Friday, January 13, 2006
Worship Harder
From December 28th to January 4th a mission team from our home church, First Baptist Church of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, came to La Paz for a short-term mission adventure. The team was made up of four adult leaders and eleven youth ranging in age from 5 to 50 years old. The goal of their time was to “Worship Harder” as they offered themselves to the construction of a home for our Mexican friends Mary and Raul, and their children Jose Armando, Alejandro, and Areceli.
Mary and Raul’s previous home (a wood and tar paper shack) was demolished as part of the city’s decision to widen their street. No compensation was provided. Since then, the family has been living in an adjacent property owned by one of Raul’s relatives. It has been a long-time dream of theirs to have a home made out of brick and mortar. This dream is becoming a reality!
With the support of the Crossroads Christian Fellowship here in La Paz, FBC of Bethlehem, volunteer labor, and the tenacious spirit of Raul, the house is quickly taking shape. Before the team from Bethlehem arrived the foundation was laid, the walls were in place for 3 nice sized rooms and a small bathroom (inside with plumbing, no longer an outhouse), and the forms to pour the roof were all in place.
Over the course of the week, the team poured the cement roof over the 3 rooms, prepared the foundation and poured a slab for what will be the family’s future kitchen and dining area, dug a 6 foot wide and 7 foot deep ditch through rock and earth which will serve as part of the septic system, and started landscaping the entire property for a garden area and water drainage.
One afternoon the team surprised Mary and Raul’s family by celebrating a late Christmas. During a Christmas morning service back in Pennsylvania, the members of First Baptist Church brought Christmas gifts for the entire family to be taken to La Paz. They were overwhelmed! The kids were inundated with toys and new clothes, and Mary and Raul each received a couple of new outfits.
On our last day together, the group invited their newly adopted family to a day at the beach followed by a dinner back at the Inn where the team was staying. As the evening drew to a close, Raul tried to put into words just how deeply the group had touched him and his family with their willingness to raise the money to come from thousands of miles away to work with a family they only knew through stories passed on by others. Tears began to flow, and Raul simply asked, “Why us?”
The team from Bethlehem came to La Paz ready to work hard, and in the process they became a real and tangible answer to prayer to a family whose faith has been challenged time and time again.
Mary and Raul’s previous home (a wood and tar paper shack) was demolished as part of the city’s decision to widen their street. No compensation was provided. Since then, the family has been living in an adjacent property owned by one of Raul’s relatives. It has been a long-time dream of theirs to have a home made out of brick and mortar. This dream is becoming a reality!
With the support of the Crossroads Christian Fellowship here in La Paz, FBC of Bethlehem, volunteer labor, and the tenacious spirit of Raul, the house is quickly taking shape. Before the team from Bethlehem arrived the foundation was laid, the walls were in place for 3 nice sized rooms and a small bathroom (inside with plumbing, no longer an outhouse), and the forms to pour the roof were all in place.
Over the course of the week, the team poured the cement roof over the 3 rooms, prepared the foundation and poured a slab for what will be the family’s future kitchen and dining area, dug a 6 foot wide and 7 foot deep ditch through rock and earth which will serve as part of the septic system, and started landscaping the entire property for a garden area and water drainage.
One afternoon the team surprised Mary and Raul’s family by celebrating a late Christmas. During a Christmas morning service back in Pennsylvania, the members of First Baptist Church brought Christmas gifts for the entire family to be taken to La Paz. They were overwhelmed! The kids were inundated with toys and new clothes, and Mary and Raul each received a couple of new outfits.
On our last day together, the group invited their newly adopted family to a day at the beach followed by a dinner back at the Inn where the team was staying. As the evening drew to a close, Raul tried to put into words just how deeply the group had touched him and his family with their willingness to raise the money to come from thousands of miles away to work with a family they only knew through stories passed on by others. Tears began to flow, and Raul simply asked, “Why us?”
The team from Bethlehem came to La Paz ready to work hard, and in the process they became a real and tangible answer to prayer to a family whose faith has been challenged time and time again.
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