Ready to do God's Work in Monterrey, Mexico

It is Sunday night and our mission team is in hot and sunny Monterrey, Mexico. The 14 guys on the team are here to pour the foundations for seven houses that the Senior High Youth will build in June. For some of us this a new experience while others of us have been here many times and have poured more slabs than we can remember. Regardless of how many times we have come on this trip, we are all here in response to God's call on our lives. Our purpose is to glorify God and to show his love to some of the poor people who live on the outskirts of greater Monterrey.

Three of us arrived on Friday afternoon and began finalizing preparations for the work ahead. In past years, most of us have flown to Monterrey while 3 to 6 of us would drive the church van and trailer full of tools from Marietta to Monterrey. That is a hard two day trip, but not without its rewards. Over the years we had identified our favorite restaurants along the way, and we would look forward to each of them like visiting an old and dear friend. Last year we and the Senior High team left all of our tools here in Monterrey. So this year we all flew and rented a 15 passenger van and pickup truck here in Monterrey. So far it has seemed to work well.

Late Friday afternoon and evening, we went out to the sites where we will be building. In February a small team came to Monterrey to identify the sites and to make other preparations. The prospective homeowners were told what needed to be done to prepare their lots for our construction. We were anxious to see if that work had been accomplished. Thankfully almost all the sites were either ready for construction or the homeowners committed to have it done by Monday morning when we begin work. Here is what one site looked like in February and what it looks like now. The homeowner has done a very nice job of preparing the site and getting everything cleaned up. It makes our work much easier.





Saturday was spent buying lumber for the concrete forms, transporting that lumber to the job site, cutting about 200 stakes that are used to hold the forms in place, going to Home Depot for some tools we needed to buy and then off to Walmart after dinner to start buying supplies we need for our breakfasts and lunches. Here is a picture of our rather sizable load of lumber.



Needless to say we drove very carefully from the lumber yard to the construction site ( probably about 12 miles). Here we are unloading and storing the lumber at Carlos' house.



We built a house for Carlos and his family in 2002 and ever since then he and his wife have been a big help to us in storing materials and tools and in helping to identify the families that need homes.

On Sunday, some of us went to church while others went to the airport to pickup the rest of the team that was flying in. During the service, we were introduced and we were thankful to have Rolando Perez with us who speaks fluent Spanish. He was able to explain to the congregation that the foundations we are constructing are not only physical, but spiritual as well.





After the rest of the team arrived ( 2-1/2 hours late thanks to Delta) we all went out to visit the building sites so that everyone would have a good idea of the challenges to be faced on Monday morning.





Tomorrow morning, we will rise early, eat breakfast on the balcony of our hotel and head for the building sites. The first order of business when we arrive is the morning devotion led by one of the team members. These devotions are an important part of our day and help us to keep focused on our real work here, that is to glorify God in all that we do.

Sorry this post is actually being published on Monday night, but a very intermittent internet connection at our hotel caused the delay. Thanks for reading and please keep us in your prayers.