The Life of Missionaries Justin and Julie

What the World Doesn't Do

2012-01-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

I'v been chewing on this from the beginning of my journey as a Christian missionary. I've always wondered how the Non-christian portion of American society sees Christian missions. Does the American "world" see God's power because the American church is missional internationally? Does the church testify to Grace and validity of Jesus because of the American missional outreach to the world? If it's not clear what I am asking, let me clarify by starting with an equal comparison.

AAH: Action Against Hunger; www.aah-usa.org

ADRA: Adventist Development and Relief Agency International: www.adra.org

Air Serv International: www.airserv.org

AFSC: American Friends Service Committee: www.afsc.org

American Jewish World Service: www.ajws.org

American Red Cross: www.redcross.org

ARC: American Refugee Committee; www.archq.org

AmeriCares:www.americares.org

CARE: www.care.org

Catholic Relief Services; www.catholicrelief.org

Childreach/Plan International USA: www.childreach.org

Christian Children’s Fund: www.ChristianChildrensFund.org

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: www.crwrc.org

CWS: Church World Service; the service agency for the National Council of Churches (USA); www.churchworldservice.org

Concern Worldwide US: www.concernusa.org

Direct Relief International: www.directrelief.org

Doctors of the World: www.doctorsoftheworld.org

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF): www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Food for the Hungry, Inc.: www.fh.org

International Aid: www.internationalaid.org, www.gospelcom.net/ia

International Catholic Migration Commission: www.icmc.net

IMC: International Medical Corps: www.imc-la.com

IRC: International Rescue Committee: www.irc.org, www.theIRC.org

Latter-Day Saint Charities: 800-240-1201 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-240-1201 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Lutheran World Relief: www.lwr.org

MAP International: www.map.org

MCI: Mercy Corps International: www.mercycorps.org

NMIT: Northwest Medical Team International: www.nwmedicalteams.org

Operation USA: www.opusa.org

Oxfam America: www.oxfamamerica.org

Refugees International: www.refugeesinternational.org

Relief International: www.ri.org

Salvation Army World Service Office: www.salvationarmyusa.org

SC/US (SCF/US): Save the Children/US: www.savethechildren.org

United Methodist Committee on Relief: http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor

USA for UNHCR: www.usaforunhcr.org

United States Fund for UNICEF: www.unicefusa.org

United Way International: www.uwint.org

Women’s EDGE: www.womensedge.org

World Concern; www.worldconcern.org

World Relief: www.worldrelief.org

World Vision: www.wvi.org

This is a list of google searched, "Humanitarian Organizations." I left the Christian organizations

mixed in with the secular organizations on purpose. It all sounds the same. "Action Against

Hunger" and "Food for the Hungry" really sound like the same thing despite the fact that one is

gospel centric and one is a secular humanitarian organization. You can slip the word "Christian"

or "Catholic" in the name, but I really don't think in changes much.

The only real way to tell the difference is to actually go on a trip with these organizations. In our

case, if you come on a trip with Casas, we communicate that the main goal is the gospel and

not necessarily to end poverty. In light of this, It's obvious to us that the Non-Christian portion of
the US doesn't go on a trip with a Christian mission organization. From our experience, church
groups go on trips with Christian organizations. My opinion is that America's Non-Christian
portion of society will not see the power of the gospel through American based international
missions. It may be revealed by those who went on the trip sharing their experience with their
neighbor, but left alone, the Non-Christian America populous will not see God's work, fingerprint,
or power because they are not there to experience it or see how it differentiates from
Humanitarian organizations.

I am not saying that those ministered to by American based missions don't see Christ, on the

contrary, I think that they absolutely do. So what is the point of me writing this?

My point is, international missions isn't the light that America needs. I have tended to think that
what I am doing will be a light to the world. It is, just not to those whom I came from. America is a
unique place. No one is sending missionaries to the US because, generally speaking, the global
church sees America as the most Christian centric country. We have been sending the most
missionaries to other countries than any other country. I think South Korea may have just
overtook us but don't quote me on that. Because missionaries aren't sent by outside sources, it
is up to Christian here in the US to be the missionaries to its own people. In light of that, its only
going to get done by those who aren't paid clergymen. Pastors and priests generally don't leave
their Christian bubble.

Missions organization and missionaries may blend in to humanitarianism, but if you would go
love your neighbor, you can bet that you won't blend in. Our society is not out loving and being
intentional with their neighbor. They are comfortable inside their homes, enjoying there kingdom,
staying out of everybody's business. Go stand out. Go be missional to your neighborhood and
the people you work with. Be your communties missionary. Jose in his shack need Jesus just as
much as your neighbor Bob does. May the power of God be seen through your passion and
transformed heart. Give the United States what it is lacking most. Missionaries.

Looking Forward to the Future

2012-01-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

For awhile, it felt very unstable around here. Since 2007, the number of volunteer groups coming to Mexico has been on the decline. One word has stood out the most to the groups that used to come. That word is "Liability." The truth is, if a church organizes a trip to Mexico and something happens, somebody is going to be liable. Pastors, elders, deacons, church leadership, and parents are having a hard time letting there congregation or children participate in missions where the risk is so great and liability stands in the way.

I'm not going to go in to the specifics or whether I think this is right or wrong, but I wanted to say that because we haven't posted a blog entry for a year. The reason we haven't written anything or celebrated ministry the way we should have is because when you write a blog, you want to describe how well ministry is going. You want to say you are supporting something that is succeeded. You want to write that God is good and everything is grand. Truth is, Julie and I were swimming in a sea of uncertainty and inevitable failure. That sounds crazy, and in hindsight isn't really true, but right or wrong that's how we felt.

News hit last April that the ministry was going to have to lay off five missionaries. My initial thought was we were on the way out because I am the newest hire and the youngest missionary here. I contacted several people about jobs that may be open and prayed for internal peace. April and May were tough. We waited and prayed. It was hard to see something that we had given ourselves so completely to reveal the first real tangible signs of failure and closure. Casas por Cristo has been used by God to do so much in the communities that we build in. To see such a beautiful thing in jeopardy of going out of business is a tough pill to swallow and causes one to ask "God, why?"

The instability that we found ourselves in was enough to blind us to the good that was happening. We were still building. In fact, we still led twenty builds in 2011. That's twenty families whose lives were changed and hearts opened to the gospel message. We saw several families put their faith in Jesus. It is frustrating that the excitement of that passed us by because we were to busy looking at the raging waves of the sea rather than focusing on the beauty of Jesus.

It just so happens that we weren't laid off. We had to say goodbye to five friends, but God kept us here. It just so happens that we ended the year financially stable as a ministry. It also just so happens that we planted our ministry in Guatemala and already have 20 houses scheduled there for 2012. The question is, why do we doubt God and despair when failure seems inevitable. We need to remember this ministry is God's and it is in His hands. Success or fail, it's God's.

After an unstable 2011, we feel that our feet are planted firmly on the ground for 2012. These Guatemala registrations can't help but make us feel like we have a good foot hold. God was good in 2011 even though it didn't seem like it most of the time. Like David in that Psalms, we look back and see God's goodness and know that it will be there for the future.

Holiday Build With Cornerstone Christian Church

2011-01-03T15:13:00.001-08:00

I took this picture on Christmas Eve outside of our apartment while thinking about the coming build week. Beautiful. Many people ask us why we don't go back to Michigan for the Christmas Season. Since working here, we have yet to be home for Christmas. As many of you know, the busiest times for building are during school breaks. Christmas break is no exception. Many families and workers take that time off with their family to be able to do missions trips with organizations like ours. So every year, between Christmas and New Years Day, there are usually a high volume of groups that come to build a house with our ministry.
The high volume of volunteers is one big reason we stay here to build, but perhaps the biggest reason that we choose to remain here to build over the holidays,is to be a part of giving such an amazing gift to a family during the Holiday season. For some reason, that act of gift giving is magnified in emotion during holidays. Maybe it's the spirit in the air, maybe it's psychological, maybe it's the time sacrifice on our part; but building a house for a family while everyone else is vacationing is spectacular.
This holiday season, we built with a group from Cornerstone Christian Church, located in Illinois. This is the second straight holiday season we have built with them and the third time we were privileged to partner with them in house building. Many from that group are quickly becoming like family.
This year we built for Juan and Celia Mendez Rojas and their 5 children and grandchildren. The interesting thing about this family was that our ministry had already built them a house. Unfortunately, back in 2006, the house that had been built was destroyed in catastrophic and out-of-characteristic floods that hit the area. They re-applied to receive a home and this week they finally received a new home...again.
When I had heard of the story about the floods, I immediately wondered what God was doing. As a group, we discussed the possibility that God needed them to hear the Gospel a second time and that maybe the flood was an act of God's mercy rather than an act of evil. Maybe what evil meant for evil, God intended for good. Whatever the case was, whatever God was doing, we made it a point to take advantage of the circumstances.
We started building the Tuesday after Christmas and were able to finish the house on Friday. Weather conditions were pretty rough but God gave us a spirit of gratitude to be a part of what He was doing. A bad sandstorm was followed by two days of cold wet snow. The conditions only made us think about the family; How they had been living in a two room cinderblock structure that was small and un-insulated. It made us think how they have been physically suffering for years.

We dedicated the house to the family on Friday afternoon. They received a new Bible and keys to their new home. Most importantly, they received the gospel message of Jesus Christ. This family already professed faith in Jesus Christ but you never know where they are really at inside. The dedication brought tears to their eyes and they were in agreement to the truth in the message that was given to them. It is our hope that the new, fully insulated, three room house stands as a monument of God's love to them that was built by His people.

That night, the church we stayed at had a New Years Eve service. The Mexican Pastor's name of the church is Gedeon Solis. Every year he accommodates the American volunteer group into the service by making it bilingual and participatory for the volunteers. Several of the volunteers were able to give testimonies about the trip and about their personal lives in front of the Mexican church congregation. The group also sang a song entitled, "How Great Is Our God", led by yours truly.
Thanks for your prayers to anyone who prayed for us. If you would, would you say a quick prayer for the family? Ask God to continue to go after their hearts and seal them in salvation. If you could also pray for the group we built with, that God would continue to sanctify them into missional living. It is our hope that the experience they had here transforms their lives in the truth of living the Gospel to those around them. Love you All!

Fiesta de Navidad

2010-12-08T16:01:00.001-08:00

Every year, like many organizations or companies, the staff at Casas Por Cristo has a Christmas party. The staff of Casas Por Cristo would have dinner at a restaurant in El Paso. Usually a nice dinner to celebrate the ministry over the last year and to give thanks to God for all that he has done. This year, we decided that a better way of expressing our appreciation for what Christ has done in us and through us was to hold a Christmas party for a Mexican community that we build in.
In the southern part of Juarez, MX., our ministry owns a facility that is capable of hosting 500 hundred people. We call the facility the "SHOC" which stands for "The Shane Harris Outreach Center". We usually use this building for volunteer groups to sleep in during a build week. As you noticed, the word "Outreach" is in the name of the facility. One of our dreams for the facility was to use the building for outreach. The ministry strategically bought property and built the SHOC in the particular community that it is in. The people who live in the community are some of the poorest people that we build for. It is a community of great need. The picture at the bottom is a picture of the main room setup before our guests arrived.
Three days before the Christmas party event, three men from the ministry and I passed out a flyer to every family that we had built for in the community. This is what the flyer looked like:
Can you read it? Its ok if you can't:) This tests my limits as well. (In fact, the ministry actually let me make it!)
It took about two and a half hours to pass all the invitations out. It was pretty surreal seeing all these families that our ministry has built for. I wonder how they felt when a crazy white boy rolled up and invited them to a Christmas party.
When we were finished handing all the invitations, we realized that we definitely needed to buy more food. Our original estimation was about 200 people coming but we soon changed our estimation to about 400 to 600 people. 400 to 600 people! Can you imagine!? We had a lot of grocery shopping to do. We bought 400 chicken breasts, 400 hot dogs, a giant bag of rice, and the necessary ingredients to cook a Mexican soup called "Menudo". For those who don't know what menudo is...well...just look it up.

So on December 4th, we arrived at the SHOC about 11 am and started grilling like crazy. It took about 3 and a half hours of grilling! People started to pour in the door around 2pm and the place filled up fast.

The line was out the door, in fact... One more chance to serve these families. One more chance for them to hear the gospel message. We could have celebrated the normal way; 30 of us heading to a steak restaurant. But with the leading of the Holy Spirit, we were directed to use this opportunity to celebrate what Christ has done in a more Christ-like manner.

The serving was on as the room filled up with people. One of the pastors from our pastors committee brought a couple of his guys to do praise and worship music. They played for a bit until everyone was seated. Then pastor Gedeon Solis, president of the Casas Por Cristo pastors committee, got up to the front to speak about the hope that is found in Jesus Christ.

At the end, Pastor Gedeon asked if there were some who wanted to receive the hope found in Jesus Christ. Fifteen or so raised their hands. We are thankful for what Christ is doing in the lives of the families that we build for. The amazing thing about working in the mission field is that we receive way more than what it seems that we give up. God has blessed our ministry with the ability and opportunity to do these kinds of things for families who desperately need not just physical but spiritual relief. Thank you to everyone this Christmas season that continues to pray for my wife and I as we work in this ministry. Merry Christmas and remember the miracle of the son of God coming to this world to save us.

Justin

Christmas Building

2010-11-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

Our next build is coming up in just a few short weeks. We will be starting the build on the 28th of December, just a few days after Christmas. How cool is it that people are willing to build a house over Christmas and into New Years? What an incredible gift to give to a family. I find this act of love inspiring for many reasons. Instead of enjoying the comforts and rest of Christmas time and vacation, these men and women have decided to love a family they've never met and owe nothing to. They have decided to be a Christmas miracle.

The group that we are building with is Cornerstone Christian Church from Shiloh, IL. I have built with this group twice and am looking forward to the third. They will be giving this amazing Christmas present to the Rojas family. They are a family of six make an income of $50.00 a week. It is starting to get cold outside. In fact, I just turned the heat on in my office. Can you imagine living in a pallet built home in the middle of winter? About the time we go and build this house, it will be cold enough to snow. This gift of a warm insulated home is going to give this family relief and give them joy this winter.

With all the things that come with the house, the message of the gospel and the tangible realization of God's love is the most important. We celebrate the savior coming into the world on Christmas. What better way to celebrate His coming than to come to a family with love and the message of Jesus. Pray for us as we prepare to bless a family with this gift. Pray that God would be working in their hearts and minds to receive His word and His love.

Justin

Back and Ready

2010-10-15T15:16:00.001-07:00

Hello Everyone! Its been a while since I have been able to write to you. I was in Costa Rica for 5 weeks. I got back 2 weeks ago and immediately had a staff retreat followed by a conference that I was signed up to go to for advertising our ministry. Whew!!! Well, not that I have a moment to breathe before I start building again, there are a few things I would like to update you on and some things I would like to say to everyone who supports and prays for Julie and I.

Language

Let me begin by honoring everyone who donated money and sent me to Costa Rica to learn Spanish. I'm going to leave you anonymous because many of you probably like to give secretly. I can't explain to you enough the gift that you have given me or those that we are working for in Mexico. You have empowered me and gave me confidence in Spanish. Instead of hearing a bunch of blah with a few words here and there, I know am able to hear just as many words as I do blah. I know that sounds funny but its the truth. I'm smiling write now as I write this. But the important thing here is that I am able to comprehend enough to understand people. The rest of the language will start to fill itself in. I'm so excited about learning Spanish and am looking forward to the coming year. Keep praying that I will continue to build my vocabulary and be able to speak with more efficiency.

Perhaps the most important thing about learning Spanish is the fact that I can more effectively minister to the families that we build for and work better with the pastors that we are partnered with. When I say we...I mean you included. None of the ministry that we are a part of could be accomplished without the financial sacrifice and prayer support that comes from you. You are a part of bring the gospel and giving houses to families you may never meet. Thank you.

Let me tell you a little bit about what Costa Rica was like and then I will update you into the things coming up.

Costa Rica

I stayed with a Costa Rican family. The lady of the house, in Spanish it's the Ama de la Casa, name was Zoraida. Her two daughters and their sons lived with her. I had the whole upstairs of their house to myself. Everyday, she prepared breakfast and dinner for me. We would sit for two hours and talk while we ate. It took me a little while to get the hang of speaking with her. At first, I understood almost nothing. By the end, I felt confident in speaking and listening to her.

After Breakfast everyday, I would go to school. It was a 15 minute walk from Zoraida's house. The school did 3 two hour sessions. By the third session, my brain would be fried from trying to comprehend everything people were saying. I would leave school exhausted and wanting nothing to do with Spanish. All of the teachers were nice. They hall had really different teaching styles. Some talked so fast I couldn't keep up. Others talked slow enough for me to understand. All in All, I enjoyed the classes.

After school I would go to a coffee shop and use the internet. During every day of school, I would write down a word I didn't know and then look it up after school at the coffee shop. This tactic really helped me pick things up quicker. After looking up words and drinking enough coffee to make me shake, I would return home to eat dinner with Zoraida. We would talk for awhile and then I would go up to my room, do homework and try to learn the words I had learned at the coffee shop. FUN STUFF!!By the third week... My Brain was done. I took it easy on the word studying and decided to try and converse more with others.

The weekends were filled with more studying but one weekend I took a bus to a beach called Manuel Antonio. It was beautiful. They have a national park there where there are secluded beaches and different animals. I was able to see some monkeys and even a sloth. At night I would go into the town and enjoy dinner while listening to the waves. Seeing the beauty of this place really stirred up worship in my heart. God is so beautiful. I can't wait to see what He has in store for eternity!

I was ready to come home after week four but I toughed it out. The school gave me the book material for the things I wasn't able to cover in class. Can you believe that I made it to the advanced classes! Me neither. Again, thank you to everybody who made this possible. You are awesome!

No What?

Now, Julie and I are preparing for some building and a trip home for thanksgiving. Our two builds are October 25th thru the 29th and November 12th thru the 13th. The October build is going to be a little different and more difficult than normal. The team I was supposed to build with cancelled but paid for the house to be done. So now I am looking for people who would like to come down on short notice to build this house with me. If you are reading this and you feel like this is something your interested in, I could use you! So far I have four people committed. I hoping for some more. Never built one of our larger model houses with 4 people but I'd ready for whatever God throws my way. I just want a family to receive a house and the gospel to be proclaimed. Be praying for Julie and I as we try to prepare for this build.

We love you all. Keep us in your prayers. We still need monthly supporters. If you would like to do ministry this way, we encourage you to pray about donating to us on a monthly basis. If you are already giving, I'm excited for you because of the relationship you are building with God by giving to this mission and I'm excited for the eternal rewards that you are going to harvest. To God be the Glory forever and ever. May He have our crowns and all of our offerings. May in cost us something to love and follow Him.

Justin

While We're Apart...

2010-09-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Justin has been gone for over three weeks now and will be coming home in eleven more days (not that I'm counting!). It has been hard for the both of us, but we have been lucky enough that he has internet access so we can skype about once a day. Justin is well, alive, learning lots of Spanish and likes the family he is living with. Over the past weekend, he took a two and a half hour bus ride to the beach and rented a cabin. (I'm a little jealous :) He hiked around a national park where he saw brave little monkeys that stole things out of other peoples bags/purses! So funny!

As for me, I'm doing well. I've been picking up extra shifts at the hospital, hanging out with some of the casas girls, watching lots of chick flicks, doing some shopping, and doing things around the house that I've been meaning to do for awhile (like clean the porch off, which I just did!). I've appreciated all the cards/letters/gifts that people have sent me over the last few weeks. Thanks to those who let me know that they care and are thinking of me!

I am really anxious for Justin to get home, as is he, but the Lord has been watching over the both of us. I'm sure once he gets home he will post pictures and a blog of his experience in Costa Rica. He tells me it is a beautiful country. And I'm hoping he took some pictures of the crazy monkeys!

Til the whole world hears,

julie

The Grove

2010-07-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

It brings me great joy to say I have worked side by side with the Grove Church! Justin has built with them for a few years now and was excited for me to finally work with them as well. Each person was a wonderful, sarcastic, hard-working child of God who truly had a heart of a servant. It was a pleasure to build a home with them for a single mom and her five kids. Not only was it my first time working with this group, it was my first time building in Acuna. Despite the extremely hot and humid weather, the week was incredible!

The father of the family took off to San Antonio some time ago and Marisol and her children (ages 11-18) never heard from him again. They fell behind in rent and were forced to move out. Fortunately, the church they attend allowed them to live in a room at the church (one small room) so they did not have to be on the streets. Obviously one small room is not enough space for six people to live in, so Marisol's sister let her have a piece of land - and that is where we came in and built them a new home!

It was a blessing and honor to build a home for this beautiful family. Each one of them had a gentle, kind, patient, and gracious spirit. They were eager to practice the little English they knew with us, as well as teach us some Spanish. The kids were also excited to help us build, whether it be putting the walls together or hanging drywall. The mother was so grateful of what we were doing for her family that she and her two daughters made lunch for us every day (the tamales and salsa verde were the best!). But the most amazing and beautiful thing happened at the end of the second day, when the walls were up and the roof was on...everyone was inside of the house, exhausted and ready to call it a day. As usual, one person prayed, another translated...and just then Marisol broke out in worship to God; praising, singing, thanking Him for what He had done, crying "santo, santo, santo" (holy, holy, holy)...while the rest of us stood in awkward silence that soon turned to awe. Here was a woman (most would say a poor, unfortunate woman) standing in front of us, unafraid and unashamed to outwardly and publicly express her love for God, because He was/is the only thing that mattered to her. She truly was grateful that He was providing for her family...but it was more than that. You got the feeling that she loved and worshiped the Lord, no matter what circumstance she was in, for the mere fact that He is Lord. We all learned an important lesson from her that day...

There is no doubt in my mind that this family will use this house to further serve the Lord and we will one day see them in heaven. Praise be to God!

phillipians 4:12-13
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Language School

2010-07-15T14:37:00.001-07:00

Greetings Friends and Family,

It is our hope that you are doing well during this summer season! Hopefully it isn’t as hot where you are as it is here. I think I have been in a perpetual state of sweating for the last three months. Yuk! But it is all for amazing purposes. Right now, I am writing this to you in the midst of our very busy summer season of building. Since May, Julie and I have built six homes and we have two more left this July. We have seen God’s power by the way He is miraculously providing for impoverished families’ physical and spiritual needs. These families are experiencing the outpouring of love from churches all over the United States, Canada, and even a church from London. This building season has brought with it amazing blessings but it has also revealed to us a truth about our ministry.

We have come to the point in our ministry where our potential to reach out to families and to partner with Mexican pastors is bottlenecked by our language barrier. We have realized that in order for us to take the next step and to deepen our ministry, I need to learn how to speak Spanish better. Julie and I have talked at length about this and we feel that it is time for me to go to language school.

I am signed up to attend IPEE immersion language school from August 21^st to September 28^th of this year. The school is located in Costa Rica. I will be spending these five weeks living with a Spanish speaking family and attending class for 6 to 8 hours a day. Many of you may be wondering, “Why all the way to Costa Rica?” From speaking with many individuals who have learned Spanish, they have said that immersion learning is the best way to learn Spanish. Basically, what this means is you totally surround yourself with only Spanish for 24/7. This forces your mind after a time to start learning the language. I chose this school in Costa Rica because several of my coworkers in the ministry have used this school and have greatly benefited from it. If you would like to check it out, go to www.ipee.com and you can learn more about it.

The cost to go to this school including the plane ticket is $3000. I need to raise this amount in the next month. If you would really like to make a greater impact on the ministry you are already supporting, this is the best opportunity you are going to have this year. If you are not currently a financial or prayer supporter of ours, this is a great way for you to jump on board and really make a difference. If you have built with Julie and I, you know the challenges of the language barrier. Please consider and pray about this opportunity to improve our ministry here along the border.

We love all of you and are deeply thankful for the support you have already given. This is just one of those things that is essential for our ministry. Feel free to call me at anytime if you have questions or advice. If you would like to give to this cause, send a check made out to "Casas Por Cristo" to the address below. If you could, also write "For Justin's Language School" on the memo line, that would be great! You will receive a tax deductable receipt for your donation. We hope that you can be a part of this. Go swimming in a lake for me! There aren't any here.

   Love you all,

   Justin Kirklin
Casas Por Cristo
PO Box 971070
El Paso, TX 79997

Visiting Irving and Veronica

2010-06-24T08:17:00.001-07:00

Many of you don't know the extent to which we try to minister and bring the Gospel to the families we build for. After a build, myself or my director, partner with a Mexican Pastor to visit families that we have built for. We usually are able to visit them within a year of their house being built. The above family is a family I visited yesterday that I had the pleasure of building for back in March.

They are Irving and Veronica Reyes with their two Children Jose and Irving Junior. I wrote about them back in March. As a refresher, they lived in a little pallet shack that was the same square footage as a queen size mattress. Literally, when you walked into their old shack, you stepped onto the mattress. We were building the house and in wasn't finished yet. Veronica had already moved some things in because she was so excited to be in her new home.

I visited this family yesterday with their sponsoring Mexican Pastor. We have a committee of pastors who are responsible for sponsoring and keeping up with their sponsored families. I you have built with me, you know that I am a huge proponent of our pastor sponsorship program. When we build, we don't just hand them the keys to a house, say Jesus loves you, and leave and never see them again. We partner with sponsoring pastors who minister to the family before, during, and after the build. We want to be thorough and effective ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Anyway, that's what I was doing yesterday. When we entered in the house that I had built with a group for Vista Grande Baptist, it was pretty emotional. The two children knew who I was immediately. They rushed up to me to be held and hugged; almost like I had never left. Veronica hurried to get us a 2 liter of Coke so that we could sit and visit with them for awhile. This was an important visit. I could tell that the pastor knew this family very well. We started to ask them about the condition of their home and how everything was working. It was in perfect order which was great to see. I told them that their house is a gift from God and that they needed Jesus in their hearts for Joy and eternal life. The pastor started to speak with them about following Jesus and told the story of the prodigal's son. Irving had been wandering from the Lord for quite a long time. We prayed with them and I took their picture. You can tell that they were very emotional. I hope and pray that God used our visit to bring their hearts to Him. Pray for Irving, Veronica,and their two children.

The Families of July

2010-06-21T17:29:00.001-07:00

A Quick Update

2010-06-06T18:02:00.001-07:00

The March Builds

2010-04-05T10:47:00.001-07:00

Greetings! We are finally posting the stories of this crazy March Madness of building. We are busiest as a ministry during the school break seasons. I am proud to say that we, as an entire ministry, have built 57 houses this month! Julie and I were a part of leading three of those. Each family's story is unique and is full of need of God's grace. As you read these stories, remember that God, sending us to these specific families, is proof that he is pursuing their hearts and minds for freedom and life. How good is God that he would allow us to join in that. To all of you who are financially, prayerfully, and directly involved in these works, God is using you to accomplish a miracle of grace and intentional mercy.

(March 8th) Bertha Hernandez Jimenez and Her Three Children

On the week of March 8th, Julie and I built with a group of 20 from Evergreen, Colorado. They are from Evergreen Lutheran Church. I was really excited for this build because I have established a relationship with the Pastor and some of the members of this church in the last year. This was the third house I would be leading for this church. Also, Julie hadn't met anyone from this church yet and she finally was able to. This was also the church where Jim Ritter is from. Jim is my friend who gave me my truck. So needless to say, It's a pretty cool feeling knowing that there are people who care about us coming to serve with us.

This build was also unique because we were literally 5 feet from another house being built by another team with our ministry. This is unique because teams usually build in their separate location with their own group. We had two church group teams, from different churches, from different denominations, working side by side to build for two families. This was awesome. But what made it even better, was the ability to build for two families who were part of the same extended family.

We were unable to see Bertha(homeowner) during the week, because she was at work everyday. Being a young and single mother, she couldn't take time off of work to miss the income and, she couldn't afford the risk of losing her job. Her brothers were at the work site everyday, representing her. Bertha only made $60 a week for her and her 3 children to survive. We were able to see her children at the worksite during the week. The other house being built was for Bertha's parents. The children were being watched by Bertha's mother. Bertha's mother's name is Guadalupe. Guadalupe was the major ambassador to both teams from her extended family. The extended family all lived together in a shack built out of cardboard and pallets.

For families like this that we build for, there is a major glass ceiling over their heads. There are essentially no opportunities for a family like this to get out of the situation they are in. It is difficult to find a job in the city, education is too costly for a family that makes barely enough to survive, and the jobs that there are, only pay meager wages of $50 to $80 a week. Consequently, they cram together in a little shack of garbage, and live in an old city landfill. This is heart breaking. Through our ministry, we were able to meet a major physical need of this family, but the house we build does so much more than meet a physical need. Through it, we can display to these families that Christ loves them and cares for them in their desperation. The love and the free gift of a home is just a taste of what can meet them in eternity. Eternity and the life after becomes the only hope many of these family's will ever have. This hope is the greatest and most life giving hope of all. This hope is salvation, joy, and life through Jesus Christ.

We built the house in a quick 2 and a half days. The building was fun and laid back. God showed that he was watching over and taking care of us as we built. After we were finished, the group from Evergreen Lutheran did a neighborhood cookout in a local church as an outreach event for the local Mexican church. Mingling with the local neighborhood was pretty cool.

At the end of the week, we dedicated the houses together with both groups to the extended family. Both families received keys, new bibles, and gifts for their new home. Amazing!

It was a pleasure building with the group from Evergreen Lutheran. There were a lot of new faces from the year before. Their commitment to loving God and each other is inspiring. But more than that, their commitment to love the world around them truly is unique and remarkable. They worked hard and were able to change the lives of a family in need in Mexico for hope and life. Thank you Evergreen Lutheran for your service and love.

(March 15th) Eleazar and Laura Favela and Their Two Children

The build for Eleazar and his family was in our expansion city of Acuna, MX. The ministry expanded to this city a year and a half ago and have now built 50 homes in the city. Eleazar and his family is one of those families. I partnered with First Baptist Church from Willis, TX to build this family their first home. Eleazar and his family inherited a peace of property from his mother but had no means to build any shelter on this property. Eleazar had been out of work for a couple of years before we arrived. We were thankful to learn that he had found a factory job two weeks before we arrived to build them a house. Still...His wages were at a meager $70 a week. Eleazar and his family had been living in a friends house until they could find a place of their own.

Another piece of good news from this family was the fact that this family are fellow followers of Christ. When we arrived, they saw God coming to answer their prayer. Can you imagine the kind of feeling that gave us? Humbleness, thankfulness, and joy were in abundance during the week because we knew we were a part of God's plan.

Unexpectantly, the first day we arrived to pour the foundation, it rained like crazy all day. With determination and love, we still poured in the wet and cold. This act of determination from the group really moved Laura, Eleazar's wife, in her heart. She expressed to us how good it made her feel to know God and the group loved their family that much, to work in miserable conditions. The second day was sunny and warm and we were able to finish most of the house. Wednesday, we returned to finish several things on the house. Then we dedicated the home to the family around lunch time. There is no doubt in my mind that the family was touched by the love of God and that they are living everyday in thankfulness to Him.

Thank you First Baptist Willis for partnering with me to do an amazing work in a family's life. You provided shelter and safety for a family who never had a home of their own. Thank you for your continued partnership year after year with our ministry. Hope to see you next year.

(March 22nd) Irving and Veronica Gonzales and Their Two Children

By this point in the month, Julie and I were pretty tired. But, the group we worked with and the family we built for were the perfect combination for the weary missionaries.

We built with Vista Grande Baptist Church from Colorado Springs. This was also a unique experience because they brought 60 people, 40 of which were youth. Groups are not usually this large. Between the 60 of them, we built three homes last week. Julie and I led one of them. The group we led was made up of half Vista Grand church members, and half members from another local church. It was a pretty cool experience to be with two partnering churches at the same time.

The family we built for lived in the smallest and worst living conditions of any family Julie and I have ever built for. The shack they lived in was no bigger than the size of a queen size mattress. They were also a very young couple who had some issues with their extended family. Most families we build for cohabitate with their extended family. This is more economically smart for these families because they are able to combine resources from the family's past and present. But with this family, they didn't have that going for them and they were newly starting out on their own. Both Irving and Veronica were 20 years old with two children. Irving had a factory job and earned $70.00 a week for his family.

Another important aspect of this build was the obvious spiritual need of this family. They were not followers of Christ, and they needed His grace and His hope. A woman named Gloria who was on the team was very good at Speaking Spanish. Instead of primarily focusing on building, I had her focus on ministering and sharing the Gospel of Christ to this family. Gloria explained to the family that Christ wants them to be a part of the kingdom. He wants to save them, love them, and give them life. God sending us to build them a house was proof that God was pursuing their hearts and their minds for the benefit of what they could have in Him.

At the end of building the house, during the dedication, the family's sponsoring Mexican pastor reiterated what we had been claiming all week about Christ. Irving was moved by what we said and told us that he will be thinking long and hard about the words we have said to them.

Please join with Julie, myself, and Vista Grand in praying for this family, that God would aggressively enter into their hearts and minds and do work their. They need him desperately.

Thank you Vista Grand and partnering churches for the new relationships I was able to build with your group. It was energizing and worshipful to serve with you. Keep investing in the youth that you bring down every year. Love you Guys.

Also, Special thanks to Joe Curtis, who wouldn't want me to thank him publicly but I'm going to anyway. He purchased for me a very expensive and amazing tool for leveling the forms for the foundation. The tool is called a transit. Your the coolest PAPA JOE.

Quick Update

2010-03-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

We have built every week this month so far and we are about to start the final build of this month today. I just wanted to say thank you to all we have built with and also to everyone who has been praying for us this month. Expect a lengthy report next week, but for now...going to meet the group and cross the border in about an hour. Love you all...

Til the whole world hears,

Justin

His House Christian Fellowship Build

2010-03-20T08:20:00.001-07:00

This year I wasn't able to lead the build with the His House Christian Fellowship group, but they let me lead worship for them on Sunday morning. This is a video of us singing while you can see the crew building houses with with my ministry. Awesome video Kurt!

Lamar Christian Church Build 2010

2010-03-01T10:36:00.001-08:00

Last week, Julie and I had the pleasure of building with Lamar Christian Church. This group has built with Casas Por Cristo for the last 12 years! It is pretty cool when we can serve with a group of people who have the same passion for the ministry of Casas Por Cristo as we do. This build was also special because I was able to train a new staff member(Tony) on the building project. But first...lets meet the family.

Holding the bible is Angelica Garcia Valles. Her and her four children are the proud new owners of their new house. Two of her children are in this picture; Saul who is 14 and Leslie who is 7. Her youngest son Daniel who is 4 and her oldest son Edgar who is 16 are not pictured. Next to them is her sister and her Aunt who were with her all week as she received this blessing from God.

Their story is very interesting and requires prayer from us as we read this. Angelica's husband was shot and killed last August. He was involved with the drug cartels. This tragedy caused Angelica to become very depressed. Her and her family had been attending church and pursuing God but because of the tragedy, Angelica lost hope in God and stopped attending church. This last week was a big week for her. Partnering with her Pastor(Manuel Delfin), we were able to minister to her and her family as we built her new home. The pastor was with her before and during the build process counseling her that God still loves her and her family. We communicated with her that God building her family a new home was proof that God is still pursuing her and her family's hearts.

Angelica's youngest son spent the week with her mother. Her oldest son, however, was following in his dad's footsteps and was hooked on drugs and getting involved with the Cartels. Please pray for this family, that Angelica's son would be miraculously taken out of his current drug situation and that the family would again find hope and love in Jesus Christ.

These two guy on the end were a riot to build with. The man with the glasses name is Norm but they called him "Judge" because he was a Judge for many years. The closest man is Sam. Both of these guys had amazing personalities that made every moment never dull. Serving with them was a pleasure for both Tony, Julie, and I.

It took us exactly three days to build the house with 14 of us. Building with this group made the building process go a lot easier because they were both experienced with the project and were experienced in building from their personal life. Angelica's family also worked with us the whole week and really showed us how excited and eager they were to be inside their new home. Her whole family was living in a little two room house. Before her husband's death, their family made $80.00 a week. Since her husbands death, Angelica was selling things at a market to help make up for the meager income they were making. This house is going to put her family years ahead financially.

For everyone who prayed for Tony and I as we went through the training process, I think it really went well. Tony seemed to observe and understand everything we went over and I made a few mistakes that he was able to learn from and I was humbled by. Overall, I'm confident that Tony is going to do well when he leads a house by himself.

After the build, we got face to face with Angelica and her family in her new home. The Pastor spoke about the greatness of God and finding Christ again after tragedy and a falling away. We exchanged words of appreciation for each other, our appreciation for Angelica and her family, and their appreciation for the tremendous blessing we had given them. We communicated that it is nothing that we did but this gift was from God, physical proof that God loved her and her family. Ray, the associate pastor from Lamar Christian, said it best. He handed the bible to Angelica and said, "It is our hope that we are in heaven with you and your family." This brought tears to Angelica and when the keys to her new house were given to her, Angelica's daughter Leslie started to cry tears of Joy. We leave this family with hope for their future on earth and into eternity.

Thank you to Lamar Christian Church for building with us and your faithfulness in building with this ministry over the years. I hope to see you for many more years to come. I also want to say thank you to everyone who supports Julie and I in prayer and financially. Because of you, all of this is possible. Love you all...

Justin and Julie

A Blessing and a Prayer Request

2010-02-19T10:03:00.001-08:00

I have been sick for last week but now am feeling back to 100%. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me. Everything is going well with my wife and I. I want to give you an update about a blessing that Julie and I received and also a prayer request.

The Blessing:

Two months ago, I sent out a letter to everyone on our mailing list. In the letter, I asked if anyone had a truck they would like to sell for $1500 or less that could take a beating. When I joined staff, one of the requirements for me was to buy a truck. We only had $1500 we could afford and we were and are determined not to create any debt. So we prayed over the letters and asked God to provide for us the right truck that could take the kind of abuse it would need to take from building in Mexico. Two days letter, I received an email from Jim Ritter who lives close to Denver, Colorado. I had built with him and his son and daughter in July when they came down with their church's youth trip. They are from Evergreen Lutheran Church.

The email was very unexpected because it was so fast in coming. Jim wrote in the email that he had a truck that him and his wife would like to give to us for free. My heart melted. I read the email right away to Julie and we both took time to thank God for what He had done is our lives. God's provision has been unshaken to us our entire marriage and ministry. To see God using His people to provide for us is a unique experience. Scripture says that anything we have is from Heaven who has willed us to have it. But being in ministry, not receiving a predetermined salary, but receiving from God what He provides through donations is difficult but beautiful. Our faith in God is grown and elevated in these amazing circumstances of supernatural provision. For those of you who pray for Julie and I on a regular basis in regards to ministry and finances, I wanted to share this with you so you can be encouraged and know that God is hearing you.

Special thanks to Jim and his family who are faithful to God and to his calling in their lives. When I flew up their to pick up the truck, their hospitality and love was encouraging. I hope that our friendship and partnership continues in the years to come.

Prayer Request:

This Monday, the 22nd of February, I am been building with Tony Skarlatos(above picture). Tony is a new staff member with Casas Por Cristo who was hired in December. Tony works in the marketing department and has a gift for media design. One of the coolest things about our ministry is that all the staff, not matter what our office responsibility is, all lead the construction of houses in Mexico. I am training Tony this coming week while we lead Lamar Christian Church in building a house for a Mexican family in Juarez, MX. We are build our three room house design which Tony has never built before. I would love it if you prayed for me as I try to teach and help Tony in this process. Also, pray for Tony. Learning how to lead and build these houses can be very intimidating and just flat out scary. Pray that Tony will learn quickly and will retain everything we go over. Pray for the church group that they will be patient with us as I take time to train Tony.

You can also spend time praying for the family we are building for. We are building for Raul and Angelica and their children Edgar, Saul, Leslie, and Daniel. Pray that God, right now, would be working on their hearts and preparing them for the week ahead. Also pray for the Pastor who is ministering to them now and will be ministering to them during and after the build. Love you all.

Until the Whole World Hears,

Justin

Justin and Julie Visit an Orphanage

2010-01-30T16:59:00.001-08:00

Julie's Bloopers

2010-01-23T04:53:00.000-08:00

This is a blooper real from our next video coming out next week! Hope you enjoy!

J Kirk

Doing Missions When Dying is Gain

2010-01-19T13:02:00.001-08:00

I was doing some reading recently and I a came across a sermon called “Doing Missions When Dying is Gain” by Pastor John Piper. He was preaching to a group of young pastors and future missionaries about our attitude as Americans when it comes to spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is an excerpt from that article:

“YWAM (Youth With A Mission) is a wild-eyed radical group that I love. I got an email on September 1st,

One hundred and fifty men armed with machetes surrounded the premises occupied by the YWAM team in India. The mob had been incited by other religious groups in an effort to chase them off. As the mob pressed in someone in a key moment spoke up on the team’s behalf and they decided to give them 30 days to leave. The team feels they should not leave and that their ministry work in the city is at stake. Much fruit has been seen in a previously unreached region and there is great potential for more. In the past when violence has broken out between rival religious groups people have lost their lives. Please pray for them to have wisdom.

Now this is exactly the opposite of what I hear mainly in America as people decide where to live, for example. I don't hear people saying, "I don’t want to leave, because this is where I’m called to and this is where there’s need." Would you please join me in reversing American evangelical priorities? It seems to be woven into the very fabric of our consumer culture that we move toward comfort, toward security, toward ease, toward safety, away from stress, away from trouble, and away from danger. It ought to be exactly the opposite! “He who would come after me let him take up his cross and die!”

So I just don’t get it! It’s the absorption of a consumer, comfort, ease culture that is permeating the church. And it creates little ministries and churches in which safe, secure, nice things are done for each other. And little safe excursions are made to help save some others. But, O we won’t live there, and O we won’t stay there, not even in America, not to mention Saudi Arabia!”

I found this article to be very interesting because of where Julie and I are doing ministry. Many have called Juarez, MX on of the most dangerous cities in the world. We talk to people everyday who tell us we should not be across the border. Should our response to this danger and as Christians make us desire to flee or desire to embrace this opportunity? It seems that people who need hope the most are the most responsive and ready for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Mark 2:17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

I think that our feelings in any dangerous circumstance in missions reveals to us where are hearts are. Are our hearts for others and for God, or are they consumer filled with self preservation? My hope that is any catastrophic, oppressive, dangerous circumstance, my heart is drawn to the people who are subjects under it. Christ said to go the ends of the earth to teach and train people in the gospel. He never said it would be safe. Oh Jesus, give me your compassion!

To read the rest of John Piper’s sermon go to this link:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/1996/1813_Doing_Missions_When_Dying_Is_Gain/

Justin Kirklin

Looking For Feedback

2010-01-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!

I have been thinking recently about defining poverty; Especially when it comes to living conditions.

How would you define living in poverty? Do you think our definition and overall idea of poverty has changed over time?

Please post comments and the blog. Let me know what you think...

Christ is All,

Justin Kirklin

First Video. Watch it, be informed.

2010-01-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Watch our first video!!!

2010-01-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

First Video!!!

Cornerstone Build 2010

2010-01-09T10:33:00.001-08:00

Cornerstone Build 2010, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

There is nothing like a holiday build! What better way to celebrate Christ entering the world to reconcile us to Him than showing His love to those who need it. Most would say that it is a "bummer" that Julie and I have to stay here on the holidays. "Don't you miss your family?" YES! But I can't begin to describe to you the blessing it is to be here on the holidays.

This year we built with Cornerstone Christian Church Shiloh. This was their second year building with our ministry. They had 21 adult team members and one eight year old girl. This was an important trip for their church because they are trying to transition the church into having a greater missions mind set. Casas Por Cristo is one of the best trips for that. It is international but not to far from home. It is a week long trip but very affordable. It is very complex but easy to plan a trip. Our organization is one of the best for short term missions and really getting people's feet wet into international missions. I think this trip was perfect for their church.

I met them at Walmart the day they arrived. They were busy shopping for all kinds of gifts for the family. I thought that was really cool. They bought blankets, heaters, clothes, cookware, and furniture. This family was about to receive a huge blessing from God.

The day of crossing the border, Julie and I met the team at our office. I discussed with them a few short details about what they should expect for the day to come and then we spent time praying for safety, the family to receive a house, and for us to see and give glory to God through our work. After we crossed the border we arrived at the Mexican church we were going to stay at every night. I know the pastor of that church very well. He is the President of the Mexican pastors committee of our ministry. Upon arriving, we received some bad news. The heater to the church was broken and it was likely to be the coldest week in Juarez of the year. God blessed us in a big way by sending us a heater repair man on the trip with cornerstone. PRAISE GOD!!!!

We arrived at the site after unloading our luggage at the church. The work site was very enclosed and barely fit the house we were going to build.

The family had been living in a little squat shack made of wood and cardboard. They are a family of 8. Luckily for them, another ministry had built them a house about a month prior to us getting there. The other new house was a two room house and it didn't even come close to supporting the size of the family. With these two houses combined, they should live quite a lot more comfortably.

The father and mother receiving the house were named Abraham and Alma Lozano. They were both in their early 20s. They have two daughters and two grandparents that live with them. Abraham's brother also lives with them. Abraham and Alma have had their run of bad luck. They both lived close to the river and when a flood season came a few years ago, it destroyed their house. They were forced to move in with Abraham's parents and have been residing their ever since. It has been really tough on them. Despite the lack of space and very poor living conditions, Abraham and his family have struggled to find work and keep a job. In fact, the week that we arrived, Abraham had lost his job. They were making only $80.00 a week for 8 people. Isn't that unbelievable. A common misconception is that things are cheaper in Mexico. This is simply not true. Though you can buy a coke and a candy bar cheaper, most all common things are the same price as the United States.

We built the house in two and a half days and used the remaining time in the week to mud and tape the drywall inside and paint the exterior of the new house. We also did quite a bit of yard work on their small lot to clean it up and make it safer for their children.

At the end of the build, Julie and I had made great new friends with Cornerstone Christian Church and really became part of their family. More than that, something remarkable happened with the grandfather and Abraham.

One of the Mexican Pastors from our ministry had been ministering to the family before and during the build. At the dedication ceremony, he spoke about Zacheus from the bible and related it to Abraham of the Mexican family. He talked about how Zacheus was living in sin and unbelief and how he went under a huge transformation. When Zacheus repented and chose to follow Christ, his life was transformed. After hearing the message from Pastor Martin, Abraham and his father decided to follow Christ. Pray that they will continue in their faith and that Pastor Martin Gil does a good job of shepherding them into the Christian Community.

It was an amazing week. A family blessed, an American church challenged, and Julie and I at peace. The week was filled with the feeling of God intentionally pursuing all of us involved. Christ be glorified for the great work he is doing in Juarez, MX with Casas Por Cristo.

Orphanage Christmas

2010-01-09T09:20:00.001-08:00

Orphanage Christmas, originally uploaded by Justin and Julie Kirklin.

Julie works for a hospital named Del Sol here in El Paso. Trying to share and show the love of Christ in the work place can be a difficult task. She decided that a great way to get her co-workers involved in ministry was to bless an orphanage in Juarez, MX for Christmas. For a month, her coworkers at the hospital raised money and bought gifts for every individual Child at the orphanage.

The orphanage was started by 3 individuals who live in Juarez. They happened across an orphanage one day that was very small and very unhealthy for the children staying there. This touched their heart so much that they decided to start their own that would be a place of safety, education, health, and love.

They came to our ministry looking for support and trying to see if we could build them a few buildings. This story touched our hearts as well and shortly after they petitioned our ministry, they received three buildings; two the size of the 3 room house we build, and one the size of the church we build. These three people that were called and motivated to start this orphanage have been funding it out of their own pocket and it has been very taxing on their lives.

Julie decided what a great opportunity to use American wealth and the love of Christ to help support and love on these Children. We came just a few days before Christmas with two truckloads of toys, clothes, candy, and other gifts. The excitement and smiles were tear provoking. Every child received a huge blessing this Christmas. To cap it all off, they sang us three worship songs in English. It was awesome. That gift to us was greater than any gift we had given them.

Our ministry hopes to continue to support his orphanage and the work that they do.

A Fire That Led To Repentance

2009-12-04T15:09:00.001-08:00

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

2009-10-22T09:17:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-22T09:12:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-22T08:53:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-05T10:24:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-24T12:44:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-24T12:38:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-10T14:50:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-03T15:49:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-03T15:39:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-03T15:36:00.001-07:00

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

2009-08-03T15:35:00.001-07:00

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

Eustiolia's old house.

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp

2009-07-20T11:34:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-20T11:20:00.001-07:00

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

Oscar and Yolonda

Evergreen Lutheran Rainbow Trail Camp

2009-07-20T11:16:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-20T11:12:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-20T11:09:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-08T09:13:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-04T21:15:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-04T21:14:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-04T21:11:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-04T19:32:00.001-07:00

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

2009-07-04T10:12:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-27T23:12:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-27T23:00:00.001-07:00

view
Originally uploaded by Justin Kirklin

The Mountain View

truck

2009-06-27T22:53:00.001-07:00

truck
Originally uploaded by Justin Kirklin

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

Our House

2009-06-27T22:47:00.001-07:00

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

2009-06-27T12:53:00.001-07:00

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