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.
