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!!!