having the best time - laughing and celebrating. he blushes when we publicly thank the construction team, but he is always willing to share a few words.
for me, it is a joy to see him taking so much pride in building the current 12x12 home - this one for his own family to enjoy.
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