Mission Trip to Tijuana

My husband, Greg, and I have just returned from a week long Mission Trip to Tijuana, Mexico.  Forty-four members of our church, working in conjunction with Amor Ministries, built two houses for the poorest of the poor in Tijuana.  The 22’ x 11’ two-room houses often times will provide shelter for six or more family members.  There are minimal utilities in the community, so all construction is performed by hand.  Those families who own or are in the process of owning their own land can apply, through local churches, for a new home.  Construction of the home can be completed in four days with a team of 12 or more people. 

Our particular home sites were located in the small community of El Nino, located on the outskirts of Tijuana.  Words cannot adequately describe the depth of poverty that lay before us.  Broken down buses and cars were used for houses.  Other homes were built from old billboards and scrap pieces of wood and metal.  And still others looked like very small sheds.  As we entered the neighborhood, our vans ran through raw sewage as there was no indoor plumbing and certainly no sewer system.   It was only after this first glimpse that we were told by our Amor representative that we were in one of the ‘better’ impoverished neighborhoods.  Yet, most of the people of the community were very friendly, had a positive outlook and were very happy to see our team arrive and build them a new home!  The money received from the Pay-It-Forward program was split between our two families.  For one family, a concrete retaining wall will be built behind the new house to replace the stack of old tires that currently holds up the sloping land.  For the other, the money will be used to purchase mattresses for the children as well as other essential home items that they currently do not have.  Both families were encouraged, as they were able, to provide help to other families in need in their community.  Given their situation, I’m not sure if or when they will ever be ‘able’ to provide monetary assistance to others, but I do hope these families can and will provide other means of help to those who are awaiting a new home.

I can say for sure that Greg and I, as well as the rest of our team, were forever changed as a result of this experience and could not ask for a greater blessing than to be able to serve those less fortunate than us.  We look forward to providing service in missions in the coming year.  For more information on Amor Ministries, visit www.Amor.org .  I have included a couple of pictures of our home sites.