Mission in Mexico - Part 6
Under Construction
This is another in a group of posts to keep you all up to date on what I’m doing in Mexico.
Much of the past work of Manos Juntas, the umbrella organization that administers all the mission projects here, has been related to construction. I haven’t been able to get a completely accurate count, but they have constructed over two thousand casitas (small single-family homes) over the years. They also built the orphanage and the school called Centro Comunitario, and have repaired many churches in the area. There is a new auditorium that Manos Juntas is developing to host community events all year long, and church services on Sundays. When groups come from churches in the United States they often build or repair something for a week while they experience the culture here. It costs about $4000 for a team to come and build a home, and there are additional modest expenses for food, lodging, and transportation.
There is a group here now from a church in Arkansas. This group has been coming to Manos Juntas for 25 years, except during COVID. This week they have built a new casita for a local family, and helped to lead a Vacation Bible School. The casitas are very small, with one room that is about 10 feet wide and 15 feet long, with a small sleeping loft inside. They can be built quickly because there is no plumbing and only a single light bulb. Nevertheless, they are a big improvement over the ramshackle homes thrown together with whatever materials are available that are found everywhere here. One man that received a casita for his family talked to the team that built it and said, “I hope that you all can have homes that are this nice someday.”
While these construction projects are important and make a difference for the people here, there seems to be a new emphasis on developing social service programs that are needed in the community. These projects are more difficult to complete in a week, but church groups can still be of assistance in interacting with the local participants and moving the projects forward. These projects include daycare, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary education. Other programs focus on reading for young children with limited schooling, a reading club, parenting classes, medical and dental care, psychological counseling, and community development programs. Some groups come here and bring entire libraries (600 books!) for elementary schools.
There is so much need here that all kinds of programs are being considered: adult education, job training, programs for older adults, help for single mothers, sports programs, health education, and just about anything else that you can think of. Summer camps. Projects for arts, sports, music, and dance. Larger low income housing projects. The difficulty is always finding the resources needed in both money and personnel.
I’m ending all these posts the same way:
Everything is funded through donations. Giving is easy through the United Methodist Advance site - https://gbhem-umc.my.site.com/hemgm/s/donate-to-campaign?id=a3fPo000000D43R. Every little bit helps.
Please send a prayer or kind thought down this way. They all help, too.
