A Fire That Led To Repentance

This past week, I built for a family in Acuna, MX. There names were Gonzalo and Edelina. They are the younger couple standing on either side of their grandma in the picture. If you can’t tell from the picture, Edelina in 8 months pregnant. This will be their first child. They are expecting a baby girl. To the right is a little girl that their family took in after she was abandoned by her mother as a infant.

This was a special build for multiple reasons. Gonzalo and Edelina’s neighbor’s house caught on fire a few weeks ago. Next to that house was a couple of barrels of some type of oil substance. The fire caught the barrels on fire which went off like a bomb. One of those barrels flew into the shack that Gonzalo and Edelina were living in. The house quickly went up in flames. They lost everything. A nightmare for a young couple expecting a baby in 1 month coming in to the winter season. Gonzalo had been saving money from his night shift job of very bad pay. He had saved 1800 pesos which is about $180. That was burnt up in the fire.

As soon as the news reached our ministry, we bumped this family to the top of the list. The excitement of this family was evident when we arrived at the build site on the first day. Gonzalo had a serious tone about him. He seemed overwhelmed with gratitude of what he was about to receive. He was so impacted by the house he was receiving that he slept in his outhouse to guard the build materials ever night during the build. The outhouse was small with dirt floors. It looked and smelled like an outhouse. The temperature reached below freezing every night.

What also made this build very special is that it was built by the new Pastors committee in Acuna, MX. In both cities that we build in, Juarez and newly Acuna, we have a pastors committee that meets about and represents our ministry. These pastors are involved in sponsoring the families that we build for. Sponsorship includes handing out applications and shepherding the family they are sponsoring before, during, and after a build.

This was the first real informal bonding of these pastors. This is a big deal because the church in Acuna has never had unity. This is the first real unity these pastors have ever been a part of. Those in this picture, including myself, are just a few of the pastors that helped us build during the week. It is exciting to see God bring unity to Acuna, MX through our ministry.

These pastors poured their hearts out to Gonzalo and Edelina so much so, Gonzalo and Edelina gave their lives to the Jesus while we were there. This makes everything we do all worth it. Their sponsoring pastor is a good man with a great heart. He will be contacting them often, helping them mature and develop as a new Christian family.

I thing that the quick response from God in saving their family from the harsh climate of Acuna, MX was what led them to want to know Jesus and the most important love he has to offer. I am excited for Acuna and all of the work that his starting to happen there. This is an exciting time for our ministry.

Love you all!!!

Justin Kirklin

Antioch Build 09

Antioch Build 09, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

This is Jose and Maria's 2 year old daughter Yesica. This winter, Yesica is going to be warm in her new house, and she is going to be warmed in her heart because her daddy has found his passion to follow Jesus like her and her mother. Yesica's excitement to have a new home was tear provoking.

Antioch Build 09

Antioch Build 09, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Julie and I had the pleasure of making new friends from a church in Oklahoma City, OK. There church is named Antioch Christian Church. This church group has come on 13 trips with our ministry. I find that pretty amazing.
Beside being a closely knit group, their hearts for Juarez and the people who live there is one to be admired. We worked together for four days, building a house and getting to know each other. Every morning with this group felt like, without a doubt, that we were getting up to serve the Lord. Julie and I left feeling very encouraged by their dedication to serve Christ in Juarez, MX. If we keep having groups like this, we are going to know without a doubt that God has given us the best job in the world.
The family we built for was a couple in their 30's named Jose and Maria. Jose and Maria both worked a factory job, making only $60 a week. They had a daughter named Yesica who is 2 years old. Maria and Yesica both go to church but Jose has not been attending church with them. Jose and I had a conversation the day we finished the house. He said that God has shown him the love that he has for him and his family. He told me that being a good person is not enough and that he is going to get his priorities straight, no longer making excuses to follow Jesus. Hearing that makes what we do totally worth it. This winter, Maria and Yesica are going to warm in their new house and in their hearts because Jose has found a passion for Jesus Christ like they have.
The church group at the end of the build also came together and spoke to each other about how amazing it was to build a house for this family. They also spoke to each other about the importance of following Christ everyday and not just being excited about Jesus on a missions trip. Awesome!
Julie and I are looking forward to the day that we get to build with this group again. Lives were changed last week. We are excited to see the things that God is going to do in the future.

Antioch Build 09

Antioch Build 09, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

This was me trying to give my best attempt at translating what the Mexican Pastor was speaking to the family and the group. He was talking about a verse in Psalms 127 that says if God is not the builder of the house, the builders build in vain. This moment is the most important part of a build. This is where the team, the pastor, and the family come together to reflect and celebrate what God is done. The family is taught by the pastor that God loves them and has brought them a great gift, but he offers a greater gift than just this new built home.

1 year Anniversary at the Grand Canyon

1 year Anniversary at the Grand Canyon, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Julie and I celebrated 1 year of marriage this last week by camping at the Grand Canyon. It was Julie's first time there and it was my second time. If you are ever having doubt in the existence of a creator God, just take a vacation to see the Canyon. It is so big that you can't really get a good handle on it when you first see it. Looking at it strikes you with awe and a sense of wonder at what might be below. It blows my mind to see what God created and kept secret for so many years.
We did a lot of fun stuff. We hiked down into the canyon about a mile and a half. The bad part is you have to walk back up what you walked down. We explored different spots around the rim of the canyon. We also saw giant elk fighting each other. They were huge, as big as a horse. It rained off and on everyday but it made the canyon more beautiful. We saw two rainbows coming up out of the canyon. It was gorgeous.
Julie and I chose to visit the canyon because we are dedicated to having Christ be the center of our relationship. We wanted God to stir our affections for him by perceiving him in nature. He did that. We are renewed and focused again. God's beauty and his love and his power are so desirable to us. We crave more. We hope that in the many years of marriage to come, that God will grow us in him as we try to serve him to the best of our ability.
We would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported us in marriage for the last year. We appreciate all the wisdom and advice and encouragement that we have received from you. We love all of you and we hope that our marriage and our lives can be as big a blessing as you have been to us.

Visiting Families

Visiting Families, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

One of the houses we've built in the midst of chaos. I can't even imagine how this family felt when they received this house for free!!!!

Visiting Families

Visiting Families, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

One of the coolest things I get to do with Casas Por Cristo is visit families that we have built for after the house is built. In this picture, the director of Spiritual Outreach, Scott, is speaking with the mother of the family that received a house. In the middle is her pastor who is part of Casas Por Cristo. We have over 100 pastors that are connected and contribute to our ministry.
When we visit a family, the pastor, myself, and Scott, spend time with the family. We ask them how there house is and how the group was that came down to build for them. If there is something wrong with the house, we fix it then, or we have someone come fix any problems with their house. We also ask them if they are attending church. We tell them how important it is to have Christ in their heart and in their life. If they aren't following Christ, we do the best we can to express the importance of following Jesus Christ. This time also gives the Pastors a perfect opportunity to minister to the family.
These visit have been very successful. I hope that when we follow up with the families that they are impressed by the love of Christ and we also hope to the Pastors find connection with the family. While we are not building houses, this is what I will be doing on a weekly basis. Hope all of you are well!!!

Asking Why

The Grove Build June of 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

I was taking a shower the other day,(weird way to start, I know, but bare with me), and I was geting frustrated at the fact that I couldn't get the temprature level right. I turned the left nob about an inch and it got too hot. I turned the right nob and it got it too cold. Over and over again, until 5 mintues later it was just right.....until my wife flushed the toilet:)
I smiled to myself because I remembered a bathroom of a family I built for earlier this summer. The bucket on the right is their shower. The half a toilet on the left is their toilet. The floor is rocks. The building is a shack. This has led me to ask the question over and over...Why? Why God? Why do I get luxury? Why do I get an amazing place to take a shower and the choice of the perfect temprature? I could just have easily have been born into this mexican family. I could have been born with no oppurtunity.
I can't really answer this question. By God's soveriegnty am I where I am. According to his infinite knowledge and purpose he has given me all that I have. But I do know one thing. He has given me all that I have for his purpose. It would be a crime if I didn't use the wealth, luxury, and rescources God has given me to show his love to others who were placed in poorer circumstances the my circumstances. All I have is for him.

Rushville Christian Church Build 2009

Rushville Christian Church Build 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

This last week I built with Rushville Christian Church from Joplin, Missouri. This was there 13th year coming down to Juarez to serve. Rushville was a very unique group because they did so much more than just build a house. They did community cookouts, VBS, worked on a church, handed out gifts, etc. They were a really pleasure to build with and very fast as well. We built the house in 16 hours!!! Part of the reason that it was built so fast is because they hired Mexican Nationals to help us build that week. It was a really amazing thing to do in my opinion. Im glad that we were able to help some Mexican Men feed their families.

Eustiola was the woman that we built for this week. She is one of the sweetest elderly women I have ever met. I told her during the week that he house was strong and she said, "I know it is strong because it is a Casas Por Cristo house." That was one of the greatest gifts I had ever received in Ministry. She also told us on the last day that she has nothing to give us but she knew that Christ would reward us when we get to heaven. I know that she was impacted for the kingdom last week.

I do not build for quite awhile sadly. I will be updating this blog every week still. There is plenty to tell you about and I am excited to do so. Hope all of you are well. Please pray for Julie and I.

Rushville Christian Church Build 2009

Rushville Christian Church Build 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Julie painting with one of the team members from Rushville Christian Church. Eustiola had picked out bright pink for her new house.

Rushville Christian Church Build 2009

Rushville Christian Church Build 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Eustiolia in tears when she was given the keys to her new home.

Rushville Christian Church Build 2009

Rushville Christian Church Build 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Eustiolia's old house.

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

This last week, I had the pleasure of working with Evergreen Lutheran Church. They drove all the way from Colorado to work with us. Their youth leader Brittany, I had worked with on a build back in March when they brought their adult group. This week though, it was the youth groups turn.

We built in Juarez, MX in a colonial called Anapra. Despite the pretty spectacular views in Anapra, the poverty level is strikingly difficult for the soul to take. We built for a couple, Oscar and Yolanda, who have four children. They make 50.00 a week to support their family of six, that is of course, when Oscar has work. Oscar is a mechanic without any work right now. Making ends meet is difficult.

For food, Oscar is raising a few pigs and chickens so that hopefully he can live off the livestock he has accumulated during the rough patches of employment. He even hunts rattle snakes to eat. I was a witness to that. He caught one, skinned it, and cooked it up right there. Crazy!!!

The Kids from Evergreen Lutheran were some of the hardest working teens I have ever worked with. They worked very well together despite two big setbacks during the week; Our site was one meter out of level which is pretty crazy, and our Concrete truck couldn't get to the site and had to be bucked over by front end loader.

In the end, we completed a beautiful house and I was able to make a lot of friends with the leaders and the teens on the trip. Oscar and Yolanda are not Christians. It is my prayer that the gospel penetrated their hearts and that the Mexican Pastor of this family will do everything he can to be an ambassador of Christ.

Thanks Evergreen Lutheran for your hard work and dedication for the sake for the gospel!!!!

Check out more pics from the week at our flickr page. The link is at the top of the blog!!!

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Oscar and Yolonda

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

This is the new house Oscar and Yolanda received last week. 3 rooms, fully insulated, electric, ceiling fan, drywall, etc. No more freezing winters, and unbearable summers. God is pretty amazing!

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

This is the second structure Oscar and Yolanda had constructed to live in. A little bit of improvement but nothing compared to what God was about to bless them with.

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Oscar and Yolanda's starting house. It was one room and pretty tore up.

Juarez Pastor's Meeting July 2009

Juarez Pastor's Meeting July 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

On Tuesday, July 7th, I had the privledge of attending the pastors meeting in Juarez, MX. The pastors meeting is a gathering of all of the pastors working with Casas Por Cristo to worship, learn, encourage, and discuss about the Church in Juarez and business matters of Casas Por Cristo.
I attended the meeting with the Executive Director of Casas Por Cristo, David Robertson. He explained to me how awesome the pastors meeting is. The meeting has become the largest unified gathering of Pastor's in Juarez, MX. There are pastors from many different denominationscoming to gather for the sake of the gospel in their city. This is something that we have not even accomplished in the States. When these men gather who are serving Christ in Juarez, it's not about denomination, doctrine, or controversie, it's about Christ and the work of the gospel. It is one of the coolest things I have seen in the church today. It is just funny that I found such a beautiful thing on a back road in the middle of a city in Mexico.
I learned an important lesson. I have had this idea that we in the United Sates sit at the top of the most advanced society in the World and it seems that we have it together when it comes to "doing church". After what I saw yesterday, I think that the American Church has so far to go when it comes to unifying Body of Christ for effective change in our country. I pray that God will help us be a little more like the brothers in Mexico.

The Grove Build June of 2009

The Grove Build June of 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Outside Alberto and Aurora's old house.

The Grove Build June of 2009

The Grove Build June of 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Inside Alberto and Aurora's house.

The Grove Build June of 2009

The Grove Build June of 2009, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

This past week I had the pleasure of working with The Grove Baptist Church. I have worked with this church 3 times on 3 different houses and my experience with them gets better and better as our relationship grows. They are the kind of people that are just addicting to be around. Their personality and their sense of hospitality make it easy to fit in and become part of their church family. It is one of the highlights of my year.

This year with The Grove, we built a single home which is a 22' by 11', 2 bedroom house. To an American, this seems like nothing more that the size of a common car garage but to an impoverished Mexican Family, it is a Cadillac home that sticks out like a sore thumb. We may have bruised a couple thumbs with our hammers but this house is like a kings palace to the family we were able to bless it with.

Alberto and Aurora and their son lived in nothing more that a cardboard and pallet shack. The shack was not closed up and rain and snow are able to get in the house when bad weather strikes. Not only that, the summers are desperately brutal with heat and the winters numbingly cold in a shack with no insulation or closed up walls. The floor of their shack is rough ground and rocks, and everything that they do is conducted in a single room. Their only income is 45.00 dollars a week. It is not because of laziness. 65 year old Alberto works all week 12+ hours a day. 45.00 is only enough for them to survive on.

I asked Alberto and Aurora what they had been expecting from when they heard they were going to receive a brand new home to live in. They said that 2 other ministries had promised to come either repair their old house or give them a new one. The one that said they were going to make improvements to their shack made them move all their belongings outside and then never showed up. The "promise" of God and of Christians seemed to be faulty. So one they were told that we were going to build a house for them, they had little hope.

We showed up on Monday morning with the goal of glorifying God and blessing a family that dearly needed it. It took 3 and a half days to build. Everyday there was a new challenge. The first day, getting the forms ready for concrete was a nightmare. The site had really hard rocky soil and the area we needed to build was extremely unleveled. the second day it rained and set us back a little bit. The third day it was blazing hot. But through it all, The Grove kept there composure and had excellent attitudes that kept morale up during the build.

On a side note, the Grove team held a soccer game with the local kids and then shared the gospel with them after the game. There were 22 adults and children that came forward who wanted to receive salvation through Christ. It was awesome!!! We hope that God brings those in their paths to disciple them into the kingdom.

On thursday, we dedicated the house to the family. It was probably the most heart wrenching dedication I have ever been apart of. We shared songs of praise to our God and then turned it over to the family's sponsoring pastor. He shared about the great blessing that God had given them and about salvation through Jesus Christ. Then Alberto came forward and cried with a spirit of gratitude for what God had done and how much their lives had been changed. Then Aurora came forward with tears of Joy and escorted us into their old house. She said that she wanted us to see the way that she and her family had been living and how big of a gift the house was to them. I couldn't stop tears from running down my cheeks.

We laid hands on Alberto, Aurora, their son, and the new house we had built and prayed for them. We prayed that the house would be strong and that it would be a safe haven for the family. We prayed most of all that it would be a place where the presents of God was known and felt and understood by the humble Mexico family we had bonded with. After the prayer we gave them a bible and the keys to their NEW HOME!!!!

I can't tell you how big of a privilege it is to work for this ministry and to be apart of these homes. I told God that night that I have no business being here because I am a sinful man and don't deserve to be apart of something so beautiful and so miraculous.

To the Grove and to those who support Julie and I, Thank you for your partnership enabling us to be apart of heaven on earth.

If you would like to see more pictures from the week, visit our picture site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/justinandjuliemissions/

My New Job

Hey everyone! I am almost through my training for my new job and will start the weekend shift in a couple of weeks. It is a little hard to get used to working in a different culture, but everyone I work with is super friendly. My co-workers are even helping me learn Spanish, which is a good thing since half of the patients only speak Spanish!
I have made a couple of friends with some women in the ministry. We have bonded through chick flicks and shopping at the outlet mall! I never thought this would happen but I think I'm turning into a city girl. It's really nice to be able to go wherever I want in five minutes (unless I get stuck in traffic-then it takes an hour!).
I'm looking forward to start working on the weekends so I will be able to build with Justin during the week. Ok, to be completely honest, I'm more excited to go play with the Mexican kids than to actually build!
Miss you all!
Julie

Julie's new work place

Julie's new work place, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

This is my new hospital where I work in the CT department.

Christ Church Lake Forest Build June of 2009

Christ Church Lake Forest Build June of 2009
Originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin

My first build back with Casas Por Cristo was a good one. We built for a couple named Cesar and Yanette. They had 6 children. They lived in a 10 by 10 cinder block square with their children. We were able to build them a 3 room, 40 by 15 ft house with insulation, drywall, electrical, and roofing.

We worked all week in a very urban part of Acuna, MX. There were a lot of Mexican locals that stopped by to see what was going on. One of them was named Jose. We got to know Jose over the week because he came by everyday to help build the house. Jose was an ex-Mexican Military soldier who had battled a lot of things and through much adversity, became a Christian a few years before we had met him. The second day we were there, Jose showed up with some bad news. His brother had just passed away the night before and he had no idea what had happened. Jose also communicated his grief that he had tried to share Christ with his brother but his brother didn't want any part of it. We laid hands on Jose and prayed for him and his family. This did not stop Jose from coming the rest of the week and worshiping god through serving his friend in the community.

Another smiley face in the neighborhood was the sponsoring pastor of the family. When we build a house for a family, the application for that family is turned in my a local Mexican Pastor. That pastor, in return, is responsible for shepherding that family. Pastor Renae was one of the most good hearted, spiritual men I have ever met. Probably in his 60s, he worked like he was 18. Pastor Renae really took the opportunity to share scripture and the message of the gospel to Cesar and Yanette while we were there. I am grateful for having met Pastor Renae. I hope we can partner together many more times in the near future.

This week was touched by many highlights, but the biggest highlight was the end of the week when the team and I laid hands on the family and there newly constructed house. We were n the middle of prayer when Yanette, the mother, raised he hand hand a just balled with thanksgiving for the miracle God had done in her and her family's life. They had just received the best earthly gift they have ever received.

Radio Show

Radio Show
Originally uploaded by Justin Kirklin

My second week of work I was able to participate in our ministry's first radio show in San Antonio, TX. It is hopefully the start of many more to come. A man who was on one of our trips works for the biggest Christian radio conglomerate in the country. He really caught a vision for our ministry and set us up with a 2 day, 3 hour block per day, radio show.

During the show we raised $5600. That was not our goal though. We wanted to get our name and our vision out there. We are hoping that with a series of radio shows across the country, we will be able to grow our ministry exponentially.

view

view
Originally uploaded by Justin Kirklin

The Mountain View

truck

truck
Originally uploaded by Justin Kirklin

This is the truck that they have given me to drive. Its huge!

Our House

Our House, originally uploaded by Justin Kirklin.

We finally arrived!!! Julie and I are so excited to be here. It is a dream come true and an opportunity of a life time to work with such a powerful ministry. We are honored and feel humble that God is using us in such a big way. He has given us a peace and joy in our hearts to work with Casas Por Cristo.

This picture is a picture of the house we will be staying at in El Paso, TX. The house is owned by the ministry and they are letting us stay there for free!!! It is such a awesome deal. They are really taking care of us while we get settled in. We are living in the downstairs apartment. The upstairs is used for some of the groups that come and work with us to stay at before and after they cross into Mexico. We have an excellent view of the mountains.

Anyway, we plan on using this blog to keep everyone informed of our life and our ministry during this adventure. We will update it at least once a week with stories, updates, houses that we built, families that have been impacted, and American Church Groups that have been changed. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think. Love you all.

Justin

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.