On with the story. There is this great organization called Casas por Cristo. You can learn more about Casas here. We took a team of 9 and three of our kids to Juarez to build a house for a family in four days. Our team leader who works for Casas was Justin Kirklin. He was great in so many ways. He clearly has a heart that has been transformed by Christ. He made it known that we were not there to help end poverty or to build a better house for a family. We were there to make the Gospel known, and to help connect church leaders in the area to families who so desperately need Christ. None of the work is done without the help of local churches. In fact the churches are the ones who find the families who are need of homes, and then connect them with Casas through a waiting list.The family we built for was a family of 7. The mother had the same name as me, Mary Elizabeth, except in Spanish of course. She had five children, including a baby that was 3 weeks old. We learned before the build, that her husband was not a believer, and so we prayed as we built the house.
He stayed inside with the baby, but Maria stayed outside with her other children, and our team while we worked. She played with my kids, she helped them hammer nails in wood scraps, and they built with left over wood pieces. She brought out the toys they did have, and my kids played with hers. There was no barrier. They could not talk to each other because of the language difference, but they played together. It was a beautiful thing to watch as a mother of young children.
I don't want my kids to be sheltered from the rest of the world, as we tend to do here in America. I also do not want to instill fear in them. I want them to see how God works all over the world, and how His love has no borders. That is why we took our kids. We did not take Owen. We thought I would not be able to help with the building as much, with chasing after him. ( Thank you to Heather Barker, Sara Parker, Kylie and Ben Sexton, and Michelle Heath for watching him.)
Kelsey O'Dell speaks Spanish very well, and she was the one responsible for letting me hold the new baby. Let me tell you, it was unlike anything I have ever felt before. Sure, I have had my share of baby holding, but the flood of emotions I felt at that moment was great. I felt a connection with Maria, as a mother, wife, and child of God. I realized in that moment how much she needs God's grace daily, just like I do. I could not communicate verbally with her, but I could feel God was connecting us. It's really unexplainable.As most of you know, the family gave us a puppy that we smuggled into the US. We didn't try to hide her while crossing the border, Ellie just held her, and nothing was asked. We took her to the vet and she is a healthy little puppy, about 6-8 weeks old. We named her Ria, after Maria. She reminds me daily of the family in Juarez, that we shared God's great love with.
I could say so much more. I will say it was hard to come home. I did miss Owen tremendously, but I can't explain how I felt. Many would want to get back to our comfortable living here in the states, but God is teaching me daily, that my comfort is not what the Gospel is about. It's about Him, and nothing else.
