Tuesday, July 22, 2008

My New Passion - Homes for the working poor















10 years ago Stephanie and I began an organization, Baja Bound Ministries, with the goal of serving the needs of Christian ministires throughout Baja. Over the past 10 years we have had a significant impact on ministries in Tecate, TJ, Rosarito Beach, Routa De Vina, and Ensenada.

This year we began a new phase of our ministry with the construction of our first home for migrant workers south of Ensenada. I AM HOOKED! Ben Gaines and I have set a goal of building 100 homes in the next 10 years for the working poor. If you are interested in getting involved, we have already begun reserving weeks for groups next year. So contact me NOW!

Bellow you can see a brief overview of our project.

House Part 1 - In The Beggining...


I am not always the most organized person - but God has always given me grace by providing the right person at the right time for the right job. The first week of our summer Chorus church from Temecula partnered with my church teen ministry to get the project started right. We were blessed with the very talented "GORDO" - who supervised the building. Note his lucky Trevor Hoffman shirt. Don't worry - Gordo is a better closer than Trevor nowadays...

House Part 2 - Boston Comes to Town



















My boy Todd from Grace Chapel in Boston has partnered with us for many years, and always brings a hard working group. In fact, if they would ever shut up about the Patriots, Clam Chowder, and the Red Sox, they might be my favorite group. Oh - and they are still convinved that Bill Belichek did not cheat.


Boston served with great energy - and managed to get the house wrapped, finish the framing, and put the plywood on the roof.

House Part 3 - The Norsemen from Minnesota

Our summer project was completed with the help of 36 folks from Crossroads church in Minnesota. As fate (i.e. GOD) would have it - thier youth Pastor James Racine has worked as a framer: As Hannibal used to say in the "A" Team - "I love it when a plan comes together".

Middle picture shows the entire team praying for the home before handing keys to the family.

Bottom picture is the one I will remember the most from this summer. When a family that previously had nothing entered into thier new home.