Mexico was such an awesome trip and experience for us. We’ve never been on a trip like this one with such diversity in what we did as far as work and ministry.
First off everything for our travels there and back went smoothly. There were no delays, nothing crazy with traffic and no complications. Even with everything happening with the cartel it didn’t negatively affect anything on our trip. We were never in danger at any point or close to where the conflicts were happening.

House Build

The first 3 days of the trip were spent building a house with Homes of Hope. We got to build a home for a family of 4 who didn’t have one of their own. They were in a desperate situation living all together in a small room of their aunt’s house. They had moved around a couple times after having to leave home because of domestic abuse. It was a mom and her 3 boys, the Hernandez family.

On the first day of the build the walls were built one after another on top of each other before they were put up. There was hardly any room to work so we had to get creative. Wyatt was building roof trusses on a lower part of the property. And the ladies were trying to get creative about where to paint the siding and trim pieces. The first day was one of the hottest days we were there; the high was 95 and sunny. By the end of the day all four of the walls were up with most of the siding on. Some of the roof trusses were up, the interior walls were up, and a few pieces of drywall had gone in.

The second day we finished the drywall, the trim around windows, putting the roof on, siding, and most of the painting. I think the second day was the most difficult. It was hotter than the first day. For the most part everyone stayed healthy with small breaks and reminders to drink water.
Throughout the first two days we got various opportunities to talk with the mom and play with her kids. There wasn’t something to do at every moment for each person so we were encouraged during those times to get to know the family more and love them. They were so excited and wanted to be involved with the building of the house in whatever capacity they could. The third day when we came we found that the family had almost finished the painting on the inside of the house!

The third day was spent doing finishing touches like bringing in the furniture, trim on the walls, hanging doors & painting.

There was enough money raised that we could buy them furniture and groceries for their home. Jenny and I got to go grocery shopping with the family while the guys moved in all the furniture. The reason we take them grocery shopping at that time is because they don’t know if we raised enough money for furniture so it’s a surprise when they walk in the house!

Getting to take the family grocery shopping was awesome! Jenny told the family we had money for them to buy groceries and the boys were so excited! As we walked through the grocery store they would come up and ask to put things in the cart that they normally couldn’t afford. It was like watching children in a candy store with their excitement! Even things like shampoo were so exciting for them to have.

When we got back to the house everything was ready to do the key ceremony.

The key ceremony is the way Homes of Hope gives the keys to the family. We stand in a circle and pass around the keys to the house. When it’s your turn for the keys you get to say something to the family. This ceremony and giving them the house was our favorite part of the trip. After they receive the keys the family goes into the house alone to experience their new home for the first time as a family! They are surprised with the furniture and just get a moment to take it all in. Then we knock on the front door as their first guests! When we walked in we saw the oldest son crying because he had a bed to sleep on. The youngest was smiling sitting at the table saying “this is where we are going to eat food”!

It was so beautiful! Thinking about it now too, this family is now sleeping on beds of their own and they have a table to eat and do their homework on. They have a place that they can call home! I hope that this is the first of many homes of hope that Wyatt and I will have the privilege of building in our life.

The other cool thing is that the staff at the YWAM base will continue to minister to them every week! So we didn’t just go build a house for a random family who by chance got picked. There’s a process they have to go through in order to qualify that’s based on their need. From the start the people are getting ministered to and then after the house is done they are still being shown so much love from the staff at the YWAM base!

Ministry

The rest of the trip we did a variety of things! We went to church Sunday with Pastor Adrian. He leads a small group of believers that has grown since the last time I was there. They don’t have a worship team or anything like that but they do have a speaker! He played worship music on the speaker that we all worshiped God with. He mostly played songs everyone knew so we could sing in our own language. And that time of worship moved me so much. It was different from what I’m used to but it’s no less glorifying to God and it’s no less worship to Him! The rest of Sunday afternoon we relaxed at the base and played basketball.

The last three days were spent going to various places to do ministry. Monday morning we went to a men’s rehab that Pastor Adrian runs. We usually just go, and then pray for them. I love getting to go and just encourage the guys there!

Monday evening we went to the hospital. The reason we go to the hospital is because of the way the healthcare system is set up for people in poverty. If you have a family member in the hospital they don’t do the things a CNN would do like bath them, take them to the bathroom ect. That’s the responsibility of the family. So if you can’t afford to stay in a hotel then you’re sleeping outside of the hospital. We gave out Bibles, sandwiches, and Gatorade and prayed for people. Things like this were a little more difficult because of only having 2 interpreters but we figured it out with google translate.

The most impactful thing for me was getting to watch God bring hope to people by speaking the truth over them. There was this one lady that I just told her that God sees her and she isn’t alone in this because He will never leave us or forsake us and I watched as the Holy Spirit touched her heart! She looked to be about my age and it was her dad in the hospital. She didn’t have family with her, it was just her. Her situation broke my heart but I knew there was hope for her because of who God is and His love for her. I don’t know how to express the privilege that it is to be used by God in this way. It’s so amazing! It helps build my faith to see what the truth can do in someone’s heart. It’s the truth that sets us free! That verse holds so much weight and I’ve lived so many years of my life in ignorance of it. If what I’m believing isn’t giving me freedom then it’s not the truth. So repent of believing the lies about who I am, who God is ect. And then choose to believe what God says about me and Himself, surely He knows who I am and who He created me to be. Take captive my thoughts and live in that place of believing and meditating on the truth. I can’t always control the thoughts that come to my mind, but God has given me the choice of what I choose to meditate on. Choose to meditate on the truth about who God says you are!

Tuesday was our tourism day. We got to go on a beautiful hike and swim in clear blue water! It was amazing!! I love the way creation displays the glory of God, how beautiful and wonderful He is.

Wednesday morning we went to a poor community in Santa Catarina. These people are a step up from being homeless. The places they call home are made of thin ply wood, pallets and scrap metal. Pieces of wood and metal that we would consider to be trash, for them it was a roof over their heads; protection from the harsh summer sun. We go with Pastor Adrian. This is a community of people he sees often. We sort of had church with them. We were welcomed into their home and got to speak. Jenny talked about what it means to be a Godly wife and mom and I shared a little bit of my testimony. Afterwards we got to talk and pray with them.

Later that evening we went to the same area where we build the house for a night of ministry with the children in the community. We played soccer and games with the boys and did nails with the girls. My favorite part that evening was talking with a few girls who were middle school age. Wyatt did the lesson about how God is our provider the way He provided for Elijah through ravens. It was a fun night of getting to hangout with all the kids. Especially the ones we built the house for! It’s like they were able to act like children their age again and not be so burdened it was really cool.

Wyatt and I are so thankful to have had the opportunity to go on this trip especially with the EQUIP students. We had an awesome team that went! Thank you so much for supporting and praying for us! We appreciate it so much!

-Sandra & Wyatt

Would you join Sandra as a monthly supporter so she can continue the work God has started? She would be honored to be able to share the experience with you and make you part of the team. As she shares how God is working and the impact she is having on His Kingdom, please pray and ask God if you should partner with her as a monthly donor/supporter.

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