Acuna Mission Trip - March 16th - 18th, 2006
One March 16th, twenty-two men and young men went to Acuna
Mexico on a Mission Trip. This trip was coordinated with
Go Fish Ministries.
The purpose of the trip was really multi-fold. First, there were men that went that were equipped and prepared to do construction work on a Mission Church in one of the Colonias. This church was started about a year ago - and Go Fish Ministries has been instrumental in completing the buildings.
Secondly, it was a scouting trip of sorts for future trips. Would it be safe to being women and children to this part of Mexico? What could they do? What were the places we would stay and would they reach the "minimum standards" that some women required?
This was the first mission trip for about 2/3 of the men that went.
Here is what we found. It was wonderful! And yes it is safe for women and children. The hotel we stayed at in Mexico had hot showers in the room - and a toilet (with a lid). We were safe by all accounts.
The uniqueness of these trips is that we leave about 5 pm on Thursday -- cross the border a little past midnight - check into the hotel about 12:45am. Get up on Friday - work all day long - either Bible Clubs or Construction. Have a worship service that night - eat a meal about 9:00pm Friday night - and on Saturday Morning either go back to work - or "Minister to the Merchants" in Acuna. Eat lunch at the host church, John 3:16 - leave about 1:00 and get back to LaPorte about 8:00pm that evening.
What an incredible trip! Again - this is all organized through Go Fish Ministries. We are already planning a return trip in August of 2006. The cost of the entire trip? With van rental included - about $115.00 for everything (excluding the Ministry to the Merchants). Come go with us! It will change your life.
Bayshore does take ministry to all people seriously!
PS: Guys - feel free to make comments on the blog!
This was "home base" for our mission operations. This is John 3:16 church and was built years ago. It has become the hub of several churches throughout the Colonias in Acuna.
Here is a picture of Pastor Andrais and his daughter. He is the founding pastor of John 3:16 church and helps either 4 or 5 other churches in the surrounding Colonias. It was his vision to build the John 3:16 church years ago and now its influence can be felt all over Acuna.
Here is the mission church that the crew worked on.
Here is Dewey doing something .... I am sure it was important and vital!
Here are some dedicated painters working on the outside of the mission.
Don't have a "Go Fish" Logo shirt? No problem! We can make our own! Who needs David to remember the shirts??????
Here is some of the interior work that was done inside the mission
This is a mission from John 3:16 church. The men from Bayshore worked at finishing this addition - 2 Showers - bathrooms and running water - on the back of the church. This mission was started about 2 years ago and has been built totally by volunteer help. The showers and bathrooms are the only inside watering facilities in this Colonia. The men accomplished a tremendous amount - and this Mission - except for the sewer piping - is ready to be completely turned over to the Mission Pastor and completion.
Here is a picture of some of the construction crew!
These are interior walls for the only showers and indoor plumbing in the entire colonia.
Here are some of the men as they work on the Mission Church.
This is a mission church from the John 3:16 church. You can see the homes that surround it that it is in a very impoverished neighborhood - however, many of the homes in this Colonia were far superior to the ones we found in other Colonias.
The concrete for the sidewalk was made the old fashioned way. Here they are sifting rocks from the sand to be used in the concrete.
One of the project that the kids did was to complete a sidewalk around the outside of the church. They did it the old fashioned way - you can see my son Joseph (light blue shirt) with the shovel. He did an incredible job on this trip.
Here was a house that was built totally from pallet wood. Many of the houses had electrity (1 bulb) and the wire was just running along the ground. We were in two Colonias - both were incredibly poor and people simply built their homes out of what they could scrounge.
You can see that these people use whatever they can find to keep their homes in tack. I asked what the large holes in the ground were for. I was told either water collection or "waterworks." I assume it was collection of water for household use - but am uncertain.
Here is another house in one of Colonias we were in. And yes - that is cardboard. Their houses are continually being reworked with whatever they can find. I was told that is was not uncommon for many of these families in the colonias to go without food for days at a time.
Here is another one of the typical homes in the Colonia. Many were constructed with scrap wood and pallets.
Here is another young mother and her child that were in the Colonias.
Raul spotted these teenagers and began to talk with them about their faith. After a while - each of these boys invited Jesus into their heart. That made the entire trip worth while.
Here is one of the older boys that sat and began to color and read. You also can see the necklace he made with his own hands.
This is the church in one of the Colonias. Hopefully, in the future we will be able to help them with their buildings. Over the past few years there have been 2 or 3 Churches constructed. Those are now in more established neighborhoods - but when they were first started - they were in Colonias very similar to this.
The majority of the people we found in the Colonias were women and children. The men were at work. The children go to school 1/2 a day and then switch. Some go in the morning and others in the afternoon. This was just a beautiful baby ... one can only wonder where and what she will be in fifteen years.
Here is another picture of the kids working with the children at one of the Colonias. The boy in the light blue shirt on the left is my son Joseph. This was his first mission trip. He did great and was a terrific help!
In every Colonia, there were three tables set up - one was for a coloring craft, another for making a beaded necklace and the last for making a stained-glass looking craft. The children rotated around each table until they had been at each table. After that we told them a simple Bible Story and gave them a back containing toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and some other toiletries. We also gave them a bottle of bubbles - that was a big hit!
Here is another picture of some of the children we helped in the Colonias in Acuna.
